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Using digital data collection devices in the field is now commonplace among many faculty and students. However, there is less attention to how the use of GPS units, tablets and devices transforms or alters our understanding of the field itself. Does the embrace of the digital simply replace paper, or does it fundamentally transform our ways of knowing? What do we gain and what do we lose as we move from paper to digital in the acts of doing fieldwork? What are the limits of technology in the field and after the field? In this paper, I wrestle with these questions through my own fieldwork experiences through two story-telling narratives. In the first, I discuss the process of documenting pastoralists' cattle movement through GPS units, while in the second I relay the process of using tourists as volunteer citizen scientists for wildlife monitoring efforts. Through these examples, I demonstrate a number of key lessons for fieldwork with digital devices and call for a more thorough understanding of the dialectics between devices and users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the estimation of global karst carbon sink, a few conventional methods usually require the parameters that are difficult to measure, resulting in the big cost. Moreover, under the constraints of incomplete and timeliness issues in the collection of data over a large region, it has remained a challenge for these methods to study global karst carbon sink. Therefore, this paper proposes estimating the global karst carbon sink, and analyzing the suitability of the response surface methodology and the fluctuating variation of karst carbon sink in global karst regions from 1951 to 2050. This paper shows that the proposed method can reduce the time of numerical calculation and is suitable for application in global weathering models; The global karst carbon sink in the future changes not only displays an upward trend but also exposures its fluctuating trend largely. This fluctuation is probably due to global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The development of a set of questions is a central element of examination development, with the validity of an examination resting to a large extent on the quality of the questions that it comprises. This paper reports on the methods and findings of a project that explores how educational examination question writers engage in the practice of question setting. Although the practice of examination question writing is ubiquitous, limited research has been carried out on how writers actually draft individual examination questions when writing complete examination papers. Purpose: The main aim of this study was to understand more deeply the process of examination question writing. Sample: The study involved 12 experienced educational examination question writers. Design and methods: The first data collection phase involved observing writers whilst they wrote the first draft of a question paper (using a 'think aloud' process). Following the observation, the writers took part in an hour-long interview. This led to the construction of a model of question writing. Phase 2 of the data collection process involved validating the proposed question writing model with six additional question writers by means of telephone interviews. Analysis and findings: A model was developed that outlined the key stages of writing that all of the writers moved through in the completion of their question writing task. The question writing model situates the process of writing individual questions in relation to the broader cognitive tasks required in writing a complete paper. It also situates the writing process within the social dimensions of question writing. Conclusions: Iteration in the writing process appears to have an important function. These iterations represent a form of decision-making that is common to the examination question writing culture and appears to be logical and rule bound. Whilst the recognition of iterative behaviour reveals a highly personalised element of question writing, it also reveals a common expectation that the ideas across a subject area are highly inter-related, and that an examination paper should reflect this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational commitment gets significant attention from both scientists and practitioners alike since the 1950s. This interest is evident in the literature in the area of management and organizational behaviour, in an impressive number of studies exploring the nature, antecedents, and outcomes of organizational commitment. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the clarification of the relationship between employees' demographic characteristics and their organizational commitment, since research studies imply mainly inconsistent results about this relationship. The empirical research was carried out in Croatia. The research sample includes 304 employees. A self-developed questionnaire was used for data collection, specifically about gender, age, tenure, education, and marital status. In order to assess organizational commitment, the Organizational Commitment Scale was applied. Research results showed no differences in organizational commitment regarding the employees' gender or marital status, while the differences in employees' organizational commitment exist regarding employees' age, tenure in organization and education. Dwelling into these differences, this paper demonstrates that the level of organizational commitment varies according to different subcategories of each demographic characteristic. In addition, this paper explains the origin and possible reasons of differences in organizational commitment regarding the different subcategories of each demographic characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing data acquisition is one of the most essential processes in the field of Earth observation. However, traditional methods to acquire data do not satisfy the requirements of current applications because large-scale data processing is required. To address this issue, this paper proposes a data acquisition framework that carries out remote sensing metadata planning and then realizes the online acquisition of large amounts of data. Firstly, this paper establishes a unified metadata cataloging model and realizes the catalog of metadata in a local database. Secondly, a coverage calculation model is presented, which can show users the data coverage information in a selected geographical region under the data requirements of a specific application. Finally, according to the data retrieval results and the coverage calculation, a machine-to-machine interface is provided to acquire target remote sensing data. Experiments were conducted to verify the availability and practicality of the proposed framework, and the results show the strengths and powerful capabilities of our framework by overcoming deficiencies in traditional methods. It also achieved the online automatic acquisition of large-scale heterogeneous remote sensing data, which can provide guidance for remote sensing data acquisition strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many areas affected by climate change, agriculture is an industry sensitive to climate change. Many scholars have studied the relationship between climate factors and rice, but these studies did not quantitatively construct high temperature indicator and determine the threshold for high temperature hazard. In this paper, we constructed the index of high temperature intensity (HTI) based on the daily maximum temperature and high temperature days, and then used multiple regression analysis method to determine the hazard factor. Based on this, we can analyze the risk distribution of hazard factor for late rice in Zhejiang. The results showed that: (i) high temperature values and high temperature days above 35 °C during the growth period of late rice are the main meteorological factors for the decrease of late rice yield in Zhejiang Province. The high temperature intensity comprehensive index constructed in this paper can quantitatively