Lessons Learned from Implementing Unconscious Bias Training at an Academic Medical Center

Introduction. In 2018, our Midwestern university medical center began offering unconscious bias training. Each session concluded with a standard evaluation. We analyzed two years of data that focused on three areas: 1) whether demographic differences or amount of prior knowledge on the topic influenced the training experience; 2) what participants liked best about the training; and 3) whether participants’ stated intentions to apply their learning at the end of the training aligned with institutional goals of the training. Methods. Participants attended sessions open to the campus community pre-scheduled by the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and posted on its website. Chi-square tests were utilized to test associations between outcomes and questionnaire responses. Outcome measures included race/ethnicity, prior knowledge level, and overall rating of the training. Thematic analysis was used to code comments and establish themes from two open-ended survey questions. Results. Significant differences were found by race and ethnicity for all questionnaire responses; each were p < 0.001. Those who reported they had advanced/expert knowledge on the topic were less likely to report the training increased their knowledge, and those who reported their race as White/Caucasian tended to give the training the highest overall rating, as did heterosexuals. Through thematic analysis, participants valued the interactive nature of the training sessions, the use of storytelling, and the safety of the learning environment. Participants’ intention to apply their learning indicated they had gained general awareness of bias and settings where it might influence their work. Conclusions. In an effort to foster a better working and learning environment for those who are underrepresented in the health professions, training was provide that may not have met the expectations of all participants. At the same time, participants who identified as White clearly increased their awareness of bias. Therefore, it is recommended to move away from one-size-fits-all unconscious bias training and develop a robust training continuum to provide ongoing advancement for diverse audiences

Uptalk, Vocal Fry and, Like, Totally Slang: Assessing Stylistic Trends in American Speech

This paper examines linguistic debates surrounding new stylistic conventions in American English, namely the use o f uptalk (speaking statements with a sing note at the end, as in a question), vocal fry (the injection o f creaky, glottal vibrations at the end o f words), and the increasing appearance o f slang in the United States school system. These phenomena are assessed through the prism o f Dwight Macdonald’s essays on English fromthe l°60s, and the “prescriptive” vs. “descriptive” debate on lexicography bom in that ame decade. While this division of perspectives and \alues defines the rift from past models of language and culture, the current prevalence of the descriptiv e school in American academia and its endorsement of uptalk, vocal fry, and slang designate the trajectory of English’s stylistic future

Programmed \u27Treasuries of Eloquence’: A Rhetorical Take on Productivity Aids in Audio Engineering Software

This project examines the influence of productivity aids in digital audio production software on matters of professional expertise, user experience, and workflow. The research is based on both the public reflections of 25 leading audio engineers about the state of the craft and the field as well as close content analyses of the most widely used software solutions for music mixing. Using the practical tenets of the fourth canon of rhetoric, memory, as a heuristic lens and emphasizing its role as an arbiter of professional expertise, this study contextualizes memory as both recollection strategy and programmed practice. It examines the extent to which embedded productivity aids take over the work of audio engineers and what effects this has on the craft and its community of practitioners. The study culminates in a larger argument about the potentially detrimental effects of automation on creative practice and promotes an appreciation of memory and recollection strategies that inform a pedagogy of critical reflection and active engagement— especially in view of higher education where students prepare for their careers post-graduation

From Music Ontology Towards Ethno-Music-Ontology

This paper presents exploratory work investigating the suitability of the Music Ontology - the most widely used formal specification of the music domain - for modelling non-Western musical traditions. Four contrasting case studies from a variety of musical cultures are analysed: Dutch folk song research, reconstructive performance of rural Russian traditions, contemporary performance and composition of Persian classical music, and recreational use of a personal world music collection. We propose semantic models describing the respective do- mains and examine the applications of the Music Ontology for these case studies: which concepts can be successfully reused, where they need adjustments, and which parts of the reality in these case studies are not covered by the Mu- sic Ontology. The variety of traditions, contexts and modelling goals covered by our case studies sheds light on the generality of the Music Ontology and on the limits of generalisation “for all musics” that could be aspired for on the Semantic Web

