Unintended Negative Side Effects Research Articles

Safe MDP Planning by Learning Temporal Patterns of Undesirable Trajectories and Averting Negative Side Effects

In safe MDP planning, a cost function based on the current state and action is often used to specify safety aspects. In real world, often the state representation used may lack sufficient fidelity to specify such safety constraints. Operating based on an incomplete model can often produce unintended negative side effects (NSEs). To address these challenges, first, we associate safety signals with state-action trajectories (rather than just immediate state-action). This makes our safety model highly general. We also assume categorical safety labels are given for different trajectories, rather than a numerical cost function, which is harder to specify by the problem designer. We then employ a supervised learning model to learn such non-Markovian safety patterns. Second, we develop a Lagrange multiplier method, which incorporates the safety model and the underlying MDP model in a single computation graph to facilitate agent learning of safe behaviors. Finally, our empirical results on a variety of discrete and continuous domains show that this approach can satisfy complex non-Markovian safety constraints while optimizing agent's total returns, is highly scalable, and is also better than previous best approach for Markovian NSEs.

Assessing macro-prudential policies: the case of FX lending

This paper analyzes effectiveness and side effects of pre Basel III macroprudential policy measures to reduce excessive foreign currency (FX) lending growth in Austria to the private non-financial sector. Our series of macroprudential measures were introduced in 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2013. For assessing their effectiveness, we set up a Cournot oligopoly model with two types of loans and intra-firm competition, and apply a simultaneous equation panel model to estimate the model parameters for a quarterly data set of around 750 Austrian banks from 1998 to 2016. Our results indicate that the legally binding measures starting in 2010 were more effective than previous legally non binding measures in curbing FX lending, while banks simultaneously substituting these loans with euro loans. We show that these macroprudential measures are also effective with regard to reducing the identified risks and efficiently avoid unintended negative side effects such as credit crunches.

UniCraft: Exploring the impact of asynchronous multiplayer game elements in gamification

Abstract This paper describes the development and evaluation of UniCraft: a gamified mobile app designed to increase the engagement of undergraduate students with the content and delivery of their course. Gamification projects rely on extrinsic motivators to encourage participants to engage, such as compulsory participation or real-world rewards. UniCraft incorporates an asynchronous multiplayer Battle Game that uses constructive competition to motivate students, without using motivational levers that may reduce intrinsic motivation. The novel Battle Game employed by UniCraft employs Player vs Environment (Shafer, 2012) and Player Matching ( Jennings, 2014 ) to ensure students work together in similarly ranked small groups as a team against a shared enemy. A study was undertaken which examined students' long-term engagement with UniCraft within the context of a 12-week long undergraduate programming course. The app was initially provided with the battle feature disabled, so that the effect on motivation and engagement could be studied when it was introduced during the intervention. Detailed interaction data recorded by the app was augmented by semi-structured interviews in order to provide a richer perspective on its effect at an individual and group level. The interaction data revealed convincing evidence for the increased motivational power of the battle feature, and this was supported by the interview data. Although no direct negative effects of competition were observed, interviews revealed that cheating was prevalent and this could in turn have unintended negative side-effects on motivation. Full results are presented and case studies are described for three of the participants, giving an insight into the different styles of interaction and motivation experienced by students in this study.

The sustainability paradox of the sharing economy

The positive effects of new ‘sustainable’ business models, e. g. the sharing economy business model, are well-documented and widely acclaimed. However, these sustainable models also have unintended negative side-effects that are less visible and often ignored. In this article we describe these unintended side-effects as the sustainability paradox. We will discuss the negative externalities of sharing economy business models by comparing them to the characteristics of a sustainable economy model. Furthermore, we will propose a brief and simple checklist or framework for quick identification of sustainable business models. This framework can facilitate the top-down implementation of legislative measures and the bottom-up prevention of negative externalities of sharing economy initiatives.

Reducing pawing in horses using positive reinforcement.

Aversive control is a common method to reduce undesirable behavior in horses. However, it often results in unintended negative side effects, including potential abuse of the animal. Procedures based on positive reinforcement, such as differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), may reduce undesirable behaviors with fewer negative consequences. The current study used DRO schedules to reduce pawing using a multiple baseline design across 3 horses. Results indicated that DRO schedules were effective at reducing pawing. However, individual differences in sensitivity to DRO and reinforcer efficacy may be important considerations.

