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Judging Justice: Profiling in policing revisited
Get PDFGovernment rhetoric about unbiased policing in both the USA and the UK sits uneasily with the practice of targeting disproportionately for scrutiny individuals belonging to certain minority groups in search of law breakers. Disproportionality may be derived from profiling by group membership, reading evidence of the past to predict future behavior. If that exercise fails adequately to account for diversities within groups, interpretation of evidence becomes contaminated by prejudice, stereotyping individuals because of who they are thought to be and not what they are. If the interpretation of evidence is not clouded by prejudice against or animus towards any group, then profiling contributes to technical efficiency, also called efficiency, according to defenders of profiling. Profiling methods having come under attack for potential conflation of prejudice with probability of criminality, a strand of the literature in economics has emerged claiming to bypass the need to examine the profiling method to devise a statistical test for bias in policing. A test for efficiency as a test for the absence of bias is cleverly crafted not requiring knowledge of data and methods used in profiling. We argue that such a test cannot be a sufficient criterion because of what is missed out by the model. The cost to innocents of being targeted in search for the guilty and external costs which may give rise to endogeneity are ignored in the model. We construct numerical examples to illustrate that efficient strategies suggested by models which do not explicitly scrutinize profiling methods can result in troubled outcomes
Modelling the impact of configurational entropy on the stability of amorphous SiO2
Get PDFConfigurational entropy has been computed to assess its impact on stabilizing the amorphous structure of SiO2. Using a range of atomic scale modelling methods, the structure of crystalline and amorphous SiO2 has been assessed and the configurational entropy associated with the structures observed at varying temperatures has allowed computation of the associated Shannon entropy. Combined with the enthalpy terms generated from density functional theory, a robust method for assessing the stability of crystalline and amorphous structures has been presented that can be used in future work assessing the role of dopants, glass forming additions and radiation damage. Future work will include the vibrational entropy term, to capture the full entropic contribution to amorphisation
Inequalities in noise will affect urban wildlife
Get PDFUnderstanding how systemic biases influence local ecological communities is essential for developing just and equitable environmental practices that prioritize both human and wildlife well-being. With over 270 million residents inhabiting urban areas in the United States, the socioecological consequences of racially targeted zoning, such as redlining, need to be considered in urban planning. There is a growing body of literature documenting the relationships between redlining and the inequitable distribution of environmental harms and goods, green space cover and pollutant exposure. However, it remains unknown whether historical redlining affects the distribution of urban noise or whether inequitable noise drives an ecological change in urban environments. Here we conducted a spatial analysis of how urban noise corresponds to the distribution of redlining categories and a systematic literature review to summarize the effects of noise on wildlife in urban landscapes. We found strong evidence to indicate that noise is inequitably distributed in redlined urban communities across the United States, and that inequitable noise may drive complex biological responses across diverse urban wildlife, reinforcing the interrelatedness of socioecological outcomes. These findings lay a foundation for future research that advances relationships between acoustic and urban ecology through centring equity and challenging systems of oppression in wildlife studies
Mapping trust relationships in organ donation and transplantation: a conceptual model.
Get PDFThe organ donation and transplantation (ODT) system heavily relies on the willingness of individuals to donate their organs. While it is widely believed that public trust plays a crucial role in shaping donation rates, the empirical support for this assumption remains limited. In order to bridge this knowledge gap, this article takes a foundational approach by elucidating the concept of trust within the context of ODT. By examining the stakeholders involved, identifying influential factors, and mapping the intricate trust relationships among trustors, trustees, and objects of trust, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of trust dynamics in ODT. We employ maps and graphs to illustrate the functioning of these trust relationships, enabling a visual representation of the complex interactions within the ODT system. Through this conceptual groundwork, we pave the way for future empirical research to investigate the link between trust and organ donation rates, informed by a clarified understanding of trust in ODT. This study can also provide valuable insights to inform interventions and policies aimed at enhancing organ donation rates
Renewable infrastructure in a field of dunes: changes to near bed turbulence & sediments
No full textThe world’s shallow continental shelves are currently experiencing a rapid pace of development from the growth of offshore renewable energy. Our ability to predict the response to new seabed infrastructure is limited by our models of flow and sediment transport which were created and validated assuming a uniform flow structure. We present field results from a deployment in the eastern Irish Sea where profiles of flow and turbulence were measured and used to drive a range of suspended sediment models. The range of models, and the various ways of forcing them, are tested against measured suspended sediment concentrations from a calibrated multi-frequency acoustic backscatter system. It was found that the bed shear stress as measured via 2D depth averaged approximations (with velocities from a bed mounted ADCP), as well as the TKE method (from a near bed ADCP) was the most accurate, whilst law of the wall approximation performed poorly. We found that the method of Garcia and Parker (1992) family of methods produced the most accurate measure of suspended sediments. Transport near the threshold of motion (30% of measurements) was poorly represented by all combinations of methods. The highest suspended sediment concentrations (10% of measurements) were also poorly predicted, likely due to the changing bed level which occurred during these high concentration event
Promoting Activity, Independence, and Stability in Early Dementia and mild cognitive impairment (PrAISED): randomised controlled trial
