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CAN-Verify: automated analysis for BDI agents
Get PDFWe present CAN-Verify, an automated tool for analysing BDI agents written in the Conceptual Agent Notation (Can) language. CAN-Verify includes support for syntactic error detection before agent execution, agent program interpretation (running agents), and model-checking of agent programs (analysing agents). The model checking supports verifying the correctness of agents against both generic agent requirements, such as if a task is accomplished, and user-defined requirements, such as certain beliefs eventually holding. The latter can be expressed in structured natural language, allowing the tool to be used by agent programmers without formal training in the underlying verification techniques
Associations of iron deficiency with cardiac function, congestion, exercise capacity and prognosis in heart failure
Get PDFAims:
Uncertainty exists about defining true iron deficiency (ID) in heart failure (HF) patients. We assessed the relationship of different ID definitions with cardiac structure and function, congestion, exercise capacity, and prognosis in HF outpatients.
Methods and results:
Iron deficiency was defined according to guidelines (G-ID: ferritin <100 ng/ml or ferritin 100–299 ng/ml with transferrin saturation [TSAT] <20%). Alternative ID definitions based on TSAT (<20%), iron (≤13 μmol/L), and ferritin (<100 or < 300 ng/ml) were explored. Relationships with rest/exercise measures of cardiac function and congestion using ultrasound, effort intolerance and adverse outcome (HF hospitalizations or all-cause mortality) were assessed. Of 1502 patients (72% with left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≥50%), 471 (31%) had TSAT <20%, while 728 (48%) had G-ID. Patients with TSAT <20% or G-ID had greater left atrial volume but similar LVEF. Lower TSAT, iron and haemoglobin, but not ferritin, were associated with more signs of congestion by ultrasound. After correcting for multiple clinical variables, including haemoglobin, TSAT was directly associated with peak oxygen uptake (standardized coefficient 0.069, p = 0.041), while ferritin was not. There was no interaction with HF phenotype (HF with preserved vs. reduced LVEF). During a median follow-up of 18 months, TSAT <20% and iron ≤13 μmol/L were associated with worse outcomes in models adjusted for clinical variables, including LVEF and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (hazard ratio 2.48, 95% confidence interval 1.88–3.17 and 1.93, 1.48–2.52, respectively), while G-ID or ferritin <100 or <300 ng/ml were not.
Conclusion:
In HF outpatients, TSAT <20% is more consistently associated with congestion by ultrasound and poorer functional capacity than other ID definitions, irrespective of LVEF. TSAT <20% and iron ≤13 μmol/L, but not G-ID or ferritin-based ID, predict a worse prognosis in HF outpatients with preserved and reduced LVEF
Developing and evaluating a situated assessment instrument for trichotillomania: The SAM2 TAI
Get PDFMeasuring trichotillomania is essential for understanding and treating it effectively. Using the Situated Assessment Method (SAM2), we developed a psychometric instrument to assess hair pulling in situations where it occurs. In two studies, pullers evaluated their pulling in relevant situations, along with how much they experience factors that potentially influence it (e.g., external triggers, reduction in negative emotion, negative self-thoughts). Individual measures of pulling, averaged across situations, exhibited high test reliability, construct validity, and content validity. Large differences between situations in pulling were observed, along with large individual-situation interactions (with limited evidence distinguishing focused versus automatic pulling subtypes). In linear regressions for individual participants, factors that influence pulling tended to correlate with pulling as predicted, explaining a median 74%–83% of its variance. By identifying factors that predict pulling for each individual across situations, the SAM2 Trichotillomania Assessment Instrument (TAI) offers a rich understanding of an individual’s pulling experience, potentially supporting individualized pulling interventions
Value(s) in community food work: the dynamics of the field, funding and the limits of metrics
Get PDFDespite talks of increasing data-saturation and the metric society, there are still many ordinary situations that are neither ‘smart’ nor digitised. Nevertheless, a logic of evidence and measurement can be demonstrated in the mundane spaces of community organisations, raising questions about how such logics travel and are engaged with in the everyday. Taking three everyday spaces, this article uncovers the dynamics of valuation in community organisations. This article argues that field dynamics of evaluation and measurement warp community organisations through creating a funding game (a competition) that values evidenced outcomes over long-term goals, undervaluing and making invisible the community-value of such organisations. It addresses the capacity at a local level to play the game and argues that only limited spaces exist to work against the logics of measurement. Thus, this article highlights what is at stake in the measurement of community organisations
Measurement invariance of the 4-item entrapment scale short-form (E-SF): a transnational examination across race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and suicide attempt history among minoritized adults
Get PDFFeelings of entrapment—posited to arise when attempts to escape from defeating or
humiliating circumstances are blocked—may confer increased risk for psychopathology and
suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB), particularly among minoritized individuals who often
have more frequent exposure to such experiences. Including entrapment in empirical models may
aid research efforts in further exploring its role in minority mental health. The Entrapment Scale
Short-Form (E-SF), a brief version of the 16-item Entrapment Scale, is one tool that may be
utilized towards this end; however, to do so meaningfully, its psychometric properties and
measurement invariance must be evaluated in diverse samples. The current study aimed to
examine the factor structure, measurement invariance, and convergent validity of the E-SF across
race/ethnicity and sexual orientation in a combined transnational sample of minoritized adults
(total N = 1194). Results supported a one-factor model of the E-SF that was invariant across
samples, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and history of suicide attempt. Further, significant
positive correlations observed between theoretically relevant constructs of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms supported its convergent validity. Implications include disproportionate levels of entrapment experienced by minoritized individuals—
particularly by sexual minorities—which likely reflect the discrimination frequently endured by these individuals
"Need to know" in a time of crisis: the collaboration between Romanian secret services and their homologues in the Soviet Bloc in 1956
Get PDFBased on archival research and secondary sources, this article will address the collaboration between the Romanian secret services—Securitate—and their homologues in the Soviet bloc during the 1956 Hungarian revolt. At that time, people in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania dared to challenge their governments, being inspired by Hungarians who took to the streets in an attempt to change the Soviet-like system in their country. The mass movement in Budapest was perceived as a threat to the communist regime by leaders in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union who feared a “domino effect” that would shake the still fragile foundation of the Socialist construction in the region. The article covers the period beginning with 1955, when archival records show efforts for setting up multilateral collaboration in the field of intelligence and the Securitate’s attempts to establish bilateral cooperation with their homologues for the first time
Drinking practices: the variation of drinking events across intersections of sex, age and household income
Get PDFIntroduction:
Investigations of drinking practices often rely on cross-country comparisons of population averages in beverage preferences, drinking volumes and frequencies. Here, we investigate within-culture patterns and variations in where, why and how people drink, answering the research question: how does engagement in drinking practices vary by sex, age and household income?
