Level Of Reliance Research Articles

A review of network simulation models of hepatitis C virus and HIV among people who inject drugs

Network modelling is a valuable tool for simulating hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) and assessing the potential impact of treatment and harm-reduction interventions. In this paper, we review literature on network simulation models, highlighting key structural considerations and questions that network models are well suited to address. We describe five approaches (Erdös–Rényi, Stochastic Block, Watts–Strogatz, Barabási–Albert, and Exponential Random Graph Model) used to model partnership formation with emphasis on the strengths of each approach in simulating different features of real-world PWID networks. We also review two important structural considerations when designing or interpreting results from a network simulation study: (1) dynamic vs. static network and (2) injection only vs. both injection and sexual networks. Dynamic network simulations allow partnerships to evolve and disintegrate over time, capturing corresponding shifts in individual and population-level risk behaviour; however, their high level of complexity and reliance on difficult-to-observe data has driven others to develop static network models. Incorporating both sexual and injection partnerships increases model complexity and data demands, but more accurately represents HIV transmission between PWID and their sexual partners who may not also use drugs. Network models add the greatest value when used to investigate how leveraging network structure can maximize the effectiveness of health interventions and optimize investments. For example, network models have shown that features of a given network and epidemic influence whether the greatest community benefit would be achieved by allocating hepatitis C or HIV treatment randomly, versus to those with the most partners. They have also demonstrated the potential for syringe services and “buddy sharing” programs to reduce disease transmission.

Farmers who forage: interpreting paleofecal evidence of wild resource use by early corn farmers in the North American Southwest

This paper describes and interprets the results of multiple analyses conducted on human paleofeces from Turkey Pen Ruin, an early Ancestral Pueblo farming site in Cedar Mesa, Utah. Analyses of pollen and macroscopic contents were performed on 44 specimens; DNA testing for several faunal and botanical dietary constituents was also conducted on select samples (n = 20) using targeted PCR analysis. These data were used to assess what foods supplemented the predominant dietary staple—maize (Zea mays). Resources were evaluated based on caloric efficiency and nutritional value to gain insight into what motivated these late Basketmaker II period (ca. AD 1-400) farmers to continuously rely so heavily on corn, in lieu of incorporating a higher proportion of foraged resources into their diet. This project confirms a very high level of maize reliance (likely around 80% of the diet) as established by earlier studies. However, these results also show common inclusion of wild resources that are much less calorically efficient than the type of maize farming practiced here, including weedy plants commonly associated with agricultural fields. This suggests early farmers on Cedar Mesa were pushed by low environmental productivity to rely on farming, and to include low-ranked wild resources to calorically and nutritionally augment their maize-based diet. These findings also indicate that farmers were harvesting much more than corn from their fields, and that the productivity of the anthropogenic ecological niche created by farming activities may have influenced supplemental foraging choices, as well as the degree of labor dedicated to fields.

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 2019 Annual Meeting

We are submitting only a short abstract. We would prefer not to publish in the proceedings. This lecture discusses a quantitative methodology for demonstrating skill transfer between simulation and actual operations using a military program as a case study. Pilot Training Next (PTN) is an experimental program to increase the efficiency of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) through the use of immersive, virtual-reality (VR) flight simulators. Though over a half-century of research and use has demonstrated the value of simulation, and commercial pilot training relies extensively on it, the viability of intensive VR use for military training remained an open question. PTN has provided the first steps to close this case. By substituting VR simulation for sorties, the program was able to graduate 13 out of 15 officers through the T-6 portion of training. This was accomplished in roughly one-third the time and with half as many flights as traditional UPT. Furthermore, analysts were able to model the performance data collected from this first cohort using modern, industry and academic-standard techniques. These models show that simulator performance reliably predicts skill in the actual aircraft, providing defensible evidence of skill transfer even at this intensive level of simulator reliance. They also provide credible evidence of early-warning signals that skills may not be transferring, allowing instructors to intervene and course correct if necessary. PTN-style training has the potential for great cost- and time-savings, and this first cohort provides preliminary evidence that learning quality does not have to be sacrificed to achieve this.