School Security and Student Misbehavior

Despite a nationwide trend to increase security measures in schools, their effectiveness in reducing or preventing student misbehavior remains largely unexamined. In addition, there is concern that increased security may have unintended negative side effects and is applied inequitably across students of disparate racial/ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore student differences between high- and low-security schools and to understand the relationship of security to student misbehavior. Data from 10,577 Grade 10 students from 504 public schools from the Education Longitudinal Study were examined. Numerous differences in students served by high- and low-security schools were noted; high-security schools were more likely to serve African American students. Security was negatively associated with student self-reported misbehavior but was unrelated to teacher ratings. Security interacted with race/ethnicity such that African American students were rated as having higher levels of disruptive and attendance-related misbehavior by teachers in schools with higher levels of security.

Ranking games.

Research rankings based on bibliometrics today dominate governance in academia and determine careers in universities. Analytical approach to capture the incentives by users of rankings and by suppliers of rankings, both on an individual and an aggregate level. Rankings may produce unintended negative side effects. In particular, rankings substitute the "taste for science" by a "taste for publication." We show that the usefulness of rankings rests on several important assumptions challenged by recent research. We suggest as alternatives careful socialization and selection of scholars, supplemented by periodic self-evaluations and awards. The aim is to encourage controversial discourses in order to contribute meaningful to the advancement of science.

The impact of rotating summarizing roles in online discussions: Effects on learners’ listening behaviors during and subsequent to role assignment

This study investigated whether assigning students summarizing roles in online discussions during specific weeks affects how they attend to the posts of others while playing the role, and in subsequent discussion weeks. Thirty-three students in a large undergraduate course on educational psychology were assigned one of two summarizing roles (Synthesizer, Wrapper) on a rotating basis during six week-long small-group online discussions; demographic and log-file data were collected (N=198 student-weeks). Multilevel, cross-classification modeling revealed that assigning students summarizing roles increased the breadth of their listening during in-role weeks, but the effect was only weakly sustained after the role was completed. Students taking the Synthesizer role showed some increased depth of listening during in-role weeks but not post-role weeks. Other post-role behavior changes (a reduced number of sessions and review of posts) suggest unintended negative side effects of a role-rotation strategy, possibly due to post-role abdication of responsibility.

Do genetic modifications in crops affect soil fungi? a review

The use of genetically modified (GM) plants in agriculture has been a topic in public debate for over a decade. Despite their potential to increase yields, there may be unintended negative side-effects of GM plants on soil micro-organisms that are essential for functioning of agro-ecosystems. Fungi are important soil organisms and can have beneficial or harmful effects on plants. Their benefits to agro-ecosystems come from their activities as free-living saprobes breaking down soil organic matter thereby releasing nutrients to the crops, as well as from mutualistic interactions. On the other hand, soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi can cause severe damage in crops. Understanding of the impact of GM plants on the dynamics and functioning of soil fungi is essential to evaluate the possible risks of introduction of GM plants for ecosystem functioning. In recent years, over 50 studies have addressed the effects of various GM traits in crops on soil fungal community structure and function. These studies showed that GM crops can have positive, negative, or neutral effects on both free-living and plant-associated soil fungi. The observed discrepancy in results of these studies is discussed. This is done by highlighting a number of case studies. New methods developed in recent years have enabled microbial ecologists to get a better picture on the functioning and assembly of soil fungal communities. This review presents and discusses two of the most promising methods which are also readily usable in risk assessment of GM plants on soil fungi and that could help answer remaining key questions in the field.

