Responsible Agencies Research Articles

The Efficacy of Red Flag Warnings in Mitigating Human-Caused Wildfires across the Western United States

Abstract Red flag warnings (RFWs) are issued by the US National Weather Service to alert fire and emergency response agencies of weather conditions that are conducive to extreme wildfire growth. Distinct from most weather warnings that aim to reduce exposure to anticipated hazards, RFWs may also mitigate hazards by reducing the occurrence of new ignitions. We examined the efficacy of RFWs as a means of limiting human-caused wildfire ignitions. From 2006-2020, approximately 8% of wildfires across the western United States, and 19% of large wildfires (≥40 ha), occurred on days with RFWs. Although the occurrence of both lightning- and human-caused wildfires was elevated on RFW days compared to adjacent days without RFWs, we found evidence that modification of short-term behavioral choices on RFW days may reduce the number of certain human-caused ignitions (e.g., debris burning). By contrast, there is limited historical evidence that RFWs reduce the number of ignitions caused by habitual behaviors (e.g., smoking) or infrastructure (e.g., powerlines). Furthermore, the conditional probability of a human-caused wildfire becoming a large wildfire was 33% greater on days with RFWs, underscoring the value of wildfire prevention on these days. While RFWs are helpful in certain cases, our results suggest that their efficacy as a wildfire prevention measure has been somewhat limited in the western United States. As biophysical wildfire potential and the density of people living in wildfire-prone areas increase, so do the benefits of improved wildfire early warning systems that complement other wildfire mitigation and adaptation efforts.

High Water Level Forecast Under the Effect of the Northeast Monsoon During Spring Tides

One of the manifests of air-sea interactions is the change in sea level due to meteorological forcing through wind stress and atmospheric pressure. When meteorological conditions conducive to water level increase coincide with high tides during spring tides, the sea level may rise higher than expected and pose a flood risk to coastal low-lying areas. In Hong Kong, specifically when the northeast monsoon coincides with the higher spring tides in late autumn and winter, and sometimes even compounded by the storm surge brought by late-season tropical cyclones (TCs), the result may be coastal flooding or sea inundation. Aiming at forecasting such sea level anomalies on the scale of hours and days with local tide gauges using a flexible and computationally efficient method, this study adapts a data-driven method based on empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) regression of non-uniformly lagged regional wind field from ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) to capture the effects from synoptic weather evolution patterns, excluding the effect of TCs. Local atmospheric pressure and winds are also included in the predictors of the regression model. Verification results show good performance in general. Hindcast using ECMWF forecasts as input reveals that the reduction of mean absolute error (MAE) by adding the anomaly forecast to the existing predicted astronomical tide was as high as 30% in February on average over the whole range of water levels, as well as that compared against the Delft3D forecast in a strong northeast monsoon case. The EOF method generally outperformed the persistence method in forecasting water level anomaly for a lead time of more than 6 h. The performance was even better particularly for high water levels, making it suitable to serve as a forecast reference tool for providing high water level alerts to relevant emergency response agencies to tackle the risk of coastal inundation in non-TC situations and an estimate of the anomaly contribution from the northeast monsoon under its combined effect with TC. The model is capable of improving water level forecasts up to a week ahead, despite the general decreasing model performance with increasing lead time due to less accurate input from model forecasts at a longer range. Some cases show that the model successfully predicted both positive and negative anomalies with a magnitude similar to observations up to 5 to 7 days in advance.

AI‐assisted research collaboration with open data for fair and effective response to call for proposals

AbstractBuilding teams and promoting collaboration are two very common business activities. An example of these are seen in the TeamingForFunding problem, where research institutions and researchers are interested to identify collaborative opportunities when applying to funding agencies in response to latter's calls for proposals. We describe a novel deployed system to recommend teams using a variety of Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods, such that (1) each team achieves the highest possible skill coverage that is demanded by the opportunity, and (2) the workload of distributing the opportunities is balanced among the candidate members. We address these questions by extracting skills latent in open data of proposal calls (demand) and researcher profiles (supply), normalizing them using taxonomies, and creating efficient algorithms that match demand to supply. We create teams to maximize goodness along a novel metric balancing short‐ and long‐term objectives. We evaluate our system in two diverse settings in US and India of researchers and proposal calls, at two different time instants about 1 year apart (total 4 settings), to establish generality of our approach, and deploy it at a major US university. We validate the effectiveness of our algorithms (1) quantitatively, by evaluating the recommended teams using a goodness score and find that more informed methods lead to recommendations of smaller number of teams and higher goodness, and (2) qualitatively, by conducting a large‐scale user study at a college‐wide level, and demonstrate that users overall found the tool very useful and relevant.

