Curriculum for the 70's: Agenda for Invention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foshay, Arthur W.

This monograph outlines briefly the problems facing schools today and emphasizes the need to adapt education to changing social forces. It traces the developing role of the school in society since 1900, noting a reversal of roles which is now occurring. Rather than sublimating the needs of the individual to those of society, the school must now…

Effects of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and Fidelity of Implementation on Problem Behavior in High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flannery, K. B.; Fenning, P.; Kato, M. McGrath; McIntosh, K.

2014-01-01

High school is an important time in the educational career of students. It is also a time when adolescents face many behavioral, academic, and social-emotional challenges. Current statistics about the behavioral, academic, and social-emotional challenges faced by adolescents, and the impact on society through incarceration and dropout, have…

The Role of Majority Groups in Diversity Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rheingans, Penny; Brodsky, Anne; Scheibler, Jill; Spence, Anne

2011-01-01

The underrepresentation of women in technical fields is a widely acknowledged national problem, limiting both the raw size of the talent pool and the diversity of experiences and perspectives of those who will design solutions to key problems facing society. Empowering women to succeed in these fields is clearly one important component of any…

Difficulties facing physician mothers in Japan.

PubMed

Yamazaki, Yuka; Kozono, Yuki; Mori, Ryo; Marui, Eiji

2011-11-01

Despite recent increases in the number of female physicians graduating in Japan, their premature resignations after childbirth are contributing to the acute shortage of physicians. Previous Japanese studies have explored supportive measures in the workplace, but have rarely focused on the specific problems or concerns of physician-mothers. Therefore, this study explored the challenges facing Japanese physician-mothers in efforts to identify solutions for their retention. Open-ended questionnaires were mailed to 646 alumnae of Juntendo University School of Medicine. We asked subjects to describe their opinions about 'The challenges related to female physicians' resignations'. Comments gathered from alumnae who graduated between 6 and 30 years ago and have children were analyzed qualitatively. Overall, 249 physicians returned the questionnaire (response rate 38.5%), and 73 alumnae with children who graduated in the stated time period provided comments. The challenges facing physician-mothers mainly consisted of factors associated with Japanese society, family responsibilities, and work environment. Japanese society epitomized by traditional gender roles heightened stress related to family responsibilities and promoted gender discrimination at work environment. Additionally, changing Japanese society positively influenced working atmosphere and husband's support. Moreover, the introduction of educational curriculums that alleviated traditional gender role was proposed for pre- and post- medical students. Traditional gender roles encourage discrimination by male physicians or work-family conflicts. The problems facing female physicians involve more than just family responsibilities: diminishing the notion of gender role is key to helping retain them in the workforce. © 2011 Tohoku University Medical Press

Science, Society and Sustainability: Education and Empowerment for an Uncertain World. Routledge Research in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Donald, Ed.; Colucci-Gray, Laura, Ed.; Camino, Elena, Ed.

2011-01-01

Recent work in science and technological studies has provided a clearer understanding of the way in which science functions in society and the interconnectedness among different strands of science, policy, economy and environment. It is well acknowledged that a different way of thinking is required in order to address problems facing the global…

Acculturation Difficulties of the Khmer in New York City.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruno, Ellen

The intent of this paper is to provide a historical and cultural overview of the Khmer refugee movement and to outline problems the refugees face upon resettlement in New York City. The paper begins by describing the land and people of Cambodia, the social structure of Khmer society, the role of Buddhism in that society, Cambodia's recent history,…

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) for infrastructure elements.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-02-01

With a growing demand for new construction and the need to replace infrastructure stretched beyond its service life, society : faces the problem of an ever-growing production of construction and demolition waste. The Federal Highway Administration : ...

The Evaluation of Reflective Learning Practice: Preparing College Students for Globalization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richard, Cathleen Becnel

2010-01-01

A problem facing education today is that learning typically requires rote memorization rather than the use of higher-order thinking skills. Higher-order thinking is needed in a global society to solve real world problems, therefore students should be required to develop and practice higher-order thinking skills. The purpose of this mixed method…

Kids at Hope: All Children Are Capable of Success--No Exceptions!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tipps, Christine R.

2006-01-01

How has our society typically responded to the challenging problems facing youths? Communities have, more often than not, focused resources on prevention programs that have attempted to stop youths from taking drugs, joining gangs, getting pregnant, and dropping out of school, among other things. A problem is identified, and the response is to…

From Science to Business: Preparing Female Scientists and Engineers for Successful Transitions into Entrepreneurship--Summary of a Workshop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Didion, Catherine Jay; Guenther, Rita S.; Gunderson, Victoria

2012-01-01

Scientists, engineers, and medical professionals play a vital role in building the 21st- century science and technology enterprises that will create solutions and jobs critical to solving the large, complex, and interdisciplinary problems faced by society: problems in energy, sustainability, the environment, water, food, disease, and healthcare.…

Factors Affecting Police Officers' Acceptance of GIS Technologies: A Study of the Turkish National Police

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cakar, Bekir

2011-01-01

The situations and problems that police officers face are more complex in today's society, due in part to the increase of technology and growing complexity of globalization. Accordingly, to solve these problems and deal with the complexities, law enforcement organizations develop and apply new techniques and methods such as geographic information…

School-Based Mental Health Services for Adolescents: School Psychology in Contemporary Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crespi, Tony D.; Hughes, Tammy L.

2004-01-01

Adolescents are in crisis in school, home, and in the community. With an increasing array of problems, from alcohol and drug addiction to teenage pregnancy, the nation's youth are facing difficult challenges. In particular, family problems experienced by adolescents alone can seem daunting, with such issues as divorce, abuse, and discord changing…

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) for infrastructure elements.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

With a growing demand for new construction and the need to replace infrastructure stretched beyond its service life, society faces the : problem of an ever-growing production of construction and demolition waste. The Federal Highway Administration (F...

History of the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society.

PubMed

Mavroudis, Constantine; Williams, William G

2015-10-01

The Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society is a group of over 100 pediatric heart surgeons representing 72 institutions that specialize in the treatment of patients with congenital heart defects. The Society began in 1972 and incorporated as a not-for-profit charitable organization in 2004. It has become the face and voice of congenital heart surgery in North America. In 1985, the Society established a data center for multicenter clinical research studies to encourage congenital heart professionals to participate in improving outcomes for our patients. The goals of the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society are to stimulate the study of congenital cardiac physiology, pathology, and management options which are instantiated in data collection, multi-institutional studies, and scientific meetings. Honest and open discussion of problems with possible solutions to the challenges facing congenital heart professionals have been the strength of the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society. It is imperative for the growth of an organization to know from where it came in order to know to where it is going. The purpose of this article is to review the history of the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society. © The Author(s) 2015.

If Sport's the Solution Then What's the Problem? The Social Significance of Sport in the Moral Governing of "Good" and "Healthy" Citizens in Sweden, 1922-1998

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Österlind, Malin; Wright, Jan

2014-01-01

All over the westernised world, sport has been promoted as a "solution" to many of the social "problems" and challenges that face modern societies. This study draw on Foucault's concept of governmentality to examine the ways in which Swedish Government Official Reports on sport, from 1922 to 1998, define social problems and…

State of the World 1990. A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress toward a Sustainable Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Lester R.; And Others

As the world enters the last decade of the 20th century, the environmental problems facing human societies have been given increased emphasis in world policy debates. The goal of the Worldwatch Institute is to help raise the level of public understanding of global environmental threats to the point where the public will support policies needed to…

The Human Face of Poverty: A Chronicle of Urban America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fanelli, Vincent

This book provides descriptive reports about people living in poverty in New York City (New York) in the period from 1964 to 1979 as a beginning to solving the problems of persistent poverty. Analyses of the problems of poverty have rarely been undertaken from the point of view of the poor themselves. It is argued that society will never be able…

Wilderness Therapy: Foundations, Theory and Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis-Berman, Jennifer; Berman, Dene S.

This book provides an overview of the history, theoretical basis, research, development, evaluation, and current status of wilderness therapy programs for troubled adolescents. An introduction explores theories of adolescence and adolescent development, problems facing adolescents in contemporary society, limitations of traditional mental health…

Cardiovascular Risk Reduction. The Problems Facing Our Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Donald C.; Winston, Mary

1982-01-01

Continued and expanded efforts to educate people as to what factors contribute to coronary heart disease will help to decrease its occurrence. Risk factors include: cholesterol, smoking, hypertension, obesity, heredity, psychological influences, and the taking of oral contraceptives or alcohol. (CJ)

R & D: An Alchemist's Dream.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathias, Charles McC., Jr.

1980-01-01

The value of scientific research can only be measured by the resulting benefits to society. Federal policymakers must ensure that funding for research and development is adequate and that research results are applied to the serious problems facing state and local governments. (SK)

The History of Science as a Tool to Identify and Confront Pseudoscience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Seth C.

2007-01-01

The pseudoscientific views in educated society are facing increased problems, which needs the rectification of current deficiency of historical context in science education. This can change the way the students view claims and ideas presented to them.

Accentuating the positive.

PubMed

Adkins, P C

1980-07-01

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is the largest organization representing our specialty. At this time, escalating costs of medical care and the public demand for accountability have given rise to a number of issues that must be faced. The Society is in a position to lead the medical profession in addressing many of these issues. We must present a united front for our specialty and resolve problems involving our training programs, manpower, federal regulations regarding medical devices, and the Federal Trade Commission's position on advertising. Additionally, the organization must address the issue of a definition of physician competence as it relates to the certifying and recertifying process. Awareness of these problems by all members of the Society with the opportunity for open discussion is essential. It is vital that The Society of Thoracic Surgeons assume a visible positive position on these issues.

National Security Policy and Security Challenges of Maldives

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-13

creates the true problems the Maldivians are currently facing. Hidden agendas, unprofessionalism, and low ethical standards of politicians and...based on sharia law. The theories of cultural relativism and democracy strongly advocate the freedoms of societies, thus the Maldivian decision as a

Measuring Impact in Research Evaluations: A Thorough Discussion of Methods For, Effects of and Problems with Impact Measurements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bornmann, Lutz

2017-01-01

Impact of science is one of the most important topics in scientometrics. Recent developments show a fundamental change in impact measurements from impact on science to impact on society. Since impact measurement is currently in a state of far reaching changes, this paper describes recent developments and facing problems in this area. For that, the…

Promoting Proper Education for Sustainability: An Exploratory Study of ICT Enhanced Problem Based Learning in a Developing Country

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Amit; Kihoza, Patrick; Suhonen, Jarkko; Vesisenaho, Mikko; Tukiaianen, Markku

2014-01-01

One of the goals of education is to create responsible citizens who can adequately understand the problems faced by their societies and who can then act to help solve them. Such behaviour can be fostered through proper education that facilitates expert knowledge about social issues, nurtures the ability to think critically and grows the skills…

Science for Society. A Bibliography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, John A.

This bibliography, intended primarily for secondary school teachers and students, has been published "to help many become better educated and wiser in respect to the present predicaments and present options facing mankind." It contains 1,500 citations subsumed under the following topics: general references; population problems, agriculture, food…

Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Rigby, Sarah N; Stoesz, Brenda M; Jakobson, Lorna S

2018-06-01

Many factors contribute to social difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The goal of the present work was to determine whether atypicalities in how individuals with ASD process static, socially engaging faces persist when nonrigid facial motion cues are present. We also sought to explore the relationships between various face processing abilities and individual differences in autism symptom severity and traits such as empathy. Participants included 16 adults with ASD without intellectual impairment and 16 sex- and age-matched controls. Mean Verbal IQ was comparable across groups [t(30) = 0.70, P = 0.49]. The two groups responded similarly to many of the experimental manipulations; however, relative to controls, participants with ASD responded more slowly to dynamic expressive faces, even when no judgment was required; were less accurate at identity matching with static and dynamic faces; and needed more time to make identity and expression judgments [F(1, 30) ≥ 6.37, P ≤ 0.017, η p 2  ≥ 0.175 in all cases], particularly when the faces were moving [F(1, 30) = 3.40, P = 0.072, η p 2  = 0.104]. In the full sample, as social autistic traits increased and empathic skills declined, participants needed more time to judge static identity, and static or dynamic expressions [0.43 < |r s | < 0.56]. The results suggest that adults with ASD show general impairments in face and motion processing and support the view that an examination of individual variation in particular personality traits and abilities is important for advancing our understanding of face perception. Autism Res 2018, 11: 942-955. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Our findings suggest that people with ASD have problems processing expressive faces, especially when seen in motion. It is important to learn who is most at risk for face processing problems, given that in the general population such problems appear to be linked to impaired social skills and empathy. By studying relationships between different abilities and traits, we may be able to find better ways to diagnose and support all people on the autism spectrum. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

THE EMERGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GROUND LEVEL OZONE AND LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS

EPA Science Inventory

One of the most serious environmental health problems facing our society is that of poor air quality caused primarily by the formation of ground level ozone. Although natural ozone is beneficial in the upper atmosphere as a filter for ultraviolet radiation, ground- level ozone is...

Attitudes to face transplantation: results of a public engagement exercise at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.

PubMed

Clarke, Alex; Simmons, Jon; White, Paul; Withey, Simon; Butler, Peter E M

2006-01-01

Hettiaratchy and Butler (Lancet 2002;360:5-6) framed face transplantation as the next logical step on the reconstructive ladder for severe facial injury, in particular, pan-facial burns. The procedure formed the basis for a Royal College of Surgeons of England working party report. Ethical, surgical, and psychological issues were identified as research priorities before face transplantation is attempted in the United Kingdom. Public engagement is a vital mechanism if people are to be informed about the risks and benefits of the technique and ultimately to be able to consent to either receiving or donating facial tissue. To sample public opinion about the procedure, 304 people attending the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition were sampled by online questionnaire to determine their attitude toward face transplantation. Although people were more cautious about face transplantation when comparing this with solid-organ transplantation, most of the sample were in favor of the procedure, whether receiving a donor face or donating their own face after their death. Only 10% were against the idea in principle. Concerns about altered identity were not a barrier to face transplantation for 69% of the sample, with most people appropriately identifying the long-term problems of immunosuppression as the issue that most concerned them. There is a substantial population of people who, given the right circumstances, would contemplate face transplantation for themselves and would be willing to donate their own face for transplantation after their death.

Education for Achieving a New Societal Paradigm.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hull, Ronald W.

A review of ecological problems facing human society is presented and the relationship of education to social change is considered. Basic environmental limitations which are discussed include population; basic materials such as food, fuels, and water; and environmental tolerance. Ecological hazards which combine with these limitations to result in…

Young Once, Indian Forever: Youth Gangs in Indian Country

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, James; Lim, Nicole

2005-01-01

Not unlike mainstream society of the United States, Indian Country faces new challenges regarding the values, mores, and behavior of its young people. Since their first encounters with European explorers, American Indians have fought to preserve their culture and traditions. Federal policies that addressed the "Indian problem" by…

Education as an Environmental Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasquez-Martinez, Claudio-Rafael; Gonzalez, Clara; Carrillo, Fatima; Delgado, Luis; Alvarez, Miguel; Morfin-Otero, Maria

2015-01-01

One of the main factors in the globalization of problems and opportunities that face human society is science, which deals with matters of health, environment, competitive production, and employment, among other issues, and generally ways for promoting a better quality of life. Science has become a central part of the culture in the developed…

Beat the High Co$t of College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolan, Thomas G.

2004-01-01

Students face financial challenges in acquiring higher education. According to Michael P. Viollt, president of Chicago's Robert Morris College, there are three mutually reinforcing problems: (1) the higher demands the society places for people to be educated; (2) rapidly decreasing government funding for financial aid; and (3) the perception of…

Milgram, Kohlberg, and Dostoevsky

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprinthall, Norman A.

2009-01-01

Comments on a article by Blass (January 2009) who pointed out his historical perspective on human welfare problems facing a democratic society. The author would like to add some information from the cognitive-developmental framework that seems most pertinent to these larger issues of obedience and disobedience. It is relevant to note that a number…

The Training of Teachers of the Children of Migrant Workers: Cultural Values and Education in a Multi-cultural Society. Report of the European Teachers' Seminar (13th, Donaueschingen, Federal Republic of Germany, 19-24 October 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Jorgen S., Comp.

Summaries of seven reports presented at the teachers' seminar focus on teacher training for a multi-cultural society, with an emphasis on Muslim migrant children. Three papers discuss the general circumstances of Muslim immigrants in Europe, the implications for educational practice and structures, a Muslim view of the problems faced by Muslim…

Physical therapy workforce shortage for aging and aged societies in Thailand.

PubMed

Kraiwong, Ratchanok; Vongsirinavarat, Mantana; Soonthorndhada, Kusol

2014-07-01

According to demographic changes, the size of the aging population has rapidly increased. Thailand has been facing the "aging society" since 2005 and the "aged society" has been projected to appear by the year 2025. Increased life expectancy is associated with health problems and risks, specifically chronic diseases and disability. Aging and aged societies and related specific conditions as stroke require the provision of services from health professionals. The shortage of the physical therapy workforce in Thailand has been reported. This study investigated the size of physical therapy workforce required for the approaching aging society of Thailand and estimated the number of needed physical therapists, specifically regarding stroke condition. Evidently, the issue of the physical therapy workforce to serve aging and aged societies in Thailand requires advocating and careful arranging.

An Overview: Purposes and Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hickey, Howard W.

The Mott Foundation has over the years devoted most of its considerable resources to joining together the school and community in the solution of educational problems facing society, but it is only within the last 20 years that it has enlisted the support of colleges and universities. The Mott Institute at Michigan State University focused its…

Urban Education in Distress: South Africa and the United States--Mutual Dilemmas for Two Democratic Societies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uchitelle, Susan

2000-01-01

South Africa and the United States face similar problems: teachers' inadequacies in educating an increasingly diverse population; a culture of poverty undermining public support; urban decay and declining tax bases; insufficient resources; totally inadequate school facilities; and unrealistic expectations, considering allotted resources, faculty,…

Citizenship Education as a Response to Colombia's Social and Political Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaramillo, Rosario; Mesa, Jose A.

2009-01-01

In response to the difficult social, economic and political problems that Colombia faces, such as inequality, discrimination, weak civil society--fuelled by illegality and drug trafficking--the Colombian Ministry of Education has embarked on an ambitious citizenship education program, with the hope of strengthening the role of education by…

Ohio Vocational Consumer/Homemaking Curriculum Guide. Practical Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Instructional Materials Lab.

This curriculum guide helps students learn the technical skills of the occupation of homemaking. It also uses the process model of practical reasoning to assist men and women in taking action regarding the perennial problems that face individuals and families living in the world society. The first section provides the philosophy, aim, student…

Interfutures: Facing the Future, Mastering the Probable and Managing the Unpredictable.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

This report discusses the findings of the three year Interfutures Project which studied the future development of advanced industrial societies and the relations between these countries and the developing countries. The major emphasis of the project was to analyze economic problems. However, political and social elements were also studied. The…

Restructuring Public Education: Building a Learning Community. The Report of the Education Task Force.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington Education Association, Federal Way.

The American educational system faces a critical need for restructuring. Social lag problems created by the transformation from an industrial to an informational society have affected U.S. institutions, especially education. Educators and policymakers must respond to the new economic, demographic, organizational, and educational forces which have…

LULAC National Scholarship Fund for Americans of Spanish Origin, 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chavez, Martin, Ed.; And Others

Many of the problems facing Hispanos stem from inadequate representation in the economic, social, and governmental processes of American society. The LULAC National Scholarship Fund for Americans of Spanish Origin (LNSF) was established in 1975 as a means of weakening the poverty cycle which has inhibited full participation by Hispanics in…

Implications of Family Trends for Children: A Research Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofferth, Sandra L.

1987-01-01

Outlines the changes in the family structure in our society and the new stresses this puts on the children and the schools who are now faced with educating students with many potential problems. The report covers marriage, divorce, women's employment, sex, unmarried pregnancy, childbearing, changing family size, and poverty. Includes references…

Engaging Global Citizens outside the Classroom: A Resource Guide for Campus Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of College Unions International (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

Much of the literature and progress related to global learning in higher education has been on curricular programs: knowledge of different societies and cultures, examining solutions to problems facing international communities, and so on. However, little research is found on the effect of cocurricular programs on these outcomes or on best…

Recreational drugs. Societal and professional issues.

PubMed

Solari-Twadell, P A

1991-06-01

Recreational drug use presents a challenge to society and, in particular, the profession of nursing. Recreational drug use must be appreciated for the implications it presents for the episodes of abuse and development of chronic health problems. The effects and recreational use of volatile substances, cannabis, opioids, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, cocaine, psychedelics, and designer drugs as well as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine must be acknowledged and understood if options for change are to be considered. The resultant cost of recreational drug use as well as health care implications, public safety, and prevention are significant issues society is faced with today. These issues will continue to be significant unless the current posture toward recreational drug use and abuse is addressed. The profession of nursing continues to be faced with the problems associated with recreational drug use not only through caring for clients, but immediately by the effects of recreational drug use on individual professional nurses. To respond effectively, nursing education and nursing research must be challenged to create an emphasis on this focus. Only through this type of multifocal approach will long-term substantial change be affected for the betterment of future generations.

Publication aspects of ethics in photogrammetry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thompson, Morris M.

1991-01-01

According to the Code of Ethics of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), the principles on which ethics are founded consist of honesty, justice, and courtesy, forming a moral philosophy associated with mutual interest among men. We will cover in particular the ethical problems of publication of photogrammetric material in the various media. There are many such problems, and we often face a dilemma in selecting a course which is the right thing to do.

Water management, purification, and conservation in arid climates. Volume 3: Water conservation

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

Goosen, M.F.A.; Shayya, W.H.

1999-07-01

Arid regions are already feeling the severe restraining effects of potable water shortages. In coming years, humid and sub-humid regions of the world will also have to face many of these same problems. In the future, serious conflicts may arise not because of a lack of oil, but due to water shortages. Are there solutions to these problems? Aside from increasing public awareness about the importance of water, society needs to take a three pronged approach: water needs to be effectively managed, it needs to be economically purified, and it needs to be conserved. Only by doing these three thingsmore » in unison can they hope to alleviate the water problems faced by arid regions of the world. This book presents information valuable to seeking, finding and using current technologies to help solve these problems now. Volume 3 addresses aspects of water conservation and includes rainwater harvesting and wastewater reuse and reclamation.« less

Water management, purification, and conservation in arid climates. Volume 2: Water purification

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

Goosen, M.F.A.; Shayya, W.H.

1999-10-01

Arid regions are already feeling the severe restraining effects of potable water shortages. In coming years, humid and sub-humid regions of the world will also have to face many of these same problems. In the future, serious conflicts may arise not because of a lack of oil, but due to water shortages. Are there solutions to these problems? Aside from increasing public awareness about the importance of water, society needs to take a three pronged approach: water needs to be effectively managed, it needs to be economically purified, and it needs to be conserved. Only by doing these three thingsmore » in unison can they hope to alleviate the water problems faced by arid regions of the world. This book presents information valuable to seeking, finding and using current technologies to help solve these problems now. Volume 2 presents various methods of purifying water, and includes membrane processes and alternative techniques such as solar desalination.« less

Why aren't women choosing STEM academic jobs? Observations from a small-group discussion at the 2016 American Society for Microbiology annual meeting.

PubMed

Adamowicz, Elizabeth M

2017-03-01

This commentary summarizes a small-group discussion that recently occurred at the American Society for Microbiology annual general meeting, ASM Microbe, in Boston, Massachusetts, on 16-20 June 2016, on the topic 'why are so few women choosing to become academics?' Specifically, the discussion focused on asking what the actual and perceived barriers to academic STEM careers women face, and possible solutions to address them which would make women more likely to seek out academic careers. The conclusions reached suggest that, despite improvement in recent years, women and minorities still face complex barriers to STEM academic careers, and further research is needed to determine the best solutions to this problem. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Increasing science literacy among the educated elite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bender, Carl M.

1997-03-01

The Physics Department at Washington University is making a serious and continuing effort to raise the level of understanding of science for bright students who do not intend to take further courses in science or mathematics. We have established a course called Physics and Society, which considers such issues as availability of energy, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, the greenhouse effect, the ozone hole, risk analysis, the scientific method, and claims of the paranormal. By examining such topics quantitatively, we hope to improve the students' ability to grasp and assess critically the problems that society faces.

Climb Every Mountain: Graduates Urged To Seek Basic Human Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jelinek, James John

College graduates face the contradictory and inconsistent beliefs of a society that seems to be struggling between a desire to either degrade or enhance the dignity of man. Amid all the current mechanical marvels there exists social ills of nightmare proportions. In the turmoil to find solutions to the many problems many have lost sight of the…

Maximizing Human Fotential: A Curriculum Design for Human Development and Interpersonal Relationships, Kindergarten through Adult Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento. Bureau of Homemaking Education.

This publication was prepared to assist schools in developing curriculum to help children solve complex social problems and achieve their highest potential as human beings in a world society. A major objective is to provide students with competencies and skills necessary to cope with the interpersonal relationships and stresses faced by…

Science, Technology and the Quality of Life.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Alexander

In view of the changing relationship between science, technology, and the quality of life, future efforts need to be devoted to the use of new knowledge for social objectives rather than for economics and defense. The mass of problems facing society today, which to some extent are direct side effects of technological growth, appear to have three…

Challenges in an Aging Society: Presidential Address to APPAM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swartz, Katherine

2010-01-01

The United States is at a critical crossroads in its history right now. The public policy problems that the people are facing are complex and interrelated, and the demographic changes that are about to significantly change their country are not well understood by large numbers of people. In this presidential address to the Association for Public…

Enhance Academic Study in Vocational Education in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Ling

2010-01-01

The increase in international trade and the information technology boom led us to begin to face the previously unthinkable of academic shortage towards vocational education. The main objective of this paper is to present the problem and find ways to solve it. The main finding included lack of investment from society and high degree involvement of…

Image of Social Studies at Google

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozturk, Cemil; Yigit, Ozlem E.; Karaduman, Hidir

2012-01-01

Social Studies Course is a lecture that ensures the students to recognize their society and the world, to involve into the social life actively towards the solution of the problems they have faced with in this respect. However, the researches indicate that this course is one of the least favorite courses by the students. Although there are various…

Dealing "Competently with the Serious Issues of the Day": How Dewey (and Popper) Failed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, D.C.

2012-01-01

In "Reconstruction in Philosophy," John Dewey issued an eloquent call for contemporary philosophy to become more relevant to the pressing problems facing society. Historically, the philosophy of a period had been appropriate to social conditions (indeed, this is why it had developed as a discipline), but despite the vast changes in the…

From "connecting the dots" to "threading the needle:" The challenges ahead in managing agricultural landscapes for environmental quality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Non point source pollution from agriculture is one of the most challenging problems facing society. In this book chapter, we briefly review the development of “landscape thinking” in agriculture and how this has been incorporated into the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP). We pre...

The Culture Integration in The Context of National Art Schools--Prioritized Direction of Development of the Modern Humanities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melekhova, Ksenia Alexandrovna; Lichman, Yelena Yurievna

2016-01-01

The modern picture of the world is experiencing a permanent transformation, adapting to the influence of various globalization factors, the dominance of information technology, dynamic development of a material environment, etc. In these circumstances, the society faces a problem of a technocratic knowledge domination without attention to…

Philosophical Bases of Women in Sport.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oglesby, Carole A.

The special problems faced by black women in sports and in American society are discussed. Ways of bringing about change in social attitudes and in interaction between the races and the sexes are considered. Special emphasis is placed on the need to develop a sense of worth and an understanding of the basic social structures which breed racial and…

What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences, 1993-1994.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cipra, Barry

1993-01-01

This document consists of the first two volumes of a new annual serial devoted to surveying some of the important developments in the mathematical sciences in the previous year or so. Mathematics is constantly growing and changing, reaching out to other areas of science and helping to solve some of the major problems facing society. Volumes 1 and…

A Novel for High School Seniors: Hal Borland's "When the Legends Die."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adkins, Carl A.

1968-01-01

Hal Borland's "When the Legends Die" is especially appropriate for high school seniors because its central problem--a Ute Indian boy's search for his identity and expected role in society--is exactly that faced by these students. The novel is divided into four sections, each concerned with a specific stage in the development of the…

Coming Soon to Your Favorite Credential Program: National Exit Exams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berlak, Ann

2010-01-01

In an October 22, 2010, speech to teacher educators at Columbia University's Teachers College, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan proclaimed that revolutionary change in the education of teachers is essential if the problems facing U.S. society and U.S. schools are to be solved. Toward the end of his speech, he declared that a standardized…

Projected Issues in the Practice of Educational Administration: The Canadian Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Duncan

At the moment, most of Canada is faced with the problem of dealing with declining enrollments. This decline necessitates consideration of two major issues: the role of the educational system in Canadian society and the structure of educational governance in Canada. Although by law education is the prerogative of the provinces, the federal…

Contributions Emotional Intelligence on Cognitive Learning Result of Biology of Senior High School Students in Medan, Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pratama, Anggi Tias; Corebima, Aloysius Duran

2016-01-01

Emotional intelligence is one of the factors affecting the success of students' learning results. Students having high emotional intelligence will be able to overcome the problems faced in school and in society. This research aims at investigating the correlation between emotional intelligence (EQ) and students' cognitive learning results of…

Practical solutions when facing cost sharing: the American Cancer Society's Health Insurance Assistance Service.

PubMed

Sharpe, Katherine; Shaw, Beverly; Battaglia Seiler, Mandi

2016-03-01

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has been a leading voice for healthcare reform and an informed advocate for effective health insurance reforms. Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the ACS has observed a shift in inquiries to its Health Insurance Assistance Service (HIAS) from individuals seeking coverage, to a growing problem of individuals presenting issues from being underinsured. Underinsured patients with cancer face serious financial challenges due to large co-pays and coinsurance costs. HIAS was created to help these patients identify potential options for insurance coverage while tracking patient trends. The types of calls received by HIAS have been captured as part of an internal database that allows for the analysis of trends and emerging issues. By evaluating several case studies that illustrate common issues faced by underinsured individuals, we identified solutions ranging from exploring financial assistance programs, such as co-pay relief and providing appeal information, to searching for more adequate or affordable insurance options. Additionally, the ACS has worked to find strong partnerships with other nonprofit organizations to aid in cost relief. Although the ACA has made plans available to many patients and their families, the maximum for an individual's in-network out-of-pocket costs are still too high for many individuals. New approaches are needed to improve the cost protection of health plans. By documenting access problems faced by patients with cancer, the ACS is better positioned to tell policy makers about the concerns of real patients and work toward policy solutions.

Preventing Underage Alcohol Access: Policy and Enforcement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Kathryn

2002-01-01

One of the major challenges faced by states and communities is the prevention of underage alcohol access. Underage drinking is widespread and, to a large extent, tolerated by society. It is also implicated in a range of health and social problems that are both tragic and costly. The bad news is clear and all too visible. Underage alcohol use is a…

Looking into Burnout Levels of Freshmen in English Majors of Normal University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Linjing

2017-01-01

Nowadays, college students are facing a complex society. Under the influence of various factors, the learning situation of college students has met a variety of problems, among which is learning burnout. The purposes of this study are (1) to assess the burnout levels of freshmen in English majors of normal university; (2) to explore what causes…

Facing Global Sustainability Issues: Teachers' Experiences of Their Own Practices in Environmental and Sustainability Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sund, Louise

2016-01-01

Over the last 20 years, international organisations and national governments have stressed the need for education policies to be (re)oriented towards social change, sustainability and preparing students for life in a global society. This area of pedagogy is not problem free. When policy is turned into practice teachers need to take a number of…

Hispanic Women Overcoming Deterrents to Computer Science: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herling, Lourdes

2011-01-01

The products of computer science are important to all aspects of society and are tools in the solution of the world's problems. It is, therefore, troubling that the United States faces a shortage in qualified graduates in computer science. The number of women and minorities in computer science is significantly lower than the percentage of the…

American Indians and Federal Aid. Brookings Studies in Social Economics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorkin, Alan L.

"American Indians are the poorest of any nonwhite minority in the United States. Life on the reservation offers them few opportunities: if they move to the city, they face problems of adjustment that can prove insurmountable. What is being done--what more could be done--to help Indians satisfy their needs in a largely alien society? To develop the…

Supporting Students' Learning and Socioscientific Reasoning about Climate Change--The Effect of Computer-Based Concept Mapping Scaffolds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eggert, Sabina; Nitsch, Anne; Boone, William J.; Nückles, Matthias; Bögeholz, Susanne

2017-01-01

Climate change is one of the most challenging problems facing today's global society (e.g., IPCC 2013). While climate change is a widely covered topic in the media, and abundant information is made available through the internet, the causes and consequences of climate change in its full complexity are difficult for individuals, especially…

Addressing Challenges to Public Understanding of Science: Epistemic Cognition, Motivated Reasoning, and Conceptual Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinatra, Gale M.; Kienhues, Dorothe; Hofer, Barbara K.

2014-01-01

Science is of critical importance to daily life in a knowledge society and has a significant influence on many everyday decisions. As scientific problems increase in their number and complexity, so do the challenges facing the public in understanding these issues. Our objective is to focus on 3 of those challenges: the challenge of reasoning about…

Social Capital and Youth Transitions: Do Young People's Networks Improve Their Participation in Education and Training? Occasional Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Semo, Ronnie; Karmel, Tom

2011-01-01

In recent times social capital has received considerable attention because it is seen as having the potential to address many of the problems facing modern society, including the poor educational outcomes of considerable numbers of young people. This paper uses data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) to explore the…

Solid Waste Management in North Carolina: A Curriculum Resource Guide for Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watauga County Board of Education, Boone, NC.

Renewal is the focus of this curriculum designed for students in kindergarten through Grade 8. The purpose of this guide is to educate students and teachers about the problems faced in managing the amount of solid waste generated by society. Each grade level curriculum is organized into activities that support exploration of the nature of solid…

A Restorationist Views the Modernist/Post Modernist Debate. (Presidential Address).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flinders, Neil J.

The nation's schools and society in general face serious problems that are largely rooted in moral and spiritual issues. Modern philosophy has led to a secular culture in which the existence of a divine God has been rejected, and man has become his own God, his own standard of measurement. These issues are addressed from the point of view of a…

From the Dawn of Humanity to the 21st Century: Creativity as an Enduring Survival Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puccio, Gerard J.

2017-01-01

While the scientific investigation into creativity is a recent phenomenon, creative thinking has always been a crucial feature of humanity. The ability to creatively solve problems enabled early humans to survive and laid the foundation for the creative imagination that has resulted in our modern society. While most humans no longer face physical…

Philosophical Studies in Education: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society (December 4-5, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senchuk, Dennis M., Ed.

Conference papers address selected issues and problems being faced by contemporary educators. The presidential address describes how both analytic and phenomenological philosophers of education can cooperate and, for purposes of illustration, shows how this cooperation can contribute to the field of teacher education. In papers delivered at the…

Water management, purification, and conservation in arid climates. Volume 1: Water management

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

Goosen, M.F.A.; Shayya, W.H.

1999-07-01

Arid regions are already feeling the severe restraining effects of potable water shortages. In coming years, humid and sub-humid regions of the world will also have to face many of these same problems. In the future, serious conflicts may arise not because of a lack of oil, but due to water shortages. Are there solutions to these problems? Aside from increasing public awareness about the importance of water, society needs to take a three pronged approach: water needs to be effectively managed, it needs to be economically purified, and it needs to be conserved. Only by doing these three thingsmore » in unison can they hope to alleviate the water problems faced by arid regions of the world. This book presents information valuable to seeking, finding and using current technologies to help solve these problems now. Volume 1 examines water management problems in detail, along with water problems and water resources in arid climates, and includes chapters that cover aspects of water management. Water purification technology is another key issue. The economics of this technology is becoming more critical in arid areas due to increasing urbanization and industrialization.« less

[Introductory concepts of health economics and the social impact of alcohol abuse].

PubMed

Moraes, Edilaine; Campos, Geraldo M; Figlie, Neliana B; Laranjeira, Ronaldo R; Ferraz, Marcos B

2006-12-01

Brazilian society bears high economic costs in view of the problems resulting from the alcohol consumption. There is a lack of economic studies into alcohol misuse or dependence in Brazil due to the limited financial resources, despite the huge health problems the country has been facing. This paper aims to introduce basic concepts of Heath Economics to health care practitioners, such as: Complete and Incomplete Economic Evaluation, Disease Costs, Cost Comparison, Types of Evaluation (cost-minimisation, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefice), Point of View Analysis (from patient, health institution, Ministry of Health, or society), Types of Costs (direct, indirect and intangible), and other ones. In addition, research data on the impact of the alcohol consumption on the Brazilian society is described. We do not intend to exhaust the subjects addressed in this paper, but emphasise the need for more national researches that link the economic evaluation to the alcohol addiction issue in order to seek maximum efficiency by maximising the health care and minimising the scarce health system resources.

Visualization for Hyper-Heuristics. Front-End Graphical User Interface

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

Kroenung, Lauren

Modern society is faced with ever more complex problems, many of which can be formulated as generate-and-test optimization problems. General-purpose optimization algorithms are not well suited for real-world scenarios where many instances of the same problem class need to be repeatedly and efficiently solved because they are not targeted to a particular scenario. Hyper-heuristics automate the design of algorithms to create a custom algorithm for a particular scenario. While such automated design has great advantages, it can often be difficult to understand exactly how a design was derived and why it should be trusted. This project aims to address thesemore » issues of usability by creating an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for hyper-heuristics to support practitioners, as well as scientific visualization of the produced automated designs. My contributions to this project are exhibited in the user-facing portion of the developed system and the detailed scientific visualizations created from back-end data.« less

Self-Reports of Child Maltreatment in the U.S.: A Key Social Indicator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kesner, John E.

2007-01-01

A key social indicator of the well being of a society is the health and welfare of their children. Child maltreatment is a major problem in the U.S. and the world and the reporting of maltreatment has been the subject of much research and debate. However, little is known about self-reports of child maltreatment. Children face many obstacles that…

Balinese women in a changing society.

PubMed

Suryani, Luh Ketut

2004-01-01

Balinese women face the dilemma of maintaining their vital role amid a rapidly changing society. In Bali, the primary female role is one of fostering balance and harmony within families. The Balinese people view women not from the vantage of career success but rather from the vantage of whether they can produce good quality children, and can work as part of a family team. Balinese men and women work together as partners. Indeed, men are not enemies; the genders help and need each other. Values underlying emancipation for women clash with traditional values, leading to frequent misunderstandings. Emancipation advocates neglect those elements necessary for complementing Balinese values. Applying educational and preventative methods, as well as therapeutic innovations to such problems, is helpful at all levels of society.

Manifesto for a healthy and health-creating society.

PubMed

Crisp, Nigel; Stuckler, David; Horton, Richard; Adebowale, Victor; Bailey, Sue; Baker, Maureen; Bell, John; Bird, John; Black, Carol; Campbell, Jane; Davies, Janet; Henry, Heather; Lechler, Robert; Mawson, Andrew; Maxwell, Patrick H; McKee, Martin; Warwick, Cathy

2016-12-10

Brexit and the troubled state of the NHS call for re-thinking the UK's approach to health. The EU referendum vote reveals deep social divisions as well as presenting the country with important decisions and negotiations about the future. At the same time, health problems are growing; the NHS faces severe financial constraints and appears to lurch from crisis to crisis, with leaving the European Union likely to exacerbate many problems including staffing issues across the whole sector. However, new scientific developments and digital technology offer societies everywhere massive and unprecedented opportunities for improving health. It is vital for the country that the NHS is able to adopt these discoveries and see them translated into improved patient care and population health, but also that the UK benefits from its capabilities and strengths in these areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of efficiency frontiers to evaluate the optimal land cover and irrigation practices for economic returns and ecosystem services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovacs, Kent; West, Grant; Xu, Ying

2017-04-01

Efficiency frontiers are a useful tool for governmental agencies that balance the protection of ecosystem services with the economic returns from an agricultural landscape because the tool illustrates that a compromise of objectives generates greater value to society than optimizing a sole objective. Policy makers facing the problem of groundwater overdraft on an agricultural landscape want to know if regulations or irrigation technology adoption will enhance both economic and ecosystem service benefits. Conjunctive water management with on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery system is frequently suggested to alleviate groundwater and surface water quality problems in the Lower Mississippi River Basin of the United States, and this study evaluates the consequence of the adoption of this technology for the balance of ecosystem service and economic objectives. A compromise of objectives that maximizes the value to society provides 76% more value to society without reservoirs and 66% more value to society with reservoirs than the sole objective of economic returns. The reservoirs help an agricultural landscape maximizing economic returns to align more closely with a landscape maximizing the value to society, although there are still significant gains possible from finding a landscape that directly compromises on the objectives.

Online consensus conferences for clinical guidelines development - a survey among participants from the International Guidelines for the Treatment of Actinic Keratosis.

PubMed

Werner, Ricardo N; Jacobs, Anja; Rosumeck, Stefanie; Nast, Alexander

2014-12-01

Guideline development requires considerable time and financial resources. New technical devices such as software for online conferences may help to reduce time and financial efforts of guidelines development. The present survey may serve as an explorative pilot for a future study to determine the technical feasibility, acceptability and possible weaknesses of online consensus conferences for clinical guidelines development. An anonymous online survey was conducted among participants in the online consensus conference of the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) Guidelines for the Treatment of Actinic Keratosis. The majority of participants reported no technical problems with the participation in the online consensus conference; one participant had substantial technical problems accountable to a regional telephone breakdown. The majority of participants would not have preferred a traditional face-to-face conference, and all participants rated online consensus conferences for international guidelines as absolutely acceptable. Rates of acceptance were particularly high among those participants with prior experience with consensus conferences. Certain aspects, particularly the possibilities of debating, were rated as possibly superior in face-to-face conferences by some participants. The data from the online survey indicate that online consensus conferences may be an appropriate alternative to traditional face-to-face consensus conferences, especially within the frame of international guidelines that would require high travel costs and time. Further research is necessary to confirm the data from this explorative pilot study. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

"It's Never Too Late to Learn"--How Does the Polish U3A Change the Quality of Life for Seniors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mackowicz, Jolanta; Wnek-Gozdek, Joanna

2016-01-01

In the face of the ageing of society, the concept of active ageing has become a key problem within European politics. (United Nations, 2002; European Commission, 2006). In recent years, the University of Third Age (U3A) movement has developed very quickly both within Poland and outside our country. In this article, we consider the educational…

River history.

PubMed

Vita-Finzi, Claudio

2012-05-13

During the last half century, advances in geomorphology-abetted by conceptual and technical developments in geophysics, geochemistry, remote sensing, geodesy, computing and ecology-have enhanced the potential value of fluvial history for reconstructing erosional and depositional sequences on the Earth and on Mars and for evaluating climatic and tectonic changes, the impact of fluvial processes on human settlement and health, and the problems faced in managing unstable fluvial systems. This journal is © 2012 The Royal Society

Cultural Lag Facing Education of Girls in Secondary Schools: The Case of Garissa and Ijara Constituencies in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kisaka, Joseph

2015-01-01

The underrepresentation of girls in schools is a serious problem in many parts of the world and a serious one in Africa especially. In the wake of today's occurrences among them women becoming breadwinners because of incidences like divorce, education of girls is being considered equally important in any society in order to make them self-reliant.…

The Feeling of "Face" in Confucian Society: From a Perspective of Psychosocial Equilibrium.

PubMed

Han, Kuei-Hsiang

2016-01-01

Previous research on the feeling of "face" has long described "face" as a complicated phenomenon in Confucian societies. Indeed, the feeling of face is highly context dependent. One may have very different (having or losing) face perception if the same face event occurs in a different context. To better capture the features of how face is felt, effects on possible responses need to be considered. Therefore, this article adopts a perspective of psychosocial equilibrium to elaborate people's feeling of face in Taiwan, a Confucian society. The first section illustrates the concept of psychosocial equilibrium and its psychodynamic effects on people's feeling of face. Then, the second section of this article takes positive social situations (having face events) as backdrop to exhibit how people balance their psychosocial equilibrium with different relationships. Following the positive social situations, the third section of this article then focuses on the negative situations (losing face events) to explain how losing face is felt due to unbalance of psychosocial equilibrium with one's relation in that specific context.

Socio-hydrogeology and low-income countries: taking science to rural society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limaye, Shrikant Daji

2017-11-01

Rural societies in low-income, high-population countries often faces scarcity of water of suitable quality for domestic use and agriculture. Hydrogeologists should therefore orientate their research work towards solving practical problems and impart basic knowledge about the hydrogeology of local watersheds to the village councils and communities so as to ensure their participation in better management of groundwater resources. Such cooperation between the hydrogeologists and villagers is the foundation of socio-hydrogeology, which aims at broader dissemination of information and discussions with hydrogeologists at village meetings regarding watershed management such as recharge augmentation, groundwater quality issues and prudent use of groundwater. Socio-hydrogeology implies improved accessibility of rural society to hydrogeological experts and better communication through the use of more appropriate and understandable language.

The ‘spiteful’ origins of human cooperation

PubMed Central

Marlowe, Frank W.; Berbesque, J. Colette; Barrett, Clark; Bolyanatz, Alexander; Gurven, Michael; Tracer, David

2011-01-01

We analyse generosity, second-party (‘spiteful’) punishment (2PP), and third-party (‘altruistic’) punishment (3PP) in a cross-cultural experimental economics project. We show that smaller societies are less generous in the Dictator Game but no less prone to 2PP in the Ultimatum Game. We might assume people everywhere would be more willing to punish someone who hurt them directly (2PP) than someone who hurt an anonymous third person (3PP). While this is true of small societies, people in large societies are actually more likely to engage in 3PP than 2PP. Strong reciprocity, including generous offers and 3PP, exists mostly in large, complex societies that face numerous challenging collective action problems. We argue that ‘spiteful’ 2PP, motivated by the basic emotion of anger, is more universal than 3PP and sufficient to explain the origins of human cooperation. PMID:21159680

The 'spiteful' origins of human cooperation.

PubMed

Marlowe, Frank W; Berbesque, J Colette; Barrett, Clark; Bolyanatz, Alexander; Gurven, Michael; Tracer, David

2011-07-22

We analyse generosity, second-party ('spiteful') punishment (2PP), and third-party ('altruistic') punishment (3PP) in a cross-cultural experimental economics project. We show that smaller societies are less generous in the Dictator Game but no less prone to 2PP in the Ultimatum Game. We might assume people everywhere would be more willing to punish someone who hurt them directly (2PP) than someone who hurt an anonymous third person (3PP). While this is true of small societies, people in large societies are actually more likely to engage in 3PP than 2PP. Strong reciprocity, including generous offers and 3PP, exists mostly in large, complex societies that face numerous challenging collective action problems. We argue that 'spiteful' 2PP, motivated by the basic emotion of anger, is more universal than 3PP and sufficient to explain the origins of human cooperation.

Social acceptance and quality of life of leprosy patient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eyanoer, P. C.

