An ontology-based approach to engineering ethicality requirements

In a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pervasive, humans may feel threatened or at risk by giving up control to machines. In this context, ethicality becomes a major concern to prevent AI systems from being biased, making mistakes, or going rogue. Requirements Engineering (RE) is the research area that can exert a great impact in the development of ethical systems by design. However, proposing concepts, tools and techniques that support the incorporation of ethicality into the software development processes as explicit requirements remains a great challenge in the RE field. In this paper, we rely on Ontology-based Requirements Engineering (ObRE) as a method to elicit and analyze ethicality requirements (‘Ethicality requirements’ is adopted as a name for the class of requirements studied in this paper by analogy to other quality requirements studied in software engineering, such as usability, reliability, and portability, etc. The use of this term (as opposed to ‘ethical requirements’) highlights that they represent requirements for ethical systems, analogous to how ‘trustworthiness requirements’ represent requirements for trustworthy systems. To put simply: the predicates ‘ethical’ or ‘trustworthy’ are not meant to be predicated over the requirements themselves). ObRE applies ontological analysis to ontologically unpack terms and notions that are referred to in requirements elicitation. Moreover, this method instantiates the adopted ontology and uses it to guide the requirements analysis activity. In a previous paper, we presented a solution concerning two ethical principles, namely Beneficence and Non-maleficence. The present paper extends the previous work by targeting two other important ethicality principles, those of Explicability and Autonomy. For each of these new principles, we do ontological unpacking of the relevant concepts, and we present requirements elicitation and analysis guidelines, as well as examples in the context of a driverless car case. Furthermore, we validate our approach by analysing the requirements elicitation made for the driverless car case in contrast with a similar case, and by assessing our method’s coverage w.r.t European Union guidelines for Trustworthy AI.</p

Juego social por el agua: Relación de la institución CRM con los campesinos de las mercedes 1

El Ecuador se constituye como uno de los países con mayor reserva hídrica en América del Sur, éste hecho se ve contrastado con los problemas de carencia del recurso hídrico en algunas provincias del país que responden principalmente a una ineficiente administración y gestión del agua, debido a que las instituciones provinciales están destinadas a seguir una línea de ruta planteada desde la perspectiva nacional desconociendo la particularidad de cada sector. Este es el caso de la provincia de Manabí, donde se constituyó una entidad local relativa al agua – Centro de Rehabilitación Manabita (CRM) – frente al centralismo e invisibilización de la problemática de la sequía que influyó negativamente en la población mayormente rural1

Oficina de atividades para acompanhantes em um serviço de saúde mental infantil - intervenções da terapia ocupacional

This is an account of experience concerning training of Occupational Therapy at Education that is held at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). Workshop activities wereheld for escorts and family members of children receiving medical at a children’s mental health service, with the proposal to increase attention to children accompanied by municipal schools where training interventions took place. The objectives of the workshops were to enable an warm and an interchangeable atmosphere; to promote experimentation of different activities; to allowmake space for the host population; create a swap space; facilitate experimentation with different activities; allow the listening of this the listening to this population. The workshop activities were open an took one hour’s time once in a week. The results show that, relative to the children’s care, there was an adhesion, supporting the fact that the attention to this group should be better evaluated by the institution. Relative to the team, it was mobilized according to the demands brought by the workshops, maintaining the activities at the end of the school term. For the interns, the experience enabled the refl ection and apprehension about the enlargement of the commitment towards the child care, as well as the power of the tool workshop in the construction of the extended clinic.Trata-se de um relato de experiência referente ao estágio profi ssionalizante de Terapia Ocupacional em Educação que ocorre na Universidade Federal de São Paulo. Com a proposta de ampliar a atenção às crianças acompanhadas nas escolas municipais onde ocorriam as intervenções de estágio, foram realizadas oficinas de atividades  com acompanhantes e familiares de crianças atendidas em um serviço de saúde mental infantil. Os objetivos das oficinas foram possibilitar um espaço de acolhimento e de troca; propiciar experimentações de diferentes atividades; permitir a escuta. As ofi cinas de atividades eram abertas, com periodicidade semanal e duração de uma hora. Os resultados apontam que, em relação aos atendimentos das crianças, houve uma maior adesão, reforçando o fato que a atenção a esse grupo deve ser melhor avaliada pela instituição. Em relação à equipe, esta se mobilizou frente às demandas trazidas pelas oficinas, dando continuidade às atividades ao final do semestre letivo. Para as estagiárias, a experiência permitiu a refl exão e apreensão sobre a ampliação do compromisso em relação ao cuidado da criança, assim como, a potência do dispositivo ofi cina

A utilização do mindfulness para promover a pausa no trabalho: ações realizadas pelos “cuidadores que cuidam de cuidadores” / The use of mindfulness to promote work break: actions taken by "caregivers who care for caregivers"