LÍNGUA BRASILEIRA DE SINAIS: BREVE HISTÓRICO DOS ASPECTOS EDUCACIONAIS DOS SURDOS

This article aims to present a compendium of the evolutionary history of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) and its reflections on the deaf community, particularly concerning education for all. Schooling must be ensured for everyone, and therefore, addressing any disparities caused by specific needs is crucial. This dynamism reflects the shared responsibility of public and private agencies within legislative and educational contexts to provide specific training related to the language and prepare the environment for promoting teaching and learning. The method used involved exploratory bibliographic research in scientific articles and books, with filters for the central theme of this work. The results reveal a concerning state of involvement and interaction of public policies and effective actions for the integration and inclusion of deaf individuals in social and educational contexts, highlighting the challenge for more in-depth research on the topic to promote solutions and address the social disparities faced by these individuals.

AVALIAÇÃO DAS PATOLOGIAS ENCONTRADAS NA VIA URBANA AVENIDA CAMAPUÃ LOCALIZADA NA ZONA NORTE DA CIDADE DE MANAUS/AM: ESTUDO DE CASO

Roads and highways are important for the development of the country, through them there is the transport of cargo and people daily, moving the country's economy. However, many find their pavement in a precarious situation, without adequate maintenance and conservation by the responsible agencies. The pavements have a limited useful life, so it is necessary to pay attention to their structural conditions, aiming at improvements in the roads. This work presents a study of the pathological manifestations in an avenue with flexible pavement, and aims to evaluate, catalog, point out the probable causes and propose possible solutions for each type of pathologies identified on this road.

Transnational resilience: exploring international students’ agency in response to systemic racism in U.S. higher education

This phenomenological inquiry explored how 19 international students in U.S. higher education developed a sense of agency in response to systemic racism. The findings revealed three main factors associated with participants’ sense of agency: (1) transnational role models, (2) the community and social network established in the United States and (3) personal beliefs, values, and morality. By focusing on how international students draw on their transnational experiences and knowledge to develop agency in response to systemic racism, this study contributes to scholarships on learning outcomes associated with international student mobility and their experiences with race and racism. It also adds to the increasing body of research that challenges deficit paradigms toward international students prevalent in scholarly discourse by highlighting their agency and assets. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.

Exploring opportunities for language immersion in the posthuman spectrum: lessons learned from digital agents

Purpose Technologically-enhanced language education has shifted from computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to mobile-assisted language learning (MALL), including the use of conversational digital agents, and more recently, towards the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) programmes for language learning purposes. This paper aims to explore the interplay between such posthuman communication and posthumanist applied linguistics, and between digital agents and human agency in response to the increasing permeation of AI in life and learning. Design/methodology/approach A core team of four researchers investigated how digital agents could be leveraged to support immersive target language learning and practice, focusing specifically on the conversational AI that pervaded digitally-mediated communication prior to the release of generative AI. Each researcher engaged in a digital autoethnography using conversational agents found in the digital wilds to learn a target second language via digital immersion. Findings Through qualitative data analysis of autoethnographic narratives using NVIVO, four key thematic codes characterizing the learning journeys emerged: context, language learning, posthuman engagement and technological parameters. The posthuman learning experiences conflicted with the multisensory, embodied and embedded ethos of posthumanist applied linguistics, indicating that informed human pedagogical agency must crucially be exercised to benefit from the learning potential of posthuman agents. Interactions with conversational agents did provide small-scale, just-in-time learning opportunities, but these fell short of immersive learning. Originality/value The methodology and findings offer a unique and valuable lens on the language learning potential of emerging LLM-based generative agents that are rapidly infusing conversational practices.

