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Efficient public good provision between and within groups
No full textWe generalize the model of Gallice and Monzón (2019) to incorporate a public goods game with groups, position uncertainty, and observational learning. Contributions are simultaneous within groups, but groups play sequentially based on their observation of an incomplete sample of past contributions. We show that full cooperation between and within groups is possible with self-interested players on a fixed horizon. Position uncertainty implies the existence of an equilibrium where groups of players conditionally cooperate in the hope of influencing further groups. Conditional cooperation implies that each group member is pivotal, so that efficient simultaneous provision within groups is an equilibrium
On manipulation by emotional AI: UK adults’ views and governance implications
No full textWith growing commercial, regulatory and scholarly interest in use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to profile and interact with human emotion (“emotional AI”), attention is turning to its capacity for manipulating people, relating to factors impacting on a person’s decisions and behavior. Given prior social disquiet about AI and profiling technologies, surprisingly little is known on people’s views on the benefits and harms of emotional AI technologies, especially their capacity for manipulation. This matters because regulators of AI (such as in the European Union and the UK) wish to stimulate AI innovation, minimize harms and build public trust in these systems, but to do so they should understand the public’s expectations. Addressing this, we ascertain UK adults’ perspectives on the potential of emotional AI technologies for manipulating people through a two-stage study. Stage One (the qualitative phase) uses design fiction principles to generate adequate understanding and informed discussion in 10 focus groups with diverse participants (n = 46) on how emotional AI technologies may be used in a range of mundane, everyday settings. The focus groups primarily flagged concerns about manipulation in two settings: emotion profiling in social media (involving deepfakes, false information and conspiracy theories), and emotion profiling in child oriented “emotoys” (where the toy responds to the child’s facial and verbal expressions). In both these settings, participants express concerns that emotion profiling covertly exploits users’ cognitive or affective weaknesses and vulnerabilities; additionally, in the social media setting, participants express concerns that emotion profiling damages people’s capacity for rational thought and action. To explore these insights at a larger scale, Stage Two (the quantitative phase), conducts a UK-wide, demographically representative national survey (n = 2,068) on attitudes toward emotional AI. Taking care to avoid leading and dystopian framings of emotional AI, we find that large majorities express concern about the potential for being manipulated through social media and emotoys. In addition to signaling need for civic protections and practical means of ensuring trust in emerging technologies, the research also leads us to provide a policy-friendly subdivision of what is meant by manipulation through emotional AI and related technologie
Critically Envisioning Biometric Artificial Intelligence in Law Enforcement.:Final Project Report
No full textThis report presents an overview of the Critically Exploring Biometric AI Futures project led by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the University of Stirling. This short 3-month project explored the use of new Biometric Artificial Intelligence (AI) in law enforcement, the challenges of fostering trust around deployment and debates surrounding social, ethical and legal concerns. TheReport includes a discussion of:• A Rapid Systematic Review of existing scholarly and policy-relevant literature focusing on emerging biometric AI technologies in Law Enforcement and the social, ethical, and legal issues that have been associated with these tools.• The Creation of 3 Design Fictions, drawing on the Review, to explore emergent uses of Biometric AI in Law Enforcement. These broadly consider law enforcement uses of Live Automated Facial Recognition; Emotion Recognition; and DNA Phenotyping• A High-Level Expert Roundtable run with Key Stakeholders in Policing at the University of Edinburgh (e.g., academics, policing professionals, regulatory body members, Government representations). This Roundtable was graphic recorded.• A Summary of Discussions at Roundtable Discussions
Labelling for Animal Welfare in the UK: Promoting Consumer Choice, Supporting British Farmers and Improving Animal Welfare
