Subjective Opinions Research Articles

ELITES ET HISTOIRE: LE MOUVEMENT PAN-EWE ET LADMINISTRATION COLONIALE FRANCAISE AU TOGO

This article aims to analyze the stakes of the pan-Ewe movement in the struggle for liberation which, initiated by the Togolese intellectual elites at the end of the First World War, reached its full extent after the Second World War. These elites, considered as pioneers in the history of the country in this period of political, economic and social crises, have been able to play the role that was theirs, accompanied by the brave ladies of Lome and its surroundings. The essence of the pan-Ewe movement comes down to the determination of traditional or modern elites to create a concept of history in connection with the protest movements whose goal is the reunification of the two Togolese. For this research, it is not a question of abstractly extracting from the pan-Ewe movement the theoretical inconsistencies that led to the mixed results in the struggle for liberation, but of analyzing the spiritual principle of this movement in order to avoid the reach of false subjective opinions which constitute an obstacle for the said movement. Because if the pan-Ewe movement did not succeed in bringing together the two Togos (British and French), with its extension known as pan-Togolese, it knew how to play its role in having led French Togo to its sovereignty. international.

한국어 교원의 디지털 역량 구성요소 설정에 관한 기초 연구

Objectives The purpose of this study is to establish the digital competence components of Korean language teachers as a basic study to improve the digital competence of Korean language teachers in response to changes in the digital based educational environment.
 Methods To achieve this research purpose, a draft of the digital competence components of Korean language teachers was established by analyzing domestic and foreign literature related to digital competence, and a second Delphi Method was conducted on 15 experts in the field of Korean language education. In the first Delphi Method, the average, standard deviation, content validity, opinion collection, consensus, and stability of each item were evaluated on a Likert 5-point scale, and the upper and detailed competence elements were rearranged and modified based on the subjective opinions of experts. In the second Delphi Method, a structured survey using the Likert 5-point scale was constructed in the same way as in the first Delphi Method, and the final digital competence components were derived after verifying the systematic, relevance, and appropriateness of digital competence elements based on expert opinions.
 Results The digital competence components of Korean language teachers were finally derived, consisting of 7 upper competencies and 25 detailed competencies under 2 categories. The upper competencies in the category of basic competencies of Korean language teachers are digital device utilization, digital communication, digital citizenship, and digital safety and security. The upper competencies corresponding to the teaching and learning competencies of Korean language teachers consisted of using digital Korean language education contents, digital Korean language teaching and learning, and digital Korean language evaluation competencies.
 Conclusions This study's establishment of digital competence components of Korean language teachers has academic implications for developing programs, curricula, and evaluation tools to enhance their digital competence in the future. Moreover, it provides practical implications to bridge the gap in the use of digital competencies between Korean language teacher groups in the field of Korean language education.

Determining the effectiveness of countries in combating pandemics: COVID-19 case

The aim of this study is to develop a multidimensional integrated efficiency analysis (MDIEA) model to be implemented when a pandemic breaks out. The first phase of the model involved the determination of input and output criteria that might affect the course of combat against the pandemic. Two methods were employed in the second phase: the CRITIC method, which uses objective values to determine criteria weights; and, the Fuzzy SWARA method, which is based on subjective values and decision-makers opinions due to the assumption that the criteria might not be determined precisely and completely. The subjective and objective criteria weights obtained from these two methods were combined using the SOWIA method so that integrated criteria weights could be determined. In the third phase, three separate efficiency rankings were obtained using EATWOS, OCRA, and FDEA methods depending on the criteria weights. In the fourth phase, these efficiency rankings were combined by employing the TPOP method to obtain one single precise ranking. The previous studies mostly analyzed the efficiency of countries by using one single efficiency method, where, the model proposed in this study determines countries’ efficiency by employing three different efficiency analysis methods together; it makes use of different points of view and different calculation procedures of different methods. As another aspect, rural population ratio, diabetes prevalence rate, proportion of the population over 65 years old, number of intensive care beds and number of vaccine doses are study-specific criteria, unlike other studies. The present study is expected to contribute to the literature since it is the first study that proposes a model to evaluate the performances of countries during pandemics. The proposed model was implemented to assess OECD countries’ efficiency in their fight against COVID-19, which was a prevailing crisis worldwide. When all the obtained results are considered, it is difficult to claim that one single criterion is effective in combating the pandemic. For an effective fight against the pandemic, it is of great importance to keep the rate of infection and therefore the number of infected people under control. It is also possible for countries to change their policies or adopt stricter policies to contain the spread of the virus.