THE ROLE OF HEALTH TOURISM TRAVEL AGENCIES IN HEALTH TOURISM

In today's world, health tourism is rapidly gaining popularity. Patients travel internationally to access various healthcare services and treatments, such as medical procedures, cosmetic surgery, dental care, thermal tourism, and spa-wellness services. One of the critical factors contributing to a successful experience in the challenging and complex journey of health tourism is the role played by health tourism travel agencies. These agencies facilitate patients' access to international healthcare services, guide patients, organize their travel, and offer personalized solutions to meet their needs. In addition to coordinating logistics, travel agencies help ensure a seamless healthcare experience by addressing cultural and language barriers and improving communication between patients and healthcare providers. This study aims to define the roles and responsibilities of health tourism travel agencies, emphasizing their growing importance in the global healthcare landscape.

Feasibility of LoRa‐based Infrastructure‐to‐Vehicle (I2V) communication for road weather information systems

SummaryA road‐weather information system (RWIS) is an attractive application in the context of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs), which is used where climatic conditions and meteorological events worsen traffic safety. The primary goal is to significantly reduce potential accidents by sending early warning messages to prompt immediate action. For this purpose, road weather information stations are placed at critical points on the highways. In addition to responsible transportation agencies, enabling direct warning message transfer from roadside infrastructure to vehicles can significantly improve the effectiveness of a typical RWIS application. Dedicated short range communication (DSRC) and cellular vehicle to everything (C‐V2X) technologies are extensively used for data exchange between vehicles (V2V) and between vehicles and road infrastructure (V2I or I2V) under the umbrella term of vehicle‐to‐everything (V2X) communications. Latency and coverage are key performance indicators of the vehicular network that determine how drivers react to risks in adverse road and weather conditions. V2X‐based connectivity mainly aims to offer low latency in message delivery, but it is not possible to obtain a wide‐range coverage due to significant propagation loss in the dedicated 5.9 GHz ITS frequency band. In this study, we presented a long range (LoRa)‐based RWIS application that uses I2 V communication at sub‐GHz bands. Our main contribution is proposing a novel method for RWIS implementations, where the LoRa gateways run in a half‐duplex way to collect information from road weather information stations in the uplink channel and then broadcast warning messages to vehicles in the downlink channel. To validate the applicability of the proposed method, we presented a feasibility study that includes transmission range and latency analysis. Our theoretical calculations' results validate the more extended transmission range and applicability of LoRa connectivity on RWIS applications, especially for common scenarios like black ice where the climate risks do not occur suddenly. We also showed that our methodology would be beneficial due to the ability to offer wide coverage, especially in the areas where cellular base stations have not yet existed or V2X road infrastructure has not yet been established.

Blame: What is it good for?

ABSTRACT An emerging strand of research claims that blame is justified on the basis of its instrumental role in serving to ‘cultivate’ or ‘scaffold’ moral agency in those to whom it is directed. On these instrumentalist accounts, our actual collective responsiveness to moral considerations is largely explained by the scaffolding or cultivating force of blame as directed at us. We believe that there is some reason to be sceptical of the instrumental role assigned to blame on these accounts. This is because there is evidence from the psychology literature on prosocial behaviour and moral development that blame may be directly ineffective; it may be ineffective in inculcating moral norms in the children and young adults to whom it is directed. We concede that blame may have this proximate instrumental role in scaffolding moral behaviour in adults, however we believe that such accounts overlook what we think is likely the more central instrumental role of blame. This is the role blame plays in the moral ecology: the models, narratives, scripts, and cultural frameworks that we internalize. The most central instrumental role of blame, we claim, is to indirectly foster moral considerations responsive agency in third parties through modelling behaviour observed in the moral ecology.