Trust Mediating Reliability-Reliance Relationship in Supervisory Control of Human-Swarm Interactions.

This work aims to further test the theory that trust mediates the interdependency between automation reliability and the rate of human reliance on automation. Human trust in automation has been the focus of many research studies. Theoretically, trust has been proposed to impact human reliance on automation by mediating the relationship between automation reliability and the rate of human reliance. Experimentally, however, the results are contradicting as some confirm the mediating role of trust, whereas others deny it. Hence, it is important to experimentally reinvestigate this role of trust and understand how the results should be interpreted in the light of existing theory. Thirty-two subjects supervised a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in foraging missions in which the swarm provided recommendations on whether or not to collect potential targets, based on the information sensed by the UAVs. By manipulating the reliability of the recommendations, we observed changes in participants' trust and their behavioral responses. A within-subject mediation analysis revealed a significant mediation role of trust in the relationship between swarm reliability and reliance rate. High swarm reliability increased the rate of correct acceptances, but decreased the rate of correct rejections. No significant effect of reliability was found on response time. Trust is not a mere by-product of the interaction; it possesses a predictive power to estimate the level of reliance on automation. The mediation role of trust confirms the significance of trust calibration in determining the appropriate level of reliance on swarm automation.

The process of dialogue in education: origins and possibilities

The article addresses the definition of the essential features of the process of dialogue of education. The analysis of the educational process has shown the need not only for the improvement of teaching technology, the introduction of interactive methods, etc. The article emphasizes that modern education needs a rethinking of the dialogue. It is noted that the process of formation of the personality of a future specialist in the process of education involves a holistic transformation of the educational process: not only the change of the content and structure of the educational material but also the creation of situations of professional and personal self-determination. The essence of the concept of «dialogue», «dialogue in education», is outlined through the prism of philosophical concepts that extend the understanding of its application. It is substantiated as a method of dialogue in education directed, first of all, to the creation of a specific educational dialogical environment. The dialogic form of learning involves the transformation of action from a monologue closed at the level of professional reliance on goals and external in relation to the student's learning activities in conjunction with the student's cognitive activity. Analyzed the concept of «educational dialogue», which is very common in the literature and noted that use partially reveals the very essence of dialogue. It is substantiated why the educational dialogue makes it impossible to translate knowledge through personal experience and meanings, restricting the resources of personality development. The educational dialogue in modern education is the content and form of knowledge. And the formation of a single educational space, which today is a recognized obvious, is realized through an educational dialogue. The educational dialogue is defined as the innovative space of the subject-subject interaction, space where knowledge of the saturation of personal meanings, is integrated through personal experience. It is believed that the educational dialogue is the integrator of culture and values, the existence of education in general.

Gait symmetric adaptation: Comparing effects of implicit visual distortion versus split-belt treadmill on aftereffects of adapted step length symmetry

Understanding gait adaptation is essential for rehabilitation, and visual feedback can be used during gait rehabilitation to develop effective gait training. We have previously shown that subjects can adapt spatial aspects of walking to an implicitly imposed distortion of visual feedback of step length. To further investigate the storage benefit of an implicit process engaged in visual feedback distortion, we compared the robustness of aftereffects acquired by visual feedback distortion, versus split-belt treadmill walking. For the visual distortion trial, we implicitly distorted the visual representation of subjects’ gait symmetry, whereas for the split-belt trial, the speed ratio of the two belts was gradually adjusted without visual feedback. After adaptation, the visual feedback or the split-belt perturbation was removed while subjects continued walking, and aftereffects of preserved asymmetric pattern were assessed. We found that subjects trained with visual distortion trial retained aftereffects longest. In response to the larger speed ratio of split-belt walking, the subjects showed an increase in the size of aftereffects compared to the smaller speed ratio, but it steeply decreased over time in all the speed ratios tested. In contrast, the visual distortion group showed much slower decreasing rate of aftereffects, which was evidence of longer storage of an adapted gait pattern. Visual distortion adaptation may involve the interaction and integration of the change in motor strategy and implicit process in sensorimotor adaptation. Although it should be clarified more clearly through further studies, the findings of this study suggest that gait control employs distinct adaptive processes during the visual distortion and split-belt walking and also the level of reliance of an implicit process may be greater in the visual distortion adaptation than the split-belt walking adaptation.

