Connecting with Youth at Risk: Indigenous Organizations Use of Facebook

A qualitative study in which we conducted four interviews with two communication managers and two youth program managers of three indigenous organizations with offices in Ottawa, the data generated from the interviews were coded based on factors identified through thematic analysis. Indigenous organizations use Facebook for two main reasons. The first reason is to promote the work of these organizations to the public and for them, in turn to listen to the public’s opinions about news related to indigenous peoples’ wellbeing. Secondly, Facebook is also used to engage urban indigenous youth at risk with indigenous organizations that provide social programs and outreach. Indigenous organizations use Facebook because many urban indigenous youth in Ottawa are using Facebook and it is the fastest way to connect with them when they are or feel at risk

Sources of Irreproducibility in Machine Learning: A Review

Lately, several benchmark studies have shown that the state of the art in some of the sub-fields of machine learning actually has not progressed despite progress being reported in the literature. The lack of progress is partly caused by the irreproducibility of many model comparison studies. Model comparison studies are conducted that do not control for many known sources of irreproducibility. This leads to results that cannot be verified by third parties. Our objective is to provide an overview of the sources of irreproducibility that are reported in the literature. We review the literature to provide an overview and a taxonomy in addition to a discussion on the identified sources of irreproducibility. Finally, we identify three lines of further inquiry

Endocrine cells in the ileum of patients with irritable bowel syndrome

AIM: To study the ileal endocrine cell types in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. METHODS: Ninety-eight patients with IBS (77 females and 21 males; mean age 35 years, range 18-66 years) were included, of which 35 patients had diarrhea (IBS-D), 31 patients had a mixture of both diarrhea and constipation (IBS-M), and 32 patients had constipation (IBS-C) as the predominant symptoms. The controls were 38 subjects (26 females and 12 males; mean age 40 years, range 18-65 years) who had submitted to colonoscopy for the following reasons: gastrointestinal bleeding, where the source of bleeding was identified as hemorrhoids (n = 24) or angiodysplasia (n = 3), and health worries resulting from a relative being diagnosed with colon carcinoma (n = 11). The patients were asked to complete the: Birmingham IBS symptom questionnaire. Ileal biopsy specimens from all subjects were immunostained using the avidin-biotin-complex method for serotonin, peptide YY (PYY), pancreatic polypeptide (PP), enteroglucagon, and somatostatin cells. The cell densities were quantified by computerized image analysis, using Olympus cellSens imaging software. RESULTS: The gender and age distributions did not differ significantly between the patients and the controls (P = 0.27 and P = 0.18, respectively). The total score of Birmingham IBS symptom questionnaire was 21 ± 0.8, and the three underlying dimensions: pain, diarrhea, and constipation were 7.2 ± 0.4, 6.6 ± 0.4, and 7.2 ± 0.4, respectively. The density of serotonin cells in the ileum was 40.6 ± 3.6 cells/mm2 in the controls, and 11.5 ± 1.2, 10.7 ± 5.6, 10.0 ± 1.9, and 13.9 ± 1.4 cells/mm2 in the all IBS patients (IBS-total), IBS-D, IBS-M, and IBS-C patients, respectively. The density in the controls differed significantly from those in the IBS-total, IBS-D, IBS-M, and IBS-C groups (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001, and P < 0.0001, respectively). There was a significant inverse correlation between the serotonin cell density and the pain dimension of Birmingham IBS symptom questionnaire (r = -0.6, P = 0.0002). The density of PYY cells was 26.7 ± 1.6 cells/mm2 in the controls, and 33.1 ± 1.4, 27.5 ± 1.4, 34.1 ± 2.5, and 41.7 ± 3.1 cells/mm2 in the IBS-total, IBS-D, IBS-M, and IBS-C patients, respectively. This density differed significantly between patients with IBS-total and IBS-C and the controls (P = 0.03 and < 0.0001, respectively), but not between controls and, IBS-D, and IBS-M patients (P = 0.8, and P = 0.1, respectively). The density of PYY cells correlated significantly with the degree of constipation as recorded by the Birmingham IBS symptom questionnaire (r = 0.6, P = 0.0002). There were few PP-, enteroglucagon-, and somatostatin-immunoreactive cells in the biopsy material examined, which made it impossible to reliably quantify these cells. CONCLUSION: The decrease of ileal serotonin cells is associated with the visceral hypersensitivity seen in all IBS subtypes. The increased density of PYY cells in IBS-C might contribute to the constipation experienced by these patients

Arbeidsmiljøets betydning for sykepleierstudenters valg av arbeidsgiver En kvalitativ studie med søkelys på rekruttering av sykepleiere til kommunale helse- og omsorgstjenester

Det er behov for at flere sykepleiere vil jobbe i kommunehelsetjenesten. En spørreundersøkelse blant tredjeårsstudenter fra et årskull i bachelorprogram sykepleie (n=101) synliggjorde arbeidsmiljø som den viktigste faktoren for valg av arbeidsgiver som nyutdannede sykepleiere. Denne artikkelen omhandler en oppfølgingsstudie, hvor hensikten var å få økt innsikt i hva sykepleierstudenter forbinder med et godt arbeidsmiljø. Studien hadde et kvalitativt design, med semistrukturerte individuelle intervjuer av 15 studenter rekruttert fra samme kull som spørreundersøkelsen. Datamaterialet ble analysert tematisk, og vi fant at studentene beskrev et godt arbeidsmiljø som spennende, støttende og levelig. Funnene indikerer at tilrettelegging for et godt arbeidsmiljø for sykepleierstudenter i praksis og nyutdannede sykepleiere kan ha betydning for rekrutteringen til kommunale helse- og omsorgstjenester.publishedVersio