Resolved or unresolved, that is the question: a case-study approach to discourse about abuse, trauma and maltreatment among mothers with mild intellectual disabilty

ABSTRACT Mary Main played a key role for this study, in which we used an idiographic approach to examine discourse about abuse, trauma, and maltreatment (ATM) among eight mothers with a mild intellectual disability (ID), whose children had been assigned a secure (the “B-group”) or disorganized (the “D-group”) attachment classification. Thematic analysis yielded six ATM discourse themes: openness; coherence; presence of trauma in consciousness; support; agency in response to crisis; and self-concept and caregiving self-efficacy. Mothers in the B-group provided coherent narratives, were open with the interviewer, had memories of seeking and receiving support, and reflected freely and autonomously on their experiences. Contrastingly, the mothers in the D-group expressed a guarded, closed-off stance towards ATM, difficulties seeking support, helplessness in response to crisis, and poor self-concept and -efficacy. Their adverse experiences were nonetheless highly present in consciousness, albeit in unintegrated forms. Our findings suggest that the D-group mothers may be unresolved with respect to loss/abuse

Study in China and ‘Agency in Mobility’: Insights from African International Students’ Narratives

This article addresses two under-theorised subjects in international student mobility (ISM) research: non-Asian students and students in non-traditional study destinations. Drawing upon the notion of ‘agency in mobility’, I explored African international students’ narratives of their enactment of four different forms of agency in China. The findings reveal that they are not ‘insufficient’, ‘lazy’ and dumb’ populations as essentialised in the existing literature, instead, the participants exhibited high level of agency in response to adversity, study needs and life issues, and their future aspirations. Notwithstanding the same forms of agency displayed in previous ‘agency in mobility’ research undertaken in the West, I argue that agency performance was entangled with scholarship status; scholarship recipients tended to navigate institutional and social structures with a softer approach. The findings have important implications for higher education institutions to change their practices to enhance China's higher education brand for global competitiveness.

Understanding community hate crimes as an incorrigible proposition: Local political attitudes, path dependence, and the ceremonious reporting of hate crime statistics

AbstractThe Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) of 1990 requires the federal government to publicly release official hate crime statistics annually; the HCSA does not, however, mandate that local agencies submit hate crime reports to the government in the first place. Although research has evaluated the reporting of hate crime statistics in a dichotomous fashion (compliance vs. noncompliance), the current study suggests that the consistent and invariable reporting of zero hate crimes in a particular jurisdiction over time is unlikely and thus better conceptualized as a third response strategy: ceremonious compliance. We examine this strategy as a potentially unique institutional behavior, structured by local political and historical contexts, including discursive differences in the identification of hate crime as an important social problem, and localized histories of racial oppression. This research then uses multilevel multinomial logistic regression models to estimate variation in the likelihood of differential compliance strategies (i.e., true compliance, ceremonious compliance, noncompliance), according to several political and historical factors, including Republican vote share, location in the Confederate South, and historical lynchings. Findings reveal that political and historical contexts are important predictors of agency responses to hate crime, with a particular tendency toward ceremonious compliance in Republican‐leaning locales.

The effect of Board Independence on Environmental disclosure; the moderating role of Gender Diversity in Amman stock exchange

Depending on the agency theory view and response to the modern invitations to speculate gender diversity role. How it can enhance the relationship between board independence and environmental disclosure due to prior studies focus on direct relationship between them. This study seeks to ascertain how gender diversity moderates the association between board independence and environmental disclosure among non-financial firms listed on the emerging Amman stock exchange market (ASE) between 2014 and 2019. The direct and indirect relationships were examined using multiple regressions on panel data analysis; the empirical findings indicate that board independence and environmental disclosure have a positive and substantial direct link. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that gender diversity is a significant moderator in this relationship. However, this study provides managers, owners and policymakers with a set of main recommendations related to the major need for a more board independence and gender diversity in order to enhance environmental disclosure in emerging markets. Our results are useful to policymakers interested for an important framework on environmental disclosure.