Why do countries emulate each others’ policies? A global study of renewable energy policy diffusion

Abstract The international environmental community and many donor countries have encouraged developing countries to adopt renewable energy (RE) policies that will encourage low-carbon energy development. While the drivers of RE policy adoption have been well-studied in the U.S. and Europe, we know little about the factors that drive RE policy adoption in developing countries. Both theory and anecdotal evidence suggest that policies often spread when one country emulates another’s policy, but scholars of policy diffusion have tended to focus on emulation of political and ideological peers, overlooking other factors that may be particularly critical for driving RE policy adoption, including emulation of peers with similar electric sector conditions and emulation that is driven by coercive donor-recipient aid relationships. We use a directed dyadic analysis to assess the factors that prompt a country to emulate another’s policies and to determine whether emulation patterns differ across developed and developing countries. We find that both sets of countries tend to emulate the policies of their political peers, and that developing countries tend to emulate the policies of donors. The effect of electric sector similarities varies by policy type. Countries emulate feed-in tariffs of countries with similar electric sector conditions, but they emulate quota policies of countries with dissimilar levels of reliance on renewable energy. Results suggest that different policies may diffuse via different emulation patterns.

Toward a comprehensive explanatory model of reliance on alternatives to the tap: evidence from California's retail water stores.

Building on a recent increase in scholarly attention to the problem of tap water mistrust and resulting negative health impacts, we examine the relationship between neighborhood reliance on tap water alternatives and a range of explanatory factors. We model retail water store locations as a proxy for reliance on tap water alternatives in urbanized neighborhoods across California. Our study is unique in its inclusion of variables representing both compliance with primary and secondary water quality standards by publicly regulated drinking water systems serving particular neighborhoods, other water system attributes and the socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods. The location of retail water stores in urbanized neighborhoods does not appear strongly related to observed measures of water quality. Secondary contamination shows a weak relationship to tap alternative reliance, and primary contamination was not correlated with higher levels of tap alternative reliance. On the other hand, our research suggests that other socioeconomic factors, particularly country of birth, are associated with the prevalence of more water stores. Increasing reliance on tap water likely requires measuring and addressing secondary contamination found in distributional systems and premise plumbing, and more aggressive public education campaigns.

In transition … Where to? Rethinking Life Stages and Intergenerational Relations of Italian Youth

This article wants to contribute to the ongoing debate within youth studies about the frameworks and concepts that inform research on the meanings of and transitions into adulthood. It aims to contribute to debates about the changing nature of life stages and the need for new conceptual categories and definitions of adulthood and of intergenerational relations. Thus, the first question that drives our reflections is: How do the radical transformations implied in the transition to adulthood pathway change the metaphors used to describe it, the ways of defining adulthood itself, and the scope for mutual recognition amongst different generations? Indeed, intergenerational relationships acquire more complexity in a framework in which a) structural factors like the precarisation of the labour market and the aging population heighten reciprocal interdependence and b) changes in the life-course patterns distance the different generations, especially in terms of biographical sense-making. These theoretical reflections arise from empirical work done in Northern Italy, with thirty-something people who are struggling with a prolonged and de-standardised transition process, negotiating “new adult roles”, particularly in the field of parenthood). This complex transition is significant and widespread in Italian context that, as part of the group of Southern welfare states, has low levels of welfare provision and high reliance on the family as a form of support.

