Practical Problems Research Articles

What works in global health partnerships? Reflections on a Nigerian-German project collaboration

Abstract Background Global health partnerships for project implementation is a frequent way to address health challenges. Bringing stakeholders from different disciplines, professions, settings and countries together provides opportunity to look at health challenges from different perspectives, develop suitable ideas to tackle them and leverage diverse capacities. Problem In such diverse partnerships, cultural norms, practical realities and institutional practices create challenges for the development of good and equitable relationships. Methods In our project collaboration between the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the German Robert Koch Institute on developing and implementing trainings in infection prevention and control, we demonstrated how a partnership can function. The collaboration followed a participatory approach and was informed by the following principles: - Plan, revise, adapt and implement all project activities as well as its contents participatorily; - A well-coordinated teamwork is key to facilitate operational performance; - Consider everyone as expert in its own domain of influence; - Constant and inclusive communication: maintaining transparency on all aspects and steps both in contents and organization and applying non-violent communication and active listening; - Provide space for reflection on roles and functions and for open discussion on needs and misunderstandings; - Appreciate team work as constantly evolving process of interaction and learning. Results We built a strong resilient team and could leverage team diversity to deliver on project objectives with exceptional quality, adaptability in a highly complex and frequently changing implementation setting. Lessons Working across cultures, disciplines, professions and countries means to develop a joint communication language and an understanding of the other. It is challenging and dynamic, requires additional space/time and attention, but offers personal growth and self-realization. Key messages • Using a participatory approach in teams can leverage team diversity to deliver on project objectives and bring about a high professional and personal self-realization. • There are concrete implementable ways of teamwork in international interdisciplinary global health collaborations that enhance quality of results in complex implementation settings.

Show and slow codes: A historical analysis of clinicians' adaptations to ethical overreach.

After briefly reviewing the historical development and ethical regulation of resuscitative technologies, this study probes why clinicians engage in the morally problematic practice of show and slow coding and why hospitals tolerate it? Studies conducted in 1995 and 2020 indicate that conscientious clinicians engage in these practices to protect their patients from abusive or futile resuscitation. And hospitals' clinical cultures tolerate these practices to protect conscientious clinicians from censure, dismissal, delicensing, or legal prosecution for withholding or withdrawing abusive or futile resuscitative technologies without prior patient or surrogate consent. Show and slow coding evolved in American clinical cultures in the second half of the 20th century when closed-chest cardiac massage, defibrillators, ventilators, and other resuscitative technologies raised seemingly novel ethical questions. To address these questions, bioethics commissions, healthcare societies, lawmakers, and a Roman Catholic Pope developed ethics standards requiring clinicians to obtain patient or surrogate consent before withholding or withdrawing resuscitative technologies. They thus conferred on patients an implicit right of resuscitation even if it was abusive and/or futile. Conscientious clinicians circumvented this implicit right by show and slow coding to protect patients from abusive resuscitation. Recognizing clinicians' benign intent, hospitals' clinical cultures tolerate show and slow coding as acts of conscience, akin to civil disobedience. Thus, rescinding ethics standards and laws requiring prior patient/surrogate consent for non-resuscitation or for cessation of resuscitative technologies decisions should end show/slow coding. Such a reform should also recognize clinicians' right of conscientious refusal to perform CPR.

Composting modernity

We have reached the logical end of modernity as it lays waste to the natural world, discards people, and reveals its inherent and thus continual violence. Withdrawing our energy from and breaking down the constellation of modern beliefs, we can repattern ourselves and our communities for a life-giving future. In its structure and content, this article demonstrates a relationality approach to sustainability and climate education that undertakes practices to emplace humans back within the living world. Indigenous philosophies of place as well as posthumanism offer relational notions of time, space, place, and land to consider. Pedagogy-rich, the article provides practices for: restoring the history of modernity as a decolonial counternarrative; composting the most problematic beliefs and practices of modernity; providing tracings of and for possible futures; deriving pedagogical entry points of relevance to learners; and nurturing ways of being that can build a rooted, more life-giving way of being.

From Motivating to Manipulative: The Use of Deceptive Design in a Game's Free-to-Play Transition

Over the last decade, the free-to-play (F2P) game business model has gained popularity in the games industry. We examine the role of deceptive design during a game's transition to F2P and its impacts on players. Our analysis focuses on game mechanics and a Reddit analysis of the Overwatch (OW) series after it transitioned to an F2P model. Our study identifies nine game mechanics that use deceptive design patterns. We also identify factors contributing to a negative gameplay experience. Business model transitions in games present possibilities for problematic practices. Our findings identify the need for game developers and publishers to balance player investments and fairness of rewards. A game's successful transition depends on maintaining fundamental components of player motivation and ensuring transparent communication. Compared to existing taxonomies in other media, games need a comprehensive classification of deceptive design. We emphasize the importance of understanding player perceptions and the impact of deceptive practices in future research.

