74 research outputs found
D4.2 - Model development and data protocol
No full textThe generation of food waste stems from a complex set of interacting behaviours of both food consumers and suppliers. Therefore, a complete approach to the problem requires an analysis of both sources of waste. Both Agent Based Models and Bayesian Networks provide a modelling approach that fits this purpose, since they allow the study of complex systems.
WP4 of the REFRESH project implements a behavioural economics approach in order to identify and measure the most important socio-economic conditions and potential policy interventions driving businesses’ and consumers’ choices in the generation of food waste. More specifically WP4 aims to provide new information on consumer and business behaviour by measuring the effects of major tangible factors of food waste, by identifying hidden and emerging profiles of consumer’ and business’ behaviours affecting food waste, and by allowing the detection of intangible food waste drivers. Such an objective is achieved through the development and the testing of Agent-Based Models (ABMs) and Bayesian networks (BNs).
The report is structured as follows:
Chapter 3 defines what a model is and the modelling approaches that will be utilized within REFRESH WP4.
Chapters 4 and 5 illustrate the characteristics of ABMs and BNs.
Chapter 6 outlines an ABM aimed at assessing the adoption of innovations for preventing or reducing the food waste generated by companies of the retail sector.
Chapter 7 outlines a BN for characterizing consumers’ behaviour with respect to food waste.
Chapter 8 anticipates potential modes of interaction between ABMs and BNs.
Chapter 9 identifies a number of good practices to ensure effective data management and facilitate data exchange
Model Development and Data Protocol
No full textThe generation of food waste stems from a complex set of interacting behaviours of both food consumers and suppliers. Therefore, a complete approach to the problem requires an analysis of both sources of waste. Both Agent Based Models and Bayesian Networks provide a modelling approach that fits this purpose, since they allow the study of complex systems. WP4 of the REFRESH project implements a behavioural economics approach in order to identify and measure the most important socio-economic conditions and potential policy interventions driving businesses’ and consumers’ choices in the generation of food waste. More specifically WP4 aims to provide new information on consumer and business behaviour by measuring the effects of major tangible factors of food waste, by identifying hidden and emerging profiles of consumer’ and business’ behaviours affecting food waste, and by allowing the detection of intangible food waste drivers. Such an objective is achieved through the development and the testing of Agent-Based Models (ABMs) and Bayesian networks (BNs). The report is structured as follows: Chapter 3 defines what a model is and the modelling approaches that will be utilized within REFRESH WP4. Chapters 4 and 5 illustrate the characteristics of ABMs and BNs. Chapter 6 outlines an ABM aimed at assessing the adoption of innovations for preventing or reducing the food waste generated by companies of the retail sector. Chapter 7 outlines a BN for characterizing consumers’ behaviour with respect to food waste. Chapter 8 anticipates potential modes of interaction between ABMs and BNs. Chapter 9 identifies a number of good practices to ensure effective data management and facilitate data exchange
The minority of King James V, 1513-1528
No full textThe thesis is a detailed study of Scottish central government
institutions, personnel and policies during the long and politically complex
minority of James V 1513-1528. Research has been undertaken principally in
the records of the Lords of Council which have never been published nor
examined intensively for this period. Documents from various family
collections further supplement the wide range of record sources which have
been published, particularly the Letters and Papers..., and State Papers of
Henry VIII. The contribution ma4g by contemporary and later chroniclers has
also been examined with the conclusion that their contributions are of some
value, provided that due recognition is given to their motivation for writing
history.
Examination of the role and influence of faction at Court, pro-English
against pro-French, has broadened the scope of the thesis to include
discussion of the wider themes of Scottish foreign policy in the early
sixteenth century. Consideration is also given to the effect of the
unprecedented opportunities presented to England and France for interference
through the rival claims to authority made by Queen Margaret Tudor, mother of
James V, and John, Duke of Albany, the nearest male relative of the young
King. The complex political machinations following Albany's final departure
in 1524, which led to the domination of the Scottish government by Archibald,
6th Earl of Angus, during the final years of James V's minority are discussed
at length.