evaluate the effect of high temperature on late rice yield; (ii) With the increase of the level of recurrence, the high temperature intensity spreads around Lishui City and Yunhe County, and the intensity of the hazard factor in central Zhejiang is higher than that in the surrounding area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When developing behavior change interventions in a systematic way, it is important to select determinants relevant to the target behavior. Data is needed to gain insight into the determinant structures (the relative strengths of associations between determinants and behavior) and their univariate distributions. This insight is crucial to select the most relevant determinants, but at the same time institutions tasked with behavior change (e.g. prevention organizations, municipal health services) often operate under prohibitive resource constraints, which also extend to how easily they can collect data from a sample. This paper introduces CIBERlite – an approach that furnishes the intervention developer with an idea of the relevance of a limited number of determinants using short measurements informed by theory. The first study (N = 401) in a series of three explores the convergent validity of short and full measurements of determinants derived from the Reasoned Action Approach. The short measurements are used in the main study (N = 415) that serves as a proof-of-concept for the CIBERlite plot, an efficient visualization combining data of determinant structures and their univariate distributions for eight behaviors. The unexpected patterns detected in the main study led to an expert estimation study (N = 45), which shows that individual experts have difficulty in predicting how people score on determinants. This stresses the importance of conducting determinant studies and CIBERlite is a valuable alternative to do so if resources are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes previous maps of the Diocese of Poreč and Pula and creation of a new map of the Diocese made and published after many changes and long-time research at the Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb. The data collection of the general geographic content and the sacral content was the first step for the new map visualization of the Diocese. It also describes different problems for special map contents and observed shortcomings on the previous maps, and how they are solved. The research objective was the creation of the new map of the Diocese based on the collected and verified data, showing the exact borders of the Diocese and current borders of the deaneries with current seats. On the new map (Main Map) at a scale of 1:120 000, the parish borders with the seats and names of parishes are depicted for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overview: This paper explores industrial cases of remote digital workshop-based roadmapping and presents lessons learned and insights that may be beneficial to organizations interested in digital roadmapping. We created a framework comprising three core elements—digitalization context, digital approach, and performance—to collect data and analyze seven industrial cases. The study revealed changes needed to ensure effective remote digital roadmapping—changes related to process and workshop design, facilitators' effort and skill, participants' accessibility, roadmapping agility, and roadmap quality. These changes focus on performance improvements for remote digital roadmapping compared to co-located and analog (paper and pen) roadmapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address societal, economic and environmental sustainability issues. The efficiency of SDGs monitoring could be improved by essential variables (EVs), which can help to better deal with massive data, interdisciplinary knowledge and workloads. However, in practice, effectively combining EVs with SDGs monitoring remains challenging. In this paper, we proposed a refining method of essential SDGs variables (ESDGVs) to land degradation. Firstly, we selected northwest China as our experimental region and extracted a group of variables related to land degradation from SDG indicators based on the DPSIR framework. Next, we identify the essential ones using a combined qualitative and quantitative methods with the criteria of feasibility, spatialization, and relevance which considered the issues of data acquisition, monitoring scale, and closeness to the land degradation. Finally, we analysed the monitoring role of ESDGVs. Results show that, compared to conventional observations, ESDGVs facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of regional SDGs with reduced efforts. And both climate and human activities have a facilitating or inhibiting effect on land degradation processes. In the future, we hope to have more mature data sets and consider adding more SDG indicators for ESDGVs' refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many collegiate level statistics courses, the focus of the learning outcomes is often on the analysis of data after it has been collected. Students are provided with clean data sets from previous studies to practice statistical analysis, but receive little to no application as to the amount of time and effort that goes in to collecting good data. To account for these deficits at the author's institution, a design of experiments course was created that provided students with a more hands-on learning experience to the statistical process, especially as pertains to data collection. This paper focuses on five of the experiments that students designed and implemented during the course, and some suggestions to instructors that may wish to use these experiments in their own courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to assess multiple issues of resources, staffing, local opinion, data quality, cost, and security while transitioning to electronic data collection (EDC) at a long-running community research site in northern Malawi. Levels of missing and error fields, delay from data collection to availability, and average number of interviews per day were compared between EDC and paper in a complex, repeated annual household survey. Three focus groups with field and data staff with experience using both methods, and in-depth interviews with participants were carried out. Cost for each method were estimated and compared. Missing data was more common on paper questionnaires than on EDC, and a similar number were carried out per day. Fieldworkers generally preferred EDC, but data staff feared for their employment. Most respondents had no strong preference for a method. The cost of the paper system was estimated to be higher than using EDC. The existing infrastructure and technical expertise could be adapted to using EDC, but changes have an impact on data processing jobs as fewer, and better qualified staff are required. EDC is cost-effective, and, for a long-running site, may offer further savings, as devices can be used in multiple studies and perform several other functions. EDC is accepted by fieldworkers and respondents, has good levels of quality and timeliness, and security can be maintained. EDC is well-suited for use in a well-established research site using and developing existing infrastructure and expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Work on large-scale plant closures has provided a rich vein of scholarship and academic debate. This paper articulates a new set of methods and concepts for understanding how large-scale redundancies associated with the closure of manufacturing plants affects society and the economy at the local, regional and national scales. It posits the need for a more comprehensive exercise in data collection and experimentation with previously unused methods, including the application of discrete-choice experiments in order to understand better the choice and decision-making frameworks adopted by affected workers. The paper argues there is a need to integrate community-wide policy responses into the core of the analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed interval estimation in linear regression