2018-03-01

Some of the leprosy patients facing problems in many aspects such as social, economic, cultural and national security. Both the debilitating effects and disfigurements of leprosy, the society tends to stigmatize negatively those suffering from leprosy. The impact of negative stigma on society causes depression and problems in workplace cause difficulty in patient’s daily life. Neuropathic pain disturbs the quality of life of leprosy patients which could become so severe and significant. The neuropathic pain will lower their productivity which later caused difficulties in finding a job. This study was an analytical observational study to identify the correlation between neuropathic pain and quality of life in Leprosy Hospital of Scanning in Medan Belawan. The result showed that there is a correlation between neuropathic pain and disruption of quality of life (p=0.017). In conclusion, the milder the neuropathic pain experienced by persons with leprosy, the less the quality of life will be disturbed.

User interaction in smart ambient environment targeted for senior citizen.

PubMed

Pulli, Petri; Hyry, Jaakko; Pouke, Matti; Yamamoto, Goshiro

2012-11-01

Many countries are facing a problem when the age-structure of the society is changing. The numbers of senior citizen are rising rapidly, and caretaking personnel numbers cannot match the problems and needs of these citizens. Using smart, ubiquitous technologies can offer ways in coping with the need of more nursing staff and the rising costs of taking care of senior citizens for the society. Helping senior citizens with a novel, easy to use interface that guides and helps, could improve their quality of living and make them participate more in daily activities. This paper presents a projection-based display system for elderly people with memory impairments and the proposed user interface for the system. The user's process recognition based on a sensor network is also described. Elderly people wearing the system can interact the projected user interface by tapping physical surfaces (such as walls, tables, or doors) using them as a natural, haptic feedback input surface.

[The integration of the migrants from Barcelona].

PubMed

Conversi, D

1988-03-01

This study examines the integration problems faced today by migrants into rapidly-changing post-Franco Catalan society. Despite the long persecution suffered by Catalan culture through the centuries and especially during the 40 years of Franco's rule, immigrants have always shown a positive attitude towards integration. Usually they succeed in becoming fully competent in the Catalan language within 2 or 3 generations. However for large numbers of migrants that nearly overwhelmed the native population, that century-old process has considerably slowed down--but certainly not stopped--in the last 2 decades. The author analyzes both immigrant attitudes towards the host society, in particular towards the language, and the attitudes of native Catalans towards migrants. Catalan identity is seen as elastic and continuously changing in relation to historical events, rather than as a monolithic block. Cultural, linguistic, and structural integration are seen as 2 faces of the same process. This is especially true now that the Catalan language has recovered a recognized place and can be considered even predominant in most intellectual and artistic circles. The author points out that worker solidarity between immigrant and autonomous populations in the face of Francoism as well as recent decentralization measures which give more autonomy to local governments in matters of education, the teaching of the Catalan language, and bilingual television have helped integration. The author proposes that further studies investigate why some urban immigrants have nevertheless not been absorbed into the mainstream of Catalan society.

Tips for a Healthy Long-Life Learned from Space Medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohshima, Hiroshi; Yamada, Shin; Matsuo, Tomoaki; Yamamoto, Masafumi; Mukai, Chiaki

2013-02-01

The field of space medicine is responsible for maintaining astronauts’ health and optimizing their performance. A prolonged stay in space with little gravity results in weakening of the bones and muscles that otherwise support body weight, which is precisely the problem faced by elderly people on Earth. Space medicine provides the means of alleviating such problems. Bone loss, muscle atrophy, and disturbed circadian rhythms are common issues for both astronauts and the elderly alike and can be prevented, if the risks are addressed correctly. To have a healthy long-life, it is important to practice effective health improvement techniques and take preventive measures. The space medicine technologies a for astronauts will provide helpful information to people living in a super aging society. and Japanese medical societies for health promotion. With the aids of the Japanese Society of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, and the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, JAXA has made a leaflet titled for general citizen to show the tips for a healthy long-life learned from space medicine from the viewpoints of their respective expertise.

Marshak Lectureship Talk: Women in Physics in the Baltic States Region: Problems and Solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satkovskiene, Dalia

2008-03-01

In this contribution the gender equality problem in physics will be discussed on the basis of the results obtained implementing the project ``Baltic States Network: Women in Sciences and High Technology'' (BASNET) initiated by Lithuanian women physicists and financed by European Commission. The main goal of BASNET project was creation of the regional Strategy how to deal with women in sciences problem in the Baltic States. It has some stages and the contribution follows them. The first one was in depth sociological study aiming to find out disincentives and barriers women scientists face in their career and work at science and higher education institutions. Analysis of results revealed wide range of problems concerned with science organization, management and financing common for both counterparts. However it also proved the existence of women discrimination in sciences. As main factors influencing women under-representation in Physics was found: the stereotypes existing in the society where physics is assigned to the masculine area of activity; failings of the science management system, where highest positions are distributed not using the institutionalized objective criteria but by voting, where the correctness of majority solutions is anticipated implicitly. In physics where male scientists are the majority (they also usually compose executive boards, committees etc.) results of such a procedures often are unfavorable for women. The same reasons also influence women ``visibility'' in physicist's community and as the consequence possibility to receive needed recourses for their research as well as appropriate presentation of results obtained. The study revealed also the conservatism of scientific community- reluctance to face existing in the scientific society problems and to start solving them. On the basis of the results obtained as well practice of other countries the common strategy of solving women in physics (sciences) in the Baltic States region was formulated. As changing the stereotypes is long lasting process it was decided firstly to concentrate strategy implementation plans on changes in science management policy tackling the problem from the top and allowing receive the most quick results. For this we created the regional Baltic States Network among the corresponding international women working groups, professional organizations (Scientific societies) and corresponding departments of the governmental institutions. BASNET also became a full member of European Platform of Women Scientists (EPWS)-prestige women organization signally influencing the European Community science policy.

Income and Social Rank Influence UK Children's Behavioral Problems: A Longitudinal Analysis.

PubMed

Garratt, Elisabeth A; Chandola, Tarani; Purdam, Kingsley; Wood, Alex M

2017-07-01

Children living in low-income households face elevated risks of behavioral problems, but the impact of absolute and relative income to this risk remains unexplored. Using the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study data, longitudinal associations between Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and absolute household income, distance from the regional median and mean income, and regional income rank were examined in 3- to 12-year-olds (n = 16,532). Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems, while higher income rank was associated with lower behavioral problems only at the highest absolute incomes. Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems among children in working households, indicating compounding effects of income and socioeconomic advantages. Both absolute and relative incomes therefore appear to influence behavioral problems. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The Protective Role of Group Identity: Sectarian Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Emotion Problems

PubMed Central

Merrilees, Christine E.; Taylor, Laura K.; Goeke-Morey, Marcie C.; Shirlow, Peter; Cummings, E. Mark; Cairns, Ed

2013-01-01

The protective role of strength of group identity was examined for youth in a context of protracted political conflict. Participants included 814 adolescents (M age = 13.61, SD = 1.99 at Time 1) participating in a longitudinal study in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, the results show that the effect of exposure to sectarian antisocial behaviors has a stronger effect on youth emotion problems for older adolescents. The results also show that youth with higher strength of group identity reported fewer emotion problems in the face of sectarian antisocial behavior, but that this buffering effect is stronger for Protestants compared to Catholics. Implications are discussed for understanding the role of social identity in post-accord societies. PMID:23682959

Climate change and Norman Daniels' theory of just health: an essay on basic needs.

PubMed

Lacey, Joseph

2012-02-01

Norman Daniels, in applying Rawls' theory of justice to the issue of human health, ideally presupposes that society exists in a state of moderate scarcity. However, faced with problems like climate change, many societies find that their state of moderate scarcity is increasingly under threat. The first part of this essay aims to determine the consequences for Daniels' theory of just health when we incorporate into Rawls' understanding of justice the idea that the condition of moderate scarcity can fail. Most significantly, I argue for a generation-neutral principle of basic needs that is lexically prior to Rawls' familiar principles of justice. The second part of this paper aims to demonstrate how my reformulated version of Daniels' conception of just health can help to justify action on climate change and guide climate policy within liberal-egalitarian societies.

Global Climate Change and Society: Scientific, Policy, and Philosophic Themes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frodeman, R.; Bullock, M. A.

2001-12-01

The summer of 2001 saw the inauguration of the Global Climate Change and Society Program (GCCS), an eight week, NSF-funded experiment in undergraduate pedagogy held at the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Acknowledging from the start that climate change is more than a scientific problem, GCCS began with the simultaneous study of basic atmospheric physics, classical and environmental philosophy, and public policy. In addition to lectures and discussions on these subjects, our twelve undergraduates (majoring in the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities) also participated in internships with scholars and researchers at NCAR, University of Colorado's Center of the American West, and the Colorado School of Mines, on specific issues in atmospheric science, science policy, and ethics and values. This talk will discuss the outcomes of GCCS: specifically, new insights into interdisciplinary pedagogy and the student creation of an extraordinary "deliverable," a group summary assessment of the global climate change debate. The student assessment called for an integrated discussion of both the science of climate change and the human values related to how we inhabit the world. The problems facing society today cannot be addressed through the single-minded adherence to science and technology; instead, society must develop new means of integrating the humanities and science in a meaningful dialogue about our common future.

On the domain-specificity of the visual and non-visual face-selective regions.

PubMed

Axelrod, Vadim

2016-08-01

What happens in our brains when we see a face? The neural mechanisms of face processing - namely, the face-selective regions - have been extensively explored. Research has traditionally focused on visual cortex face-regions; more recently, the role of face-regions outside the visual cortex (i.e., non-visual-cortex face-regions) has been acknowledged as well. The major quest today is to reveal the functional role of each this region in face processing. To make progress in this direction, it is essential to understand the extent to which the face-regions, and particularly the non-visual-cortex face-regions, process only faces (i.e., face-specific, domain-specific processing) or rather are involved in a more domain-general cognitive processing. In the current functional MRI study, we systematically examined the activity of the whole face-network during face-unrelated reading task (i.e., written meaningful sentences with content unrelated to faces/people and non-words). We found that the non-visual-cortex (i.e., right lateral prefrontal cortex and posterior superior temporal sulcus), but not the visual cortex face-regions, responded significantly stronger to sentences than to non-words. In general, some degree of sentence selectivity was found in all non-visual-cortex cortex. Present result highlights the possibility that the processing in the non-visual-cortex face-selective regions might not be exclusively face-specific, but rather more or even fully domain-general. In this paper, we illustrate how the knowledge about domain-general processing in face-regions can help to advance our general understanding of face processing mechanisms. Our results therefore suggest that the problem of face processing should be approached in the broader scope of cognition in general. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Usefulness of video for observing lifestyle impairments in dementia patients.

PubMed

Yokokawa, Kiyoshi

2012-06-01

People with dementia face all sorts of troubles in their daily lives. However, it is difficult to understand fully the extent of these troubles. Even spouses and family members who know their daily routines and habits have difficulty caring for those with dementia because these patients are unable to express themselves as a result of their condition. Given these problems, one must consider the capabilities of institutional caregivers to observe and understand dementia patients, as well as accurately report on their daily condition. To overcome these potential problems, a key solution could be to document patients' activities on video. If mutual trust is established between the patient and caregiver, video documentation could record the hidden daily life of dementia patients and document their daily activities and the confusion that they face. This article discusses the efficacy of using video as a means of understanding early onset dementia patients' feelings and actions by documenting their daily lives and treatment approaches based on these observations. © 2012 The Author. Psychogeriatrics © 2012 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

A Comparison of Genetic Programming Variants for Hyper-Heuristics

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

Harris, Sean

Modern society is faced with ever more complex problems, many of which can be formulated as generate-and-test optimization problems. General-purpose optimization algorithms are not well suited for real-world scenarios where many instances of the same problem class need to be repeatedly and efficiently solved, such as routing vehicles over highways with constantly changing traffic flows, because they are not targeted to a particular scenario. Hyper-heuristics automate the design of algorithms to create a custom algorithm for a particular scenario. Hyper-heuristics typically employ Genetic Programming (GP) and this project has investigated the relationship between the choice of GP and performance inmore » Hyper-heuristics. Results are presented demonstrating the existence of problems for which there is a statistically significant performance differential between the use of different types of GP.« less

The Feeling of “Face” in Confucian Society: From a Perspective of Psychosocial Equilibrium

PubMed Central

Han, Kuei-Hsiang

2016-01-01

Previous research on the feeling of “face” has long described “face” as a complicated phenomenon in Confucian societies. Indeed, the feeling of face is highly context dependent. One may have very different (having or losing) face perception if the same face event occurs in a different context. To better capture the features of how face is felt, effects on possible responses need to be considered. Therefore, this article adopts a perspective of psychosocial equilibrium to elaborate people’s feeling of face in Taiwan, a Confucian society. The first section illustrates the concept of psychosocial equilibrium and its psychodynamic effects on people’s feeling of face. Then, the second section of this article takes positive social situations (having face events) as backdrop to exhibit how people balance their psychosocial equilibrium with different relationships. Following the positive social situations, the third section of this article then focuses on the negative situations (losing face events) to explain how losing face is felt due to unbalance of psychosocial equilibrium with one’s relation in that specific context. PMID:27486411

Modeling of processing technologies in food industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korotkov, V. G.; Sagitov, R. F.; Popov, V. P.; Bachirov, V. D.; Akhmadieva, Z. R.; TSirkaeva, E. A.

2018-03-01

Currently, the society is facing an urgent need to solve the problems of nutrition (products with increased nutrition value) and to develop energy-saving technologies for food products. A mathematical modeling of heat and mass transfer of polymer materials in the extruder is rather successful these days. Mathematical description of movement and heat exchange during extrusion of gluten-protein-starch-containing material similar to pasta dough in its structure, were taken as a framework for the mathematical model presented in this paper.

The Past Does Matter: a Nursing Perspective on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS).

PubMed

Sule, Ejim; Sutton, Ryan M; Jones, Debbie; Moore, Ramel; Igbo, Imaculata; Jones, Lovell A

2017-01-11

Few have reviewed the impact of post traumatic slave syndrome (PTSS) on the issues of inequities, especially as it pertains to mental and physical health. Furthermore, the impact of PTSS on the social determinants of health is an area that has been researched by few investigators. The possibilities that the impact of slavery and/or major stress events in the life of a population can become trans-generational are lost to history. Think about what is taking place in cities around the country and then think about racist socialization (internalized racism) and its impact on our society. Combining these factors with the lack of real medical care and the bias that plagues our medical establishment and society in general, the net result is a society faced with inequities that seem to be unresolvable, simply because we have lost perspective about a major root cause of the problem.

The impact of oil revenues on Arab Gulf development

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

El Azhary, M.S.

1984-01-01

As the price of oil falls the pressures on the Arab Gulf States to speed up the diversification of their economies into non-oil sectors increases. This book examines this problem and other issues connected with the impact of oil revenues on development in the Gulf States. It considers changing oil production policies and developments in other sectors of the economy including agriculture, industry and banking. It explores population problems, moves toward Gulf economic co-ordination and the impact of oil on society, culture and education. The book provides an assessment of how much the region depends on oil for its economicmore » prosperity and its development and it provides some indication of the problems that would face the region should the demand for oil decrease still further.« less

Basic abnormalities in visual processing affect face processing at an early age in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Vlamings, Petra Hendrika Johanna Maria; Jonkman, Lisa Marthe; van Daalen, Emma; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan; Kemner, Chantal

2010-12-15

A detailed visual processing style has been noted in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); this contributes to problems in face processing and has been directly related to abnormal processing of spatial frequencies (SFs). Little is known about the early development of face processing in ASD and the relation with abnormal SF processing. We investigated whether young ASD children show abnormalities in low spatial frequency (LSF, global) and high spatial frequency (HSF, detailed) processing and explored whether these are crucially involved in the early development of face processing. Three- to 4-year-old children with ASD (n = 22) were compared with developmentally delayed children without ASD (n = 17). Spatial frequency processing was studied by recording visual evoked potentials from visual brain areas while children passively viewed gratings (HSF/LSF). In addition, children watched face stimuli with different expressions, filtered to include only HSF or LSF. Enhanced activity in visual brain areas was found in response to HSF versus LSF information in children with ASD, in contrast to control subjects. Furthermore, facial-expression processing was also primarily driven by detail in ASD. Enhanced visual processing of detailed (HSF) information is present early in ASD and occurs for neutral (gratings), as well as for socially relevant stimuli (facial expressions). These data indicate that there is a general abnormality in visual SF processing in early ASD and are in agreement with suggestions that a fast LSF subcortical face processing route might be affected in ASD. This could suggest that abnormal visual processing is causative in the development of social problems in ASD. Copyright © 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health benefits of legal services for criminalized populations: the case of people who use drugs, sex workers and sexual and gender minorities.

PubMed

Csete, Joanne; Cohen, Jonathan

2010-01-01

Social exclusion and legal marginalization are important determinants of health outcomes for people who use illicit drugs, sex workers, and persons who face criminal penalties because of homosexuality or transgenderism. Incarceration may add to the health risks associated with police repression and discrimination for these persons. Access to legal services may be essential to positive health outcomes in these populations. Through concrete examples, this paper explores types of legal problems and legal services linked to health outcomes for drug users, sex workers, and sexual minorities and makes recommendations for donors, legal service providers, and civil society organizations. © 2010 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Non-surgical alternative in the treatment of skeletal Class III problems.

PubMed

Jefferson, Y

1995-01-01

The dental profession is not static, but dynamic. New research findings, along with medical and technological advances, necessitate constant re-examination of treatment philosophies and techniques. What were acceptable treatment techniques in the past may not necessarily be the most effective and best techniques for our patients today. Currently, many practitioners feel that the only treatment for the correction of a skeletal Class III abnormality is via orthognathic surgery in older patients. In some cases it may be the only treatment option. But in most cases today, there are more conservative, non-surgical treatment alternatives in correcting Class III problems in younger aged children. In treating facial-skeletal problems, it must be emphasized that the human face is a biological masterpiece of form and function. Its importance has been documented in arts and sciences since the beginning of modern civilization. It is important enough so that individuals who are blessed with attractive features are afforded greater opportunities in our society. Attractive faces are associated with intelligence, honesty and good work ethics. With the advent of orthognathic surgery, functional appliance, functional regulator, and myofunctional therapy, the dental profession has the capability of leveling out the playing field for many individuals in our society. It does so by being able to correct problems closely associated with the human psyche--the human face. The ability to change facial features brings tremendous prestige to our profession. Along with this prestige comes greater responsibility. Our ability to change facial features entails greater understanding of facial balance and harmony. Ricketts states that the face must conform to stringent proportions known as the "divine proportion" in order for it to be esthetically pleasing. Also, our ability to move facial-skeletal structures entails greater understanding of the biomechanics of the human face. Without this knowledge practitioners can cause iatrogenic problems, such as temporomandibular disorders. Conversely, correcting facial-skeletal abnormalities have been found to alleviate many medical problems, such as chronic headaches, neck-back-shoulder pain, respiratory disorders, auditory disorders, etc. As more and more information is gathered, it is becoming clear that the physical, emotional and psychological health of a human being is intimately related to craniomandibular anatomy. In fact, the jaw and dental structures (with the exception of the tooth enamel) is formed from the neural crest cells along with the endocrine system, while the central nervous system is formed from the neural tube. The entire nervous system, the endocrine system and the dental system are formed from common tissue origin. This can explain why many facial-skeletal corrections are often accompanied by alleviation of many medical and physiological problems. These are exciting times for our profession. However, if we wish to address the needs of our patients well into the next century, we must continue to seek greater and greater knowledge in the area of the craniomandibular anatomy relative to the rest of the human body. It has much to do with facial esthetics, physiologic and psychologic harmony, and TMJ health. This knowledge will enable our profession to have the power to change human lives in a very positive way. As doctors, there can be no greater personal and professional satisfaction than to realize that, through our professional intervention, we are able to offer our patients the possibility of achieving greater happiness and quality of life.

Overcoming barriers to addressing education problems with research design: a panel discussion.

PubMed

Yarris, Lalena M; Gruppen, Larry D; Hamstra, Stanley J; Anders Ericsson, K; Cook, David A

2012-12-01

A plenary panel session at the 2012 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference "Education Research in Emergency Medicine: Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies for Success" discussed barriers educators face in imagining, designing, and implementing studies to address educational challenges. This proceedings article presents a general approach to getting started in education research. Four examples of studies from the medical education literature that illustrate a distinct way to approach specific research questions are discussed. The study designs used are applicable to a variety of education research problems in emergency medicine (EM). Potential applications of studies are discussed, as well as effects and lessons learned. © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

[Ecology and health in Chile: present and future development].

PubMed

Oyarzún, M

1997-09-01

In response to the progressive environmental deterioration, the Ecological Society of America has made a proposal, called "Sustainable Biosphere Initiative", to do research, teaching and decision making processes on biodiversity, global change and the effects of human activities on environment. The goal of appropriate environmental protection and welfare for mankind includes health and quality of life. Presently, Chile faces a number of environmental problems such as pollution, excessive urban growth, loss of agricultural areas, disposal of solid waste and species extinction. The lack of education and information in Chile, on these problems, is worrisome. The role of universities to overcome this deficit should be crucial in the future sustainable development of Chile.

Frustration in a Chauvinist Society: Japanese Women Today.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metraux, Daniel A.

1987-01-01

Discusses the status of women in contemporary Japan. Describes their role as mothers and homemakers, the obstacles they face in maintaining developing careers, and the discrimination they face in a patriarchal society. (Author/ABB)

A history of noma, the "Face of Poverty".

PubMed

Marck, Klaas W

2003-04-15

Noma (necrotizing ulcerative stomatitis, stomatitis gangrenosa, or cancrum oris) is a devastating orofacial gangrene that occurs mainly among children. The disease has a global yearly incidence of 140,000 cases and a mortality rate of approximately 90 percent. Patients who survive noma generally suffer from its sequelae, including serious facial disfigurement, trismus, oral incontinence, and speech problems. The medical history of noma indicates that the disease was already known in classical and medieval civilizations in Europe. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Dutch chirurgeons clearly described noma as a clinical entity and realized that the popular name "water canker" was not sufficient, because this quickly spreading ulceration in the faces of children was different from "cancer." In the eighteenth century, awareness that noma is related to poverty, malnutrition, and preceding diseases such as measles increased in northwestern Europe. In the first half of the nineteenth century, extensive surgical procedures were described for the treatment of the sequelae of noma. At the end of that century, noma gradually disappeared in the Western world because of economic progress, which gave the poorest in society the opportunity to feed their children sufficiently. Only in the twentieth century were effective drugs (sulfonamides and penicillin) against noma developed, as well as adequate surgical treatment for the sequelae of noma. These modes of treatment remain inaccessible for the many present-day victims of noma because of their extreme poverty. The only truly effective approach to the problem of noma throughout the world is prevention, namely, combating the extreme poverty with measures that lead to economic progress. In the meantime, medical doctors in the Western world should not forget their own history and ignore this global health problem; rather, they should face "the face of poverty" with the eyes of mercy and concern suited to their profession.

The fear gasping face as a threat display in a Melanesian society

PubMed Central

Crivelli, Carlos; Jarillo, Sergio; Fernández-Dols, José-Miguel

2016-01-01

Theory and research show that humans attribute both emotions and intentions to others on the basis of facial behavior: A gasping face can be seen as showing “fear” and intent to submit. The assumption that such interpretations are pancultural derives largely from Western societies. Here, we report two studies conducted in an indigenous, small-scale Melanesian society with considerable cultural and visual isolation from the West: the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea. Our multidisciplinary research team spoke the vernacular and had extensive prior fieldwork experience. In study 1, Trobriand adolescents were asked to attribute emotions, social motives, or both to a set of facial displays. Trobrianders showed a mixed and variable attribution pattern, although with much lower agreement than studies of Western samples. Remarkably, the gasping face (traditionally considered a display of fear and submission in the West) was consistently matched to two unpredicted categories: anger and threat. In study 2, adolescents were asked to select the face that was threatening; Trobrianders chose the “fear” gasping face whereas Spaniards chose an “angry” scowling face. Our findings, consistent with functional approaches to animal communication and observations made on threat displays in small-scale societies, challenge the Western assumption that “fear” gasping faces uniformly express fear or signal submission across cultures. PMID:27791137

Student Knowledge and Attitudes toward Older People and Their Impact on Pursuing Aging Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lun, Man Wai Alice

2011-01-01

The international community is facing the pressure of aging societies. In the United States of America, we will shortly be facing the aging of baby boomers, a dramatically large population expected to peak as senior citizens in 2030 at 70 million. Global societies are facing a crisis: lack of adequately trained and emotionally oriented personnel…

Complex Challenges in the Less-Developed World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, P. J.

2016-12-01

The developing world faces special challenges in a changing climate. The immediate impacts of possible increased precipitation, more frequent and severe hazard events and sea-level rise are compounded by lack of resources and, often, rapidly growing populations. We examine the concept that the society that learns to deal with hazards in the current climate will be best placed to deal with possibly more frequent and more intense hazards in the future. We use as an example the conundrum facing Bangladesh where global sea-level rise is exaggerated by delta subsidence of river sediment. Sedimentation is expected to increase with increased river flow. We explore how authorities may deal with these multifaceted threats and how they need to carefully thread a strategy that leads to solutions and not exaggerations of the problem.

NASA'S Water Resources Element Within the Applied Sciences Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toll, David; Doorn, Bradley; Engman, Edwin

2011-01-01

The NASA Earth Systems Division has the primary responsibility for the Applied Science Program and the objective to accelerate the use of NASA science results in applications to help solve problems important to society and the economy. The primary goal of the NASA Applied Science Program is to improve future and current operational systems by infusing them with scientific knowledge of the Earth system gained through space-based observation, assimilation of new observations, and development and deployment of enabling technologies, systems, and capabilities. This paper discusses major problems facing water resources managers, including having timely and accurate data to drive their decision support tools. It then describes how NASA's science and space based satellites may be used to overcome this problem. Opportunities for the water resources community to participate in NASA's Water Resources Applications Program are described.

A commentary on decision-making and organisational legitimacy in the Risk Society.

PubMed

Benn, Suzanne; Brown, Paul; North-Samardzic, Andrea

2009-04-01

Key concepts of Risk Society as elaborated by Ulrich Beck and others (Beck, U., 1992 (trans. Mark Ritter). The Risk Society. Sage Publications, London. Beck, U., 1995, Ecological Politics in the Age of Risk. Polity Press, Cambridge. Beck, U., 1999, World Risk Society. Polity Press, Cambridge. Giddens, A., 1994, Beyond Left and Right. Polity Press, Oxford. Beck, U., Giddens, A. and Lash, S., 1994, Reflexive Modernisation: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order. Stanford University Press, Stanford. Beck, U., Bonss, W. and Lau, C., 2003, Theory, Culture & Society 2003, Sage, London, 20(2), pp. 1-33.) are illuminated though a case study of managed environmental risk, namely the hexachlorobenzene (HCB) controversy at Botany, a southeast suburb of Sydney. We observe the way multiple stakeholder decision-making plays out a number of Risk Society themes, including the emergence of 'unbounded risk' and of highly 'individualised' and 'reflexive' risk communities. Across several decades, the events of the HCB story support Risk Society predictions of legitimacy problems faced by corporations as they harness technoscientific support for innovation in their products and industrial processes without due recognition of social and environmental risk. Tensions involving identity, trust and access to expert knowledge advance our understanding of democratic 'sub-political' decision-making and ways of distributing environmental risk.

How Do I Get My Students to Work Together? Getting Cooperative Learning Started

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamby Towns, Marcy

1998-01-01

The American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training presented in their Spring 1996 newsletter the results of an industrial roundtable which was convened to address what industry looks for in new hires. Roundtable participants voiced broad agreement that in addition to technical skills, one of the key experiences industry seeks in new hires is team problem solving. Cooperative learning activities improve team problem solving skills and promote the development of interpersonal skills and communication skills through face-to-face interactions. Cooperative learning is not simply putting students into groups and telling them to work together. Cooperative learning requires preparation on the part of the students and the instructor. This article discusses how to implement cooperative learning through a series of activities which allow the students to get to know each other. Students who build supportive committed relationships with each other become more committed to the course, more committed to each other, and more willing to take on tough tasks because they expect to succeed. In essence, they form a coherent learning community.

Knowledge Production and Transmission in a Changing Society: Challenges Facing Law Lecturers in a Distance Education Environment in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Susan

2006-01-01

In this article I highlight the challenges facing a law lecturer in a multicultural society in transformation where the student is being prepared to serve society in different occupational fields as a professional person. I indicate that the law itself cannot effect change. For this we need properly trained lawyers. For an effective transformation…

Risk Analysis for Unintentional Slide Deployment During Airline Operations.

PubMed

Ayra, Eduardo S; Insua, David Ríos; Castellanos, María Eugenia; Larbi, Lydia

2015-09-01

We present a risk analysis undertaken to mitigate problems in relation to the unintended deployment of slides under normal operations within a commercial airline. This type of incident entails relevant costs for the airline industry. After assessing the likelihood and severity of its consequences, we conclude that such risks need to be managed. We then evaluate the effectiveness of various countermeasures, describing and justifying the chosen ones. We also discuss several issues faced when implementing and communicating the proposed measures, thus fully illustrating the risk analysis process. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Organization, appointment planning, and surgery design in the treatment of the older patient.

PubMed

Hoad-Reddick, G

1995-10-01

As the proportion of the elderly in society increases and as more people retain teeth into old age, the type of dental treatment needed for this group will increase in both complexity and quantity. This article describes problems faced by the elderly such as mobility, fear, and medical conditions that may affect dental treatment either by increasing anxiety levels or by affecting duration or timing of appointments. The effects of visual impairment, hearing loss, and common medical conditions on elderly people are considered.

Women doctors--a review.

PubMed Central

Bewley, B R

1995-01-01

There have been very marked changes in the number of women doctors who have come into the profession in this country in the past 40 years. They have faced problems because of society's preconceptions of their role as women. I previously reviewed their position in 1975 and 1986, and now take a look at areas where progress has been made, and also note whether there is still inequality and where women have still not achieved their full potential. I shall make some suggestions for improvement. Images p399P-a PMID:7562809

Does quantity generate quality? Testing the fundamental principle of brainstorming.

PubMed

Muñoz Adánez, Alfredo

2005-11-01

The purpose of this work is to test the chief principle of brainstorming, formulated as "quantity generates quality." The study is included within a broad program whose goal is to detect the strong and weak points of creative techniques. In a sample of 69 groups, containing between 3 and 8 members, the concurrence of two commonly accepted criteria was established as a quality rule: originality and utility or value. The results fully support the quantity-quality relation (r = .893): the more ideas produced to solve a problem, the better quality of the ideas. The importance of this finding, which supports Osborn's theory, is discussed, and the use of brainstorming is recommended to solve the many open problems faced by our society.

Dual-color 3D superresolution microscopy by combined spectral-demixing and biplane imaging.

PubMed

Winterflood, Christian M; Platonova, Evgenia; Albrecht, David; Ewers, Helge

2015-07-07

Multicolor three-dimensional (3D) superresolution techniques allow important insight into the relative organization of cellular structures. While a number of innovative solutions have emerged, multicolor 3D techniques still face significant technical challenges. In this Letter we provide a straightforward approach to single-molecule localization microscopy imaging in three dimensions and two colors. We combine biplane imaging and spectral-demixing, which eliminates a number of problems, including color cross-talk, chromatic aberration effects, and problems with color registration. We present 3D dual-color images of nanoscopic structures in hippocampal neurons with a 3D compound resolution routinely achieved only in a single color. Copyright © 2015 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tele-monitoring of ventilator-dependent patients: a European Respiratory Society Statement.

PubMed

Ambrosino, Nicolino; Vitacca, Michele; Dreher, Michael; Isetta, Valentina; Montserrat, Josep M; Tonia, Thomy; Turchetti, Giuseppe; Winck, Joao Carlos; Burgos, Felip; Kampelmacher, Michael; Vagheggini, Guido

2016-09-01

The estimated prevalence of ventilator-dependent individuals in Europe is 6.6 per 100 000 people. The increasing number and costs of these complex patients make present health organisations largely insufficient to face their needs. As a consequence, their burden lays mostly over families. The need to reduce healthcare costs and to increase safety has prompted the development of tele-monitoring for home ventilatory assistance.A European Respiratory Society Task Force produced a literature research based statement on commonly accepted clinical criteria for indications, follow-up, equipment, facilities, legal and economic issues of tele-monitoring of these patients.Many remote health monitoring systems are available, ensuring safety, feasibility, effectiveness, sustainability and flexibility to face different patients' needs. The legal problems associated with tele-monitoring are still controversial. National and European Union (EU) governments should develop guidelines and ethical, legal, regulatory, technical, administrative standards for remote medicine. The economic advantages, if any, of this new approach must be compared to a "gold standard" of home care that is very variable among different European countries and within each European country.Much more research is needed before considering tele-monitoring a real improvement in the management of these patients. Copyright ©ERS 2016.

Effects of internal and external environment on health and well-being: from cell to society.

PubMed

Tomljenović, Andrea

2014-03-01

Stem cell fate in cell culture depends on the composition of the culturing media. Every single cell in an organism is influenced by its microenvironment and surrounding cells. Biology, psychology, emotions, spirit, energy, lifestyle, culture, economic and political influences, social interactions in family, work, living area and the possibilities to expresses oneself and live full life with a sense of well-being have influence on people appearances. Disease is as much social as biological. It is a reaction of an organism to unbalancing changes in the internal environment caused by the changes in the external environment and/or by the structural and functional failures or unfortunate legacies. Health gradient in the society depends on the every day circumstances in which people live and work. The health of the population is an insight into the society. The problem facing medicine in the complex society of today cannot be resolved without the aid of social sciences, as cultural, social, ecological and mental processes affect physiological responses and health outcomes. Anthropology could be a bridge between biomedicine and social sciences and influence strategies in public health to prevent rather than cure and in education for fulfillment in life and improvement of society.

Experiencing leisure in later life: a study of retirees and activity in Singapore.

PubMed

Thang, Leng Leng

2005-12-01

In a society faced with rapid aging and extended life expectancy, older persons in Singapore are just beginning to see retirement as a new era in their lives that can be quite different from the later life experiences of their own parents. Presenting an ethnographic case study of one of the first retiree activity centers in Singapore, this article will examine (a) how older persons cope with retirement, social, and cultural norms, and (b) the strategies older adults adopt in order to stay relevant in a fast-paced society. The ethnographic study shows that extrafamilial social support and opportunities for new experiences in learning and leisure contribute significantly to positive and active living in old age. Although the discussion of aging in Asia usually focuses on the problems of health, finances, and caregiving, the present study suggests the need for policy makers to pay equal attention to issues such as activity participation in old age. Participation in leisure activities may act as a preventive measure to delay the onset of aging-related problems, while at the same time enhancing life satisfaction among seniors.

What ails the practice of medicine: The Atlas has shrugged

PubMed Central

Mishra, Sundeep

2015-01-01

Health-care providers are currently facing a huge challenge. At one end they are expending a huge amount of time and energies on health-care delivery including time spent on upgradation of their knowledge and skills (to remain abreast with the field and be able to provide state-of-art patient care), sometimes even at the expense of themselves and their families. On the other hand they are not receiving adequate re-imbursement for their efforts. To compound the problem several “traders” have entered the profession who are well adept in the materialistic approach abandoning the ethics (which currently happens to be the flavor of society in general), giving a bad name to the whole profession and causing severe grief, embarrassment and even dis-illusion to an average physician. The solution to the problem may lie in weeding out these “black sheep” as also realization by the society that the whole profession should not be wrongly labeled, rather a hard toiling and a morally driven practioner should be given his/her due worth PMID:25820040

Facing the Knowledge Society: Mexico's Public Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varela-Petito, Gonzalo

2010-01-01

Public higher education in Mexico faces major challenges vis-a-vis its position within the modern knowledge society, sparking concern among educational authorities. In the second half of the 20th century Mexican universities ceased to be selective, elitist schools, becoming, instead, massive institutions that reflect social and intellectual…

NASA's Applied Sciences for Water Resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doorn, Bradley; Toll, David; Engman, Ted

2011-01-01

The Earth Systems Division within NASA has the primary responsibility for the Earth Science Applied Science Program and the objective to accelerate the use of NASA science results in applications to help solve problems important to society and the economy. The primary goal of the Earth Science Applied Science Program is to improve future and current operational systems by infusing them with scientific knowledge of the Earth system gained through space-based observation, assimilation of new observations, and development and deployment of enabling technologies, systems, and capabilities. This paper discusses one of the major problems facing water resources managers, that of having timely and accurate data to drive their decision support tools. It then describes how NASA?s science and space based satellites may be used to overcome this problem. Opportunities for the water resources community to participate in NASA?s Water Resources Applications Program are described.

Women and the social construction of gender in African development.

PubMed

Kalu, A C

1996-01-01

Because a footnote of Marxism teaches that capitalism must first destroy primitive cultures that lack a dynamic social change mechanism and then rejuvenate them as modern industrialized states, the economic and cultural bases of social relationships in developing countries have been deemed irrelevant. In a similar way, Western feminist paradigms fail to acknowledge epistemological differences from those of African women. This article explores these contradictions and analyzes social change mechanisms within the Igbo culture in Africa that were stunted by colonialism. The first topic considered is the relationship of African literature (using Toni Morrison's "Beloved" as a point of reference) with sustainable African development and African women. The remainder of the article is devoted to an examination of the role of women in light of precolonial and colonial literary traditions. It is noted that continued use of Western feudal and capitalist terms for self-identification alienates Africans from Africa's problems. Traditional African thought assigned women the power to feed the family and to serve as protectors of children and society, and ancestral wisdom directed how societies responded to threats, took charge of their world, and resolved conflict. Problems faced by contemporary African researchers are shown to center on the dilemma faced by those who wish to design a program that analyzes the content of African development and provides contemporary solutions without completely deriving the program completely from contemporary thought. It is, thus, concluded that redefinition of the African development agenda must involve recognition of the essential role of African women as a change agent and a rearticulation of the male role within traditional thought.

Isolation of medical students: communication barrier and its effect on career.

PubMed

Gul, Mahwish; Rasool, Ahsan; Khalid, Laiba Binte; Rasool, Maleeha; Khan, Farmanullah; Ayub, Muhammad; Marwat, Salim

2012-01-01

Communication barriers affect student-student interaction and student-patient interaction. This study is aimed at exploring the social, cultural and academic spheres where medical students feel getting isolated. Questionnaire based cross-sectional survey was undertaken at Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad in the month of July, 2013. Cluster sampling technique was employed. Linguistic problems in the college greatly affected medical students. Female medical student are comparatively more affected. These problems were less common in 1st year and most common in 3rd year where clinical classes are started. There are distinct gender based problems in communicating among male and female student with as many as 37.2% reported feeling difficulty in communicating with students of opposite gender. However this difficulty in communication gradually faded on proceeding from 1st year towards final year. About frank interaction with opposite gender, 65.9% students felt that society had negative impact upon it. While communicating with patients of opposite gender, almost a quarter of students (27.3%) reported facing difficulties, 56.9% students reported to have abject apathy towards the colleagues of opposite gender. Linguistic issues, gender discrimination, negative impact of society and lack of concern for fellow colleagues is affecting student-student interaction and student-patient interaction. There is need to create student friendly environment.

Specific problems in visual cognition of dyslexic readers: Face discrimination deficits predict dyslexia over and above discrimination of scrambled faces and novel objects.

PubMed

Sigurdardottir, Heida Maria; Fridriksdottir, Liv Elisabet; Gudjonsdottir, Sigridur; Kristjánsson, Árni

2018-06-01

Evidence of interdependencies of face and word processing mechanisms suggest possible links between reading problems and abnormal face processing. In two experiments we assessed such high-level visual deficits in people with a history of reading problems. Experiment 1 showed that people who were worse at face matching had greater reading problems. In experiment 2, matched dyslexic and typical readers were tested, and difficulties with face matching were consistently found to predict dyslexia over and above both novel-object matching as well as matching noise patterns that shared low-level visual properties with faces. Furthermore, ADHD measures could not account for face matching problems. We speculate that reading difficulties in dyslexia are partially caused by specific deficits in high-level visual processing, in particular for visual object categories such as faces and words with which people have extensive experience. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The brain and the law.

PubMed Central

Chorvat, Terrence; McCabe, Kevin

2004-01-01

Much has been written about how law as an institution has developed to solve many problems that human societies face. Inherent in all of these explanations are models of how humans make decisions. This article discusses what current neuroscience research tells us about the mechanisms of human decision making of particular relevance to law. This research indicates that humans are both more capable of solving many problems than standard economic models predict, but also limited in ways those models ignore. This article discusses how law is both shaped by our cognitive processes and also shapes them. The article considers some of the implications of this research for improving our understanding of how our current legal regimes operate and how the law can be structured to take advantage of our neural mechanisms to improve social welfare. PMID:15590613

Teaching and Practicing Transformational Politics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abalos, David T.

This conference paper asserts that there are four faces to the stories of people's lives: (1) a personal face; (2) a political face; (3) a historical face; and (4) a sacred face. The study explains how each of these faces interacts in society and is used to analyze and to teach multicultural literary works as archetypal stories from the…

Challenges Facing Global Health Networks: The NCD Alliance Experience Comment on "Four Challenges that Global Health Networks Face".

PubMed

Dain, Katie

2017-08-07

Successful prevention and control of the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) cannot be achieved by the health sector alone: a wide range of organisations from multiple sectors and across government must also be involved. This requires a new, inclusive approach to advocacy and to coordinating, convening and catalysing action across civil society, best achieved by a broad-based network. This comment maps the experience of the NCD Alliance (NCDA) on to Shiffman's challenges for global health networks - framing (problem definition and positioning), coalition-building and governance - and highlights some further areas overlooked in his analysis. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Introduction: Immunology and assisted reproductive technology in the 21st century.

PubMed

Garcia-Velasco, Juan A

2017-06-01

In the past few years we have witnessed reproductive immunology taking a leading role after repeated implantation failure. We still face the problem of even euploid embryos that either fail to implant or are miscarried. These focused articles present the attending clinician with the most recent evidence to understand how immunology contributes to human reproduction, what can be done at the clinical level, and what is still an area for research and should not be offered to patients outside of a clinical research scenario. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtue ethics - an old answer to a new dilemma? Part 1. Problems with contemporary medical ethics.

PubMed

Misselbrook, David

2015-02-01

The commonest practical model used in contemporary medical ethics is Principlism. Yet, while Principlism is a widely accepted consensus statement for ethics, the moral theory that underpins it faces serious challenges in its attempt to provide a coherent and accepted system of moral analysis. This inevitably challenges the stability of such a consensus statement and makes it vulnerable to attack by competitors such as preference consequentialism. This two-part paper proposes an inclusive version of virtue theory as a more grounded system of moral analysis. © The Royal Society of Medicine.

Challenges Facing Global Health Networks: The NCD Alliance Experience

PubMed Central

Dain, Katie

2018-01-01

Successful prevention and control of the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) cannot be achieved by the health sector alone: a wide range of organisations from multiple sectors and across government must also be involved. This requires a new, inclusive approach to advocacy and to coordinating, convening and catalysing action across civil society, best achieved by a broad-based network. This comment maps the experience of the NCD Alliance (NCDA) on to Shiffman’s challenges for global health networks – framing (problem definition and positioning), coalition-building and governance – and highlights some further areas overlooked in his analysis. PMID:29524960

Tanzania post-colonial educational system and perspectives on secondary science education, pedagogy, and curriculum: A qualitative study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wandela, Eugenia L.

The development of technology and innovation in any country depends on a strong investment in science education from the lower to the upper levels of education. In most of the Sub-Saharan African nations, science education curriculum and teaching still faces many issues and problems that are inhibiting the growth of technology and innovation in these nations. In order to address these issues, an interpretive qualitative study that aims to examine how Tanzanian secondary science educators perceive secondary science education was conducted in the summer of 2013. The purpose of this study is to investigate problems and educational issues that might be limiting the growth of science, technology, and innovation in the Tanzanian society. Additionally, this research investigates the impacts of the colonial legacy that relates to language, politics, and economics, as they affect science education in Tanzania secondary schools. This study focuses on the governmental four-year ordinary level secondary science education; it took place in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The researcher interviewed nine secondary science educators: three secondary science teachers and six secondary science education administrators. The researcher also conducted classroom observations. The data results from both interview and classroom observations were contextualized with data from existing documentation on Tanzanian secondary science education and data from previous research. The emergent themes from the study indicate that most of the problems and issues that are currently facing secondary science education are historically connected to the impact of the colonization period in 19th and 20th centuries. This study suggests that in order to improve science education in Tanzanian society, the people, especially the elites, need to break away from an "Orientalist" mindset and start integrating the Tanzanian culture and science into the still existing Eurocentric science curriculum. In addition, the Tanzanian government needs to invest in industries and economic initiatives that will support strong science education at all levels of education, as well as the graduates produced through this system.

Social and Cultural Factors Associated with Perinatal Grief in Chhattisgarh, India

PubMed Central

Roberts, Lisa R.; Montgomery, Susanne; Lee, Jerry W.; Anderson, Barbara A.

2017-01-01

Stillbirth is a globally significant public health problem with many medical causes. There are also indirect causal pathways including social and cultural factors which are particularly salient in India's traditional society. The purpose of this study was to explore women's perceptions of stillbirth and to determine how issues of gender and power, social support, coping efforts, and religious beliefs influence perinatal grief outcomes among poor women in rural Chhattisgarh, India. Structured interviews were done face-to-face in 21 randomly selected villages among women of reproductive age (N = 355) who had experienced stillbirth (n = 178) and compared to those who had not (n = 177), in the Christian Hospital, Mungeli catchment area. Perinatal grief was significantly higher among women with a history of stillbirth. Greater perinatal grief was associated with lack of support, maternal agreement with social norms, and younger maternal age. These predictors must be understood in light of an additional finding—distorted sex ratios, which reflect gender discrimination in the context of Indian society. The findings of this study will allow the development of a culturally appropriate health education program which should be designed to increase social support and address social norms, thereby reducing psychological distress to prevent complicated perinatal grief. Perinatal grief is a significant social burden which impacts the health women. PMID:21956647

Social and cultural factors associated with perinatal grief in Chhattisgarh, India.

PubMed

Roberts, Lisa R; Montgomery, Susanne; Lee, Jerry W; Anderson, Barbara A

2012-06-01

Stillbirth is a globally significant public health problem with many medical causes. There are also indirect causal pathways including social and cultural factors which are particularly salient in India's traditional society. The purpose of this study was to explore women's perceptions of stillbirth and to determine how issues of gender and power, social support, coping efforts, and religious beliefs influence perinatal grief outcomes among poor women in rural Chhattisgarh, India. Structured interviews were done face-to-face in 21 randomly selected villages among women of reproductive age (N=355) who had experienced stillbirth (n=178) and compared to those who had not (n=177), in the Christian Hospital, Mungeli catchment area. Perinatal grief was significantly higher among women with a history of stillbirth. Greater perinatal grief was associated with lack of support, maternal agreement with social norms, and younger maternal age. These predictors must be understood in light of an additional finding-distorted sex ratios, which reflect gender discrimination in the context of Indian society. The findings of this study will allow the development of a culturally appropriate health education program which should be designed to increase social support and address social norms, thereby reducing psychological distress to prevent complicated perinatal grief. Perinatal grief is a significant social burden which impacts the health women.

