295 research outputs found
Opinion Dynamics Optimization by Varying Susceptibility to Persuasion via Non-Convex Local Search
No full textA long line of work in social psychology has studied variations in people's susceptibility to persuasion - the extent to which they are willing to modify their opinions on a topic. This body of literature suggests an interesting perspective on theoretical models of opinion formation by interacting parties in a network: in addition to considering interventions that directly modify people's intrinsic opinions, it is also natural to consider interventions that modify people's susceptibility to persuasion.In this work, motivated by this fact, we propose an influence optimization problem. Specifically, we adopt a popular model for social opinion dynamics, where each agent has some fixed innate opinion, and a resistance that measures the importance it places on its innate opinion; agents influence one another's opinions through an iterative process. Under certain conditions, this iterative process converges to some equilibrium opinion vector. For the unbudgeted variant of the problem, the goal is to modify the resistance of any number of agents (within some given range) such that the sum of the equilibrium opinions is minimized; for the budgeted variant, in addition the algorithm is given upfront a restriction on the number of agents whose resistance may be modified.We prove that the objective function is in general non-convex. Hence, formulating the problem as a convex program as in an early version of this work (Abebe et al., KDD'18) might have potential correctness issues. We instead analyze the structure of the objective function, and show that any local optimum is also a global optimum, which is somehow surprising as the objective function might not be convex. Furthermore, we combine the iterative process and the local search paradigm to design very efficient algorithms that can solve the unbudgeted variant of the problem optimally on large-scale graphs containing millions of nodes. Finally, we propose and evaluate experimentally a family of heuristics for the budgeted variant of the problem. © 2021 held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM
sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121241235455 – Supplemental material for Problematic coffee use and associated factors among medical and health science students in Dilla University, Ethiopia
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-smo-10.1177_20503121241235455 for Problematic coffee use and associated factors among medical and health science students in Dilla University, Ethiopia by Chalachew Kassaw, Rediet Regasa, Misrak Negash, Amare Alemwork, Lulu Abebe, Solomon Yimer, Tamrat Anbesaw and Selamawit Alemayehu in SAGE Open Medicine</p
Adverse birth outcome: a comparative analysis between cesarean section and vaginal delivery at Felegehiwot Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: a retrospective record review [Corrigendum]
No full textAbebe Eyowas F, Negasi AK, Aynalem GE, Worku AG. Pediatric Health, Medicine and Therapeutics. 2016;7:65–70On page 65 Abel Fekadu Dadi should have been listed as an author. The incorrect author list was:Fantu Abebe Eyowas1Ashebir Kidane Negasi1Gizachew Eyassu Aynalem1Abebaw Gebeyehu Worku2The correct author list should have been:Fantu Abebe Eyowas1Ashebir Kidane Negasi1Gizachew Eyassu Aynalem1Abebaw Gebeyehu Worku2Abel Fekadu Dadi2Read the original articl
Trans Rights: A detailed analysis of access to gender affirming treatments by minors and the differing approaches taken by Member States in the European Union
No full textIn this paper the author will be discussing the varying approaches by Member States in the European Union regarding the rights of Minors to access/undertake gender affirming treatments. This paper shall have a particular focus on the varying approaches taken by the Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the Netherlands in minors having access to gender affirming treatments. The Netherlands has developed a protocol for gender affirming intervention which has been deemed to be the benchmark for providing treatment for minors suffering from gender dysphoria. The protocol developed by the Netherland vastly differs from other Member States such as the United Kingdom and Ireland. The basis for the differing views by such member states lies on the basis of health officials that intervention can be a detriment to minors instead of having a benefit. The varying approaches by Member States raises the question of what can be considered to be the appropriate approach to be undertaken in providing gender affirming treatment to minors and the lines that must be drawn between what can be considered in what is deemed to be providing minors with the right to receive appropriate care against what can be considered to be medical malpractice
Institutionalisation of Quality Assurance in an Ethiopian Public University
No full textQuality assurance in the Ethiopian higher education has for long been external i.e. the
evaluation of higher education institutions by HERQA. Since 2009 however necessary
legal provisions requiring every higher education institution to set up institutional
quality enhancement came into effect. Based on this development, the study
investigated how quality assurance has been institutionalised in public universities. The
study used a qualitative case study design. Data was collected from an anonymous case
university through in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, document analysis, and
non-participant observation. The data was analysed using an inductive analysis
method.