No full textThe British public and animal protection organisations have long called for mandatory labelling for animal welfare. In particular, animal protection organisations have called for labelling based on method of production and on whether animals have been stunned prior to slaughter. This presentation summarises a 2024 report “Labelling for Animal Welfare in the UK”, published for the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation. Animal welfare relates to how well farmed animals are adapted to their environments. The method of production determines the environment that famed animals are reared in (e.g., free range or indoor), as well as the nature of the animals themselves (e.g., fast or slower growing chickens). For these reasons, method of production is the fundamental determinant of the welfare state of farmed animals. Furthermore, method of production labelling provides a practical policy solution, and British consumers associate animal welfare with method of production.This report recommends a mandatory method of production plus animal welfare labelling scheme. Given the variety of levels of higher welfare compared to the UK baseline, and a policy objective is to drive welfare improvements, the report recommends three tiers above the UK legal baseline. Hence, the report supports DEFRA’s March 2023 proposed method of production-based tiered A-E scheme. The report recommends a separate and standalone label on stunning prior to slaughter. One approach would be for two labels: “Stunned” and “Non-stunned”. A third label, “Halal-stunned”, could be added to this scheme. ReferencesBowles, D., C. McParland, R. Williams, and M. Cooper. "Food Labelling and Animal Welfare: Ensuring Animals Have a Good Life by Advocating on Their Behalf." RSPCA, 2021.Broom, Donald M. "Animal Welfare: Concepts and Measurement." Journal of animal science 69, no. 10 (1991): 4167-75.Compassion in World Farming. "Overwhelming Majority of British People Want Clear Labelling Showing How Their Meat and Dairy Was Produced, New Poll Finds." https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/press-releases-statements/2021/12/overwhelming-majority-of-british-people-want-clear-labelling-showing-how-their-meat-and-dairy-was-produced-new-poll-finds.Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. "Animal Welfare Labelling: Presentation on Consultation Proposals, March 2023." 2023.McCulloch, S. "Labelling for Animal Welfare in the UK: Promoting Consumer Choice, Supporting British Farmers and Improving Animal Welfare." London, UK: Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, 2024.McCulloch, S. "Farm Animal Welfare in the UK: What Does the British Public Want?". UK: Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, 2023.UK Government and Parliament. "Petition: Method of Production Labelling for All Meat and Dairy Foods Sold in the UK." https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/38011.<br/
Vegan versus meat-based cat food: guardian-reported health outcomes in 1,369 cats, after controlling for feline demographic factors
Get PDFIncreasing concerns about environmental sustainability, farmed animal welfare and competition for traditional protein sources, are driving considerable development of alternative pet foods. These include raw meat diets, in vitro meat products, and diets based on novel protein sources including terrestrial plants, insects, yeast, fungi and potentially seaweed. To study health outcomes in cats fed vegan diets compared to those fed meat, we surveyed 1,418 cat guardians, asking about one cat living with them, for at least one year. Among 1,380 respondents involved in cat diet decision-making, health and nutrition was the factor considered most important. 1,369 respondents provided information relating to a single cat fed a meat-based (1,242–91%) or vegan (127–9%) diet for at least a year. We examined seven general indicators of illness. After controlling for age, sex, neutering status and primary location via regression models, the following risk reductions were associated with a vegan diet for average cats: increased veterinary visits– 7.3% reduction, medication use–14.9% reduction, progression onto therapeutic diet– 54.7% reduction, reported veterinary assessment of being unwell– 3.6% reduction, reported veterinary assessment of more severe illness– 7.6% reduction, guardian opinion of more severe illness– 22.8% reduction. Additionally, the number of health disorders per unwell cat decreased by 15.5%. No reductions were statistically significant. We also examined the prevalence of 22 specific health disorders, using reported veterinary assessments. Forty two percent of cats fed meat, and 37% of those fed vegan diets suffered from at least one disorder. Of these 22 disorders, 15 were most common in cats fed meat, and seven in cats fed vegan diets. Only one difference was statistically significant. Considering these results overall, cats fed vegan diets tended to be healthier than cats fed meat-based diets. This trend was clear and consistent. These results largely concur with previous, similar studies.</p
The Impact of Conflict and Militarization on the Lives of Women and LGBT Persons in Armenia
No full textThe most recent 2022 Global Militarization Index ranked Armenia among the top ten most militarized countries in the world. During militarization, the institution of the military assumes a central role in society, with its values permeating almost every area of life. This article explores the complexities and challenges oflife in Armenia’s militarized society from the perspective of women and LGBT1 persons. Militarization not only perpetuates patriarchal gender relations but also enforces trans- and homophobic environments based on cis- and heteronormative values. Thus, this article examines the impact of conflict and militarization ongender equality norms, such as the protection of women against violence, as well as the fight for LGBT rights
A case study research enquiry into staff perceptions of changes to the organisational culture of a school that has extended its age range
Get PDFThe effect of exercise intensity on calcium metabolism.