Practice of laryngectomy rehabilitation interventions: a perspective from Hong Kong.

PubMed

Chan, Jimmy Y W

2013-06-01

To review the current practice of rehabilitation for laryngectomees in Hong Kong. Factors affecting the quality of life of laryngectomees include their performance in speech restoration, the presence of complications of treatment, as well as the availability of psycho-social support. In Hong Kong, more than 90% of laryngectomees have speech restoration by various means, the commonest of which being tracheo-oesophageal puncture and electrolaryngeal speech. However, they face special problems in communication using the current alaryngeal speech modalities, as it is difficult to produce variation in tones, which is important to express different meanings in Cantonese. The responsibility of surgeons to follow-up patients after surgery and the practice of management of common complications after laryngectomy are also discussed. The New Voice Club of Hong Kong promotes self-help and mutual help between laryngectomees, with the aim of helping new members to regain normal speech and to re-integrate into society. Quality-of-life study in Hong Kong shows that although the mean global health score is satisfactory, the social functioning domain is most severely affected after surgery. Cantonese-speaking laryngectomees in Hong Kong are facing unique challenges in speech restoration and re-integration into society after surgery. Surgeons should take the leading role in the multidisciplinary management of these patients.

Ecological Growth Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bluszcz, Anna

2017-03-01

The trends of the society for the continuous growth, combined with the demographic changes, today have led to the important ecological problems on a global scale, which include, among others: the increased use of non-renewable natural resources, an increase of the greenhouse gas emissions, contamination of soil, water, air and the progressive degradation of ecosystems. In the face of such serious threats the global initiatives of all countries are important to limit the results of the excessive consumption. The aim of the article is to present the methods of measurement of the consumption level of natural resources by the societies and the examination of relationships between the level of development of the societies and the use of resources. The popular measure - the ecological footprint - was used as a measurement method for the consumption of the today's generations in relation to the regenerative possibilities of the natural environment. On the other hand, as the assessment method for the level of development of societies - the Human Development Index (HDI), including three basic areas: the life expectancy, GDP level per capita and education was used. The results of the research indicate that the current trend of the unlimited consumption of the highly developed countries takes place at the expense of the future generations.

Least bad solutions to the 'drugs problem'.

PubMed

Mugford, S

1991-01-01

This paper examines the current difficulties being faced in Australia by policy-makers attempting to regulate the non-medical use of illegal drugs, and it is suggested that the difficulties centre upon two aspects. First, existing prohibitions are unsuccessful, with use levels rising and, in some arenas (e.g. cocaine use in the USA), quite out of control. On the other hand, a move towards decriminalization or legalization is difficult because past propaganda has been so vehement that a change now apparently risks sending the wrong messages to young people. This dilemma means that there is no solution, including inertia, which is risk-free, nor is there one free of difficulties. It is thus relevant to think in terms of 'least bad' rather than 'best' when formulating a system to face these problems. The exploration of what this least bad solution might be begins with the examination of the prominent myths (such as 'the drug-free society', 'the evil pusher', 'the user as victim' and 'the young person as cultural dope') that hinder our reasoning. Secondly, by suggesting that, in a climate of increasing crime related to drugs, inability of prohibitions to control that use and escalating health risks attendant on use (including the AIDS problem), the central policy thrust must be harm reduction and damage minimization rather than illusory goals such as widespread abstinence. The paper concludes with a discussion of some relevant evidence on alternative options.

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): is the "prevention paradox" applicable to alcohol problems across Hispanic national groups?

PubMed

Caetano, Raul; Mills, Britain A

2011-07-01

The "prevention paradox," a notion that most alcohol-related problems are generated by nonheavy drinkers, has significant relevance to public health policy and prevention efforts. The extent of the paradox has driven debate over the type of balance that should be struck between alcohol policies targeting a select group of high-risk drinkers versus more global approaches that target the population at-large. This paper examines the notion that most alcohol problems among 4 Hispanic national groups in the United States are attributable to moderate drinkers. A general population survey employing a multistage cluster sample design, with face-to-face interviews in respondents' homes was conducted in 5 metropolitan areas of the United States. Study participants included a total of 2,773 current drinkers 18 years and older. Alcohol consumed in the past year (bottom 90% vs. top 10%), binge drinking (binge vs. no binge), and a 4-way grouping defined by volume and binge criteria were used. Alcohol-related harms included 14 social and dependence problems. Drinkers at the bottom 90% of the distribution are responsible for 56 to 73% of all social problems, and for 55 to 73% of all dependence-related problems reported, depending on Hispanic national group. Binge drinkers are responsible for the majority of the social problems (53 to 75%) and dependence-related problems (59 to 73%), also depending on Hispanic national group. Binge drinkers at the bottom 90% of the distribution are responsible for a larger proportion of all social and dependence-related problems reported than those at the top 10% of the volume distribution. Cuban Americans are an exception. The prevention paradox holds when using volume-based risk groupings and disappears when using a binge-drinking risk grouping. Binge drinkers who drink moderately on an average account for more harms than those who drink heavily across all groups, with exception of Cuban Americans. Copyright © 2011 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Technology Confidence, Competence and Problem Solving Strategies: Differences within Online and Face-to-Face Formats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Sharon L.; Palmer, Louann Bierlein

2011-01-01

This study identified the problem solving strategies used by students within a university course designed to teach pre-service teachers educational technology, and whether those strategies were influenced by the format of the course (i.e., face-to-face computer lab vs. online). It also examined to what extent the type of problem solving strategies…

Behavioral/Emotional Problems of Preschoolers: Caregiver/Teacher Reports From 15 Societies.

PubMed

Rescorla, Leslie A; Achenbach, Thomas M; Ivanova, Masha Y; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Denner, Silvia; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Döpfner, Manfred; Frigerio, Alessandra; Gonçalves, Miguel; Guđmundsson, Halldór; Jusiene, Roma; Kristensen, Solvejg; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W L; Liu, Jianghong; Löbel, Sofia P; Machado, Bárbara César; Markovic, Jasminka; Mas, Paola A; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Montirosso, Rosario; Plück, Julia; Pronaj, Adelina Ahmeti; Rodriguez, Jorge T; Rojas, Pamela O; Schmeck, Klaus; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R; van der Ende, Jan; Verhulst, Frank C

2012-01-01

This study tested societal effects on caregiver/teacher ratings of behavioral/emotional problems for 10,521 preschoolers from 15 societies. Many societies had problem scale scores within a relatively narrow range, despite differences in language, culture, and other characteristics. The small age and gender effects were quite similar across societies. The rank orders of mean item ratings were similar across diverse societies. For 7,380 children from 13 societies, ratings were also obtained from a parent. In all 13 societies, mean Total Problems scores derived from parent ratings were significantly higher than mean Total Problems scores derived from caregiver/teacher ratings, although the size of the difference varied somewhat across societies. Mean cross-informant agreement for problem scale scores varied across societies. Societies were very similar with respect to which problem items, on average, received high versus low ratings from parents and caregivers/teachers. Within every society, cross-informant agreement for item ratings varied widely across children. In most respects, results were quite similar across 15 very diverse societies.

Behavioral/Emotional Problems of Preschoolers: Caregiver/Teacher Reports From 15 Societies

PubMed Central

Rescorla, Leslie A.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Denner, Silvia; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Döpfner, Manfred; Frigerio, Alessandra; Gonçalves, Miguel; Guđmundsson, Halldór; Jusiene, Roma; Kristensen, Solvejg; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W. L.; Liu, Jianghong; Löbel, Sofia P.; Machado, Bárbara César; Markovic, Jasminka; Mas, Paola A.; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Montirosso, Rosario; Plück, Julia; Pronaj, Adelina Ahmeti; Rodriguez, Jorge T.; Rojas, Pamela O.; Schmeck, Klaus; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R.; van der Ende, Jan; Verhulst, Frank C.

2017-01-01

This study tested societal effects on caregiver/teacher ratings of behavioral/emotional problems for 10,521 preschoolers from 15 societies. Many societies had problem scale scores within a relatively narrow range, despite differences in language, culture, and other characteristics. The small age and gender effects were quite similar across societies. The rank orders of mean item ratings were similar across diverse societies. For 7,380 children from 13 societies, ratings were also obtained from a parent. In all 13 societies, mean Total Problems scores derived from parent ratings were significantly higher than mean Total Problems scores derived from caregiver/teacher ratings, although the size of the difference varied somewhat across societies. Mean cross-informant agreement for problem scale scores varied across societies. Societies were very similar with respect to which problem items, on average, received high versus low ratings from parents and caregivers/teachers. Within every society, cross-informant agreement for item ratings varied widely across children. In most respects, results were quite similar across 15 very diverse societies. PMID:29416292

Doctors in the decent society: torture, ill-treatment and civic duty.

PubMed

Gross, Michael L

2004-04-01

How should physicians act when faced with corporal punishment, such as amputation, or torture? In most cases, the answer is clear: international law, UN resolutions and universal codes of medical ethics absolutely forbid physicians from countenancing torture and corporal punishment in any form. An acute problem arises, however, in decent societies, but not necessarily liberal states, that are, nonetheless, welcome in the world community. The decent society is often governed, in whole or in part, by religious laws, and while these states abridge various human rights they are peace loving, generally tolerant, and offer their citizens wide avenues for political participation. Under these circumstances the prohibition against corporal punishment and torture weakens, often compelling physicians to participate. This is true in two cases. In Rawls' hypothetical nation of Kazanistan, Islamic law is the order of the day, and amputations and corporal punishment play an integral part in the execution of traditional Islamic justice. In Israel, torture is sometimes used to elicit the information needed to thwart impending terror attacks. In each case, a physician's participation is essential. In light of the near universal condemnation that accompanies torture and corporal punishment, physicians can only appeal to norms anchored in collective well-being and concern for life that override respect for human dignity in these societies. Western societies have consistently rejected this reasoning, but it is part and parcel of life in the decent society.

Culturally induced range infilling of eastern redcedar: a problem in ecology, an ecological problem, or both?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Streit Krug, Aubrey; Uden, Daniel R.; Allen, Craig R.; Twidwell, Dirac

2017-01-01

The philosopher John Passmore distinguished between (1) “problems in ecology,” or what we might call problems in scientific understanding of ecological change, and (2) “ecological problems,” or what we might call problems faced by societies due to ecological change. The spread of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and conversion of the central and southern Great Plains of North America to juniper woodland might be categorized as a problem in ecology, an ecological problem, or both. Here, we integrate and apply two interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving—social-ecological systems thinking and ecocriticism—to understand the role of human culture in recognizing, driving, and responding to cedar’s changing geographic distribution. We interpret the spread of cedar as a process of culturally induced range infilling due to the ongoing social-ecological impacts of colonization, analyze poetic literary texts to clarify the concepts that have so far informed different cultural values related to cedar, and explore the usefulness of diverse interdisciplinary collaborations and knowledge for addressing social-ecological challenges like cedar spread in the midst of rapidly unfolding global change. Our examination suggests that it is not only possible, but preferable, to address cedar spread as both a scientific and a social problem. Great Plains landscapes are teetering between grassland and woodland, and contemporary human societies both influence and choose how to cope with transitions between these ecological states. We echo previous studies in suggesting that human cultural values about stability and disturbance, especially cultural concepts of fire, will be primary driving factors in determining future trajectories of change on the Great Plains. Although invasion-based descriptors of cedar spread may be useful in ecological research and management, language based on the value of restraint could provide a common vocabulary for effective cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary communication about the relationship between culture and cedar, as well as an ethical framework for cross-cultural communication, decision-making, and management.

An untold story in labor health: Korean women workers.

PubMed

Kim, Myoung-Hee; Kim, Hyun-joo

2007-01-01

Very little is known about labor health among Korean women workers, who have been left behind by the occupational safety and health institutions. In this article, we examine, from a gender perspective, the occupational safety and health (OSH) statistics, institutions, and the struggles of women workers, and discuss how to make a society where women workers become and stay healthy. The problems Korean women workers face have both universal and unique aspects. On the one hand, they tend to be exposed to "invisible hazards" and to disproportionately suffer from neo-liberal policies, as do women workers in other countries. On the other hand, Korean women workers are still positioned under the strong patriarchy found in pre-modern societies. The examples of struggle presented here come out of this condition; those struggles by women workers and support from concerned specialists have played an important role in overcoming patriarchy and protecting health rights for women workers.

Impact of Bacillus cereus NRKT on grape ripe rot disease through resveratrol synthesis in berry skin.

PubMed

Aoki, Takanori; Aoki, Yoshinao; Ishiai, Shiho; Otoguro, Misa; Suzuki, Shunji

2017-01-01

Vine growers are faced with the difficult problem of how to control grape ripe rot disease in vineyards because of fear of accumulation of pesticide residues on grape berries near harvest. Biological control is an alternative non-hazardous technique to control the diseases. Application of resveratrol-synthesis-promoting bacterium, Bacillus cereus strain NRKT, reduced the incidence of grape ripe rot disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in a vineyard. The application of NRKT to berry bunches upregulated the gene expression of stilbene synthase, a key enzyme for resveratrol synthesis in berry skins, thereby promoting resveratrol synthesis in berry skins. The potential use of NRKT in vineyards is expected to contribute to the increase in resveratrol content in berry skins, thereby protecting grape berries against fungal diseases. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

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

Tang Bosin; Wong Siuwai; Lau, Milton Chi-hong

This study examines the current prospects for and obstacles facing the implementation of social impact assessment (SIA) and participatory planning in the People's Republic of China. During the past two decades, rapid urbanisation and the conversion of rural land for urban development have led to numerous social conflicts and tensions between the Chinese government and its people. SIA and public participation in development decisions have received increasing attention from the Chinese authorities as possible ways to tackle the problem. Based on a Guangzhou case study, this paper argues that the assessment and mitigation of adverse impacts on the community frommore » urban development have been carried out with different objectives, core values and principles when compared with those in Western societies. It concludes that the poor prospects of SIA and collaborative planning in China lie not only in the weak framework for environmental legislation, but also in all institutions concerning state-society relations, the socialist governing ideology and traditional Chinese culture.« less

Improving access to high-cost cancer drugs in Latin America: Much to be done.

PubMed

Ruiz, Rossana; Strasser-Weippl, Kathrin; Touya, Diego; Herrero Vincent, Carmen; Hernandez-Blanquisett, Abraham; St Louis, Jessica; Bukowski, Alexandra; Goss, Paul E

2017-04-15

Lack of access to high-cost medications is a complex issue at the intersection of economics, medicine, politics, and ethics, and it poses a significant threat to global health care. The problem is even more significant in low- and middle-income countries, such as those in Latin America, where governments and individuals struggle to pay for products that are priced at several times the level of their per capita gross domestic product. In this review, we examine the determinants for increasing drug costs and how Latin American countries face this burgeoning crisis. We emphasize that a number of opportunities and strategies to reduce costs and improve access exist and should be identified and implemented, ideally within a regional approach with multiple stakeholders involved and based on systematic and transparent cost-effectiveness analyses. Cancer 2017;123:1313-1323. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

[Problems associated with the prevention of cruelty to animals in modern livestock breeding (author's transl)].

PubMed

Schultze-Petzold, H

1976-01-01

Regulations for the protection of useful animals can be traced to the early history of Law. The reason for such regulations has hardly changed up to the present: the expedient incorporation of the animal into the hierachy of values of the prevailing times. Decisive impulses invariably originated from the legal conception, the need for legal protection as well as from the scientific conceptions of society. The development rarely took a linear course and was not without setbacks. The prevention of cruelty to animals has always been faced with particular conflicting situations. Our pluralistic society with its marked philosophy of profit-making has to face such a problem, in particular as a result of livestock keeping in modern systems. The necessity and legitimacy of a permanent supply of large quantities of high-grade animal foodstuffs to be offered to our present industrial society on a competitive and low-cost basis, have contributed to this development. The public and parliament have for some time been demanding a modern federal act for the prevention of cruelty to animals based on a technical conception allowing also those questions of animal protection related to the present keeping of useful animals to be integrated, thus achieving a gradual balancing of interests. Such an Animal Protection Act came into force on October 1, 1972. On account of its scientific orientation it prompts us to give renewed thought to many present-day ideas about the keeping of animals, especially of useful animals, employing modern systems. With this objective in mind the Act has already strongly influenced the developing international harmonization of provisions for Animal Protection. The problems linked with "Animal Protection/Keeping of Useful Animals" require a harmonization of the ethical, scientific, economic and legal aspects as an indispensable prerequisite. On the basis of expert opinions prepared by a group of specialists of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture on the minimum requirements to be satisfied by modern systems of fowl breeding, the various scientific basic concepts and evaluations are presented. The value of the information yielded by modern research into animal behaviour is emphasized in this connection. Future legal ordinances in accordance with Clause 13, para 1 of the Animal Protection Act of July 24, 1972 for the protection of useful animals kept in modern systems call for a particularly thorough scientific foundation which must also stand up to examination by the courts. The problems to be solved require comprehensive research. An urgent task for the near future will be to give the resolution of these problems a firm scientific base. In addition to the topical approach to the subject "Animal Protection/Keeping of Useful Animals", indications are given for a comprehensive approach which will prove indispensable in the future...

Automobile Politics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paterson, Matthew

2006-11-01

The car, and the range of social and political institutions which sustain its dominance, play an important role in many of the environmental problems faced by contemporary society. But in order to understand the possibilities for moving towards sustainability and 'greening cars', it is first necessary to understand the political forces that have made cars so dominant. This book identifies these forces as a combination of political economy and cultural politics. From the early twentieth century, the car became central to the organization of capitalism and deeply embedded in individual identities, providing people with a source of value and meaning but in a way which was broadly consistent with social imperatives for mobility. Projects for sustainability to reduce the environmental impacts of cars are therefore constrained by these forces but must deal with them in order to shape and achieve their goals. Addresses the increasingly controversial debate on the place of the car in contemporary society and its contribution to environmental problems Questions whether automobility is sustainable and what political, social and economic forces might prevent this Will appeal to scholars and advanced students from a wide range of disciplines including environmental politics, political economy, environmental studies, cultural studies and geography

The teaching of medical ethics to medical students.

PubMed Central

Glick, S M

1994-01-01

Teaching medical ethics to medical students in a pluralistic society is a challenging task. Teachers of ethics have obligations not just to teach the subject matter but to help create an academic environment in which well motivated students have reinforcement of their inherent good qualities. Emphasis should be placed on the ethical aspects of daily medical practice and not just on the dramatic dilemmas raised by modern technology. Interdisciplinary teaching should be encouraged and teaching should span the entire duration of medical studies. Attention should be paid particularly to ethical problems faced by the students themselves, preferably at the time when the problems are most on the students' minds. A high level of academic demands, including critical examination of students' progress is recommended. Finally, personal humility on the part of teachers can help set a good example for students to follow. PMID:7861430

[Social scenarios in Latin America and the Caribbean].

PubMed

Kliksberg, B

2000-01-01

A wide range of sources have pointed out the magnitude and depth of the social problems that trouble Latin America and the Caribbean and the risks that these problems pose for democracy. Although there are other issues that merit consideration, this article briefly outlines nine key social problems: 1) the increase in poverty, 2) the impact of poverty, 3) unemployment and informal employment, 4) deficiencies in public health, 5) problems in education, 6) the newly poor, 7) the erosion of the family, 8) increasing crime, and 9) the perverse cycle of socioeconomic exclusion. Solving these problems must not be delayed. It is urgent to move to a comprehensive view of development that achieves a different balance between economic and social policies, and that recognizes the indispensable role of these policies in achieving truly sustainable development. At stake are problems that not only concern resources, but also priorities, levels of equity, and the organization of society. Facing up to this poverty and inequity requires an in-depth assessment of these economic policies' social consequences, of the crucial subject of Latin American inequity--the greatest in the world--and of the role of social and public policies.

Managing scientific complexity in public policy: the case of U.S. climate change legislation in the 111th Congress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, J. A.; Runci, P. J.

2009-12-01

The recent passage of the American Climate and Energy Security Act by the U.S. House of Representatives in June of this year was a landmark in U.S. efforts to move climate change legislation through Congress. Although an historic achievement, the bill (and surrounding debate) highlights many concerns about the processes by which lawmakers and the public inform themselves about scientifically relevant problems and, subsequently, by which policy responses are crafted in a context of complexity, uncertainty, and competition for resources and attention. In light of the ever-increasing specialization of expertise in the sciences and other technical fields, and the inherent complexity of scientifically relevant problems such as climate change, society faces significant hurdles in its efforts to integrate knowledge and develop sufficient understanding of these problems to which it must respond with legislation or other effective collective or individual action. The emergence of a new class of experts who act as science-policy brokers may not be sufficient to cross these hurdles. Herein, we explore how society and the scientific community in particular can work toward closing the ever-growing gap between technical knowledge and society’s ability to comprehend and use it. Both authors are currently legislative fellows working on energy and climate change issues in the U.S. Senate.

An economic way of reducing health, environmental, and other pressures of urban traffic: a decision analysis on trip aggregation

PubMed Central

Tuomisto, Jouni T; Tainio, Marko

2005-01-01

Background Traffic congestion is rapidly becoming the most important obstacle to urban development. In addition, traffic creates major health, environmental, and economical problems. Nonetheless, automobiles are crucial for the functions of the modern society. Most proposals for sustainable traffic solutions face major political opposition, economical consequences, or technical problems. Methods We performed a decision analysis in a poorly studied area, trip aggregation, and studied decisions from the perspective of two different stakeholders, the passenger and society. We modelled the impact and potential of composite traffic, a hypothetical large-scale demand-responsive public transport system for the Helsinki metropolitan area, where a centralised system would collect the information on all trip demands online, would merge the trips with the same origin and destination into public vehicles with eight or four seats, and then would transmit the trip instructions to the passengers' mobile phones. Results We show here that in an urban area with one million inhabitants, trip aggregation could reduce the health, environmental, and other detrimental impacts of car traffic typically by 50–70%, and if implemented could attract about half of the car passengers, and within a broad operational range would require no public subsidies. Conclusion Composite traffic provides new degrees of freedom in urban decision-making in identifying novel solutions to the problems of urban traffic. PMID:16309549

Reacting to Face Loss in Chinese Business Culture: An Interview Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardon, Peter W.

2006-01-01

In Chinese culture, the concept of face refers to personal dignity, prestige, and status and serves to maintain harmony in social relationships and hierarchies. The fear of the loss of face permeates Chinese society. In business, face loss may disrupt deals and harm goodwill. However, limited empirical research has addressed the emotional…

Face-to-Face Contact in Blended Learning for Intercultural Education: The Role of Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Roger; Rickard, Angela; Reilly, Jacqueline

2017-01-01

In societies experiencing or emerging from conflict, teachers often deliver educational programmes designed to build community cohesion. We report on research which examined teachers' views of the implementation of a programme involving both face-to-face and online contact between pupils. Findings suggest that this blended approach is highly…

LDCs face another kind of health problem.

PubMed

Kaufman, H

1977-10-06

Early childbearing is increasing worldwide, in both the developed and the developing countries. In 1975, 13 million young women became mothers before their 18th birthday. Such early childbearing causes major health, economic, social, and demographic problems. The disadvantages are felt by the young women, their sexual partners, the babies born to these women, and society in general. Reasons why adolescents are engaging in earlier sexual activity and experiencing more early pregnancies are enumerated. The 1st Interhemispheric Conference on Adolescent Fertility, sponsored by the Agency for International Development and other involved organizations, was held in 1976. The Conference participants made recommendations concerned with the legal, educational, and social aspects of early childbearing. Many youth education programs have been established since the Conference. Research projects have been launched to study the social consequences of adolescent pregnancy. Many more family life education and family planning services must be offered. A significant hindrance to such developments is the reluctance of adults around the world to recognize and deal with the problem.

An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement: Current Challenges Facing Research and Therapeutic Advances in Airway Remodeling.

PubMed

Prakash, Y S; Halayko, Andrew J; Gosens, Reinoud; Panettieri, Reynold A; Camoretti-Mercado, Blanca; Penn, Raymond B

2017-01-15

Airway remodeling (AR) is a prominent feature of asthma and other obstructive lung diseases that is minimally affected by current treatments. The goals of this Official American Thoracic Society (ATS) Research Statement are to discuss the scientific, technological, economic, and regulatory issues that deter progress of AR research and development of therapeutics targeting AR and to propose approaches and solutions to these specific problems. This Statement is not intended to provide clinical practice recommendations on any disease in which AR is observed and/or plays a role. An international multidisciplinary group from within academia, industry, and the National Institutes of Health, with expertise in multimodal approaches to the study of airway structure and function, pulmonary research and clinical practice in obstructive lung disease, and drug discovery platforms was invited to participate in one internet-based and one face-to-face meeting to address the above-stated goals. Although the majority of the analysis related to AR was in asthma, AR in other diseases was also discussed and considered in the recommendations. A literature search of PubMed was performed to support conclusions. The search was not a systematic review of the evidence. Multiple conceptual, logistical, economic, and regulatory deterrents were identified that limit the performance of AR research and impede accelerated, intensive development of AR-focused therapeutics. Complementary solutions that leverage expertise of academia and industry were proposed to address them. To date, numerous factors related to the intrinsic difficulty in performing AR research, and economic forces that are disincentives for the pursuit of AR treatments, have thwarted the ability to understand AR pathology and mechanisms and to address it clinically. This ATS Research Statement identifies potential solutions for each of these factors and emphasizes the importance of educating the global research community as to the extent of the problem as a critical first step in developing effective strategies for: (1) increasing the extent and impact of AR research and (2) developing, testing, and ultimately improving drugs targeting AR.

Associations of physical strength with facial shape in an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania.

PubMed

Butovskaya, Marina L; Windhager, Sonja; Karelin, Dimitri; Mezentseva, Anna; Schaefer, Katrin; Fink, Bernhard

2018-01-01

Previous research has documented associations of physical strength and facial morphology predominantly in men of Western societies. Faces of strong men tend to be more robust, are rounder and have a prominent jawline compared with faces of weak men. Here, we investigate whether the morphometric patterns of strength-face relationships reported for members of industrialized societies can also be found in members of an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania. Handgrip strength (HGS) measures and facial photographs were collected from a sample of 185 men and 120 women of the Maasai in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In young-adults (20-29 years; n = 95) and mid-adults (30-50 years; n = 114), we digitized 71 somatometric landmarks and semilandmarks to capture variation in facial morphology and performed shape regressions of landmark coordinates upon HGS. Results were visualized in the form of thin-plate plate spline deformation grids and geometric morphometric morphs. Individuals with higher HGS tended to have wider faces with a lower and broader forehead, a wider distance between the medial canthi of the eyes, a wider nose, fuller lips, and a larger, squarer lower facial outline compared with weaker individuals of the same age-sex group. In mid-adult men, these associations were weaker than in the other age-sex groups. We conclude that the patterns of HGS relationships with face shape in the Maasai are similar to those reported from related investigations in samples of industrialized societies. We discuss differences between the present and related studies with regard to knowledge about the causes for age- and sex-related facial shape variation and physical strength associations.

Counting to 20: Online Implementation of a Face-to-Face, Elementary Mathematics Methods Problem-Solving Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Catherine Stein

2012-01-01

This study describes implementation of the same problem-solving activity in both online and face-to-face environments. The activity, done in the first class period or first module of a K-2 mathematics methods course, was initially used in a face-to-face class and then adapted later for use in an online class. While the task was originally designed…

Lost in Translation: Adapting a Face-to-Face Course Into an Online Learning Experience.

PubMed

Kenzig, Melissa J

2015-09-01

Online education has grown dramatically over the past decade. Instructors who teach face-to-face courses are being called on to adapt their courses to the online environment. Many instructors do not have sufficient training to be able to effectively move courses to an online format. This commentary discusses the growth of online learning, common challenges faced by instructors adapting courses from face-to-face to online, and best practices for translating face-to-face courses into online learning opportunities. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Globalization and the cultural impact on distance education.

PubMed

McPhee, W; Nøhr, C

2000-09-01

With the delivery of distance (or flexible) learning in today's society, the changing roles of both the teacher and the learner need to be seriously considered. This is particularly relevant with the use of new technologies to deliver courses in locations with entirely different cultural and academic traditions. International education of this kind currently faces difficulties in facilitating cross-cultural learning. While problems of limited communications technologies, lack of teacher training, inadequate competence of university administration and general cultural differences may be known, global changes call for the development of new pedagogies with new communication technologies in ways, which are sensitive to issues of cultural diversity.

Grandparent caregivers.

PubMed

Kolomer, Stacey

2008-01-01

Although grandparent caregiving is not a new phenomenon in the United States, there has been a dramatic increase in grandparent-headed households in the last two decades. Many of these care providers are older and feel somewhat unprepared to raise a new generation of children. As a result, grandparent caregivers are at risk for multiple physical, mental, and emotional problems due to the stresses and strains of care provision. This article summarizes characteristics of grandparent caregivers in our society, the challenges that they face, and how organizations are attempting to assist these older adults with their care provision responsibilities. Recommendations for future research and intervention design will also be discussed.

A Conditional Curie-Weiss Model for Stylized Multi-group Binary Choice with Social Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Opoku, Alex Akwasi; Edusei, Kwame Owusu; Ansah, Richard Kwame

2018-04-01

This paper proposes a conditional Curie-Weiss model as a model for decision making in a stylized society made up of binary decision makers that face a particular dichotomous choice between two options. Following Brock and Durlauf (Discrete choice with social interaction I: theory, 1955), we set-up both socio-economic and statistical mechanical models for the choice problem. We point out when both the socio-economic and statistical mechanical models give rise to the same self-consistent equilibrium mean choice level(s). Phase diagram of the associated statistical mechanical model and its socio-economic implications are discussed.

Teaching in the Knowledge Society: Education in the Age of Insecurity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hargreaves, Andy

This book discusses challenges facing teachers in the knowledge society today, focusing on the changing world and the changing work of teaching. Seven chapters discuss: (1) "Teaching for the Knowledge Society: Educating for Ingenuity" (e.g., profiting from, developing, and teaching for the knowledge society); (2) "Teaching Beyond…

Social Dynamic of Yogyakarta Citizens in Facing the Uncertainty of Traditional Value and Modernity: The Integrated Value of Social Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sridiyatmiko, Gunawan

2016-01-01

The principal issue of this study is "how does the society dynamic of Yogyakarta in facing the polemic of traditional, modernity, and social study values which can be developed in social study learning at school? The general aim of this study is to find how the society dynamic phenomenon which happened in Yogyakarta mainly in Kraton, Kauman,…

On Murray Jackson's 1961 'Chair, couch and countertransference'.

PubMed

Connolly, Angela

2015-09-01

One of the problems facing psychoanalysts of all schools is that theory has evolved at a much faster pace than practice. Whereas there has been an explosion of theory, practice has remained, at least officially, static and unchanging. It is in this sense that Murray Jackson's 1961 paper is still relevant today. Despite the rise of the new relational and intersubjective paradigms, most psychoanalysts, and not a few Jungian analysts, still seem to feel that the couch is an essential component of the analytical setting and process. If the use of the couch is usually justified by the argument that it favours regression, facilitates analytical reverie and protects the patient from the influence of the analyst, over time many important psychoanalysts have come to challenge this position. Increasingly these analysts suggest that the use of the couch may actually be incompatible with the newer theoretical models. This contention is strengthened by some of the findings coming from the neurosciences and infant research. This underlines the necessity of empirical research to verify the clinical effectiveness of these different positions, couch or face-to-face, but it is exactly this type of research that is lacking. © 2015, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Education as an intergenerational process of human learning, teaching, and development.

PubMed

Cole, Michael

2010-11-01

In this article I argue that the future of psychological research on educational processes would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach that enables psychologists to locate their objects of study within the cultural, social, and historical contexts of their research. To make this argument, I begin by examining anthropological accounts of the characteristics of education in small, face-to-face, preindustrial societies. I then turn to a sample of contemporary psychoeducational research that seeks to implement major, qualitative changes in modern educational practices by transforming them to have the properties of education in those self-same face-to-face societies. Next I examine the challenges faced by these modern approaches and briefly describe a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary system of education that responds to these challenges while offering a model for educating psychology students in a multigenerational system of activities with potential widespread benefits. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Critical Problems Facing Technology Education: Perceptions of Indiana Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazaros, Edward J.; Rogers, George E.

2006-01-01

In 1993 Wicklein conducted a study to determine the present and the future critical issues and problems facing the technology education (TE) profession. The Wicklein study questioned 25 panelists from 15 states and the District of Columbia to ascertain the issues and problems facing TE. However, in the Wicklein study, only seven of the panelists…

Telephone triage by GPs in out-of-hours primary care in Denmark: a prospective observational study of efficiency and relevance

PubMed Central

Huibers, Linda; Moth, Grete; Carlsen, Anders H; Christensen, Morten B; Vedsted, Peter

2016-01-01

Background In the UK, telephone triage in out-of-hours primary care is mostly managed by nurses, whereas GPs perform triage in Denmark. Aim To describe telephone contacts triaged to face-to-face contacts, GP-assessed relevance, and factors associated with triage to face-to-face contact. Design and setting A prospective observational study in Danish out-of-hours primary care, conducted from June 2010 to May 2011. Method Information on patients was collected from the electronic patient administration system and GPs completed electronic questionnaires about the contacts. The GPs conducting the face-to-face contacts assessed relevance of the triage to face-to-face contacts. The authors performed binomial regression analyses, calculating relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals. Results In total, 59.2% of calls ended with a telephone consultation. Factors associated with triage to a face-to-face contact were: patient age >40 years (40–64: RR = 1.13; >64: RR = 1.34), persisting problem for 12–24 hours (RR = 1.15), severe problem (RR = 2.60), potentially severe problem (RR = 5.81), and non-severe problem (RR = 2.23). Face-to-face contacts were assessed as irrelevant for 12.7% of clinic consultations and 11.7% of home visits. A statistically significantly higher risk of irrelevant face-to-face contact was found for a persisting problem of >24 hours (RR = 1.25), contact on weekday nights (RR = 1.25), and contact <2 hours before the patient’s own GP’s opening time (RR = 1.80). Conclusion Around 12% of all face-to-face consultations in the study are assessed as irrelevant by GP colleagues, suggesting that GP triage is efficient. Knowledge of the factors influencing triage can provide better education for GPs, but future studies are needed to investigate other quality aspects of GP telephone triage. PMID:27432608

Effects of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports and fidelity of implementation on problem behavior in high schools.

PubMed

Flannery, K B; Fenning, P; Kato, M McGrath; McIntosh, K

2014-06-01

High school is an important time in the educational career of students. It is also a time when adolescents face many behavioral, academic, and social-emotional challenges. Current statistics about the behavioral, academic, and social-emotional challenges faced by adolescents, and the impact on society through incarceration and dropout, have prompted high schools to direct their attention toward keeping students engaged and reducing high-risk behavioral challenges. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) on the levels of individual student problem behaviors during a 3-year effectiveness trial without random assignment to condition. Participants were 36,653 students in 12 high schools. Eight schools implemented SW-PBIS, and four schools served as comparison schools. Results of a multilevel latent growth model showed statistically significant decreases in student office discipline referrals in SW-PBIS schools, with increases in comparison schools, when controlling for enrollment and percent of students receiving free or reduced price meals. In addition, as fidelity of implementation increased, office discipline referrals significantly decreased. Results are discussed in terms of effectiveness of a SW-PBIS approach in high schools and considerations to enhance fidelity of implementation. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Willing Retention of Misbelief

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, John W.

2003-12-01

Students also ought to get a better picture of how useful chemistry is and what insights it can provide regarding crucial problems that face society. A student who has completed a general chemistry course ought to have some understanding of how chemists are addressing major problems involving energy resources, adequate supplies of pure food and water, degradation of the environment, poverty, disease, and terrorism. Even better, the student should be aware that these problems are intertwined and solving one of them at the expense of any or all of the others is not a true solution. Better yet, the student should realize that with appropriate education and experience, the student could contribute significantly to society’s efforts to solve these problems. Former ACS President Ronald Breslow has suggested on numerous occasions that students are more likely to be attracted to a field in which the student can participate in solving important problems, but we persist in teaching chemistry as if it is a dead science, where everything is already known. Both learning and the unknown are powerful challenges that can motivate students to put forth their best efforts. We ought to make better use of them.

Using eye movements as an index of implicit face recognition in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Hedley, Darren; Young, Robyn; Brewer, Neil

2012-10-01

Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically show impairment on face recognition tasks. Performance has usually been assessed using overt, explicit recognition tasks. Here, a complementary method involving eye tracking was used to examine implicit face recognition in participants with ASD and in an intelligence quotient-matched non-ASD control group. Differences in eye movement indices between target and foil faces were used as an indicator of implicit face recognition. Explicit face recognition was assessed using old-new discrimination and reaction time measures. Stimuli were faces of studied (target) or unfamiliar (foil) persons. Target images at test were either identical to the images presented at study or altered by changing the lighting, pose, or by masking with visual noise. Participants with ASD performed worse than controls on the explicit recognition task. Eye movement-based measures, however, indicated that implicit recognition may not be affected to the same degree as explicit recognition. Autism Res 2012, 5: 363-379. © 2012 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2012 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A perspective on the future public health: an integrative and ecological framework.

PubMed

Hanlon, Phil; Carlisle, Sandra; Hannah, Margaret; Lyon, Andrew; Reilly, David

2012-11-01

Modernity has brought health and social benefits to many societies, not least through the insights of science and technology. Yet, modernity has also been associated with a number of cultural characteristics, such as materialism, individualism, consumerism and an addiction to continuing economic growth, that seem potentially harmful to health and well-being and inimical to social equity. There is an emerging body of evidence that suggests that, in the affluent world, some of our most intractable contemporary health problems are, in fact, the product of modernity. This suggests that the tools of modernity (its science and its technology) are ill suited to finding solutions. This poses a problem for public health, as this discipline is itself a product of modernity and thus appears ill equipped to deal with the conditions and challenges of a rapidly changing and unstable world, one where the very sustainability of human society is now in question. This paper argues that a new paradigm for the future public health is needed. It presents an integrative, ecological framework as a starting point from which public health might grasp the opportunities for change inherent in the 'modern' threats we face. It suggests a number of features that will need to underpin such a paradigm shift in thinking and practice. However, as this paper is written from the perspective of an affluent, developed society (albeit from a perspective that is explicitly critical of the goals, trends and values that seem to characterise such societies), other voices from other places need to be heard. We hope that others will want to engage with our arguments and suggestions, whether to challenge and refute these, or to further their development.

Global Partnership in Global Earth Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, A.; Obersteiner, M.

2007-12-01

The emergence of a global partnership on earth observations will crucially drive the configuration of future observing systems and consequently shape how socio-economic benefits are generated. In this paper we take a game-theoretical approach to model cooperation on building global earth observation systems. We consider several societies whose economies are subject to shocks mimicking major natural disasters. Economies operate optimally and lead to the best possible expected value for the social welfares in the future. In order to increase its welfare even more society can make a decision to invest into a global alerting system which lowers the risk of disasters. We start our investigation from a single-society case and show conditions under which benefits of such investment can be reaped. The propensity to invest increases with economic affluence and degree of vulnerability to natural disasters. We find that for poor and/or less vulnerable countries it is better to forbear from investment. If to consider a situation of multiple societies a strategic gaming situation emerges motivated by the fact that every society will benefit from a global system regardless of whether they invested or not. Our analysis of possible equilibrium solutions shows that similar to the formation of trading blocks (e.g. EU, NAFTA) only in the case of similar societies we will observe cooperation behavior (when all invest) and otherwise we will observe free-riding. This insight, that we might face a prisoners dilemma problem in the formation of a GEOSS, has important implications for the GEO process.

[Methods of investigation in clinical cardiology. VIII. Socioeconomic evaluation of clinical cardiology practice].

PubMed

Lázaro de Mercado, P

1997-06-01

Health services are systems whose mission is to improve the health status of both individuals and society in general. In recent decades, these systems have faced challenges such as their increasing complexity, limited resources, rapid innovation and diffusion of medical technologies, pressures on demand from society and professionals, and the lack of knowledge of the effects of these factors on costs and society's health. In addition, health care expenditures have grown twice as fast as wealth in industrialized countries during the last 25 years. These problems have prompted cost containment as a key issue in health policy and, at the same time, have promoted the development of socioeconomic evaluation as a scientific activity in the frame of health services research. Socioeconomic evaluation tries to determine if the sacrifice made by society, which devotes part of its limited resources to health care, maximizes the outcomes for population. This article describes basic concepts and methods of economic appraisal in health services which are illustrated with examples of clinical practice in cardiology. Common methods of evaluation are described; the relation between the clinical outcome of a procedure and its associated costs is emphasized in explaining the types of efficiency analysis (cost-efficacy, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit); and finally a guide for socioeconomic evaluation is provided.

N²E: Envisioning a process to support transition from nurse to educator.

PubMed

McAllister, Margaret; Oprescu, Florin; Jones, Christian

2014-01-01

Rising health inequities, continuing nursing shortages, and overlooked professional development needs of nurse educators are three important issues facing nursing in Australia. This paper argues for an innovative and proactive strategy that could transform the nurse education workforce into one that is repopulated, reinvigorated and refocused. The problem facing nurse educators, and subsequently affecting nurses' preparation for practice and longevity in the profession, was identified by drawing on findings from the literature, extensive educational experience, and an exploratory study of nurse educators working in universities, colleges and health services. A solution has been devised by drawing together the tenets of critical social theory, transformative learning, communities of practice and social media. Nursing educators, refocused around a social justice agenda, may be the remedy that the Australian Health Care System requires to embark on effective action that can benefit everyone, from the health service staff to our most vulnerable groups in society. This refocusing can be achieved in a structured and strategic process that builds confidence and professional capabilities.

N2E: Envisioning a process to support transition from nurse to educator.

PubMed

McAllister, Margaret; Oprescu, Florin; Jones, Christian

2013-11-21

Abstract Rising health inequities, continuing nursing shortages, and overlooked professional development needs of nurse educators are three important issues facing nursing in Australia. This paper argues for an innovative and proactive strategy that could transform the nurse education workforce into one that is repopulated, reinvigorated and refocused. The problem facing nurse educators, and subsequently affecting nurses' preparation for practice and longevity in the profession, was identified by drawing on findings from the literature, extensive educational experience, and an exploratory study of nurse educators working in universities, colleges and health services. A solution has been devised by drawing together the tenets of critical social theory, transformative learning, communities of practice and social media. Nursing educators, refocused around a social justice agenda, may be the remedy that the Australian Health Care System requires to embark on effective action that can benefit everyone, from the health service staff to our most vulnerable groups in society. This refocusing can be achieved in a structured and strategic process that builds confidence and professional capabilities.

Psychological treatment of anabolic-androgenic steroid-dependent individuals.

PubMed

Corcoran, J P; Longo, E D

1992-01-01

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are synthetic derivatives of the sex hormone testosterone. Anabolic refers to the "growth-promoting" effect while androgenic refers to the "masculinizing" effect. It is becoming more evident that nonathletes as well as athletes are abusing AAS. Although the abuse of alcohol and other drugs contribute significantly to current chemical use problems in American society, AAS abuse is one of the fastest growing "new drug" problems facing secondary and higher education institutes of learning. The purpose of this discussion is to present working hypotheses regarding the psychological treatment of AAS dependent individuals. The treatment approach presented incorporates the approaches used with eating disorders, substance abuse/dependence, and narcissistic personality disorders. This paper considers some of the preliminary considerations for the first phase of treatment, some pitfalls to avoid, and therapist characteristics, as well as treatment modalities that might be helpful in the treatment of AAS-dependent individuals.

[Designing the Annual Meeting and Active Learning System].

PubMed

Kawamura, Kazumi

2018-01-01

　At the 10th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Pharmaceutical Palliative Care and Sciences our theme centered on active learning systems where adult learners engage on their own initiative. Many of the participants were pharmacists active in clinical practices. Regardless of their specialized skill-sets, pharmacists are constantly faced with difficult challenges in their daily work. Passive, one-way lectures are one resource for them, but unfortunately such lectures provide limited insights for resolving concrete problems. The present meeting aimed to show participants how to obtain information they need to solve specific real-world problems. This paper summarizes how we planned this year's meeting, including details about the debate symposium, social lunch, and online questionnaires. All these elements had the end goal of enabling learners proactivity to become their own best resource for learning. It is sincerely hoped that the design and execution of this meeting will prove resourceful for future annual meetings.

National Rosacea Society

MedlinePlus

... System Vascular Changes Demodex & Microbes Bibliography Genetics The Ecology of Your Face It Works for Me: Patient ... Care & Cosmetics Makeup Tips Causes of Rosacea The Ecology of Your Face It Works for Me: Patient ...

Parent-teacher agreement on children's problems in 21 societies.

PubMed

Rescorla, Leslie A; Bochicchio, Lauren; Achenbach, Thomas M; Ivanova, Masha Y; Almqvist, Fredrik; Begovac, Ivan; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Dobrean, Anca; Erol, Nese; Fombonne, Eric; Fonseca, Antonio; Frigerio, Alessandra; Fung, Daniel S S; Lambert, Michael C; Leung, Patrick W L; Liu, Xianchen; Marković, Ivica; Markovic, Jasminka; Minaei, Asghar; Ooi, Yoon Phaik; Roussos, Alexandra; Rudan, Vlasta; Simsek, Zeynep; van der Ende, Jan; Weintraub, Sheila; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Woo, Bernardine; Weiss, Bahr; Weisz, John; Zukauskiene, Rita; Verhulst, Frank C

2014-01-01

Parent-teacher cross-informant agreement, although usually modest, may provide important clinical information. Using data for 27,962 children from 21 societies, we asked the following: (a) Do parents report more problems than teachers, and does this vary by society, age, gender, or type of problem? (b) Does parent-teacher agreement vary across different problem scales or across societies? (c) How well do parents and teachers in different societies agree on problem item ratings? (d) How much do parent-teacher dyads in different societies vary in within-dyad agreement on problem items? (e) How well do parents and teachers in 21 societies agree on whether the child's problem level exceeds a deviance threshold? We used five methods to test agreement for Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF) ratings. CBCL scores were higher than TRF scores on most scales, but the informant differences varied in magnitude across the societies studied. Cross-informant correlations for problem scale scores varied moderately across societies studied and were significantly higher for Externalizing than Internalizing problems. Parents and teachers tended to rate the same items as low, medium, or high, but within-dyad item agreement varied widely in every society studied. In all societies studied, both parental noncorroboration of teacher-reported deviance and teacher noncorroboration of parent-reported deviance were common. Our findings underscore the importance of obtaining information from parents and teachers when evaluating and treating children, highlight the need to use multiple methods of quantifying cross-informant agreement, and provide comprehensive baselines for patterns of parent-teacher agreement across 21 societies.