The conclusion is that the development of royal autocracy was hindered
by the King's youth and that this minority contributes to the evidence that,
in general, minorities acted as a safety-valve in the development of Scottish
government, preserving a balance between the interests of crown and magnates.
Nevertheless, there was a genuine desire shown by the magnates to have a
Governor able to act as if he was a-king of full age because of the advantage
such a position could bring, especially in foreign relations. Government did
not stagnate because there was no adult king
Getting up close and textual: an interpretive study of feedback practice and social relations in doctoral supervision
No full textThe privatised interactions between doctoral student and supervisor as they jointly work on the text are the subject of my thesis. To investigate this important yet neglected aspect of supervision, I use data obtained from interviews with seven doctoral supervisory pairs in the social sciences, arts, and humanities in an Australian university. My methodology comprises a series of close-ups to explore feedback relations within supervision and the ways in which meanings are played out for both supervisors and students. The interpretive approach draws upon Foucaultian theory, critical discourse analysis, and (post)critical theory traditions. Accordingly, the power asymmetries between supervisor and student are seen as productive - in the sense of creatively fertile - and not merely synonymous with prohibition or disempowerment. Within five interpretive chapters, I engage with the productive and problematic aspects of supervisory relations, making visible how supervisory feedback assists in the formation of students' scholarly identities. My analysis examines how the pressures to ensure the production of timely and disciplined thesis texts are impacting on feedback relations. It also examines various ambiguities and tensions such as those embedded in the supervisor's position as 'pastor' and 'critic', between asymmetrical and relational power, between the promotion of authorship/autonomy on the one hand, and the preservation of the canon on the other. My discussion highlights the ways supervisors, notwithstanding their authority, attempt to mediate the power disparity through mechanisms such as standing back, withholding and filtering feedback, or using the invitational strategies of 'under offering' which downplay the disciplinary nature of their work. I also reflect on what makes acceptance or resistance more or less likely and what promotes/hinders the transition to and reliance on students' own expertise. Overall, the interpretations I offer suggest that the exercise of power is never straightforward, is opaque and ambiguous and susceptible to misunderstanding and unpredictability. My research thus reveals a picture of social relations that is less orderly and transparent than assumed in the institutional literature and associated guidelines. In particular, the research qualifies the current institutional faith that PhD research/writing is a transparent process, within which supervisors can be trained in the 'skills' for providing effective feedback so students can work at an efficient pace and produce predictable results
'Alive to kindness' : the early life and achievement of John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, Third Marquess of Bute, 1847-1881
No full textInvestigating the veracity of a sample of divergent published trial data in spinal pain
No full textEvidence-based medicine is replete with studies assessing quality and bias, but few evaluating research integrity or trustworthiness. A recent Cochrane review of psychological interventions for chronic pain identified trials with a shared lead author with highly divergent results. We sought to systematically identify all similar trials from this author to explore their risk of bias, governance procedures, and trustworthiness. We searched OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and PEDro from 2010 to December 22, 2021 for trials. We contacted the authors requesting details of trial registration, ethical approval, protocol, and access to the trial data for verification. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth group's Trustworthiness Screening Tool to guide systematic exploration of trustworthiness. Ten trials were included: 9 compared cognitive behavioural therapy and physical exercise to usual care, exercise alone, or physiotherapy and 1 compared 2 brief cognitive behavioural therapy programmes. Eight trials reported results divergent from the evidence base. Assessment of risk of bias and participant characteristics identified no substantial concerns. Responses from the lead author did not satisfactorily explain this divergence. Trustworthiness screening identified concerns about research governance, data plausibility at baseline, the results, and apparent data duplication. We discuss the findings within the context of methods for establishing the trustworthiness of research findings generally. Important concerns regarding the trustworthiness of these trials reduce our confidence in them. They should probably not be used to inform the results and conclusions of systematic reviews, in clinical training, policy documents, or any relevant instruction regarding adult chronic pain management.</p