An integrative strategy for Venezuela's electricity sector (VES), from an analysis of stakeholder perspectives

This work aims to determine the most important aspects of an integrative strategy to end the stagnation of Venezuela's energy sector (VES). The first step is to extract the various stakeholders' perspectives on policies needed to improve VES. Q methodology combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to learn the subjective opinions of a group of individuals on a specific topic to determine the different perspectives at hand. Using Q methodology we analyzed the preferences of VES-involved stakeholders regarding the structure of the industry, its services, the infrastructure framework, and, finally, energy governance design. Analyzing commonalities and disagreements between perspectives resulted in three perspectives or mindsets: i) a partial vertical restructuring of the industry, ii) the development of hydroelectricity and large-scale renewable energies, and iii) the improvement of control mechanisms to increase the sector's efficiency.

Prospects of Unconditional Basic Income in the Social Protection System: A Comparative Analysis of the Opinion of Objects and Subjects

The article presents the results of a sociological study devoted to the problems of unconditional basic income. In recent years, interest in this topic has been actualized in Russian research practice, which is caused both by global trends in the search for effective tools to increase the level of social protection, and by the need to improve social protection mechanisms in our country. The analysis of scientific papers highlighted the problem of the lack of empirical studies that allow assessing the attitude to the introduction of unconditional basic income of the population as an object of social protection practices and professionals in the field of social protection as a subject introducing new tools in this area. In 2021–2022, the authors conducted an intelligence sociological study based on a questionnaire survey of 400 respondents living in various territories of the Irkutsk region, and 32 semi-structured interviews among managers and specialists in the field of social protection of the population of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The focus of the analysis is focused on comparing the assessments and opinions of objects and subjects of social protection practices. For most of the studied aspects of the problems of unconditional basic income, a high degree of coincidence of estimates given by professionals in the field of social protection and ordinary respondents was noted. There is a generally low level of awareness of both categories of respondents regarding the studied mechanism of social protection. Assessing the problems and risks of introducing an unconditional basic income, respondents from among the population and social protection professionals come to general conclusions about the growth of social dependency, criminal manifestations, migration burden, as well as a possible lack of financial resources of the state to maintain the mechanism under consideration. A possible decrease in labor activity is considered as less likely. In general, the majority of respondents from among the population support the introduction of an unconditional basic income, while professionals in the social protection sphere consider it unlikely that this tool will be used in the foreseeable future.

A review of current chemistry, pharmacology, and regulation of endogenous anabolic steroids testosterone, boldenone, and nandrolone in horses.

Anabolic androgenic steroids are synthetic substances related to the male sex hormones (androgens). These agents promote the growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic effects) and the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effects). Anabolic steroids have been illegally used for many years as performance-enhancing drugs in human, equine, and canine sports and as growth promoters in livestock reared to provide meat for human consumption. The analytical challenge to developing effective means of control within these fields has been exacerbated by the reported endogenous nature of some of these steroids. Anabolic steroids have been employed extensively in equine practice over the past 50 years. Their usefulness is largely dependent on subjective opinions, as only minimal studies investigating pharmacodynamics have been carried out in horses. Therefore, their use will vary markedly between practitioners depending on their personal experiences and pressures by trainers to use them. They form part of rational therapy in a variety of conditions. In addition to their use for increasing muscle mass, they are used to varying extents in the raising of yearlings and in the training and racing of horses with the view of improving performance. The use of these agents is prohibited in the horseracing industry by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), and Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI).

Phenomena identification Ranking Table (PIRT) study for suppression containment of small modular reactor using new methodology

The Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) is a significant method for analyzing the safety of nuclear reactors. It helps researchers identify important phenomena within the reactor, enabling a focused and appropriate simplification of accident scenarios during the study. However, traditional PIRT methods often rely on experts' subjective opinions to rank phenomena’ importance and knowledge level, potentially distorting the PIRT results. This paper proposes a new PIRT method inspired by literature evaluation techniques used in the medical and healthcare field, which can be more objective. This new method utilizes a literature evaluation framework instead of relying solely on expert judgments, resulting in a more objective assessment of the phenomena’ importance and knowledge level. This study applies the new method to a simplified small modular reactor with a suppression containment system. Following a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA), the suppression containment can effectively suppress temperature and pressure increases, ensuring containment integrity. Relevant PIRT tables and a knowledge-level structure are obtained using the new method.