The findings of the study showed that the IQE centre of the case university carries out
several activities targeted at assuring and enhancing academic quality. These include
carrying out internal quality audit; monitoring and supervision of quality assurance;
conducting program and course audits; curriculum review; developing instruments for
quality assurance; giving trainings for academic staff; ensuring fair distribution of
courses; liaising with HERQA; and celebrating educational quality day. In general, the
IQE directorate strove to lead and assist the continual development and improvement
of academic quality and relevance in the university. On the other hand, the study
analysed the state of essential elements necessary for institutionalising quality
assurance in the IQE centre of the case university. Accordingly, findings indicated that
there are appropriate policies and structural establishments whereas leadership,
resources, and information and communication are inadequate. Conversely, the status
of capacity building, core values and rewarding quality has been low. Finally, the study
revealed that the institutional quality enhancement of the case university vacillated
between the experiential and early expansion phases of institutionalisation. Therefore,
institutional support to the IQE centre should be strengthened if internal quality
assurance is to further institutionalise and expand throughout the entire university
Vitamin A Status and Associated Factors among Preschool Children Aged 3 to 5 Years in Offa District, Southern Ethiopia
No full textBackground: Vitamin A is a vital micronutrient involved in several biochemical activities
crucial for regular biological purpose. Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) is a common form of
micronutrient deficiency. Globally about 30% of children <5 years of age are vitamin A
deficient and about 2% of all deaths are attributable to VAD in this age group. The aim of
this study was to assess vitamin A status and associated factors among preschool children (3-
5 years) in Offa District, Southern Ethiopia.
Method: Community based cross sectional study was conducted from October to November
2016. Structured interviewer administered questionnaire adapted from relevant studies was
used. Four kebeles were selected randomly from Offa District for the study. A total of 204
children aged 36 to 59 months were included for socio demographic, 24 hour dietary recall
and anthropometry measurements. Biochemical analysis was performed for serum retinol and
hemoglobin concentrations. Malaria and stool examinations were also assessed. Statistical
significance was interpreted using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval
with p- value <0.05.
Result: The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was 32.7% with mean serum retinol level of
0.87±0.33 μmol/l. Seventy nine percent of the children received vitamin A supplementation
in the previous six months. Moderate anemia (Hb 7- 9.9 g/dl) affected about 10 (9%) children
and 9% of the children had diarrhea in previous two weeks. Minimum dietary diversity of the
children was 19.6%. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was about 4%. The multivariate
analysis showed a statistically significant association of vitamin A deficiency with anemia
[AOR=5.2; P<0.05], source of drinking water [AOR=4.8;P<0.05) and sanitation facility
[AOR=0.04;P<0.05).
Conclusion: Vitamin A deficiency is a severe public health problem in the study area. This
may be due to low intake of vitamin A rich diet. In addition, high prevalence of stunting and
inflammation also contributes to the problem
Designing Algorithms for Social Good
No full text310 pagesAlgorithmic and artificial intelligence techniques show immense potential to deepen our understanding of socioeconomic inequality and inform interventions designed to improve access to opportunity. Interventions aimed at historically underserved communities are made particularly challenging by the fact that disadvantage and inequality are multifaceted, notoriously difficult to measure, and reinforced by feedback loops in underlying structures. While great strides have been made in these areas -- from assigning seats in public schools to poverty mapping -- there remain many domains with major opportunities for further contributions and the prospect that we may be able to develop unified frameworks for applying computational insights to improve societal welfare. In this thesis, we develop algorithmic and computational techniques to address these issues through two types of interventions: one in the form of allocating scarce societal resources and the other in the form of improving access to information. We examine the ways in which techniques from algorithms, discrete optimization, mechanism design, and network and computational sciences can combat different forms of disadvantage, including susceptibility to income shocks, social segregation, and disparities in access to health information. We highlight opportunities for computing to play a role in fundamental social change. We close with a discussion on open questions in an emerging research area -- Mechanism Design for Social Good (MD4SG) -- around the use of algorithms, optimization, and mechanism design to address
Trust Between Quality Assurance Agencies and Higher Education Institutions and its Implications for Quality Management Models
No full textTällä tutkimuksella on kaksi tavoitetta. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisenä tavoitteena on selvittää, missä määrin laadunvarmistuksesta vastaavat toimijat luottavat korkeakouluihin korkeakoulutuksen laadun ja laadunvarmistuksen osalta. Tutkimuksen toisena tavoitteena on analysoida, mitä vaikutuksia tällä voi olla korkeakoulujärjestelmissä käytettävien laadunhallintamallien ominaispiirteisiin. Näiden tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi tämä tutkimus paikkaa olemassa olevia aukkoja kirjallisuudessa ja tuo esille aiemmin kartoittamattoman tutkimusalueen korkeakoulutuksen laadunvarmistuksessa. Keskustelu laaja-alaisista luottamukseen, vastuuvelvollisuuteen ja laadunvarmistukseen liittyvistä käsitteellisistä ja teoreettisista kysymyksistä luovat perustan empiiriselle tutkimukselle, joka toteutettiin Etiopian korkeakoulujärjestelmän kontekstissa.