Recent Patents on Common Modifications Made to Traditional Micellar- Based Chemotherapeutics Designed to Improve Drug Delivery

The use of nanocarriers as drug delivery vehicles for chemotherapeutics improves overall pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of otherwise unencapsulated cytotoxic agents, and can significantly decrease unintended negative sideeffects commonly associated with these types of drugs. While a wide variety of nanocarrier-based chemotherapeutics have been reported, micelles are particularly attractive candidates due to inherent characteristics that make them ideal for drug encapsulation. Therefore, it is not surprising that several formulations are currently in various stages of clinical trials. However, while proving to be quite promising, challenges remain involving effective drug transfer from the nanocarrier to cancer cells. Thus, several groups have reported various strategies involving modifications made to these drug delivery vehicles in order to improve delivery of encapsulated cytotoxic agents to tumor cells. While various methods have been reported to achieve this, here we focus specifically on modifications made involving targeting ligand addition, as well as the incorporation of pH-sensitive molecules to these nanocarriers. Recent patents involving these specific modifications made to traditional micelles are discussed in this review. Keywords: Micelles, micellar-based chemotherapeutics, cytotoxic agents, drug carriers, nanocarriers, drug delivery, nanoparticles.

Philosophical perspectives on technology in Chinese Society

In developing countries today, social attitudes toward technology exhibit a more positive appreciation than is often the case in the developed world. Technology is seen as fundamentally good because of its ability simultaneously to reduce the burden of human labor and to increase productivity. In developing countries, many of the unintended negative side effects of technological development are not yet apparent or sufficiently threatening. At the same time, this positive appreciation is in dialectical relationship with a cultural past and traditional suspicion about technics. A brief case study of the emergence of philosophical perspectives on technology in China can serve to illustrate these points. The argument will begin with some general observations about education and philosophical attitudes toward technology in Chinese culture. It will continue with discussions of philosophy and technics in ancient China and of philosophy and technology in modern China. A conclusion offers some general reflections.

Phage-induced diversification improves host evolvability

BackgroundBacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) are of key importance in ecological processes at scales from biofilms to biogeochemical cycles. Close interaction can lead to antagonistic coevolution of phage and their hosts. Selection pressures imposed by phage are often frequency-dependent, such that rare phenotypes are favoured; this occurs when infection depends on some form of genetic matching. Also, resistance to phage often affects host fitness by pleiotropy (whereby mutations conferring resistance affect the function of other traits) and/or direct costs of resistance mechanisms.ResultsHere a simple model of bacteria and bacteriophage coevolving in a resource-limited chemostat is used to study the effect of coevolving phage on the evolution of bacterial hosts. Density-dependent mortality from phage predation limits the density of any single bacterial strain, preventing competitive exclusion by faster-growing strains. Thus multiple strains can coexist by partitioning resources and stable high diversity is created by negative frequency-dependent selection from phage. Standing bacterial diversity promotes adaptation in dynamic environments, since it increases the likelihood of a pre-existing genotype being suited to altered conditions. In addition, frequency-dependent selection for resistance creates transient local trade-offs between growth rate and resistance that allow bacterial strains to adapt across fitness valleys. Thus bacterial populations that (in the absence of phage) would have been trapped at sub-optimal local peaks in the adaptive landscape are able (in the presence of phage) to reach alternate higher peaks than could have been reached by mutation alone.ConclusionsThis study shows that reasonable assumptions for coevolution of bacteria and phage create conditions in which phage increase the evolutionary potential of their hosts. Thus phage, in contrast to their deleterious effects on individual host cells, can confer an evolutionary benefit to bacterial populations. These findings have implications for the role of phage in ecosystem processes, where they have mainly been considered as a mortality factor; these results suggest that on long timescales phage may actually increase bacterial productivity by aiding the evolution of faster-growing strains. Furthermore, these results suggest that the therapeutic use of phage to treat bacterial infections (phage therapy) could have unintended negative side-effects.

Using Role Plays to Understand and Manage Control System Benefits and Costs

The objective of management control is to encourage an organization’s employees to undertake the activities which lead to strategy implementation (Anthony, 1965). Management control systems accomplish this goal in two different ways: By encouraging employees to do the right things, and by discouraging employees from doing the wrong things (Simons, 2000). One of management’s biggest challenges is to effectively design management control systems which achieve this goal, while minimizing any unintended negative side effects. This role play leverages insights from practicing managers to illustrate how to manage this tension. Students are taught to design control systems which maximize organizational benefits and minimize indirect costs (Simons, 2000; Merchant and van der Stede, 2007; Anthony and Govindarajan, 2007). Sometimes, however, students underestimate the indirect control system costs as these costs do not often arise until the controls are applied. Using role plays based on managerial experience, this exercise attempts to redress this by asking students to calculate the indirect control system costs and balance these with its direct benefits. The exercise has two learning objectives: The first is to reinforce that management control systems have two objectives: To encourage employees to do good things and discourage them from doing bad things. The second is for students to recognize that even the best control systems incur indirect costs and how managers can best anticipate and manage these.

