2013 Study on Children of Seriously Wounded Service Members

Over the course of one year, researchers from The Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic at the University of San Diego interviewed a total of 125 participants, including seriously wounded service members, their spouses and children, as well as military, civilian and nonprofit professionals who work with this population. The study included two phases to ensure a comprehensive understanding around the population and its unfulfilled needs: The first phase focused on understanding the specific needs of children of seriously wounded service members through interviews, focus groups, and reviews of existing research; the second phase focused on an assessment of government and nonprofit programs available to identify gaps that exist.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-military/1003/thumbnail.jp

Where is the Human in HDI?

This position paper views HDI from a human-centred perspective informed by the work of Martin Buber and Eric Fromm. Buber’s ideas of philosophical dialogue (Zank, 2020) concern how humans experience the world and themselves while Fromm’s principles of character orientation (Cherry, 2020) , concern how individuals relate to the world. We seek to discuss the associated relational dynamic at play between humans and data, setting out five questions as a provocation

Four Speculative Design F(r)ictions: Designing for Personal Data Awareness

Human Data Interaction (HDI) takes place within a data economy characterised by power imbalances that favour giant corporations that rely on deceptions comprising a form of privacy theatre. We present speculative design f(r)ictions as critical framing devices to help people engage with, reflect upon and understand obfuscated personal data processes, towards supporting their awareness and agency around personal data sharing. We discuss four concept designs we developed following workshop activities

Lethal in small doses : environmental metaphors for privacy protection in the infosphere

Luciano Floridi coined the term infosphere to update the concept of the "ecosphere" for the information society. Just as with the ecosphere, the infosphere is a fragile environment where ruthless commercial practices can cause lasting economic degradation. Mining for data can in this sense be seen as harmful as mining for tin, and if "big data" is really the new oil, then we must be wary of ruthless data barons causing data spills. The paper reports some of the findings and research of an EPSRC funded project on "cumulative revelations", the risks that are generated through seemingly small and individually innocuous disclosure of information, which nonetheless over time accumulates critical potential. We explore how we can use ideas and concepts from environmental science and environmental law to think of better ways to create sustainable data infrastructures in the presence of such "de-minimis" risks that are ill catered for in traditional risk-based approaches to regulatio

A Preliminary Study on Evaluating Cumulative Revelations in Online Personal Data: Introducing a persona-based cyber safety tool for awareness of online risks and harms

Small pieces of personal information shared online that, on their own, seem innocuous, can, when combined, pose significant and unanticipated risks to security and reputation. These are cumulative revelations. Our persona-based digital cyber safety tool explores how well people can make such connections between items and evaluates their awareness of online risks and harms. In a study conducted on Prolific (n=200) using two scenarios (Identify Theft, Online Reputation) participants’ ability to identify risky posts and piece together revelations varied considerably across the population. Using the tool, a majority reported increased awareness and understanding of risks posed by online behaviour. Using such scenarios, we are learning about how people understand cumulative risks online, while assisting them with learning how to better identify risks posed by digital traces and how to be safer online. Future work will explore the tool’s application in different employment domains

Making sense of trifles : data narratives and cumulative data disclosure

The law does not concern itself with trifles. If a risk is deemed minimal, or an infraction negligible, invoking the authority of the law often seems unnecessary. However, there are increasingly fields of human activity where this principle leads to gaps in the protection neces- sary for a flourishing society. This paper reports findings and ideas from a research project in cumulative data disclosure, where an aggregation of in themselves harmless data points can expose the users of social media to significant personal risk

Grace Under Pressure: a drama-based approach to tackling mistreatment of medical students

A positive and respectful learning environment is fundamental to the development of professional identities in healthcare. Yet medical students report poor behaviour from healthcare professionals that contradict professionalism teaching. An interdisciplinary group designed and implemented a drama-based workshop series, based on applied theatre techniques, to help students develop positive professional qualities and interpersonal skills to deal with challenges in the healthcare setting. We piloted the workshops at the University of Sydney in 2015. Attendees completed evaluation questionnaires and participated in a focus group or interview. Of 30 workshop attendances, there were 29 completed questionnaires and three participants attended a focus group or interview. Workshop activities were rated as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ by 21/22; (95.5%). Thematic analysis of qualitative data highlighted the rationale for participation (to deal with bullying, prevent becoming a bully, learn social skills), workshop benefits (express emotions, learn about status dynamics and deconstructing personalities, empathy, fun), challenges (meeting participants’ expectations, participants’ need for further practice), and implications for medical education (need to develop awareness of others’ perspectives). Our research has shown that there is momentum to challenge mistreatment in medical education. While a multipronged approach is needed to generate systemic change, this pilot offers a positive and creative innovation. It helps students improve their interpersonal skills and sense of self to deal with challenges in the healthcare setting, including mistreatment

Weak Lensing with SDSS Commissioning Data: The Galaxy-Mass Correlation Function To 1/h Mpc