Role of Trust in a Self-Organizing Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Model with Variable Good Quality and Imperfect Information

We present an Agent-Based Model (hereafter ABM) for a pharmaceutical supply chain operating under conditions of weak regulation and imperfect information, exploring the possibility of poor quality medicines and their detection. Our interest is to demonstrate how buyers can learn about the quality of sellers (and their medicines) based on previous successful and unsuccessful transactions, thereby establishing trust over time. Furthermore, this network of trust allows the system itself to evolve to positive outcomes (under some but not all circumstances) by eliminating sellers with low quality products. The ABM we develop assumes that rational and non-corrupt agents (wholesalers, retailers and consumers) learn from experience and adjust their behaviour accordingly. The system itself evolves over time: under some - but not all - circumstances, sellers with low-quality products are progressively eliminated. Three distinct states of the supply chain are observed depending on the importance of trust built up from past experience. The 'dynamic' state is characterised by a low level of trust leading to a continually changing system with new drugs introduced and rejected with little regard to quality. The 'frozen' state arises from high levels of reliance on past experience and locks the supply chain into a suboptimal state. The 'optimising' state has moderate reliance on past experience and leads to the persistence of suppliers with good quality; however, the system is still 'invadable' by better quality drugs. Simulation results show that the state reached by the system depends strongly on the precise way that trust is established: Excessive levels of trust make it impossible for new, improved treatments to be adopted. This highlights the critical need to understand better how personal experience influences consumer behaviour, especially where regulation is weak and for products like medicines whose quality is not readily observable.

The Internet as a Source of Health Information and Services.

The Internet is increasingly used for health-related purposes and evolves with the ever-changing needs of patients. The aim of this study was to assess the level of reliance on the Internet as a health information source, to examine which online communication activities are the most common for health purposes, and to determine the attitudes and needs of patients in this area and the factors affecting its use. A total of 1000 adults were selected from the Polish population by random sampling. The survey was administered by the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI). The study concluded that 76.9% of the participants used the Internet for health purposes, among whom 72.6% of active and 27.4% of passive users were distinguished. The role of the Internet as a source of health information has increased, which corresponds to a growing interest in online health services. The majority of individuals searching for health information in the Internet lived in urban areas, had a high level of education, and was professionally active. We conclude that the increased interest in the use of the Internet related to health determines the direction in which e-health should be developed in the future.

Is spatial orientation affected by Ramadan fasting?

PurposeRamadan intermittent fasting (RIF) has produced heterogeneous and domain-specific effects on cognitive function. This study aims to investigate the effect of RIF on verticality perception or estimation of subjective visual vertical (SVV) in young adults. The significance of SVV is that it is essential for spatial orientation, upon which many daily activities depend.MethodologyVerticality perception was assessed with a computerized rod and frame test (CRFT) in two visual conditions: without a surrounding frame and with a distracting tilted frame. The tilted frame condition measures level of visual dependence or reliance of visual cues for posture and orientation. In total, 39 young adult men were recruited at different stages of Ramadan fasting: 21 were tested at the end of the first week (Week 1) and 18 others at the end of the third week (Week 3) of Ramadan. Also, 39 participants were recruited to serve as a non-fasting control group. Factorial ANOVA analyses were conducted to identify the main effects of fasting status, time-of-day and the interaction between them on blood glucose levels, nocturnal sleep duration and vertical alignment errors.FindingsThe main effect of fasting status on glucose level was significant (p = 0.03). There was a significant time-of-day main effect on glucose levels (p = 0.007) and sleep duration (p = 0.004) only in fasting participants. Neither the main effects of fasting status nor time-of-day were significant for rod alignment errors in both visual conditions. The interaction of fasting status and time-of-day was not significant either. This may indicate that any negative effect of Ramadan fasting on activities that are critically dependent on verticality perception and spatial orientation, such as sports and driving, may not be due to verticality misperception.OriginalityThe present study was the first to investigate the effect of Ramadan fasting on spatial orientation. It demonstrated robustness of verticality perception to fasting status and the point of fasting during Ramadan. Verticality perception was also unaffected by time-of-day effects in non-fasting and fasting groups at two different points of Ramadan. This study corroborates others reporting heterogeneous effects of Ramadan fasting on cognitive function.

