Societal Usage Research Articles

Enhancing the Statistical Evaluation of Earthquake Forecasts—An Application to Italy

Abstract Testing earthquake forecasts is essential to obtain scientific information on forecasting models and sufficient credibility for societal usage. We aim to enhance the testing phase proposed by the Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability (CSEP, Schorlemmer et al., 2018) with new statistical methods supported by mathematical theory. To demonstrate their applicability, we evaluate three short-term forecasting models that were submitted to the CSEP-Italy experiment, and two ensemble models thereof. The models produce weekly overlapping forecasts for the expected number of M4+ earthquakes in a collection of grid cells. We compare the models’ forecasts using consistent scoring functions for means or expectations, which are widely used and theoretically principled tools for forecast evaluation. We further discuss and demonstrate their connection to CSEP-style earthquake likelihood model testing, and specifically suggest an improvement of the T-test. Then, using tools from isotonic regression, we investigate forecast reliability and apply score decompositions in terms of calibration and discrimination. Our results show where and how models outperform their competitors and reveal a substantial lack of calibration for various models. The proposed methods also apply to full-distribution (e.g., catalog-based) forecasts, without requiring Poisson distributions or making any other type of parametric assumption.

A Literature Review of Collaborative Virtual Environments: Impacts, Design Principles, and Challenges

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the available literature on Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs). It aims to investigate the impacts, guiding principles, and problems of CVEs, giving light to their revolutionary potential in a variety of sectors, such as education, healthcare, and gaming. Background: CVEs have received a lot of interest in recent years because of their potential to change how people interact and cooperate in virtual settings. It has the potential to increase collaboration, learning experiences, and productivity across numerous areas. Methodology: This study comprehensively analyzes existing literature on CVEs, highlighting their ability to significantly change several fields, such as education, healthcare, and gaming. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards were followed to ensure a clear and methodical approach to the literature review. The search technique targeted the SCOPUS database for articles published from 2009 to 2022, utilizing specific keywords about CVEs. This was followed by a thorough two-stage screening procedure based on specified inclusion and exclusion criteria, ensuring only relevant research was evaluated. Contribution: This literature review contributes by providing a thorough review of the current state of the art in the field of CVEs. It synthesizes previous research and offers insights into the consequences, guiding principles, and problems of CVEs in different domains. Findings: The research results demonstrate the wide range of uses for CVEs and their ability to promote enhanced cooperation, learning, and productivity. Current obstacles have been identified, and a set of guiding principles for implementing CVEs has been provided. A clear and reproducible foundation for future research in this area was found through a detailed explanation of the search approach and criteria used to select studies. The literature review concludes with practical suggestions for practitioners in many fields, emphasizing the need to consider CVEs to improve cooperation and productivity. Recommendations for Practitioners: To improve cooperation and productivity, CVEs should be considered by practitioners in education, healthcare, gaming, and industry. Best practices and recommendations for the successful usage of CVEs in various areas must be established. End-user training and assistance are critical for maximizing the benefits of CVE technology. Recommendation for Researchers: Additional study is required to investigate the long-term consequences and durability of CVE solutions, the creation of new technologies and methods to overcome the stated CVE adoption problems, and multidisciplinary collaboration to harness CVEs in innovative ways. Impact on Society: The review emphasizes CVEs’ potential social benefit in fostering cooperation, improving learning experiences, and increasing productivity. The widespread use of CVE technology may result in more efficient and productive ways of communicating and working in virtual worlds. Future Research: Future studies in this field should concentrate beyond the study’s period (2022), investigating the changing environment of CVEs, examining the effects of developing technologies and trends on CVEs, and evaluating CVE technology’s scalability and accessibility for greater societal usage.

Societal Usage Of Antibiotics In The Syrian Coastal Region During 2021

This study is based on an electronic questionnaire about the use of antibiotics. It investigates the knowledge about antibiotics and their resistance among the Syrian coastal people. 639 individuals responded to the questionnaire. The results show that there is fairly good information about those drugs. Yet, there is much to be done to spread the awareness in the whole community, especially with regards to enact laws that prohibit antibiotics purchase without a prescription. Doctors on the other hand, should give antibiotics only on necessity. People also have to be well educated about antibiotics resistance, which is an inevitable consequence to the misuse of those drugs. Keywords: Antibiotics, Misuse, Resistance, Awareness, Infection. Keyword : Antibiotics, Misuse, Resistance, Awareness, Infection.

Recycling of plastic waste into tiles with reduced flammability and improved tensile strength

This paper is focused on finding effective alternative for disposal of waste plastic bags by designing tiles with better mechanical strength, reduced flammability level, resistant against strong acids and bases and organic solvents, so that tiles can be used for designing structures for paver tiles for societal usage. In recent years the plastic consumption has increased manifolds leading to accumulation of plastic waste in large amount. Waste plastic bags being non-biodegradable and its extreme durability make its disposal process difficult. Plastic solid waste (PSW) present challenges and opportunities to the societies regardless of their technological advances and sustainability awareness. Traditional technologies for waste plastic disposal have failed to cope up with the increased generation of plastic waste. Also, the disposal of fly ash, waste by-product generated by combustion of coal in thermal power plants, is a serious problem both in terms of land use and environmental pollution. In this study, waste plastic matrix reinforced with fly ash (FA) and a flame retardant at different loadings (wt %) 5, 10, 15, 20 using twin screw extruder were molded into composite tiles and their characteristics were evaluated. Effect of different filler loading on waste plastic matrix was investigated. Composite (LFTP3) having appropriate ratios of fly ash and flame retardant showed reduced flammability with linear burning rate of 4.36 mm/minute and improved tensile strength of 9.68 MPa. Morphological and structural properties of all the composites were also investigated along with their flammability, resistance to different acids and bases and organic solvents, water absorption and mechanical strength.