The Problem of Subjectivity in Algorithmic Creativity Organisation

The aim of the article is to study the issue of determining subjectivity, authorship and uniqueness of the results of producing the creative process, organised by the use of algorithmic calculations. Results. The article clarifies the possibility of organising the artistic and creative process using mathematical calculations, and automating the reproduction of certain manipulations, additionally, it reveals signs of the uniqueness of the corresponding generation results, and grounds the degree of automating the cultural process. The scientific novelty of the article is revealed in the process of highlighting technical assets of modern art, which, although slowly, nevertheless quite demonstratively show the potential of algorithmic computing as a stimulator of creative innovations. Among the methods used in the process of analysing the issues which are raised in the article, first of all, the analytical method has to be singled out, that is based on both historical and philosophical processes, as well as modern cultural activity. Conclusions. It is revealed that algorithmic creativity is actually a kind of mechanised production process, organised in accordance with the features of machine training, and the identified signs of stylistic imitation of traditional practices. Two types of practices for organising the corresponding creative process are established according to the degree of interaction of artists with robotic systems: practices where robotic mechanisms become “subjects of creativity”, that is they are able to produce content for organizing artistic processes; practices involving the equal interaction of robotic mechanisms and artists (for instance, in theatrical performances). The cultural process automation leads to the decrease in the artist’s participation, and weakening of his authorship, but he still has an absolute advantage in the thinking orientation. Interpretation of meaningful content is a critical problem in relevant practices. The usage of algorithms in creating art products challenges traditional methods of artistic cultural creation, as the artist’s meaning and intentions are not always clear. Evaluating further prospects for the artistic culture development requires taking into account these aspects, and recognising potential consequences of forming algorithmic creativity for the further cultural development of humanity.

The uncomfortable truths of adaptive reuse: faith-to-faith conversion of religious heritage buildings in conflict environments

ABSTRACT Despite being regarded as a sustainable conservation strategy for safeguarding the material fabric of disused built heritage, adaptive reuse is an ethically problematic practice when considering faith-to-faith conversions of defunct religious buildings in politically complex environments. This paper aims to explore the scope of the spatial transformations and symbolic representations involved in such conversions, as well as their ramifications on the pre-existing memory and identity of the place. Theoretical explorations are illustrated with empirical data from fieldwork on church-to-mosque conversions in northern Cyprus. The paper argues that faith-to-faith adaptive heritage reuse undoubtedly aids in the protection of the architectural fabric of disused structures from ruination and preserves their original architectural expressions. However, the practice becomes contentious when former users continue to claim rights to the religious site, as the theological principles and power politics shaping the conversion can potentially ignore their religious values and material culture. But more importantly, when sacred and secular merges and nationalist representations emerge on the religious heritage sites, it radically transforms the identity and pre-existing memory of the landscape, aggravating the tension regarding the former and current users’ rights to these sites.

The Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS) questionnaire: psychometric qualities of the parenting scale in two large Brazilian birth cohorts.

Analyse the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the PAFAS (Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales) parenting scale, using data from two large Brazilian birth cohorts. The original PAFAS parenting scale, which consists of 18 items (parental inconsistency 5 items, coercive parenting 5 items, positive encouragement 3 items, and parent-child relationship 5 items) was applied in two Brazilian birth cohorts in Pelotas (ages 4 [n = 4010] and 6-7 [n = 3867]) and Rio Grande (age 3 [n = 992]). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and internal consistency assessed, as well as construct validity in relation to maternal depression measured on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The model with a structure of 4 subscales showed that the global scale of parenting on the PAFAS had a good fit, but certain items did not fit well on sub-scales and were removed (2 items from parental inconsistency, 1 from coercive parenting, and 1 from positive encouragement). The original form of the parent-child relationship sub-scale was maintained. Considering the total PAFAS parenting score, we found that mothers with maternal depression had a higher likelihood of more problematic parental practices than mothers without depression. A revised 14-item PAFAS parenting scale has good psychometric properties and we encourage its use in Brazilian populations.