Impact of oil price change on airline's stock price and volatility: Evidence from China and South Korea

Generally, the influence of crude oil price on the industries (enterprises) varies because they have different levels of reliance on crude oil. For airlines, the expenditure on fuel accounts for a considerable proportion of their gross costs; thus, airlines are unusually sensitive to changes in the crude oil price. The discussion on the relationship between crude oil price and airlines will help the airlines improve their ability to cope with the crude oil price risk. In addition, the responses of South Korean and Chinese airlines in the event of a price shock, that take, are also very important as the airplane is a basic form of transportation in many countries. This study investigates the impact of three crude oil price (WTI, Brent, Dubai) change on the stock price and volatility of four airlines (Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern Airlines) using VAR-GARCH-BEKK model. The main findings are as follows. There is return and volatility spillover effect between crude oil price and the stock prices of airlines. The volatility spillover effect between the crude oil price and airlines' stock price is more significant than the return spillover effect. Compared with the transportation industry, the stock prices of smaller airlines of South Korea and China are relatively more sensitive to the change in oil price. In addition, compared with Korea's airlines, China's airlines are influenced more by the oil price change, implying that spillover effects owing to oil price are closely related to the different characteristics of the air transport markets of the two countries.

Correlation between handheld digital device use and asthenopia in Chinese college students: a Shanghai study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of handheld digital devices and the prevalence of self-reported asthenopia among college students in China and their potential relationship. Five thousand students were randomly assessed using a self-reported asthenopia questionnaire. The students' demographic characteristics and habits regarding digital device use were recorded. Univariate analysis was performed to select potential risk factors, and multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios for the selected risk factors of interest. Among the 4786 students who completed the survey, the prevalence of asthenopia was 53.3%. Multivariate analysis revealed significant relationships between asthenopia and each of the following: level of digital reliance (OR 1.350, 95%CI: 1.230-1.481), workload, time spent on computer per day, sex and time spent on handheld digital devices in bed and at desk. Aerobic exercise duration (OR 0.912, 95%CI: 0.839-0.990) was found to be strong predictor of less asthenopia complaints. Asthenopia appears to be common among college students in China. Preventative measures against asthenopia include limiting the amount of time spent using digital devices in bed (<0.5h), adopting a posture of lying on one's back while doing so and engaging in aerobic exercise for more than one hour per day. Furthermore, studies on this topic are needed.

Development of the Regional Natural Gas Market in Southeast Europe

The high level of reliance on external energy supplies, mainly from Russia, is considered a major risk to the energy security in Southeast Europe. This dependency is being addressed by the European Union’s new contractual and institutional framework. The construction of new gas pipelines and related infrastructure is being undertaken in a timely manner to secure supplies from alternative energy sources and enhance their sustainability. Still, the EU’s policies have run up against Russia’s systematic and stubborn resistance as it struggles to preserve its dominance in Europe’s energy market and thwart the implementation of competing energy projects. Despite this, Southeast Europe’s energy markets will soon be able to ensure a higher level of diversification and secure its supplies.

Trophic structure and chemosynthesis contributions to heterotrophic fauna inhabiting an abyssal whale carcass

The trophic structure and role of chemosynthesis remain unexplored in deep-sea whale-fall communities in areas other than the California margin. This gap limits the understanding of these communities and their ecological relationships with other chemosynthetic ecosystems, such as vents and seeps. Here, we studied 3 different whale skeleton microhabitats with hypothesized high, intermediate and low reducing conditions as well as the sediments surrounding an abyssal whale fall (4204 m depth, SW Atlantic Ocean). We analyzed trophic structures (δ13C and δ15N) and the contribution of chemosynthetically derived carbon to heterotrophic species. The high and intermediate reducing microhabitats harbored food webs dominated by consumers of chemosynthetic production, similar to those of diffusive areas of hydrothermal vents and seeps. Both the low reducing microhabitat and the sediments harbored food webs with greater trophic complexity, dominated by higher consumers mainly relying on whale and/or photosynthesis-derived organic matter, a type of food web commonly reported in small whale, wood and kelp falls. The main whale-fall ecosystem engineer, the bone-eating worm Osedax, appeared to produce unique food web effects not observed in other chemosynthetic habitats. We conclude that whale falls provide the deep sea with a mosaic of microhabitats that supports assemblages with different chemosynthesis reliance levels and trophic structures, similar to those found at vents and seeps. Such a mosaic allows species-rich communities with numerous trophic levels to develop in a very small area of the food-limited deep sea.