may be computationally infeasible in the presence of big data that are normally stored in different computer servers or in cloud. The existing challenge represents the results from the distributed estimation may still contain redundant information about the population characteristics of the data. To tackle this computing challenge, we develop an optimization procedure to select the best subset from the collection of data subsets, based on which we perform interval estimation in the context of linear regression. The procedure is derived based on minimizing the length of the final interval estimator and maximizing the information remained in the selected data subset, thus is named as the LIC criterion. Theoretical performance of the LIC criterion is studied in this paper together with a simulation study and real data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the failure of neoliberal economic policies in Nigeria leads to increasing spate of criminal activities in the country. It explains how such neoliberal economic policies like privatisation, removal of state subsidies and deregulation cripple pre-existing substructure of the Nigerian economy; thereby increasing criminal activities everywhere in Nigeria. While criminal activities are closely associated with neoliberal states, privatisation and deregulation have facilitated the creation of huge unemployed labour by crippling existing industries and local ingenuity which explains the level of economic marginalisation and the stagnant pool characterised by abject poverty in Nigeria. While the state and its allies struggle to maintain their unpopular economic policies by all means, the victims and the unemployed find expression in criminal activities. The study uses mixed methods of data collection and analysis made up of descriptive statistics and content analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries have adopted integrated community case management (iCCM) to reduce mortality among children under five years from common childhood illnesses. The 2016–2020 Malian Red Cross iCCM program trained 441 Community Health Workers (CHWs) to treat malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and malnutrition for children under five years of age in six districts. Implementation strength and quality of care (QoC) were assessed through the program's supervision function, using the Malian Ministry of Health's system. This paper compares methods and results of program supervision data and an independent evaluation to assess the effectiveness of program implementation and supervision and inform program improvement. It also presents the benefits and limitations of each method. An independent QoC evaluation was conducted using tools developed by the Real Accountability: Data Analysis for Results (RADAR) project, hereafter referred to as the RADAR evaluation. RADAR evaluation data collected in July and August 2018 were compared with program supervision data collected mostly between May and December 2018. The RADAR evaluation provided detailed findings on correct assessment, classification, and treatment per illness, medication type, and dosage. Program supervision combined the findings for all illnesses, medication type, and dosage due to limitations in the data collection process. Six indicators were comparable between both methods. Findings were similar for temperature and mid-upper arm circumference measurements but diverged between program supervision and the RADAR evaluation, respectively, on correct classification for all illnesses (87.1% vs. 65.3%), correct treatment for all illnesses (69.5% vs. 39.8%), correct respiratory rate counting (88.5% vs. 54.7%), and administering the first dose by CHW (75.4% vs. 65.0%). Findings from the RADAR evaluation guided improvements in program supervision. A robust program supervision system can serve as a credible method to assess QoC. However, a rigorous independent QoC evaluation provides a valuable benchmark to gauge the effectiveness of the supervisory process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement accuracy of the Mobile Mapping System (MMS) is the main problem, which restricts its development and application, so how to calibrate the MMS to improve its measurement accuracy has always been a research hotspot in the industry. This paper proposes a position and attitude calibration method with error correction based on the combination of the feature point and feature surface. First, the initial value of the spatial position relationship between each sensor of MMS is obtained by close-range photogrammetry. Second, the optimal solution for error correction is calculated by feature points in global coordinates jointly measured with International GNSS Service (IGS) stations. Then, the final transformation parameters are solved by combining the initial values obtained originally, thereby realizing the rapid calibration of the MMS. Finally, it analyzed the RMSE of MMS point cloud after calibration, and the results demonstrate the feasibility of the calibration approach proposed by this method. Under the condition of a single measurement sensor accuracy is low, the plane and elevation absolute accuracy of the point cloud after calibration can reach 0.043 m and 0.072 m, respectively, and the relative accuracy is smaller than 0.02 m. It meets the precision requirements of data acquisition for MMS. It is of great significance for promoting the development of MMS technology and the application of some novel techniques in the future, such as autonomous driving, digital twin city, urban brain et al. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction of large dam candidate regions is critical for broad-scale efforts to rapidly detect large-area dams. The framework proposed in this paper attempts to combine random forest classification models and spatial analysis methods with large dam candidate area extraction methods for large-scale areas. First, we studied the combination of optical, microwave, texture, and topographic features of the dam and constructed a multisource remote sensing and topographic feature vector of the dam. Secondly, we constructed random forest classifiers in different study areas and evaluate their performance. Then we explored the geographic characteristics of the dams and their relationships with other features. Finally, we introduced the spatial analysis method to constrain the large dam candidate area. The proposed framework was tested in a total area of 968,533 km2 in five countries and achieved promising results, which constrained the candidate area to less than 1.06% of the total area. We calculated the completeness rate of large dams using the multi-source dam datasets. The framework achieved a completeness rate of more than 97.62%. Our results show that the entire framework is reliable for automated and fast large dam candidate area acquisition based on data from open remote sensing products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Concept maps have been used extensively for developing higher order thinking skills and are considered significant artefacts in constructing understanding in educational contexts. Increasingly, they are being used as a tool to chart a way towards ‘new understanding’ rather than recording ‘accepted knowledge’. This study is set in an academic development department in a UK higher education institution in which previous research projects have utilised concept map-mediated interviews as a tool in data collection. This paper reports on the relationship between the process of the concept map-mediated interview and the resulting concept map and focuses on the talk during the interview process. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the co-constructed nature of the concept map which resulted from the concept map interview. The research question was: how is the concept map accomplished through and in the interview talk? Sample: The three researchers and authors of this paper are colleagues in an Academic Development department in a UK higher education institution. The focus of the interview was to probe the research perspective underpinning the practice of one of the authors. Design and methods: The study used a qualitative, unstructured concept map interview. The aim of the interview was to elicit an understanding of one of the authors’ research frame and how it influenced her work with staff. The interviewer noted labels on post-it notes during the interview which both participants then arranged on a sheet of paper. The interview lasted 36 minutes and was transcribed verbatim. Sociocultural discourse analysis was used to examine the trajectory of concepts in the interview talk. Results: The results highlight the collaborative nature of the interview and how the concept map is co-constructed through the interview talk. We demonstrate how the concept map is co-constructed through and in the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee, not as a result of the interview. Results also reveal how the context of acquaintance interviews impacts on the co-construction and thus the resulting concept map. Conclusions: A concept map which results from such an interview is co-constructed with the interviewer playing a pivotal role in the talk and the mapping. The implications are that the interview as research tool needs to be recognised as a site for the co-construction of ideas and perspectives. Concept maps resulting from interviews need to be recognised as co-constructed. A further implication for research methods is that the transcripts from the interview itself can be used as data to provide a richer understanding of the concept map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research interview is a valuable tool for collecting data in qualitative studies. All education researchers, whether novice or experienced, need to prepare carefully when planning to conduct interviews. Thus, how best to assist newer researchers to acquire interviewing skills for the purpose of collecting research data remains an important question. Mock, or 'practice', interviews can offer opportunities for such researchers to become more familiar with the methodological processes involved in interviewing, so that they can start to build necessary skills prior to carrying out interviews in the field. Set in the context of nursing education, the research sought to describe the use of an online mock interview protocol as a researcher's training tool and consider key lessons learnt from this process. In this qualitative study, seven purposively selected participants from a university in Australia were involved in a mock interview process. A video conferencing platform was utilised as an online environment for the interviews. Analysis of the procedure indicated the ways in which carrying out the mock interviews supported the researcher's preparation for qualitative interviewing and facilitated the development of good practice for conducting interviews in a virtual environment. Processes included undertaking a rigorous training needs analysis, optimising technical preparedness for the mock interviews, and practising how to ask interview questions in a suitable way. The experience involved learning lessons around self-evaluation, mental readiness, retrieving rich data and troubleshooting technical issues. The research highlights the extent to which successful interviewing depends on the quality of pre-interview preparation on the part of the researcher. Conducting mock interviews prior to online qualitative research could help support less experienced researchers in areas of research including nursing education. Integration of mock interview protocols into curricula for educational research purposes could help provide research students with opportunities to strengthen their skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS) typically assigns sensing tasks in the same target area to many participants considering data quality and the diversity of sensing devices. However, participant selection is based on the individual in many research. The efficiency of individual recruitment is low. Individuals need higher transportation costs to go to the task location alone, and the data quality perceived by individuals is difficult to guarantee. This paper proposes a team-based multitask data acquisition scheme under time constraints to address these challenges. The scheme optimised the number of participants, traffic cost, and data quality and designed four team-based multitask allocation algorithms under time constraints in the MCS: T-RandomTeam, T-MostTeam, T-RandomMITeam, and T-MostMITeam. The team size is associated with the number of participants required for the first task or the vehicle capacity to perform the task. We conducted extensive experiments based on a real large-scale dataset to evaluate the four algorithms' performances compared to two baseline algorithms (T-Random and T-most). The efficiency of the four algorithms has been significantly improved by team recruitment. The transportation cost can be multiplicatively reduced by carpooling. Data quality can be improved by at least 2% through reputation screening and team members' communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has consistently highlighted the importance of stakeholder engagement in identifying and developing solutions to ethical challenges in genomic research, especially in Africa where such research is relatively new. In this paper, we examine what constitutes good ethical practice in research, from the perspectives of genomic research participants in Uganda. Our study was part of a multi-site qualitative study exploring these issues in Uganda, Ghana and Zambia. We purposively sampled various stakeholders including genomic research participants, researchers, research ethics committee members, policy makers and community members. This paper presents the findings from in-depth interviews with 27 people with diabetes who had participated in a diabetes genomic study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Manual thematic content analysis was conducted using a framework approach. Findings indicate three key requirements that research participants see as vital for genomic research to be more responsive to research participants' needs and contextual realities: (1) de-emphasising the role of experts and institutions in the consenting process, (2) clarity about the timing and nature of feedback both of findings relevant to the health of individuals and about the broad progress of the study, and (3) more effective support for research participants during and after the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic approach to research on toponymy is limited to a linguistic focus. This reductionism has had a negative impact on the study of the toponymy of intercultural and indigenous territories, as in the case of the northern Patagonia. Based on a two-year ethnographic study in northern Patagonia, this article analyzes the socio-spatial dimension of Mapuche toponymy, through a mixed methodology involving both data collection and analysis, and an ethnographic approach. The article analyzes how these toponyms emerge from a variety of socio-spatial practices and meanings that are not only intertwined, but also involve several social, environmental, and political dimensions. We argue that the study of indigenous toponymy as a space-time compression entails an ontological opening of toponymy based on the process of inhabiting place. In this regard, the paper discusses the importance of understanding indigenous toponymy as a historically situated process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Critical African Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The intelligent monitoring of electric locomotive loading is crucial in unmanned underground systems. A CNN-based monitoring scheme with migration learning was proposed to address efficiency, abnormality, and data acquisition challenges. Locomotive loading datasets are transformed, augmented, and equalized. Our model improves performance and training by modifying the fully connected layer, using optimized learning rate decay and adaptive algorithms. Training in PyTorch, the optimized VGG19-EL migration network achieves 99.85% recognition