80. The Over-tightened Neck: Causes, Complications, and Management

PURPOSE: The over-tightened neck following necklift procedures is a clinical problem that has received little attention in plastic surgical literature. Possibly, plastic surgeons are either reluctant to discuss it or see few cases. Also, an overtightened neck reflects both the subjective and objective opinions of the patient along with objective clinical findings. METHODS: A retrospective review of 250 consecutive necklift procedures from 2013 to 2020 was performed, of whom 211 (84%) had a submental crease incision with anterior neck tightening of platysmal bands combined with a lateral neck plication. Follow-up continued was at least one year. RESULTS: A total of five patients (2%) presented with complaints of an over-tightened neck that caused pain (5) and difficulty swallowing, interference with speech (1), dyspnea (1), and fat necrosis (1). Three patients had anatomical evidence of a long neck that measured 11cm. Three patients complained throughout and at the end of the first year. Two other patients who had a necklift elsewhere which included anterior platysmaplasty were referred for evaluation. Their procedures has been performed one and one and a half years previously. All five patients were evaluated by neck CT (3) and neck MRI (2). Two patients had videofluroscopy and barium swallow studies that were negative. CONCLUSION: The overtightened neck is an uncommon postoperative sequel to a necklift procedure that may be difficult to assess because of its subjective nature. It can, however, be associated with severe symptoms requiring recognition and appropriate diagnostic work-up.

Towards Informative and Diverse Dialogue Systems Over Hierarchical Crowd Intelligence Knowledge Graph

Knowledge-enhanced dialogue systems aim at generating factually correct and coherent responses by reasoning over knowledge sources, which is a promising research trend. The truly harmonious human-agent dialogue systems need to conduct engaging conversations from three aspects as humans, namely (1) stating factual contents (e.g., records in Wikipedia), (2) conveying subjective and informative opinions about objects (e.g., user discussions on Twitter), and (3) impressing interlocutors with diverse expression styles (e.g., personalized expression habits). The existing knowledge base is a standardized and unified coding for factual knowledge, which could not portray the other two kinds of knowledge to make responses more informative and expressive diverse. To address this, we present CrowdDialog , a crowd intelligence knowledge-enhanced dialogue system, which takes advantage of “crowd intelligence knowledge” extracted from social media (with rich subjective descriptions and diversified expression styles) to promote the performance of dialogue systems. Firstly, to thoroughly mine and organize the crowd intelligence knowledge underlying large-scale and unstructured online contents, we elaborately design the C rowd I ntelligence K nowledge G raph ( CIKG ) structure, including the domain commonsense subgraph, descriptive subgraph, and expressive subgraph. Secondly, to reasonably integrate heterogeneous crowd intelligence knowledge into responses while ensuring logicality and fluency, we propose the G ated F usion with D ynamic Knowledge- D ependent ( GFDD ) model, which generates responses from the semantic and syntactic perspective with the context-aware knowledge gate and dynamic knowledge decoding. Finally, extensive experiments over both Chinese and English dialogue datasets demonstrate that our approach GFDD outperforms competitive baselines in terms of both automatic evaluation and human judgments. Besides, ablation studies indicate that the proposed CIKG has the potential to promote dialogue systems to generate fluent, informative, and diverse dialogue responses.

Goya Foods’ CEO: “A war [is] coming”

Research methodology In writing this case, the research team used secondary resources such as academic journals, trade magazines and websites to inform and verify the information. Case overview/synopsis January 7, 2021, was not a good day for Goya Foods CEO Robert Bob Unanue, who has been at the helm of Goya since 2004. On that day, the nine-member board of directors of Goya censured Unanue for publicly questioning the legitimacy of the 2021 United States Presidential election. A day before, on January 6, a mob “trapped lawmakers and vandalized the home of Congress in the worst desecration of the complex since British forces burned it in 1814” (Hockstein, 2021). Unanue was considered a follower of former president Trump and has expressed that “the country was […] blessed to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder” (Hawkins, 2020). In January 2021, Unanue appeared on Fox News and said a “ war was coming,” as Joe Biden’s election was “unverified.” These, among other words, motivated the censured by the board of Goya Foods, Inc. (Santana and Isidore, 2021). Students are asked the following questions for discussion: Did the board of directors of Goya Foods carry its role too far by openly censuring Unanue? Did Unanue go too far by openly expressing subjective opinions and thus influencing how people view the election results? Should he have remained as CEO of Goya Foods after his words on Joe Biden’s election? Complexity academic level One of the authors has taught the case in the Strategic Management course for MBA students. In addition, graduate students of corporate governance, business ethics, social responsibility and leadership, among other classes, will be the target segments for the case. Learning objectives 1. Recognize the effects on brand image and sales when CEOs participate in political arenas and publicly discuss social issues. 2. Understand the dynamics behind ethnic family businesses, such as their governance and conflict resolution approach. 3. Assess the value of the corporate board’s management of corporations. Subject code CCS11: Strategy