“I couldn't find it your honour, it mustn't be there!” – Tool errors, tool limitations and user error in digital forensics

The field of digital forensics maintains significant reliance on the software it uses to acquire and investigate forms of digital evidence. Without these tools, analysis of digital devices would often not be possible. Despite such levels of reliance, techniques for validating digital forensic software are sparse and research is limited in both volume and depth. As practitioners pursue the goal of producing robust evidence, they face the onerous task of both ensuring the accuracy of their tools and, their effective use. Whilst tool errors provide one issue, establishing a tool's limitations also provides an investigatory challenge leading the potential for practitioner user-error and ultimately a grey area of accountability. This article debates the problems surrounding digital forensic tool usage, evidential reliability and validation.

Integrating strategic planning values into urban master planning process in Vietnam

Today, Urban Planning in Vietnam faces a lot of problems due to the paradox between traditional master planning systems and modern context of rapid transformation. Alternatives are practiced in some cities, especially in the context of international integration. Various methods and cooperative projects have attempted to subvert the strict master-planning approach with high levels of centralization and reliance upon planning by command and control. However, despite many efforts, it seems impossible to completely replace current planning system by another advance method, which has no attachments with its developed context. The paper studies and schematizes the complexity of master planning process in Vietnam, which is regulated by various legal documentaries. On the other hand, it simultaneously studies strategic planning method and selectively chooses valuable features which fits local context. By confronting and integrating them with each other, the paper aims to introduce an advance master planning process that adaptive and flexible to modern challenges.

Interface between Formal and Informal Systems of Horizontal Accountability in Kenya's State-Owned Enterprises

Recent studies on horizontal accountability between the executive and legislative bodies in Sub-Sahara African countries indicate that it is still constrained by limited capacity in terms of human resources, infrastructure and weak institutions. It is further compounded by negative cultural practices and hierarchies, restricted loyalty based on ethnic identity, collusive and predatory elite networks and lack of a deep culture of democracy and accountable governance. In Kenya reforms which have been going on for more than three decades have produced a system with strong institutions and formal systems which if used within a new culture of responsible, people driven and accountable system of governance, can increase the effectiveness of parliament and improve citizens' livelihoods. However, reforms and institutional mechanisms on their own may not bring about the desired changes because in the case of Kenya there is a high level of reliance on informal mechanisms when groups of the elite in both the executive and in parliament, either independently or in alliance, find the use of formal mechanisms an obstacle to the advancement of their individual or collective interests. This has elevated informal over formal mechanisms of accountability thereby minimizing the outcomes of the reforms. This is very evident in the case of state owned enterprises, which by their organizational and governance architecture, are more prone to reliance on informal than formal mechanisms of control and accountability. This article sets out to investigate the reasons for this, using the National Cereals and Produce Board of Kenya as a case study.

The Instructed Learning of Form–Function Mappings in the English Article System

AbstractThis article analyzes the instructed learning of the English article system by second language (L2) learners. The Competition Model (MacWhinney, 1987, 2012) was adopted as the theoretical framework for analyzing the cues to article usage and for designing effective computer‐based article instruction. Study 1 found that article cues followed a Zipfian distribution for availability or frequency and that the cues had overall high reliabilities. Study 2 assessed the initial level of cue reliance in a group of intermediate–advanced L2 learners. As expected, the input variables of cue availability and cue reliability clearly influenced both the accuracy of learners’ choices in a cloze test format and the subjects’ response times. Study 3 demonstrated that the form–function mappings relevant for native‐like article choice can be taught in two 1‐hour sessions using the strategy of cue focusing. The type of explicit instruction (analogical, i.e., by giving analogous examples without metalinguistic comments, vs. metalinguistic feedback) had an additional effect on response time, while both instruction types led to a similar increase in accuracy. These findings are novel and are highly relevant to both theory and pedagogy.