Get PDFObjective To determine the effectiveness of an exercise and functional activity therapy intervention in adults with early dementia or mild cognitive impairment compared with usual care.Design Randomised controlled trial.Setting Participants’ homes and communities at five sites in the United Kingdom.Participants 365 adults with early dementia or mild cognitive impairment who were living at home, and family members or carers.Intervention The intervention, Promoting activity, Independence, and Stability in Early Dementia and mild cognitive impairment (PrAISED), was a specially designed, dementia specific, rehabilitation programme focusing on strength, balance, physical activity, and performance of activities of daily living, which was tailored and progressive and addressed risk and the psychological needs of people with dementia. Up to 50 therapy sessions were provided over 12 months. The control group received usual care plus a falls risk assessment. Procedures were adapted during the covid-19 pandemic.Main outcome measures The primary outcome was score on the carer (informant) reported disability assessment for dementia scale 12 months after randomisation. Secondary outcomes were self-reported activities of daily living, physical activity, quality of life, balance, functional mobility, fear of falling, frailty, cognition, mood, carer strain, service use at 12 months, and falls between months 4 and 15.Results 365 patient participants were randomised, 183 to intervention and 182 to control. The median age of participants was 80 years (range 65-95), median Montreal cognitive assessment score was 20 out of 30 (range 13-26), and 58% (n=210) were men. Intervention participants received a median of 31 therapy sessions (interquartile range 22-40) and reported completing a mean 121 minutes of PrAISED exercise each week. Primary outcome data were available for 149 intervention and 141 control participants. Scores on the disability assessment for dementia scale did not differ between groups: adjusted mean difference −1.3, 95% confidence interval −5.2 to 2.6; Cohen’s d effect size −0.06, 95% confidence interval −0.26 to 0.15; P=0.51). Upper 95% confidence intervals excluded small to moderate effects on any of the range of outcome measures. Between months 4 and 15 the intervention group experienced 79 falls and the control group 200 falls (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.5 to 1.3; P=0.3).Conclusion The intensive PrAISED programme of exercise and functional activity training did not improve activities of daily living, physical activity, or quality of life; reduce falls; or improve any other secondary health status outcomes, despite good uptake. Future research should consider alternative approaches to maintaining ability and wellbeing in people with dementia.Trial registration ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN15320670.Data sharing might be possible for additional analyses by contacting the corresponding author
Defnyddio'r Gymraeg mewn Cymunedau yn Ynys Mon
Get PDFYm Mawrth 2022 comisiynwyd Prifysgol Bangor (Hodges a Prys) i gynnal astudiaeth ymchwil ar ran Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn a Menter Iaith Môn i archwilio´r defnydd o’r iaith Gymraeg ar Ynys Môn. Diben yr astudiaeth ymchwil oedd ychwanegu at ddealltwriaeth y comisiynwyr o sut mae’r Gymraeg yn cael ei defnyddio mewn cymunedau ar Ynys Môn. Lluniwyd y prosiect ymchwil fel rhan o´r elfen ‘Iaith Môn’ o raglen Adfywio Môn drwy Gronfa Adfywio Cymunedol y Deyrnas Unedig i astudio’r cyfleoedd a´r heriau amrywiol a wyneba cymunedau Ynys Môn wrth geisio cynnal ac adfywio’r Gymraeg yn gymunedol. Clustnodwyd amserlen ymchwil o Ebrill i Ragfyr 2022 er mwyn cwblhau’r astudiaeth ymchwil.<br/
Viral metagenomics reveals diverse virus-host interactions throughout the soil depth profile
Get PDFSoil viruses can moderate the roles that their host microbes play in global carbon cycling. However, given that most studies investigate the surface layer (i.e., top 20 cm) of soil, the extent to which this occurs in subsurface soil (i.e., below 20 cm) is unknown. Here, we leveraged public sequencing data to investigate the interactions between viruses and their hosts at soil depth intervals, down to 115 cm. While most viruses were detected throughout the soil depth profile, their adaptation to host microbes varied. Nonetheless, we uncovered evidence for the potential of soil viruses to encourage their hosts to recycle plant-derived carbon in both surface and subsurface soils. This work reasons that our understanding of soil viral functions requires us to continue to dig deeper and compare viruses existing throughout soil ecosystems.</p
Agricultural land use regulates the fate of soil phosphorus fractions following the reclamation of wetlands
Get PDFOver half of the Earth's wetlands have been reclaimed for agriculture, leading to significant soil P destabilization and leaching risks. To evaluate the effects of agricultural land use on soil P stability, we used sequential P extraction to investigate the long-term effects of wetland cultivation for rice and soybean on soil P fractions, including labile and moderately labile inorganic/organic P (LPi, LPo, MPi, and MPo), and stable P in Northeast China. The results showed that soybean cultivation decreased the total P by 35.9 %, whereas rice cultivation did not influence the total P content (p < 0.05). Both the soybean and rice cultivations significantly increased LPi (p < 0.05). Soybean cultivation significantly decreased the LPo and MPo compared to rice cultivation, and the latter increased MPi by 309.28 % compared with the reference wetlands (p < 0.05). Redundancy analysis indicated that pH, poorly crystalline Fe (Feca), crystalline Fe (Fec), and total organic carbon (TOC) explained similar variations in P fractions during soybean and rice cultivation (54.9 % and 49.7 %, respectively). Similarly, during soybean or rice cultivation, pH negatively influenced LPo and MPo, while Feca positively influenced MPi and LPi. Furthermore, TOC showed a positive role in LPo, and MPo, but a negative effect on LPi and MPi during rice cultivation. Hence, we concluded that the cultivation of soybean or rice create contrasting modifications to wetland soil P fractionation by altering TOC, Feca, Fec, and pH. Our study indicates that agricultural land use can regulate the fate of wetland soil P fractionation, with potential benefits to both i) P risk management in cultivated wetlands and ii) potential approaches for future wetland restoration.</p
Nano-imaging with TiO2 superlenses: A comparative study of Design variants
Get PDFWe evaluate and compare the super-resolution imaging performances of different TiO2 superlens designs (hemisphere, super-hemisphere, and full spheres) in wide-field and confocal modes. Our findings are important for many super-resolution application