The Psychology of Science Denialism and Lessons for Public Health Authorities

As it wreaked tragedy on the world, the outbreak of COVID-19 helped expose a pandemic of a different kind, one steeped in distrust and contrarianism. This movement, termed science denialism, has been lurking and undermining public health efforts for decades. Specifically, it is “the employment of rhetorical arguments to give the appearance of legitimate debate where there is none, an approach that has the ultimate goal of rejecting a proposition on which a scientific consensus exists.” Unlike skepticism, which is “doubt as to the truth of something” and works to progress both science and society, denialism is characterized by individuals’ acceptance of only the evidence that confirms their prior beliefs. The battle cries of denialists are easily recognizable: “vaccines cause autism,” “climate change is a hoax,” and “the flu kills more people than COVID-19,” to name a few. The hallmarks of this thinking include seeing consensus as a conspiracy, using fake experts to give weight to their claims, cherry-picking data, holding impossibly high expectations for science, and relying on misrepresentation and logical fallacies to support their beliefs. With bold statements and calculated tactics, denialists pose a major problem for public health authorities as they undermine research-backed messaging and erode the public’s trust in these authorities’ leadership. In response, authorities must seek to understand denialists’ thinking on both an individual and group level, using these lessons to better craft policies and outreach. On the individual psychological level, denialists form and maintain their beliefs based on motivated reasoning, cognitive dissonance, psychological reactance, heuristics, belief perseverance, and an array of cognitive biases. Similarly, interacting with their community of denialists further bolsters these beliefs through the mechanisms of cultural cognition, in-group bias, and group polarization. An understanding of these influences can help public health authorities institute a multi-pronged approach to counter denialism and its spread. Some techniques include appealing to denialists’ senses of identity, narrative framing, presenting guidance as permissive, showcasing public health measures as gains instead of losses, using pluralistic advocacy to ensure credible experts of diverse values and backgrounds are represented during debates, rebutting claims and logical fallacies, inoculating audiences against misinformation, and conducting motivational interviews rooted in respect and empathy. With these research-backed approaches in hand, public health authorities can better connect with denialists, rebuild the public’s trust, and fulfill their calling to safeguard society’s health and welfare

Translating On the Go? : Investigating the Potential of Multimodal Mobile Devices for Interactive Translation Dictation

This article provides a general overview of interactive translation dictation (ITD), an emerging translation technique that involves interacting with multimodal voice-and-touch-enabled devices such as touch-screen computers, tablets and smartphones. The author discusses the interest in integrating new techniques and technologies into the translation sector, provides a brief description of a recent experiment investigating the potential and challenges of ITD and outlines avenues for future work.Aquest article proveeix un panorama general sobre la traducció dictada interactiva (TDI), tècnica de traducció emergent que implica interactuar amb dispositius multimodals activats amb la veu i el tacte com ara els ordinadors de pantalla tàctil, les tauletes i els telèfons intel·ligents. L'autor examina l'interès d'integrar noves tècnicas i tecnologies al sector de la traducció, proveeix una breu descripció d'un experiment recent que investiga el potencial i els reptes de la TDI, i conclou indicant algunes avingudes per a la recerca futura.Este artículo provee un panorama general sobre la traducción dictada interactiva (TDI), técnica de traducción emergente que implica interactuar con dispositivos multimodales activados con la voz y el tacto tales como los ordenadores de pantalla táctil, las tabletas y los teléfonos inteligentes. El autor examina el interés en integrar nuevas técnicas y tecnologías al sector de la traducción, provee una breve descripción de un experimento reciente que investiga el potencial y los retos de la TDI, y concluye indicando algunas avenidas para investigaciones futuras

Closing the compliance gap in marine protected areas with human behavioural sciences

Advocates, practitioners and policy-makers continue to use and advocate for marine protected areas (MPAs) to meet global ocean protection targets. Yet many of the worlds MPAs, and especially no-take MPAs, are plagued by poaching and ineffective governance. Using a global dataset on coral reefs as an example, we quantify the potential ecological gains of governing MPAs to increase compliance, which we call the ‘compliance gap’. Using ecological simulations based on model posteriors of joint Bayesian hierarchical models, we demonstrate how increased compliance in no-take MPAs could nearly double target fish biomass (91% increases in median fish biomass), and result in a 292% higher likelihood of encountering top predators. Achieving these gains and closing the compliance gap necessitates a substantial shift in approach and practice to go beyond optimizing enforcement, and towards governing for compliance. This will require engaging and integrating a broad suite of actors, principles, and practices across three key domains: (i)) harnessing social influence, (ii) integrating equity principles, and (iii) aligning incentives through market-based instruments. Empowering and shaping communication between actor groups (e.g., between fishers, practitioners, and policy-makers) using theoretically underpinned approaches from the behavioural sciences is one of the most essential, but often underserved aspects of governing MPAs. We therefore close by highlighting how this cross-cutting tool could be further integrated in governance to bolster high levels of compliance in MPAs

Haptic Wave

We present the Haptic Wave, a device that allows cross-modal mapping of digital audio to the haptic domain, intended for use by audio producers/engineers with visual impairments. We describe a series of participatory design activities adapted to non-sighted users where the act of prototyping facilitates dialog. A series of workshops scoping user needs, and testing a technology mock up and lo-fidelity prototype fed into the design of a final high-spec prototype. The Haptic Wave was tested in the laboratory, then deployed in real world settings in recording studios and audio production facilities. The cross-modal mapping is kinesthetic and allows the direct manipulation of sound without the translation of an existing visual interface. The research gleans insight into working with users with visual impairments, and transforms perspective to think of them as experts in non-visual interfaces for all users. This received the Best Paper Award at CHI 2016, the most prestigious human-computer interaction conference and one of the top-ranked conferences in computer science