253 research outputs found
Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women : A case study of implementing the salutogenic theory in practice
Peer reviewe
A pragmatic look at deep imitation learning
The introduction of the generative adversarial imitation learning (GAIL) algorithm has spurred the development of scalable imitation learning approaches using deep neural networks. The GAIL objective can be thought of as 1) matching the expert policy's state distribution; 2) penalising the learned policy's state distribution; and 3) maximising entropy. While theoretically motivated, in practice GAIL can be difficult to apply, not least due to the instabilities of adversarial training. In this paper, we take a pragmatic look at GAIL and related imitation learning algorithms. We implement and automatically tune a range of algorithms in a unified experimental setup, presenting a fair evaluation between the competing methods. From our results, our primary recommendation is to consider non-adversarial methods. Furthermore, we discuss the common components of imitation learning objectives, and present promising avenues for future research
Experiences among migrant parents with a disabled child when interacting with professionals : recognition as an inclusionary and exclusionary mechanism in Finnish public health and social services
This article examines migrant parents' experiences with public health and social services in Finland, relying on data from interviews with 20 parents. We apply the theory of recognition as the theoretical framework for this research. Our focus is on the recognition of and services for disabled persons for two reasons. Firstly, research on disability in the migration context remains lacking. Secondly, whilst many theoretical discussions about recognition exist, empirical studies relying on theory have received less attention. Here, we aim to explore the practical forms of recognition to parents' everyday lives. We rely on theory-guided content analysis as an analytical tool. Based on the results of this research, parents face multiple challenges when encountering public service professionals. This drained parents' resources and hampered their integration into Finnish society. Regardless of problems related to services, parents employed different strategies to gain recognition based on their own resources. Points of interest This research examines in detail how the migrant parents of a disabled child related with Finnish public health and social service professionals. Most parents in this study experienced problems obtaining services, caused by the lack of a shared language and an unfamiliarity with the service system. All parents wanted professionals to recognise their concerns regarding their child's disability, to take into account the parents' views about their child's treatment and treat parents with respect. When parents felt unrecognised, they refused to accept it in many ways. For example, they could resist professionals' plan during meetings or consulted repeatedly emergency room service. This research demonstrates how a delayed or an inappropriate health and social service influenced parents' every-day lives. Consequently, it created long-lasting stress and hampered their integration process into the new country.Peer reviewe
A Pragmatic Look at Deep Imitation Learning
The introduction of the generative adversarial imitation learning (GAIL)
algorithm has spurred the development of scalable imitation learning approaches
using deep neural networks. Many of the algorithms that followed used a similar
procedure, combining on-policy actor-critic algorithms with inverse
reinforcement learning. More recently there have been an even larger breadth of
approaches, most of which use off-policy algorithms. However, with the breadth
of algorithms, everything from datasets to base reinforcement learning
algorithms to evaluation settings can vary, making it difficult to fairly
compare them. In this work we re-implement 6 different IL algorithms, updating
3 of them to be off-policy, base them on a common off-policy algorithm (SAC),
and evaluate them on a widely-used expert trajectory dataset (D4RL) for the
most common benchmark (MuJoCo). After giving all algorithms the same
hyperparameter optimisation budget, we compare their results for a range of
expert trajectories. In summary, GAIL, with all of its improvements,
consistently performs well across a range of sample sizes, AdRIL is a simple
contender that performs well with one important hyperparameter to tune, and
behavioural cloning remains a strong baseline when data is more plentiful.Comment: Asian Conference on Machine Learning, 202
Att kĂ€mpa för oberoende â om förtida sjukpensionering i finlĂ€ndska kvinnors sjĂ€lvbiografier
Artikeln handlar om vad och hur finlĂ€ndska kvinnor diagnostiserade med kronisk ryggsjukdom skrev om förtida pensionering i sina sjĂ€lvbiografiska berĂ€ttelser. Det empiriska materialet insamlades via nationell skrivtĂ€vling och artikeln bygger pĂ„ 26 berĂ€ttelser. Via empatisk lĂ€sning som kvalitativ analys har tre olika former av narrativa identiteter identifierats; âhandikappets paradoxâ, âkamp för överlevnadâ och âambivalens i relation till sjĂ€lvet och samhĂ€lletâ. BerĂ€ttelserna visar hur förtida pensionering upplevdes som ett ifrĂ„gasĂ€ttande av individuellt oberoende. Kampen för oberoende blir central dĂ„ den kulturella normen utpekar oberoende som förmer Ă€n kroppslig brĂ€cklighet och dĂ€rför att det saknas social praxis för att diskutera beroende pĂ„ ett vĂ€rdigt sĂ€tt
