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Reporting Standards for Bayesian Network Modelling
Get PDFReproducibility is a key measure of the veracity of a modelling result or finding. In other research areas, notably in medicine, reproducibility is supported by mandating the inclusion of an agreed set of details into every research publication, facilitating systematic reviews, transparency and reproducibility. Governments and international organisations are increasingly turning to modelling approaches in the development and decision-making for policy and have begun asking questions about accountability in model-based decision making. The ethical issues of relying on modelling that is biased, poorly constructed, constrained by heroic assumptions and not reproducible are multiplied when such models are used to underpin decisions impacting human and planetary well-being. Bayesian Network modelling is used in policy development and decision support across a wide range of domains. In light of the recent trend for governments and other organisations to demand accountability and transparency, we have compiled and tested a reporting checklist for Bayesian Network modelling which will bring the desirable level of transparency and reproducibility to enable models to support decision making and allow the robust comparison and combination of models. The use of this checklist would support the ethical use of Bayesian network modelling for impactful decision making and research.</p
Getting eggs ‘out of the basket’:facilitating decisions about surplus frozen eggs
Get PDFResearch question: What are the barriers to decision making about surplus eggs, and what factors would enable the donation of surplus eggs to others or to research? Design: This exploratory pilot mixed-methods study comprised (i) an online survey of 50 people who had frozen their eggs, and (ii) semi-structured follow-up interviews with 16 people. Data were collected from seven IVF clinics from one fertility group primarily located in Victoria, Australia. The factors that influence decision making about surplus eggs, and the barriers to and enablers of egg donation, were investigated. Results: Decision making about the fate of surplus eggs is often complex and sometimes based on inadequate or inaccurate information. Participants suggested that decision making could be facilitated by providing timely support, targeted information and ongoing communication. Participants suggested that insights into the experiences of egg donation from donors, donor-conceived children and intended recipients would be helpful in deciding whether to donate their surplus eggs to others. Factors that could encourage donation to research include information about research goals, outcomes and medical impacts. Conclusions: Several strategies are proposed that could be readily implemented to make it easier for people to come to a decision about surplus eggs rather than discarding them, leaving eggs in storage indefinitely or avoiding these decisions and abandoning eggs. More timely information about the options for surplus eggs and about the lived experience of people who have made similar decisions, as well as those who have received donor eggs and their families, would be welcomed by patients with frozen eggs.</p
Fertility care in low and middle income countries:embryologists’ practices of care in IVF-clinics in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textDespite the centrality of the role of embryologists in in vitro fertilization (IVF), there is relatively little literature on the nature of their work. In this article, we draw on results from a large ethnographic study on the emerging IVF industry in South Africa and reproductive travel in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where IVF clinics and embryologists are scarce. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 11 embryologists, who work(ed) in SSA, we illustrate how their care practices are produced through the interaction of people and things. We emphasize the importance of context in shaping their practices, including the shortage of embryologists, the need to set up ‘first’ clinics in their respective countries, the paucity of trained counsellors in clinics and the mobility of IVF staff. The embryologists we interviewed performed multiple tasks on top of their laboratory work, including entrepreneurial tasks, advocacy, training, development of regulations, mentoring and patient counselling. They enacted care in several ways, towards gametes and embryos, patients, clinics and the profession. These multiple tasks and care practices make for dynamic and fulfilling careers of the interviewed embryologists but also stretch their capacities. They also raise questions about their contribution to the scarcity of embryological work in SSA. If access to IVF is to be achieved in the SSA region, more embryologists need to be trained and retained.</p
Misaligned hope and conviction in health care
Get PDFIt is often said that it is important for patients to possess hope that their treatment will be successful. We agree, but a widely appealed to type of hope-hope based on conviction (religious or otherwise), renders this assertion problematic. If conviction-based hope influences patient decisions to undergo medical procedures, then questions are raised about the scope of patient autonomy. Libertarians permit patients to make decisions to undergo medical procedures on the basis of any considerations, including conviction-based hopes, on grounds of respect for freedom of choice. Rational interventionists want to restrict choices made on the basis of conviction-based hope on the grounds that choices based on hope incorporate irrationality of a sort incompatible with autonomous decision-making. In this article, we navigate a middle path between these extremes, arguing that patient decision-making based on conviction-based hope ought to be acceptable and permitted in health care when it conforms to norms of practical rationality. These norms allow patients some room to make decisions to consent to undergo medical procedures informed by conviction-based hope.</p
From “business as usual” to sustainable “purpose-driven business”:Challenges facing the purpose ecosystem in the United Kingdom and Australia
No full textPurpose-driven businesses have a stated objective to contribute to the welfare of society and the planet alongside generating shareholder value. As interest in purpose-driven businesses grows, an emerging “purpose ecosystem” of advisers, investors, and enablers offers different types of support for businesses wanting to transition to sustainability. This paper examines how the transition towards purpose-driven business in Australia and the United Kingdom requires addressing challenges facing this support ecosystem at three levels. First, at the individual level where support providers need to build the capabilities of managers who are experiencing tensions around integrating societal and environmental purpose while facing pressure for maximizing shareholder value. Second, the support providers working within the purpose ecosystem offering professional advice and finance face their own tensions between environmental or social objectives and commercial pressures. Third, there are challenges facing actors in the ecosystems aiming to change the wider policy and institutional environment but facing lobbying from those wanting to keep “business as usual.” We identify practical implications for those parts of the purpose-driven business ecosystem providing support. This includes building capabilities to combine social, environmental, and commercial purpose; coordination among support providers; and creating an institutional environment to avoid “purpose wash.”.</p
Performance analysis of a blockchain-based messaging system implementation for air cargo supply chains