Discrimination and categorization of emotional facial expressions and faces in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Alonso-Recio, Laura; Martín, Pilar; Rubio, Sandra; Serrano, Juan M

2014-09-01

Our objective was to compare the ability to discriminate and categorize emotional facial expressions (EFEs) and facial identity characteristics (age and/or gender) in a group of 53 individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and another group of 53 healthy subjects. On the one hand, by means of discrimination and identification tasks, we compared two stages in the visual recognition process that could be selectively affected in individuals with PD. On the other hand, facial expression versus gender and age comparison permits us to contrast whether the emotional or non-emotional content influences the configural perception of faces. In Experiment I, we did not find differences between groups, either with facial expression or age, in discrimination tasks. Conversely, in Experiment II, we found differences between the groups, but only in the EFE identification task. Taken together, our results indicate that configural perception of faces does not seem to be globally impaired in PD. However, this ability is selectively altered when the categorization of emotional faces is required. A deeper assessment of the PD group indicated that decline in facial expression categorization is more evident in a subgroup of patients with higher global impairment (motor and cognitive). Taken together, these results suggest that the problems found in facial expression recognition may be associated with the progressive neuronal loss in frontostriatal and mesolimbic circuits, which characterizes PD. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

The Social Problem-Solving Questionnaire: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties among Turkish Primary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dereli Iman, Esra

2013-01-01

Problem Statement: Children, like adults, face numerous problems and conflicts in their everyday lives, including issues with peers, siblings, older children, parents, teachers, and other adults. The methods children use to solve such problems are more important than actually facing the problems. The lack of effective social problem-solving skills…

A Survey on Sentiment Classification in Face Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Jingyu

2018-01-01

Face recognition has been an important topic for both industry and academia for a long time. K-means clustering, autoencoder, and convolutional neural network, each representing a design idea for face recognition method, are three popular algorithms to deal with face recognition problems. It is worthwhile to summarize and compare these three different algorithms. This paper will focus on one specific face recognition problem-sentiment classification from images. Three different algorithms for sentiment classification problems will be summarized, including k-means clustering, autoencoder, and convolutional neural network. An experiment with the application of these algorithms on a specific dataset of human faces will be conducted to illustrate how these algorithms are applied and their accuracy. Finally, the three algorithms are compared based on the accuracy result.

Politics, class actors, and health sector reform in Brazil and Venezuela.

PubMed

Mahmood, Qamar; Muntaner, Carles

2013-03-01

Universal access to healthcare has assumed renewed importance in global health discourse, along with a focus on strengthening health systems. These developments are taking place in the backdrop of concerted efforts to advocate moving away from vertical, disease-based approaches to tackling health problems. While this approach to addressing public health problems is a step in the right direction, there is still insufficient emphasis on understanding the socio-political context of health systems. Reforms to strengthen health systems and achieve universal access to healthcare should be cognizant of the importance of the socio-political context, especially state-society relations. That context determines the nature and trajectory of reforms promoting universality or any pro-equity change. Brazil and Venezuela in recent years have made progress in developing healthcare systems that aim to achieve universal access. These achievements are noteworthy given that, historically, both countries had a long tradition of healthcare systems which were highly privatized and geared towards access to healthcare for a small segment of the population while the majority was excluded. These achievements are also remarkable since they took place in an era of neoliberalism when many states, even those with universally-based healthcare systems, were moving in the opposite direction. We analyze the socio-political context in each of these countries and look specifically at how the changing state-society relations resulted in health being constitutionally recognized as a social right. We describe the challenges that each faced in developing and implementing healthcare systems embracing universality. Our contention is that achieving the principle of universality in healthcare systems is less of a technical matter and more a political project. It involves opposition from the socially conservative elements in the society. Navigation to achieve this goal requires a political strategy that involves various actors within the state, the political society and civil society.

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

Huesemann, Michael H.

It is currently believed that science and technology can provide effective solutions to most, if not all, environmental problems facing western industrial societies. The validity of this optimistic assumption is highly questionable for at least three reasons: First, current mechanistic, reductionist science is inherently incapable of providing the complete and accurate information which is required to successfully address environmental problems. Second, both the conservation of mass principle and the second law of thermodynamics dictate that most remediation technologies - while successful in solving specific pollution problems - cause unavoidable negative environmental impacts elsewhere or in the future. Third, it ismore » intrinsically impossible to design industrial processes that have no negative environmental impacts. This follows not only from the entropy law but also from the fact that any generation of energy is impossible without negative environmental consequences. It can therefore be concluded that science and technology have only very limited potential in solving current and future environmental problems. Consequently, it will be necessary to address the root cause of environmental deterioration, namely the prevailing materialistic values that are the main driving force for both overpopulation and overconsumption. The long-term protection of the environment is therefore not primarily a technical problem but rather a social and moral problem that can only be solved by drastically reducing the strong influence of materialistic values.« less

Cross-informant agreement between parent-reported and adolescent self-reported problems in 25 societies.

PubMed

Rescorla, Leslie A; Ginzburg, Sofia; Achenbach, Thomas M; Ivanova, Masha Y; Almqvist, Fredrik; Begovac, Ivan; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Chahed, Myriam; Dobrean, Anca; Döpfner, Manfred; Erol, Nese; Hannesdottir, Helga; Kanbayashi, Yasuko; Lambert, Michael C; Leung, Patrick W L; Minaei, Asghar; Novik, Torunn S; Oh, Kyung-Ja; Petot, Djaouida; Petot, Jean-Michel; Pomalima, Rolando; Rudan, Vlasta; Sawyer, Michael; Simsek, Zeynep; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Valverde, José; Ende, Jan van der; Weintraub, Sheila; Metzke, Christa Winkler; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Zhang, Eugene Yuqing; Zukauskiene, Rita; Verhulst, Frank C

2013-01-01

We used population sample data from 25 societies to answer the following questions: (a) How consistently across societies do adolescents report more problems than their parents report about them? (b) Do levels of parent-adolescent agreement vary among societies for different kinds of problems? (c) How well do parents and adolescents in different societies agree on problem item ratings? (d) How much do parent-adolescent dyads within each society vary in agreement on item ratings? (e) How well do parent-adolescent dyads within each society agree on the adolescent's deviance status? We used five methods to test cross-informant agreement for ratings obtained from 27,861 adolescents ages 11 to 18 and their parents. Youth Self-Report (YSR) mean scores were significantly higher than Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) mean scores for all problem scales in almost all societies, but the magnitude of the YSR-CBCL discrepancy varied across societies. Cross-informant correlations for problem scale scores varied more across societies than across types of problems. Across societies, parents and adolescents tended to rate the same items as low, medium, or high, but within-dyad parent-adolescent item agreement varied widely in every society. In all societies, both parental noncorroboration of self-reported deviance and adolescent noncorroboration of parent-reported deviance were common. Results indicated many multicultural consistencies but also some important differences in parent-adolescent cross-informant agreement. Our findings provide valuable normative baselines against which to compare multicultural findings for clinical samples.

Creating "communicative spaces": a case of NGO community organizing for HIV/AIDS prevention.

PubMed

de Souza, Rebecca

2009-12-01

This study uses the case study method to investigate the processes used by a local nongovernmental organization called the Society for People's Action for Development to organize sex workers in the slums of Bangalore, India, for HIV/AIDS prevention. The nongovernmental organization-facilitated HIV/AIDS program is based on the new paradigm of community organizing that encourages community participation and capacity building. Grounded in the culture-centered approach, this study documents the processes used to organize the women, while highlighting the role of communication in these processes. The study identifies 4 primary processes used to mobilize the community, namely collectivization, community awareness and sensitization, capacity building, and providing legal education and support. Each of these processes highlights the importance of attending to the economic, social, and political realities that shape the health of women. The common thread linking these processes together is the notion of "voice." More specifically, each process serves as a catalyst to produce discursive practices that enable women to provide support to each other, increase awareness in the community about the problems that they face, build self-reliance through financial skills training and communication training, and defend their legal rights. In addition, the study suggests that the primary role of nongovernmental organizations should be the creation of "communicative spaces," which are discursive and material spaces within marginalized communities and mainstream society where cultural participants can identify problems (oftentimes beyond the realm of health), manage solutions to those problems, and advocate for health and social change.

A Meta-Analytic and Qualitative Review of Online versus Face-to-Face Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurewitsch, Brian

2012-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that is poised for widespread application in the current, growing, on-line digital learning environment. While enjoying a track record as a defensible strategy in face-to-face learning settings, the research evidence is not clear regarding PBL in on-line environments. A review of the…

U.N.: AIDS likely to kill half of teens in worst-hit nations.

PubMed

In the report of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released on June 27, 2000, it is projected that AIDS is expected to kill half of the teenagers in some African nations, devastating economies and societies. Moreover, the UNAIDS estimated that the virus has killed 19 million people worldwide; that more than 13 million children have been orphaned; that in 16 sub-Saharan countries more than one-tenth of the population aged 15-49 is infected with HIV; and that in 7 of these countries at least one-fifth of the population is infected. Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS believes that legacy apartheid and governmental disregard of the problem are reasons for the AIDS epidemic in southern Africa. In view of this, the report urgently underscores the need for government leaders to face the crisis head on, engaging all sectors of society in the battle against the epidemic. A number of prevention initiatives are discussed and studies are cited regarding success of such AIDS-preventive strategies.

It takes a whole nation ... to create a health care system.

PubMed

Curtin, Leah

2003-01-01

The biggest failure we face today is that we argue about the effects of poverty and the benefits of welfare rather than about how to sustain a reasonably cohesive and integrated community that optimizes human development for everybody. Yet that is exactly what must happen if we are to integrate our recreational, educational, health care, and health promotion systems and employment policies to create a healthier population. Care of the sick and the elderly is not a primary wealth- (or health-) producing social function; it is a derivative activity. If a society overinvests in it, it may underinvest in the real economy ... which then will not create the jobs, stability, and wealth that support the health of the population. This is not the kind of problem that the health care system alone, or any one sector of society, can actually tackle on its own. The challenge is to create real partnerships with all sectors: employers, labor leaders, educators, police, and governmental groups.

Uncovering What Our Students Really Think About Science and Society -- Are We Doomed?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teske, Johanna; Prather, E. E.; Wallace, C. S.; Meyers, M.; Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS)

2012-10-01

We present initial results from our study of how science does or does not influence the worldviews of introductory, general education college astronomy students. Our data were gathered over one course (one semester), and examine students' ideas on provocative topics such as the relationship between science and religion, comparisons between the return on investment from different government programs, the limits of scientific inquiry, and how/if science can help to solve critical problems facing our society today. Since this is the last formal science course many of these general education astronomy students will ever take, the experience they have during this course is crucial for developing an accurate and well-informed worldview that includes the role of science in society. With our research we aim to answer the question, “Can teaching help shape this worldview to incorporate science more positively?” This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Land cover change and water vapour flows: learning from Australia.

PubMed Central

Gordon, Line; Dunlop, Michael; Foran, Barney

2003-01-01

Australia is faced with large-scale dryland salinization problems, largely as a consequence of the clearing of native vegetation for cropland and grassland. We estimate the change in continental water vapour flow (evapotranspiration) of Australia during the past 200 years. During this period there has been a substantial decrease in woody vegetation and a corresponding increase in croplands and grasslands. The shift in land use has caused a ca. 10% decrease in water vapour flows from the continent. This reduction corresponds to an annual freshwater flow of almost 340 km(3). The society-induced alteration of freshwater flows is estimated at more than 15 times the volume of run-off freshwater that is diverted and actively managed in the Australian society. These substantial water vapour flow alterations were previously not addressed in water management but are now causing serious impacts on the Australian society and local economies. Global and continental freshwater assessments and policy often neglects the interplay between freshwater flows and landscape dynamics. Freshwater issues on both regional and global levels must be rethought and the interplay between terrestrial ecosystems and freshwater better incorporated in freshwater and ecosystem management. PMID:14728792

[Problems in diagnosing sexually transmitted infections and human immunodeficiency virus in primary health care in Spain].

PubMed

Agustí, Cristina; Fernández, Laura; Mascort, Juanjo; Carrillo, Ricard; Casabona, Jordi

2013-01-01

To describe the clinical practice of the General Practitioner (GP) in HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the obstacles they face in diagnosing them. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed online to members of two Spanish GP Societies. A total of 1.308 GP took part in the survey, which showed that 39.3% had received training on HIV/STI in the last three years, and 21.2% felt uncomfortable talking about sex with the patient. We identified important deficiencies in the resources needed for diagnosis of HIV/STI and in the circuits for referral. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Amygdala hypoactivity to fearful faces in boys with conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits.

PubMed

Jones, Alice P; Laurens, Kristin R; Herba, Catherine M; Barker, Gareth J; Viding, Essi

2009-01-01

Although early-onset conduct problems predict both psychiatric and health problems in adult life, little research has been done to index neural correlates of conduct problems. Emerging research suggests that a subgroup of children with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits may be genetically vulnerable to manifesting disturbances in neural reactivity to emotional stimuli indexing distress. Using functional MRI, the authors evaluated differences in neural response to emotional stimuli between boys with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits and comparison boys. Seventeen boys with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits and 13 comparison boys of equivalent age (mean=11 years) and IQ (mean=100) viewed blocked presentations of fearful and neutral faces. For each face, participants distinguished the sex of the face via manual response. Relative to the comparison group, boys with conduct problems and elevated levels of callous-unemotional traits manifested lesser right amygdala activity to fearful faces. This finding is in line with data from studies of adults with antisocial behavior and callous-unemotional traits (i.e., psychopaths), as well as from a recent study of adolescents with callous-unemotional traits, and suggests that the neural substrates of emotional impairment associated with callous-unemotional antisocial behavior are already present in childhood.

The most common problem facing by the maintenance department: A case Study between Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norazam Yasin, Mohd; Mohamad Zin, Rosli; Halid Abdullah, Abd; Shafiq Mahmad, Muhammad; Fikri Hasmori, Muhammad

2017-11-01

From time to time, the maintenance works become more challenging due to construction of new building and also aging of the existing buildings. University buildings without any exception require proper maintenance services to support their function requirements and this can be considered as major responsibilities to be fulfilled by the maintenance department in the universities. Maintenance department specifically will face various kinds of problems in their operation works and thus this might influence the maintenance work operations itself. This study purposely to identify the common problem facing by the maintenance department and also to examine the current status of the maintenance department. In addition, this study would also propose any suitable approach that could be implemented to overcome the problem facing by the maintenance department. To achieve the objectives of this study, a combination of deep literature study and carrying out a survey is necessary. Literature study aimed to obtain deeper information about this study, meanwhile a survey aimed at identifying the common problem facing by the maintenance department and also to provide the information of the maintenance department’s organization. Several methods will be used in analyzing the data obtained through the survey, including Microsoft Office Excel and also using mean index formula. This study has identified three categories of problem in the maintenance department, which are management problems, human resource problem, and technical problems. Following the findings, several solutions being proposed which can be implemented as the solution to the problem facing. These suggestions have the potential to improve the maintenance department work efficiency, thus could help to increase the department productivity.

DASEES: A Tripartite Decision Analysis Framework to Achieve Sustainable Environment, Economy & Society Growth and Management Goals

EPA Science Inventory

Many of Societies management and growth decisions are often made without a balanced consideration of pertinent factors from environmental, economic and societal perspectives. All three of these areas are key players in many of the decisions facing societies as they strive to ope...

An Architectural Model of Visual Motion Understanding

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-01

of the Center for Visual Sciences of the University of Rochester. Their courage in the face of the overwhelming com- plexity of the human visual...analysis should perform better than either approach by itself. Notice that the problems of the two approaches are non-overlapping. Continuous methods face no...success. This is not terribly surprising, as the problem is inherently very difficult. Consider the problems faced by a unit that is trying to compute the

Improving drug addiction treatment in China.

PubMed

Tang, Yi-Lang; Hao, Wei

2007-07-01

To illustrate the current situation and problems of drug addiction in treatment China and propose suggestions. A descriptive study based on literature searched from Medline and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database (1996-2007) and hand-picked references. Since the re-emergence of drug addiction in China in the early 1990s, there has been tremendous progress in drug addiction treatments in China, especially treatments for opiate addiction. However, many problems and challenges remain for improvement, including widespread negative attitudes towards drug abuse and drug-dependent individuals, the lack of evidence-based data on the efficacy of Chinese traditional medicine and the lack of a comprehensive and integrated system to organize all treatment resources and monitor treatment progress. The authors discuss the challenges that impede effective treatments of drug addiction and some suggestions are proposed. Implementing these suggestions can improve the outcome of treatment of drug-dependent individuals and benefit the whole society. China faces substantial drug addiction problems that appear to be worsening with time. Although much progress in drug addiction treatment has been made, improvement in many aspects is needed urgently.

Protein purification and crystallization artifacts: The tale usually not told.

PubMed

Niedzialkowska, Ewa; Gasiorowska, Olga; Handing, Katarzyna B; Majorek, Karolina A; Porebski, Przemyslaw J; Shabalin, Ivan G; Zasadzinska, Ewelina; Cymborowski, Marcin; Minor, Wladek

2016-03-01

The misidentification of a protein sample, or contamination of a sample with the wrong protein, may be a potential reason for the non-reproducibility of experiments. This problem may occur in the process of heterologous overexpression and purification of recombinant proteins, as well as purification of proteins from natural sources. If the contaminated or misidentified sample is used for crystallization, in many cases the problem may not be detected until structures are determined. In the case of functional studies, the problem may not be detected for years. Here several procedures that can be successfully used for the identification of crystallized protein contaminants, including: (i) a lattice parameter search against known structures, (ii) sequence or fold identification from partially built models, and (iii) molecular replacement with common contaminants as search templates have been presented. A list of common contaminant structures to be used as alternative search models was provided. These methods were used to identify four cases of purification and crystallization artifacts. This report provides troubleshooting pointers for researchers facing difficulties in phasing or model building. © 2016 The Protein Society.

Stress, Sleep and Depressive Symptoms in Active Duty Military Personnel.

PubMed

Chou, Han-Wei; Tzeng, Wen-Chii; Chou, Yu-Ching; Yeh, Hui-Wen; Chang, Hsin-An; Kao, Yu-Chen; Huang, San-Yuan; Yeh, Chin-Bin; Chiang, Wei-Shan; Tzeng, Nian-Sheng

2016-08-01

The military is a unique occupational group and, because of this, military personnel face different kinds of stress than civilian populations. Sleep problems are an example. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep problems, depression level and coping strategies among military personnel. In this cross-sectional study, military personnel completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Jalowiec Coping Scale. An evaluation of the test scores showed that officers had better sleep quality and fewer depressive symptoms than enlisted personnel. Military personnel with higher educational levels and less physical illness also had fewer depressive symptoms. Officers and noncommissioned officers preferred problem-focused strategies. Those with higher Beck Depression Inventory and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores and those who drank alcohol frequently preferred affective-focused strategies. Our results revealed that sleep quality, physical illness and alcohol consumption were associated with the mental health of military personnel. Treating these factors may improve the mental health of military personnel and enhance effective coping strategies. Copyright © 2016 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Formation of the Urban Environment in the West Siberian Oil and Gas Region: Problems and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, N. V.; Speranskaya, N. I.; Shabatura, L. N.; Iatsevich, O. E.

2016-10-01

The article deals with the problems faced by the person in relation to the culture of creating a sustainable urban environment. The urban environment is seen as space of human existence, influencing its spiritual and physical health. All the experts involved in the urban environment, think about the culture of its formation, unfortunately, only from a departmental point of view. Differently organized human environment inevitably affects behavior, emotional state of a man, his perception and understanding of space. The cultural heritage of society fits in the space of an artificial environment created by a man, and determines the behavior of people.For the solution of problems of formation of the urban environment, it is necessary to apply a set of interrelated technical, social, environmental, aesthetic and other measures. In this capacity, landscape design as a set of methods has to build a sustainable urban environment to ensure harmonious living.Current trends, methods, and techniques of landscape design are to create sustainable environment for a person - creative, spiritual, comfortable, attractive, safe, harmonious.

Effective monitoring of agriculture: a response.

PubMed

Sachs, Jeffrey D; Remans, Roseline; Smukler, Sean M; Winowiecki, Leigh; Andelman, Sandy J; Cassman, Kenneth G; Castle, David; DeFries, Ruth; Denning, Glenn; Fanzo, Jessica; Jackson, Louise E; Leemans, Rik; Lehmann, Johannes; Milder, Jeffrey C; Naeem, Shahid; Nziguheba, Generose; Palm, Cheryl A; Pingali, Prabhu L; Reganold, John P; Richter, Daniel D; Scherr, Sara J; Sircely, Jason; Sullivan, Clare; Tomich, Thomas P; Sanchez, Pedro A

2012-03-01

The development of effective agricultural monitoring networks is essential to track, anticipate and manage changes in the social, economic and environmental aspects of agriculture. We welcome the perspective of Lindenmayer and Likens (J. Environ. Monit., 2011, 13, 1559) as published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring on our earlier paper, "Monitoring the World's Agriculture" (Sachs et al., Nature, 2010, 466, 558-560). In this response, we address their three main critiques labeled as 'the passive approach', 'the problem with uniform metrics' and 'the problem with composite metrics'. We expand on specific research questions at the core of the network design, on the distinction between key universal and site-specific metrics to detect change over time and across scales, and on the need for composite metrics in decision-making. We believe that simultaneously measuring indicators of the three pillars of sustainability (environmentally sound, social responsible and economically viable) in an effectively integrated monitoring system will ultimately allow scientists and land managers alike to find solutions to the most pressing problems facing global food security. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

Revenge Pornography: Mental Health Implications and Related Legislation.

PubMed

Kamal, Mudasir; Newman, William J

2016-09-01

Revenge pornography, also known as nonconsensual pornography, is a subtype of cyberharassment/cyberstalking, and a serious problem facing society in the Internet age. Revenge pornography can result in lifelong mental health consequences for victims, damaged relationships, and social isolation. Recently, a growing number of states have recognized the importance of this phenomenon and have enacted legislation that criminalizes it. The technology industry has also taken steps to assist victims of revenge pornography by creating web forms to request removal of links leading to the explicit content. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) has been instrumental in promoting public awareness of this often overlooked problem and in providing services for victims. Although important steps have been made, greater recognition of the gravity of this problem and the mental health implications of revenge pornography is needed to expand legislation criminalizing such acts. A federal criminal law, in particular, is much overdue. Mental health professionals must understand the dimensions of revenge pornography to be able to identify and address the consequences in both forensic and clinical settings. © 2016 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Semisupervised kernel marginal Fisher analysis for face recognition.

PubMed

Wang, Ziqiang; Sun, Xia; Sun, Lijun; Huang, Yuchun

2013-01-01

Dimensionality reduction is a key problem in face recognition due to the high-dimensionality of face image. To effectively cope with this problem, a novel dimensionality reduction algorithm called semisupervised kernel marginal Fisher analysis (SKMFA) for face recognition is proposed in this paper. SKMFA can make use of both labelled and unlabeled samples to learn the projection matrix for nonlinear dimensionality reduction. Meanwhile, it can successfully avoid the singularity problem by not calculating the matrix inverse. In addition, in order to make the nonlinear structure captured by the data-dependent kernel consistent with the intrinsic manifold structure, a manifold adaptive nonparameter kernel is incorporated into the learning process of SKMFA. Experimental results on three face image databases demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.

Proper care for the dying: a critical public issue.

PubMed Central

Crispell, K R; Gomez, C F

1987-01-01

The ability of the medical profession to sustain life, or more appropriately, to prolong dying, in patients with terminal illness, creates a most complex and controversial situation for all involved: the patient, if mentally alert; the patient's family; and the medical care team including physicians, nurses and attendants. This situation is especially complex in large acute care hospitals where medical and nursing students, residents and house officers receive advanced medical training. A major problem, prolonging the dying of the terminally ill, with its medical, legal, ethical and economic complexities now confronts American society. The problem is particularly acute in teaching hospitals, in which one finds a disproportionate number of terminally ill patients. The ability to work at these questions as a community rather than as adversaries will determine much about the ability of the health care system to respect the dignity and autonomy of those who seek aid and comfort when faced with serious illness and impending death. Better communication between the physicians, health care providers, the lawyers and ethicists must be developed in order to solve these problems. Over the next ten years society and our elected representatives will be making very demanding decisions about the use of the health dollar. One possible way to prevent increasing costs is to reach significant agreement on the proper care of the dying. Proper care for the dying is being considered, discussed, and evaluated by very thoughtful people. It is not governments which should decide who is to live or who is to die. There is the serious problem of the 'slippery slope' to euthanasia by omission if cost containment becomes the major force in formulating policy on the proper care of the dying. PMID:3612698

[Addiction therapy. Limits, problems, perspectives].

PubMed

Kalapos, Miklós Péter

2014-01-01

In health care, tending is a process, which offers for the patients a continuous watching on, a control, a treatment, and the prevention of worsening of their medical status as well as the reduction of their complaints. In the article, some fundamental segments of tending in addictology are reviewed, particularly paying attention to whom, how, where and how long to take care. On the basis of literature, the author stresses whatever method is used to treat addict patients it is more beneficial to society than the avoidance of any intervention due to the negligence of the problem. Addictology has lost a lot from its power in Hungary. The author recommends the introduction of the methods of health quality assurance to decrease the effect of negative trends seen in addictology. The paper also deals with special patient groups including homeless clients, adolescents, elderly and pregnant patients as well as health care professionals. The author critically mentions the double communication of society, the dual-face character of politics and has the opinion that competences are not clear making the situation confused. As a mistake of the point of view is it regarded that the addictological problems are classified as to belonging to the authority of psychiatry. It is emphasized that multidisciplinary approach is needed to understand the problem and to treat the client. General screening for addictological diseases does not seem possible in the light of low capacity of the system, but the screening of adolescents and pregnant women is definitely recommended. And finally, a financial support for medicines to prevent craving, a moratorium for the continuous changing of rules and law, the sponsoring of harm reduction programs as well as a better utilization of opportunities offered by local drug coordinating boards are proposed.

Problems Facing Rural Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, C. E.; And Others

Problems facing rural Scottish schools range from short term consideration of daily operation to long term consideration of organizational alternatives. Addressed specifically, such problems include consideration of: (1) liaison between a secondary school and its feeder primary schools; (2) preservice teacher training for work in small, isolated…

Prevalence and Correlates of Elder Abuse in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

PubMed

Blay, Sergio L; Laks, Jerson; Marinho, Valeska; Figueira, Ivan; Maia, Deborah; Coutinho, Evandro S F; Quintana, Ines M; Mello, Marcelo F; Bressan, Rodrigo A; Mari, Jair J; Andreoli, Sergio B

2017-12-01

To assess the prevalence of elder abuse and to investigate potential sociodemographic, health behavior, and medical correlates. Cross-sectional data were collected in face-to-face assessments. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Individuals aged 60 to 75. Information on elder abuse was obtained using the Brazil-adapted, nine-item Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test. Sampling design-adjusted descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used in analyses. The overall prevalence of abuse was 14.4% (n = 46/259, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 9.82-20.61) in São Paulo and 13.3% (n = 27/197, 95% CI = 8.76-19.74) in Rio de Janeiro. Unadjusted analyses indicated that poor education, low physical activity, unemployment, heart disease, and psychiatric problems were associated with abuse, but in adjusted analyses, self-reported elder abuse was significantly associated only with psychiatric problems (São Paulo: OR = 4.48, 95% CI = 1.75-11.45; Rio de Janeiro: OR = 21.61, 95% CI = 6.39-73.14). Elder abuse is prevalent in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, but whether concomitants of abuse are cause, effect, or both is unclear because this was a cross-sectional study. These findings highlight the importance of the problem, as well as the need to develop measures to increase awareness, facilitate prevention, and fight against abuse of elderly adults. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

Multi-Dimensional, Non-Pyrolyzing Ablation Test Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Risch, Tim; Kostyk, Chris

2016-01-01

Non-pyrolyzingcarbonaceous materials represent a class of candidate material for hypersonic vehicle components providing both structural and thermal protection system capabilities. Two problems relevant to this technology are presented. The first considers the one-dimensional ablation of a carbon material subject to convective heating. The second considers two-dimensional conduction in a rectangular block subject to radiative heating. Surface thermochemistry for both problems includes finite-rate surface kinetics at low temperatures, diffusion limited ablation at intermediate temperatures, and vaporization at high temperatures. The first problem requires the solution of both the steady-state thermal profile with respect to the ablating surface and the transient thermal history for a one-dimensional ablating planar slab with temperature-dependent material properties. The slab front face is convectively heated and also reradiates to a room temperature environment. The back face is adiabatic. The steady-state temperature profile and steady-state mass loss rate should be predicted. Time-dependent front and back face temperature, surface recession and recession rate along with the final temperature profile should be predicted for the time-dependent solution. The second problem requires the solution for the transient temperature history for an ablating, two-dimensional rectangular solid with anisotropic, temperature-dependent thermal properties. The front face is radiatively heated, convectively cooled, and also reradiates to a room temperature environment. The back face and sidewalls are adiabatic. The solution should include the following 9 items: final surface recession profile, time-dependent temperature history of both the front face and back face at both the centerline and sidewall, as well as the time-dependent surface recession and recession rate on the front face at both the centerline and sidewall. The results of the problems from all submitters will be collected, summarized, and presented at a later conference.

The expanding role of civil society in the global HIV/AIDS response: what has the President's Emergency Program For AIDS Relief's role been?

PubMed

Coutinho, Alex; Roxo, Uchechi; Epino, Henry; Muganzi, Alex; Dorward, Emily; Pick, Billy

2012-08-15

Civil society has been part of the HIV/AIDS response from the very beginning of the epidemic, often becoming engaged before national governments. Traditional roles of civil society--advocacy, activism, serving as government watchdog, and acting as community caretaker--have been critical to the response. In addition, civil society organizations (CSOs) play an integral part in providing world-class HIV prevention and treatment services and helping to ensure continuity of care. The President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has significantly increased the global scale-up of combination antiretroviral therapy reaching for more than 5 million people in developing countries, as well as implementation of effective evidence-based combination prevention approaches. PEPFAR databases in 5 countries and annual reports from a centrally managed initiative were mined and analyzed to determine the numbers and types of CSOs funded by PEPFAR over a 5-year period (2006-2011). Data are also presented from Uganda showing the overall resource growth in CSO working for HIV. Case studies document the evolution of 3 indigenous CSOs that increased the capacity to implement activities with PEPFAR funding. A legacy of PEPFAR has been the growth of civil society to address social and health issues as well as recognition by governments that partnerships with beneficiaries and civil society result in better outcomes. Scale-up of the global response could not have happened without the involvement of civil society and people living with HIV. This game changing partnership to jointly tackle the problems that countries face may well be the greatest benefit emerging from the HIV epidemic.

Training innovations in gastroenterology and educational resources: a new vision of gastrointestinal education across Europe.

PubMed

Berberat, Pascal O; de Wit, Niek J; Bockhorn, Maximilian; Lundell, Lars; Drenth, Joost P H

2010-12-01

To define a new educational strategy for the United European Gastroenterology Federation (UEGF) to be followed and implemented in the near future. UEGF organized a consensus-based strategy meeting with stakeholders and key decision makers in European Gastroenterology on Training Innovations in Gastroenterology and Educational Resources. In May 2010, in an 'open-face conference' at Starnberg, Germany, 59 specialists in gastroenterology, hepatology, and related fields from 15 countries and 16 societies participated. Breakout sessions identified the key problem areas, possible solutions, and formulated statements subsequently voted upon in plenum. A majority of the formulated statements (59%) reached a strong agreement. Topics in which UEGF should focus are the future educational activities that include developing ways to advocate multidisciplinarity and integration between levels of care and specialties, ways to improve quality of care, and the development of training tools. The successful outcome of the Training Innovations in Gastroenterology and Educational Resources conference was achieved with the production of a strategy layout for new UEGF educational activities. There was an agreement that improvement in topics related to multidisciplinarity and professionalism, which is crucial for further development. An open-face conference, such as that embodied by the Training Innovations in Gastroenterology and Educational Resources meeting, was shown to be an effective tool in identifying the key problem areas in education and in formulating new strategies.

Professional problems: the burden of producing the "global" Filipino nurse.

PubMed

Ortiga, Yasmin Y

2014-08-01

This paper investigates the challenges faced by nursing schools within migrant-sending nations, where teachers and school administrators face the task of producing nurse labor, not only for domestic health needs but employers beyond national borders. I situate my research in the Philippines, one of the leading sources of migrant nurse labor in the world. Based on 58 interviews with nursing school instructors and administrators, conducted from 2010 to 2013, I argue that Philippine nursing schools are embedded within a global nursing care chain, where nations lower down the chain must supply nurse labor to wealthier countries higher up the chain. This paper shows how this process forces Filipino nurse educators to negotiate an overloaded curriculum, the influx of aspiring migrants into nursing programs, and erratic labor demand cycles overseas. These issues create problems in defining the professional knowledge needed by Filipino nurses; instilling professional values and standards; and maintaining proper job security. As such, these findings demonstrate how countries like the Philippines bear the burden of ensuring nurses' employability, where educational institutions constantly adjust curriculum and instruction for the benefit of employers within wealthier societies. My interviews reveal how such adjustments undermine the professional values and standards that define the nursing profession within the country. Such inequality is an outcome of nurse migration that current research has not fully explored. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Migraine Care Challenges and Strategies in US Uninsured and Underinsured Adults: A Narrative Review, Part 1.

PubMed

Charleston, Larry; Royce, Jeffrey; Monteith, Teshamae S; Broner, Susan W; O'Brien, Hope L; Manrriquez, Salvador L; Robbins, Matthew S

2018-04-01

To review the scope of the problem facing individuals with migraine who are under- or uninsured. In this first of a 2-part narrative review, we will explore migraine epidemiology and the challenges that face this vulnerable population. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act has improved access to health care for many individuals who were previously uninsured, but there are many, particularly those of certain demographics, who are at high risk for worse outcomes. A narrative review was performed after a series of discussions within the Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine Special Interest Section meetings of the American Headache Society. Literature was reviewed for key concepts underpinning conceptual boundaries and a broad overview of the subject matter. Published guidelines, state-specific Medicaid websites, headache quality measurement set, literature review, and expert opinion were used to tailor suggested treatment options and therapeutic strategies. Migraine is common, yet remains underdiagnosed and associated with worse outcomes among those of under-represented backgrounds and those who are underinsured or uninsured. Low socioeconomics may play an important role in the disease progression, characteristics, outcome, and quality of life of patients with migraine and other headache disorders. Other barriers to optimal care include time constraints, lack of access to specialty providers, transportation, and financial limitations. There are many barriers and challenges that affect people with migraine who are underinsured or uninsured, particularly those of under-represented racial backgrounds and of lower socioeconomic status. © 2018 American Headache Society.

The challenges facing mental health programs for post-conflict and refugee communities.

PubMed

Silove, Derrick

2004-01-01

The majority of refugees and communities exposed to warfare and oppression live in low-income countries with few resources or special skills. Yet, epidemiological studies have identified high levels of traumatic stress reactions in such populations. These stress reactions can be intensified by harsh policies aimed at deterring survivors from seeking refuge in technologically advanced societies. The scale of the problem of mass violence and displacement creates formidable challenges for mental health professionals in their efforts to develop practical frameworks for responding to the extensive needs of displaced persons. In this article, a model is proposed for low-income, post-conflict countries, based on a two-tiered formulation. At the eco-social level, mental health professionals can play a supportive, but not a lead, role in facilitating recovery of core adaptive systems that hasten natural recovery from stress for the majority of the population. Where small-scale, community mental health services are established, the emphasis should be on assisting persons and their families who are at greatest survival and adaptive risk. Training and promotion of local workers to assume leadership in such programs are essential. In technologically advanced societies in which refugees are in a minority, torture and trauma services can focus more specifically on traumatic stress reactions, acculturation, and resettlement. In a historical epoch in which displaced persons are facing particularly harsh treatment, there is a pressing need for consensus amongst mental health professionals in advocating for their needs.

Cross-Informant Agreement between Parent-Reported and Adolescent Self-Reported Problems in 25 Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rescorla, Leslie A.; Ginzburg, Sofia; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Almqvist, Fredrik; Begovac, Ivan; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Chahed, Myriam; Dobrean, Anca; Dopfner, Manfred; Erol, Nese; Hannesdottir, Helga; Kanbayashi, Yasuko; Lambert, Michael C.; Leung, Patrick W. L.; Minaei, Asghar; Novik, Torunn S.; Oh, Kyung-Ja; Petot, Djaouida; Petot, Jean-Michel; Pomalima, Rolando; Rudan, Vlasta; Sawyer, Michael; Simsek, Zeynep; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Valverde, Jose; van der Ende, Jan; Weintraub, Sheila; Metzke, Christa Winkler; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Zhang, Eugene Yuqing; Zukauskiene, Rita; Verhulst, Frank C.

2013-01-01

We used population sample data from 25 societies to answer the following questions: (a) How consistently across societies do adolescents report more problems than their parents report about them? (b) Do levels of parent-adolescent agreement vary among societies for different kinds of problems? (c) How well do parents and adolescents in different…

Face to Face with Poverty: The Mobile Creches in India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahadevan, Meera

1977-01-01

Outlines India's attempt to bring educational services to the poorest sections of its society. Examines mobile child care centers (creches), nursery and elementary schools, training of creche workers, education of parents, and use of community resources. (JK)

Can we match ultraviolet face images against their visible counterparts?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narang, Neeru; Bourlai, Thirimachos; Hornak, Lawrence A.

2015-05-01

In law enforcement and security applications, the acquisition of face images is critical in producing key trace evidence for the successful identification of potential threats. However, face recognition (FR) for face images captured using different camera sensors, and under variable illumination conditions, and expressions is very challenging. In this paper, we investigate the advantages and limitations of the heterogeneous problem of matching ultra violet (from 100 nm to 400 nm in wavelength) or UV, face images against their visible (VIS) counterparts, when all face images are captured under controlled conditions. The contributions of our work are three-fold; (i) We used a camera sensor designed with the capability to acquire UV images at short-ranges, and generated a dual-band (VIS and UV) database that is composed of multiple, full frontal, face images of 50 subjects. Two sessions were collected that span over the period of 2 months. (ii) For each dataset, we determined which set of face image pre-processing algorithms are more suitable for face matching, and, finally, (iii) we determined which FR algorithm better matches cross-band face images, resulting in high rank-1 identification rates. Experimental results show that our cross spectral matching (the heterogeneous problem, where gallery and probe sets consist of face images acquired in different spectral bands) algorithms achieve sufficient identification performance. However, we also conclude that the problem under study, is very challenging, and it requires further investigation to address real-world law enforcement or military applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is first time in the open literature the problem of cross-spectral matching of UV against VIS band face images is being investigated.

ARSH 1: Reproductive and sexual health problems of adolescents and young adults: a cross sectional community survey on knowledge, attitude and practice.

PubMed

Nair, M K C; Leena, M L; Thankachi, Yamini; George, Babu; Russell, Paul Swamidhas Sudhakar

2013-11-01

To understand the problems faced and the difference in knowledge, attitude and practice of young people across the age group of 10-24 y on reproductive and sexual health issues and to get their suggestions regarding adolescent care services. This cross sectional community survey involving three districts in Kerala was conducted among adolescents and young adults of 10-24 y using a population proportion to sample size technique. The main problems faced by the young people between 10 and 24 y of age were financial, substance abuse in family, poor academic performance, difference of opinion, disease in self/family, mental problems, lack of talent, strict parents, difficulty in mingling, love failure, broken family, loneliness and problems at school/office in the descending order. As the age advances higher percentage of both boys (43.4%) and girls (61.7%) discuss reproductive sexual health issues among themselves. There was a statistically significant difference in personal hygiene practices like changing napkins/cloths more than once a day (94.3%), cleaning genital organs with soap every day (71.7%), washing after urination (69.2%), washing from front to back after defecation (62.2%) and washing hands with soap after defecation (73.2%) between 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 y age group with higher percentages in the older groups. In order to make the service more useful, more of the older group participants suggested giving information on adolescent services to parents, adolescents and society as a whole by creating better societal acceptance and keeping confidentiality in service delivery. This study has shown an overall inadequacy in reproductive health knowledge in all age groups, but increasing knowledge gain and better attitude and practices on reproductive and sexual health as the age increases. The suggestions made by the group regarding need for adolescent reproductive sexual health (ARSH) and counseling services with privacy and confidentiality ensured, is useful for planning ARSH services under National Rural Health Mission.

Memory for angry faces, impulsivity, and problematic behavior in adolescence.

PubMed

d'Acremont, Mathieu; Van der Linden, Martial

2007-04-01

Research has shown that cognitive processes like the attribution of hostile intention or angry emotion to others contribute to the development and maintenance of conduct problems. However, the role of memory has been understudied in comparison with attribution biases. The aim of this study was thus to test if a memory bias for angry faces was related to conduct problems in youth. Adolescents from a junior secondary school were presented with angry and happy faces and were later asked to recognize the same faces with a neutral expression. They also completed an impulsivity questionnaire. A teacher assessed their behavior. The results showed that a better recognition of angry faces than happy faces predicted conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention as reported by the teacher. The memory bias effect was more pronounced for impulsive adolescents. It is suggested that a memory bias for angry faces favors disruptive behavior but that a good ability to control impulses may moderate the negative impact of this bias.

Online Sexual Solicitation: The Role and Responsibility of Parents and School Psychologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valentine, Christopher

2013-01-01

As use of the Internet becomes more prevalent in society and daily living, there has been increased attention to the risks, especially threats that young people may face. One of these risks is online sexual solicitation, in which an individual contacts a minor over the Internet, generally with the intent of making face-to-face sexual contact.…

Editors' overview perspectives on teaching social responsibility to students in science and engineering.

PubMed

Zandvoort, Henk; Børsen, Tom; Deneke, Michael; Bird, Stephanie J

2013-12-01

Global society is facing formidable current and future problems that threaten the prospects for justice and peace, sustainability, and the well-being of humanity both now and in the future. Many of these problems are related to science and technology and to how they function in the world. If the social responsibility of scientists and engineers implies a duty to safeguard or promote a peaceful, just and sustainable world society, then science and engineering education should empower students to fulfil this responsibility. The contributions to this special issue present European examples of teaching social responsibility to students in science and engineering, and provide examples and discussion of how this teaching can be promoted, and of obstacles that are encountered. Speaking generally, education aimed at preparing future scientists and engineers for social responsibility is presently very limited and seemingly insufficient in view of the enormous ethical and social problems that are associated with current science and technology. Although many social, political and professional organisations have expressed the need for the provision of teaching for social responsibility, important and persistent barriers stand in the way of its sustained development. What is needed are both bottom-up teaching initiatives from individuals or groups of academic teachers, and top-down support to secure appropriate embedding in the university. Often the latter is lacking or inadequate. Educational policies at the national or international level, such as the Bologna agreements in Europe, can be an opportunity for introducing teaching for social responsibility. However, frequently no or only limited positive effect of such policies can be discerned. Existing accreditation and evaluation mechanisms do not guarantee appropriate attention to teaching for social responsibility, because, in their current form, they provide no guarantee that the curricula pay sufficient attention to teaching goals that are desirable for society as a whole.

Examination of the roles and capacities of duty bearers responsible for protecting the human rights to adequate food, nutritional health and wellbeing in Ugandan children's homes.

PubMed

Olafsen, Monica; Rukooko, Archangel Byaruhanga; Iversen, Per Ole; Andreassen, Bård A

2018-04-17

The majority of Ugandan children face vulnerability and malnutrition. As a State Party to international human rights treaties, Uganda has legal obligations of guaranteeing the fundamental rights and the best interest of the nation's children. Despite being protected under international and national law, Uganda is not providing adequate child protection, including safeguarding children's food security. Numerous privately owned and unregulated children's homes face this problem. The overall aim of the study was to examine to what extent children's homes' operations are consistent with the right to adequate food, nutritional health and wellbeing of children. We performed a qualitative role- and capacity analysis of duty bearers with human rights duties towards children living in children's homes. We studied three groups of duty bearers: caretakers working in private children's homes, State actors working in government and its institutions, and non-State actors working in civil society organizations. A human rights based approach guided all aspects of the study. An analysis of the roles, performance and capacities of duty bearers was employed, with individual face-to-face structured qualitative in-depth interviews, self-administered structured questionnaires, and a structured observational study, as well as a desk review of relevant literature. The State of Uganda's efforts to respect and realize its obligations towards children living in children's homes is inadequate. There are numerous capacity gaps among the duty bearers, and the concepts of human rights and the best interest of the child are not well understood among the duty bearers. The efforts of the State of Uganda to realize its human rights obligations towards children in children's homes are lacking in important areas. Hence the State does not fulfill its minimum obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to ensure all children freedom from hunger. There is a need for capacity development at all levels in the Ugandan state and the international society to delimit capacity gaps in order to realize these human rights' obligations.

Civil Aircraft Side-Facing Seat Research Summary

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-01

1983 to 2005, Proceedings of the American Helicopter Society Forum 66, Phoenix, Arizona, May 10-13, 2010. 11. Tulloch, J. Ejection Seat Back...Civil Aircraft Side-Facing Seat Research Summary Richard DeWeese David Moorcroft Civil Aerospace Medical Institute Federal Aviation...

Examining Information Problem-Solving, Knowledge, and Application Gains within Two Instructional Methods: Problem-Based and Computer-Mediated Participatory Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newell, Terrance S.

2008-01-01

This study compared the effectiveness of two instructional methods--problem-based instruction within a face-to-face context and computer-mediated participatory simulation--in increasing students' content knowledge and application gains in the area of information problem-solving. The instructional methods were implemented over a four-week period. A…

Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Graphical Model with Multiple Feature Fusion for Binary Facial Attribute Classification in Real-World Face Videos.

PubMed

Demirkus, Meltem; Precup, Doina; Clark, James J; Arbel, Tal

2016-06-01

Recent literature shows that facial attributes, i.e., contextual facial information, can be beneficial for improving the performance of real-world applications, such as face verification, face recognition, and image search. Examples of face attributes include gender, skin color, facial hair, etc. How to robustly obtain these facial attributes (traits) is still an open problem, especially in the presence of the challenges of real-world environments: non-uniform illumination conditions, arbitrary occlusions, motion blur and background clutter. What makes this problem even more difficult is the enormous variability presented by the same subject, due to arbitrary face scales, head poses, and facial expressions. In this paper, we focus on the problem of facial trait classification in real-world face videos. We have developed a fully automatic hierarchical and probabilistic framework that models the collective set of frame class distributions and feature spatial information over a video sequence. The experiments are conducted on a large real-world face video database that we have collected, labelled and made publicly available. The proposed method is flexible enough to be applied to any facial classification problem. Experiments on a large, real-world video database McGillFaces [1] of 18,000 video frames reveal that the proposed framework outperforms alternative approaches, by up to 16.96 and 10.13%, for the facial attributes of gender and facial hair, respectively.