(abridged) We present measurements of galaxy-galaxy lensing from early commissioning imaging data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We measure a mean tangential shear around a stacked sample of foreground galaxies in three bandpasses out to angular radii of 600'', detecting the shear signal at very high statistical significance. The shear profile is well described by a power-law. A variety of rigorous tests demonstrate the reality of the gravitational lensing signal and confirm the uncertainty estimates. We interpret our results by modeling the mass distributions of the foreground galaxies as approximately isothermal spheres characterized by a velocity dispersion and a truncation radius. The velocity dispersion is constrained to be 150-190 km/s at 95% confidence (145-195 km/s including systematic uncertainties), consistent with previous determinations but with smaller error bars. Our detection of shear at large angular radii sets a 95% confidence lower limit $s>140^{\prime\prime}$, corresponding to a physical radius of $260h^{-1}$ kpc, implying that galaxy halos extend to very large radii. However, it is likely that this is being biased high by diffuse matter in the halos of groups and clusters. We also present a preliminary determination of the galaxy-mass correlation function finding a correlation length similar to the galaxy autocorrelation function and consistency with a low matter density universe with modest bias. The full SDSS will cover an area 44 times larger and provide spectroscopic redshifts for the foreground galaxies, making it possible to greatly improve the precision of these constraints, measure additional parameters such as halo shape, and measure the properties of dark matter halos separately for many different classes of galaxies.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, submitted to A

Verbatim Theater: Prompting Reflection and Discussion about Healthcare Culture as a Means of Promoting Culture Change

Problem: The mistreatment of medical and nursing students and junior health professionals has been reported internationally in research and the media. Mistreatment can be embedded and normalized in hierarchical healthcare workplaces, limiting the effectiveness of policies and reporting tools to generate change; as a result, some of those who experience mistreatment later perpetuate it. We used a novel, creative approach, verbatim theater, to highlight the complexity of healthcare workplaces, encourage critical reflection, and support long-term culture change. Intervention: Verbatim theater is a theater-for-change documentary genre in which a playscript is devised using only the words spoken by informants. In 2017, 30 healthcare students and health professionals were recruited and interviewed about their experience of work and training by the multidisciplinary Sydney Arts and Health Collective using semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts became the primary material from which the script for the verbatim theater play ‘Grace Under Pressure’ was developed. The performing arts have previously been used to develop the communication skills of health professional students; this esthetic expression of the real-life effects of healthcare workplace culture on trainees and students was implemented to stimulate consciousness of, and dialogue about, workplace mistreatment in healthcare work and training. Context: The play premiered at a major Sydney theater in October 2017, attended by the lay public and student and practicing health professionals. In November 2017, three focus groups were held with a sample of audience members comprising healthcare professionals and students. These focus groups explored the impact of the play on reflection and discussion of healthcare culture and/or promoting culture change in the health workplace. We analyzed the focus group data using theoretical thematic analysis, informed by Turner’s theory of the relation between ‘social’ and ‘esthetic’ drama to understand the impact of the play on its audience. Impact: Focus group members recognized aspects of their personal experience of professionalism, training, and workplace culture in the play, Grace Under Pressure. They reported that the play’s use of real-life stories and authentic language facilitated their critical reflection. Participants constructed some learning as ‘revelation,’ in which the play enabled them to gain significant new insight into the culture of health care and opened up discussions with colleagues. As a result, participants suggested possible remedies for unhealthy aspects of the culture, including systemic issues of bullying and harassment. A small number of participants critiqued aspects of the play they believed did not adequately reflect their experience, with some believing that the play over-emphasized workplace mistreatment. Lessons Learned: Verbatim theater is a potent method for making personal experiences of healthcare workplace and training culture more visible to lay and health professional audiences. In line with Turner’s theory, the play’s use of real-life stories and authentic language enabled recognition of systemic challenges in healthcare workplaces by training and practicing health professionals in the audience. Verbatim theater provides a means to promote awareness and discussion of difficult social issues and potential means of addressing them

Oscillatory surface rheotaxis of swimming E. coli bacteria

Bacterial contamination of biological conducts, catheters or water resources is a major threat to public health and can be amplified by the ability of bacteria to swim upstream. The mechanisms of this rheotaxis, the reorientation with respect to flow gradients, often in complex and confined environments, are still poorly understood. Here, we follow individual E. coli bacteria swimming at surfaces under shear flow with two complementary experimental assays, based on 3D Lagrangian tracking and fluorescent flagellar labelling and we develop a theoretical model for their rheotactic motion. Three transitions are identified with increasing shear rate: Above a first critical shear rate, bacteria shift to swimming upstream. After a second threshold, we report the discovery of an oscillatory rheotaxis. Beyond a third transition, we further observe coexistence of rheotaxis along the positive and negative vorticity directions. A full theoretical analysis explains these regimes and predicts the corresponding critical shear rates. The predicted transitions as well as the oscillation dynamics are in good agreement with experimental observations. Our results shed new light on bacterial transport and reveal new strategies for contamination prevention.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure