Agency Considerations Research Articles

Multi-sited photo-storytelling: visualising care in environmental and peace education

ABSTRACT This paper presents a practice-based enquiry exploring how photovoice methods can be adapted to visualise caring behaviours in multi-sited contexts, within an environment and peace education context. Photovoice methods typically have an exclusively single-sited focus that can neglect opportunities for empathy and cross-cultural engagement that arise when considering multiple sites. This research explores these opportunities through broadening and integrating multi-sited dimensions into photovoice processes. Two novel multi-sited photovoice methods are adapted – photo-action interviews, and photo-letter exchanges, with participating youth in urban sites across Bangladesh, Australia and China. The visualisations of caring actions depicted in the resulting photo-stories are then analysed, affirming these methods’ efficacy and inviting expanded considerations of agency and subjectivity as represented through the images. I employ an analytical approach encompassing both qualitative content and relational analysis across the interview and exchange methods to affirm the importance of materiality, relationality and empathy to participation and visualisation of environmental caring behaviour. These explorations of novel photovoice methods in multi-sited contexts confirm the importance of bringing global perspectives to local photovoice practices, contributing to participatory visual research in environmental and peace educational contexts.

Qualitative studies involving users of clinical neurotechnology: a scoping review

BackgroundThe rise of a new generation of intelligent neuroprostheses, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and adaptive closed-loop brain stimulation devices hastens the clinical deployment of neurotechnologies to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, it remains unclear how these nascent technologies may impact the subjective experience of their users. To inform this debate, it is crucial to have a solid understanding how more established current technologies already affect their users. In recent years, researchers have used qualitative research methods to explore the subjective experience of individuals who become users of clinical neurotechnology. Yet, a synthesis of these more recent findings focusing on qualitative methods is still lacking.MethodsTo address this gap in the literature, we systematically searched five databases for original research articles that investigated subjective experiences of persons using or receiving neuroprosthetics, BCIs or neuromodulation with qualitative interviews and raised normative questions.Results36 research articles were included and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Our findings synthesise the current scientific literature and reveal a pronounced focus on usability and other technical aspects of user experience. In parallel, they highlight a relative neglect of considerations regarding agency, self-perception, personal identity and subjective experience.ConclusionsOur synthesis of the existing qualitative literature on clinical neurotechnology highlights the need to expand the current methodological focus as to investigate also non-technical aspects of user experience. Given the critical role considerations of agency, self-perception and personal identity play in assessing the ethical and legal significance of these technologies, our findings reveal a critical gap in the existing literature. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the current qualitative research landscape on neurotechnology and the limitations thereof. These findings can inform researchers on how to study the subjective experience of neurotechnology users more holistically and build patient-centred neurotechnology.

Urgensi Penyatuan Lembaga Penegak Hukum di Laut Indonesia

In its efforts to enforce law at sea, Indonesia has 13 law enforcement agencies at sea. Six of these institutions have maritime patrol task forces. The number of law enforcement agencies in Indonesian seas is considered negative by several parties because of the potential for the authority of each agency to overlap. This research aims to find out what the condition of maritime law enforcement agencies in Indonesia is and what are the considerations for unifying maritime law enforcement agencies in Indonesia. This research is normative research related to maritime law enforcement agencies in Indonesia. There are at least 13 law enforcement agencies in Indonesian seas. The unification of maritime law enforcement agencies in Indonesia is necessary because unclear roles and authority, as well as a lack of coordination between agencies, have resulted in ineffectiveness in law enforcement and maritime security management. Indonesia needs unification of authority to strengthen all security, safety and maritime law enforcement functions in Indonesia

Strengthening Protocols for Rapid Response to Disruptions in Access to Prescription Opioids: Considerations for State and Territorial Health Agencies.

Prescription opioid disruptions pose a danger and lead to adverse health outcomes for patients taking prescription opioids for pain or medication for opioid use disorder. State and territorial health agencies are uniquely positioned to respond to disruptions and potentially prevent risks associated with service disruptions. Responding to disruptions in access to prescription opioids necessitates a multifaceted, collaborative approach that prioritizes care continuity and patient well-being. State and territorial health agencies may benefit from developing and exercising a formal response protocol that outlines roles and activities during these types of events, strengthening capacity to rapidly respond and serve patient needs.

Determining the Changes in Law Enforcement Recruit Aerobic Fitness Using the 2.4-km Run and 20-m Multistage Fitness Test. Does the Type of Test Matter?

Campbell, P, Maupin, D, Lockie, RG, Dawes, JJ, Simas, V, Canetti, E, Schram, B, and Orr, R. Determining the changes in law enforcement recruit aerobic fitness using the 2.4-km run and 20-m multistage fitness test. Does the type of test matter? J Strength Cond Res 38(6): 1111-1117, 2024-Aerobic fitness is linked with academy graduation, employment, and the long-term health of law enforcement officers and is often used as a training outcome. However, different tests can be used, and aerobic improvements may differ according to the test used. The aim of this study was to determine whether recruits improved to a greater extent in 1 aerobic test compared with the other. Retrospective data from 5 law enforcement recruit cohorts (males = 741; females = 353) who underwent 18 weeks of academy training were analyzed. Initial 20-m multistage fitness test (20MSFT) and 2.4-km run assessments were completed during weeks 4 and 5 of training, with final testing completed during weeks 16 and 17, respectively. A repeated-measures analysis of variance ( p < 0.05) with a Bonferroni post hoc analysis determined changes in aerobic fitness in the 20MSFT and 2.4-km run between male and female recruits. A mean difference of 9.27 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 14.8-10.9; d = 0.63; p < 0.001) shuttle increase in 20MSFT performance and 20.1 (95% CI 16.0-24.2; d = 0.49; p < 0.001) second improvement in 2.4-km run time were demonstrated when averaged across sex, yielding a larger performance improvement for the 20MSFT compared with the 2.4-km run. Conversely, there was a smaller magnitude of change in aerobic fitness between male recruits and female recruits for the 20MSFT ( d = 0.47) compared with the 2.4-km run ( d = 0.50). The findings indicate that current academy training results in improvements to aerobic fitness and to a greater magnitude in the 20MSFT compared with the 2.4-km run. These results may affect policy considerations for law enforcement agencies regarding aerobic test selection.

From Western India to Eastern Africa—the Rise of the Parsis in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Abstract The present paper examines the socio-economic conditions for the ascendancy of the Zoroastrian community in Western India between the 18th and 19th centuries. This study reinforces the well-established thesis on the role played by the Parsis in the development of capitalism in India. What distinguishes it from other narratives is the periodization of this development and the consideration of Parsi agency in the Western Indian Ocean region and East Africa, especially Mozambique. The cooperation of the Parsis with the European trade companies and private European traders as of the mid-17th century—most notably, their links to the English East India Company, which boosted the Zoroastrian communities of northwestern India—is investigated. I try to show how the Parsis, who had been predominantly peasants, farmers and artisans from the 10th to 17th centuries, increasingly embarked upon trade, moneylending, brokerage and production. Because of their accumulated wealth, their numbers as well as their influence augmented throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

Theorizing power and agency in state-initiated municipal climate change adaptation: integrating reflexive capacity into adaptive capacity

Abstract. Based on a review of existing research on adaptive capacity, we identify a research gap in theorizing institutions, power structures, and agency in municipal climate change adaptation processes. Drawing on sociological institutionalism, governmentality, and communicative planning theory, we use post-structuralist concepts of power to to elucidate the collective (de-)mobilization of existing stocks of capacities within municipal institutions of adaptation with a focus on structural power and agency in participation processes. The concept of reflexive capacity is introduced as the ability of organizations such as municipal administrations to incorporate diverse stakeholders and knowledge into decision-making processes in a local context, which is derived from the relationship of power with with power over. The emergence and transformation of reflexive capacity are illustrated and discussed with one case study municipality in Germany, revealing the potential of this concept for the analysis of participation in adaptation processes and the power structures that are inherent to them. In the paper, we incorporate the concept of reflexive capacity with established concepts of adaptive capacity, creating an integrated framework termed institutional adaptive capacity. The analysis concludes that examining power structures and agency in the context of climate change adaptation explains how capacity stocks and individual psychosocial capacity mobilization are institutionally embedded and influenced by reflexive capacity. We argue that the consideration of power structures and agency can provide a complementary approach to explaining adaptive capacity and call for further transdisciplinary empirical research on this topic in different settings of state-initiated adaptation processes.

Exploring the Attrition of Low-Income Students From Associate Degree Programs in Jamaica, After Receiving Full Financial Support

Financial barriers are readily touted as constraints facing low-income students who attempt to pursue studies at higher education institutions. With the removal of the barrier of tuition fees, this research study explored the reasons why low-income students still decided to drop out of their respective programs in higher education institutions in Jamaica, although full financial support was received. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 participants from two higher education institutions in Jamaica. Four themes emerged from the study as the reasons for their attrition, namely, the prioritization of financial needs, unsatisfactory academic performance, personal emotional issues, and program issues. These findings confirm that in addition to financial support to cover tuition fees, there are additional considerations for donor agencies as well as higher education institutions, if low-income students are to be aptly supported, and the risk of attrition, mitigated.

Payout policy around the world

After a big post-2008 increase in the fraction of firms distributing cash in the U.S. -both as dividends and repurchases-, and the end of the increasing popularity of repurchases in other developed and emerging countries, the share of payers is no longer significantly lower in the U.S. than elsewhere. This convergence is mostly due to changing characteristics of firms in the case of dividends (U.S. firms became larger and more profitable), and an ever-higher propensity to repurchase in the U.S. Differences in agency considerations, transaction costs, and earnings volatility across countries and in time are the key factors explaining the differences in the propensity to pay.

Persons, Agents and Wantons

Abstract In this essay, I argue that any competent group agent must be a wanton. The impetus for this claim is an argument Arthur Applbaum makes in Legitimacy: The Right to Rule in a Wanton World that a formal institution (in this case, a government) can, under the right conditions, function as a free moral group agent. I begin by explaining Harry Frankfurt’s classic account of wantonism—not just for the benefit of readers who might not be familiar with the concept, but also to emphasize aspects of the concept relevant for the consideration of group agency. I then draw on the contemporary literature on group agency to argue that any successful group agent will be a wanton. I then turn to Applbaum’s account of group agency to argue that his proposed mechanisms for free moral group agency do not successfully overcome the challenge of wantonism. I close the essay by briefly addressing some of the ramifications of my argument for Applbaum’s larger project in Legitimacy. I argue that, after rejecting the flawed account of free moral group agency, we can productively recover some of Applbaum’s key insights within a revised account of political legitimacy.

The ‘civilizing effect’ and ‘deterrence spectrum’ revisited: results of a national study of body-worn cameras on fatal police force

ABSTRACT Body-worn cameras have, since their rapid emergence from 2014 onward, long been touted as an important part of police reform efforts, given their hypothesised effects. The two most prominent mechanisms through which they reduce police force are the ‘civilizing effect’, whereby citizens self-monitor their behaviour when they are aware of being recorded, and the ‘deterrence effect’, whereby law enforcement officers are deterred from misusing coercion when there are more agency policies in place that remove their discretion in camera activation. Using a national sample of local (municipal and county) law enforcement agencies in the United States that have adopted and deployed body-worn cameras, we examine whether a policy requiring officers to inform the public of recording (a measure of the ‘civilizing effect’) and an index of policies requiring officers to activate their cameras for specific events (a measure of the ‘deterrence spectrum’) significantly reduce fatal police use of force, which we measure through a comprehensive dataset linking four major open-source fatal force datasets. Our multilevel Poisson model indicates that neither hypothesised mechanism significantly affects an agency’s fatal police use of force numbers. Given these findings, it is unlikely that these two predominate explanations behind BWC efficacy are actually impacting the fatal force-reducing capabilities of body-worn cameras. We therefore discuss further implications and additional considerations for agencies to reduce their fatal police force.

Making Smart Things Strange Again: Using Walking as a Method for Studying Subjective Experiences of Smart City Surveillance

Smart cities are commonly seen as places that are defined by surveillance because of their reliance on vast amounts of digital data to improve urban management challenges. Although the infrastructures and technologies that enable smart city surveillance pervade multitudinous urban spaces and everyday practices, they are often “hiding in plain sight,” going unnoticed in the bustle of everyday life. Hence, fostering research settings where citizens can productively reflect on their everyday surveillance constitutes a major challenge for the interrelated projects of doing empirical research about subjective experiences of smart city surveillance and the inclusion of citizens in smart city discussions. Drawing on walking as a method, this study attempts to meet this challenge by developing and empirically testing a methodology of purposive “data walking.” Situating the research in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, participants are instructed to identify data points for public safety purposes on a short walk through the city and reflect on their experiences. Observations and experiences of smart city surveillance are documented with photos, text descriptions, and audio notes, which are shared in real-time with researchers and provide the basis for group reflections. These walks and reflections generate rich visual and textual data that yield insights into embodied and situated constructions of smart city surveillance as an object of subjective inquiry, experiences of visibility, considerations of agency and evaluations of public safety implications. The study considers these empirical results in conjunction with reflections on the methodology, contributing to further methodological explorations for including citizens in smart city discussions and surveillance subjectivity research.

