Interventions designed to reduce implicit prejudices and implicit stereotypes in real world contexts: a systematic review

Background Implicit biases are present in the general population and among professionals in various domains, where they can lead to discrimination. Many interventions are used to reduce implicit bias. However, uncertainties remain as to their effectiveness. Methods We conducted a systematic review by searching ERIC, PUBMED and PSYCHINFO for peer-reviewed studies conducted on adults between May 2005 and April 2015, testing interventions designed to reduce implicit bias, with results measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) or sufficiently similar methods. Results 30 articles were identified as eligible. Some techniques, such as engaging with others’ perspective, appear unfruitful, at least in short term implicit bias reduction, while other techniques, such as exposure to counterstereotypical exemplars, are more promising. Robust data is lacking for many of these interventions. Conclusions Caution is thus advised when it comes to programs aiming at reducing biases. This does not weaken the case for implementing widespread structural and institutional changes that are multiply justified

Digital Storytelling in Bangladesh: Experiences, Challenges and Possibilities

This article reflects on a digital storytelling project undertaken for research, communication, and advocacy purposes in Bangladesh. The project trained young women from different regions of the country to make digital stories about their everyday struggles and journeys of personal growth. Excerpts from selected digital stories are shared to highlight how these short films can be used to understand struggles against class and gender hierarchies, sexual harassment, and the need to establish full citizenship rights for minority groups. The article makes a case for digital stories as a new methodology for doing and communicating research. It also sheds light on the nature of the technology itself and confronts the limitations and dilemmas that were faced, particularly with regard to authenticity and representation

Factors correlating with teachers\u27 use of computers in the classroom

This study examined several factors relating to the use of computers in the classroom by teachers. The factors examined in this study included teacher attitudes, emotions, beliefs and outside influences. This was done by a review of past studies, administering two surveys (demographics questionnaire and Computer Attitude Scale) and analyzing the survey data. Questionnaires were distributed to faculty at five randomly selected schools in the Chicagoland area participating in the study. Data from the surveys were then examined by principle components analysis, multiple correlation and multiple regression analyses to determine which factors correlate with teacher computer use in the classroom. This study found that a greater amount of computer experience fostered more positive attitudes towards computers. Teachers with greater years of computer experience were more comfortable with computers. The study also found that usefulness is correlated with grade level taught, teaching experience and classroom use and that computer liking is correlated with grade level taught and teaching experience. The main goal of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers\u27 attitudes, emotions, beliefs, outside influences and teachers use of computers. The results should help administrators and teachers understand why faculty embrace or resist technology. The findings suggest that training professionals should consider many of the correlations between factors found in this study when designing professional development programs for teachers

Pelaksanaan Pendaftaran Akta Pemberian Hak Tanggungan yang Melebihi Batas Waktu Pendaftaran (Studi di Kantor Bpn Kabupaten Malang)

Dalam perjanjian kredit, sudah semestinya bahwa pihak kreditur memperolehjaminan atas piutangnya. Tanah adalah objek jaminan yang paling idealdigunakan karena nilainya semakin meningkat dan tidak mudah musnah. Tanahsebagai jaminan diatur oleh Undang-Undang Nomor 4 Tahun 1996 tentang HakTanggungan. Terhadap tanah yang menjadi objek jaminan harus dilakukanpembebanan hak tanggungan oleh PPAT dan setelah itu wajib didaftarkan kekantor pertanahan sebagai bukti lahirnya Hak Tanggungan dan untuk memenuhiasas publisitas. Dalam pasal 13 ayat (2) Undang-Undang Hak Tanggungan telahditentukan bahwa Selambat-lambatnya 7 (tujuh) hari kerja setelahpenandatanganan Akta Pemberian Hak Tanggungan, PPAT wajib mengirimkanAkta Pemberian Hak Tanggungan beserta warkah lain kepada KantorPertanahan. Namun tidak semua PPAT mentaati aturan tersebut. Di kantor BPNKabupaten Malang masih terdapat PPAT yang mendaftar melebihi batas waktu.Hal itu berarti telah melanggar ketentuan pasal 13 ayat (2) Undang-Undang HakTanggungan. Tetapi, berkas tersebut tetap diterima oleh BPN untuk diprosesmenjadi sertipikat hak tanggungan. Keterlambatan pendaftaran hanya akanmenunda lahirnya Hak Tanggungan, namun tidak mempengaruhi keabsahanAPHT yang didaftarkan. Konsekuensi akan keterlambatan pendaftaran APHT,menimbulkan sanksi administratif terhadap PPAT dan juga kerugian kepadakreditur sebab pendaftaran hak tanggungan menjadi penentu lahirnya HakTanggungan.Kata kunci: keterlambatan pendaftaran, hak tanggungan, pelanggaran PPAT,sanks

Synlabia after Severe Monilia Infections: A Case Report

Case. A 25-year-old woman presented with acute urine retention with overflow 6 months after an inadequate treatment of severe monilia infections. Examination revealed complete adhesion between both labia majora. Division of adhesion was done with reconstruction by labial mucocutaneous flap. Complete recovery was achieved with good cosmetic outcome. Conclusion. Labial adhesions whatever their severity is can be surgically divided with complete correction by locally designed flap to reconstruct the introuitus with rapid recovery, good healing, and good cosmetic outcome

Learning as We Go: An Examination of the Statistical Accuracy of COVID19 Daily Death Count Predictions

This paper provides a formal evaluation of the predictive performance of a model (and its various updates) developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) for predicting daily deaths attributed to COVID19 for each state in the United States. The IHME models have received extensive attention in social and mass media, and have influenced policy makers at the highest levels of the United States government. For effective policy making the accurate assessment of uncertainty, as well as accurate point predictions, are necessary because the risks inherent in a decision must be taken into account, especially in the present setting of a novel disease affecting millions of lives. To assess the accuracy of the IHME models, we examine both forecast accuracy as well as the predictive performance of the 95% prediction intervals provided by the IHME models. We find that the initial IHME model underestimates the uncertainty surrounding the number of daily deaths substantially. Specifically, the true number of next day deaths fell outside the IHME prediction intervals as much as 70% of the time, in comparison to the expected value of 5%. In addition, we note that the performance of the initial model does not improve with shorter forecast horizons. Regarding the updated models, our analyses indicate that the later models do not show any improvement in the accuracy of the point estimate predictions. In fact, there is some evidence that this accuracy has actually decreased over the initial models. Moreover, when considering the updated models, while we observe a larger percentage of states having actual values lying inside the 95% prediction intervals (PI), our analysis suggests that this observation may be attributed to the widening of the PIs. The width of these intervals calls into question the usefulness of the predictions to drive policy making and resource allocation

A systematic benchmark of the ab initio Bethe-Salpeter equation approach for low-lying optical excitations of small organic molecules

The predictive power of the ab initio Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) approach, rigorously based on many-body Green's function theory but incorporating information from density functional theory, has already been demonstrated for the optical gaps and spectra of solid-state systems. Interest in photoactive hybrid organic/inorganic systems has recently increased, and so has the use of the BSE for computing neutral excitations of organic molecules. However, no systematic benchmarks of the BSE for neutral electronic excitations of organic molecules exist. Here, we study the performance of the BSE for the 28 small molecules in Thiel's widely-used time-dependent density functional theory benchmark set [M. Schreiber et al. J. Chem. Phys. 128, 134110 (2008)]. We observe that the BSE produces results that depend critically on the mean-field starting point employed in the perturbative approach. We find that this starting point dependence is mainly introduced through the quasiparticle energies obtained at the intermediate GW step, and that with a judicious choice of starting mean-field, singlet excitation energies obtained from BSE are in excellent quantitative agreement with higher-level wavefunction methods. The quality of the triplet excitations is slightly less satisfactory

Taraxacum officinale and Silybum marianum alone or combined orchestrate experimentally induced hepatic steatosis through lipogenecity, glucose tolerance and oxidant/antioxidant status

Natural products with a long history of safety can modulate obesity. Taraxacum officinale, known as (dandelion) and Silybum marianum known as (milk thistle) have garnered attention for their antioxidant and antiobesity activities. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of dandelion and milk thistle alone or combined against high fat diet (HFD) induced steatohepatitis. 60 male albino rats which were equally subdivided into four groups: group I was received only HFD, other groups (II, III, IV) were received dandelion, milk thistle or dandelion/milk thistle combination respectively for 8 weeks alongside HFD. Insulin resistance, glucose tolerance, lipogenesis and antioxidant capacity were evaluated in the liver tissue. HFD fed rats exhibited increased insulin resistance-related biomarkers, H2O2 level, mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) as well as fatty acid synthase (FAS) activity with decreased reduced glutathione (GSH) level. Herbal supplementation improved those results with best results were for dandelion/milk thistle combination group. Results were confirmed with histopathological examination. Both dandelion and milk thistle alone or combined improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, decreased lipogenesis and increased antioxidant capacity with best results obtained in dandelion/milk thistle combination group, implying a potential application in the treatment of hepatic steatosis associated obesity.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reservedKeywords: High fat diet, obesity, dandelion, milk thistle, lipogenesis, insulin resistanc