Creepiness Creeps In: Uncanny Valley Feelings Are Acquired in Childhood

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150519/1/cdev12999_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150519/2/cdev12999.pd

Infants Use Statistical Sampling to Understand the Psychological World

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133581/1/infa12131.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133581/2/infa12131_am.pd

Explaining the willingness of public professionals to implement new policies: A policy alienation framework

Nowadays, many public policies focus on economic values, such as efficiency and client choice. Public professionals often show resistance to implementing such policies. We analyse this problem using an interdisciplinary approach. From public administration, we draw on the policy alienation concept, which consists of five dimensions: strategic powerlessness, tactical powerlessness, operational powerlessness, societal meaninglessness and client meaninglessness. These are considered as factors that influence the willingness of professionals to implement policies (change willingness - a concept drawn from the change management literature). We test this model in a survey among 478 Dutch healthcare professionals implementing a new reimbursement policy. The first finding was that perceived autonomy (operational powerlessness) significantly influenced change willingness, whereas strategic and tactical powerlessness were not found to be significant. Second, both the meaninglessness dimensions proved highly significant. We conclude that clarifying the value of a policy is important in getting professionals to willingly implement a policy, whereas their participation on the strategic or tactical levels seems less of a motivational factor. These insights help in understanding why public professionals embrace or resist the implementation of particular policies. Points for practitioners Policymakers develop public policies which, nowadays, tend to focus strongly on economic values, such as increasing efficiency or offering citizens the opportunity to choose among suppliers of public services. Public professionals, who have to implement these policies, are often reluctant to do so. This study shows that the causes of this resistance are unlikely to be found in the lack of influence these professionals have in the shaping of the policy at the national or organizational level. Rather, professionals might resist implementing policies because they do not see them as meaningful for society, or for their own clients. Therefore, policymakers should focus on this perceived meaninglessness and adopt ways to counter this, for example by intensively communicating the value associated with a policy

Leveraging data science and machine learning for urban climate adaptation in two major African cities: a HE 2 AT Center study protocol

Introduction: African cities, particularly Abidjan and Johannesburg, face challenges of rapid urban growth, informality and strained health services, compounded by increasing temperatures due to climate change. This study aims to understand the complexities of heat-related health impacts in these cities. The objectives are: (1) mapping intraurban heat risk and exposure using health, socioeconomic, climate and satellite imagery data; (2) creating a stratified heat–health forecast model to predict adverse health outcomes; and (3) establishing an early warning system for timely heatwave alerts. The ultimate goal is to foster climate-resilient African cities, protecting disproportionately affected populations from heat hazards. Methods and analysis: The research will acquire health-related datasets from eligible adult clinical trials or cohort studies conducted in Johannesburg and Abidjan between 2000 and 2022. Additional data will be collected, including socioeconomic, climate datasets and satellite imagery. These resources will aid in mapping heat hazards and quantifying heat–health exposure, the extent of elevated risk and morbidity. Outcomes will be determined using advanced data analysis methods, including statistical evaluation, machine learning and deep learning techniques. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the Wits Human Research Ethics Committee (reference no: 220606). Data management will follow approved procedures. The results will be disseminated through workshops, community forums, conferences and publications. Data deposition and curation plans will be established in line with ethical and safety considerations

Sequence of theory‐of‐mind acquisition in Turkish children from diverse social backgrounds

We examined the sequence of theory of mind (ToM) acquisition in 260 Turkish children (Mage = 53.36 months, SD = 10.37) and the demographic factors associated with it. Children came from 5 different cities in Turkey. Their ToM skills were measured using ToM Scale, which probes various mental state understandings from diverse desires to hidden emotions. These Turkish children demonstrated the traditional, collectivist ToM acquisition pattern evident in Iran and China with earlier understanding of knowledge access than diverse beliefs, not the western, individualist pattern evident in the United States, Australian, and German children. Gender, socio‐economic status (SES), and number of adults living in the home influenced the pace of children’s ToM acquisitions. A post hoc analysis examined a minority of children that exhibited individualist ToM acquisition with earlier achievement of diverse beliefs than knowledge access. The results contribute to a fuller sociocultural understanding of ToM development including examination of variations within a single heterogeneous developing country. They also further suggest the importance of exposure to different ideas and beliefs in large households for earlier understanding of varying belief states.HighlightsWe assessed theory of mind (ToM) acquisition in 260 Turkish children whose families spanned a large range of social class circumstances.We measured ToM via Wellman and Liu’s scale (2004), consisting of five items testing diverse desires, diverse belief, knowledge access, false belief, and hidden emotion.The Turkish children demonstrated the traditional, collectivist ToM acquisition pattern, but a minority of children exhibited individualistic ToM acquisition. In cultures where elements of individualism and collectivism are blended, children can come to different orders of acquisition in accord with recent arguments that cultural development often represents a coexistence of different reasoning styles.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145214/1/icd2098.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145214/2/icd2098_am.pd

Cost-effectiveness and impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV among men who have sex with men in Asia: A modelling study.

IntroductionMore than 70% of new HIV infections in Asia occurred in eight countries in 2020: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam-with a rising incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for those at risk of acquiring HIV, yet wide-scale implementation of PrEP, on a daily or event-driven basis, has been limited in Asia.MethodsThe Optima HIV model was applied to examine the impact of scaling-up PrEP over five-years to cover an additional 15% of MSM compared with baseline coverage, a target deemed feasible by regional experts. Based on behavioral survey data, we assume that covering 15% of higher-risk MSM will cover 30% of all sexual acts in this group. Scenarios to compare the impact of generic-brand daily dosing of PrEP with generic event-driven dosing (15 days a month) were modelled from the start of 2022 to the end of 2026. Cost-effectiveness of generic versus branded PrEP was also assessed for China, the only country with an active patent for branded, higher cost PrEP. The impact on new HIV infections among the entire population and cost per HIV-related disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted were estimated from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2031 and from 2022 to 2051.ResultsIf PrEP were scaled-up to cover an additional 15% of MSM engaging in higher-risk behavior from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2026 in the eight Asian countries considered, an additional 100,000 (66,000-130,000) HIV infections (17%) and 300,000 (198,000-390,000) HIV-related DALYs (3%) could be averted over the 2022 to 2031 period. The estimated cost per HIV-related DALY averted from 2022 to 2031 ranged from US$600 for event-driven generic PrEP in Indonesia to US$34,400 for daily branded PrEP in Thailand. Over a longer timeframe from 2022 to 2051, the cost per HIV-related DALY averted could be reduced to US$100-US$12,700.ConclusionPrEP is a critical tool to further reduce HIV incidence in highly concentrated epidemics. Implementing PrEP in Asia may be cost-effective in settings with increasing HIV prevalence among MSM and if PrEP drug costs can be reduced, PrEP could be more cost-effective over longer timeframes