Go for zero tolerance: Cultural values, trust, and acceptance of zero-COVID policy in two Chinese societies.

This study seeks to explain the wide acceptance of the stringent zero-COVID policy in two Chinese societies-Mainland China (n = 2,184) and Taiwan (n = 1,128)-from perspectives of cultural values and trust. By employing the efficacy mechanism, this study identifies significant indirect effects of trust in government and key opinion leaders (KOL) on people's policy acceptance in both societies. Namely, people who interpret the pandemic as a collectivist issue and who trust in government will be more accepting of the zero-COVID policy, whereas those who framed the pandemic as an individual issue tend to refuse the policy. Trust in government and KOLs foster these direct relationships, but trust in government functions as a more important mediator in both societies. The different contexts of the two Chinese societies make the difference when shaping these relationships. These findings provide practical considerations for governmental agencies and public institutions that promote the acceptance of the zero-COVID policy during the pandemic.

The sense of agency in emerging technologies for human-computer integration: A review.

Human–computer integration is an emerging area in which the boundary between humans and technology is blurred as users and computers work collaboratively and share agency to execute tasks. The sense of agency (SoA) is an experience that arises by a combination of a voluntary motor action and sensory evidence whether the corresponding body movements have somehow influenced the course of external events. The SoA is not only a key part of our experiences in daily life but also in our interaction with technology as it gives us the feeling of “I did that” as opposed to “the system did that,” thus supporting a feeling of being in control. This feeling becomes critical with human–computer integration, wherein emerging technology directly influences people’s body, their actions, and the resulting outcomes. In this review, we analyse and classify current integration technologies based on what we currently know about agency in the literature, and propose a distinction between body augmentation, action augmentation, and outcome augmentation. For each category, we describe agency considerations and markers of differentiation that illustrate a relationship between assistance level (low, high), agency delegation (human, technology), and integration type (fusion, symbiosis). We conclude with a reflection on the opportunities and challenges of integrating humans with computers, and finalise with an expanded definition of human–computer integration including agency aspects which we consider to be particularly relevant. The aim this review is to provide researchers and practitioners with guidelines to situate their work within the integration research agenda and consider the implications of any technologies on SoA, and thus overall user experience when designing future technology.

In search of pedagogical approaches to teaching business ethics in the era of digital transformation

The authors explore the challenges in teaching business ethics in an era of digital transformation, provide an understanding of the limitations of traditional ethics approaches, and explore emerging approaches that may more effectively deal with the ethical complexities of the new digital era. Building on prior research conducted during December 2018 and January 2019 regarding the skills required for jobs in the big data field, the authors argue that business ethics must be an essential skill for those working in this field. Ethical frameworks in big data and information management are explored including Universalist, Integrative Social Contract Theory and Care Theory, as well as agency, disciplinary, contextual and outcomes considerations. The authors posit that traditional ethical frameworks such as Universalist approaches, are no longer sufficient to guide decision making in an era of digital transformation and the “datafication” of society. Therefore, business educators have a duty to cultivate critical thinking mindsets in their students and the adoption of “responsible innovation” principles, similar to those developed in the science and technology innovation literature.&#x0D; &#x0D;

Niqivut Silalu Asijjipalliajuq: Building a Community-Led Food Sovereignty and Climate Change Research Program in Nunavut, Canada.

The history of health research in Inuit communities in Canada recounts unethical and colonizing research practices. Recent decades have witnessed profound changes that have advanced ethical and community-driven research, yet much work remains. Inuit have called for research reform in Inuit Nunangat, most recently creating the National Inuit Strategy on Research (NISR) as a framework to support this work. The present study details the process undertaken to create a research program guided by the NISR to address food security, nutrition, and climate change in Inuit Nunangat. Four main elements were identified as critical to supporting the development of a meaningful and authentic community-led program of research: developing Inuit-identified research questions that are relevant and important to Inuit communities; identifying Inuit expertise to answer these questions; re-envisioning and innovating research methodologies that are meaningful to Inuit and reflect Inuit knowledge and societal values; and identifying approaches to mobilizing knowledge that can be applied to support food security and climate change adaptation. We also identify considerations for funding agencies to support the meaningful development of Inuit-led research proposals, including aligning funding with community priorities, reconsidering who the researchers are, and investing in community infrastructure. Our critical reflection on the research program development process provides insight into community-led research that can support Inuit self-determination in research, enhance local ethical conduct of research, privilege Inuit knowledge systems, and align Inuit-identified research priorities with research funding opportunities in health research. While we focus on Inuit-led research in Nunavut, Canada, these insights may be of interest more broadly to Indigenous health research.