Accountability, reasons-responsiveness, and narcos’ moral responsibility

A prominent position about moral responsibility claims that a necessary condition on accountability blame is that, at the time of action, the agent must be sufficiently reasons-responsive so as to be capable of acting differently by following the pertinent moral reasons and thus avoid wrongdoing. Call this the Accountability with Avoidability view (or AWA). In this paper I aim to show that AWA is false by doing three things. First, I argue that it badly contradicts moral commonsense concerning the moral responsibility of a particularly egregious kind of wrongdoer. Second, I show that AWA’s three most prominent rationales—based on the notions of desert, demands, and excuses—all fail to support a robust reasons-responsiveness requirement on accountability. Finally, I sketch an alternative conception of accountability—accountability without avoidability—that dispenses with robust reasons-responsiveness and appeals instead to the capacity of agents to convey moral meaning through their conduct as the key element in the moral psychology of responsible agency.

Can Anyone Learn to Code? A Qualitative Study of Place-Based Information Technology Training Programs

The demand for workers with information technology skills is high, creating a challenge for today's workforce system to train enough people. In response, nonprofit organizations and workforce development agencies have developed place-based training programs for information technology jobs. The intricate nature of these jobs necessitates innovative training approaches that address both technical proficiency and cultural competence. Drawing from interviews and case studies, this analysis highlights the importance of rigorous prescreening processes, structured support for graduates transitioning to employment, and collaboration with employers in ensuring the success and sustainability of place-based information technology training programs. It is recommended that programs incorporate these elements into their design to effectively meet the demands of the labor market and foster diversity and inclusion within the technology sector.

Adaptive Leadership and Burnout in Military Healthcare Workers During a Global Health Pandemic.

Occupational burnout among healthcare workers has continued to climb, impacting workforce well-being, patient safety, and retention of qualified personnel. Burnout in military healthcare workers, who have had the added stress of increased deployments, remains unknown. Although certain leadership styles have been associated with lower rates of burnout, the association between adaptive leadership and burnout in military healthcare has not previously been described. The aim of this study is to examine the role of adaptive leadership in burnout among military healthcare workers following the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A convenience sampling of military healthcare workers employed at a military medical treatment facility between March 2020 and March 2023 was anonymously surveyed using an online link, which included demographics, the Maslach-Burnout Inventory Health Services Survey (MBI-HSS), the Adaptive Leadership with Authority Scale, and the Pandemic Experiences and Perceptions Survey. Data were analyzed for associations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using MPlus 8.0, which included demographics, all three subscales that contribute to burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment [PA]), adaptive leadership (indicated by a subscale mean), and COVID impact and COVID risk perception. Of the 365 participants analyzed, 88.5% had high emotional exhaustion, and 80.4% had high depersonalization. Burnout was significantly associated with adaptive leadership (r = -0.302, P < .001), COVID impact (r = 0.208, P < .001), and COVID risk perception (r = 0.174, P < .001). A total of 93.0% scored high in at least one subscale of the MBI-HSS (i.e., emotional exhaustion ≥27, depersonalization ≥10, or PA ≤33), although 78 (21.8%) met the complete definition of burnout, because of the overwhelmingly high levels of PA (77.8% reported high PA). In the SEM model, burnout was significantly and negatively predicted by adaptive leadership (b = -0.28, SE = 0.05, Standardized b = -0.31, P < .001). Burnout was also significantly and positively predicted by COVID impact (b = 0.25, SE = 0.09, Standardized b = 0.17, P = .028) and health professions' perception of risk (b = 0.15, SE = 0.07, Standardized b = 0.14, P = .008). Together, this model explained 17% of the total variance in health professions' reported burnout. The findings of burnout in this military healthcare worker population were higher than have previously been described in healthcare workers or other military personnel, and the significant associations between adaptive leadership and burnout suggest the protective role of adaptive leadership in healthcare systems to address burnout. Implementing adaptive leadership training or selecting leaders with more adaptive leadership skills may be beneficial in a health care system where employee burnout is prevalent, especially during periods stressed by adaptive problems. This may be especially important in military healthcare when active duty service obligations preclude attrition in the presence of additional stressors such as deployments and Federal Emergency Management Agency responses. Further research is needed to determine whether this intervention is successful at reducing healthcare burnout.