The quality of raw water for drinking water unit in Jakarta-Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidabutar, Noni Valeria; Hartono, Djoko M.; Soesilo, Tri Edhi Budhi; Hutapea, Reynold C.

2017-03-01

Water problems, i.e quality, quantity, continuity of clean water faced by the mostly urban area. Jakarta also faces similar issues, because the needs of society higher than the number of water fulfilled by the government. Moreover, Jakarta's water quality does not meet the standard set by the Government and heavily polluted by anthropogenic activities along its rivers. This research employs a quantitative research approach with the mix-method. It examines the raw water quality status for drinking water in West Tarum Canalin 2011-2015. The research results show water quality with this research, using water quality of with the water categorized as heavily-polluted category based on the Ministry of Environment's Decree No 115/2003 regarding the Guidelines for Determination of Water Quality Status. This present research also shown the water quality (parameters pH, temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)) from Jatiluhur Dam to the intake drinking water unit. In thirteen points of sampling also, the results obtained the parameters DO, COD, and BOD are fluctuating and exceed the standard.

Out-of-pocket cost of drug abuse consequences: results from Iranian National Mental Health Survey.

PubMed

Amin-Esmaeili, Masoumeh; Hefazi, Mitra; Radgoodarzi, Reza; Motevalian, Abbas; Sharifi, Vandad; Hajebi, Ahmad; Rahimi-Movaghar, Afarin

2017-05-01

Drug abuse has significant cost to the individual, the family and the society. This study aimed to assess out of-pocket costs of consequences of drug use disorder. Data were drawn from the Iranian Mental Health Survey (IranMHS) through face-to-face interviews with 7841 respondents aged 15-64 years. We used a bottom-up cost-ofillness method for economic analysis. Out-of-pocket costs for treatment of mental and drug problems, treatment of medical illnesses, as well as costs of crimes were assessed. The average of total annual expense was US$ 2120.6 for those with drug use disorder, which was 23.5% of annual income of an average Iranian family in the year 2011. The average of total out-of-pocket cost was US$ 674.6 for those with other mental disorder and US$ 421.9 for those with no mental disorder. Catastrophic payment was reported in 47.6% of the patients with drug use disorder and 14.4% of those with other mental disorder. Thus, considerable amount of family resources are spent on the consequences of drug use.

Teaching ethics to engineers - a research-based perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowden, Peter

2010-10-01

This paper describes research underpinning a course, developed in Australia, on ethics for engineers. The methodology used, that of identifying the principal ethical issues facing the discipline and designing the course around these issues, would be applicable to other disciplines and in other countries. The course was based on the assumption that identifying the major ethical issues in the discipline, and subsequently presenting and analysing them in the classroom, would provide the future professional with knowledge of the ethical problems that they were likely to face on graduation. The student has then to be given the skills and knowledge to combat these concerns, should he/she wish to. These findings feed into several components of the course, such as the development of a code of ethics, the role of a professional society or industry association and the role of ethical theory The sources employed to identify the issues were surveys of the literature and about 30 case studies, in Australia and overseas. The issues thus identified were then put before a sample of engineering managers to assess the relevance to the profession.

The face of conservation responding to a dynamically changing world.

PubMed

Wiederholt, Ruscena; Trainor, Anne M; Michel, Nicole; Shirey, Patrick D; Swaisgood, Ronald R; Tallamy, Doug; Cook-Patton, Susan C

2015-09-01

In its 40-year history, the science of conservation has faced unprecedented challenges in terms of environmental damage and rapid global change, and environmental problems are only increasing as greater demands are placed on limited natural resources. Conservation science has been adapting to keep pace with these changes. Here, we highlight contemporary and emerging trends and innovations in conservation science that we believe represent the most effective responses to biodiversity threats. We focus on specific areas where conservation science has had to adjust its approach to address emerging threats to biodiversity, including habitat destruction and degradation, climate change, declining populations and invasive species. We also document changes in attitudes, norms and practices among conservation scientists. A key component to success is engaging and maintaining public support for conservation, which can be facilitated through the use of technology. These recent trends in conservation and management are innovative and will assist in optimizing conservation strategies, increasing our leverage with the general public and tackling our current environmental challenges. © 2015 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Don't blame the 'bio'--blame the 'ethics': varieties of (bio)ethics and the challenge of pluralism.

PubMed

Charlesworth, Max

2005-01-01

We tend to think that the difficulties in bioethics spring from the novel and alarming issues that arise due to discoveries in the new biosciences and biotechnologies. But many of the crucial difficulties in bioethics arise from the assumption we make about ethics. This paper offers a brief overview of bioethics, and relates ethical 'principlism' to 'ethical fundamentalism.' It then reviews some alternative approaches that have emerged during the second phase of bioethics and argues for a neo-Aristotelian approach. Misconceptions about ethical principles and ethical reasoning not only distort our views of the business of bioethics, but they also prevent us from facing up to the formidable problems posed by ethical pluralism in so-called liberal societies.

Inclusion in High-Achieving Singapore: Challenges of Building an Inclusive Society in Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Zachary; Musti-Rao, Shobana

2016-01-01

Building an inclusive society in which all people can participate effectively and live together requires understanding inclusive education and its impact on the social order. As countries of different regions face the vast array of challenges unique to their educational systems, it becomes apparent that inclusive societies are intricately tied to…

International comparisons of behavioral and emotional problems in preschool children: parents' reports from 24 societies.

PubMed

Rescorla, Leslie A; Achenbach, Thomas M; Ivanova, Masha Y; Harder, Valerie S; Otten, Laura; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Capron, Christiane; De Pauw, Sarah S W; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Döpfner, Manfred; Duyme, Michel; Eapen, Valsamma; Erol, Nese; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Ezpeleta, Lourdes; Frigerio, Alessandra; Fung, Daniel S S; Gonçalves, Miguel; Guðmundsson, Halldór; Jeng, Suh-Fang; Jusiené, Roma; Ah Kim, Young; Kristensen, Solvejg; Liu, Jianghong; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W L; Machado, Bárbara César; Montirosso, Rosario; Ja Oh, Kyung; Ooi, Yoon Phaik; Plück, Julia; Pomalima, Rolando; Pranvera, Jetishi; Schmeck, Klaus; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R; Simsek, Zeynep; Sourander, Andre; Valverde, José; van der Ende, Jan; Van Leeuwen, Karla G; Wu, Yen-Tzu; Yurdusen, Sema; Zubrick, Stephen R; Verhulst, Frank C

2011-01-01

International comparisons were conducted of preschool children's behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½-5 by parents in 24 societies (N = 19,850). Item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-oriented scales; a Stress Problems scale; and Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to medium (3-12%). Although societies differed greatly in language, culture, and other characteristics, Total Problems scores for 18 of the 24 societies were within 7.1 points of the omnicultural mean of 33.3 (on a scale of 0-198). Gender and age differences, as well as gender and age interactions with society, were all very small (effect sizes < 1%). Across all pairs of societies, correlations between mean item ratings averaged .78, and correlations between internal consistency alphas for the scales averaged .92, indicating that the rank orders of mean item ratings and internal consistencies of scales were very similar across diverse societies.

International Comparisons of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Preschool Children: Parents’ Reports From 24 Societies

PubMed Central

Rescorla, Leslie A.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Harder, Valerie S.; Otten, Laura; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Capron, Christiane; De Pauw, Sarah S. W.; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Döpfner, Manfred; Duyme, Michel; Eapen, Valsamma; Erol, Nese; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Ezpeleta, Lourdes; Frigerio, Alessandra; Fung, Daniel S. S.; Gonçalves, Miguel; Guđmundsson, Halldór; Jeng, Suh-Fang; Jusiené, Roma; Kim, Young Ah; Kristensen, Solvejg; Liu, Jianghong; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W. L.; Machado, Bárbara César; Montirosso, Rosario; Oh, Kyung Ja; Ooi, Yoon Phaik; Plück, Julia; Pomalima, Rolando; Pranvera, Jetishi; Schmeck, Klaus; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R.; Simsek, Zeynep; Sourander, Andre; Valverde, José; van der Ende, Jan; Van Leeuwen, Karla G.; Wu, Yen-Tzu; Yurdusen, Sema; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Verhulst, Frank C.

2014-01-01

International comparisons were conducted of preschool children’s behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½–5 by parents in 24 societies (N =19,850). Item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–oriented scales; a Stress Problems scale; and Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to medium (3–12%). Although societies differed greatly in language, culture, and other characteristics, Total Problems scores for 18 of the 24 societies were within 7.1 points of the omnicultural mean of 33.3 (on a scale of 0–198). Gender and age differences, as well as gender and age interactions with society, were all very small (effect sizes <1%). Across all pairs of societies, correlations between mean item ratings averaged .78, and correlations between internal consistency alphas for the scales averaged .92, indicating that the rank orders of mean item ratings and internal consistencies of scales were very similar across diverse societies. PMID:21534056

Eco-driving: behavioural pattern change in Polish passenger vehicle drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czechowski, Piotr Oskar; Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Aneta; Czuba, Tomasz

2018-01-01

In Poland, as in the rest of Europe, air quality depends primarily on emissions from municipal, domestic and road transport sources. The problems of appropriate air quality are especially important within urban areas due to numerous sources of emissions being concentrated in relatively small spaces in both large cities and small/medium-sized towns. Due to the steadily increasing share of urban population in the overall number of population, the issue of providing clean air will over the years become a more significant problem for human health, and therefore a stronger incentive to intensify research. The key challenge faced by a modern society is, therefore, to limit harmful substance emissions in order to minimise the contribution of transport to pollution and health hazards. Increasingly stringent emission standards are being imposed on car manufacturers; on the other hand, scant regard is paid to the issue of drivers, i.e. how they can help reduce emissions and protect their life and health by applying eco-driving rules.

[Adjustment processes of foreign exchange high school students in Japan].

PubMed

Nagai, S

1988-04-01

The main purpose of the present study was to excavate the adjustment problems of 93 high school exchange students in Japan. Questionnaires including Cornell Medical Index (CMI) were administered longitudinally. In addition, individual interviews were held with those who had failed to adjust to the Japanese society. As for the subjective psychosomatic symptoms manifested in CMI, there was no significant sex difference while Asians were successively found to be significantly more liable to diseases and less adjusted than non-Asians. The questionnaires other than CMI disclosed difficulties which exchange students found in adjusting at Japanese home, including delicate personal relationships with host siblings, apparent lack of affective gestures (hugs and kisses), and early curfew. In the meanwhile, language barrier and trifling rules constituted the primary difficulties they faced at host school. On account of prejudice against women, girls had more unpleasant experiences than boys. Through individual interviews, all of the early returners were found to have already had a basic problem in their home countries.

Study on Rural Ecological Conservation and Health Care Plan to Respond Aging Population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jing Yu; Fu, Fei

2018-05-01

The problem of aging is a problem that the society must face now. Under the rapid development and expansion of modern cities, the traditional village which is the back garden of the city depends on its advantages and characteristics of the farmland water network ecological infrastructure to develop the health planning. It is an important way to develop economic and ecological protection. However, the study of this direction is still in its infancy in china. This paper attempts to establish an adaptive POE evaluation model for elderly open space through the investigation and analysis, and further explore the physiological and psychological needs of the elderly for the environment. Based on the above survey data, this paper studies the planning and planning strategy of the health industry in the natural villages in the suburbs of Dujiangyan. From the point of view of sustainable development, it is more effective to protect and develop the ecological infrastructure of villages.

Nutritional challenges for children in societies in transition.

PubMed

Cai, Wei

2014-05-01

This review is to explore the childhood nutrition and health in relation to socioeconomic changes in transitional countries, and to describe the good experiences and policies in these countries to combat childhood nutritional challenges. Double burden of malnutrition - the coexistence of under-nutrition and over-nutrition in the same population - is a prominent public health concern in transitional countries. With rapid industrialization, these countries are facing a growing epidemic of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents. The increasing prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity is a likely consequence of behavioral changes, and accompanied with an increasing incidence of noncommunicable chronic diseases. Although remarkable improvement of childhood nutrition was achieved, the stunting growth and micronutrient deficiency remain to be child health issues in transitional countries. The social transition caused a broad range of nutrition-associated problems. Previous successful experiences indicated that if appropriate action is undertaken, the child nutritional problems accompanied with economic transition could be controlled to some extent. However, greater efforts are needed to improve the status of childhood nutrition in transitional countries.

Escaping the resource curse in China.

PubMed

Cao, Shixiong; Li, Shurong; Ma, Hua; Sun, Yutong

2015-02-01

Many societies face an income gap between rich regions with access to advanced technology and regions that are rich in natural resources but poorer in technology. This "resource curse" can lead to a Kuznets trap, in which economic inequalities between the rich and the poor increase during the process of socioeconomic development. This can also lead to depletion of natural resources, environmental degradation, social instability, and declining socioeconomic development. These problems will jeopardize China's achievements if the current path continues to be pursued without intervention by the government to solve the problems. To mitigate the socioeconomic development gap between western and eastern China, the government implemented its Western Development Program in 2000. However, recent data suggest that this program has instead worsened the resource curse. Because each region has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, China must escape the resource curse by accounting for this difference; in western China, this can be done by improving education, promoting high-tech industry, adjusting its economic strategy to balance regional development, and seeking more sustainable approaches to socioeconomic development.

The Application of System Dynamics to the Integration of National Laboratory Research and K-12 Education

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

Mills, James Ignatius; Zounar Harbour, Elda D

2001-08-01

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is dedicated to finding solutions to problems related to the environment, energy, economic competitiveness, and national security. In an effort to attract and retain the expertise needed to accomplish these challenges, the INEEL is developing a program of broad educational opportunities that makes continuing education readily available to all laboratory employees, beginning in the K–12 environment and progressing through post-graduate education and beyond. One of the most innovative educational approaches being implemented at the laboratory is the application of STELLA© dynamic learning environments, which facilitate captivating K–12 introductions to the complex energymore » and environmental challenges faced by global societies. These simulations are integrated into lesson plans developed by teachers in collaboration with INEEL scientists and engineers. This approach results in an enjoyable and involved learning experience, and an especially positive introduction to the application of science to emerging problems of great social and environmental consequence.« less

Visualization for Hyper-Heuristics: Back-End Processing

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

Simon, Luke

Modern society is faced with increasingly complex problems, many of which can be formulated as generate-and-test optimization problems. Yet, general-purpose optimization algorithms may sometimes require too much computational time. In these instances, hyperheuristics may be used. Hyper-heuristics automate the design of algorithms to create a custom algorithm for a particular scenario, finding the solution significantly faster than its predecessor. However, it may be difficult to understand exactly how a design was derived and why it should be trusted. This project aims to address these issues by creating an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for hyper-heuristics and an easy-to-understand scientific visualizationmore » for the produced solutions. To support the development of this GUI, my portion of the research involved developing algorithms that would allow for parsing of the data produced by the hyper-heuristics. This data would then be sent to the front-end, where it would be displayed to the end user.« less

Clinical review: Ethics and end-of-life care for critically ill patients in China.

PubMed

Li, Li Bin

2013-12-04

Critical care medicine in China has made great advances in recent decades. This has led to an unavoidable issue: end-of-life ethics. With advances in medical technology and therapeutics allowing the seemingly limitless maintenance of life, the exact time of death of an individual patient is often determined by the decision to limit life support. How to care for patients at the end of life is not only a medical problem but also a social, ethical, and legal issue. A lot of factors, besides culture, come into play in determining a person's ethical attitudes or behaviors, such as experience, education, religion, individual attributes, and economic considerations. Chinese doctors face ethical problems similar to those of their Western counterparts; however, since Chinese society is different from that of Western countries in cultural traditions, customs, religious beliefs, and ethnic backgrounds, there is a great difference between China and the Western world in regard to ethics at the end of life, and there is also a huge controversy within China.

Cytogenetic risks and possible adverse health effects by narcotic substances dependent.

PubMed

Movafagh, Abolfazl; Haeri, Ali; Kolahi, Ali Asghar; Hassani-Moghadam, Hossein

2012-09-01

Illicit drug abuse has crossed social, economic, and geographical borders, and remains one of the major health problems that modern society is facing worldwide. The role of multiple drug abuse as a basic for chromosome damage has been overlooked and it is important to determine its possible adverse health effects. This study aimed to compare the frequency of chromosomal damages between drug addicts and free drug controls. Cytogenetic study was obtained from 146 illicit drug-users and 200 free drug controls. Subjects were grouped into three categories depending on main drug of dependence. Cytogenetic studies on cultured lymphocytes showed an increase the frequency of chromosomal damages among addicts including opiate (5.89%), heroin (7.65%), and crystal (4.9%) when compared with drug free controls (1.45%). The frequency of chromosomal abnormalities was breaks, gaps, marker, and acentric, respectively. Our findings are also important as they are among the first to suggest here, illicit drug addiction continue to be significant public health problems in Iran.

A diagnosis of discrimination. Women physicians and the glass ceiling.

PubMed

Sebastian, C

1994-01-01

Author Christy Sebastian writes about some of the limits facing women physicians, from the glass ceiling on down. She relates the limits faced by women physicians to the gender differences--both subtle and blatant--evident in society as a whole.

Testing Syndromes of Psychopathology in Parent and Youth Ratings Across Societies.

PubMed

Ivanova, Masha Y; Achenbach, Thomas M; Rescorla, Leslie A; Guo, Jiesi; Althoff, Robert R; Kan, Kees-Jan; Almqvist, Fredrik; Begovac, Ivan; Broberg, Anders G; Chahed, Myriam; da Rocha, Marina Monzani; Dobrean, Anca; Döepfner, Manfred; Erol, Nese; Fombonne, Eric; Fonseca, Antonio Castro; Forns, Maria; Frigerio, Alessandra; Grietens, Hans; Hewitt-Ramirez, Nohelia; Juarez, Fernando; Kajokienė, Ilona; Kanbayashi, Yasuko; Kim, Young-Ah; Larsson, Bo; Leung, Patrick; Liu, Xianchen; Maggiolini, Alfio; Minaei, Asghar; Moreira, Paulo A S; Oh, Kyung Ja; Petot, Djaouida; Pisa, Cecilia; Pomalima, Rolando; Roussos, Alexandra; Rudan, Vlasta; Sawyer, Michael; Shahini, Mimoza; Ferreira de Mattos Silvares, Edwiges; Simsek, Zeynep; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Szirovicza, Lajos; Valverde, Jose; Viola, Laura; Weintraub, Sheila; Metzke, Christa Winkler; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Woo, Bernardine; Zhang, Eugene Yuqing; Zilber, Nelly; Žukauskienė, Rita; Verhulst, Frank C

2018-01-24

As societies become increasingly diverse, mental health professionals need instruments for assessing emotional, behavioral, and social problems in terms of constructs that are supported within and across societies. Building on decades of research findings, multisample alignment confirmatory factor analyses tested an empirically based 8-syndrome model on parent ratings across 30 societies and youth self-ratings across 19 societies. The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 and Youth Self-Report for Ages 11-18 were used to measure syndromes descriptively designated as Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems, Rule-Breaking Behavior, and Aggressive Behavior. For both parent ratings (N = 61,703) and self-ratings (N = 29,486), results supported aggregation of problem items into 8 first-order syndromes for all societies (configural invariance), plus the invariance of item loadings (metric invariance) across the majority of societies. Supported across many societies in both parent and self-ratings, the 8 syndromes offer a parsimonious phenotypic taxonomy with clearly operationalized assessment criteria. Mental health professionals in many societies can use the 8 syndromes to assess children and youths for clinical, training, and scientific purposes.

Exploration for Agents with Different Personalities in Unknown Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doumit, Sarjoun; Minai, Ali

We present in this paper a personality-based architecture (PA) that combines elements from the subsumption architecture and reinforcement learning to find alternate solutions for problems facing artificial agents exploring unknown environments. The underlying PA algorithm is decomposed into layers according to the different (non-contiguous) stages that our agent passes in, which in turn are influenced by the sources of rewards present in the environment. The cumulative rewards collected by an agent, in addition to its internal composition serve as factors in shaping its personality. In missions where multiple agents are deployed, our solution-goal is to allow each of the agents develop its own distinct personality in order for the collective to reach a balanced society, which then can accumulate the largest possible amount of rewards for the agent and society as well. The architecture is tested in a simulated matrix world which embodies different types of positive rewards and negative rewards. Varying experiments are performed to compare the performance of our algorithm with other algorithms under the same environment conditions. The use of our architecture accelerates the overall adaptation of the agents to their environment and goals by allowing the emergence of an optimal society of agents with different personalities. We believe that our approach achieves much efficient results when compared to other more restrictive policy designs.

Increasing population and declining biological resources in the context of global change and globalization.

PubMed

Ramakrishnan, P S

2001-11-01

In the context of over-consumption of natural resources in the name of development and rapid industrialization by a small section of the human population that is rapidly growing, the world is currently faced with a variety of environmental uncertainties. 'Global change' covering a whole variety of ecological issues, and 'globalization' in an economic sense, are two major phenomena that are responsible for these uncertainties. There is increasing evidence to suggest that the developing countries more than the developed, particularly the marginalized traditional (those living close to nature and natural resources) societies would be the worst sufferers. In order to cope with this problem in a situation where the traditional societies have to cope with rapidly depleting biodiversity on which they are dependant for their livelihood, there is an urgent need to explore additional pathways for sustainable management of natural resources and societal development. Such pathways should be based on a landscape management strategy, that takes into consideration the rich traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that these societies have. This is critical because TEK is the connecting link between conservation and sustainable development. This paper explores the possibilities in this direction through a balanced approach to development, that links the 'traditional' with the 'modern', in a location-specific way.

Reward learning modulates the attentional processing of faces in children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Li, Tianbi; Wang, Xueqin; Pan, Junhao; Feng, Shuyuan; Gong, Mengyuan; Wu, Yaxue; Li, Guoxiang; Li, Sheng; Yi, Li

2017-11-01

The processing of social stimuli, such as human faces, is impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which could be accounted for by their lack of social motivation. The current study examined how the attentional processing of faces in children with ASD could be modulated by the learning of face-reward associations. Sixteen high-functioning children with ASD and 20 age- and ability-matched typically developing peers participated in the experiments. All children started with a reward learning task, in which the children were presented with three female faces that were attributed with positive, negative, and neutral values, and were required to remember the faces and their associated values. After this, they were tested on the recognition of the learned faces and a visual search task in which the learned faces served as the distractor. We found a modulatory effect of the face-reward associations on the visual search but not the recognition performance in both groups despite the lower efficacy among children with ASD in learning the face-reward associations. Specifically, both groups responded faster when one of the distractor faces was associated with positive or negative values than when the distractor face was neutral, suggesting an efficient attentional processing of these reward-associated faces. Our findings provide direct evidence for the perceptual-level modulatory effect of reward learning on the attentional processing of faces in individuals with ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1797-1807. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. In our study, we tested whether the face processing of individuals with ASD could be changed when the faces were associated with different social meanings. We found no effect of social meanings on face recognition, but both groups responded faster in the visual search task when one of the distractor faces was associated with positive or negative values than when the neutral face. The findings suggest that children with ASD could efficiently process faces associated with different values like typical children. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cyberbullying victimization and mental health in adolescents and the moderating role of family dinners.

PubMed

Elgar, Frank J; Napoletano, Anthony; Saul, Grace; Dirks, Melanie A; Craig, Wendy; Poteat, V Paul; Holt, Melissa; Koenig, Brian W

2014-11-01

This study presents evidence that cyberbullying victimization relates to internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems in adolescents and that the frequency of family dinners attenuate these associations. To examine the unique association between cyberbullying victimization and adolescent mental health (after controlling differences in involvement in traditional, face-to-face bullying) and to explore the potential moderating role of family contact in this association. This cross-sectional, observational study used survey data on 18,834 students (aged 12-18 years) from 49 schools in a Midwestern US state. Logistic regression analysis tested associations between cyberbullying victimization and the likelihood of mental health and substance use problems. Negative binomial regression analysis tested direct and synergistic contributions of cyberbullying victimization and family dinners on the rates of mental health and substance use problems. Frequency of cyberbullying victimization during the previous 12 months; victimization by traditional (face-to-face) bullying; and perpetration of traditional bullying. Five internalizing mental health problems (anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt), 2 externalizing problems (fighting and vandalism), and 4 substance use problems (frequent alcohol use, frequent binge drinking, prescription drug misuse, and over-the-counter drug misuse). About one-fifth (18.6%) of the sample experienced cyberbullying during the previous 12 months. The frequency of cyberbullying positively related to all 11 internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems (odds ratios from 2.6 [95% CI, 1.7-3.8] to 4.5 [95% CI, 3.0-6.6]). However, victimization related more closely to rates of problems in adolescents that had fewer family dinners. Cyberbullying relates to mental health and substance use problems in adolescents, even after their involvement in face-to-face bullying is taken into account. Although correlational, these results suggest that family dinners (ie, family contact and communication) are beneficial to adolescent mental health and may help protect adolescents from the harmful consequences of cyberbullying.

Collaborative Accounting Problem Solving via Group Support Systems in a Face-to-Face versus Distant Learning Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Jacqueline A.

2001-01-01

Accounting students (n=128) used either face-to-face or distant Group support systems to complete collaborative tasks. Participation and social presence perceptions were significantly higher face to face. Task difficulty did not affect participation in either environment. (Contains 54 references.) (JOW)

Long-term agroecosystem research in the central Mississippi river basin: introduction, establishment, and overview.

PubMed

Sadler, E John; Lerch, Robert N; Kitchen, Newell R; Anderson, Stephen H; Baffaut, Claire; Sudduth, Kenneth A; Prato, Anthony A; Kremer, Robert J; Vories, Earl D; Myers, D Brent; Broz, Robert; Miles, Randall J; Young, Fred J

2015-01-01

Many challenges currently facing agriculture require long-term data on landscape-scale hydrologic responses to weather, such as from the Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW), located in northeastern Missouri, USA. This watershed is prone to surface runoff despite shallow slopes, as a result of a significant smectitic clay layer 30 to 50 cm deep that restricts downward flow of water and gives rise to a periodic perched water table. This paper is the first in a series that documents the database developed from GCEW. The objectives of this paper are to (i) establish the context of long-term data and the federal infrastructure that provides it, (ii) describe the GCEW/ Central Mississippi River Basin (CMRB) establishment and the geophysical and anthropogenic context, (iii) summarize in brief the collected research results published using data from within GCEW, (iv) describe the series of papers this work introduces, and (v) identify knowledge gaps and research needs. The rationale for the collection derives from converging trends in data from long-term research, integration of multiple disciplines, and increasing public awareness of increasingly larger problems. The outcome of those trends includes being selected as the CMRB site in the USDA-ARS Long-Term Agro-Ecosystem Research (LTAR) network. Research needs include quantifying watershed scale fluxes of N, P, K, sediment, and energy, accounting for fluxes involving forest, livestock, and anthropogenic sources, scaling from near-term point-scale results to increasingly long and broad scales, and considering whole-system interactions. This special section informs the scientific community about this database and provides support for its future use in research to solve natural resource problems important to US agricultural, environmental, and science policy. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

The historical setting of Latin American bioethics.

PubMed

Gracia, D

1996-12-01

The historical stages through which Latin American society has passed are at least four: the first, dominated by a particular sort of ethic I have termed the "ethic of the gift;" then the period of conquest, in which the prevalent ethic was one of war and subjection by force, which I call the "ethic of despotism;" followed by the colonial age, in which a new ethical model of "paternalism" emerged; and finally the stage of the "ethic of autonomy," which began with the independence movements of the 18th and 19th centuries and is far from ended. Independence was won by the criollos from European domination with very little participation by the Indian population. The latter was left out of the democratic process and saw itself relegated to a worse situation than in the centuries of colonial rule, for it was no longer protected by the paternalism of the Laws of the Indies of 1542. This is the reason for the division of the Latin American society of the last century into two quite different social strata: one bourgeois, which has assimilated the liberal revolution, and enjoys a health care quite similar to that available in any other Western country and hence faces the same bioethical problems as any developed Western society; the other a very poor stratum, without any economic or social power and hence unable to exercise its civil rights, such as the rights to life and to humane treatment. In this population sector; which is numerically the larger, the major bioethical problems are those of justice and the distribution of scarce resources. The study of Latin American medical ethics can earn for these subjects, whose deplorable condition has been essentially ignored in the bioethics of the first-world countries, the importance they merit.

Resocializing Adults for Their New Role as Consumer-Citizens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murnane, Jennifer Aden

2008-01-01

Adults today have been submerged in a consumer society from a very young age and face decisions as consumers on a daily basis. Realizing and understanding the impact of these decisions are vital to functioning in a consumer society in order to achieve the greatest benefit for one's family, the environment, and society as a whole. Given that the…

Final Report: Resolving and Discriminating Overlapping Anomalies from Multiple Objects in Cluttered Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-15

UXO community . NAME Total Number: PERCENT_SUPPORTEDNAME FTE Equivalent: Total Number: Irma Shamatava 0.50 0.50 1 Resolving and Discriminating...Distinguishing an object of interest from innocuous items is the main problem that the UXO community is facing currently. This inverse problem...innocuous items is the main problem that the UXO community is facing currently. This inverse problem demands fast and accurate representation of

Pose-Invariant Face Recognition via RGB-D Images.

PubMed

Sang, Gaoli; Li, Jing; Zhao, Qijun

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) face models can intrinsically handle large pose face recognition problem. In this paper, we propose a novel pose-invariant face recognition method via RGB-D images. By employing depth, our method is able to handle self-occlusion and deformation, both of which are challenging problems in two-dimensional (2D) face recognition. Texture images in the gallery can be rendered to the same view as the probe via depth. Meanwhile, depth is also used for similarity measure via frontalization and symmetric filling. Finally, both texture and depth contribute to the final identity estimation. Experiments on Bosphorus, CurtinFaces, Eurecom, and Kiwi databases demonstrate that the additional depth information has improved the performance of face recognition with large pose variations and under even more challenging conditions.

Transplant tourism.

PubMed

Schiano, Thomas D; Rhodes, Rosamond

2010-04-01

Because of the ongoing organ donor shortage, transplant tourism is occurring at an increasing rate both in the USA and abroad. To date, there have been little published data to help guide the programmatic philosophy of the USA transplant centers regarding transplant tourism. We summarize position statements from several transplant societies regarding transplant tourism and specifically transplantation occurring in China (because of the use of executed prisoners as organ donors). Transplant tourism is ever increasing and patients may be at risk for greater post-transplant morbidity as well as inadequate follow up care. Transplant centers require some guidance with regard of how to deal with these patients. Transplant tourism is an increasing reality facing the USA transplant centers. Most professional societies do not condone it yet cannot abrogate a physician's right to care for such patients. Ethical principles mandate transplant physicians provide adequate care for returning transplant tourists. Better ways of assessing the scope of the problem are necessary. Transplant tourism may exist because of the disparity between the need for organ donors and their availability and is thus is likely to continue into the future.

A perspective on the future public health practitioner.

PubMed

Hanlon, Phil; Carlisle, Sandra; Hannah, Margaret; Lyon, Andrew; Reilly, David

2012-09-01

In the centuries following the Enlightenment, scientific and technological developments gave 'modern people' an unprecedented ability to understand, predict and control the natural world. This has brought health and social benefits unimaginable to our ancestors and sets us apart from all previous generations. Yet there is a wide-ranging body of evidence that suggests that modernity is now in decline, largely because its methods and mindset are increasingly recognized as unsustainable. Problems are manifest in the emergence of new public health epidemics such as obesity and addictive behaviours, the loss of well-being and increase in anxiety and depression in affluent society, and the persistence of ever-widening health and social inequalities at national and global levels. Still larger problems now confront us, such as climate change, peak oil and the loss of biodiversity, all of which are linked to the 'modern' way of life. We are potentially faced with the collapse of certain aspects of modern society: we are certainly faced with the prospect of inevitable change. While the broad public health community has an important role to play in developing workable solutions to such daunting problems, we argue that some profound changes will be needed in order for us to cope successfully. No blueprints for dealing with change exist, which means that we will need to learn our way into the future. In this paper we take a perspective on the role and nature of the future practitioner in public health and health promotion. We argue that future practitioners will need to develop new ways of thinking, being and doing; new perspectives and new forms of understanding the world. We believe our discipline - and people generally - to be capable of such development, as insights from multiple sources tell us that human nature is malleable, not fixed. We use this analysis to trace, as examples, the imagined lives of five women living in different eras over the course of history in a Western society, and the emergence of different mindsets or worldviews, as the social, economic and cultural context changes. Post-modern analysts might insist that we have no basis for making value judgements between such different worldviews. In this paper, however, we argue that future practitioners should be empathetic to different views and willing to move beyond them, as necessary. We will need to learn and develop in ways that are compatible with our intrinsic needs as human beings and the needs of our ecosystem. We conclude by suggesting just some of the supportive processes of change needed in mapping out a more sustainable future for the public health community.

Centre-based restricted nearest feature plane with angle classifier for face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Linlin; Lu, Huifen; Zhao, Liang; Li, Zuohua

2017-10-01

An improved classifier based on the nearest feature plane (NFP), called the centre-based restricted nearest feature plane with the angle (RNFPA) classifier, is proposed for the face recognition problems here. The famous NFP uses the geometrical information of samples to increase the number of training samples, but it increases the computation complexity and it also has an inaccuracy problem coursed by the extended feature plane. To solve the above problems, RNFPA exploits a centre-based feature plane and utilizes a threshold of angle to restrict extended feature space. By choosing the appropriate angle threshold, RNFPA can improve the performance and decrease computation complexity. Experiments in the AT&T face database, AR face database and FERET face database are used to evaluate the proposed classifier. Compared with the original NFP classifier, the nearest feature line (NFL) classifier, the nearest neighbour (NN) classifier and some other improved NFP classifiers, the proposed one achieves competitive performance.

A modified active appearance model based on an adaptive artificial bee colony.

PubMed

Abdulameer, Mohammed Hasan; Sheikh Abdullah, Siti Norul Huda; Othman, Zulaiha Ali

2014-01-01

Active appearance model (AAM) is one of the most popular model-based approaches that have been extensively used to extract features by highly accurate modeling of human faces under various physical and environmental circumstances. However, in such active appearance model, fitting the model with original image is a challenging task. State of the art shows that optimization method is applicable to resolve this problem. However, another common problem is applying optimization. Hence, in this paper we propose an AAM based face recognition technique, which is capable of resolving the fitting problem of AAM by introducing a new adaptive ABC algorithm. The adaptation increases the efficiency of fitting as against the conventional ABC algorithm. We have used three datasets: CASIA dataset, property 2.5D face dataset, and UBIRIS v1 images dataset in our experiments. The results have revealed that the proposed face recognition technique has performed effectively, in terms of accuracy of face recognition.

Developing Cultural Differences in Face Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, David J.; Liu, Shaoying; Rodger, Helen; Miellet, Sebastien; Ge, Liezhong; Caldara, Roberto

2011-01-01

Perception and eye movements are affected by culture. Adults from Eastern societies (e.g. China) display a disposition to process information "holistically," whereas individuals from Western societies (e.g. Britain) process information "analytically." Recently, this pattern of cultural differences has been extended to face…

Behavioral/Emotional Problems of Preschoolers: Caregiver/Teacher Reports from 15 Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rescorla, Leslie A.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Denner, Silvia; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Dopfner, Manfred; Frigerio, Alessandra; Goncalves, Miguel; Guomundsson, Halldor; Jusiene, Roma; Kristensen, Solvejg; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W. L.; Liu, Jianghong; Lobel, Sofia P.; Machado, Barbara Cesar; Markovic, Jasminka; Mas, Paola A.; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Montirosso, Rosario; Pluck, Julia; Pronaj, Adelina Ahmeti; Rodriguez, Jorge T.; Rojas, Pamela O.; Schmeck, Klaus; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R.; van der Ende, Jan; Verhulst, Frank C.

2012-01-01

This study tested societal effects on caregiver/teacher ratings of behavioral/emotional problems for 10,521 preschoolers from 15 societies. Many societies had problem scale scores within a relatively narrow range, despite differences in language, culture, and other characteristics. The small age and gender effects were quite similar across…

A Swedish Mutual Support Society of Problem Gamblers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Binde, Per

2012-01-01

Mutual support societies for problem gamblers have existed in Sweden for 20 years. They have helped more people with gambling problems than any other institution inside or outside the Swedish health care system. This paper outlines the background of these societies and describes the meetings of one of them. Data come from interviews with members…

Forecasting natural hazards, performance of scientists, ethics, and the need for transparency

PubMed Central

Guzzetti, Fausto

2016-01-01

Landslides are one of several natural hazards. As other natural hazards, landslides are difficult to predict, and their forecasts are uncertain. The uncertainty depends on the poor understanding of the phenomena that control the slope failures, and on the inherent complexity and chaotic nature of the landslides. This is similar to other natural hazards, including hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and droughts. Due to the severe impact of landslides on the population, the environment, and the economy, forecasting landslides is of scientific interest and of societal relevance, and scientists attempting to forecast landslides face known and new problems intrinsic to the multifaceted interactions between science, decision-making, and the society. The problems include deciding on the authority and reliability of individual scientists and groups of scientists, and evaluating the performances of individual scientists, research teams, and their institutions. Related problems lay in the increasing subordination of research scientists to politics and decision-makers, and in the conceptual and operational models currently used to organize and pay for research, based on apparently objective criteria and metrics, considering science as any other human endeavor, and favoring science that produces results of direct and immediate application. The paper argues that the consequences of these problems have not been considered fully. PMID:27695154

Forecasting natural hazards, performance of scientists, ethics, and the need for transparency.

PubMed

Guzzetti, Fausto

2016-10-20

Landslides are one of several natural hazards. As other natural hazards, landslides are difficult to predict, and their forecasts are uncertain. The uncertainty depends on the poor understanding of the phenomena that control the slope failures, and on the inherent complexity and chaotic nature of the landslides. This is similar to other natural hazards, including hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and droughts. Due to the severe impact of landslides on the population, the environment, and the economy, forecasting landslides is of scientific interest and of societal relevance, and scientists attempting to forecast landslides face known and new problems intrinsic to the multifaceted interactions between science, decision-making, and the society. The problems include deciding on the authority and reliability of individual scientists and groups of scientists, and evaluating the performances of individual scientists, research teams, and their institutions. Related problems lay in the increasing subordination of research scientists to politics and decision-makers, and in the conceptual and operational models currently used to organize and pay for research, based on apparently objective criteria and metrics, considering science as any other human endeavor, and favoring science that produces results of direct and immediate application. The paper argues that the consequences of these problems have not been considered fully.

Head and neck cancer and reconstruction revisited.

PubMed

Prin, J

1999-01-01

People are known by their faces and voices. Wide resection of intraoral tumors leaves faces that are unrecognizable and socially unacceptable, speech that may be unintelligible, dietary needs not met in any restaurant, and isolation from a society that puts a priority on smiles and meaningful communication.

Interaction Involvement: A Cognitive Dimension of Communicative Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cegala, Donald J.

1981-01-01

Presents a conceptual and operational definition of one cognitive dimension of communicative competence--interaction involvement--based on Goffman's model of face-to-face society. Reports two studies to support the validity of the definition. Outlines the implications for future research on communicative competence as well as instructional…

Aspirational Model Teaching Criteria for Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richmond, Aaron S.; Boysen, Guy A.; Gurung, Regan A. R.; Tazeau, Yvette N.; Meyers, Steven A.; Sciutto, Mark J.

2014-01-01

In 2011, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology commissioned a presidential task force to document teaching criteria for model psychology teachers in undergraduate education. The resulting list of criteria reflects activities related to face-to-face course interaction and online teaching, training, and education; course design; implementation…

State of Science: ergonomics and global issues.

PubMed

Thatcher, Andrew; Waterson, Patrick; Todd, Andrew; Moray, Neville

2018-02-01

In his 1993 IEA keynote address, Neville Moray urged the ergonomics discipline to face up to the global problems facing humanity and consider how ergonomics might help find some of the solutions. In this State of Science article we critically evaluate what the ergonomics discipline has achieved in the last two and a half decades to help create a secure future for humanity. Moray's challenges for ergonomics included deriving a value structure that moves us beyond a Westernised view of worker-organisation-technology fit, taking a multidisciplinary approach which engages with other social and biological sciences, considering the gross cross-cultural factors that determine how different societies function, paying more attention to mindful consumption, and embracing the complexity of our interconnected world. This article takes a socio-historical approach by considering the factors that influence what has been achieved since Moray's keynote address. We conclude with our own set of predictions for the future and priorities for addressing the challenges that we are likely to face. Practitioner Summary: We critically reflect on what has been achieved by the ergonomics profession in addressing the global challenges raised by Moray's 1993 keynote address to the International Ergonomics Association. Apart from healthcare, the response has largely been weak and disorganised. We make suggestions for priority research and practice that is required to facilitate a sustainable future for humanity.

[Future Regulatory Science through a Global Product Development Strategy to Overcome the Device Lag].

PubMed

Tsuchii, Isao

2016-01-01

Environment that created "medical device lag (MDL)" has changed dramatically, and currently that term is not heard often. This was mainly achieved through the leadership of three groups: government, which determined to overcome MDL and took steps to do so; medical societies, which exhibited accountability in trial participation; and MD companies, which underwent a change in mindset that allowed comprehensive tripartite cooperation to reach the current stage. In particular, the global product development strategy (GPDS) of companies in a changing social environment has taken a new-turn with international harmonization trends, like Global Harmonization Task Force and International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. As a result, this evolution has created opportunities for treatment with cutting-edge MDs in Japanese society. Simultaneously, it has had a major impact on the planning process of GPDS of companies. At the same time, the interest of global companies has shifted to emerging economies for future potential profit since Japan no longer faces MDL issue. This economic trend makes MDLs a greater problem for manufacturers. From the regulatory science viewpoint, this new environment has not made it easy to plan a global strategy that will be adaptable to local societies. Without taking hasty action, flexible thinking from the global point of view is necessary to enable the adjustment of local strategies to fit the situation on the ground so that the innovative Japanese medical technology can be exported to a broad range of societies.

Challenges and Strategies for Hospice Caregivers: A Qualitative Analysis.

PubMed

Oliver, Debra Parker; Demiris, George; Washington, Karla T; Clark, Carlyn; Thomas-Jones, Deborah

2017-08-01

Family caregivers of hospice patients are responsible for the day-to-day care of their loved ones during the final months of life. They are faced with numerous challenges. The purpose of this study was to understand the challenges and coping strategies used by hospice caregivers as they care for their family members. This study is a secondary analysis of data from an attention control group in a large randomized controlled trial testing a cognitive behavioral intervention with hospice caregivers. Audiotaped interviews were coded with initial themes and combined into final categories of caregiving challenges and strategies for managing the hospice caregiving experience. Caregivers shared narratives discussing challenges that included their frustrations with patient care issues, emotional challenges, frustrations with various health care systems, financial problems, and personal health concerns. They also discussed coping strategies involving patient care, self-care, and emotional support. The coping techniques were both problem and emotion based. There is a need for interventions that focus on strengthening both problem-based and emotional-based coping skills to improve the caregiving experience. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Intellectual honesty in abortion problems].

PubMed

Werner, M

1991-04-03

A pastor comments on the recent ruling by the Swedish Department of Health and Social Affairs that the remains of an abortion should be "treated respectfully"--cremated or buried in a cemetery. This decision results from recognition on the part of the government and the medical establishment that a growing segment of public opinion agrees that the fetus is a human being. The new rules mean, though, that a fetus becomes human only upon its death. Logically, an abortion that is respectfully performed ought not to be performed at all. This is the fundamental problem with abortion, and no amount of arbitrary boundary drawing at various levels of supposed capability for survival at the 12th, the 18th, or the 24th week of pregnancy will alter the fact. It is necessary to face the problem with complete intellectual honesty and say that a fetus is a human being no matter what its age, but that voluntary abortion is also a social necessity. Only then can society find another abortion policy, one that recognizes that late abortions are hard to distinguish from births. The Swedish abortion policy must reflect honest facts, rather than etiological legends, preconceived ideas for which arguments must be found afterward.

21st century toolkit for optimizing population health through precision nutrition.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Aifric; Henrick, Bethany; Dixon, Bonnie; Barile, Daniela; Zivkovic, Angela; Smilowitz, Jennifer; Lemay, Danielle; Martin, William; German, J Bruce; Schaefer, Sara Elizabeth

2017-07-05

Scientific, technological, and economic progress over the last 100 years all but eradicated problems of widespread food shortage and nutrient deficiency in developed nations. But now society is faced with a new set of nutrition problems related to energy imbalance and metabolic disease, which require new kinds of solutions. Recent developments in the area of new analytical tools enable us to systematically study large quantities of detailed and multidimensional metabolic and health data, providing the opportunity to address current nutrition problems through an approach called Precision Nutrition. This approach integrates different kinds of "big data" to expand our understanding of the complexity and diversity of human metabolism in response to diet. With these tools, we can more fully elucidate each individual's unique phenotype, or the current state of health, as determined by the interactions among biology, environment, and behavior. The tools of precision nutrition include genomics, metabolomics, microbiomics, phenotyping, high-throughput analytical chemistry techniques, longitudinal tracking with body sensors, informatics, data science, and sophisticated educational and behavioral interventions. These tools are enabling the development of more personalized and predictive dietary guidance and interventions that have the potential to transform how the public makes food choices and greatly improve population health.

Evolutionary Intelligence and Communication in Societies of Virtually Embodied Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Binh; Skabar, Andrew

In order to overcome the knowledge bottleneck problem, AI researchers have attempted to develop systems that are capable of automated knowledge acquisition. However, learning in these systems is hindered by context (i.e., symbol-grounding) problems, which are caused by the systems lacking the unifying structure of bodies, situations and needs that typify human learning. While the fields of Embodied Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Life have come a long way towards demonstrating how artificial systems can develop knowledge of the physical and social worlds, the focus in these areas has been on low level intelligence, and it is not clear how, such systems can be extended to deal with higher-level knowledge. In this paper, we argue that we can build towards a higher level intelligence by framing the problem as one of stimulating the development of culture and language. Specifically, we identify three important limitations that face the development of culture and language in AI systems, and propose how these limitations can be overcome. We will do this through borrowing ideas from the evolutionary sciences, which have explored how interactions between embodiment and environment have shaped the development of human intelligence and knowledge.

[Future trends in nursing education in Taiwan in the light of globalization].