A Shot in the Arm for Vaccination Intention: The Media and the Health Belief Model in Three Chinese Societies.

This large-sample study of three Chinese societies—Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong—demonstrates the importance of media exposure for people’s vaccination intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. By employing two constructs (i.e., perceived susceptibility and severity) in the health belief model (HBM), the study identifies significant indirect effects of media exposure on individuals’ vaccination intention in all three Chinese societies. That said, media trust negatively moderated the path from perceived severity to vaccination intention in Mainland China and Taiwan. In these two societies, the higher an individual’s trust in media, the less influence of perceived severity on his/her vaccination intention. It suggests that the level of trust in media is a contextual factor in explaining individuals’ decision-making on health issues. Generally, the combination of the HBM and media trust has been proven to be useful for understanding individuals’ vaccination intentions. These findings provide practical considerations for governmental agencies, public institutions, and health campaign designers to promote vaccination in the pandemic.

Coding reality: implications of AI for documentary media

ABSTRACT This article analyses the frameworks of co-creation between artists and AI in the context of documentary studies. As a result of emerging AI-focused experiments in documentary and transdisciplinary arts practice, we examine the nature and scope of AI as a collaborator with a focus of documentary projects exhibited and showcased at international documentary festivals. An introduction to emergent creative possibilities is made in light of non-humanism and new materialism while presenting the implications for emerging documentary forms and formats. The AI-as-medium approach allows reflection on documentary genres through the limitations and possibilities of algorithms. With the experiential turn in arts, coding has become a means of producing novel experiences. This has led to the emergence of documentary projects at the intersection of human and machine collaboration. The article addresses how operating within AI has wider consequences for collective intelligence by going beyond the visible and locating itself in the ontological. Scholarship concerns are outlined when exploring algorithms in terms of agency and autonomy and consideration of how they have come to affect our socio-cultural fabric. Coding Reality: Implications of AI for Documentary Media further discusses documentaries which were created in close collaboration with AI.

Handmaidens of the legislature? Understanding regulatory timing

AbstractWhen does legislation trigger regulation? The US Congress regularly passes laws that authorise government agencies to write legally binding regulations. Yet, when this occurs, agencies may take years to act – or, at times – may never act at all. We theorise that the breadth of the congressional statutory delegation drives the timing of agency policy production. In particular, when Congress expressly tells an agency to promulgate a rule, we expect agencies to do so quickly. Yet, when Congress provides greater policymaking discretion to agencies, we expect other factors – and especially, internal agency considerations – to drive regulatory timing. We use data from almost 350 statutes spanning four decades, which are then matched up with thousands of regulations, to assess the argument. Using innovative methods, we find support for our hypotheses. Overall, we produce a deeper understanding of the link between delegation and discretion: suggesting when it occurs, as well as, importantly, why.

DARN (Part 2): An Evidence-Based Research and Prototyping Method for Strategic Design

Published in two parts, this article presents an evidence-based research and prototyping method for strategic design. In Part 1, we introduce the concept of DARN as an updated version of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). DARN is a theoretical framework used to study, rearrange, or remake the constituents of an organization or problem universe. In Part 2, we propose that DARN can be used to for several purposes. (1) It can help organizations reach their stated objectives. (2) It can define, darn, or solve organizational problems with evidence-based and collaborative design interventions. (3) It allows us to imagine new organizational models with complex and distributed agency considerations. (4) It can improve and measure the impact of design interventions within organizational strategy. The DARN approach is critical of social engineering and design solutionism. This approach proposes using collaborative strategic design in sector-agnostic organizational contexts to support designers in problematization, research, conceptualization, prototyping, testing, and impact measurement. Further, DARN presents a single frame that designers and scientists can use simultaneously without imposing an a priori language on each other. It can also serve other actors with whom they work and study. The article concludes with a practical discussion of how to apply DARN on the ground while considering its limits.