No full textIntroduction: Recent investigations suggest that acute exercise decreases Ca2+, subsequently stimulating parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone breakdown (Townsend et al., 2016; Kohrt et al., 2018). It has been suggested the exercise-induced decrease of Ca2+ may contribute to the low bone mineral density phenomenon observed in many endurance athletes (Duckham et al., 2012; Scofield and Hecht, 2012). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise intensity, and the associated acid-base changes, on Ca2+ and PTH. Methods: Twelve healthy males (n = 12) completed a three-arm, randomised-counterbalanced design experiment. Physiological thresholds and associated workloads were identified from a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. Participants completed 30-minutes (or until volitional fatigue) of cycle exercise below gas exchange threshold (GET), above GET, or 10W above the estimated critical power (Above RCP). Blood samples were taken every 5 minutes for 35 minutes, or until volitional fatigue. Ca2+ and pH were analysed using an i-STAT point of care device and EG7+ cartridge system. PTH was analysed using ELICA. Data were analysed using linear mixed effects models and omnibus ANOVAs of fixed terms (R Core Team, 2020).Results: Exercise produced a biphasic intensity-dependent Ca2+ response to exercise (F (12, 189.83) = 3.45, p <.001). Exercise below GET did not alter Ca2+ when referenced to baseline (Mdiff = -0.01–0.02 mmol⋅L-1, SE = 0.01, p > 0.05), but exercise above GET (including above RCP) significantly increased Ca2+, peaking at 10-minutes (Mdiff = 0.04–0.07, SE = 0.01, p < 0.001). Plasma-volume adjusted PTH (PTHAdj) was significantly decreased in the initial 10-minutes of exercise above GET/RCP (Mdiff = -15.81 – -10.61 , SE = 3.30, p < 0.001). Ca2+ decreased throughout the remainder of exercise above GET and RCP, returning to baseline concentrations. PTHAdj mirrored Ca2+’s response: PTHAdj increased from 10 minutes above GET and above RCP, but was only significantly greater than baseline following above GET exercise (Mdiff = 30.93, SE= 3.38, t(189.33) = 9.14, p < 0.001). Introducing pH as a covariate in the Ca2+ model (b = -0.27, SE = 0.06, t(189.30) = -4.11, p < 0.001) removed significant interactions at 5 and 10-minutes between exercise below GET and above RCP. However, pH could not account for all Ca2+ variation, as the main effect of time (F (7, 191.77) = 13.85, p < 0.001), and its interaction with condition (F (12, 190.17) = 4.37, p < 0.001), remained significant. Pooled concentrations of PTHAdj were negatively associated with Ca2+ (R = -0.6, p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest GET may act as an intensity threshold for eliciting significant biphasic response in Ca2+ and PTHAdj. pH may explain the intensity-dependency of Ca2+ during exercise, likely due to the physiochemical competitive binding model (Pedersen, 1972; Fogh-Andersen et al., 1993). However, pH could not account for the entirety of Ca2+’s temporal response, suggesting other exercise-mediated effects may play a role in calcium regulation. It appears Ca2+ is important for mediating PTH response to exercise, but that other exercise-induced responses may also influence PTH and subsequent bone metabolism