Get PDFThe air cargo supply chain’s goal is to achieve fast shipment movement through multistage coordination among multiple air cargo stakeholders. The lack of transparency in the end-to-end supply chain and complex digital connectivity is what limits the traditional peer-to-peer communication flow in the fragmented air cargo industry. Blockchain technology can enhance communication transparency by streamlining multistage message flows via smart contracts and by acting as an intermediary to simplify digital connections among air cargo stakeholders. Despite the benefits of applying blockchain for air cargo messaging, as blockchain is an emerging technology, technical concerns in the areas of performance, privacy, and interoperability can hinder the practical adoption of the blockchain system. To address practical implementation concerns, a blockchain-based messaging system using the Algorand public blockchain is developed in our work to demonstrate the practicality of blockchain. Transaction data privacy can be protected by the encryption key exchange algorithm, which supports forward secrecy. Our experimental results provide practical performance insights into the Algorand blockchain for streamlined messaging from various aspects related to transaction submission, confirmation, and retrieval. Our results show that by leveraging the Algorand blockchain, our proposed system can offer scalable, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective communication channels for air cargo messaging.</p
Investigating the Effect of Visualization Literacy and Guidance on Teachers’ Dashboard Interpretation
No full textRecent research on learning analytics dashboards has focused on designing user interfaces that offer various forms of visualization guidance (often referring to notions such as data storytelling or narrative visualization) to teachers (e.g., emphasizing data points or trends with colour and adding annotations), aiding them in interpreting visual elements to gain a comprehensive understanding of students’ learning processes. Yet, while some studies have explored how teachers interpret students’ data through these dashboards, many have overlooked the diverse technical capabilities of teachers, which can significantly impact their use of LA dashboards. In particular, visualization literacy (VL) skills can greatly influence how effectively teachers interpret dashboards. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive account exists that details how teachers with varying VL skills interpret visual representations of students’ data. In this paper, we address this gap by investigating how teachers interpret LA dashboards, both with and without visualization guidance, taking into account their VL. We illustrate this by analyzing teachers’ think-aloud sessions as they engage with dashboards in the context of monitoring synchronous online learning tasks undertaken by student groups using Zoom and Google Docs. Using epistemic network analysis, we examine the differences in interpretations between teachers with varying VL levels. Our findings revealed that teachers with low VL exhibited shallower dashboard interpretations than those with high VL. However, the association of VL with successful task completion rate was not significant. Also, visualization guidance did not enable teachers to deepen their interpretations. While some visualization guidance helped teachers to complete tasks correctly, excessive visualization guidance can also be detrimental.</p
Sensing Movement:Contemporary Dance Workshops with People who are Blind or have Low Vision and Dance Teachers
Get PDFDance teachers rely primarily on verbal instructions and visual demonstrations to convey key dance concepts and movement. These techniques, however, have limitations in supporting students who are blind or have low vision (BLV). This work explores the role technology can play in supporting instruction for BLV students, as well as improvisation with their instructor. Through a series of design workshops with dance instructors and BLV students, ideas were generated by physically engaging with probes featuring diverse modalities including tactile objects, a body tracked sound and musical probe, and a body tracked controller with vibrational feedback. Implications for the design of supporting technologies were discovered for four contemporary dance learning goals: learning a phrase; improvising; collaborating through movement; and awareness of body and movement qualities. We discuss the potential of numerous multi-sensory methods and artefacts, and present design considerations for technologies to support meaningful dance instruction and participation.</p
Teachers' inclusive core practices and all students’ perspectives
No full textAlthough there is widespread agreement that inclusive practices should address the needs of all students, research still tends to emphasise certain groups of students over others. This study explores how lower-secondary teachers in highly inclusive Czech schools support all learners and how students perceive these practices. Using extensive ethnographic data - hundreds of teaching observation hours and interviews with six teachers, two assistants, and 42 students - we establish a new framework of inclusive practices. We identify five core practices with ten key strategies and highlight challenges from students’ perspectives. The findings offer insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers on enhancing inclusive teaching.</p
Understanding the relationship between driving cessation and depressive symptomology in older adults:a systematic review
No full textBackground: Older adults (aged 65 and older) are considered a vulnerable group of road users due to age-related declines inhibiting their fitness to drive. This often results in older drivers having to transition from ‘drivers’ to ‘retired drivers’ (RD), which has been associated with increased depressive symptoms. Despite the significant implications on well-being, only one previous review has systematically examined the literature on the relationship between driving cessation and depressive symptomology in older adults. Objective: This systematic review aimed to synthesise both cross-sectional and longitudinal literature examining the relationship between driving cessation and depressive symptomology in older adults. Data sources: The reviewed included peer-reviewed studies published up to April 2024 and were sourced from PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus. To meet the inclusion criteria, studies had to: be peer-reviewed, be in English, have a mean participant age of over 65 years, include a measure of depressive symptoms, and include sample of RD. Results: A total of 19 cross-sectional and longitudinal studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings were consistent, with significant relationships reported between driving cessation and higher depressive symptoms in over 80 % of included studies, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Limitations: The measures used to assess depressive symptoms were inconsistent across studies. Additionally, the studies did not define the length of time since driver retirement for their sample, limiting the ability to make accurate conclusions on the long-term effects of driving cessation on depressive symptoms. Future research should utilise valid and reliable measures of depressive symptoms and work towards a standard criterion for RD. Conclusions: Overall, the findings suggest that driving cessation is associated with higher depressive symptoms among older adults. This underscores the importance of providing tools and support to navigate and cope with this transition. However further research is required to better understand the relationship between driving cessation and depressive symptomology in older adults.</p