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis examining the societal distribution (by age, sex, household income) of 12 drinking practices: four off-trade practices (in-home consumption; e.g., evening at home with partner) and eight on-trade practices (licensed-venue consumption, e.g., family meal, big night out). Practices were identified in previous analyses of 2019 British event-level diary data (14,742 drinkers aged 18+ reporting 26,220 off-trade and 8768 on-trade occasions).
Results:
The level of engagement in practices varied by sex, age and income. In the on-trade sector, men, particularly those in low-income groups, engaged in traditional pub-drinking, while women, especially older women, engaged in sociable drinking occasions with family and friends which commonly involved food. Young men and women were similarly likely to engage in heavier on-trade practices, which remained commonplace into midlife. Drinking while socialising with friends, both inside and outside the home, was common among younger age groups across all income bands. From midlife, home drinking often involved a partner, especially for higher income groups.
Discussion and Conclusions:
Most drinking practices were shared across the whole population, but level of engagement in them is strongly patterned by age, household income and, particularly in the on-trade sector, sex
Mothers’ endorsement of the ideals and expected practices of parental determinism
Get PDFParental determinism is a term coined by sociologist Frank Furedi to describe and critique an argument directly associating parents’ quotidian behaviour with their children’s outcomes and therefore, the future of society. This study involved qualitative interviews with 22 mothers living in Scotland to examine their views about the ideals of parental determinism and suggest possible factors explaining the varying endorsement. Of the mothers who more highly endorsed parental determinism, several reported poor experiences of being parented themselves. All the mothers of autistic children expressed some critique of the idea that parental action is solely responsible for children’s outcomes. The former variance may be due to perceived links between their own childhood experiences and later mental health issues, and the latter due to their children not responding to parental action as expected. These factors may highlight and minimise the perceived importance, to the mothers, of parenting behaviours
Dynamics and drivers of global secondhand clothing trade: Implications for sustainable energy and circular economy in fashion
Get PDFThe rapid growth of fast fashion has led to a thriving secondhand clothing market over the past decade, presenting both challenges and opportunities for sustainable energy practices in the fashion industry. However, the diverse stances adopted by developing countries on importing secondhand clothing, due to potential environmental threats and impacts on local garment manufacturing, have made international trade relationships increasingly sensitive and fragile. This study employs complex trade network analysis and temporal exponential random graph model to comprehensively analyze the dynamic evolution and driving factors of the global secondhand clothing trade network (GSCTN) from 1995 to 2022, with a focus on its implications for energy consumption and sustainability. The findings reveal consistent growth and significant expansion in the GSCTN, with developed countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany remaining major exporters, while African countries such as Ghana and Kenya have become primary importers. Notably, Africa's import sources have gradually shifted from Europe to Asia, underscoring a trend of regionalization that may impact transportation-related energy consumption. The formation and evolution of the GSCTN are shaped by its endogenous structure, including delayed reciprocity, transitivity, and stability, as well as factors like environmental regulations, industrialization levels, and the fast fashion industry. Moreover, countries with colonial ties or regional trade agreements are more likely to engage in secondhand clothing trade. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers to develop effective strategies that promote sustainable trade practices, support the transition towards a circular economy, and enhance energy efficiency in the fashion industry
Demanding ownership: energy democracy and environmental labour geographies
Get PDFThis paper contributes an ‘ownership perspective’ to the spectrum of labour environmentalist enquiries, and positions environmental labour geographies within a wider political economy of transformation. The paper explores the concept of energy democracy as a trade union strategy that pursues the social and economic ownership and democratic governance of energy systems and resources. Empirically, the paper presents the case study of Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), as an ‘actually existing’ initiative of labour environmentalism, contextualising its emergence and enduring relevance in terms of its approach to ownership vis-à-vis justice-oriented demands, and exploring its geographies through a strategy of spatially specific mobilising and regionally focused movement building. The paper investigates how the TUED network has developed a transnational, labour-inclusive framework of energy democracy as labour environmentalism, by promoting democratic control and the social, public and collective ownership of energy systems and resources as tangible solutions to address the climate emergency. The paper also establishes how the TUED network creates radical geographies of labour environmentalism, through the varied mobilisation of its participating unions in their specific local and regional contexts around actually existing opportunities for policy and political intervention. The paper concludes that the question of ownership is a fundamental one for environmental labour movements and their geographies, and one that shifts the emphasis of labour environmentalist thinking towards the democratisation of labour environmental ownership relations
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