Design of railway simulation training system based on WebGL

Abstract In order to solve the problems of poor interaction with students and insufficient practicality in the previous railway freight station operation training, this article developed a training system based on WebGL technology that can interact with students and truly display the operation situation of the freight yard. This system is based on the Unity3D engine and WebGL technology. It imports 3D models to build large map scenes, and introduces functions such as cargo bundling and map roaming. The complete designed system is published to the Web through WebGL technology. After experimental analysis, the parking lot training system has solved the problems of poor practicality, little interaction, low efficiency, and narrow coverage in previous teaching. It has promoted the standardization and standardization of training students’ future work, and has effectively improved the professionalism of parking lot managers.

Analyzing Real Estate Agency Practices: A comparative study and path ahead

The summary briefly overviews the changes and problems in real estate agency practices in Malaysia from 1981 onwards. It emphasizes ethical issues, technological developments, and regulatory focus areas. The abstract also explains a comparative research study about how real estate is done in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and Hong Kong to find similarities and areas needing improvement. The study discovers likenesses in controlling frameworks but indicates improvements relating to qualification standards, education levels for practitioners, and, their tactics of enforcement, and monitoring through comparing analysis.

Cleaning Like Crazy: How Resistance Processes Lock in Problematic Practices and Damaging Overconsumption

Cleaning Like Crazy: How Resistance Processes Lock in Problematic Practices and Damaging Overconsumption

Methodologic procedure of beer competitions eliminating the problematic practices and based on the probabilistic approach

In beer competitions, there are some common problematic practices which ruin the final results, i.e. inappropriate distribution of samples into individual groups, inappropriate scoring of samples, comparison of results obtained from different sub-groups selecting better samples, inappropriate method of handling tied scores, and inappropriate numerical evaluation. To avoid these, the presented study aims to propose a methodologic procedure which eliminates these problematic practices and is based on the probabilistic approach. Further, it wishes to test and evaluate it by the Monte Carlo simulation. The procedure is based on a sensory evaluation of beer samples by assessors through ranking tests. Beer samples and assessors are randomly divided into groups in the lowest round of the competition. Data evaluation, which determines advancing samples or winners, is based on the application of the probability theory, namely the Bayesian theorem, so that the best-evaluated samples could be identified. This procedure achieves a higher probabilitiy of accurately recognised best-evaluated samples in comparison to the procedures involving the aforementioned problematic practices.

‘Are you still watching?’ – A study on the predictors of the problematic practice of binge-watching

By implementing innovative ways of accessing the media, video-on-demand services have renewed the concept of watching television, leading to the growth and popularity of social behavior of content consumption in the form of marathons, known as binge-watching. There is an increase in literature discussions about potential adverse outcomes that can arise from the excess of these marathons. It is because the adversities of its excessive use can affect its users in the social, physical, and mental spheres. Given the relevance of this social problem, this research aims to understand the main determining predictors of the problematic practice of binge-watching. The research sample consisted of binge-watching practitioners (n=467). The linear and multivariate methods used Structural Equation Modeling by Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). As a result, the study showed that the practice, associated with the psychological predisposition of individuals, can lead to the development of negative symptoms similar to addiction to various technologies, compromising the individual’s life both physically and psychologically. This phenomenon intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic when binge-watching was used for distractions, entertainment, and the management of negative sensations arising from the pandemic. Finally, this research contributes to the proposition of an original theoretical model on the problematic practice of binge-watching. It brings elements to reflect from the ESG point of view, as companies must commit to their social governance, thinking of strategies to optimize the obtaining profits, in the present study, subscriptions, without compromising the health of individuals.

Distributed Neurodynamics-Based Backstepping Optimal Control for Robust Constrained Consensus of Underactuated Underwater Vehicles Fleet.

Robust constrained formation tracking control of underactuated underwater vehicles (UUVs) fleet in 3-D space is a challenging but practical problem. To address this problem, this article develops a novel consensus-based optimal coordination protocol and a robust controller, which adopts a hierarchical architecture. On the top layer, the spherical coordinate transform is introduced to tackle the nonholonomic constraint, and then a distributed optimal motion coordination strategy is developed. As a result, the optimal formation tracking of UUVs fleet can be achieved, and the constraints are fulfilled. To realize the generated optimal commands better and, meanwhile, deal with the underactuation, at the lower-level control loop a neurodynamics-based robust backstepping controller is designed, and in particular, the issue of "explosion of terms" appearing in conventional backstepping-based controllers is avoided and control activities are improved. The stability of the overall UUVs formation system is established to ensure that all the states of the UUVs are uniformly ultimately bounded in the presence of unknown disturbances. Finally, extensive simulation comparisons are made to illustrate the superiority and effectiveness of the derived optimal formation tracking protocol.