for 2-classifications, while the optimized RESNET50-EL migration network achieves 97.3% for 10-classifications. Overall, this study proposes a reliable and efficient model for liberating workers and monitoring locomotive loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the nature of playfulness in young people. Observations and a small-scale questionnaire study consider the characteristics of, and dispositions towards, playfulness in a particular setting: the Thai Toy gallery of the National Science Museum in Thailand. While not initially seen to be a ‘zone of play’, the gallery has deliberately invoked a sense of play through the use of toy-making activities. A small sample of 60 young visitors to the museum was invited to make-and-play activities with traditional Thai toys as part of their family groups, and exploratory data were collected to explore their behaviours and self-ratings of playfulness. These young visitors largely enjoyed the activities, and in their responses to the questionnaire portrayed themselves as happy, funny and cheerful. A very small minority proved to be more solemn, distant and unengaged by the event. The paper discusses further work to be done in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: While research on trans People of Color's experiences has been increasing in recent years, this intersectional work has often not included a focus on the specificities of multiracial and multiethnic trans experiences. Aims: This study explores shifts in racial identity by multiracial/multiethnic trans people as they transition gender and the ways Whiteness and nationalist ideology shape their racialized gender experiences. Methods: This paper is based on six in-depth, semi-structured interviewswith self-identifiedmultiracial, multiethnic, andmulti-heritage trans people in the USA. Data collection centered participants' experiences of self-identification and interactionswith others (e.g., family, acquaintances, and strangers). Results: As participants transitioned gender and were acknowledged by others in their gender identity, shifts in their embodiment were used by others to ascribe a new racialized gender. This often resulted in participants reflecting on their sense of self and racialized gender identities in new ways. Discussion: Multiracial and multiethnic transgender people's experiences in transitioning race confirm the importance of intersectional analysis, reveal the intersectional fluidity of social categories, explicate how social understandings of one category (e.g., race) influence another category (e.g., gender), demonstrate that the meanings associated with racialized gender are based in relations of power, and show that, in transgender studies particularly, we must attend to the ways that the concept of transition implicates not only gender, but also other categories such as race and nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature speaks of a 'deluge' of scientific and research data and the importance of capturing and managing it for use beyond its original creating community, purpose, and time. Data value increases as it is interconnected, networked, shared, used, and re-used. This paper extends the conversation about data sharing to 'wild data': that is, data generated and held outside of 'academic' or 'professional' science, as in the case of environmental voluntary groups (EVGs). Currently, important data generated by these groups are likely to be inaccessible to the academic community, or any community or body outside those often-small EVGs. Although large quantities of data are often generated by EVGs, management of these data may be poor or non-existent; and quality control of data may be haphazard and spasmodic. This article reports on a pilot project which explored the data sought, generated, stored, and shared by members of EVGs. The project also investigated members' views about data management and sharing for the future. Finally, as Australian university libraries are at the forefront of research and practice to promote the better management of data created by research, the paper also explores whether there might be a collaborative role for university libraries in the management of wild data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Pain is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Large-scale Lidar surveys have revitalized interest in regional settlement studies in the Maya Lowlands. Remotely identified features in Lidar imagery must be verified on the ground, with results of ground-truthing studies forming the basis of reliable, comparative databases for understanding ancient Maya land use and modification. The El Pilar Project integrates data generated by established survey methods with Lidar imagery to construct more complete pictures of settlement distribution, landscape modification, and human-environment interactions. This paper describes the results of Lidar-guided survey at El Pilar along with the protocol our project developed to systematize data collection and increase the efficiency of survey. The methods we describe have proven effective for investigating Maya settlement patterns at the site scale and locating features difficult to discern in Lidar imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public participation in engineering projects has been minimal to date, whereas it is growing in other fields. This paper assesses the lessons learned from public participation in two hydrologic engineering projects, as citizen scientists or through participatory mapping. The two projects were conducted in communities that faced a common problem of flooding due to sea-level rise. The lessons learned include the need to invest time at the beginning of a project to get an idea of what knowledge the public can contribute and have a plan in place to sustain participation at the level needed for the project to be successful. Our cost comparison shows that public participation should be encouraged when the project area is large enough to make travel for data collection cost prohibitive, or when extensive interaction with the public will already be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale Lidar surveys have revitalized interest in regional settlement studies in the Maya Lowlands. Remotely identified features in Lidar imagery must be verified on the ground, with results of ground-truthing studies forming the basis of reliable, comparative databases for understanding ancient Maya land use and modification. The El Pilar Project integrates data generated by established survey methods with Lidar imagery to construct more complete pictures of settlement distribution, landscape modification, and human-environment interactions. This paper describes the results of Lidar-guided survey at El Pilar along with the protocol our project developed to systematize data collection and increase the efficiency of survey. The methods we describe have proven effective for investigating Maya settlement patterns at the site scale and locating features difficult to discern in Lidar imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the empirical validation of the time accuracy of the process building block system MTM-HWD® (Human Work Design). The analysis is based on process data collected from 62 different workplaces in German manufacturing companies. The accuracy of the process system is analyzed by studying the frequency of employed process building blocks in the data collection procedure. Subsequently, the differences between the MTM-HWD® and MTM-1 cycle times are evaluated. The findings show that there is no significant difference from samples of prior MTM-1 studies with respect to the frequency of employed MTM-1 process building blocks. It is shown that there is a systematic difference and a linear relationship between the MTM-HWD® and MTM-1 time data. However, it is demonstrated that the relatively larger MTM-HWD® times do not differ more than 5 % from the MTM-1 times when considering the 95 % confidence interval of the mean. These results meet the development aims in terms of the defined accuracy of the method of ± 5 % in comparison to