Strategic allocation of water conservation incentives to balance environmental flows and societal outcomes

Societies around the world face difficult choices in allocating fresh water between human uses and environmental flows for freshwater ecosystems. In many regions, policy makers are developing water conservation plans that set ambitious targets for reduced water consumption. These plans often rely on incentives, rather than regulation, to achieve water savings. However, water managers and conservation groups lack guidance on the most cost-effective locations and times for incentivizing water conservation. Here, we develop a spatial planning framework that enables conservation practitioners to strategically allocate incentives for water conservation actions to balance ecosystem and societal needs for water. We apply this model to the Red River (USA) and draw three main conclusions. First, even optimal allocation of water across the network cannot simultaneously meet societal and environmental flow targets given current water availability and societal usage. Second, modest reductions in societal water usage (e.g., 1–3%) can significantly reduce water conflicts in the basin, but only when these water conservation actions are strategically allocated in time and space. Third, however, substantial reduction in societal water usage (>21%) is needed to fully satisfy societal and environmental flow goals. We discuss future research directions in the Red River and the transferability of our results to other drought-prone river networks worldwide.

Cannabis and anticancer drugs: societal usage and expected pharmacological interactions - a review.

Cannabis is a plant that has been used for centuries to relieve a wide range of symptoms. Since the 1960s, interest in medical research into this plant has grown steadily. Already very popular for recreational use, a growing number of consumers not accustomed to using cannabis for psychoactive purposes have begun to use it as an alternative or complement to mainstream pharmaceutical medicines. The principal unsubstantiated or 'social' uses of cannabis are based mainly on data that is at best controversial, but usually not scientifically proven. The aim of this review was to identify the scientific basis and reasons that lead patients with cancer to consume cannabis, and also to identify whether there is a risk of interaction between cannabis and anticancer medicines through drug transporters (P-glycoprotein and other ATP-binding cassette superfamily members) Cytochromes P450 (3A, 1A, 2B, 2C, 2D families…) and glucuronyl transferases.

Geotechnical Properties of Sandy Seafloors and the Consequences for Dynamic Penetrometer Interpretations: Quartz Sand Versus Carbonate Sand

The societal usage of coastal zones (including offshore wind energy plants, waterway deepening, beach conservation and restoration) is of emerging importance. Sediment dynamics in these areas result in sandy deposits due to strong tidal and wave action, which is difficult to simulate in laboratory geotechnical tests. Here, we present data from in situ penetrometer tests using the lightweight, free-fall Nimrod penetrometer and complementary laboratory experiments to characterize the key physical properties of sandy seafloors in areas dominated by quartzose (North Sea, Germany) and calcareous (Hawaii, USA) mineralogy. The carbonate sands have higher friction angles (carbonate: 31–37°; quartz: 31–32°) and higher void ratios (carbonate: 1.10–1.40; quartz: 0.81–0.93) than their siliceous counterparts, which have partly been attributed to the higher angularity of the coral-derived particles. During the in situ tests, we consistently found higher sediment strength (expressed in deceleration as well as in estimated quasi-static bearing capacity) in the carbonate sand (carbonate: 68–210 g; quartz: 25–85 g), which also showed a greater compressibility. Values were additionally affected by seafloor inclination (e.g., along a sub-aqueous dune or a channel), or layering in areas of sediment mobilization (by tides, shorebreak or currents). The study shows that the differences in in situ measured penetration profiles between carbonate sands and quartz sands are supported by the laboratory results and provide crucial information on mobile layers overlying sands of various physical properties.

Bioethics governance in Israel: an expert regime

This paper provides an overview of bioethics governance in Israel through an analytical description of the legal framework for the interface between individuals and biomedical practices. There is no national agency with general oversight of bioethics policy and decision making, and the rules that apply to individual usage of biomedical technologies are laid down in a multitude of different statutes, regulations and administrative directives. Expert committees play a central role in this regulatory system in two capacities: as governmental advisory bodies that recommend policy; and as decision-making bodies that resolve conflicts around patients' rights or grant individual access to biomedical technologies. This decentralised system of governance through expert committees allows for adaptation to dynamic technological developments and flexibility in accommodating creative societal usage. At the same time the experts are the agents of the state's bio-power at the expense of personal autonomy and open public deliberation. The paper is part of a larger study investigating Israel's bioethics governance and its regime of experts, which includes an examination of the normative level of regulation, and an analysis of the composition of the expert committees. Our findings suggest that Israel has a decentralised system of governance with piecemeal regulation that has established a bioethics technocracy, governed by the ministry of health and dominated by the medical profession. The present paper is confined to a description and discussion of the legal framework of Israel's expert bioethics regime. Here, our major conclusion is that Israel has established a technocracy of official expert ethics committees, which controls life and death decisions.