Viewing Housing Holistically: The Resident-Focused Component of the Housing-Plus Agenda

Problem: It is widely believed that housing affects both residents' social and economic opportunities and the prospects for neighborhood upgrading. Housing plus refers to the public or nonprofit sectors providing affordable housing together with services that support family well-being and community development within subsidized rental housing developments. In this article I consider whether providing housing plus services rather than housing alone should be national policy. Purpose: This article provides an overview of the national housing-plus initiatives for families, what is known about their effectiveness, how nonprofit organizations are implementing them, how they affect participants, and recommendations for changes in state and federal policies. Methods: I review the literature assessing resident-focused housing-plus programs and draw on interviews with staff at eight large regional nonprofit organizations that provide such programs. Results and conclusions: There is little rigorous research on the efficacy of the housing-plus approach. However, the people I interviewed considered the housing-plus approach a key component of their organizations' anti-poverty missions. I conclude that public and private entities should support nonprofit organizations' resident-focused housing-plus initiatives by initiating rigorous evaluations and creating mechanisms for funding. I note that these programs have the potential to create some unintended negative side effects, which should be addressed. Takeaway for practice: Not every nonprofit housing organization should offer housing plus services themselves. Rather, some should develop referral relationships with other service providers. Nonprofits aiming to deliver housing plus services should determine in advance how they will cover costs, and how they will assess effectiveness. They should involve residents in selecting, implementing and evaluating these programs. Research Support: None.

The economic consequences of rolling back the welfare state

In recent years the welfare state has come under attack from economists, and in many OECD countries there have been calls for spending on the welfare state to be rolled back. Critics argue that the size of transfer programs is responsible for a decline in economic performance and that cuts in spending are a prerequisite for a return to the golden age of full employment and economic growth. A. B. Atkinson takes such criticisms seriously, placing them under empirical and analytical scrutiny. Atkinson brings a welcome sense of balance to the debate. He warns that many currently fashionable policy proposals to roll back the welfare state could have unintended negative side effects, based as they are on an oversimplified view of the workings of the economy and of how welfare arrangements affect economic incentives. He asks whether there are ways in which the welfare state plays a positive role in the modernization of the economy. He develops new models of the labor market and of the growth of the corporate economy, which provide insight into the role and consequences of unemployment insurance, and the implications of moves to private pension funds. Atkinson does not attempt to determine whether or not spending should be cut. Rather, his aim is to clarify the nature of the charges leveled against the welfare state, so that readers can make up their own minds.

Cries and whispers about multiculturalism: Some theoretical and methodological considerations

In this paper, I shall present a broad outline of some underlying theoretical and methodological issues that may contribute to a better understanding of the sources of intercultural conflict and ways to avoid or mitigate them. The core of the argument will be that noble intentions do not suffice, but should be complemented with a rigorous self-critique and a search for unintended negative side-effects. Concrete cases discussed are: affirmative action and multiculturalism in higher education, and some Afrocentrists' claims about the black origins of Greek civilization. In each of these cases, it will be argued, the noble intentions associated with the issue may blind us to the historic and methodological twists that the claims are involved in. It is argued that the aims of multiculturalism can be attained only through a rational inquiry of diverse culture: if we are to progress in our study of cultural differences, a fundamental prerequisite is that we have reliable and fair descriptions of those cultures. Some of the irrational tendencies that may be observed in academic forms of multiculturalism are eroding the very basis upon which intercultural communication is possible. The article concludes with the formulation of a hypothesis: it is proposed that cultures develop feelings of superiority which are generated by internal crises that cause uncertainty and by external pressures, especially if they involve a loss of power and a concomitant humiliation