MTM-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social-ecological systems in the Mediterranean Basin are characterised by high biodiversity and a prolonged cultural influence, leading to the co-evolution of these systems. The unique characteristics of Mediterranean social-ecological systems, current pressures leading to a decline in ecosystem services, and the need for coordinated action are recognised by policies promoting the protection and sustainable use of the region's heritage. Ecosystem assessments provide valuable information on the capacity of the Mediterranean Basin to ensure the wellbeing of its population. However, most assessments simplify the complexity of these systems, which may lead to inaccurate ecosystem services supply and flow estimations. This paper uses the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model to guide an expert consultation that identifies the key characteristics of the Mediterranean social-ecological systems and analyses how these should be included in ecosystem assessments. Data collection was carried out through expert consultation with ecosystem services researchers. Multiple sources of complexity were identified, including the relationship between historical human activities, biodiversity spatio-temporal patterns, as well as the seasonal and long-term variability in ecosystem services. The importance of incorporating this complexity in ecosystem assessments for evidence-based decision-making is identified, suggesting that there is a need to adapt assessment approaches for the Mediterranean Basin social-ecological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the process of very high-resolution thermal mosaic acquisition using low-altitude airborne remote sensing and the basic analysis of data regarding urban climate research. The process of data acquisition from flight planning to final mosaicking is described. A broadband thermal camera was mounted to a Cessna aeroplane for two flights over the city; one performed in the morning and one in the afternoon. The ground resolution of the final mosaic fluctuates between 90 and 105 cm. Gathered data had to be processed to acquire kinetic temperature values. The processing consisted of radiometric, geometric, atmospheric and emissivity corrections. As a result, two mosaics covering the city were created. The difference between the building canopy layer and ground level was investigated, and a 5°C increase was found during the day on the rooftop level. It was confirmed that natural materials do not heat as much as artificial ones. Local Climate Zones were used in the analysis as the spatial unit for comparison of the thermal regime at the neighbourhood level. To summarise, the possibilities of extreme resolution thermal remote sensing data acquisition and analysis are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on fieldwork carried out in 2011 with aim to investigate young men’s perspectives about condoms use, concurrent sexual partnerships and sex in the context of HIV/AIDS. This study employed a qualitative approach to collect data from 28 boys aged 16-20 from two urban and two rural high schools in South Kivu province. Four focus group discussions and 20 individual interviews were conducted among them. The findings showed that most students identified condoms as unsafe and untrustworthy. Reasons given for the mistrust of condoms were related to the belief that condoms do not give enough protection from Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV and pregnancies. Most participants believe that condoms have a ‘small hole’ or are unreliable and are therefore not effective in prevention. They also mentioned that condoms encourage inappropriate sexual activity. They prefer flesh-to-flesh sex rather than protected sex using a condom. However, a few participants acknowledged the importance of condom use. Despite the risk of HIV transmission, boys believe that it is appropriate for them to have concurrent sexual partnerships. They justified the concurrent sexual partnerships as a way of ensuring that they cannot miss a girl to satisfy their sexual desire. Given the boys’ failure to use condoms and their strong inclination to concurrent sexual partnerships, there is a need for heath groups and stakeholders within the area to increase awareness about condoms’ effectiveness and improve knowledge dissemination on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and how they are prevented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is one of the mobile robots which has grown rapidly in popularity in recent years. UAVs have been used in various activities to convey important information on the aerial transportation system. However, an application to get real-time information from UAVs remains a challenging task. Therefore, this paper presents an integration system to optimise the use of UAVs for aerial surveillance. The proposed system explains the design and implementation a UAV system which consists of on-board and ground stations. The on-board system has the function to send UAV flight data, send aerial images and carry items using a gripper which equipped with sensors to detect obstacles. The ground station has the function to control UAV flights, receive and display UAV flight data and aerial images, display the attitude of the UAV and send commands to move the camera and gripper. Flight controllers in this system use non-linear complementary filter on SO(3) to estimate the attitude of the UAV and proportional-integral (PI) controller to stabilise the UAV flight. By providing the real-time acquisition data of the UAV, we believe this system can be a useful tool for many implementations using UAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning is recognized as an important component of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in particular, due to its potential to transform individual, social, and organizational values, standards and practices to support a sustainable development. Nevertheless, only a few models developed to describe learning processes in EIA systems seem to be grounded on the combination of both theoretical aspects and empirical evidence of learning, which requires further investigation. This paper is based on the development of a conceptual model to understand learning processes through the practice of EIA, and evidence-gathering of learning in EIA systems focused on the role played by the leading organization. The outcomes were based on literature review and empirical research using two EIA regulatory agencies in Brazil as case studies. Data collection and analysis were supported by participant observation, personal interviews and qualitative content analysis. Although specific to the context, the evidence produced have corroborated the implicit feature of learning in EIA systems and, we believe, reinforced the relevance of the conceptual model as developed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:This paper approaches evidence-informed practice from the perspective of evidence-informed policy-making. Using the findings of a recent study of evidence-use by educational policy-makers to raise questions about evidence-use by educational practitioners, it seeks to explore what such a study might tell us about how to understand and improve evidence-use by educational practitioners. Purpose:The paper aims, therefore, to identify potential connections, shared insights and common issues between evidence-use in policy and evidence-use in practice. It does this by focusing on two specific areas: the nature of the evidence (i.e.whatevidence is used) and the nature of the use (i.e.howevidence is used). The paper outlines what was found about each of these aspects of evidence-use in policy, and then considers what questions and issues these findings might raise for evidence-use in educational practice. Sample:The empirical study on which this paper is based was an in-depth study of the use of evidence within educational policy development in Australia. It focused on the development of three specific education policies within one Australian state education department and involved