7,870 research outputs found

    Childhood and Race

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    Amongst the many social factors that impact upon children, race is arguably one of the largest. Race is an ever-present social category that governs many elements of a child’s interaction with others, and especially for racial minority children it exerts a deep influence on their understanding of themselves. In this chapter, we shall begin by examining what the concept of race really amounts to, emphasizing its status as a socially constructed concept, before examining in the following section how children first come to recognize the existence of race, and to understand their own racial identity.We will then look at two important areas that illustrate the profound impact that the social presence of race and the child’s developing understanding of racial identity have upon the social conditions of many children. First, we will examine how race and childhood intersect in matters of educational opportunity and achievement, before moving on to examine the issue of transracial adoption in the final section

    Testing the impact of direct and indirect flood warnings on population behaviour using an agent-based model

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    This paper uses a coupled hydrodynamic agent-based model (HABM) to investigate the effect of direct or indirect warnings in flood incident response. This model uses the LISFLOOD-FP hydrodynamic model and the NetLogo agent-based framework and is applied to the 2005 flood event in Carlisle, UK. The hydrodynamic model provides a realistic simulation of detailed flood dynamics through the event, whilst the agent-based model component enables simulation and analysis of the complex, in-event social response. NetLogo enables alternative probabilistic daily routine and agent choice scenarios for the individuals of Carlisle to be simulated in a coupled fashion with the flood inundation. Specifically, experiments are conducted using a novel “enhanced social modelling component” based on the Bass diffusion model. From the analysis of these simulations, management stress points (predictable or otherwise) can be presented to those responsible for hazard management and post-event recovery. The results within this paper suggest that these stress points can be present, or amplified, due to a lack of preparedness or a lack of phased evacuation measures. Furthermore, the methods outlined here have the potential for application elsewhere to reduce the complexity and improve the effectiveness of flood incident management. The paper demonstrates the influence that emergent properties have on systematic vulnerability and risk from natural hazards in coupled socio-environmental systems

    Supporting Policy Design for the Diffusion of Cleaner Technologies: A Spatial Empirical Agent-Based Model

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    Renewable energy resources and energy-efficient technologies, as well as building retrofitting, are only some of the possible strategies that can achieve more sustainable cities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Subsidies and incentives are often provided by governments to increase the number of people adopting these sustainable energy efficiency actions. However, actual sales of green products are currently not as high as would be desired. The present paper applies a hybrid agent-based model (ABM) integrated with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to simulate a complex socio-economic-architectural adaptive system to study the temporal diffusion and the willingness of inhabitants to adopt photovoltaic (PV) systems. The San Salvario neighborhood in Turin (Italy) is used as an exemplary case study for testing consumer behavior associated with this technology, integrating social network theories, opinion formation dynamics and an adaptation of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Data/characteristics for both buildings and people are explicitly spatialized with the level of detail at the block scale. Particular attention is given to the comparison of the policy mix for supporting decision-makers and policymakers in the definition of the most efficient strategies for achieving a long-term vision of sustainable development. Both variables and outcomes accuracy of the model are validated with historical real-world data

    The Nation's Gardeners: Social Work Professionalization and Interpretation Work in Scientific Adoption Practice, 1930-1960

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    This dissertation examines the relationship between scientific knowledge, social work and the social practice of adoption in Ontario, from 1930-1960. It focuses on the role of social workers in public agencies, specifically the Protestant Childrens Aid Societies in Ontario, and voluntary relinquishments by unmarried mothers, within social welfare history. The study uses adoption as a site to explore the professionalization of social work and maintains that adoption was important as a professionalizing project of social workers. Existing scholarship on the growth of scientific expertise and the professions often overlooks the co-operative work required to make science work. By contrast, this study shows how social workers strengthened their own position by integrating developments in science, psychology and medicine in the management and assessment of adoptions. The dissertation interrogates the processes through which professional adoptions became the norm, by focusing on the processes of translation, interpretation work and boundary work in adoption. These are analyzed as strategies that social workers used to improve their position within the system of professions and make adoption governable. The scientific approaches that came to shape social work practice and adoption were shaped by and contributed to nature-nurture debates, challenging narrow hereditarianism. Psychology and child development theories were used by social workers to assess the potential adoptability of children, the fitness of mothers and suitability of adoptive parents, leading to the creation of a new social category--the unadoptable child. This study contributes to sociological research in science studies and forms of governance that structured the development of social services. The rise of scientific adoption practice in the post war period coincided with changing notions of the family and the rise of the therapeutic state. The strategies of professionalization used by social workers helped to popularize new forms of knowledge and strengthen the link between the state and bio-medical authority in family making. The study of adoption raises important questions about the extent to which scientific knowledge and techniques can be used as a basis for discerning social obligations and collective responsibilities for those defined as strangers or kin