Cumulative Capacitated Colored Traveling Salesman Problem.

A colored traveling salesman problem (CTSP) is a generalization of the well-known multiple traveling salesman problem, which introduces colors to distinguish the accessibility of its cities to salesmen. This work proposes a city/customer-centric model called cumulative capacitated CTSP (C2-CTSP) to tackle some practical problems with fast response requirements. Its hypergraph and mathematical programming formulations are developed for the first time. A general variable neighborhood search (GVNS) metaheuristic is designed to solve it. Specifically, greedy backtracking is proposed to initialize a solution taking into account the cumulative cost and two constraints including colors and capacities. Next, 2-swap, reinsertion, and double-bridge operations are randomly selected and carried out to execute the perturbation. Moreover, neighborhood-list-2-opt, relocation move, and generalized partition crossover are organized as variable neighborhood descent to constitute the local search for better solutions. Extensive experiments are conducted to compare the proposed GVNS with four genetic algorithms, two hybrid ant colony systems, two variable neighborhood search methods, and a perturb-based local search in 20 regular and random cases. The statistical results demonstrate that GVNS is superior to all competitors tuned by irace package in terms of both search ability and convergence rate. In addition, the study of six GVNS variants lacking different operators validates the significant role of each corresponding operator in GVNS's outstanding performance.

Using Implementation Science to Improve Evidence-Based Policing: An Introduction for Researchers and Practitioners

As “the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice,” implementation science (IS) offers the potential to translate effective innovations in policing across agencies and local contexts with fidelity and sustainability in support of a commitment to evidence-based policing (EBP). Despite this potential, and its widespread use in adjacent fields facing similar challenges, implementation science remains almost completely unstudied and unutilized in police settings. To fill these gaps in research and practice, this paper provides an orientation to IS for police researchers and practitioners. It recounts EBP’s historical roots in an evidence-based approach to health care, demonstrates the commonalities that make IS as natural to policing as medicine, and surveys the existing literature on the employment of IS in policing. It adapts a conceptual model of IS to policing, presents two well-developed frameworks, and introduces three types of hybrid implementation/effectiveness trials suitable for use in dynamic police settings. It then provides illustrative cases in policing where the use of IS would be apt, and highlights the importance of the de-implementation of substandard or problematic practices as a key but often overlooked aspect of IS. It concludes by discussing how police practices that fully embrace evidence will nonetheless be guided by contestable values and norms, and how IS provides a way to address this concern. The paper provides research and practice agendas for integrating IS into EBP as police seek to adopt evidence-informed practices that deliver public safety, respect rights, and increase community satisfaction and trust.

THE ROLE OF ESG BUSINESS REPORTING IN WATER MANAGEMENT

The rational use of water resources by business structures requires the development of appropriate strategies and their adherence to the chosen policy in terms of management of these objects: drawing up programs and plans, introducing environmental protection actions, displaying the economic effect and documenting all transactions, minimizing negative impacts on the environment and presentation of the positive and negative consequences of the use of natural resources in the format of ESG reporting, which discloses information about the activities of companies in the field of Environmental aspects, Social responsibility and Corporate Governance. This practice positions companies as an active participant in sustainable development and allows them to increase their own ratings, which makes it possible to have advantages in attracting investments and targeted financing, increasing one's own competitiveness due to improved trust in such companies, etc. Improving the quality of information in ESG reporting on water resources management and related processes allows stakeholders to receive complete and reliable information when making management decisions. On the basis of the study of ESG reporting of 8 corporations from Ukraine in terms of the use of water resources during the implementation of the strategy of sustainable development, positive and problematic practices of companies were identified when preparing the necessary data for reporting. During this analysis, the experience and legislative guidelines on the exploitation of water resources and the use of ecological and economic accounting of water in the countries were taken into account. In addition, approaches to applying the level of materiality in ESG reporting were analyzed when reporting in this format. The results of the study made it possible to rank the elements of water resources management of economic entities according to the rule of materiality of data in ESG reporting and to propose an algorithm for compiling ESG reporting in the part of water resources management, taking into account the level of materiality. The article substantiates the directions of providing companies with adequate information on water resources management measures and reflecting such practices in ESG reporting to meet the needs of internal and external users. The directions of further scientific research in the field of reporting on the use of water resources by various business entities are also outlined. A critical analysis of the peculiarities of ESG reporting in the area of water resources management can provide an opportunity for top managers of domestic companies to improve the quality of financial and non-financial information, which, in turn, will contribute to the improvement of the corporate governance system on the one hand, and on the other hand, improve the satisfaction of information users. requests of all stakeholders when making their own management decisions.