interviews with 25 policy-makers who were actively involved in the development of these policies. Design and methods:The policy-based study involved the following data collection processes: (i) in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 policy-makers who were involved in the development of the selected policies; (ii) documentary analysis of policy documents, background research reports and other relevant papers relating to the selected policies; (iii) unstructured observation (where possible) of meetings and events connected with the development of the selected policies; and (iv) feedback from 40 wider policy staff who took part in a verification workshop to discuss the project’s emerging findings. Findings:Drawing on the findings from the original policy study, two areas of potential connection to evidence-use in practice are explored. First, in relation to ‘varieties of evidence and uses’, the negotiation of diverse evidence types and the potential for using evidence in multiple and varied ways appear to be features of evidence-use that are common to educational policy-makers as well as educational practitioners. Secondly, in relation to ‘narrowness of evidence sources’, there is potential for both policy-makers and practitioners to use a narrow (rather than broad) selection of evidence, due to a tendency to work with certain evidence types as a starting point (e.g. performance data) and a tendency to draw on certain evidence sources more frequently (e.g. well-known, familiar research sources). Conclusions:This paper emphasises: (i) the need for more integrated (or joined-up) understandings of evidence-use across contexts of practice and contexts of policy; (ii) the importance of continued efforts to understand and represent evidence-use more effectively within educational practices; and (iii) the value of paying careful attention to the quality and qualities of evidence-use within and across the different settings of educational practice and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term effects of dam-induced displacement and resettlement are poorly understood. This paper presents a rare longitudinal assessment of the livelihood outcomes of people resettled as a result of a major dam project – the Three Gorges Project in China. It signposts pitfalls that practitioners need to be aware of when planning their own longitudinal monitoring and evaluation (M&E) projects, such as those relating to (i) sample and control group selection, (ii) deciding the timing and frequency of data collection, (iii) mitigating attrition and (iv) accounting for the broader social and policy changes that occur over longer periods when analysing results. The paper argues that longitudinal research is important not only for assessing resettlement outcomes accurately but also for ensuring that ongoing government interventions are adequate and not withdrawn prematurely. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: We opted to study how support staff operational capacity and diabetes competences may impact the timeliness of basal insulin-initiation in general practice patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Design/Setting/Outcomes: This was an observational and retrospective study on Norwegian primary care patients with T2D included from the ROSA4-dataset. Exposures were (1) support staff size, (2) staff size relative to number of GPs, (3) clinic access to a diabetes nurse and (4) share of staff with diabetes course (1 and 2 both relate to staff operational capacity, whereas 3 and 4 are both indicatory of staff diabetes competences). Outcomes were 'timely basal insulin-initiation' (primary) and 'attainment of HbA1c<7%' after insulin start-up (secondary). Associations were analyzed using multiple linear regression, and directed acyclic graphs guided statistical adjustments. Subjects: Insulin naïve patients with 'timely' (N = 294), 'postponed' (N = 219) or 'no need of' (N = 3,781) basal insulin-initiation, respectively. Results: HbA1c [median (IQR)] increased to 8.8% (IQR, 8.0, 10.2) prior to basal insulin-initiation, which reduced HbA1c to 7.3 (6.8–8.1) % by which only 35% of the subjects reached HbA1c <7%. Adjusted risk of 'timely basal insulin-initiation' was more than twofold higher if access to a diabetes nurse (OR = 2.40, [95%CI, 1.68, 3.43]), but related only vaguely to staff size (OR = 1.01, [95%CI, 1.00, 1.03]). No other staff factors related significantly to neither the primary nor the secondary outcome. Conclusion: In Norwegian general practice, insulin initiation in people with T2D may be affected by therapeutic inertia but access to a diabetes nurse may help facilitating more timely insulin start-up. In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) cared for by their general practice physician (GP), insulin therapy was susceptible to therapeutic inertia. In Norwegian general practice, chance of timely basal insulin-initiation was found more than two-fold higher if the GP had access to a diabetes nurse. In contrast, the timeliness of basal insulin-initiation in general practice patients with T2D seemed unaffected by share of support staff with diabetes course and by factors indicatory of support staff overall operational capacity. In Norwegian general practice, a diabetes nurse seems to offer unique clinical benefits to the care of insulin treated patients with T2D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent reviews into maternity safety in the United Kingdom (UK) have led to a paradigm shift in culture and policy around caesarean section (CS) rate monitoring. CS rates in the UK have risen considerably over the last few decades and, in this time, there has been national effort at the level of government to kerb such rises due to concerns about the associated morbidity, and the medicalisation of birth. However, recent findings from two landmark reviews raise concerns that the pursuit of low CS rates may have caused harm to patients in some instances, and this has led the UK government to recommend cessation of the use of total CS rates as performance metric for maternity services. Instead, it is proposed that such data be collected with use of the Robson classification. Ongoing appraisal of maternity safety will be required to evaluate the effect of these changes in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bibliometric analysis of soil monitoring during the period of 1999–2013 was performed based on Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Science Citation Index databases. The measuring parameters included scientific outputs, subject categories and major journals, international collaboration and geographic distribution of authors and countries, keywords, and hot topics. This research demonstrated a significant increase in the field since 1999. The USA was the largest contributor, generating 26.7% of the total articles with a total number of cited times per paper (CPP) of 17.4. The USDA ARS was the most productive institute with a CPP of 19.0. Hot topics were classified into two major groups according to the author keywords analysis: (1) monitoring objectives and indicators, e.g. climate change, land use and agriculture, soil moisture and heavy metals, which reveal the relationships between the soil and environmental factors; (2) monitoring techniques and monitoring scales, e.g. remote sensing and integrated ‘3S’ techniques, and the varied scales aiming at the comprehensive detection of various soil attributes change. We found that environment policy should be formulated regarding heavy metal pollution which raised great concern about soil monitoring. Biodegradation and bioremediation were popular methods to restore the changes in microbial communities, soil water quality, soil organic matter and inorganic matter. What is more, the integration of ‘3S’ techniques at a regional scale guaranteed the rapid data acquisition and facilitated soil mapping and its spatio-temporal pattern analysis, which should be a future research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Expanding access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is one of the