PubMed

Lee, Sheuan; Lu, Ying-Chi; Yen, Wen-Jiuan; Lin, Shu-Chin

2004-08-01

The twenty-first century is the era of the knowledge-based economy. Its information networks developing rapidly, Taiwan has already entered an age of liberalization, diversity and globalization. Competition and change will be the norm. As globalization continues it will pose substantial problems for nursing education. Nursing is a service-oriented activity which has to develop constantly to meet the changing demands of the public as people start to live longer, society becomes more multi-cultural, the nature of diseases and other health problems changes and public policy, such as that on National Health Insurance, is modified. This article outlines the problems currently facing nursing education (i.e., the complexity of the educational system, shortcomings in the learning environment, curriculum design, the quality of faculty, evaluation methods, and the quality of students' English and Mathematics) to predict likely difficulties (i.e. student recruitment, the running of schools and the quality of clinical nurses) and trends in nursing education. (i.e. changes in the way schools are run in line with the impact of globalization, new teaching methods; faculty training and development, lifelong learning, and the internationalization of education.) The article should be of interest to nursing educators.

Personality and psychopathology of university students.

PubMed

Tosevski, Dusica L; Milovancevic, Milica P; Gajic, Saveta D

2010-01-01

University students represent the national capital and investment for the future, with an implicit mission both for their families and for society as a whole. However, they face multiple stressors such as academic overload, constant pressure to succeed, competition with peers and in some countries financial burden and concerns about the future. As all this may lead to psychopathology, the health of university students has been the subject of increasing focus in recent years. Multiple protective and risk factors are involved in the psychological well being and distress of university students. Specific risk factors for the development of psychopathology are high test anxiety, lower self-efficacy, as well as certain personality traits. Moreover, some students arrive at college with already existing mental health problems. The most frequent mental disorders among students are substance abuse, depression, self-harm and suicide, eating and anxiety disorders. Acquiring and improving knowledge about the student population is a crucial factor in the development of mental health promotion programs in order to meet their needs and to help them cope with various problems. Better understanding and care of the personality profile of university students can be helpful in academic and career choice and prevention of future mental health problems.

A variational Bayes spatiotemporal model for electromagnetic brain mapping.

PubMed

Nathoo, F S; Babul, A; Moiseev, A; Virji-Babul, N; Beg, M F

2014-03-01

In this article, we present a new variational Bayes approach for solving the neuroelectromagnetic inverse problem arising in studies involving electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). This high-dimensional spatiotemporal estimation problem involves the recovery of time-varying neural activity at a large number of locations within the brain, from electromagnetic signals recorded at a relatively small number of external locations on or near the scalp. Framing this problem within the context of spatial variable selection for an underdetermined functional linear model, we propose a spatial mixture formulation where the profile of electrical activity within the brain is represented through location-specific spike-and-slab priors based on a spatial logistic specification. The prior specification accommodates spatial clustering in brain activation, while also allowing for the inclusion of auxiliary information derived from alternative imaging modalities, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We develop a variational Bayes approach for computing estimates of neural source activity, and incorporate a nonparametric bootstrap for interval estimation. The proposed methodology is compared with several alternative approaches through simulation studies, and is applied to the analysis of a multimodal neuroimaging study examining the neural response to face perception using EEG, MEG, and fMRI. © 2013, The International Biometric Society.

Challenges in international medicine: ethical dilemmas, unanticipated consequences, and accepting limitations.

PubMed

Iserson, Kenneth V; Biros, Michelle H; James Holliman, C

2012-06-01

While personal and organizational challenges occur in every area of health care, practitioners of international medicine face unique problems and dilemmas that are rarely discussed in training programs. Health professions schools, residency and fellowship programs, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and government programs have a responsibility to make those new to international medicine aware of the special circumstances that they may face and to provide methods for understanding and dealing with these circumstances. Standard "domestic" approaches to such challenges may not work in international medicine, even though these challenges may appear to be similar to those faced in other clinical settings. How should organizations ensure that well-meaning health intervention efforts do not cause adverse unintended sequelae? How should an individual balance respect for cultural uniqueness and local mores that may profoundly differ from his or her own beliefs, with the need to remain a moral agent true to one's self? When is acceptance the appropriate response to situations in which limitations of resources seem to preclude any good solution? Using a case-based approach, the authors discuss issues related to the four major international medicine domains: clinical practice (postdisaster response, resource limitations, standards of care), medical systems and systems development (prehospital care, wartime casualties, sustainable change, cultural awareness), teaching (instruction and local resources, professional preparation), and research (questionable funded studies, clinical trials, observational studies). It is hoped that this overview may help prepare those involved with international medicine for the challenges and dilemmas they may face and help frame their responses to these situations. © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

L'Aquila earthquake verdict yields aftershocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2012-11-01

The 22 October verdict by a court in L'Aquila, Italy, convicting seven Italian earthquake experts of manslaughter for failing to provide an adequate seismic warning to residents prior to a damaging quake in the region continues to send shockwaves through the scientific community. A sampling of the scientific community's concern about the verdict, which is likely to be appealed, included a 25 October joint statement from U.S. National Academy of Sciences president Ralph Cicerone and U.K. Royal Society president Sir Paul Nurse that noted "the difficult task facing scientists in dealing with risk communication and uncertainty." The statement continued, "Much as society and governments would like science to provide simple, clear-cut answers to the problems that we face, it is not always possible. Scientists can, however, gather all the available evidence and offer an analysis of the evidence in light of what they do know. The sensible course is to turn to expert scientists who can provide evidence and advice to the best of their knowledge. They will sometimes be wrong, but we must not allow the desire for perfection to be the enemy of good. That is why we must protest the verdict in Italy. If it becomes a precedent in law, it could lead to a situation in which scientists will be afraid to give expert opinion for fear of prosecution or reprisal. Much government policy and many societal choices rely on good scientific advice and so we must cultivate an environment that allows scientists to contribute what they reasonably can, without being held responsible for forecasts or judgments that they cannot make with confidence."

Understanding the interrelationship between the synthesis of urea and gluconeogenesis by formulating an overall balanced equation.

PubMed

Ipata, Piero L; Pesi, Rossana

2017-06-01

It is well known that a strong metabolic interrelationship exists between ureagenesis and gluconeogenesis. In this paper, we present a detailed, overall equation, describing a possible metabolic link between ureagenesis and gluconeogenesis. We adopted a guided approach in which we strongly suggest that students, when faced with the problem of obtaining the overall equation of a metabolic pathway, carefully account for all atoms and charges of the single reactions, as well as the cellular localizations of the substrates, and the related transport systems. If this suggestion is always taken into account, a balanced, overall equation of a metabolic pathway will be obtained, which strongly facilitates the discussion of its physiological role. Unfortunately, textbooks often report unbalanced overall equations of metabolic pathways, including ureagenesis and gluconeogenesis. Most likely the reason is that metabolism and enzymology have been neglected for about three decades, owing to the remarkable advances of molecular biology and molecular genetics. In this paper, we strongly suggest that students, when faced with the problem of obtaining the overall reaction of a metabolic pathway, carefully control if the single reactions are properly balanced for atoms and charges. Following this suggestion, we were able to obtain an overall equation describing the metabolic interrelationship between ureagenesis and gluconeogenesis, in which urea and glucose are the final products. The aim is to better rationalize this topic and to convince students and teachers that metabolism is an important and rewarding chapter of human physiology. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Identifying children with autism spectrum disorder based on their face processing abnormality: A machine learning framework.

PubMed

Liu, Wenbo; Li, Ming; Yi, Li

2016-08-01

The atypical face scanning patterns in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been repeatedly discovered by previous research. The present study examined whether their face scanning patterns could be potentially useful to identify children with ASD by adopting the machine learning algorithm for the classification purpose. Particularly, we applied the machine learning method to analyze an eye movement dataset from a face recognition task [Yi et al., 2016], to classify children with and without ASD. We evaluated the performance of our model in terms of its accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of classifying ASD. Results indicated promising evidence for applying the machine learning algorithm based on the face scanning patterns to identify children with ASD, with a maximum classification accuracy of 88.51%. Nevertheless, our study is still preliminary with some constraints that may apply in the clinical practice. Future research should shed light on further valuation of our method and contribute to the development of a multitask and multimodel approach to aid the process of early detection and diagnosis of ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 888-898. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Challenges Facing Catholic Education in France Today

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moog, François

2016-01-01

The effects of secularisation on society demand a rethinking of the identity and mission of Catholic schools in France. In 2013, the French bishops published a new directory which offers new approaches, described here, based on the three challenges facing Catholic education in France: linking social responsibility and evangelisation, setting up…

Fluorescent 'two-faced' polymer wafers with embedded pyrene-functionalised gelator nanofibres.

PubMed

Moffat, Jamie R; Smith, David K

2011-11-21

Pyrene-functionalised gelators self-assemble into nano-fibrillar organogels in DMSO/styrene/divinylbenzene mixtures, which when polymerised yield polymer wafers with two distinct faces, only one of which is fluorescent and has embedded gelator nanofibres. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

Plural Societies and the Possibility of Shared Citizenship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merry, Michael S.

2012-01-01

As civilization pushes headlong into the twenty-first century, increasingly stringent demands for citizenship issue forth from governments around the world faced with a formidable assortment of challenges. Faced with these challenges, states are exploring ways to elicit civic attachments from their heterogeneous populations, but doing so is…

Business---Education: Parallels in Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speer, Edgar B.

1976-01-01

Administrators of higher education are facing a challenge and opportunity that parallels those faced by managers in American business. The economic situation presents a struggle to make ends meet as well as an opportunity to sharpen its role in society, to redefine its goals. Administrators in both fields are using management-by-objective theories…

Patients with mental problems - the most defenseless travellers.

PubMed

Felkai, Peter; Kurimay, Tamas

2017-09-01

Severe mental illness occurring abroad is a difficult situation for patients, their families, and for the local medical community. Patients with mental problem are doublely stigmatized due to their mental illness and because they are foreigners in an unfamiliar country. The appropriate treatment is often delayed, while patients are often dealt with in a manner that violates their human rights. Moreover, repatriation - which is vital in this case - is often delayed due to the lack of international protocols for the transportation and treatment of mentally ill travelers. Authors analyzed several factors related to acute mental health problems during travel: the etiology of symptoms, the appropriate treatment possibilities abroad, and medical evacuation and repatriation of the psychotic patient. The article presents a brief review of travel-related mental disorders, the epidemiology of mental health issues faced by travelers, and the significance of pre-travel advice for these patients. The first problem is to recognize (and redress) the particular challenges faced by a psychotic patient in a strange country. The second challenge is to prepare the patients, often in a poor psychiatric state, for medical evacuation by commercial aircraft. Another important question is the best way to take the patient through customs and security control. All of these, as yet unresolved, issues can make the mental patient virtually defenseless. Although timely repatriation of a mentally ill patient is vital and urgent, most travel insurance policies exclude treatment and repatriation costs incurred due to acute mental illness. The high cost of treatment and repatriation must be paid by the patient or their family, which could lead to severe financial strain or insolvency. Changing the approaches taken by the local mental health care community, police, airport security, and insurance companies remain a challenge for psychiatrists. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

The Goals of American Agriculture from Thomas Jefferson to the 21st Century. Faculty Paper Series 86-3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Paul B.

Although the practice of agriculture is a universal component of all human societies, the purposes and goals that a society hopes to achieve through agriculture have varied. If the crisis facing agriculture today is to be resolved, a clear sense of agriculture's purpose and goals within American society must be achieved. It must be recognized that…

Face shields for infection control: A review

PubMed Central

Roberge, Raymond J.

2016-01-01

Face shields are personal protective equipment devices that are used by many workers (e.g., medical, dental, veterinary) for protection of the facial area and associated mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) from splashes, sprays, and spatter of body fluids. Face shields are generally not used alone, but in conjunction with other protective equipment and are therefore classified as adjunctive personal protective equipment. Although there are millions of potential users of face shields, guidelines for their use vary between governmental agencies and professional societies and little research is available regarding their efficacy. PMID:26558413

Engineering Education in K-12 Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spence, Anne

2013-03-01

Engineers rely on physicists as well as other scientists and mathematicians to explain the world in which we live. Engineers take this knowledge of the world and use it to create the world that never was. The teaching of physics and other sciences as well as mathematics is critical to maintaining our national workforce. Science and mathematics education are inherently different, however, from engineering education. Engineering educators seek to enable students to develop the habits of mind critical for innovation. Through understanding of the engineering design process and how it differs from the scientific method, students can apply problem and project based learning to solve the challenges facing society today. In this talk, I will discuss the elements critical to a solid K-12 engineering education that integrates science and mathematics to solve challenges throughout the world.

Toward Empirical Estimation of the Total Value of Protecting Rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Larry D.; Walsh, Richard G.; Loomis, John B.

1990-07-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a procedure to estimate a statistical demand function for the protection of rivers in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Other states and nations around the world face a similar problem of estimating how much they can afford to pay for the protection of rivers. The results suggest that in addition to the direct consumption benefits of onsite recreation, total value includes offsite consumption of the flow of information about these activities and resources consumed as preservation benefits. A sample of the general population of the state reports a willingness to pay rather than forego both types of utility. We recommended that offsite values be added to the value of onsite recreation use to determine the total value of rivers to society.

Novel CRLF1 gene mutation in a newborn infant diagnosed with Crisponi syndrome.

PubMed

Hakan, Nilay; Eminoglu, Fatma Tuba; Aydin, Mustafa; Zenciroglu, Aysegul; Karadag, Nazmiye Nilgun; Dursun, Arzu; Okumus, Nurullah; Ceylaner, Serdar

2012-12-01

Crisponi syndrome is an infrequently described disorder with autosomal recessive trait. It is characterized by extensive muscular contractions in the face after even minimal stimuli or crying, hypertonia, opisthotonus, camptodactyly, and typical facial features. Muscle contractions attenuate during rest or when the infant calms down. As a recently described new disease, Crisponi syndrome may be confused with epileptic manifestations. Most of the patients die in the first months of life due to hyperthermia and feeding problems. Recently, it has been demonstrated that mutations of the CRLF1 gene 'cytokine receptor-like factor 1' are associated with Crisponi syndrome. Here, we present a newborn diagnosed with Crisponi syndrome and report a novel homozygous CFRL1 gene mutation. © 2012 The Authors. Congenital Anomalies © 2012 Japanese Teratology Society.

Curiosity and the end of discrimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda

2017-06-01

Systemic discrimination on the basis of gender and race, among other ascribed identities, harms minoritized people. This is a structural problem in society, and astronomy is not immune to it. Although we talk about the challenges faced by 'women and minorities', it is all too rare to acknowledge intersecting realities: some of us are minority women and our experiences are different from both white women and minority men, with sexism and racism compounding in nonlinear ways. Confronting the challenges associated with invoking an intersectional analysis can be daunting if the mainstream community continues to ignore helpful work from the social sciences, which can teach us new ways of understanding how we produce scientific knowledge. Rather than failing to question how science is done, we should let curiosity be our guide.

Therapeutic Potential of Epigallocatechin Gallate Nanodelivery Systems

PubMed Central

Granja, Andreia; Frias, Iúri; Neves, Ana Rute; Reis, Salette

2017-01-01

Nowadays, the society is facing a large health problem with the rising of new diseases, including cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and obesity. Thus, it is important to invest in substances that enhance the health of the population. In this context, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a flavonoid found in many plants, especially in tea. Several studies support the notion that EGCG has several benefits in fighting cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity, among others. Nevertheless, the poor intestinal absorbance and instability of EGCG constitute the main drawback to use this molecule in prevention and therapy. The encapsulation of EGCG in nanocarriers leads to its enhanced stability and higher therapeutic effects. A comprehensive review of studies currently available on the encapsulation of EGCG by means of nanocarriers will be addressed. PMID:28791306

Universities Face Wide-Ranging Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krieger, James H.

1976-01-01

Discusses problems facing the research university, including declining enrollments and funds, fewer opportunities for graduates, and the complexity of research problems. Recommends making more efficient use of resources, improving communications with the broader public, and reducing economic and social barriers to obtaining a higher education.…

You're Not Alone in Facing These Board-Related Bugaboos.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Loozen, Luann F.

1982-01-01

School board service can have detrimental effects on members' personal lives. The most frequent and pervasive problems faced by board members are lack of time, loneliness, stress, alienation from community life, abuse, and fatigue. Problem-solving tips are offered. (Author/MLF)

Problems Facing Native American Youths. Hearing before the Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Second Session, on Oversight Hearing on Problems Facing Native American Youths (August 1, 2002).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on the problems of Native American youth and programs addressing those problems. Speakers included representatives of the American Academy of Pediatrics, United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Office of National Drug…

Education for an Aging Planet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingman, Stan; Amin, Iftekhar; Clarke, Egerton; Brune, Kendall

2010-01-01

As low income societies experience rapid aging of their populations, they face major challenges in developing educational policies to prepare their workforce for the future. We review modest efforts undertaken to assist colleagues in three societies: Mexico, China, and Jamaica. Graduate education in gerontology has an important opportunity to…

SPEAK UP, CHICANO.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

RODRIGUEZ, ARMANDO

GROWING CONCERN AMONG THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION, AND THE NATION AS A WHOLE, CONCERNING EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES FACED BY THE SPANISH-SPEAKING MINORITY POPULATION POINTS TO THE REAWAKENING OF THEIR SOCIETY AND THEIR GRADUAL ASSUMPTION OF A GREATER DEGREE OF PRODUCTION IN SOCIETY. THOUGH FOR THE MOST PART MANY INEQUALITIES STILL EXIST, SOME…

Taking It Online--The Effects of Delivery Medium and Facilitator on Student Achievement in Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina; McConnell, Sherry; Kogan, Lori R.

2004-01-01

This study compares the effects of delivery medium (online vs. face-to-face) and facilitator content expertise on academic outcomes in a problem-based learning (PBL) course in anatomy for pre-health/medical majors. The content of online PBL sessions was examined to gain insight into the problem-solving process taking place in these situations.…

The Problem of Science Education in Minority Areas--Based on a Study in Gansu Province of China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Bai

2017-01-01

After 60 years of development, minority education not only has made great achievements in China, but also faces many problems. Among them is the problem of science education. The students learning in high school in the basic education in minority areas have faced particular difficulties in learning science. The teaching quality is not high,…

DoD Implementation of the Better Buying Power Initiatives

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

statutory measures (Budget Control Act of 2011), Congress has been directed to face this problem and provide a workable solution or face the evils...Defense Support Program (DSP) to provide the capabilities that the SBIRS has had problems delivering (Richelson, 2007; Werner, 2011). The purpose of the...Defense David Packard took office. They were keen on addressing the problems plaguing defense acquisition: excessive centralization, inefficiencies

Appearance is a function of the face.

PubMed

Borah, Gregory L; Rankin, Marlene K

2010-03-01

Increasingly, third-party insurers deny coverage to patients with posttraumatic and congenital facial deformities because these are not seen as "functional." Recent facial transplants have demonstrated that severely deformed patients are willing to undergo potentially life-threatening surgery in search of a normal physiognomy. Scant quantitative research exists that objectively documents appearance as a primary "function" of the face. This study was designed to establish a population-based definition of the functions of the human face, rank importance of the face among various anatomical areas, and determine the risk value the average person places on a normal appearance. Voluntary adult subjects (n = 210) in three states aged 18 to 75 years were recruited using a quota sampling technique. Subjects completed study questionnaires of demography and bias using the Gamble Chance of Death Questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The face ranked as the most important anatomical area for functional reconstruction. Appearance was the fifth most important function of the face, after breathing, sight, speech, and eating. Normal facial appearance was rated as very important for one to be a functioning member of American society (p = 0.01) by 49 percent. One in seven subjects (13 percent) would accept a 30 to 45 percent risk of death to obtain a "normal" face. Normal appearance is a primary function of the face, based on a large, culturally diverse population sample across the lifespan. Normal appearance ranks above smell and expression as a function. Restoration of facial appearance is ranked the most important anatomical area for repair. Normal facial appearance is very important for one to be a functional member of American society.

Concurrent and face validity of the MacArthur scale for assessing subjective social status: Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

PubMed

Ferreira, Wasney de Almeida; Giatti, Luana; Figueiredo, Roberta Carvalho de; Mello, Heliana Ribeiro de; Barreto, Sandhi Maria

2018-04-01

This work assessed the concurrent and face validity of the MacArthur scale, which attempts to capture subjective social status in society, neighborhood and work contexts. The study population comprised a convenience sample made up of 159 adult participants of the ELSA-Brasil cohort study conducted in Minas Gerais between 2012 and 2014. The analysis was conducted drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and using corpus linguistic methods. Concurrent validity was shown to be moderate for the society ladder (Kappaw = 0.55) and good for the neighborhood (Kappaw = 0.60) and work (Kappaw = 0,67) ladders. Face validity indicated that the MacArthur scale really captures subjective social status across indicators of socioeconomic position, thus confirming that it is a valuable tool for the study of social inequalities in health Brazil.

Different brain activity in response to emotional faces alone and augmented by contextual information.

PubMed

Lee, Kyung Hwa; Siegle, Greg J

2014-11-01

This study examined the extent to which emotional face stimuli differ from the neural reactivity associated with more ecological contextually augmented stimuli. Participants were scanned when they viewed contextually rich pictures depicting both emotional faces and context, and pictures of emotional faces presented alone. Emotional faces alone were more strongly associated with brain activity in paralimbic and social information processing regions, whereas emotional faces augmented by context were associated with increased and sustained activity in regions potentially representing increased complexity and subjective emotional experience. Furthermore, context effects were modulated by emotional intensity and valence. These findings suggest that cortical elaboration that is apparent in contextually augmented stimuli may be missed in studies of emotional faces alone, whereas emotional faces may more selectively recruit limbic reactivity. Copyright © 2014 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Teachers, Curriculum and the Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molnar, Alex

In this essay teachers, school curriculum and their relationship to the society they serve and the community in which they function are discussed. Since educational institutions serve a regulatory function, what goes on in schools mirrors the interests of the status quo in the society. Therefore the question facing educators and community people…

Conservatoires in Society: Institutional Challenges and Possibilities for Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tregear, Peter; Johansen, Geir; Jørgensen, Harald; Sloboda, John; Tulve, Helena; Wistreich, Richard

2016-01-01

Educational sociologists and philosophers have long recognised that educational institutions play a significant role in shaping as well as supporting societal norms. In the face of growing global social, political, and environmental challenges, should conservatoires be more overt in expressing a mission to sustain and improve the societies in…

On Inviting Seniors to the Dance of Life.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aspy, Dave

1994-01-01

Considers dilemma faced by people who retire and are excluded from society. Discusses ways that society can be more inviting toward its senior citizens. Looks at senior citizenship and the costs of disinvitation. Discusses causes of the disinvitation to senior citizens, argues that seniors should not be disinvited, and offers specific…

The Dangers of Educated Girls and Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Vaughn M.

2016-01-01

Why do educated girls and women constitute a danger in some societies and for this face extreme danger in their educational endeavours? This article argues that historical and contemporary educational discrimination of girls and women is the hallmark of a violently patriarchal society, and this stubborn injustice is exacerbated under conditions of…

Images of Islam in US Media and Their Educational Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Liz

2010-01-01

Educators teaching about social difference and about minorities in society face a variety of challenges in effectively teaching students accurate and balanced understandings of different groups in society, including, particularly, the competing influence of the mass media on young people's minds. Whether one views representations in contemporary…

Felix Adler and Education for Ethical Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stallones, Jared R.

2015-01-01

This article delves into the various religious influences on Dr. Felix Adler's spiritual development and the resulting theological and philosophical foundations for the Ethical Culture Society that he created in addition to the Society's schools. The discussion focuses on Dr. Adler's personal struggles with traditional Judaism in the face of…

Accounting for Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability: Linking Ecosystem Services to Human Well-being.

EPA Science Inventory

One of society's greatest challenges is to sustain natural resources while promoting economic growth and quality of life. In the face of this challenge. society must measure the effectiveness of programs established to protect human health and safeguard the environment. The impet...

Relationship between Family Adaptability, Cohesion and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Curvilinearity of Circumplex Model.

PubMed

Joh, Ju Youn; Kim, Sun; Park, Jun Li; Kim, Yeon Pyo

2013-05-01

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III. We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report. According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004). The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors.

Relationship between Family Adaptability, Cohesion and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Curvilinearity of Circumplex Model

PubMed Central

Joh, Ju Youn; Kim, Sun; Park, Jun Li

2013-01-01

Background The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III. Methods We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report. Results According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004). Conclusion The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors. PMID:23730484

A Modified Active Appearance Model Based on an Adaptive Artificial Bee Colony

PubMed Central

Othman, Zulaiha Ali

2014-01-01

Active appearance model (AAM) is one of the most popular model-based approaches that have been extensively used to extract features by highly accurate modeling of human faces under various physical and environmental circumstances. However, in such active appearance model, fitting the model with original image is a challenging task. State of the art shows that optimization method is applicable to resolve this problem. However, another common problem is applying optimization. Hence, in this paper we propose an AAM based face recognition technique, which is capable of resolving the fitting problem of AAM by introducing a new adaptive ABC algorithm. The adaptation increases the efficiency of fitting as against the conventional ABC algorithm. We have used three datasets: CASIA dataset, property 2.5D face dataset, and UBIRIS v1 images dataset in our experiments. The results have revealed that the proposed face recognition technique has performed effectively, in terms of accuracy of face recognition. PMID:25165748

Faces of Change. Visual Evidence: An Instructional Approach. Instructor's Notes: Film/Essay Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Norman N.

Designed for use with the multidisciplinary film project, "Faces of Change, Five Rural Societies in Transition" for the college social studies curriculum, this manual contains an overview of the material and its underlying philosophy and suggests teaching strategies. The first section discusses the overall approach, the use of films in…

Social Software and The Future of Conferences Right Now

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suter, Vicki; Alexander, Bryan; Kaplan, Pascal

2005-01-01

Until recently, the models for conceptualizing activities in physical space and in Internet space have been limited by the thought that one or the other has to be chosen. An initial integration of these apparently disparate spaces emerged when participants in face-to-face meetings (e.g., annual professional society meetings) supplemented their…

The Role of Chinese Face in the Perpetration of Dating Partner Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Ko Ling

2012-01-01

This study explored the associations between the perpetration of partner violence and two types of face orientation--protective and acquisitive--in Chinese societies. Data from a convenience sample of 3,388 university students from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing were analyzed. The participants completed the Protective and Acquisitive Face…

Weblog Technology for Instruction, Learning, and Information Delivery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shim, J. P.; Guo, Chengqi

2009-01-01

Ever since Weblog emerged as an infusive online communication tool over the last decade, its impacts have been witnessed by the Internet society at large. Meanwhile, more and more universities and colleges are offering online classes enhanced by Web technology. In this article, we investigate the role of Weblog combined with face-to-face lectures…

Abuse and neglect experienced by aging chinese in Canada.

PubMed

Lai, Daniel W L

2011-10-01

The traditional values of Chinese culture promote care and respect toward older adults. While it appears to be ironic to discuss issues of abuse and neglect in the Chinese culture, research findings in Chinese societies do indicate the occurrences of such problems. However, little research on the abuse and neglect of older Chinese in Western societies has been available. This study aims to examine the incidence of abuse and neglect and the associated correlates based on data collected from a random sample of 2,272 aging Chinese 55 years and older in seven Canadian cities. The findings show that 4.5% of the participants reported experiencing at least one incident of maltreatment or neglect within the past year. The most common forms of neglect and abuse experienced by the aging Chinese include being scolded, yelled at, treated impolitely all the time, and ridiculed. Close family members such as spouses and sons are those that most commonly maltreat older Chinese. Those who were more likely to report at least one incident of maltreatment or neglect were older adults living with others; they tended to have no education, more access barriers, more chronic illnesses, less favorable mental health, and a higher level of identification with Chinese cultural values. The findings implied that the face value of respect and care received by older people in Chinese culture should not be taken for granted. Culturally appropriate precautionary steps are needed for prevention and early problem identification.

University Students' Conceptual Knowledge of Randomness and Probability in the Contexts of Evolution and Mathematics.

PubMed

Fiedler, Daniela; Tröbst, Steffen; Harms, Ute

2017-01-01

Students of all ages face severe conceptual difficulties regarding key aspects of evolution-the central, unifying, and overarching theme in biology. Aspects strongly related to abstract "threshold" concepts like randomness and probability appear to pose particular difficulties. A further problem is the lack of an appropriate instrument for assessing students' conceptual knowledge of randomness and probability in the context of evolution. To address this problem, we have developed two instruments, Ra ndomness and Pro bability Test in the Context of Evo lution (RaProEvo) and Ra ndomness and Pro bability Test in the Context of Math ematics (RaProMath), that include both multiple-choice and free-response items. The instruments were administered to 140 university students in Germany, then the Rasch partial-credit model was applied to assess them. The results indicate that the instruments generate reliable and valid inferences about students' conceptual knowledge of randomness and probability in the two contexts (which are separable competencies). Furthermore, RaProEvo detected significant differences in knowledge of randomness and probability, as well as evolutionary theory, between biology majors and preservice biology teachers. © 2017 D. Fiedler et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Cost analysis of conventional facial reconstruction procedures followed by face transplantation.

PubMed

Siemionow, M; Gatherwright, J; Djohan, R; Papay, F

2011-02-01

For the first time, this study analyzes the cost of multiple conventional reconstructions and face transplantation in a single patient. This patient is a 46-year-old female victim of a shotgun blast resulting in loss of multiple functional and aesthetic subunits. For over 5 years, she underwent multiple conventional reconstructions with suboptimal results. In December 2008, she became the recipient of the first U.S. face transplant. This has provided the unique opportunity to present the cost of 23 separate conventional reconstructive procedures and the first face transplant in the United States. The combined cost of conventional reconstructive procedures and the first U.S. face transplant was calculated to be $353 480 and $349 959, respectively. The combined cost posttransplant totaled $115 463. The direct cost pretransplant was $206 646, $232 893 peritransplant and $74 236 posttransplant. The two largest areas of cost utilization were surgical ($79 625; 38.5%) and nursing ($55 860; 27%), followed by anesthesia ($24 808; 12%) and pharmacy ($16 581; 8%). This study demonstrates that the cost of the first U.S. face transplant is similar to multiple conventional reconstructions. Although the cost of facial transplantation is considerable, the alleviation of psychological and physiological suffering, exceptional functional recovery and fulfillment of long-lasting hope for social reintegration may be priceless. ©2011 The Authors Journal compilation©2011 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Consultation Focus: Identification of Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pian, Canta

This paper discusses some of the problems faced by Asian Americans. Major topics addressed include: (1) the lack of accurate census statistics on minorities, especially Asian and Pacific Americans; (2) the employment, health, and stereotypic portrayal problems faced by Asian and Pacific American women; (3) racially discriminatory immigration laws…

Plagiarism Due to Misunderstanding: Online Instructor Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberger, Scott; Holbeck, Rick; Steele, John; Dyer, Thomas

2016-01-01

Plagiarism is an ongoing problem in higher education. This problem exists in both online and face-to-face modalities. The literature indicates that there are three ways higher education institutions define plagiarism, which includes theft, deception, and misunderstanding. Plagiarism due to misunderstanding has received less attention in the…

Victimisation through bullying and cyberbullying: Emotional intelligence, severity of victimisation and technology use in different types of victims.

PubMed

Beltrán-Catalán, María; Zych, Izabela; Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario; Llorent, Vicente J

2018-05-01

Bullying and cyberbullying are global public health problems. However, very few studies described prevalence, similarities and differences among face-to-face victims, cybervictims and students who are victimised through both bullying and cyberbullying. This study was conducted to describe these different patterns of victimisation and severity of victimisation, emotional intelligence and technology use in different types of victims. A total number of 2,139 secondary school students from 22 schools, randomly selected from all provinces of Andalusia, Spain, participated in this study. Information about bullying, cyberbullying, social networking sites use and perceived emotional intelligence was collected. Face-to-face victimisation only is the most common type of victimisation followed by mixed victimisation. Cybervictimisation only is rare. Mixed victims score higher in severity of bullying and present higher emotional attention than face-to-face victims. Most victims of cyberbullying are also face-to-face victims. Holistic approach that focuses on different problems at the same time seems to be needed to tackle these behaviours.

Silicone sheet containing all-trans retinoic acid and hydroquinone for the treatment of epidermal melanosis.

PubMed

Iida, Shoko; Takushima, Akihiko; Ohura, Norihiko; Sato, Suguru; Kurita, Masakazu; Harii, Kiyonori

2013-08-01

Although bleaching treatment using all-trans retinoic acid (RA) and hydroquinone (HQ) improves epidermal melanosis, the application of two medications and the irritant dermatitis induced by RA inconvenience patients. To overcome these problems, we developed a silicone sheet containing RA and HQ. To compare the efficacy of a silicone sheet containing RA and HQ with that of conventional bleaching treatment. Silicone sheets containing 1% RA and 5% HQ were applied at night during the bleaching phase of 4 weeks, followed by application of sheets containing 5% HQ during the healing phase of 4 weeks. Hemifacial epidermal melanosis, for which the sheets were applied, was compared with a contralateral face which was treated conventionally using RA and HQ. Twenty-four Japanese women who were enrolled in this study and followed up for more than 6 months were analyzed. RA/HQ sheets improved epidermal melanosis, as did the conventional bleaching method, but irritant dermatitis occurred less in patients treated using silicone sheets. RA/HQ sheets, which are easily applied to face skin, can improve epidermal melanosis to the same extent as conventional bleaching. © 2013 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Digital Networked Information Society and Public Health: Problems and Promises of Networked Health Communication of Lay Publics.

PubMed

Kim, Jeong-Nam

2018-01-01

This special issue of Health Communication compiles 10 articles to laud the promise and yet confront the problems in the digital networked information society related to public health. We present this anthology of symphony and cacophony of lay individuals' communicative actions in a digital networked information society. The collection of problems and promise of the new digital world may be a cornerstone joining two worlds-pre- and postdigital network society-and we hope this special issue will help better shape our future states of public health.

Global change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Fred A.; Eaton, Mitchell; McMahon, Gerard; Raye Nilius,; Mike Bryant,; Dave Case,; Martin, Julien; Wood, Nathan J.; Laura Taylor,

2015-01-01

National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the United States play an important role in the adaptation of social-ecological systems to climate change, land-use change, and other global-change processes. Coastal refuges are already experiencing threats from sea-level rise and other change processes that are largely beyond their ability to influence, while at the same time facing tighter budgets and reduced staff. We engaged in workshops with NWR managers along the U.S. Atlantic coast to understand the problems they face from global-change processes and began a multidisciplinary collaboration to use decision science to help address them. We are applying a values-focused approach to base management decisions on the resource objectives of land managers, as well as those of stakeholders who may benefit from the goods and services produced by a refuge. Two insights that emerged from our workshops were a conspicuous mismatch between the scale at which management can influence outcomes and the scale of environmental processes, and the need to consider objectives related to ecosystem goods and services that traditionally have not been explicitly considered by refuges (e.g., protection from storm surge). The broadening of objectives complicates the decision-making process, but also provides opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders who may have agendas different from those of the refuge, as well as an opportunity for addressing problems across scales. From a practical perspective, we recognized the need to (1) efficiently allocate limited staff time and budgets for short-term management of existing programs and resources under the current refuge design and (2) develop long-term priorities for acquiring or protecting new land/habitat to supplement or replace the existing refuge footprint and thus sustain refuge values as the system evolves over time. Structuring the decision-making problem in this manner facilitated a better understanding of the issues of scale and suggested that a long-term solution will require a significant reassessment of objectives to better reflect the comprehensive values of refuges to society. We discuss some future considerations to integrate these two problems into a single framework by developing novel optimization approaches for dynamic problems that account for uncertainty in future conditions.

Women in Physics: An International Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNeil, Laurie

1997-04-01

This session organized by the APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics will open with a brief memorial to Dr. Chien-Shung Wu, who died on February 16, 1997. It will continue with an exploration of the challenges faced by women in physics in various parts of the world. We will hear both personal and statistical pictures of the experiences of women in physics in Japan and Canada. The presentations from the two countries (approximately 20 min. each) will be followed by an open forum in which questions from the audience will be invited. "Chien-Shung Wu: In Memoriam" Speaker: Noemie Benczer-Koller. Dr. Chien-Shung Wu and her 1957 experiment on parity non-conservation shattered what was thought to be a fundamental law of physics. Her contributions to women in physics (including her election in 1975 to the APS Presidency) will be briefly recalled. The Japanese Perspective "A Female Physicist in Japan" Fumiko Yonezawa (President, Physical Society of Japan). Dr. Yonazawa will share her experiences as a female physicist in Japan, and describe the path she has taken to leadership in her professional society. The Canadian Perspective "Women in Physics in Canada: A Physics Graduate and Faculty Survey" Janis McKenna (Univ. of British Columbia). Dr. McKenna will present the results of a 1995 CAP-sponsored survey of women faculty and graduates in physics in Canada, which concluded that the situation for women in physics in Canada is very similar to that in the U.S. (only 5% of faculty members are women), and not as progressive as the situation in several European countries. "Physics on the Border: The 'Two-Body Problem' for Canadian Physicists" Ann McMillan (Atmospheric Environment Service). Dr. McMillan will describe how the geographic distribution of Canadian universities and research facilities poses unique problems for physicists balancing two careers in one family. She will discuss the particular challenges faced by female physicists, and the institutional responses to these challenges. Following the presentations, Drs. Yonazawa, McKenna, and McMillan will respond to questions from the audience.

3D face recognition based on multiple keypoint descriptors and sparse representation.

PubMed

Zhang, Lin; Ding, Zhixuan; Li, Hongyu; Shen, Ying; Lu, Jianwei

2014-01-01

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in developing methods for 3D face recognition. However, 3D scans often suffer from the problems of missing parts, large facial expressions, and occlusions. To be useful in real-world applications, a 3D face recognition approach should be able to handle these challenges. In this paper, we propose a novel general approach to deal with the 3D face recognition problem by making use of multiple keypoint descriptors (MKD) and the sparse representation-based classification (SRC). We call the proposed method 3DMKDSRC for short. Specifically, with 3DMKDSRC, each 3D face scan is represented as a set of descriptor vectors extracted from keypoints by meshSIFT. Descriptor vectors of gallery samples form the gallery dictionary. Given a probe 3D face scan, its descriptors are extracted at first and then its identity can be determined by using a multitask SRC. The proposed 3DMKDSRC approach does not require the pre-alignment between two face scans and is quite robust to the problems of missing data, occlusions and expressions. Its superiority over the other leading 3D face recognition schemes has been corroborated by extensive experiments conducted on three benchmark databases, Bosphorus, GavabDB, and FRGC2.0. The Matlab source code for 3DMKDSRC and the related evaluation results are publicly available at http://sse.tongji.edu.cn/linzhang/3dmkdsrcface/3dmkdsrc.htm.

Student Experiences of Problem-Based Learning in Pharmacy: Conceptions of Learning, Approaches to Learning and the Integration of Face-to-Face and On-Line Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Robert A.; Goodyear, Peter; Brillant, Martha; Prosser, Michael

2008-01-01

This study investigates fourth-year pharmacy students' experiences of problem-based learning (PBL). It adopts a phenomenographic approach to the evaluation of problem-based learning, to shed light on the ways in which different groups of students conceive of, and approach, PBL. The study focuses on the way students approach solving problem…

Integrated Maintenance Information System (IMIS): A Maintenance Information Delivery Concept.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-11-01

InterFace Figure 2. Portable Maintenance Computer Concept. provide advice for difficult fault-isolation problems . The technician will be able to accomplish...faced with an ever-growing number of paper-based technical orders (TOs). This has greatly increased costs and distribution problems . In addition, it has...compounded problems associ- ated with ensuring accurate data and the lengthy correction times involved. To improve the accuracy of technical data and

Problems faced and coping strategies used by adolescents with mentally ill parents in Delhi.

PubMed

George, Shoba; Shaiju, Bindu; Sharma, Veena

2012-01-01

The present study was conducted to assess the problems faced by adolescents whose parents suffer from major mental illness at selected mental health institutes of Delhi. The objectives also included assessment of the coping strategies of the adolescents in dealing with these problems. The Stuart Stress Adaptation Model of Psychiatric Nursing Care was used as the conceptual framework. A descriptive survey approach with cross-sectional design was used in the study. A structured interview schedule was prepared. Purposive non-probability sampling technique was employed to interview 50 adolescents whose parents suffer from major mental illness. Data gathered was analysed and interpreted using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study showed that majority of the adolescents had moderate problems as a result of their parent's mental illness. Area-wise analysis of the problems revealed that the highest problems faced were in family relationship and support and majority of the adolescents used maladaptive coping strategies. A set of guidelines on effective coping strategies was disseminated to these adolescents.

Exact solution for a two-phase Stefan problem with variable latent heat and a convective boundary condition at the fixed face

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bollati, Julieta; Tarzia, Domingo A.

2018-04-01

Recently, in Tarzia (Thermal Sci 21A:1-11, 2017) for the classical two-phase Lamé-Clapeyron-Stefan problem an equivalence between the temperature and convective boundary conditions at the fixed face under a certain restriction was obtained. Motivated by this article we study the two-phase Stefan problem for a semi-infinite material with a latent heat defined as a power function of the position and a convective boundary condition at the fixed face. An exact solution is constructed using Kummer functions in case that an inequality for the convective transfer coefficient is satisfied generalizing recent works for the corresponding one-phase free boundary problem. We also consider the limit to our problem when that coefficient goes to infinity obtaining a new free boundary problem, which has been recently studied in Zhou et al. (J Eng Math 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10665-017-9921-y).

Developing Effective In-School-Suspension Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanderslice, Ronna

Discipline--the most serious problem faced by teachers today--has consistently appeared at or near the top of the public's attitudes toward the public schools. This paper discusses the difficulty of discipline and one of the most perplexing problems facing administrators today--the use of suspension as a discipline alternative. Out-of-school…

Facing Life, English: 5113.30.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singleton, Clifford G.; Rice, M. Paul

The outline of a course in the investigation of literature (both fiction and nonfiction) which concerns youth facing and overcoming problems of life, with stress upon the novel and biography, is presented. The student is expected, through reading selected literary works, to (1) examine the problems confronted by youth, (2) examine youth's needs…

Analysis of Five Instructional Methods for Teaching Sketchpad to Junior High Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Geoffrey; Shumway, Steve; Terry, Ronald; Bartholomew, Scott

2012-01-01

This manuscript addresses a problem teachers of computer software applications face today: What is an effective method for teaching new computer software? Technology and engineering teachers, specifically those with communications and other related courses that involve computer software applications, face this problem when teaching computer…

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

Flintoff, F.

With the advent of industrialisation and urbanisation, developing countries are faced with numerous problems, one of the biggest being the provision of an effective solid wastes system appropriate to their varying climates and economies. The problems facing third world countries are discussed, these include the lack of a network of district depots, inadequate automotive servicing facilities and technical expertise.

People Considerations in Word Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamond, Marion L.

1984-01-01

Business educators preparing students for jobs in business and industry should become aware of the problems faced by workers in a typical large office environment. Word processor operators face many of the same problems as factory assembly line workers--lack of personalization, lack of incentive, and removal from the mainstream. (JOW)

The Big Picture and Specifics of College General Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Yang

2018-01-01

In recent years, general education has developed considerably in Chinese universities, but it still faces many challenges and problems. Among the various negative factors, four problems may be the greatest challenges currently faced by Chinese university general education and ordinary undergraduate education: (1) In the era of massified higher…

An investigation of the effects of interventions on problem-solving strategies and abilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, Charles Terrence, Jr.

Problem-solving has been described as being the "heart" of the chemistry classroom, and students' development of problem-solving skills is essential for their success in chemistry. Despite the importance of problem-solving, there has been little research within the chemistry domain, largely because of the lack of tools to collect data for large populations. Problem-solving was assessed using a software package known as IMMEX (for Interactive Multimedia Exercises) which has an HTML tracking feature that allows for collection of problem-solving data in the background as students work the problems. The primary goal of this research was to develop methods (known as interventions) that could promote improvements in students' problem-solving and most notably aid in their transition from the novice to competent level. Three intervention techniques that were incorporated within the chemistry curricula: collaborative grouping (face-to-face and distance), concept mapping, and peer-led team learning. The face-to-face collaborative grouping intervention was designed to probe the factors affecting the quality of the group interaction. Students' logical reasoning abilities were measured using the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) test which classifies students as formal, transitional, or concrete. These classifications essentially provide a basis for identifying scientific aptitude. These designations were used as the basis for forming collaborative groups of two students. The six possibilities (formal-formal, formal-transitional, etc.) were formed to determine how the group composition influences the gains in student abilities observed from collaborative grouping interventions. Students were given three assignments (an individual pre-collaborative, an individual post collaborative, and a collaborative assignment) each requiring them to work an IMMEX problem set. Similar gains in performance of 10% gains were observed for each group with two exceptions. The transitional students who were paired with concrete students had a 15% gain, and the concrete students paired with other concrete students had only a marginal gain. In fact, there was no statistical difference in the pre-collaborative and post-collaborative student abilities for concrete-concrete groups. The distance collaborative intervention was completed using a new interface for the IMMEX software designed to mimic face-to-face collaboration. A stereochemistry problem set which had a solved rate of 28% prior to collaboration was chosen for incorporation into this distance collaboration study. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Self-identification with another person's face: the time relevant role of multimodal brain areas in the enfacement illusion.

PubMed

Bufalari, Ilaria; Porciello, Giuseppina; Sperduti, Marco; Minio-Paluello, Ilaria

2015-04-01

The illusory subjective experience of looking at one's own face while in fact looking at another person's face can surprisingly be induced by simple synchronized visuotactile stimulation of the two faces. A recent study (Apps MA, Tajadura-Jiménez A, Sereno M, Blanke O, Tsakiris M. Cereb Cortex. First published August 20, 2013; doi:10.1093/cercor/bht199) investigated for the first time the role of visual unimodal and temporoparietal multimodal brain areas in the enfacement illusion and suggested a model in which multisensory mechanisms are crucial to construct and update self-face representation. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

The transition of young adults with lifelong urological needs from pediatric to adult services: An international children's continence society position statement.