Music family traditions vs the music activity of adolescents

The article describes the issue of music family traditions as a stimulator of the music activity of adolescents. This study introduces the issue of the inspiration of home and family education in the music development of adolescents. The subject is presented on the basis of the analysis of the source literature and research conducted in the area of narrative inquiry among a group of adolescents from selected cities in Silesia. The paper contains a report on the conducted interpretative research and reports the subjective opinions of the surveyed adolescents. The aim of the article is to draw the reader's attention to the broad context of musical family traditions, which in different ways determine the musical activity of young people.

D43. The Over-tightened Neck: Causes, Complications, and Management

PURPOSE: The over-tightened neck following necklift procedures is a clinical problem that has received little attention in plastic surgical literature. Possibly, plastic surgeons are either reluctant to discuss it or see few cases. Also, an overtightened neck reflects both the subjective and objective opinions of the patient along with objective clinical findings. METHODS: A retrospective review of 250 consecutive necklift procedures from 2013 to 2020 was performed, of whom 211 (84%) had a submental crease incision with anterior neck tightening of platysmal bands combined with a lateral neck plication. Follow-up continued was at least one year. RESULTS: A total of five patients (2%) presented with complaints of an over-tightened neck that caused pain (5) and difficulty swallowing, interference with speech (1), dyspnea (1), and fat necrosis (1). Three patients had anatomical evidence of a long neck that measured 11cm. Three patients complained throughout and at the end of the first year. Two other patients who had a necklift elsewhere which included anterior platysmaplasty were referred for evaluation. Their procedures has been performed one and one and a half years previously. All five patients were evaluated by neck CT (3) and neck MRI (2). Two patients had videofluroscopy and barium swallow studies that were negative. CONCLUSION: The overtightened neck is an uncommon postoperative sequel to a necklift procedure that may be difficult to assess because of its subjective nature. It can, however, be associated with severe symptoms requiring recognition and appropriate diagnostic work-up.

Mental-Health-Related Stigma in a Conservative and Patriarchal Community

Background: Mental health disorders are a significant global disease burden, and the stigma towards people with them is the strongest obstacle to improving mental health and dealing with an enormous public health problem. Montenegro is a small country with a conservative society and a deeply ingrained patriarchy. The aim of this study was to determine attitudes toward mental health disorders in the general population of Montenegro and identify the influence of socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: The research was conducted as an online cross-sectional study. The questionnaire included a demographic section and a section on attitudes towards mental health as well as the CAMI scale (community attitudes toward mental health disorders). Results: The subjective opinions of the respondents showed a lack of awareness about mental health campaigns in the country. Stigma towards mental health was present in younger and more highly educated populations. Conclusions: The obtained data indicate the magnitude of the problem when it comes to the stigma towards mental health disorders in Montenegro. Furthermore, there is a need for a systematic nationwide and metacentric study, identifying and exploring a wide range of individual factors contributing to the stigma of mental health problems.