key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The extent to which sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) targets will be achieved largely depends on how well they are integrated within Universal Health Coverage (UHC) initiatives. This paper examines challenges and facilitators to the effective provision of three SRHR services (maternal health, gender-based violence (GBV) and safe abortion/post-abortion care) in Ghana. The analysis triangulates evidence from document review with in-depth qualitative stakeholder interviews and adopts the Donabedian framework in evaluating provision of these services. Critical among the challenges identified are inadequate funding, non-inclusion of some SRHR services including family planning and abortion/post-abortion services within the health benefits package and hidden charges for maternal services. Other issues are poor supervision, maldistribution of logistics and health personnel, fragmentation of support services for GBV victims across agencies, and socio-cultural and religious beliefs and practices affecting service delivery and utilisation. Facilitators that hold promise for effective SRH service delivery include stakeholder collaboration and support, health system structure that supports continuum of care, availability of data for monitoring progress and setting priorities, and an effective process for sharing lessons and accountability through frequent review meetings. We propose the development of a national master plan for SRHR integration within UHC initiatives in the country. Addressing the financial, logistical and health worker shortages and maldistribution will go a long way to propel Ghana's efforts to expand population coverage, service coverage and financial risk protection in accessing essential SRH services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most wireless sensor networks (WSN), multi-hop routing algorithm is used to transmit the data collected by sensors to user. Multi-hop forwarding leads to energy hole problem and high transmission overhead in large scale WSN. In order to address these problems, this paper proposes multiple mobile sink based data collection algorithm, which introduces energy balanced clustering and Artificial Bee Colony based data collection. The cluster head election is based on the residual energy of the node. In this study, we focused on a large-scale and intensive WSN which allows a certain amount of data latency by investigating mobile Sink balance from three aspects: data collection maximization, mobile path length minimization, and network reliability optimization. Simulation results show that, in comparison with other algorithms such Random walk and Ant Colony Optimization, the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce data transmission, save energy, improve network data collection efficiency and reliability, and extend the network lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on gender differences in adolescents' life satisfaction has reported inconsistent findings to date. The present study aimed to (a) ascertain whether a gender gap in life satisfaction exists in Luxembourg, (b) estimate the predictive power of gender when controlling for well-identified predictors of life satisfaction, and (c) assess potential gender differences in our predictors' influence on life satisfaction. We used data from 2006 to 2022 pertaining to nationally representative samples of school attendees in Luxembourg (n = 46,937) to achieve our first research goal. We relied on data collected in 2022 (n = 9,432) to achieve our two other research goals. We found boys to consistently report higher life satisfaction than girls over time. However, gender did not predict life satisfaction when controlling for our other predictors. Moreover, the influence of most of the examined factors on life satisfaction did not vary with gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite close to all-embracing access to child healthcare, health divides exist among children in Sweden. Home visits to families with new-born babies are a cost-effective way to identify and strengthen vulnerable families. An extended postnatal home visiting programme has been implemented in a disadvantaged suburb in Stockholm with positive results. Design: Longitudinal, prospective study and register study from medical records. Setting: A vulnerable rural area in Sweden. Intervention: A parent advisor from the social services and a midwife performed an extended home visiting programme during the end of pregnancy to mothers of children born between 1 May 2018 and 31 May 2019. During these children's first 15months, three additional home visits were made by a parent advisor and a child healthcare nurse. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of the intervention on the health of the children and the mothers. Subjects: All firstborn children at the study site (N=30 study, N=55 control group). Main outcome measures: The proportion participating in visits to the child and maternal healthcare services, children being breastfed and receiving childhood vaccinations. Results: There were fewer absentees in the study group during routine check-up visits (93 vs. 84%). More mothers in the study group attended the check-up with the midwives (90 vs. 80%). More children in the study group were breastfed (90 vs. 67%) and received all vaccinations (100 vs. 96%). Conclusion: Supplementing the extended home visiting programme with a visit at the end of pregnancy seems to contribute to fewer absentees at routine visits for both mothers and children; furthermore, more children were breastfed and vaccinated compared with the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequencies of cyber attacks and known cyber vulnerabilities continue to increase and there is a need for models to focus limited administrator attention and build cases for additional resources. A related challenge is the scarcity of available data partly because of security concerns. In this paper, we propose a method based on Markov decision processes (MDP) for the generation and graphical evaluation of relevant maintenance policies for cases with limited data availability. The proposed method also provides an estimate of the cost benefit of collecting additional data. Both Bayesian and non-Bayesian formulations of the transition probabilities and cost models are considered. We apply the proposed method to a real-world cyber-vulnerability dataset and generate specific guidance and cost predictions. We also illustrate the relevance of the proposed method to general MDP modeling using a numerical example involving three levels of data scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores key issues in the development of open access to research data. The use of digital means for developing, storing and manipulating data is creating a focus on ‘data-driven science’. One aspect of this focus is the development of ‘open access’ to research data. Open access to research data refers to the way in which various types of data are openly available to public and private stakeholders, user communities and citizens. Open access to research data, however, involves more than simply providing easier and wider access to data for potential user groups. The development of open access requires attention to the ways data are considered in different areas of research. We identify how open access is being unevenly developed across the research environment and the consequences this has in terms of generating data gaps. Data gaps refer to the way data becomes detached from published conclusions. To address these issues, we examine four main areas in developing open access to research data: stakeholder roles and values; technological requirements for managing and sharing data; legal and ethical regulations and procedures; institutional roles and policy frameworks. We conclude that problems of variability and consistency across the open access ecosystem need to be addressed within and between these areas to ensure that risks surrounding a data gap are managed in open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]