PubMed

Bower, Wendy F; Christie, Deborah; DeGennaro, Mario; Latthe, Pallavi; Raes, Ann; Romao, Rodrigo L P; Taghizadeh, Arash; Wood, Dan; Woodhouse, Christopher R J; Bauer, Stuart B

2017-03-01

Children with urinary tract disorders managed by teams, or individual pediatricians, urologists, nephrologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, psychologists, and nurses at some point move from child-centered to adult-centered health systems. The actual physical change is referred to as the transfer whilst the process preceding this move constitutes transition of care. Our aims are twofold: to identify management and health-service problems related to children with congenital or acquired urological conditions who advance into adulthood and the clinical implications this has for long-term health and specialist care; and, to understand the issues facing both pediatric and adult-care clinicians and to develop a systems-approach model that meets the needs of young adults, their families and the clinicians working within adult services. Information was gleaned from presentations at an International Children's Continence Society meeting with collaboration from the International Continence Society, that discussed problems of transfer and transitioning such children. Several specialists attending this conference finalized this document identifying issues and highlighting ways to ease this transition and transfer of care for both patients and practitioners. The consensus was, urological patients with congenital or other lifelong care needs, are now entering adulthood in larger numbers than previously, necessitating new planning processes for tailored transfer of management. Adult teams must become familiar with new clinical problems in multiple organ systems and anticipate issues provoked by adolescence and physical growth. During this period of transitional care the clinician or team assists young patients to build attitudes, skills and understanding of processes needed to maximize function of their urinary tract-thus taking responsibility for their own healthcare needs. Preparation must also address, negotiating adult health care systems, psychosocial, educational or vocational issues, and mental wellbeing. Transitioning and transfer of children with major congenital anomalies to clinicians potentially unfamiliar with their conditions requires improved education both for receiving doctors and children's families. Early initiation of the transition process should allow the transference to take place at appropriate times based on the child's development, and environmental and financial factors. Neurourol. Urodynam. 36:811-819, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teaching Environmental Soil Science to Students older than 55

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerdà, Artemi; Civera, Cristina; Giménez-Morera, Antonio; Burguet, María

2014-05-01

The life expectancy growth is a general trend for the world population, which translates into an increase of people older than 55 years in Western societies. This entails to the rise of health problems as well as large investments in healthcare. In general, we are spectators Y tambe voldria saber si ens pots fer una asse of how a large group of citizens have a new life after retirement. The XXI century societies are facing the problem of the need of a healthy population, even after retirement. There is a need in developing new strategies to allow those citizens to improve their knowledge of the environmental changes. The research in Soil Science and related disciplines is the strategy we are using on the Geograns program to inform the students (older than 55) about the changes the Earth and the Soil System are suffering. And this should be done in a healthy and active teaching environment. The NAUGRAN program is being developed by the University of Valencia for more than 10 years and shows the advances on education for senior students. Within this program, Geograns is bringing the environmentalist ideas to the students. This is a difficult task as those students were born in a society were nature was created to be exploited and not to be conserved (e.g. Green Revolution, agricultural transformations of the 60's in Spain). This is the reason why the University of Valencia developed at the end of the 90's a program to teach students older than 55. This paper shows the advances on new strategies developed during 2013 with a group of these senior students. The main strategy was to take the students to visit the nature and to explain the functioning of the Earth and Soil System. Those visits were organized with the collaboration of scientist, environmentalist, farmers and technicians; and the guiding thread was trekking. This mix showed our students different views and sides of the same phenomena (e.g. tillage operations, soil erosion problems, water quantity and quality). This is a healthy way to transfer our students' environmental information.

A resolution recognizing September 15, 2014, as the International Day of Democracy, affirming the role of civil society as a cornerstone of democracy, and encouraging all governments to stand with civil society in the face of mounting restrictions on civil society organizations.

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD

2014-09-10

Senate - 12/03/2014 Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Agreed to in SenateHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Health literacy and asthma.

PubMed

Rosas-Salazar, Christian; Apter, Andrea J; Canino, Glorisa; Celedón, Juan C

2012-04-01

The report "Healthy people" from the US Department of Health and Human Services defines health literacy (HL) as follows: "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions." The same report identifies asthma as a public health problem of high priority. Unfortunately, impaired HL is prevalent in our society, and patients with low HL and asthma face multiple challenges as they attempt to manage their disease. Indeed, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's current guidelines require patients to have considerable HL and self-management skills. Numerous studies have linked inadequate literacy with poor health outcomes. Unlike many sociodemographic variables, HL can potentially be addressed in the health care setting. The purpose of this review is to raise awareness of the problem, summarize the current evidence linking HL and asthma, and offer strategies to strengthen the communication between patients and health care providers to decrease asthma health disparities. In addition, we discuss potential future directions for research in this field. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psychoanalytic theory in times of terror.

PubMed

Connolly, Angela

2003-09-01

Recent events have underlined in the most tragic and dramatic way the need for depth psychology to turn its attention to the psychology of terror. The present paper attempts to distinguish between the psychological modes of horror and terror and explores the different theoretical approaches of Burke, Freud, Kristeva and Jung to this problem in order to cast light on the individual and collective functions that horror and terror play. While all these authors stress that terror and horror play a role in structuring the sense of identity and in strengthening community bonds, Freud and Kristeva believe that the experience of horror works to increase the exclusion of otherness through mechanisms of repression or foreclosure while Burke and Jung see in the encounter with the Negative Sublime or with the Shadow the possibility of widening the boundaries of ego consciousness and of integration of 'otherness'. The paper then uses the analysis of two horror movies and of a particular socio-cultural context to illustrate these different functions of horror and terror and to delineate possible solutions to the problems facing society.

Clinical review: Ethics and end-of-life care for critically ill patients in China

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Critical care medicine in China has made great advances in recent decades. This has led to an unavoidable issue: end-of-life ethics. With advances in medical technology and therapeutics allowing the seemingly limitless maintenance of life, the exact time of death of an individual patient is often determined by the decision to limit life support. How to care for patients at the end of life is not only a medical problem but also a social, ethical, and legal issue. A lot of factors, besides culture, come into play in determining a person’s ethical attitudes or behaviors, such as experience, education, religion, individual attributes, and economic considerations. Chinese doctors face ethical problems similar to those of their Western counterparts; however, since Chinese society is different from that of Western countries in cultural traditions, customs, religious beliefs, and ethnic backgrounds, there is a great difference between China and the Western world in regard to ethics at the end of life, and there is also a huge controversy within China. PMID:24313980

Attitudes to and practices regarding sex selection in China.

PubMed

Lai-wan, Chan Cecilia; Blyth, Eric; Hoi-yan, Chan Celia

2006-07-01

This paper explores the problem of China's 'missing' girls--estimated to run into many millions. It considers the impact of the underpinning Confucian value system in China that has produced a culture of son preference and which, together with China's compulsory family planning program and 'one child policy', has effectively established a 'one son policy'. Discussion of the various means by which the birth or survival of daughters have traditionally been prevented provides the context for identifying the contribution of new sex selection procedures to the maintenance of son preference in contemporary Chinese society. The paper concludes that China's son preference is not simply a personal problem for the millions of 'missing girls' who were destined to live a shorter life and for the surviving girls who continue to face considerable discrimination simply because they are of the 'wrong' sex; it heralds a social and demographic disaster of major proportions for which neither the government nor the people of China appear to have the will or the means to forestall. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Novelty and Inductive Generalization in Human Reinforcement Learning.

PubMed

Gershman, Samuel J; Niv, Yael

2015-07-01

In reinforcement learning (RL), a decision maker searching for the most rewarding option is often faced with the question: What is the value of an option that has never been tried before? One way to frame this question is as an inductive problem: How can I generalize my previous experience with one set of options to a novel option? We show how hierarchical Bayesian inference can be used to solve this problem, and we describe an equivalence between the Bayesian model and temporal difference learning algorithms that have been proposed as models of RL in humans and animals. According to our view, the search for the best option is guided by abstract knowledge about the relationships between different options in an environment, resulting in greater search efficiency compared to traditional RL algorithms previously applied to human cognition. In two behavioral experiments, we test several predictions of our model, providing evidence that humans learn and exploit structured inductive knowledge to make predictions about novel options. In light of this model, we suggest a new interpretation of dopaminergic responses to novelty. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

John Snow’s legacy: epidemiology without borders

PubMed Central

Fine, Paul; Victora, Cesar G; Rothman, Kenneth J; Moore, Patrick S; Chang, Yuan; Curtis, Val; Heymann, David L; Slutkin, Gary; May, Robert M; Patel, Vikram; Roberts, Ian; Wortley, Richard; Torgerson, Carole; Deaton, Angus

2013-01-01

This Review provides abstracts from a meeting held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, on April 11–12, 2013, to celebrate the legacy of John Snow. They describe conventional and unconventional applications of epidemiological methods to problems ranging from diarrhoeal disease, mental health, cancer, and accident care, to education, poverty, financial networks, crime, and violence. Common themes appear throughout, including recognition of the importance of Snow’s example, the philosophical and practical implications of assessment of causality, and an emphasis on the evaluation of preventive, ameliorative, and curative interventions, in a wide variety of medical and societal examples. Almost all self-described epidemiologists nowadays work within the health arena, and this is the focus of most of the societies, journals, and courses that carry the name epidemiology. The range of applications evident in these contributions might encourage some of these institutions to consider broadening their remits. In so doing, they may contribute more directly to, and learn from, non-health-related areas that use the language and methods of epidemiology to address many important problems now facing the world. PMID:23582396

Education for the Good Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawson, Neal; Spours, Ken

2011-01-01

The Left is facing a crisis of its approach to education highlighted by the "education revolution" of the Coalition Government. The authors argue that it is important to step back and present a positive vision of education based on the key pillars of the Good Society--fairness, democracy, sustainability and well-being. This values-led…

Effects of Synchronous Web-Based Instruction on Students' Thinking Styles and Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuo, Ping-Hong

2016-01-01

Technology and innovation are the power of human civilization. In face of such a changeable era, the rapid development and circulation of information technology has hastened the diversification of society. To cope with the approach of information society, teaching methods should also be changed, as traditional injection education could no longer…

Online Paper Repositories and the Role of Scholarly Societies: An AERA Conference Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Educational Researcher, 2010

2010-01-01

This article examines issues faced by scholarly societies that are developing and sustaining online paper repositories. It is based on the AERA Conference on Online Paper Repositories, which focused on fundamental issues of policy and procedure important to the operations of online working paper repositories. The report and recommendations address…

The Community College of the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terrey, John N.

An overview is provided of the challenges facing community colleges due to the shift from a global society shaped by political philosophies to a society shaped by economic powers. Introductory comments are followed by a description of recent changes in the world community, including the rise of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and…

Adventures of Aging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Gloria O.

There is nothing in American society to prepare women for aging. It has been proposed that the status that the aged hold in any culture diminishes when modernization, an increased number and proportion of elderly, or rapid social change is present. All three of these conditions exist in American society. Women face many dangers, especially as they…

Network or Net Worth? Deconstructing the Knowledge Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyer, Maxine

2012-01-01

One of the major issues facing humanity in the twenty-first century is how the increasing effects of globalisation will play out in relation to existing societal and global inequalities. At the very crux of this issue are the terms "knowledge society" and "knowledge economy", two terms employed in a variety of different…

Science accomplishments report.

Treesearch

Valerie Rapp

2003-01-01

Today, as in the past, complex forces of nature intersect with communities and society. Fire, climate change, invasive species, and large-scale shifts in forest cover and use are some of the key issues society currently faces. This accomplishment report encapsulates a year’s work from our scientists. This work is often interdisciplinary, long term, geographically broad...

Naughty or Not? : Exploring Controversial Content and Core Universal Themes in Contemporary Young Adult Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Bannion, Colette Marie

2010-01-01

A reader might assume contemporary society has progressed beyond literary censorship. However, as recently as 2008, the "Gossip Girl" and "Twilight" young adult literature series both faced challenges in distinct sectors of United States society (American Library Association (ALA), 2009: Martindale, 2008). A number of concerned…

The World Awaits: Globalizing U.S. Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acker, Duane

2007-01-01

Considering the global competitiveness and the global opportunities that graduates face in the twenty-first century, every college and university must prepare its students for their profession, for their business, and, especially, for their life in a global society and economy. Preparation for life in a global society does not just mean learning…

Triennial Reproduction Symposium: challenges and opportunities facing livestock reproduction in the 21st century.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The 2009 Triennial Reproduction Symposium was held immediately before the Joint Annual Meeting of the American Society of Animal Science, American Dairy Science Association, and Canadian Society of Animal Science in Montreal, Canada, in July 2009. The intent of the symposium was to identify major ch...

Madrasa Education in South Asia and Southeast Asia: Current Issues and Debates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Jaddon; Niyozov, Sarfaroz

2008-01-01

Madaris (plural of madrasa) face a multitude of challenges in preparing students for life in rapidly modernising societies and emerging globalised knowledge economies. The complexity of the role and tasks of madaris, which are caught in the interface of modernity and tradition, the challenges they face, and the strategies they develop to address…

Why Are We Doing Writing--This Is Science?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gittner, Alastair; Needham, Linda; O'Brien, Nick

2013-01-01

With the recent changes to expectations at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), many teachers, in all subjects, are being faced with the need to persuade unwilling students that there is a need to write "properly" in lessons. Living in the information-rich society, faced with a wide range of scientific issues, it will be incumbent on…

Social Networking as a Platform for Role-Playing Scientific Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geyer, Andrea M.

2014-01-01

This work discusses the design and implementation of two online case studies in a face-to-face general chemistry course. The case studies were integrated into the course to emphasize the need for science literacy in general society, to enhance critical thinking, to introduce database searching, and to improve primary literature reading skills. An…

The Evolutionary Paradox of Tooth Wear: Simply Destruction or Inevitable Adaptation?

PubMed Central

Benazzi, Stefano; Nguyen, Huynh Nhu; Schulz, Dieter; Grosse, Ian R.; Gruppioni, Giorgio; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Kullmer, Ottmar

2013-01-01

Over the last century, humans from industrialized societies have witnessed a radical increase in some dental diseases. A severe problem concerns the loss of dental materials (enamel and dentine) at the buccal cervical region of the tooth. This “modern-day” pathology, called non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs), is ubiquitous and worldwide spread, but is very sporadic in modern humans from pre-industrialized societies. Scholars believe that several factors are involved, but the real dynamics behind this pathology are far from being understood. Here we use an engineering approach, finite element analysis (FEA), to suggest that the lack of dental wear, characteristic of industrialized societies, might be a major factor leading to NCCLs. Occlusal loads were applied to high resolution finite element models of lower second premolars (P2) to demonstrate that slightly worn P2s envisage high tensile stresses in the buccal cervical region, but when worn down artificially in the laboratory the pattern of stress distribution changes and the tensile stresses decrease, matching the results obtained in naturally worn P2s. In the modern industrialized world, individuals at advanced ages show very moderate dental wear when compared to past societies, and teeth are exposed to high tensile stresses at the buccal cervical region for decades longer. This is the most likely mechanism explaining enamel loss in the cervical region, and may favor the activity of other disruptive processes such as biocorrosion. Because of the lack of dental abrasion, our masticatory apparatus faces new challenges that can only be understood in an evolutionary perspective. PMID:23638020

Consumers' Loyalty Related to Labor Inclusion of People with Disabilities.

PubMed

González, Marta; Luis Fernández, José

2016-01-01

the purpose of this paper is to show that reporting the corporate commitment to labor exclusion of people with disability correlates with the increase of consumer loyalty. It is a theoretical revision that will relate consumer loyalty to three main topics: disability and labor exclusion, responsible consumerism toward disability, and corporate communication to increase loyalty of those consumers that are concerned about this problem.      • Disability is an invisible phenomenon that concerns the whole of human society. So, the exclusion of the collective appears as a great social problem that might be dealt by the companies to be perceived as responsible.      • Responsible companies are awarded with the loyalty of the consumers.      • Clear corporate information about the commitment with this problem will reinforce the loyalty toward the brand.      • This information can be given in an informal way or by following a certification process. The impact of those methods will depend on how disability is understood by each consumer. This paper focuses on a topic usually neglected by companies and even by literature. However, the fact that more and more companies are paying attention to this problem allows us to think that we are facing a social change that will challenge companies.

Consumers’ Loyalty Related to Labor Inclusion of People with Disabilities

PubMed Central

González, Marta; Luis Fernández, José

2016-01-01

Purpose: the purpose of this paper is to show that reporting the corporate commitment to labor exclusion of people with disability correlates with the increase of consumer loyalty. Methodology: It is a theoretical revision that will relate consumer loyalty to three main topics: disability and labor exclusion, responsible consumerism toward disability, and corporate communication to increase loyalty of those consumers that are concerned about this problem. Findings:      • Disability is an invisible phenomenon that concerns the whole of human society. So, the exclusion of the collective appears as a great social problem that might be dealt by the companies to be perceived as responsible.      • Responsible companies are awarded with the loyalty of the consumers.      • Clear corporate information about the commitment with this problem will reinforce the loyalty toward the brand.      • This information can be given in an informal way or by following a certification process. The impact of those methods will depend on how disability is understood by each consumer. Originality/value: This paper focuses on a topic usually neglected by companies and even by literature. However, the fact that more and more companies are paying attention to this problem allows us to think that we are facing a social change that will challenge companies. PMID:27445880

The problems of relative deprivation: why some societies do better than others.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Richard G; Pickett, Kate E

2007-11-01

In this paper, we present evidence which suggests that key processes of social status differentiation, affecting health and numerous other social outcomes, take place at the societal level. Understanding them seems likely to involve analyses and comparisons of whole societies. Using income inequality as an indicator and determinant of the scale of socioeconomic stratification in a society, we show that many problems associated with relative deprivation are more prevalent in more unequal societies. We summarise previously published evidence suggesting that this may be true of morbidity and mortality, obesity, teenage birth rates, mental illness, homicide, low trust, low social capital, hostility, and racism. To these we add new analyses which suggest that this is also true of poor educational performance among school children, the proportion of the population imprisoned, drug overdose mortality and low social mobility. That ill health and a wide range of other social problems associated with social status within societies are also more common in more unequal societies, may imply that income inequality is central to the creation of the apparently deep-seated social problems associated with poverty, relative deprivation or low social status. We suggest that the degree of material inequality in a society may not only be central to the social forces involved in national patterns of social stratification, but also that many of the problems related to low social status may be amenable to changes in income distribution. If the prevalence of these problems varies so much from society to society according to differences in income distribution, it suggests that the familiar social gradients in health and other outcomes are unlikely to result from social mobility sorting people merely by prior characteristics. Instead, the picture suggests that their frequency in a population is affected by the scale of social stratification that differs substantially from one society to another.

What's Ailing Ontario's Colleges and What Can Faculty Do about It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedderson, Kim

2008-01-01

In this article, the author discusses the problems facing Ontario's community colleges' faculty as educators whose "craft" is to teach. The author contends that the problems educators face haven't really been the focus of the three constituencies that have dominated the conversations about the colleges: (1) college management; (2) the…

The New Workforce Generation: Understanding the Problems Facing Parental Involvement in Jordanian Kindergartens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ihmeideh, Fathi; Khasawneh, Samer; Mahfouz, Safi; Khawaldeh, Moustafa

2008-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the problems facing parental involvement in Jordanian kindergartens from the parents' perspectives. A 36-item questionnaire that addressed five domains was designed by the researchers and distributed among the study participants. The study sample consisted of 297 parents of kindergarten children from various…

A Problem in Online Interpersonal Skills Training: Do Learners Practice Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doo, Min Young

2006-01-01

One problem found when teaching interpersonal skills online is learners' lack of opportunity for skill practice. The online learning environment is deficient in face-to-face interaction, and opportunities for self-regulation make it difficult to ensure learners practice skills despite the positive effects of such practice on skill improvement. The…

The Problems of Translating Oriental Texts into Arabic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sakarna, Ahmad Khalaf; Ma'Abrah, Mohamdd Akash

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the problems and difficulties that face the students of Arabic Language at Mu'tah University when translating oriental texts from English into Arabic in the academic year 2011-2012. The difficulties facing Arabic students when translating oriental texts has never been studied, rising an urgent need to…

Problems Teachers Face When Doing Action Research and Finding Possible Solutions: Three Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Jun

2012-01-01

Through case studies, this paper explores problems teachers face when doing action research: for instance, teachers may misunderstand the research, mistrust university researchers, lack the time or adequate library resources to conduct research, lack theoretical guidance or knowledge of research methodology, and feel pressure or frustration during…

Rationale for Students Preparation and Entrepreneurship Education in the Face of Global Economic Crisis in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onuma, Nwite

2016-01-01

The rationale for students preparation in job creation through entrepreneurship education was examined. Problems of unemployment among Nigerian university graduates and challenges to entrepreneurship in the face of global economic crisis were also highlighted. The persistent problem of unemployment among University graduates and its attendant…

The Effects of Vocal Activity and Race of Applicant on Job Selection Interview Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd, Marquita L.

Because interviewing is a face-to-face interaction belonging to the genre of interpersonal relationships, the employment interview is subject to some of the same problems that beset interpersonal relationships. Problems can occur in both interviews and interpersonal relationships because of bias, which originates from background characteristics,…

Using Asynchronous Learning in Redesign: Reaching and Retaining the At-Risk Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Twigg, Carol A.

2009-01-01

In addition to experiencing the generic quality and cost problems faced by all colleges and universities, community colleges face problems particular to their student populations. They need to design more flexible schedules for working adult students, create a greater sense of community or engagement for commuting students, address the special…

Direct Problem-Based Learning (DPBL): A Framework for Integrating Direct Instruction and Problem-Based Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winarno, Sri; Muthu, Kalaiarasi Sonai; Ling, Lew Sook

2018-01-01

Direct instruction approach has been widely used in higher education. Many studies revealed that direct instruction improved students' knowledge. The characteristics of direct instruction include the subject delivered through face-to-face interaction with the lecturers and materials that sequenced deliberately and taught explicitly. However,…

Knowledge bases, clinical decision support systems, and rapid learning in oncology.

PubMed

Yu, Peter Paul

2015-03-01

One of the most important benefits of health information technology is to assist the cognitive process of the human mind in the face of vast amounts of health data, limited time for decision making, and the complexity of the patient with cancer. Clinical decision support tools are frequently cited as a technologic solution to this problem, but to date useful clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been limited in utility and implementation. This article describes three unique sources of health data that underlie fundamentally different types of knowledge bases which feed into CDSS. CDSS themselves comprise a variety of models which are discussed. The relationship of knowledge bases and CDSS to rapid learning health systems design is critical as CDSS are essential drivers of rapid learning in clinical care. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

When the patient remains in danger: psychotherapy in U.S. combat zones.

PubMed

Roach, Christopher

2008-03-01

Much of the literature on the psychological treatment of victims of violence focuses on demographic populations that do not represent the majority of victims. Part of the origin of this problem is that the prototypical victim and the prototypical perpetrator are often the same. Young, poor, minority males often constitute both the victim and the perpetrator class in America. As a group, these individuals, while disproportionately thought of as suitable for incarceration, are not thought of as good candidates for psychological treatment. However, their suffering is real, unrelenting and often not addressed. Therapists face significant barriers, in the patient, in society and in themselves, in trying to help these individuals. This article examines the issues of racism, drugs, ongoing danger, class inequalities, misogyny and the blended victim/perpetrator, all of which complicate engagement and understanding between therapist and patient.

Problems faced with legislating for IVF technology in a Roman Catholic country.

PubMed

Mallia, Pierre

2010-02-01

Malta traditionally enjoys a Roman Catholic Society, with the official religion of the country being cited in the second article of the constitution. Recently the government proposed to legislate to regulate human reproductive technology, in particular In Vitro Fertilization, which has been practiced for over two decades without controlling legislation. A Parliamentary Committee for social affairs was set up to study the situation inviting most stakeholders. The arguments gravitated mostly on issues of the status of the embryo and the media played a considerable role. At the end of the discussion the Archbishop made a statement which pointed out that IVF involves destruction of embryos and the process stopped. This article examines what caused the deterioration of the process and points favourably towards a way forward within the context of a Catholic Country.

The Management Of Intellectual Property In A Romanian State University Where Research Represents A Strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tîţu, Aurel Mihail; Oprean, Constantin; Răulea, Andreea Simina

2015-07-01

The transition to the knowledge-based economy and society requires adaptation to constant change that implies intellectual property as a multidimensional concept that continually leaves its mark on generations contributing to their well-being in obvious and undeniable ways. The main objective of this article was to assess the present level of the management of intellectual property in a state university in Romania displaying their strengths and weaknesses. The overall objective of the work is to analyze the state of the art in a Romanian state university in order to find solutions to the current problems that the Romanian scientific environment is facing. The conclusions drawn in the study converge in directions and proposals for improving the way in which the intellectual property is regarded and its management in the state universities of Romania.

The advantages of demographic change after the wave: fewer and older, but healthier, greener, and more productive?

PubMed

Kluge, Fanny; Zagheni, Emilio; Loichinger, Elke; Vogt, Tobias

2014-01-01

Population aging is an inevitable global demographic process. Most of the literature on the consequences of demographic change focuses on the economic and societal challenges that we will face as people live longer and have fewer children. In this paper, we (a) briefly describe key trends and projections of the magnitude and speed of population aging; (b) discuss the economic, social, and environmental consequences of population aging; and (c) investigate some of the opportunities that aging societies create. We use Germany as a case study. However, the general insights that we obtain can be generalized to other developed countries. We argue that there may be positive unintended side effects of population aging that can be leveraged to address pressing environmental problems and issues of gender inequality and intergenerational ties.

Face it, don't Facebook it: Impacts of Social Media Addiction on Mindfulness, Coping Strategies and the Consequence on Emotional Exhaustion.

PubMed

Sriwilai, Kanokporn; Charoensukmongkol, Peerayuth

2016-10-01

Addiction to social media has now become a problem that societies are concerned with. The aim of the present study is to investigate the impacts that social media addiction has on mindfulness and choice of coping strategy, as well as to explore the consequences on emotional exhaustion. The survey data were collected from 211 employees in 13 enterprises in Thailand. Results from partial least square structural equation modelling revealed that people who are highly addicted to social media tended to have lower mindfulness and tended to use emotion-focused coping to deal with stress. Lack of mindfulness and the decision to use emotion-coping strategy are also subsequently associated with higher emotional exhaustion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

eHealth in Latin America and the Caribbean: Development and Policy Issues

PubMed Central

Risk, Ahmad

2003-01-01

This paper reviews trends and issues in health and in the information and communication technologies (ICT) market as they relate to the deployment of eHealth solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Heretofore designed for industrialized countries and large organizations, eHealth solutions are being proposed as an answer to a variety of health-system management problems and health care demands faced by all health organizations including those in developing societies. Particularly, eHealth is seen as especially useful in the operational support of the new health care models being implemented in many countries. The authors examine those developments vis-à-vis the characteristics of the Latin American and the Caribbean health-sector organizational preparedness and technological infrastructure, and propose policy and organizational actions to foster the development of eHealth solutions in the region. PMID:12746209

Conflict of technologies for water and sanitation in developing countries.

PubMed

Bannerman, R R

2000-01-01

Borehole water supplies, in basement rock aquifers in the West Africa Sub-region, face potential pollution hazards as a result of their close location within the same geological environments as indiscriminately sited latrines, rubbish dumps, farms and animal watering points in the communities. The heterogeneous nature of the overburden and fractures in the bedrock constitute relatively fast flow paths for surface water contaminated mainly by bacteria and nitrates which enhance the pollution of the groundwater and boreholes. To improve the drinking water quality, some measures have been taken to minimize the hazards. Further studies are required to understand better the nature and scale of the problem and to avoid the apparent conflict of technologies. It is necessary to incorporate improvements in sanitation into rural water supply projects, if the otherwise good drinking water source should not be lost to society's wastes.

The Advantages of Demographic Change after the Wave: Fewer and Older, but Healthier, Greener, and More Productive?

PubMed Central

Kluge, Fanny; Zagheni, Emilio; Loichinger, Elke; Vogt, Tobias

2014-01-01

Population aging is an inevitable global demographic process. Most of the literature on the consequences of demographic change focuses on the economic and societal challenges that we will face as people live longer and have fewer children. In this paper, we (a) briefly describe key trends and projections of the magnitude and speed of population aging; (b) discuss the economic, social, and environmental consequences of population aging; and (c) investigate some of the opportunities that aging societies create. We use Germany as a case study. However, the general insights that we obtain can be generalized to other developed countries. We argue that there may be positive unintended side effects of population aging that can be leveraged to address pressing environmental problems and issues of gender inequality and intergenerational ties. PMID:25250779

The truth lies somewhere in the middle: Swinging between globalization and regionalization of medical education in Japan.

PubMed

Saiki, Takuya; Imafuku, Rintaro; Suzuki, Yasuyuki; Ban, Nobutaro

2017-10-01

Japan is well known as a super-aging society, with a low birth rate, and has been ranked as one of the countries having the highest quality of healthcare system. Japan's society is currently approaching a major turning point with regard to societal and healthcare reforms, which are influenced by international trends and regional needs. Development of Japanese healthcare human resources, including medical students, is now expected to ride the wave of globalization, while resolving regional problems in the training and delivery of healthcare. Terms and global trends in medical education, such as outcome-based education, community-based education, reflective learning, international accreditation of medical education, and professionalization of educators are well translated into the Japanese language and embraced positively among the Japanese medical educators. However, these trends occasionally sit uncomfortably with cultural variations that are often a common approach in Japan; notably, "hansei" (introspection) and "kaizen" (change for the better). In the world facing a new era where people are unsettled between globalism and regionalism, Japan's future mission is to steer a balanced route that recognizes both global and regional influences and produce global health professionals educators.

[What is a "needs-oriented welfare service" in a care home for aged people? Apply psychology to understand and intervene].

PubMed

Yamazaki, Momoko

2006-01-01

In Japan there is a serious problem that we will have to face and handle, which is the super aging of society around 2010. According to the Universal Model of the WHO, ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) addresses, aging is one of such disabilities (underline). Since we all become old, we have to consider the impact of this new concept and deal with it in this aging society. Therefore it is important to clarify what a quality welfare service is. I believe the quality of welfare service is based on the understanding of human needs. In other words, a high quality of welfare services will match needs of both providers and recipients. At this point, I define two services, offered and required. I collected, classified and analyzed the data from this institution using technological methods. Summarizing the data, I created three tables. Then I examined them with Maslow s need-hierarchy-theory. I got another figure of possibility talphafor improvement. As the result of my study it should be designed to fulfill the desire and/or needs of who continue rehabilitation process to achieve their ultimate goal of independence and self-realization.

Pulmonary thromboembolic disease. Clinical management of acute and chronic disease.

PubMed

Torbicki, Adam

2010-07-01

Pulmonary thromboembolism falls between the areas of pulmonology and cardiology, internal medicine and intensive care, radiology and nuclear medicine, and hematology and cardiothoracic surgery. Depending on their clinical background, physicians faced with a patient with a pulmonary thromboembolism may speak different languages and adopt different treatment approaches. Now, however, there is an opportunity to end the Tower of Babel surrounding pulmonary thromboembolism. There is a growing acknowledgement that the key clinical problems in both acute pulmonary embolism and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension are linked to right ventricular pressure overload and right ventricular failure. As a result, cardiologists and cardiac intensive care specialists are taking an increasing interest in understanding and combating these conditions. The European Society of Cardiology was the first to elaborate comprehensive clinical practice guidelines for pulmonary thromboembolism and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The task forces involved in producing these guidelines included radiologists, pulmonologists, hematologists, intensive care physicians and surgeons, which ensured that the final document was universally acceptable. The aim of this article was to provide an overview of the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and prevention of acute pulmonary thromboembolism and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, while taking into account European Society of Cardiology guidelines and incorporating new evidence where necessary.

A survey of the dummy face and human face stimuli used in BCI paradigm.

PubMed

Chen, Long; Jin, Jing; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej

2015-01-15

It was proved that the human face stimulus were superior to the flash only stimulus in BCI system. However, human face stimulus may lead to copyright infringement problems and was hard to be edited according to the requirement of the BCI study. Recently, it was reported that facial expression changes could be done by changing a curve in a dummy face which could obtain good performance when it was applied to visual-based P300 BCI systems. In this paper, four different paradigms were presented, which were called dummy face pattern, human face pattern, inverted dummy face pattern and inverted human face pattern, to evaluate the performance of the dummy faces stimuli compared with the human faces stimuli. The key point that determined the value of dummy faces in BCI systems were whether dummy faces stimuli could obtain as good performance as human faces stimuli. Online and offline results of four different paradigms would have been obtained and comparatively analyzed. Online and offline results showed that there was no significant difference among dummy faces and human faces in ERPs, classification accuracy and information transfer rate when they were applied in BCI systems. Dummy faces stimuli could evoke large ERPs and obtain as high classification accuracy and information transfer rate as the human faces stimuli. Since dummy faces were easy to be edited and had no copyright infringement problems, it would be a good choice for optimizing the stimuli of BCI systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

State and trait anxiety levels of adolescents in a changing society, Kirikkale city, Turkey.

PubMed

Oğuztürk, Ömer; Bülbül, Selda Hızel; Özen, Nurper Erberk; Ekici, Mehmet; Örnek, Kemal; Ünlü, Erdal; Yüksel, Serhat

2012-06-01

Adolescents face rapidly changing challenges. Psychosocial health problems during adolescence are relatively common in all cultures. This study was designed to evaluate the state and trait anxiety status and influencing sociodemographic and other factors, thought to pertain to youth, on anxiety among school children in Kirikkale. It was carried out at three public primary and two high schools representative of two different socioeconomic statuses. 430 Turkish school children (246 girls, 184 boys) were asked voluntarily to answer a set of questionnaires in their classrooms at the beginning of a training programme. Then the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children was administered. Mean age of the students was 14.16 ± 1.87 years. The mean total STAI-CS and STAI-CT scores were 40.24 ± 11.64, and 44.71 ± 9.64, respectively. There were no differences in STAI-CS and STAI-CT scores between boys and girls in both schools and in all age groups. Among girls, a positive body image had a significant effect on state anxiety scores. There was a positive correlation between age and anxiety scores (r = .17, F:12.176, p < .001). Students identifying their families SES as bad and/or moderate scored significantly higher in comparison to the other groups (p < .05). STAI-CS scores were higher for lower educational grade, higher body weight and sleep problems. In Kirikkale, a city faced with substantial changes in cultural and traditional norms, adolescents could be expected to be under stress and appear to be responding to stress with anxiety.

Order of onset of drug use and criminal activities in a sample of drug-abusing women convicted of violent crimes.

PubMed

Baltieri, Danilo Antonio

2014-03-01

This study aims to explore the temporal relationship between age of onset of substance use and criminal activity in women convicted of violent crimes as well as to subdivide them into clinically significant groups to which tailored treatment can be guided. Of the 353 female inmates randomised for this study, 38 (10.8%) refused to participate and 182 (51.6%) met inclusion criteria. Data were obtained only from substance-abusing female inmates serving a sentence for robbery or homicide in a female penitentiary in Brazil. Participant information was gathered through face-to-face interviews during which alcohol and drug abuse, impulsiveness levels, depressive symptoms, and criminological aspects were investigated. . Age of first alcohol and drug use significantly preceded the age of onset of criminal activities in the overall sample. Onset ages of alcohol and drug use problems significantly preceded the beginning of criminal activities in women convicted of homicide only. Latent Class Analysis resulted in two groups: cluster 1 (n = 122; 67%), early-onset alcohol and drug users; and cluster 2 (n = 60; 33%), late-onset alcohol and drug users. Higher depression levels, higher incidence of committing robbery and less official history of recidivism were associated with cluster 1 inmates. The temporal relationship between the onset age of alcohol/drug use problems and age of the beginning of criminal activities can set apart women convicted of robbery from those convicted of homicide. Further, a distinctive therapeutic approach to early- and late-onset offenders may be valuable. © 2014 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Women's health is a community issue.

PubMed

Irvin, A

1997-01-01

When a member of the Community Life Project in Nigeria led a group of women in a discussion about HIV/AIDS, the women reported that they understood that condom use is the best means of protection but that they were unable to negotiate condom use with their husbands. Even if the women were economically independent, they would rather face the risk of HIV/AIDS than divorce. Thus, efforts to improve women's health have not generated much change on the local level. This can also be seen by the facts that current programs have failed to reduce the numbers of women dying from pregnancy-related causes each year, nearly 3000 women die from tuberculosis each day, women suffer occupational health risks, and domestic violence is an important determinant of health problems for women. Because women lack power in many societies, efforts to effect individual change may be blocked by a woman's particular circumstances. Thus, the involvement of entire communities is necessary to improve the conditions affecting women's health. Community-level discussions may open the door for couples to discuss sexuality and gender-based issues as well as safer sex behavior. Despite the important role they can play, women's community health groups face stiff challenges because of a lack of knowledge or training and because of the difficulty in overcoming gender-based discrimination. The Hesperian Foundation's publication, "Where Women Have No Doctor," is an excellent resource for understanding how poverty and gender issues affect women's health. The book contains practical information, promotes a model of community-based responses to problems with social origins, and shares experiences of grassroots groups world-wide.

Safety of sports facilities and training of graduates in physical education.

PubMed

Romano Spica, V; Giampaoli, S; Di Onofrio, V; Liguori, G

2015-01-01

Post-industrial societies have to face the problem of physical inactivity and inappropriate lifestyles. Programs to promote physical activity are strongly supported by supranational, national and local institutions and organizations. These programs can be developed in sport facilities but also in places that are not institutionally dedicated to sport. The use of urban and working sites has the advantage of better reach the various segments of the population, but at the same time requires coordination between various professionals in structuring an effective intervention. Bibliographical research in the historical archives of the library of the University of Rome Foro Italico, online databases, paleoigiene (wikigiene), documents archives (GSMS-SItI, WHO, ISS, OsEPi, INAIL, ISTAT, national laws). Several guidelines and regulations face the problem of safety in sport environments. The context is in rapid evolution and directions are provided by public health authorities. Graduates in Sport and Physical Activity, represent an additional resource in terms of: prevention and safety in the workplace, health education, application of preventive and adapted physical activities in the territory. These tasks can be integrated in all prevention stages: e.g. childhood and primary prevention programs in school, adapted physical activity for the elderly. The contribution of public health specialists is strategic in the surveillance and coordination of integrated projects. At the same time, graduates in Physical Education appear to be pivots for health promotion and qualified resources for institutions in the territory. Their training should always include contents related to prevention and safety, regulations on sport and working environments, along with bases of preventive medicine related to the context of physical activity.

Mental health first aid training for Australian medical and nursing students: an evaluation study.

PubMed

Bond, Kathy S; Jorm, Anthony F; Kitchener, Betty A; Reavley, Nicola J

2015-01-01

The role and demands of studying nursing and medicine involve specific stressors that may contribute to an increased risk for mental health problems. Stigma is a barrier to help-seeking for mental health problems in nursing and medical students, making these students vulnerable to negative outcomes including higher failure rates and discontinuation of study. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a potential intervention to increase the likelihood that medical and nursing students will support their peers to seek help for mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored MHFA course for nursing and medical students. Nursing and medical students self-selected into either a face-to-face or online tailored MHFA course. Four hundred and thirty-four nursing and medical students completed pre- and post-course surveys measuring mental health first aid intentions, mental health literacy, confidence in providing help, stigmatising attitudes and satisfaction with the course. The results of the study showed that both the online and face-to-face courses improved the quality of first aid intentions towards a person experiencing depression, and increased mental health literacy and confidence in providing help. The training also decreased stigmatizing attitudes and desire for social distance from a person with depression. Both online and face-to-face tailored MHFA courses have the potential to improve outcomes for students with mental health problems, and may benefit the students in their future professional careers.

Robust Face Recognition via Multi-Scale Patch-Based Matrix Regression.

PubMed

Gao, Guangwei; Yang, Jian; Jing, Xiaoyuan; Huang, Pu; Hua, Juliang; Yue, Dong

2016-01-01

In many real-world applications such as smart card solutions, law enforcement, surveillance and access control, the limited training sample size is the most fundamental problem. By making use of the low-rank structural information of the reconstructed error image, the so-called nuclear norm-based matrix regression has been demonstrated to be effective for robust face recognition with continuous occlusions. However, the recognition performance of nuclear norm-based matrix regression degrades greatly in the face of the small sample size problem. An alternative solution to tackle this problem is performing matrix regression on each patch and then integrating the outputs from all patches. However, it is difficult to set an optimal patch size across different databases. To fully utilize the complementary information from different patch scales for the final decision, we propose a multi-scale patch-based matrix regression scheme based on which the ensemble of multi-scale outputs can be achieved optimally. Extensive experiments on benchmark face databases validate the effectiveness and robustness of our method, which outperforms several state-of-the-art patch-based face recognition algorithms.

Report of the 10(th) Asia-Pacific Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand Congress (Organising Chair and Scientific Chair).

PubMed

A, Roohi Sharifah; Abdullah, Shalimar

2016-10-01

A report on the 10(th) Asia-Pacific Federation of Societies for the Surgery of the Hand and 6(th) Asia-Pacific Federation of Societies for Hand Therapists is submitted detailing the numbers of attendees participating, papers presented and support received as well the some of the challenges faced and how best to overcome them from the local conference chair and scientific chair point of view.

The Role of Military Myth in Society

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

the face of adversity and contribute significantly to the war effort. The cause they served is portrayed as admirable and worthy, despite the racism ...most cases, fosters the belief that the nation’s cause is worthy and should be supported by the members of the society. The paper reviews elements of...are worthy of praise, and that their cause is a worthy cause - that is, society is intended to support the men and their cause . Negative military

3D Face Recognition Based on Multiple Keypoint Descriptors and Sparse Representation

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lin; Ding, Zhixuan; Li, Hongyu; Shen, Ying; Lu, Jianwei

2014-01-01

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in developing methods for 3D face recognition. However, 3D scans often suffer from the problems of missing parts, large facial expressions, and occlusions. To be useful in real-world applications, a 3D face recognition approach should be able to handle these challenges. In this paper, we propose a novel general approach to deal with the 3D face recognition problem by making use of multiple keypoint descriptors (MKD) and the sparse representation-based classification (SRC). We call the proposed method 3DMKDSRC for short. Specifically, with 3DMKDSRC, each 3D face scan is represented as a set of descriptor vectors extracted from keypoints by meshSIFT. Descriptor vectors of gallery samples form the gallery dictionary. Given a probe 3D face scan, its descriptors are extracted at first and then its identity can be determined by using a multitask SRC. The proposed 3DMKDSRC approach does not require the pre-alignment between two face scans and is quite robust to the problems of missing data, occlusions and expressions. Its superiority over the other leading 3D face recognition schemes has been corroborated by extensive experiments conducted on three benchmark databases, Bosphorus, GavabDB, and FRGC2.0. The Matlab source code for 3DMKDSRC and the related evaluation results are publicly available at http://sse.tongji.edu.cn/linzhang/3dmkdsrcface/3dmkdsrc.htm. PMID:24940876

Face recognition via edge-based Gabor feature representation for plastic surgery-altered images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chude-Olisah, Chollette C.; Sulong, Ghazali; Chude-Okonkwo, Uche A. K.; Hashim, Siti Z. M.

2014-12-01

Plastic surgery procedures on the face introduce skin texture variations between images of the same person (intra-subject), thereby making the task of face recognition more difficult than in normal scenario. Usually, in contemporary face recognition systems, the original gray-level face image is used as input to the Gabor descriptor, which translates to encoding some texture properties of the face image. The texture-encoding process significantly degrades the performance of such systems in the case of plastic surgery due to the presence of surgically induced intra-subject variations. Based on the proposition that the shape of significant facial components such as eyes, nose, eyebrow, and mouth remains unchanged after plastic surgery, this paper employs an edge-based Gabor feature representation approach for the recognition of surgically altered face images. We use the edge information, which is dependent on the shapes of the significant facial components, to address the plastic surgery-induced texture variation problems. To ensure that the significant facial components represent useful edge information with little or no false edges, a simple illumination normalization technique is proposed for preprocessing. Gabor wavelet is applied to the edge image to accentuate on the uniqueness of the significant facial components for discriminating among different subjects. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on the Georgia Tech (GT) and the Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) databases with illumination and expression problems, and the plastic surgery database with texture changes. Results show that the proposed edge-based Gabor feature representation approach is robust against plastic surgery-induced face variations amidst expression and illumination problems and outperforms the existing plastic surgery face recognition methods reported in the literature.

Hybrid Course Design: A Different Type of Polymer Blend

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilcher, Spence C.

2017-01-01

An upper-division undergraduate polymer chemistry course was developed as a blended/hybrid course. The students met face-to-face once a week for 75 min with all other components being available online. Face-to-face meetings were used for class discussions/problem-based lectures, student presentations, hands-on activities, and examinations. Online…

Supporting Greenhouse Gas Management Strategies with Observations and Analysis - Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, J. H.; Tarasova, O. A.

2014-12-01

Climate-change challenges facing society in the 21st century require an improved understanding of the global carbon-cycle and of the impacts and feedbacks of past, present, and future emissions of carbon-cycle gases. Global society faces a major challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to virtually zero, most notably those of CO2, while at the same time facing variable and potentially overwhelming Earth System feedbacks. How it goes about this will depend upon the nature of impending international agreements, national laws, regional strategies, and social and economic forces. The challenge to those making observations to support, inform, or verify these reduction efforts, or to address potential Earth System feedbacks, lies in harmonizing a diverse array of observations and observing systems. Doing so is not trivial. Providing coherent, regional-scale information from these observations also requires improved modelling and ensemble reanalysis, but in the end such information must be relevant and reasonably certain. The challenge to us is to ensure a globally coherent observing and analysis system to supply the information that society will need to succeed. Policy-makers, scientists, government agencies, and businesses will need the best information available for decision-making and any observing and analysis system ultimately must be able to provide a coherent story over decades.

Family quality of life and ASD: the role of child adaptive functioning and behavior problems.

PubMed

Emily, Gardiner; Grace, Iarocci

2015-04-01

The family is the key support network for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in many cases into adulthood. The Family Quality of Life (FQOL) construct encompasses family satisfaction with both internal and external dynamics, as well as support availability. Therefore, although these families face considerable risk in raising a child with a disability, the FQOL outcome is conceptualized as representative of a continuum of family adaptation. This study examined the role of child characteristics, including adaptive functioning and behaviour problems, in relation to FQOL. Eighty-four caregivers of children and adolescents (range = 6-18 years) with ASD participated, completing questionnaires online and by telephone. Adaptive functioning, and specifically daily living skills, emerged as a significant predictor of FQOL satisfaction, after accounting for behavioural and demographic characteristics, including child age, gender, perceived disability severity, and behavioural problems, as well as family income. Furthermore, there were significant differences across each domain of FQOL when groups were separated by daily living skill functioning level ('low,' 'moderately low,' and 'adequate'). The results suggest that intervention strategies targeting daily living skills will likely have beneficial effects for both individual and family well-being, and may reduce family support demands. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Weltanschauung aspects of the problem of man, the biosphere and space].

PubMed

Agadzhanian, N A

1979-01-01

The paper discusses philosophic approaches to the problem of man-environment interplay. Many important problems humanity faces today are associated with biology. Biomedical and astrophysical studies are being carried out to gain a better insight into the laws governing evolution and further development of the Universe. The emergence of a human society started a qualitatively new stage in the evolution of organic matter. A rapid progress of science and engineering is accompanied by a significant rearrangement of the natural environment and, particularly, of living beings. The biosphere is transforming into the sphere of intelligence, i.e. noosphere. However, natural phenomena are still more powerful than man-made productive forces. Man's excursion into outer space allowed him to look at himself as if from the outside and to evaluate critically his actual role, position and responsibility in the infinite Universe as compared with other forms of life and intelligence. The Universe may be boundlessly great but for human beings there is nothing better than the Earth. Our planet will long remain the base for the existence and development of humanity. Today man ought to take the streering-wheel of evolution and fate of the biosphere into his hands, in order to preserve, through the efforts of many generations, our planet as the gem of the Universe.