Investigating the veracity of a sample of divergent published trial data in spinal pain
No full textEvidence-based medicine is replete with studies assessing quality and bias, but few evaluating research integrity or trustworthiness. A recent Cochrane review of psychological interventions for chronic pain identified trials with a shared lead author with highly divergent results. We sought to systematically identify all similar trials from this author to explore their risk of bias, governance procedures, and trustworthiness. We searched OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and PEDro from 2010 to December 22, 2021 for trials. We contacted the authors requesting details of trial registration, ethical approval, protocol, and access to the trial data for verification. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth group's Trustworthiness Screening Tool to guide systematic exploration of trustworthiness. Ten trials were included: 9 compared cognitive behavioural therapy and physical exercise to usual care, exercise alone, or physiotherapy and 1 compared 2 brief cognitive behavioural therapy programmes. Eight trials reported results divergent from the evidence base. Assessment of risk of bias and participant characteristics identified no substantial concerns. Responses from the lead author did not satisfactorily explain this divergence. Trustworthiness screening identified concerns about research governance, data plausibility at baseline, the results, and apparent data duplication. We discuss the findings within the context of methods for establishing the trustworthiness of research findings generally. Important concerns regarding the trustworthiness of these trials reduce our confidence in them. They should probably not be used to inform the results and conclusions of systematic reviews, in clinical training, policy documents, or any relevant instruction regarding adult chronic pain management
Health service needs and perspectives of remote forest communities in Papua New Guinea: study protocol for combined clinical and rapid anthropological assessments with parallel treatment of urgent cases.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Our project follows community requests for health service incorporation into conservation collaborations in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea (PNG). This protocol is for health needs assessments, our first step in coplanning medical provision in communities with no existing health data. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study includes clinical assessments and rapid anthropological assessment procedures (RAP) exploring the health needs and perspectives of partner communities in two areas, conducted over 6 weeks fieldwork. First, in Wanang village (population c.200), which is set in lowland rainforest. Second, in six communities (population c.3000) along an altitudinal transect up the highest mountain in PNG, Mount Wilhelm. Individual primary care assessments incorporate physical examinations and questioning (providing qualitative and quantitative data) while RAP includes focus groups, interviews and field observations (providing qualitative data). Given absence of in-community primary care, treatments are offered alongside research activity but will not form part of the study. Data are collected by a research fellow, primary care clinician and two PNG research technicians. After quantitative and qualitative analyses, we will report: ethnoclassifications of disease, causes, symptoms and perceived appropriate treatment; community rankings of disease importance and service needs; attitudes regarding health service provision; disease burdens and associations with altitudinal-related variables and cultural practices. To aid wider use study tools are in online supplemental file, and paper and ODK versions are available free from the corresponding author. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Challenges include supporting informed consent in communities with low literacy and diverse cultures, moral duties to provide treatment alongside research in medically underserved areas while minimising risks of therapeutic misconception and inappropriate inducement, and PNG research capacity building. Brighton and Sussex Medical School (UK), PNG Institute of Medical Research and PNG Medical Research Advisory Committee have approved the study. Dissemination will be via journals, village meetings and plain language summaries
The impact on systematic reviews and clinical guidelines of a sample of published but untrustworthy clinical trials in spinal pain.
No full textWe previously conducted a formal exploration of the trustworthiness of a group of clinical trials in persistent spinal pain from a single author team. We identified multiple concerns regarding the trustworthiness of eight out of ten identified trials, including issues of research governance, data anomalies and implausible results. On that basis, we recommended that they not be included in evidence syntheses and clinical guidelines on this topic. In this study, we will explore how these trials have affected the conclusions and recommendations of evidence syntheses and Clinical Practice Guidelines in spinal pain. We present a protocol for this study
- …