Responsive Assistance at your Fingertips: The Quick Assist System

This research study addresses the immediate actions and challenges faced by Barangay San Manuel City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, in responding to emergency concerns using traditional methods. The specific aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of the Barangay San Manuel Responsive Assistance at your Fingertips: The Quick Assist System. The study employed a descriptive quantitative approach, utilizing tests, survey questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis as primary instruments for data collection and analysis. To gather data from the locale of the study, a research tool comprising tests, survey questionnaires, and interviews was specifically designed. The tests assessed the proficiency of the response team in emergency response procedures, while survey questionnaires gathered feedback from community members on the existing emergency response methods and their experiences with the Quick Assist System. Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders to obtain in-depth insights into the challenges and potential improvements. The key findings of the study revealed several factors that influenced immediate action in emergency response. It was identified that a lack of knowledge in navigating the mobile application posed a challenge for respondents in utilizing the Quick Assist System. To address this, seminars and hands-on training were recommended to enhance system proficiency among response teams. Furthermore, providing free internet load was suggested to ensure uninterrupted access to the system. Despite the valuable insights gained from this study, it is important to acknowledge its limitations. The research was limited to a specific geographic location and may not be fully generalizable to other barangays or regions. Additionally, the study focused on the effectiveness of the Quick Assist System and did not explore other potential technological solutions. The practical implications of this study are twofold. First, it highlights the need for comprehensive training programs to enhance the proficiency of response teams in utilizing technology-driven emergency response systems. Second, it emphasizes the importance of providing accessible and uninterrupted internet connectivity to ensure the effectiveness of such systems. This research contributes to the development of technological methods in the fields of Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Security. By highlighting the potential of the Barangay San Manuel Responsive Assistance at your Fingertips: The Quick Assist System, it underscores the significance of embracing technology to improve emergency response capabilities. The study’s findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, emergency response agencies, and community stakeholders in their efforts to enhance emergency response systems at the barangay level.

Housing, COVID &amp; Climate: Urban Social Housing Post-COVID Climate Change Mitigation and Redress

This short paper, draws on 40 years of research and advisory work, rather than a single, short-term, finite research project. It examines recent and current examples of urban housing policies, programmes and projects in a wide range of countries in both the Global North and South in its aim order to meet its aim to stimulate and contribute to the search for strategic approaches to the production, maintenance and management of urban low-income group housing; it examines the historical, geographic, cultural/political and economic contexts within which they are set, laying some emphasis on the prevailing existential threats to humanity caused by: (1) global heating, and (2) the pandemic pervasiveness of viral pathogen transmissions and their social, economic and legislative impact on physical settlement planning and management. Emphasis is given to distinguishing between ‘public housing’, for which all governing decisions are unilaterally made by relevant state agencies and institutions, and ‘social housing’, in which non-governmental beneficiary households and enterprises, communities and organisations are engaged in risk- and benefit-sharing partnership with responsible state agencies at all levels of the governance and management of affordable and accessible urban housing. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the urgency of need to build the capability of the extensive range of actors and stake-holders, worldwide and calling for the initiation and dissemination of successful policy approaches and their administration.

Navigating crisis: leadership dynamics and decision-making in emergency vaccine authorization - insights from Brazilian Health Agency (ANVISA) response to the COVID-19 pandemic

This study delved into how contextual factors influenced the emergency authorization of the CoronaVac vaccine in Brazil by the Brazilian Health Agency (ANVISA) amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The investigation specifically focused on the authorization protocol within the strategic decision-making process, examining it from both an experiential standpoint and through the lens of senior management. Utilizing a qualitative empirical approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior executives of (ANVISA), thereby enabling an in-depth exploration of the intricacies surrounding emergency authorization procedures. The findings elucidated that, amidst an emergency impacting the entirety of society, including stakeholders within the agency itself, the authorization framework necessitated adaptation to effectively address the crisis, akin to a wartime scenario. The sobering statistics, exemplified by the staggering toll of over 1,000 deaths in a single day within the country, underscored the critical urgency for resolution. Additionally, the study underscored the paramount importance of human-centric decision-making facets and the recognition of professionals' contributions, particularly emphasizing the imperative for empathy, solidarity, and collaborative efforts during periods of heightened exigency.