Luottamukseen ja laadunhallinnan näkökulmat yhdistävien yhtenäisten teorioiden puuttuessa tässä tutkimuksessa muodostettiin teoreettinen ja analyyttinen viitekehys, joka perustui korkeakoulututkimuksen ja sen ulkopuolisen kirjallisuuden läpikäyntiin. Tutkimuksen viitekehys on yhdistelmä luottamuksen käsitteen ulottuvuuksia, luottamuksen rakentamiseen liittyviä näkökulmia, valikoituja oivalluksia koskien Gamsonin valta- ja luottamusteoriaa sekä laadunhallintamallien muotoja.
Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus toteutettiin laadullisin menetelmin. Tutkimuksessa sovellettiin monitapaustutkimukseen perustuvaa asetelmaa, jossa aineisto kerättiin kuudesta etiopialaisesta korkeakoulusta. Tapauksiksi valikoituneiden korkeakoulujen valinnassa kiinnitettiin erityistä huomiota otoksen edustavuuteen, koska sen tarkoituksena oli mahdollisimman tarkasti heijastella Etiopian korkeakoulujärjestelmän instituutiotason monimuotoisuutta. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu puolistrukturoiduista haastatteluista ja fokusryhmäkeskusteluista, dokumenttiaineistosta sekä ei-akateemisista lähteistä koostetusta toissijaisesta aineistosta. Kokonaisuudessaan aineistoa analysoitiin temaattisesti. Analyysi sisälsi sekä tapauskohtaisia että tapausten välisiä osuuksia.
Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että Etiopian kansallisella laadunvarmistustoimijalla (HERQA) on erilaisia näkemyksiä koskien julkisten ja yksityisten korkeakoulujen yleistä luotettavuutta, kun asiaa tarkasteltiin erilaisten ulottuvuuksien (huoli, kapasiteetti, avoimuus ja riskit) kautta. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että HERQA pitää julkisia korkeakouluja luotettavampina kuin yksityisiä korkeakouluja, joihin suhtaudutaan HERQA:ssa kielteisemmin ja epäluuloisemmin. Tapaustutkimuksista saatu empiirinen näyttö kuitenkin viittaa siihen, että HERQA:n luottamus julkisiin korkeakouluihin on saattaa olla vähenemässä. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin näyttöä myös laajamittaisista väärinkäytöksistä, epärehellisestä raportoinnista ja erilaisten säännösten rikkomisesta yksityisten korkeakoulujen piirissä. Erityisesti yksityisten korkeakoulujen voitontavoittelun maksimointi nähtiin merkittävänä huolenaiheena laadun osalta. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että HERQA:n oman toimintakapasiteetin rajallisuus, julkisille ja yksityisille korkeakouluille asetettujen laatuvaatimusten eritasoinen soveltaminen, havaitut eturistiriidat ja autonomian puute sekä laajalle levinneet korruptioepäilyt loivat korkeakouluille esteitä luottaa HERQA:an.
Tutkimus osoitti myös, että HERQA:n heikko luottamus yksityisiin korkeakouluihin lisäsi valvonta- ja sääntelymekanismien käytön tarvetta. Sen sijaan vahva luottamus julkisiin korkeakouluihin puolestaan selitti niiden osalta HERQA:n tukeutumista havaittuihin yhteisiin arvoihin ja normeihin. Saadut tulokset indikoivat rationalistis-instrumentalististen ja normatiivis-kognitiivisten mekanismien yhdistettyä soveltamista luottamuksen rakentamisessa. Lisäksi HERQAn laadunvarmistusasiantuntijoiden aiemmat kokemukset ja kohtaamiset – liittyivätpä ne sitten väärinkäytöksiin, sääntörikkomuksiin tai vaihtoehtoisesti vastuulliseen toimintaan ja kiitettävään sitoutumiseen laatutyöhön – näyttivät ohjaavaan heidän odotuksiaan, valppauden tasoaan ja yleisestä lähestymistapaansa myöhempien arviointien osalta. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa selvisi vastuuvelvollisuutta painottavan laadunhallinnan roolin määräävyys ja laadun kehittämistä painottavan roolin merkityksen edistymisen hitaus. Julkisiin ja yksityisiin korkeakouluihin kohdistunut, voimakkuudeltaan eriasteinen luottamus näyttää selittävän HERQA:n toimintaa sen soveltaessa eritasoisia akkreditointivaatimuksia ja muita syrjiväksi tulkittavia säännöstöjä edellä mainittujen kahden sektorin välillä. Näin ollen yksityiset korkeakoulut ovat olleet enemmän vastuuvelvollisuutta korostavien arviointivaatimusten kohteena, kun taas julkisiin korkeakouluihin on sovellettu enemmän laadun kehittämistä painottavan lähestymistavan mukaisia korkeakoulukohtaisia arviointeja.
Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä on, että luottamus voi olla keskeinen tekijä – joskaan ei ainoa tekijä – joka voi muokata laadunhallintamallien ominaispiirteitä. Tulokset perusteella voidaan korostaa, että nykyisissä korkeakoulujärjestelmissä on edelleen tärkeää pyrkiä tasapainottamaan laadunhallinnan vastuullisuus- ja kehittämisorientaatioita. Tutkimuksen tuloksilla on useita implikaatioita koskien teoriaa, menetelmiä, toimintapolitiikkoja ja käytäntöjä sekä jatkotutkimustarpeita luottamuksen ja laadunvarmistuksen alueilla. Samalla ne alleviivaavat luottamukseen kohdistuvien teoreettisten ja empiiristen tutkimusten vähäisyyttä korkeakoulutuksen kontekstissa.The present study has two aims. The first is to explore to what extent quality assurance agencies trust higher education institutions with respect to the quality and quality assurance in higher education. The other is to analyse what implications this may have for the nature of the quality management models used in higher education systems. In doing so, the study taps into relevant gaps in the literature and introduces an unexplored area of research in the quality assurance of higher education. The discussion on broad conceptual and theoretical issues pertaining to trust, accountability and quality assurance set the scene for the empirical inquiry which focused on the context of Ethiopian higher education.
Due to the lack of suitable and unified theories which could integrate the exploration of trust and quality management, the study constructed a theoretical and analytical framework through a review of relevant literature located within and outside higher education. This framework combined the conceptual dimensions of trust, perspectives on trust building, selected insights from Gamson’s theory on power and trust, and quality management models.
The empirical investigation employed qualitative method. The study applied a multiple case study design consisting of six case higher education institutions that were carefully selected to draw a sample which more closely represents the nuances and institutional diversity present in Ethiopian higher education. The data collection relied on semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion, numerous documents and additional secondary data from non-academic outlets. The extensive data gathered from primary and secondary sources was analysed thematically which involved with-in and cross-case analysis.
The study found that the quality assurance agency in Ethiopia (i.e. HERQA) attributes a contrasting overall trustworthiness to public and private institutions as explored based on the dimensions of concern, capacity, openness and risk. HERQA views public higher education institutions as more trustworthy compared to their private counterparts that are perceived negatively and with suspicion. The empirical evidence from the case studies, however, suggested that HERQA’s trust in public institutions may have been misplaced. The study also revealed trends of widespread deception, dishonest reporting and violations of regulations among private institutions. Their profit-maximisation motive is increasingly viewed as a major source of concerns for quality. Furthermore, it was found that HERQA’s acute capacity limitations, application of dichotomous quality requirements for public and private institutions, perceived conflicts of interest and lack of autonomy and widespread allegations of corruption create barriers for higher education institutions to trust the agency.
The study findings further revealed that HERQA’s weak trust in private institutions accounts for more demand for the use of control and regulation mechanisms, whereas the strong trust in public institutions explains its reliance more on the perceived shared values and norms. The findings indicated a combined application of the rationalist-instrumentalist and the normative-cognitive mechanisms of trust building. Additionally, the previous experiences and encounters of HERQA’s quality assurance experts with, be it, deception and violations of regulations or responsible operation and commendable commitment to quality seem to inform their expectations, vigilance and overall approach to subsequent evaluations. Moreover, the study revealed the dominance of the accountability- oriented quality management and the slow progress in quality enhancement. The contrasting trust attributed to public and private institutions seems to explain HERQA’s application of dichotomous accreditation requirements and other discriminatory regulations for the two sectors. As such, private institutions are largely subjected to more accountability-oriented requirements in the form of stringent programme accreditation and surprise on-site inspections, while public institutions, until its recent discontinuation, have undergone a more enhancement-oriented evaluation of institutional quality audit.
The study concludes that trust could be a fundamental ingredient, but undoubtedly not the only factor, which may shape the nature of quality management models. The findings emphasise the continued significance of balancing the accountability and enhancement orientations in quality management to present-day higher education systems. The results from this study bear implications for theory, method, policy and practice and further research in the areas of trust and quality assurance. It highlights the overall scarcity of theoretical and empirical explorations of trust in higher education
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