Relatar a experiência da equipe do projeto “Cuidadores que cuidam de cuidadores” acerca da criação de um espaço para a reflexão sobre as condições de trabalho, destacando a importância da pausa laboral, e relacionada à implementação de técnicas de mindfulness, para propiciar esse momento junto aos enfermeiros gestores de um hospital universitário de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Estudo descritivo do tipo relato de experiência. O cenário do estudo foi um hospital universitário de Minas Gerais. Os participantes foram 12 enfermeiros gestores da Divisão de Enfermagem. Foram desenvolvidos um Workshop sobre a pausa laboral, técnicas de mindfulness e uma avaliação realizados em dez encontros em uma plataforma digital, uma vez por semana, com duração de 30 minutos, durante a jornada de trabalho. Os participantes avaliaram que o mindfulness traz benefícios para a saúde, mas, que exige tempo e disciplina para se exercitar com maior frequência, a fim de permitir efetivamente os momentos de pausa no trabalho. Apesar do tempo curto, as ações realizadas têm incentivado o autocuidado dos enfermeiros gestores e a repensar a vida pessoal e no trabalho, trazendo um posicionamento para o aqui e agora, a fim de criarem ambientes de trabalho mais saudáveis

Association between solar insolation and a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

In many international studies, rates of completed suicide and suicide attempts have a seasonal pattern that peaks in spring or summer. This exploratory study investigated the association between solar insolation and a history of suicide attempt in patients with bipolar I disorder. Solar insolation is the amount of electromagnetic energy from the Sun striking a surface area on Earth. Data were collected previously from 5536 patients with bipolar I disorder at 50 collection sites in 32 countries at a wide range of latitudes in both hemispheres. Suicide related data were available for 3365 patients from 310 onset locations in 51 countries. 1047 (31.1%) had a history of suicide attempt. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempt and the ratio of mean winter solar insolation/mean summer solar insolation. This ratio is smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. This ratio is largest near the equator where there is relatively little variation in the insolation over the year. Other variables in the model that were positively associated with suicide attempt were being female, a history of alcohol or substance abuse, and being in a younger birth cohort. Living in a country with a state-sponsored religion decreased the association. (All estimated coefficients p <0.01). In summary, living in locations with large changes in solar insolation between winter and summer may be associated with increased suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder. Further investigation of the impacts of solar insolation on the course of bipolar disorder is needed.Peer reviewe

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF WHOLE-BODY VIBRATION EXERCISES ON BLOOD FLOW KINETICS OF DIFFERENT POPULATIONS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH A SUITABLE APPROACH

Background: The ability to control skin blood flow decreases with advancing age and some clinical disorders, as in diabetes and in rheumatologic diseases. Feasible clinical strategies such as whole-body vibration exercise (WBVE) are being used without a clear understanding of its effects. The aim of the present study is to review the effects of the WBVE on blood flow kinetics and its feasibility in different populations. Material and Methods: The level of evidence (LE) of selected papers in PubMed and/or PEDRo databases was determined. We selected randomized, controlled trials in English to be evaluated. Results: Six studies had LE II, one had LE III-2 and one III-3 according to the NHMRC. A great variability among the protocols was observed but also in the assessment devices; therefore, more research about this topic is warranted. Conclusion: Despite the limitations, it is can be concluded that the use of WBVE has proven to be a safe and useful strategy to improve blood flow. However, more studies with greater methodological quality are needed to clearly define the more suitable protocols

Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s

Global change is associated with variable shifts in the annual production of aboveground plant biomass, suggesting localized sensitivities with unclear causal origins. Combining remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index data since the 1980s with contemporary field data from 84 grasslands on 6 continents, we show a widening divergence in site-level biomass ranging from +51% to −34% globally. Biomass generally increased in warmer, wetter and species-rich sites with longer growing seasons and declined in species-poor arid areas. Phenological changes were widespread, revealing substantive transitions in grassland seasonal cycling. Grazing, nitrogen deposition and plant invasion were prevalent in some regions but did not predict overall trends. Grasslands are undergoing sizable changes in production, with implications for food security, biodiversity and carbon storage especially in arid regions where declines are accelerating

Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness?

Invasions have increased the size of regional species pools, but are typically assumed to reduce native diversity. However, global-scale tests of this assumption have been elusive because of the focus on exotic species richness, rather than relative abundance. This is problematic because low invader richness can indicate invasion resistance by the native community or, alternatively, dominance by a single exotic species. Here, we used a globally replicated study to quantify relationships between exotic richness and abundance in grass-dominated ecosystems in 13 countries on six continents, ranging from salt marshes to alpine tundra. We tested effects of human land use, native community diversity, herbivore pressure, and nutrient limitation on exotic plant dominance. Despite its widespread use, exotic richness was a poor proxy for exotic dominance at low exotic richness, because sites that contained few exotic species ranged from relatively pristine (low exotic richness and cover) to almost completely exotic-dominated ones (low exotic richness but high exotic cover). Both exotic cover and richness were predicted by native plant diversity (native grass richness) and land use (distance to cultivation). Although climate was important for predicting both exotic cover and richness, climatic factors predicting cover (precipitation variability) differed from those predicting richness (maximum temperature and mean temperature in the wettest quarter). Herbivory and nutrient limitation did not predict exotic richness or cover. Exotic dominance was greatest in areas with low native grass richness at the site- or regional-scale. Although this could reflect native grass displacement, a lack of biotic resistance is a more likely explanation, given that grasses comprise the most aggressive invaders. These findings underscore the need to move beyond richness as a surrogate for the extent of invasion, because this metric confounds monodominance with invasion resistance. Monitoring species’ relative abundance will more rapidly advance our understanding of invasions.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2486