    The Potential Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Animal Adoptions in an Italian Shelter

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    SIMPLE SUMMARY: Human–dog relationships are mainly focused on the physical and emotional wellbeing, and has much evolved in the last decades, becoming even more intense over time. Such a novel conception should also be applied to the life that takes place in kennels, which have been mistakenly regarded as a landfill or a burden on society for too many years. Here, we took into consideration an Italian shelter, and analyzed 555 adopted dogs who underwent a well-detailed behavioral training program, to assess the potential impact of the education upon the adoption of attitude. We documented a higher increase in the number of adoptions both for adult and senior animals when compared to the age-matched untrained dogs. Collectively, our data highlight the importance of a proper training, mainly accomplished with reward methods, to get a more suitable and balanced owner-dog attachment. ABSTRACT: One of the main concerns of the human–dog relationship is today associated with the quality life inside the kennels, which are very often regarded as animal dump where dogs are exiled, representing a burden on society. In the present study we sought to investigate the importance of performing an appropriate behavioral program on the adoption chances within an Italian shelter, near Naples (Ottaviano). In this respect, we enrolled 555 adopted dogs of different ages, who followed a tailored-4-month lasting training program between 2018 and 2020. Once entered there, they were carefully examined by the veterinary behaviorist, and directed towards a suited training program, to improve living conditions. We documented a higher number of both adult and senior dogs who left the kennel and were adopted, compared to the age-matched untrained animals (n = 479), housed in the same kennel from 2015 to 2017. Taken together, the present data highlight an important role for training in improving the natural attitudes of the companion dogs, thus pointing towards a better human–animal bond

    Defining Security Requirements with the Common Criteria: Applications, Adoptions, and Challenges

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    Advances of emerging Information and Communications Technology (ICT) technologies push the boundaries of what is possible and open up new markets for innovative ICT products and services. The adoption of ICT products and systems with security properties depends on consumers' confidence and markets' trust in the security functionalities and whether the assurance measures applied to these products meet the inherent security requirements. Such confidence and trust are primarily gained through the rigorous development of security requirements, validation criteria, evaluation, and certification. Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (often referred to as Common Criteria or CC) is an international standard (ISO/IEC 15408) for cyber security certification. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review of the CC standards and its adoptions. Adoption barriers of the CC are also investigated based on the analysis of current trends in security evaluation. Specifically, we share the experiences and lessons gained through the recent Development of Australian Cyber Criteria Assessment (DACCA) project that promotes the CC among stakeholders in ICT security products related to specification, development, evaluation, certification and approval, procurement, and deployment. Best practices on developing Protection Profiles, recommendations, and future directions for trusted cybersecurity advancement are presented

    Parallel computations and control of adaptive structures

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    The equations of motion for structures with adaptive elements for vibration control are presented for parallel computations to be used as a software package for real-time control of flexible space structures. A brief introduction of the state-of-the-art parallel computational capability is also presented. Time marching strategies are developed for an effective use of massive parallel mapping, partitioning, and the necessary arithmetic operations. An example is offered for the simulation of control-structure interaction on a parallel computer and the impact of the approach presented for applications in other disciplines than aerospace industry is assessed

    DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIFIED OPEN E-LOGISTICS STANDARDS DIFFUSION MODEL FOR MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATIONS

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    Open E-Logistics Standards (OELS) is important to facilitate the integration of the supply chain. In OELS, the transmission and the manipulation of data are governed by open data and process standards that define their format, structure, and the semantics of data flow between trading partners. Despite the significant investments made by governments and leading firms, there remain concerns about OELS’ slow development progress and low adoption rates. The potential failure of OELS represents a significant stumbling block for governments and supply chain practitioners who have envisioned a globalized supply chain network electronically enabled by OELS. Researchers are also concerned about the inadequate models that are used to explain and understand the adoption of OELS. Although analysing adopter configurations in what is known as configuration analysis has been examined in disciplines related to science and economics, its application in the study of OELS remains sparse. This research aims to integrate multiple theoretical views, and apply configuration analysis with an improved methodological approach in order to examine OELS diffusion decisions and processes. The project will result in a new algorithm integrating structural equation modelling and neural network, and a decision support system which helps firms improve their OELS adoption decision
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