No-Reference Image Quality Assessment of Magnetic Resonance images with multi-level and multi-model representations based on fusion of deep architectures

Accurate quality assessment of Magnetic Resonance (MR) images is essential for effective medical diagnostics, as it impacts the time spent on image acquisition and image interpretation by radiologists. Therefore, this study aims to provide a novel deep learning-based No-Reference (NR) MR Image Quality Assessment (IQA) method for the quality prediction of MR images. Therefore, in this work, an internal fusion of two complementary deep learning architectures is introduced that offers MR-specific quality-aware features. Apart from obtaining multi-level image representations of joint networks, to further enhance the quality prediction performance, features from re-trained single deep learning architectures are also used. Finally, as one of the main findings of this study, the quality assessment is performed by a high-level quality model trained on scores of quality models obtained for layers of the networks. The superiority of the method against the state-of-the-art techniques is verified by using two publicly available MRIQA benchmarks containing MR images and subjective scores provided by a large number of radiologists. As reported, the method offers superior IQA of MR images as the obtained scores are highly correlated with subjective opinions of medical specialists. It is characterized by the weighted average values of the Spearman Rank-order Correlation Coefficient, Kendall Rank-order Correlation Coefficient, and Pearson Linear Correlation Coefficient of 0.8754, 0.7185, and 0.9062, respectively.

A Q Study of Mainland Chinese English Language Learners’ Epistemic Beliefs

This study explored epistemic beliefs held by Mainland Chinese learners of English. Studies that investigate language learners’ personal epistemologies, which include beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing, are scarce. For the most part, such studies are quantitative. This paper employed Q methodology, an approach that blends quantitative and qualitative research paradigms, to present a more systematic analysis of and deeper insights into the language learners’ subjective opinions. The participants were 20 undergraduate students who learned English in a university in China. They sorted 42 statements pertaining to language-related epistemic beliefs on a grid ranging from -5 (most disagree) to +5 (most agree). During the factor analytic procedure similar Q-sorts formed three factors, each representing a unique set of epistemic beliefs shared by the students. The qualitative interpretation of these factors revealed the following viewpoints: firstly, learning the English language requires time, effort and perseverance; secondly, learning English requires critical thinking; thirdly, it requires talent and hard work. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

A Hybrid Fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS Approach for Implementation of Smart Sustainable Waste Management Strategies

The integration of smart city technologies into waste management is a challenging field for decision makers due to its multivariate, multi-limiting, and multi-stakeholder structure, despite its contribution to the ecological and economic sustainability understanding of cities. The success of smart sustainable waste management strategies depends on many environmental, technical, economic, and social variables, and many stakeholders are involved in these processes. Using fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods helps decision makers determine effective, affordable, and acceptable smart waste management strategies. Although MCDM methods are widely used in various environmental engineering applications, the determination of smart sustainable waste management strategies using these methods has not yet received enough attention in the literature. This study aims to contribute to this gap in the literature by evaluating four different smart waste management strategies using a hybrid fuzzy MCDM method. The performance of the proposed strategy alternatives according to fifteen sub-criteria (under four main criteria selected from the literature) was evaluated using a combined application of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) and fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to obtain the ideal solution (fuzzy TOPSIS). For this evaluation, the subjective opinions of ten different experts working in academia, in the private sector, or in the public sector were obtained using prepared questionnaires. As a result, the sub-criteria of fewer atmospheric emissions (0.42), operational feasibility (0.64), initial investment costs (0.56), and increased awareness of sustainable cities (0.53) had the highest weight values in their main criteria groups. The performance ranking of the alternatives according to the closeness coefficient (CCi) values was obtained as A2 (0.458) > A3 (0.453) > A4 (0.452) > A1 (0.440), with A3 being slightly ahead of A4 due only to a 0.001 higher CCi value. To test the reliability and stability of the obtained performance ranking results, a sensitivity analysis was also performed using eighteen different scenarios, in which the weights of the different sub-criteria were increased by 25% or decreased by 50%, or they were assumed to be 1 and 0, or all sub-criteria in the same group had equal weight values. Since the performance ranking of the alternatives did not change, the ranking obtained at the beginning was found to be robust against the sub-criterion weight changes.

A data-driven decision support system for sustainable supplier evaluation in the Industry 5.0 era: A case study for medical equipment manufacturing

