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Numbers needed to treat for preventing adverse cardiovascular outcomes for sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors vs. dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors : the Hong Kong Diabetes Study
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What's in a sample? Epistemic uncertainty and metacognitive awareness in risk taking
Get PDFIn a fundamentally uncertain world, sound information processing is a prerequisite for effective behavior. Given that information processing is subject to inevitable cognitive imprecision, decision makers should adapt to this imprecision and to the resulting epistemic uncertainty when taking risks. We tested this metacognitive ability in two experiments in which participants estimated the expected value of different number distributions from sequential samples and then bet on their own estimation accuracy. Results show that estimates were imprecise, and this imprecision increased with higher distributional standard deviations. Importantly, participants adapted their risk-taking behavior to this imprecision and hence deviated from the predictions of Bayesian models of uncertainty that assume perfect integration of information. To explain these results, we developed a computational model that combines Bayesian updating with a metacognitive awareness of cognitive imprecision in the integration of information. Modeling results were robust to the inclusion of an empirical measure of participants' perceived variability. In sum, we show that cognitive imprecision is crucial to understanding risk taking in decisions from experience. The results further demonstrate the importance of metacognitive awareness as a cognitive building block for adaptive behavior under (partial) uncertainty. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Surrogation as intergenerational transmission of memory examples from Pedro Almodóvar and Inês Pedrosa
No full textThis article examines the intergenerational transmission of cultural memory in Spain and Portugal and the role of gendered perspectives in opening up discussions about the legacies of the past. Drawing on Marianne Hirsch’s notion of surrogation as an alternative mode of intergenerational transfer, it explores how works by Pedro Almodóvar and Inês Pedrosa challenge heteronormative conceptions of cultural transmission through disrupted and displaced lineages. These works thus undermine Francoist and Salazarist notions of the family unit as the inherent foundation of the nation
Unraveling metastable Markovian open quantum systems
Get PDFWe analyze the dynamics of metastable Markovian open quantum systems by unraveling their average dynamics into stochastic trajectories. We use quantum reset processes as examples to illustrate metastable phenomenology, including a simple three-state model whose metastability is of classical type, and a two-qubit model that features a metastable decoherence-free subspace. In the three-state model, the trajectories exhibit classical metastable phenomenology: fast relaxation into distinct phases and slow transitions between them. This extends the existing correspondence between classical and quantum metastability. It enables the computation of committors for the quantum phases, and the mechanisms of rare transitions between them. For the two-qubit model, the decoherence-free subspace appears in the unraveled trajectories as a slow manifold on which the quantum state has a continuous slow evolution. This provides a classical (nonmetastable) analog of this quantum effect. We discuss the general implications of these results, and we highlight the useful role of quantum reset processes for analysis of quantum trajectories in metastable systems
Counting carrots : conservation and use of apiaceous crops – from genebank to data
No full textThe UK Vegetable Genebank (UKVGB – https://warwick.ac.uk/gru/genebank) holds a collection of ~14,000 seed samples from a range of vegetable and herb crops. The collections include apiaceous crops such as carrot, parsnip and celery and herbs like coriander and parsley. Collections of plant genetic resources are conserved to ensure current and future access to crop genetic diversity. Genebanks like the UKVGB actively support utilisation by breeders, researchers and farmers but once samples are distributed, it is challenging to keep track of use and data generated. Data generated by users is a valuable resource to support future use, aiding selection of appropriate germplasm and reducing duplication of effort. We have tracked the use of our apiaceous crops through the scientific literature as part of our work to facilitate access by potential users of the collections to existing data. We examine how UKVGB germplasm has been used to screen for key traits as well as other investigations in areas such as domestication, phylogenetics and ecogeography, highlighting the vital role played by collections of plant genetic resources in plant and crop science
Women in engineering, science and technology in sub-Saharan Africa : cultural attitudes, challenges, and gaps affecting clinical engineering and medical devices maintenance practices
Get PDFPurpose:
From previous studies, we had observed that the number of biomedical engineers and technicians (BMETs) skilled in the maintenance of medical devices (MDs) were limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and that a likely parallelism existed between BME maintenance-related tasks and house chores mainly carried out by women in daily life. Our objective in carrying out this study was to understand underlying local cultural and social factors and domestic traditions interfering with the inclusion of women in the field of clinical and biomedical engineering (BME), and to identify existing gaps in opportunities for women in Engineering, Science and Technology (EST) in this region.
Methods:
We carried out an online survey involving 51 respondents (70.6% women, 29.4% men), to investigate gender-biased and cultural perceptions of maintenance-related tasks among engineers/technologists/technicians in BME and other allied professions in SSA. The survey was refined through focus groups and pilot tests to assess its validity, and then shared among specific associations of women in engineering and other bodies in EST, as well as some hospital communities and institutions.
Results:
The survey brought to light evidence of prejudices against women in the society and workplace and showed that the adoption of our parallelism hypothesis has potential for increasing medical device maintenance practices in SSA hospitals.
Conclusions:
There is an apparent need to further study the possible effects of this sociological model through leveraging local culture and domestic traditions in ways that could ultimately increase the leadership and numbers of women BMETs in SSA
Wisdom from the crowd : can recommender systems predict employee turnover and its destinations?
No full textCan algorithms that predict customer movie and shopping preferences also predict which employees are likely to leave and where they are likely to go, thus helping to retain talent? The current study applies a type of machine learning technique, collaborative filtering (CF) recommender system algorithms, to investigate the comparison between satisfaction with the current job and potential satisfaction with job alternatives, which is inherent in theorizing about individual turnover decisions. The comparison of those anticipated ratings along with employee’s current job satisfaction create two operationalizations: the quantity of more desirable job alternatives and the quality (or extent of desirability) of job alternatives. To test the effectiveness of this novel approach, we applied recommender system algorithms to a longitudinal archival dataset of employees and had three main findings. First, the recommender system algorithms efficiently predicted job satisfaction based on just two sources of information (i.e., work history and job satisfaction in previous jobs), providing construct validity evidence for recommender systems. Second, both the quantity and the quality of more desirable job alternatives compared to the current job positively correlated with employees’ future turnover behavior. Finally, our CF recommender system algorithms predicted where employees moved to, and even more effectively if constraining the alternative jobs to the same occupation. We conclude with implications how recommender system algorithms can help scholars effectively test theoretical ideas and practitioners predict and reduce turnover
From what we know to what we do : human resource management intervention to support mode 2 healthcare research
Get PDFThere is a huge volume of evidence about what is clinically effective and efficient, but this is slow to translate into frontline practice. To address the problem, we need to support clinical academics and practitioners to co-produce research and service improvement; necessitating HRM intervention. Our case study shows common purpose in mode 2 research across clinical academics and practitioners can be attained by focussing upon their professional identity, within which their status and jurisdictional autonomy are key dimensions. Our study shows how development workshops, through which control is ceded by managers to clinical academics and practitioners, are used to co-design HRM interventions to support mode 2 research. Relevant HRM interventions are first, performance management that is non-intrusive and aligns with criteria clinical academics and practitioners value. Second, job design that allows autonomy and status enhancement for clinical academics and practitioners engaging in mode 2 research