Teaching Sustainability from a Scientific Standpoint at the Introductory Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell-Stone, E.; Myers, J. D.

2008-12-01

In recent decades, humankind has recognized that current levels of resource utilization are seriously impacting our planet's life support systems and threatening the ability of future generations to provide for themselves. The concept of sustainability has been promoted by a variety of national and international organizations as a method to devise ways to adjust humanity's habits and consumption to levels that can be maintained over the long term, i.e. sustained. Courses on sustainability are being offered at many universities and colleges, but most are taught outside of science departments; they are often designed around policy concerns or focus primarily on environmental impacts while neglecting the science of sustainability. Because the three foundations necessary to implement sustainability are sustainability governance, sustainability accounting, and sustainability science, it is imperative that science departments play an active role in preparing citizens and professionals for dealing with sustainability issues. The geosciences are one of the scientific disciplines that offer a logical foundation from which to teach sustainability science. Geoscientists can also offer a unique and relevant geologic perspective on sustainability issues. The authors have developed an introductory, interdisciplinary course entitled 'Global Sustainability: Managing Earth's Resources' that integrates scientific disciplines in the examination of real world sustainability issues. In-depth understanding of physical, Earth and biological science principles are necessary for students to identify the limits and constraints imposed on important issues facing modern society, e.g. water, energy, population growth, etc. This course exposes students to all the scientific principles that apply directly to sustainability. The subject allows the instructors to present open-ended, multifaceted and complex problems relevant to today's industrialized and globalized world, and it encourages students to think critically about global, national, and local issues. The course utilizes a lecture/lab format; lecture concentrates on the content of sustainability and lab offers students an opportunity to apply what they have learned to actual case studies (context). Students follow a variety of Earth resources from formation to extraction to processing to production to disposal/recycling. At each stage, students examine the relevant science, economics, policies, and environmental impact. Sustainability issues clearly demonstrate the relevance of scientific content and quantitative reasoning to real-world problems of energy, pollution, water, and climate change, and they also provide meaning and context to critical thinking and problem-solving. The integrated and interdisciplinary approach builds bridges between the natural and social sciences and benefits both STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and non-STEM students. Non-STEM students learn through practice and application how science, engineering and technology are fundamental to solving many of the problems societies face, and STEM students discover that those fields cannot operate independently from issues of culture, economics, and politics. By having STEM and non-STEM students work in groups on global sustainability problems, the course helps to lower the barriers between the disciplines and promotes comprehensive and multifaceted examination of societal issues at many levels.

A shifting mosaic of scholarly publishing, scientific delivery, and future impact changing the face of learned societies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leslie, David M.

2007-01-01

Nonprofit scientific societies hope that their activities advance their particular mission and impact their profession and, in the broadest sense, humanity in positive ways. The digital age has provided unprecedented mechanisms to enhance the delivery of science to the world. The marketplace of scientific publishing is a rapidly shifting mosaic of challenges and opportunities, and the responses of nonprofit and commercial publishers vary widely, but their outcomes are still uncertain. The response of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) provides an example of how a relatively small society has altered its scientific delivery to enhance member benefits while attempting to sustain its economic viability. Since 2000, ASM has moved from a self-publishing, break-even, print-only model to a copublishing agreement with a commercial publisher (Alliance Communications Group, a division of Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas), which now offers members various print and electronic options and generates a shared royalty. Although it is too early to gauge the economic impact of these changes, the ASM leadership clearly attempted to signal its desire for members to view their society as a package of opportunities for edification and involvement rather than just a provider of serial subscriptions. Future challenges facing nonprofit scientific societies include open access, fiscal realities, archiving of publications, and scientific and societal impact; future opportunities include a strengthening of member responsibilities and professionalism, development of data registries to enhance scientific progress, and bundling of like societies. The manner in which nonprofit scientific societies respond to these challenges and opportunities will no doubt affect their sustainability and future impact. ?? 2007 American Society of Mammalogists.

Recovering from 30 Years of War: Refugee Women and Children in Angola.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, New York, NY.

After 30 years of war, Angola faces the challenge of creating a civil society. This report presents key findings of a visit to Angola, December 1-13, 1996, by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. The report describes conditions facing women and children affected by war in Angola, addresses the return process of refugees from…

The Culture Care Meaning of Comfort for Ethnically Diverse Pre-Licensure Baccalaureate Nursing Students in the Educational Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zajac, Lynne K.

2010-01-01

The nursing profession is calling for enhanced diversity within the ranks of registered nurses to meet the health care needs of an increasingly diverse society. Nursing education is faced with the challenge of retaining ethnically diverse nursing students. Students who are ethnically diverse face unique challenges in addition to the universal…

The Relationship of HR Professionals' Online Experiences with Perceptions of Organizational Hiring and Promotion of Online Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaupins, Gundars Egons; Wanek, James Edward; Coco, Malcolm Paulin

2014-01-01

Based on a survey of 264 human resources professionals from 10 Society for Human Resource Management chapters in Texas, the authors investigated how human resources professionals accept online degrees compared to degrees based on face-to-face coursework for hiring and promotion purposes. If respondents were satisfied with their own online course…

Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strom, Margot Stern; Parsons, William S.

This unit for junior and senior high school students presents techniques and materials for studying about the holocaust of World War II. Emphasis in the guide is on human behavior and the role of the individual within society. Among the guide's 18 objectives are for students to examine society's influence on individual behavior, place Hitler's…

Academic Expectations and Well-Being from School to Work during the Economic Downturn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmela-Aro, Katariina

2012-01-01

Educational transitions and the transition from school to working life present substantial challenges for youth in modern societies. In addition to the drastic changes taking place in their personal lives as they navigate the educational ladder and the transition to work life, young adults today face profound changes in society as well. In…

What Can Students Learn in an Extended Role-Play Simulation on Technology and Society?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loui, Michael C.

2009-01-01

In a small course on technology and society, students participated in an extended role-play simulation for two weeks. Each student played a different adult character in a fictional community, which faces technological decisions in three scenarios set in the near future. The three scenarios involved stem cell research, nanotechnology, and privacy.…

The Chinese Family in Transition: Implications for Education and Society in Modern Taiwan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Douglas C.

This paper investigates the challenges facing the modern Chinese family in Taiwan. An understanding of how culture and family life interact in other cultures may be useful in helping to understand such interactions in one's own society. Confucianism and family stability have been two enduring features of the protracted civilizations of China. In…

The University and Race Relations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinderaker, Ivan

The most critical issue that the US must face is whether people of all races can work together and create a society in which equal opportunity genuinely exists for all. The racism practiced throughout the US has produced potentially destructive forces that could lead to a second civil war between outraged minority groups and the rest of society.…

Human Rights Education in Japan: An Historical Account, Characteristics and Suggestions for a Better-Balanced Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takeda, Sachiko

2012-01-01

Although human rights are often expressed as universal tenets, the concept was conceived in a particular socio-political and historical context. Conceptualisations and practice of human rights vary across societies, and face numerous challenges. After providing an historical account of the conceptualisation of human rights in Japanese society,…

When Encounters between Religious Worldviews Are a Threat: Applying Triune Ethics Theory in a Religiously Diverse Landscape

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, Daniel; Lovat, Terence

2014-01-01

Democratic societies today face increasing diversity, including religious diversity, and are finding that interfaith engagement possesses potential to bring out the worst and the best of human responses and, correlatively, that such engagement can either assist in or undermine the social cohesion of these societies. This article employs Triune…

An Empirical Study on Context Awareness Integrated Mobile Assisted Instruction and the Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Qiujin; Chen, Ting; Kong, Deyi

2017-01-01

Education is now an indicator of national modernization that countries in the world intend to promote the national quality and cultivate talents for national development through education. Especially, when human societies get into the 21st century, global societies, politics, economy, and culture are facing major changes. With the development of…

Towards Achieving a Critical Thinking Society in Malaysia: A Challenge to School Libraries and Educational Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yaacob, Raja Abdullah; Seman, Norma Abur

One of the challenges facing Malaysia amidst its economic development is the achievement of a critical thinking society. This would enhance and guarantee the success of research and development programs in addition to having other socioeconomic effects. This paper covers the following topics: Vision 2020, Malaysia's goal to reach developed nation…

Post-Conflict Teacher Development: Facing the Past in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weldon, Gail

2010-01-01

One of the priorities of societies emerging from identity-based conflict is to signal a new society, with new values that stand in stark contrast with the old. Education policy becomes a critical arena for highlighting these political values when schools, particularly teachers, are identified as key agents of social change. However, the legacy of…

The own-age face recognition bias is task dependent.

PubMed

Proietti, Valentina; Macchi Cassia, Viola; Mondloch, Catherine J

2015-08-01

The own-age bias (OAB) in face recognition (more accurate recognition of own-age than other-age faces) is robust among young adults but not older adults. We investigated the OAB under two different task conditions. In Experiment 1 young and older adults (who reported more recent experience with own than other-age faces) completed a match-to-sample task with young and older adult faces; only young adults showed an OAB. In Experiment 2 young and older adults completed an identity detection task in which we manipulated the identity strength of target and distracter identities by morphing each face with an average face in 20% steps. Accuracy increased with identity strength and facial age influenced older adults' (but not younger adults') strategy, but there was no evidence of an OAB. Collectively, these results suggest that the OAB depends on task demands and may be absent when searching for one identity. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

The role of Chinese face in the perpetration of dating partner violence.

PubMed

Chan, Ko Ling

2012-03-01

This study explored the associations between the perpetration of partner violence and two types of face orientation-protective and acquisitive-in Chinese societies. Data from a convenience sample of 3,388 university students from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing were analyzed. The participants completed the Protective and Acquisitive Face Orientation (PAFO) Scale Short Form and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) to measure their face orientations and experience of perpetrating violence against their dating partner. Acquisitive face orientation (AFO) was positively associated with the self-reported perpetration of physical and psychological partner violence. No significant associations were found between protective face orientation (PFO) and partner violence perpetration. Gender differences were found across all types of dating violence. City of residence, age, and SES were also associated with partner violence in specific ways. The findings gave insights on the possible mechanisms between partner violence and the concept of face to be explored in future research.

Studying Abroad as a Sorting Criterion in the Recruitment Process: A Field Experiment among German Employers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petzold, Knut

2017-01-01

As the experience of studying abroad can signal general and transnational human capital, it is considered to be increasingly important for professional careers, particularly in the context of economies' internationalization. However, studies using graduate surveys face problems of self-selection and studies on employers' opinions face problems of…

Emotion Regulation Enhancement of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for College Student Problem Drinkers: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Julian D.; Grasso, Damion J.; Levine, Joan; Tennen, Howard

2018-01-01

This pilot randomized clinical trial tested an emotion regulation enhancement to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) with 29 college student problem drinkers with histories of complex trauma and current clinically significant traumatic stress symptoms. Participants received eight face-to-face sessions of manualized Internet-supported CBT for problem…

Navigating Turn-Taking and Conversational Repair in an Online Synchronous Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earnshaw, Yvonne

2017-01-01

In face-to-face conversations, speaker transitions (or hand-offs) are typically seamless. In computer-mediated communication settings, speaker hand-offs can be a bit more challenging. This paper presents the results of a study of audio communication problems that occur in an online synchronous course, and how, and by whom, those problems are…

Creative Multimodal Learning Environments and Blended Interaction for Problem-Based Activity in HCI Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ioannou, Andri; Vasiliou, Christina; Zaphiris, Panayiotis; Arh, Tanja; Klobucar, Tomaž; Pipan, Matija

2015-01-01

This exploratory case study aims to examine how students benefit from a multimodal learning environment while they engage in collaborative problem-based activity in a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) university course. For 12 weeks, 30 students, in groups of 5-7 each, participated in weekly face-to-face meetings and online interactions.…

Population problems in Austronesia.

PubMed

Hull, T H

1986-11-01

The author examines population issues facing countries in Oceania and Southeastern Asia. "Analysis is based on recently released population projections from the United Nations Population Division. There are great differences among the countries.... There are nonetheless important areas of commonality: all nations are facing the problem of raising levels of schooling in line with parents' aspirations and economic needs, all face problems of caring for a rising proportion of aged, and all have difficulties with the monitoring and control of international migration. Also, since minority groups in many countries are majority polities in neighbouring states, there is potential for establishing international dialogues aimed at relieving internal tensions." Consideration is given to the role of Australia in promoting international cooperation to deal with these issues. excerpt

Online Social Interactions Predict Academic and Emotional Adjustment in the Transition to University.

PubMed

Mikami, Amori Yee; Szwedo, David E; Khalis, Adri; Jia, Mary; Na, Jennifer Jiwon

2018-02-05

We investigated the developmental implications of online social interactions among 590 youth transitioning to university. We observed friends' posts on participants' Facebook pages, and considered attributes of friends' posts used to indicate positive and negative relationship quality in face-to-face interactions. After statistical control of beginning-of-year functioning and participants' Facebook content, Facebook friends' deviant content posts (swearing; illegal/sexualized activities) predicted participants' lower grade point average, Facebook friends' posts indicating connection to participants predicted participants' lower psychopathology, and Facebook friends' verbal aggression posts predicted participants' lower institutional attachment, by the end of the year. Negative effects of friends' posts were strongest for participants who were disliked by peers face to face. The online context may uniquely influence youth adjustment in conjunction with face-to-face relationships. © 2018 Society for Research on Adolescence.

What goes around, comes around: John Gregory, MD, and the profession of medicine

PubMed Central

McCullough, Laurence B.

2007-01-01

Each generation of physicians believes the problems they face are unique. History shows that very few situations are new to medicine. Some appear to have been around for centuries (medical institutions' “cherry-picking” of patients, third-party interference in medical care), while others have been around for millennia (competition among physicians, competition between physicians and nonphysicians). This article describes problems of medicine faced by 18th-century medicine and the solutions to those problems proposed by Dr. John Gregory in the latter part of that century. Both the problems and his solutions seem surprisingly modern. PMID:17256037

Learning Opportunities in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication and Face-to-Face Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hye Yeong

2014-01-01

This study investigated how synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and face-to-face (F2F) oral interaction influence the way in which learners collaborate in language learning and how they solve their communicative problems. The findings suggest that output modality may affect how learners produce language, attend to linguistic forms,…

Student Perceptions Concerning Their Experience in a Flipped Undergraduate Capstone Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCubbins, O. P.; Paulsen, Thomas H.; Anderson, Ryan G.

2016-01-01

Flipped learning is an innovative approach to teaching at the post-secondary level. Traditional methods of initial delivery of curricular content occur before a face-to-face class session. Students must prepare before attending class, as the majority of face-to-face class sessions are utilized for applying curricular content to complex problems. A…

Punishments and Prizes for Explaining Global Warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somerville, R. C.

2006-12-01

Some few gifted scientists, the late Carl Sagan being an iconic example, are superbly skilled at communicating science clearly and compellingly to non-scientists. Most scientists, however, have serious shortcomings as communicators. The common failings include being verbose, addicted to jargon, caveat- obsessed and focused on details. In addition, it is far easier for a scientist to scoff at the scientific illiteracy of modern society than to work at understanding the viewpoints and concerns of journalists, policymakers and the public. Obstacles await even those scientists with the desire and the talent to communicate science well. Peer pressure and career disincentives can act as powerful deterrents, discouraging especially younger scientists from spending time on non-traditional activities. Scientists often lack mentors and role models to help them develop skills in science communication. Journalists also face real difficulties in getting science stories approved by editors and other gatekeepers. Climate change science brings its own problems in communication. The science itself is unusually wide- ranging and complex. The contentious policies and politics of dealing with global warming are difficult to disentangle from the science. Misinformation and disinformation about climate change are widespread. Intimidation and censorship of scientists by some employers is a serious problem. Polls show that global warming ranks low on the public's list of important issues. Despite all the obstacles, communicating climate change science well is critically important today. It is an art that can be learned and that brings its own rewards and satisfactions. Academic institutions and research funding agencies increasingly value outreach by scientists, and they provide resources to facilitate it. Society needs scientists who can clearly and authoritatively explain the science of global warming and its implications, while remaining objective and policy-neutral. This need will only increase in coming years as climate change makes the transition from a topic of limited public interest to one of great concern to all society.

3D Face Modeling Using the Multi-Deformable Method

PubMed Central

Hwang, Jinkyu; Yu, Sunjin; Kim, Joongrock; Lee, Sangyoun

2012-01-01

In this paper, we focus on the problem of the accuracy performance of 3D face modeling techniques using corresponding features in multiple views, which is quite sensitive to feature extraction errors. To solve the problem, we adopt a statistical model-based 3D face modeling approach in a mirror system consisting of two mirrors and a camera. The overall procedure of our 3D facial modeling method has two primary steps: 3D facial shape estimation using a multiple 3D face deformable model and texture mapping using seamless cloning that is a type of gradient-domain blending. To evaluate our method's performance, we generate 3D faces of 30 individuals and then carry out two tests: accuracy test and robustness test. Our method shows not only highly accurate 3D face shape results when compared with the ground truth, but also robustness to feature extraction errors. Moreover, 3D face rendering results intuitively show that our method is more robust to feature extraction errors than other 3D face modeling methods. An additional contribution of our method is that a wide range of face textures can be acquired by the mirror system. By using this texture map, we generate realistic 3D face for individuals at the end of the paper. PMID:23201976

Face liveness detection using shearlet-based feature descriptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Litong; Po, Lai-Man; Li, Yuming; Yuan, Fang

2016-07-01

Face recognition is a widely used biometric technology due to its convenience but it is vulnerable to spoofing attacks made by nonreal faces such as photographs or videos of valid users. The antispoof problem must be well resolved before widely applying face recognition in our daily life. Face liveness detection is a core technology to make sure that the input face is a live person. However, this is still very challenging using conventional liveness detection approaches of texture analysis and motion detection. The aim of this paper is to propose a feature descriptor and an efficient framework that can be used to effectively deal with the face liveness detection problem. In this framework, new feature descriptors are defined using a multiscale directional transform (shearlet transform). Then, stacked autoencoders and a softmax classifier are concatenated to detect face liveness. We evaluated this approach using the CASIA Face antispoofing database and replay-attack database. The experimental results show that our approach performs better than the state-of-the-art techniques following the provided protocols of these databases, and it is possible to significantly enhance the security of the face recognition biometric system. In addition, the experimental results also demonstrate that this framework can be easily extended to classify different spoofing attacks.

Examining problem solving in physics-intensive Ph.D. research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leak, Anne E.; Rothwell, Susan L.; Olivera, Javier; Zwickl, Benjamin; Vosburg, Jarrett; Martin, Kelly Norris

2017-12-01

Problem-solving strategies learned by physics undergraduates should prepare them for real-world contexts as they transition from students to professionals. Yet, graduate students in physics-intensive research face problems that go beyond problem sets they experienced as undergraduates and are solved by different strategies than are typically learned in undergraduate coursework. This paper expands the notion of problem solving by characterizing the breadth of problems and problem-solving processes carried out by graduate students in physics-intensive research. We conducted semi-structured interviews with ten graduate students to determine the routine, difficult, and important problems they engage in and problem-solving strategies they found useful in their research. A qualitative typological analysis resulted in the creation of a three-dimensional framework: context, activity, and feature (that made the problem challenging). Problem contexts extended beyond theory and mathematics to include interactions with lab equipment, data, software, and people. Important and difficult contexts blended social and technical skills. Routine problem activities were typically well defined (e.g., troubleshooting), while difficult and important ones were more open ended and had multiple solution paths (e.g., evaluating options). In addition to broadening our understanding of problems faced by graduate students, our findings explore problem-solving strategies (e.g., breaking down problems, evaluating options, using test cases or approximations) and characteristics of successful problem solvers (e.g., initiative, persistence, and motivation). Our research provides evidence of the influence that problems students are exposed to have on the strategies they use and learn. Using this evidence, we have developed a preliminary framework for exploring problems from the solver's perspective. This framework will be examined and refined in future work. Understanding problems graduate students face and the strategies they use has implications for improving how we approach problem solving in undergraduate physics and physics education research.

'We are looked down upon and rejected socially': a qualitative study on the experiences of trafficking survivors in Nepal.

PubMed

Dahal, Pranab; Joshi, Sunil Kumar; Swahnberg, Katarina

2015-01-01

The successful reintegration of sexual trafficking survivors into Nepalese society is challenging. This paper aims to explore the trafficking process, abuses faced during sexual slavery,and the challenges faced by women and girl survivors for successful reintegration. This exploratory study used qualitative methods to identify that poverty, illiteracy, lack of opportunities, and varied social stigma initiate the victimization process, and continuity of this vicious circle increases the risk for (re)entrapment. The reasons for sexual trafficking have also become the reasons for restricting survivors from opportunities for growth and mainstreaming. Non-existent support systems, detachment from familial ties, being outcast by society, and an uncertain livelihood make reintegration difficult for survivors.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs: Their Use and Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worick, W. Wayne; Schaller, Warren E.

This text examines some of the problems and concerns surrounding drug use and abuse in society. The central theme is that alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are a part of our society and that our failure to deal with the resultant problems represents a betrayal to society. Education and prevention are stressed as the ultimate answer, but it is recognized…

The cerebral correlates of subliminal emotions: an eleoencephalographic study with emotional hybrid faces.

PubMed

Prete, Giulia; Capotosto, Paolo; Zappasodi, Filippo; Laeng, Bruno; Tommasi, Luca

2015-12-01

In a high-resolution electroencephalographic study, participants evaluated the friendliness level of upright and inverted 'hybrid faces', i.e. facial photos containing a subliminal emotional core in the low spatial frequencies (< 6 cycles/image), superimposed on a neutral expression in the rest of the spatial frequencies. Upright happy and angry faces were judged as more friendly or less friendly than neutral faces, respectively. We observed the time course of cerebral correlates of these stimuli with event-related potentials (ERPs), confirming that hybrid faces elicited the posterior emotion-related and face-related components (P1, N170 and P2), previously shown to be engaged by non-subliminal emotional stimuli. In addition, these components were stronger in the right hemisphere and were both enhanced and delayed by face inversion. A frontal positivity (210-300 ms) was stronger for emotional than for neutral faces, and for upright than for inverted faces. Hence, hybrid faces represent an original approach in the study of subliminal emotions, which appears promising for investigating their electrophysiological correlates. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

EPA Leadership on Science, Innovation, and Decision Support Tools for Addressing Current and Future Challenges.

PubMed

Hecht, Alan D; Ferster, Aaron; Summers, Kevin

2017-10-16

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established nearly 50 years ago, the nation faced serious threats to its air, land, and water, which in turn impacted human health. These threats were effectively addressed by the creation of EPA (in 1970) and many subsequent landmark environmental legislations which in turn significantly reduced threats to the Nation's environment and public health. A key element of historic legislation is research aimed at dealing with current and future problems. Today we face national and global challenges that go beyond classic media-specific (air, land, water) environmental legislation and require an integrated paradigm of action and engagement based on (1) innovation based on science and technology, (2) stakeholder engagement and collaboration, and (3) public education and support. This three-pronged approach recognizes that current environmental problems, include social as well as physical and environmental factors, are best addressed through collaborative problem solving, the application of innovation in science and technology, and multiple stakeholder engagement. To achieve that goal, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) is working directly with states and local communities to develop and apply a suite of accessible decision support tools (DST) that aim to improve environmental conditions, protect human health, enhance economic opportunity, and advance a resilient and sustainability society. This paper showcases joint EPA and state actions to develop tools and approaches that not only meet current environmental and public health challenges, but do so in a way that advances sustainable, healthy, and resilient communities well into the future. EPA's future plans should build on current work but aim to effectively respond to growing external pressures. Growing pressures from megatrends are a major challenge for the new Administration and for cities and states across the country. The recent hurricanes hitting Texas and the Gulf Coast, part of the increase in extreme weather events, make it clear that building resilient infrastructure is a crucial step to sustainability.

Future Critical Issues and Problems Facing Technology and Engineering Education in the Commonwealth of Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros; Moye, Johnny J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine the future critical issues and problems facing the K-12 technology and engineering education profession in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study was based on the Wicklein nationwide studies (1993a, 2005). Even though this study did not exactly replicate the Wicklein studies--since it was limited to…

Funding for Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific. Strategies To Increase Cost Efficiency and Attract Additional Financial Support.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harman, Grant, Ed.; Selim, M., Ed.

This book presents articles that document the serious funding problems faced by higher education institutions and systems in the Asian and Pacific region, and explores possible strategies to address these problems. It presents an overview of the financial situation faced by higher education in the region, and then discusses two main strategies…

Studies in the Human Use of Controlled English

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

Controlled English (CE) is intended to aid human problem solving processes when analysing data and generating high-value conclusions in collaboration...state of affairs. The second approach is to guide a user face-to-face to formulate free English sentences into CE to solve a logic problem. The paper describes both approaches and provides an informal analysis of the results to date.

Investigating ICT Using Problem-Based Learning in Face-to-Face and Online Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, John

2006-01-01

This article reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of a module in the MEd (Business) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong in which an explicit problem-based learning (PBL) approach was used to investigate the challenges associated with the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in…

Preschool Psychopathology Reported by Parents in 23 Societies: Testing the Seven-Syndrome Model of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5–5

PubMed Central

Ivanova, Masha Y.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Rescorla, Leslie A.; Harder, Valerie S.; Ang, Rebecca P.; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Capron, Christiane; De Pauw, Sarah S.W.; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Doepfner, Manfred; Duyme, Michele; Eapen, Valsamma; Erol, Nese; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Ezpeleta, Lourdes; Frigerio, Alessandra; Gonçalves, Miguel M.; Gudmundsson, Halldor S.; Jeng, Suh-Fang; Jetishi, Pranvera; Jusiene, Roma; Kim, Young-Ah; Kristensen, Solvejg; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W.L.; Liu, Jianghong; Montirosso, Rosario; Oh, Kyung Ja; Plueck, Julia; Pomalima, Rolando; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R.; Simsek, Zynep; Sourander, Andre; Valverde, Jose; Van Leeuwen, Karla G.; Woo, Bernardine S.C.; Wu, Yen-Tzu; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Verhulst, Frank C.

2014-01-01

Objective To test the fit of a seven-syndrome model to ratings of preschoolers' problems by parents in very diverse societies. Method Parents of 19,106 children 18 to 71 months of age from 23 societies in Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America completed the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5–5 (CBCL/1.5–5). Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the seven-syndrome model separately for each society. Results The primary model fit index, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), indicated acceptable to good fit for each society. Although a six-syndrome model combining the Emotionally Reactive and Anxious/Depressed syndromes also fit the data for nine societies, it fit less well than the seven-syndrome model for seven of the nine societies. Other fit indices yielded less consistent results than the RMSEA. Conclusions The seven-syndrome model provides one way to capture patterns of children's problems that are manifested in ratings by parents from many societies. Clinicians working with preschoolers from these societies can thus assess and describe parents' ratings of behavioral, emotional, and social problems in terms of the seven syndromes. The results illustrate possibilities for culture–general taxonomic constructs of preschool psychopathology. Problems not captured by the CBCL/1.5–5 may form additional syndromes, and other syndrome models may also fit the data. PMID:21093771

Preschool psychopathology reported by parents in 23 societies: testing the seven-syndrome model of the child behavior checklist for ages 1.5-5.

PubMed

Ivanova, Masha Y; Achenbach, Thomas M; Rescorla, Leslie A; Harder, Valerie S; Ang, Rebecca P; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Capron, Christiane; De Pauw, Sarah S W; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Doepfner, Manfred; Duyme, Michele; Eapen, Valsamma; Erol, Nese; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Ezpeleta, Lourdes; Frigerio, Alessandra; Gonçalves, Miguel M; Gudmundsson, Halldor S; Jeng, Suh-Fang; Jetishi, Pranvera; Jusiene, Roma; Kim, Young-Ah; Kristensen, Solvejg; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W L; Liu, Jianghong; Montirosso, Rosario; Oh, Kyung Ja; Plueck, Julia; Pomalima, Rolando; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R; Simsek, Zynep; Sourander, Andre; Valverde, Jose; Van Leeuwen, Karla G; Woo, Bernardine S C; Wu, Yen-Tzu; Zubrick, Stephen R; Verhulst, Frank C

2010-12-01

To test the fit of a seven-syndrome model to ratings of preschoolers' problems by parents in very diverse societies. Parents of 19,106 children 18 to 71 months of age from 23 societies in Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America completed the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5-5 (CBCL/1.5-5). Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the seven-syndrome model separately for each society. The primary model fit index, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), indicated acceptable to good fit for each society. Although a six-syndrome model combining the Emotionally Reactive and Anxious/Depressed syndromes also fit the data for nine societies, it fit less well than the seven-syndrome model for seven of the nine societies. Other fit indices yielded less consistent results than the RMSEA. The seven-syndrome model provides one way to capture patterns of children's problems that are manifested in ratings by parents from many societies. Clinicians working with preschoolers from these societies can thus assess and describe parents' ratings of behavioral, emotional, and social problems in terms of the seven syndromes. The results illustrate possibilities for culture-general taxonomic constructs of preschool psychopathology. Problems not captured by the CBCL/1.5-5 may form additional syndromes, and other syndrome models may also fit the data. Copyright © 2010 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The New Immigrants and California's Multiethnic Heritage. New Faces of Liberty Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wollenberg, Charles

California has one of the most diverse societies on earth. Ethnic minorities comprise at least one-third of the state's people, and the society is becoming ever more diverse. It is estimated that by about the year 2010, California will have no majority ethnic group. The historical development of this diversity is traced from the arrival of…

Demographic Transformation in a Policy Vacuum: The Changing Face of U.S. Metropolitan Society and Challenges for Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mordechay, Kfir; Orfield, Gary

2017-01-01

Educators and policy makers must confront the race and class disparities in learning opportunities across American society. Nowhere are these disparities more acute than in the country's great metropolitan areas. As the demographic landscape continues to shift, metropolitan areas are fueling the transition to a majority-minority country. This…

Adult Education in Migration Societies and the Challenge of "Recognition" in Austrian and German Adult Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprung, Annette

2013-01-01

Adult education institutions face a variety of challenges in "migration societies". This paper first analyses the marginal adoption of the topic by researchers in a German-speaking context and points out the dominance of a target group approach in the past. To open up alternative perspectives, I will discuss challenges for adult…

Included or Excluded? The Dual Influences of the Organisational Field and Organisational Practices on New Female Academics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elg, Ulf; Jonnergard, Karin

2010-01-01

A number of measures have been taken by the society to ensure gender equality in higher education. Nevertheless, women still face great difficulties when pursuing an academic career. Our aim is to increase the understanding of how the society, conceptualised as the organisational field, interacts with organisational factors and personal actions as…

The Institutionalization of Universities' Third Mission: Introduction to the Special Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinheiro, Rómulo; Langa, Patricio V.; Pausits, Attila

2015-01-01

Globally, debates on the notion of a third set of activities aimed at linking higher education institutions more closely with surrounding society are not new. In the last decade or so, calls for a re-engagement of the university in helping to tackle the great challenges facing societies and local communities have propelled the third mission to the…

One against the Grain: Re-Imagining the Face of School Leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santamaria, Lorri Johnson; Santamaria, Andres Peter; Singh, Gurdev Kaur Pritam

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reframe transformative and culturally sustaining leadership for a diverse global society by addressing the need for educational systems to better serve people of color, situated in the urban Auckland area of Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), who have been marginalized by the societies to which they immigrate.…

Terrorism, Civil Liberties, and Preventive Approaches to Technology: The Difficult Choices Western Societies Face in the War on Terrorism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurgensen, Arnd

2004-01-01

This article explores public policy alternatives to the current war on terrorism. Western society's vulnerability to terrorism has been dealt with primarily by expanding the law enforcement and surveillance authority of governments at the expense of the freedoms and civil liberties of the public. This approach threatens to undermine the…

Prejudice and Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raab, Earl; Lipset, Seymour M.

This monograph consists of six chapters which discuss the problem of prejudice in our society. Chapter I looks at "Prejudice as a Social Problem." As a social problem prejudice can be defined exclusively in terms of human behavior which denies or attempts to deny equality of opportunity or status to certain racial, religious, or ethnic groups.…

War, space, and the evolution of Old World complex societies.

PubMed

Turchin, Peter; Currie, Thomas E; Turner, Edward A L; Gavrilets, Sergey

2013-10-08

How did human societies evolve from small groups, integrated by face-to-face cooperation, to huge anonymous societies of today, typically organized as states? Why is there so much variation in the ability of different human populations to construct viable states? Existing theories are usually formulated as verbal models and, as a result, do not yield sharply defined, quantitative predictions that could be unambiguously tested with data. Here we develop a cultural evolutionary model that predicts where and when the largest-scale complex societies arose in human history. The central premise of the model, which we test, is that costly institutions that enabled large human groups to function without splitting up evolved as a result of intense competition between societies-primarily warfare. Warfare intensity, in turn, depended on the spread of historically attested military technologies (e.g., chariots and cavalry) and on geographic factors (e.g., rugged landscape). The model was simulated within a realistic landscape of the Afroeurasian landmass and its predictions were tested against a large dataset documenting the spatiotemporal distribution of historical large-scale societies in Afroeurasia between 1,500 BCE and 1,500 CE. The model-predicted pattern of spread of large-scale societies was very similar to the observed one. Overall, the model explained 65% of variance in the data. An alternative model, omitting the effect of diffusing military technologies, explained only 16% of variance. Our results support theories that emphasize the role of institutions in state-building and suggest a possible explanation why a long history of statehood is positively correlated with political stability, institutional quality, and income per capita.

The Feasibility of Flipping: An Exploratory Analysis of the Flipped Classroom in a Developing Country

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffith, Alana D. D.

2017-01-01

There has been an increased demand on educational institutions to provide students with value for money. The sociology course SOCI3035 Caribbean Social Problems with 111 students was transformed to a fully flipped course replacing several face-to-face lectures, tutorials and assessment with online versions as homework. Face to face lecture time…

Self-stigma and the intention to seek psychological help online compared to face-to-face.

PubMed

Wallin, Emma; Maathz, Pernilla; Parling, Thomas; Hursti, Timo

2018-07-01

The present study aims to investigate the impact of help-seeking self-stigma on the preference and intention to seek psychological treatment delivered online compared to face-to-face. This study uses survey data from two Swedish samples. Sample 1 consists of 267 students (78.7% women) with a mean age of 24.5 (SD = 6.1). Sample 2 consists of 195 primary care patients (56.9% women) with a mean age of 45.3 (SD = 17.7). The number of participants who preferred online treatment was higher if seeking psychological help for a perceived stigmatized problem compared to mental health problems in general. The odds ratios for choosing treatment online over face-to-face were 6.41, 95% CI [4.05, 10.14] in Sample 1 and 11.19, 95% CI [5.29, 23.67] in Sample 2. In addition, findings suggest that higher levels of help-seeking self-stigma predicted higher intention to seek treatment online compared to face-to-face. Our results suggest that online interventions may facilitate help-seeking among individuals deterred by stigma. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Face sketch recognition based on edge enhancement via deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Zhenzhu; Yang, Fumeng; Zhang, Yuming; Wu, Congzhong

2017-11-01

In this paper,we address the face sketch recognition problem. Firstly, we utilize the eigenface algorithm to convert a sketch image into a synthesized sketch face image. Subsequently, considering the low-level vision problem in synthesized face sketch image .Super resolution reconstruction algorithm based on CNN(convolutional neural network) is employed to improve the visual effect. To be specific, we uses a lightweight super-resolution structure to learn a residual mapping instead of directly mapping the feature maps from the low-level space to high-level patch representations, which making the networks are easier to optimize and have lower computational complexity. Finally, we adopt LDA(Linear Discriminant Analysis) algorithm to realize face sketch recognition on synthesized face image before super resolution and after respectively. Extensive experiments on the face sketch database(CUFS) from CUHK demonstrate that the recognition rate of SVM(Support Vector Machine) algorithm improves from 65% to 69% and the recognition rate of LDA(Linear Discriminant Analysis) algorithm improves from 69% to 75%.What'more,the synthesized face image after super resolution can not only better describer image details such as hair ,nose and mouth etc, but also improve the recognition accuracy effectively.

Finessing filter scarcity problem in face recognition via multi-fold filter convolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Low, Cheng-Yaw; Teoh, Andrew Beng-Jin

2017-06-01

The deep convolutional neural networks for face recognition, from DeepFace to the recent FaceNet, demand a sufficiently large volume of filters for feature extraction, in addition to being deep. The shallow filter-bank approaches, e.g., principal component analysis network (PCANet), binarized statistical image features (BSIF), and other analogous variants, endure the filter scarcity problem that not all PCA and ICA filters available are discriminative to abstract noise-free features. This paper extends our previous work on multi-fold filter convolution (ℳ-FFC), where the pre-learned PCA and ICA filter sets are exponentially diversified by ℳ folds to instantiate PCA, ICA, and PCA-ICA offspring. The experimental results unveil that the 2-FFC operation solves the filter scarcity state. The 2-FFC descriptors are also evidenced to be superior to that of PCANet, BSIF, and other face descriptors, in terms of rank-1 identification rate (%).

Discretization and Numerical Solution of a Plane Problem in the Mechanics of Interfacial Cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoroshun, L. P.

2017-01-01

The Fourier transform is used to reduce the linear plane problem of the tension of a body with an interfacial crack to a system of dual equations for the transformed stresses and, then, to a system of integro-differential equations for the difference of displacements of the crack faces. After discretization, this latter system transforms into a system of algebraic equations for displacements of the crack faces. The effect of the bielastic constant and the number of discretization points on the half-length of the crack faces and the distribution of stresses at the interface is studied

Students' unchanging smoking habits in urban and rural areas in the last 15 years.

PubMed

Akca, Gulfer; Guner, Sukru Nail; Akca, Unal; Kilic, Mehtap; Sancak, Recep; Ozturk, Fadil

2016-04-01

Smoking is the main preventable public health problem particularly for youth worldwide. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of smoking habits among students at secondary and high schools, and to compare the findings with those of a study conducted 15 years ago in the same area. In this cross-sectional study 6212 students (51.2% female; 48.8% male) were selected randomly from rural and urban areas in Samsun. All students completed a face-to-face questionnaire. The overall prevalence of smoking was 13.0% (male students, 18.1%; female students, 8.2%). The mean starting age of smoking was 14.1 ± 1.5 years. Prevalence of smoking was 15.7% in urban areas and 8.1% in rural areas. The most important factors for starting smoking were social group and families. Compared with a study conducted 15 years previously in the same area for male students, smoking prevalence was increased in rural, but decreased in urban areas. Smoking prevalence in students in Samsun was similar to that in a study conducted 15 years previously. It is important to use anti-smoking campaigns directly targeted at teenager and they should be fully informed of the harmful effects of smoking. © 2015 Japan Pediatric Society.

Behavioral and Emotional Problems Reported by Parents of Children Ages 6 to 16 in 31 Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rescorla, Leslie; Achenbach, Thomas; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Dumenci, Levent; Almqvist, Fredrik; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Chen, Wei; Dobrean, Anca; Dopfner, Manfred; Erol, Nese; Fombonne, Eric; Fonseca, Antonio; Frigerio, Alessandra; Grietens, Hans; Hannesdottir, Helga; Kanbayashi, Yasuko; Lambert, Michael; Larsson, Bo; Leung, Patrick; Liu, Xianchen; Minaei, Asghar; Mulatu, Mesfin S.; Novik, Torunn S.; Oh, Kyung-Ja; Roussos, Alexandra; Sawyer, Michael; Simsek, Zeynep; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Weintraub, Sheila; Weisz, John; Metzke, Christa Winkler; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Yang, Hao-Jan; Zilber, Nelly; Zukauskiene, Rita; Verhulst, Frank

2007-01-01

This study compared parents' ratings of behavioral and emotional problems on the "Child Behavior Checklist" (Achenbach, 1991; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) for general population samples of children ages 6 to 16 from 31 societies (N = 55,508). Effect sizes for society ranged from 0.03 to 0.14. Effect sizes for gender were less than or…

A Westerner's Impression of the Place of People with a Disability in Asian Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parmenter, Trevor R.

2014-01-01

From a Westerner's perspective of the place of people with a disability in Asian society, there are similarities and differences between the two societies. A major problem for the Asian countries is their lack of reliable disability prevalence data. The stigmatization of people with a disability remains an international problem and is not confined…

A Step Beyond Simple Keyword Searches: Services Enabled by a Full Content Digital Journal Archive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boccippio, Dennis J.

2003-01-01

The problems of managing and searching large archives of scientific journal articles can potentially be addressed through data mining and statistical techniques matured primarily for quantitative scientific data analysis. A journal paper could be represented by a multivariate descriptor, e.g., the occurrence counts of a number key technical terms or phrases (keywords), perhaps derived from a controlled vocabulary ( e . g . , the American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology) or bootstrapped from the journal archive itself. With this technique, conventional statistical classification tools can be leveraged to address challenges faced by both scientists and professional societies in knowledge management. For example, cluster analyses can be used to find bundles of "most-related" papers, and address the issue of journal bifurcation (when is a new journal necessary, and what topics should it encompass). Similarly, neural networks can be trained to predict the optimal journal (within a society's collection) in which a newly submitted paper should be published. Comparable techniques could enable very powerful end-user tools for journal searches, all premised on the view of a paper as a data point in a multidimensional descriptor space, e.g.: "find papers most similar to the one I am reading", "build a personalized subscription service, based on the content of the papers I am interested in, rather than preselected keywords", "find suitable reviewers, based on the content of their own published works", etc. Such services may represent the next "quantum leap" beyond the rudimentary search interfaces currently provided to end-users, as well as a compelling value-added component needed to bridge the print-to-digital-medium gap, and help stabilize professional societies' revenue stream during the print-to-digital transition.

Current Crisis in Science Education? Women in Science and Problems for the Behavioral Scientists. Some Perspectives of a Physicist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dresselhaus, Mildred S.

A number of problems exist in society which require the cooperation of physical and social scientists. One of these problems is the current crisis in science education. There are several aspects to this problem, including the declining interest of students in math and science at a time when functioning in our society requires more, not less,…

The Moro Problem: An Historical Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

Contemporary Problems (Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1974), p. 187. 1 2 Majul, Cesar Adib., Muslims in the Philippines (Manila: St. Mary’s Publishing...Rcbert D. McAmis (eds.), The Muslim Filipinos: Their History, Society and Contemporary Problems (Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1974), p. 271. 17...Filipinos: Their History, Society, and Contemporary Problems (Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1974), p. 246. 117 :4 S. N N I , •..- t 2 9 Wulff

Reflections on scientific collaboration between basic researchers and clinicians.

PubMed

Muia, J; Casari, C

2016-10-01

Early career researchers face uncertainties with respect to their job prospects due to dwindling job markets, decreased availability of funding and undefined career paths. As basic researchers and clinicians tend to have different approaches to scientific problems, there are many advantages from successful collaborations between them. Here, we discuss how collaborations between basic and clinical scientists should be promoted early in their careers. To achieve this, researchers, both basic and clinical, must be proactive during their training and early stages of their careers. Mentors can further augment collaborative links in many ways. We suggest that universities and institutions might reassess their involvement in promoting collaborations between basic and clinical researchers. We hope that this paper will serve as a reminder of the importance of such collaborations, and provide the opportunity for all members of the scientific community to reflect on and ameliorate their own contributions. © 2016 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transportation Systems

PubMed Central

Guerrero-Ibáñez, Juan; Zeadally, Sherali

2018-01-01

Modern society faces serious problems with transportation systems, including but not limited to traffic congestion, safety, and pollution. Information communication technologies have gained increasing attention and importance in modern transportation systems. Automotive manufacturers are developing in-vehicle sensors and their applications in different areas including safety, traffic management, and infotainment. Government institutions are implementing roadside infrastructures such as cameras and sensors to collect data about environmental and traffic conditions. By seamlessly integrating vehicles and sensing devices, their sensing and communication capabilities can be leveraged to achieve smart and intelligent transportation systems. We discuss how sensor technology can be integrated with the transportation infrastructure to achieve a sustainable Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and how safety, traffic control and infotainment applications can benefit from multiple sensors deployed in different elements of an ITS. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that need to be addressed to enable a fully operational and cooperative ITS environment. PMID:29659524

Cybersecurity for Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices: What Should You Know?

PubMed

Baranchuk, Adrian; Refaat, Marwan M; Patton, Kristen K; Chung, Mina K; Krishnan, Kousik; Kutyifa, Valentina; Upadhyay, Gaurav; Fisher, John D; Lakkireddy, Dhanunjaya R

2018-03-20

Medical devices have been targets of hacking for over a decade, and this cybersecurity issue has affected many types of medical devices. Lately, the potential for hacking of cardiac devices (pacemakers and defibrillators) claimed the attention of the media, patients, and health care providers. This is a burgeoning problem that our newly electronically connected world faces. In this paper from the Electrophysiology Section Council, we briefly discuss various aspects of this relatively new threat in light of recent incidents involving the potential for hacking of cardiac devices. We explore the possible risks for the patients and the effect of device reconfiguration in an attempt to thwart cybersecurity threats. We provide an outline of what can be done to improve cybersecurity from the standpoint of the manufacturer, government, professional societies, physician, and patient. Copyright © 2018 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FROM EXCLUSION TO INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION: THE CASE OF LATINO YOUTHS.

PubMed

Sanchez R, Magaly

2006-01-01

In this article, I refer to structural tendencies reflected in the responses of excluded Latinos youths, who range from street children to radical youths (gangs or not) and finally to migrants. The latter, face unusual challenges as a result of being undocumented, forcing them to pursue mobility within a formal system that blocks their way. I review these tendencies through a "positive" lens, focusing mainly on Latino youth who are using different strategies to fight social exclusion. I aim to raise the paradoxical temporality , which indicates that as we learn and analyze more, we tend to move further away from the possibility of transforming pressing problems in society. I raise the question of how to intervene using more knowledge in the alarming situation of one of the most excluded social groups, Latino Youth and also of how to alert and visualize ways of integrating those youth who migrate and become undocumented.

FROM EXCLUSION TO INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION: THE CASE OF LATINO YOUTHS

PubMed Central

Sanchez R, Magaly

2013-01-01

In this article, I refer to structural tendencies reflected in the responses of excluded Latinos youths, who range from street children to radical youths (gangs or not) and finally to migrants. The latter, face unusual challenges as a result of being undocumented, forcing them to pursue mobility within a formal system that blocks their way. I review these tendencies through a “positive” lens, focusing mainly on Latino youth who are using different strategies to fight social exclusion. I aim to raise the paradoxical temporality, which indicates that as we learn and analyze more, we tend to move further away from the possibility of transforming pressing problems in society. I raise the question of how to intervene using more knowledge in the alarming situation of one of the most excluded social groups, Latino Youth and also of how to alert and visualize ways of integrating those youth who migrate and become undocumented. PMID:24235783