Effective supplier management is critical for an enterprise’s success, as supplier procurement accounts for up to approximately 70% to 80% of total manufacturing costs. Correct supplier selection can ensure the competitiveness of the enterprise and contribute to supply chain integration and innovation. In recent years, supplier evaluation frameworks based on Industry 4.0 concepts have contributed to the development of the industry. However, the novel concepts of Industry 5.0 require examination from a people-oriented and sustainable perspective. Unfortunately, at the present time, supplier evaluation frameworks based on Industry 5.0 are lacking. Therefore, the primary task of this study is to develop a novel and comprehensive supplier evaluation framework for the Industry 5.0 era. This study proposes a data-driven decision support system to execute the supplier evaluation process. First, variable precision- dominance-based rough set approach (VC-DRSA) is applied to extract the core criteria, to remove the noise factors and to generate decision rules for the decision-makers’ reference. Second, the criterion importance through intercriteria correlation (CRITIC) approach is adopted to obtain the dependency weights of the core criteria and their ranking. Finally, a modified classifiable technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (CTOPSIS) is used to integrate the final performance values of suppliers when new alternative suppliers are added. The research concept is in line with the conception of data-driven decision support in business intelligence and does not rely on the subjective judgments and opinions of experts. Data provided by a multinational medical equipment manufacturer are used as an example to demonstrate the proposed model. VC-DRSA retains nine core criteria from the original twenty criteria, which greatly reduces the labor and cost of supplier audits. In addition, the CRITIC results show that digital transformation, real-time information sharing, and organizational culture transformation are the three main factors affecting the development of enterprises towards Industry 5.0. The results show that CTOPSIS can be used to quickly assess the ratings of new alternative suppliers are listed.

Subjective Attack Trees

Subjective attack trees (SATs) extend traditional attack trees by taking into account the uncertainty about the probability values of security events. Assigning precise values is often difficult due to lack of knowledge, or insufficient historical data, making the evaluation of risk in existing approaches unreliable, and therefore unreliable security decisions. With SATs, the author seeks to better reflect the reality underpinning the model and offer a better approach to decision-making via the modeling of uncertainty about the probability distributions in the form of subjective opinions, resulting in a model taking second-order uncertainty into account. The author further discusses how to conduct security analysis, such as risk measuring and security investments analysis, under the proposed model. Security investments analysis requires first to incorporate the model with countermeasures and then study how these countermeasures reduce risk in the presence of uncertainty about probability values. The importance and advantage of the SAT model are demonstrated through extended examples.

Public Library Image through the Eyes of Users: Results of Sociological Diagnostics

The article presents the main results of the qualitative study of the opinions of information consumption subjects on the nature of the image crisis of the contemporary domestic public library. The survey, conducted in December 2022, involved 181 respondents aged from 14 to 76 years. The authors analyze the views of the user audience on the prerequisites and reasons for the decline in popularity of library and information institutions associated with the possible transformation of their social role in the context of stable growth of digital information consumption and mass access of the population to the Internet.The paper establishes the main motives for accessing library services and products in connection with the indicators of frequency of contacts with the institution and recognition of its competitive advantages. The article presents an overview of the respondentsʼ points of view on the relationship between the crisis of reading quality and the weakening of the libraryʼs market position.The authors reveal some characteristics of the subjective image of the library profession in the user environment as an image component of the activities of library and information institutions. The paper considers the attitude of the respondents to the possible employment of their growing or future children and grandchildren in the library field. The authors analyze respondentsʼ perceptions of key areas of reputational risks for a modern public library, as well as user assessments of the efficiency of its marketing efforts to promote all range of products and services.The paper outlines immediate prospects for the development of the research, in particular, related to the further study of the phenomenon of socio-psychological influence on the evolution of the model of consumer behaviour in the information market, marketing factors of the formation and fixation of consumer preferences of the library audience.

Supervised convex clustering.

Clustering has long been a popular unsupervised learning approach to identify groups of similar objects and discover patterns from unlabeled data in many applications. Yet, coming up with meaningful interpretations of the estimated clusters has often been challenging precisely due to their unsupervised nature. Meanwhile, in many real-world scenarios, there are some noisy supervising auxiliary variables, for instance, subjective diagnostic opinions, that are related to the observed heterogeneity of the unlabeled data. By leveraging information from both supervising auxiliary variables and unlabeled data, we seek to uncover more scientifically interpretable group structures that may be hidden by completely unsupervised analyses. In this work, we propose and develop a new statistical pattern discovery method named supervised convex clustering (SCC) that borrows strength from both information sources and guides towards finding more interpretable patterns via a joint convex fusion penalty. We develop several extensions of SCC to integrate different types of supervising auxiliary variables, to adjust for additional covariates, and to find biclusters. We demonstrate the practical advantages of SCC through simulations and a case study on Alzheimer's disease genomics. Specifically, we discover new candidate genes as well as new subtypes of Alzheimer's disease that can potentially lead to better understanding of the underlying genetic mechanisms responsible for the observed heterogeneity of cognitive decline in olderadults.