Influence of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania Rural Schools' Due Process Hearing Decisions

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, rural Pennsylvania Local Education Agencies (LEAs) were found to have failed to properly offer special education services in alignment with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ranks among the most litigated states in disputes over the proper facilitation of services as mandated by IDEA. Despite this high volume of litigation, there was no analysis of how being defined as a rural LEA influenced due process hearing officer decisions after the COVID-19 Pandemic. The current study addresses this research gap by reviewing special education due process hearing activity for rural LEAs and comparing activity for the two years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic-mandated office closures. Findings offer guidance on problematic practices by analyzing the relationship between the pandemic and hearing officer ruling outcome, activity frequency before and after the pandemic, and remedies owed by rural LEAs from post-COVID decisions.

Construction of Practical Teaching Mode of Law Course Based on Multi-Mode and Low-Resource Language Learning

China's legal profession is a new profession emerging in the process of China's rule of law. Its development and refinement are increasing in accordance with the rapid social, economic and political development. However, as a lawyer, people need to learn real kung fu. For complex and changeable legal practice problems, people should use the simplest and most effective way to solve them. Therefore, it is necessary to study the curriculum of law specialty to achieve its purpose. It is also necessary to reform the traditional education methods, introduce modern scientific and technological means, and improve their effectiveness, so as to construct a practical teaching mode of Professional Courses in Law (PCL). For practical legal courses, it can be conducted through multi-mode low-resource language learning method. This paper aimed to study how to study the ability of students to obtain information, process information and analyze and process information based on intelligent multi-image feature fusion. Based on the investigation of teaching objectives and teachers' teaching requirements, and the analysis and arrangement of the investigation results, a multi-task learning system model based on image intelligent features was established. In this experiment, 494 valid questionnaires were used to analyze the current situation of PCL practical teaching. Among them, 10.32% and 65.59% of the students were very satisfied with the results of PCL practical teaching, and 18.02% and 59.31% of the students liked PCL practical teaching very much. In the survey on the influencing factors of PCL practical teaching activities, 61.34% of the students thought that the students did not know enough and were not enthusiastic enough. On the whole, the students are satisfied with the practical teaching arrangement of PCL, but from the actual situation, the effect of practical teaching is not very good, and the expected goal has not been achieved.

Everything, everywhere, all at once

The development and early distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine was both a singular achievement and missed opportunity. In this paper, I argue that the consensus regarding the goals of an effective and morally responsible vaccine distribution program were often eschewed in favor of a reversion to the problematic pre-pandemic healthcare distribution practices. I examine the goals of vaccine planning in terms of the public health, economic and social impacts of a distribution plan against the “first come, first served” strategies that were ultimately employed. I maintain that the failure to implement a coherent top- -down vaccine policy resulted in a proliferation of vaccine distribution programs that undermined efforts to combat the virus while also increasing pre-existing inequities in the healthcare system. The distribution of the vaccine according to a phased rollout strategy for individual groups often limited access to the vaccine for those most likely to suffer the worst outcomes of the disease. Future pandemic planning must learn from these outcomes and employ new technologies to limit the contagion and target at-risk groups most effectively.

Multi-agent cooperative area coverage: A two-stage planning approach based on reinforcement learning

Multi-agent area coverage aims to accomplish the complete traversal of the target area through cooperation between agents. Focusing on the problems of low coverage efficiency and weak practicability in the existing methods, we propose a two-stage area coverage method based on multi-agent deep reinforcement learning. In the first stage, we convert the coverage path planning problem into an optimal grid selection problem, and according to the equivalence of agents in cooperative tasks, we propose a distributed coverage path planning algorithm based on QMIX and a grid coverage map. The second stage is to realize the cooperative navigation control in a constrained environment with obstacles and non-ideal communication conditions. To implement the stage, we design a hybrid attention mechanism to adaptively aggregate important feature information of adjacent agents and obstacles, which efficiently exploits the limited local perception and communication capabilities of agents to perform cooperative control. The experimental results show that the proposed two-stage multi-agent area coverage method can accomplish the area coverage task in the environment with random obstacles, and the area coverage efficiency and robustness are significantly better than other reinforcement learning based or traditional coverage algorithms. In addition, the results also verify that the proposed method has the advantage of adapting to the dynamic changes in the number of agents and the communication range.