Trust, vacillation and neglect - Refugee women's experiences regarding pregnancy and birth giving in Finland
Peer reviewe
Partisanship and positionality in qualitative research: Exploring the influences of the researcherâs experiences of serious crime on the research process
Debates on positionality and partisanship in the research process are long-standing, complex and often highly contentious. Engaging with, and contributing to both these key debates, this paper introduces the concept of victim-as-researcher. There is a growing body of literature which engages with participatory research undertaken with victims of crime. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of literature which speaks to the experiences of victims of serious, violent crime who subsequently engage in qualitative research with offenders who have been convicted of offences similar to the ones experienced by the researcher and which, therefore, can elicit trauma whilst in the field and through analysis. In reflecting on the dilemmas and challenges navigated by the victim-as-researcher seeking to produce an authentic, appreciative account that foregrounds the voices of offenders and seeks to humanise them, this paper engages with a number of key issues including, emotional labour, victimology and reflexivity. Following this discussion of relevant concepts and ideas, the second part of the paper focusses on practical tips to help others who share a positionality as victim-as-researcher. Thus, this paper aims to extend the literature on positionality and victimology by foregrounding the victim-as-researcher as an important category in reflexive sociological and criminological research
NFC-Ett nytt sÀtt att betala
Detta examensarbete handlar om NFC-betalningar, dvs. kontaktlösa betalningar. Akronymen NFC stĂ„r för Near Field Communication och NFC-betalningarna gĂ„r ut pĂ„ att man kan betala inköp av lĂ„gt vĂ€rde (<25âŹ) med att endast föra betalningsföremĂ„let framför en lĂ€sare som registerar köpet. En undersökning om attityder, möjligheter och eventuella rĂ€dslor gĂ€llande temat NFC-betalningar Ă€r syftet för detta arbete. Sammanlagt har nio respondenter intervjuats. Som arbetets uppdragsgivare fungerade S-Banken AB. Arbetet bestĂ„r av tre delar: den inledande, empiriska och avslutande delen. I den inledande delen presenteras tekniken och teorier, som sedan anvĂ€nds som stöd i den empiriska delen. I den avslutande delen analyseras de Ă„stadkomna resultaten och de jĂ€mförs med de presenterade teorierna. I arbetet undersöktes tvĂ„ olika fokusgrupper: barnlösa heltidsstuderanden och personer som arbetar heltid och som har barn. Som teoretisk referensram i arbetet har anvĂ€nts teorier om spridning av innovationer, vĂ€rdeskapande Ă„t konsumenten samt lĂ€rande och minne. Ett delsyfte med undersökningen var att fĂ„ reda pĂ„ om det finns skillnader mellan dessa tvĂ„ gruppers attityder gentemot NFC-betalandet. I undersökningen kom det fram att de nuvarande betalningssĂ€tten Ă€r rĂ€tt sĂ„ djupt inrotade i respondenternas beteendemodeller. Resultaten visade ocksĂ„ att de som arbetade heltid hade en positivare och mer mottagande attityd gentemot NFC-betalningar, Ă€n vad gruppen med studerande hade. Detta Ă€ven om de studerande mer frekvent i sin vardag befinner i situationer dĂ€r de kunde eventuellt dra nytta av NFC-betalningar.This thesis is about NFC payments, i.e. contactless payments. The acronym NFC stands for Near Field Communication. With the NFC payments method the consumer is able to pay purchases of low value (<25 âŹ) by only waving the payment object in front of a reader, which registers the purchase. This is a survey of attitudes, opportunities and possible fears regarding NFC payments. It was assigned by the S-Bank Ltd and a total of nine respondents were interviewed. This thesis consists of three parts: introduction, empirical and closure. In the introduction part I will present theories, which are then used as support in the empirical part. In the closure I will analyze the outcome of the interviews, and compare them with the theories presented. In the empirical part I interviewed two different focus groups: childless full-time students and people who work full time and have children. As a theoretical framework for this thesis I have been using theories of diffusion of innovations, creating consumer value, and learning and memory. Another reason to conduct the survey was to find out whether there are differences in attitudes between the two groups interviewed. The study showed that the current payment methods are quite deeply ingrained in the respondents' behavioral models. The results also showed that those who worked full-time had a more positive attitude towards NFC payments, than the group of students had. This even though the students more frequently find themselves in situations, where they could take advantage of NFC payments.TĂ€mĂ€ opinnĂ€ytetyö kĂ€sittelee NFC-maksamista, eli toisin sanoen kontaktitonta maksamista. NFC on akronyymi sanoista Near Field Communication ja sillĂ€ voi hoitaa maksut siten, ettĂ€ maksuelementtiĂ€ vain vilautetaan lukijan edessĂ€, joka rekisteröi ostokset. TĂ€mĂ€n tutkimuksen tarkoitus on selvittÀÀ haastateltavien asenteita, pelkoja ja ajatuksia mahdollisuuksista mitĂ€ NFC-maksuihin tulee. TĂ€mĂ€n lisĂ€ksi tarkoituksena on myös saada selville, mikĂ€li haastateltujen ryhmien vĂ€lillĂ€ on eroja. Tutkimuksessa on haastateltu yhteensĂ€ yhdeksÀÀ henkilöÀ. Työn toimeksiantajana toimi S-Pankki Oy. OpinnĂ€ytetyö koostuu kolmesta osasta: johdannosta, empiirisestĂ€ osasta sekĂ€ pÀÀtösosasta. Johdannossa esitellÀÀn itse tekniikka ja teorioita, joita sitten sovelletaan empiirisessĂ€ osassa. PÀÀtösosassa analysoidaan saatuja tuloksia ja niitĂ€ verrataan esiteltyihin teorioihin. Tutkimuksessa suoritettiin kaksi fokusryhmĂ€haastattelua. FokusryhmĂ€ 1 koostui lapsettomista, tĂ€yspĂ€ivĂ€isistĂ€ opiskelijoista ja FokusryhmĂ€ 2 tĂ€yspĂ€ivĂ€isesti töissĂ€ kĂ€yvistĂ€ henkilöistĂ€ joilla on lapsia. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenĂ€ tutkimuksessa esitellÀÀn teorioita innovaatioiden leviĂ€misestĂ€, arvon luomisesta kuluttajalle sekĂ€ oppimisesta ja muistista. Tutkimuksessa kĂ€vi ilmi, ettĂ€ nykyiset maksamisen mallit ovat melko syvĂ€sti juurtuneet haastateltavien kĂ€ytös- ja toimintamalleihin. TĂ€mĂ€n lisĂ€ksi selvisi, ettĂ€ tĂ€yspĂ€ivĂ€isesi töissĂ€ kĂ€yvillĂ€ oli positiivisempi suhtautuminen NFC-maksuihin, kuin opiskelijoilla. TĂ€mĂ€ siitĂ€ huolimatta, ettĂ€ opiskelijat tutkimuksen mukaan hyötyisivĂ€t arkipĂ€ivĂ€ssÀÀn useammin NFC-maksamisesta kuin työssĂ€kĂ€yvĂ€
The complexities of 'otherness': reflections on embodiment of a young White British woman engaged in cross-generation research involving older people in Indonesia
This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.If interviews are to be considered embodied experiences, than the potential influence of the embodied researcher must be explored. A focus on specific attributes such as age or ethnicity belies the complex and negotiated space that both researcher and participant inhabit simultaneously. Drawing on empirical research with stroke survivors in an ethnically mixed area of Indonesia, this paper highlights the importance of considering embodiment as a specific methodological concern. Three specific interactions are described and analysed, illustrating the active nature of the embodied researcher in narrative production and development. The intersectionality of embodied features is evident, alongside their fluctuating influence in time and place. These interactions draw attention to the need to consider the researcher within the interview process and the subsequent analysis and presentation of narrative findings. The paper concludes with a reinforcement of the importance of ongoing and meaningful reflexivity in research, a need to consider the researcher as the other participant, and specifically a call to engage with and present the dynamic nature of embodiment
Digital primary care visits designed for different patient segments in the pre-pandemic era: A scoping review
Digital healthcare services have been implemented increasingly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been expected to improve access, reduce inefficiencies, improve the quality of care, lower the cost of healthcare, and provide more personalised care.
This study focuses on digital visits: digital health care services that replace a general practitioner (GP) appointment in primary care. The aim of this review is to assess the perspectives used in studying digital visits, and to describe the services studied in terms of modalities used and patient segments targeted. We aim to find how digital visits were studied prior to their becoming a necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a scoping review of English language papers published between 1.1.2010-31.5.2020. The papers were eligible for the review if they focused on a digital primary care visit which replaced a face-to-face appointment with a GP. In total, 36 papers were included.
Ten of the studies described services tailored to the needs of a patient segment. The rest of the studies (26/36) did not differentiate between patient segments. The most often-used perspective was that of the clinician (16/36 studies). Fifteen studies were descriptive. The costs and outcomes were rarely utilised as a perspective: the costs were used in only one study and outcomes in six. Patient experience was the perspective chosen in 11 studies. Among all the interventions, the most common modality was by phone call (20), and the second most common was asynchronous messaging and video consultation (10 each).
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital visits had mostly been developed for the entire population instead of a particular segment of patients. We argue that developing them to fit the needs of a patient segment would help make them more acceptable and suitable for patients. More studies from the patient perspective are needed to develop these services to better fit the needs of patients. The situation is likely to have changed during the pandemic, as a large number of studies has been published since May 2020
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