Evaluering av forvaltningsordningen for nasjonalparker og andre store verneområder

Source at https://www.nordlandsforskning.no/nb/publikasjoner/report/evaluering-av-forvaltningsordningen-nasjonalparker-og-andre-store-verneomraderDette er en evaluering av forvaltningsordningen for nasjonalparker og andre store verneområder som ble innført i 2009. Problemstillinger som besvares i evalueringen er: Er formålet med vernet ivaretatt på kort og lang sikt? Har styrene en enhetlig praksis og måloppnåelse innenfor og mellom verneområder? Har reformen oppnådd bedre lokal forankring, medvirkning, og eierskap? I hvilken grad er forvaltningsmodellen samfunnsøkonomisk

Moose as an industry in a rural Norwegian Community: Management of moose as an economic resource in areas with predators, traffic and forestry

Norsk: Vi har utformet en skisse for et prosjekt som skal gi svar på om elgbestanden i Stor-Elvdal kan gi grunnlag for en økonomisk levedyktig, og økologisk bærekraftig, næringsvirksomhet. Prosjektet er delt i økologiske delprosjekt som skal gi informasjon til utarbeiding av bioøkonomiske modeller. Til tross for at elgen er en godt studert dyreart trenger vi grundigere studier av effekten av landskapsformer, vilttiltak og rovdyr på bestandsutvikling og forflytningsmønster, og dermed på skogskader og elgpåkjørsler. Vi trenger avskytingsmodeller som inkorporerer tap til rovdyr, påkjørsler og tilfeldige variasjoner i demografi. Den økologiske og økonomiske informasjonen skal nyttes av samfunnsvitere for å utarbeide alternative modeller for forvaltning av viltstammer som trekker over eiendomsgrenser. Skissen skal brukes som et underlag for videre arbeid med å finansiere og gjennomføre prosjektet Elg som næring.English: We have outlined a project to evaluate if an ecological and economical sound enterprise may be based on the moose population of Stor-Elvdal municipality. The project is composed of ecological units that shall give information to make economical models. Even though the moose is a well-studied species, we need more thorough studies of the effect of landscape, management programs and carnivores on population development and movements of moose, and on forest damage and moose-traffic accidents. We need harvesting models that incorporate movement patterns and losses to carnivores and traffic. The ecological and economical information must be used by social scientists to make models of how populations which cross property borders may be managed.Statens landbruksbank. Enkelte studier som rapporten bygger på er også støttet av Kirke, Undervisnings og Forskningsdepartementet (KUF), Jernbaneverket, Stor-Elvdal kommune, Glommen skogeierforening, grunneiere i Stor-Elvdal, Direktoratet for naturforvaltning (DN), Rentemiddelutvalget i Stor-Elvdal, Ytre Rendalen Grunneierforening, Øvre Rendalen Utmarksråd og Høgskolen i Hedmark (HH)

REFORMS: Reporting Standards for Machine Learning Based Science

Machine learning (ML) methods are proliferating in scientific research. However, the adoption of these methods has been accompanied by failures of validity, reproducibility, and generalizability. These failures can hinder scientific progress, lead to false consensus around invalid claims, and undermine the credibility of ML-based science. ML methods are often applied and fail in similar ways across disciplines. Motivated by this observation, our goal is to provide clear reporting standards for ML-based science. Drawing from an extensive review of past literature, we present the REFORMS checklist ($\textbf{Re}$porting Standards $\textbf{For}$ $\textbf{M}$achine Learning Based $\textbf{S}$cience). It consists of 32 questions and a paired set of guidelines. REFORMS was developed based on a consensus of 19 researchers across computer science, data science, mathematics, social sciences, and biomedical sciences. REFORMS can serve as a resource for researchers when designing and implementing a study, for referees when reviewing papers, and for journals when enforcing standards for transparency and reproducibility

GSuite HyperBrowser: integrative analysis of dataset collections across the genome and epigenome

Background: Recent large-scale undertakings such as ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics have generated experimental data mapped to the human reference genome (as genomic tracks) representing a variety of functional elements across a large number of cell types. Despite the high potential value of these publicly available data for a broad variety of investigations, little attention has been given to the analytical methodology necessary for their widespread utilisation. Findings: We here present a first principled treatment of the analysis of collections of genomic tracks. We have developed novel computational and statistical methodology to permit comparative and confirmatory analyses across multiple and disparate data sources. We delineate a set of generic questions that are useful across a broad range of investigations and discuss the implications of choosing different statistical measures and null models. Examples include contrasting analyses across different tissues or diseases. The methodology has been implemented in a comprehensive open-source software system, the GSuite HyperBrowser. To make the functionality accessible to biologists, and to facilitate reproducible analysis, we have also developed a web-based interface providing an expertly guided and customizable way of utilizing the methodology. With this system, many novel biological questions can flexibly be posed and rapidly answered. Conclusions: Through a combination of streamlined data acquisition, interoperable representation of dataset collections, and customizable statistical analysis with guided setup and interpretation, the GSuite HyperBrowser represents a first comprehensive solution for integrative analysis of track collections across the genome and epigenome. The software is available at: https://hyperbrowser.uio.no.This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway (under grant agreements 221580, 218241, and 231217/F20), by the Norwegian Cancer Society (under grant agreements 71220’PR-2006-0433 and 3485238-2013), and by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (under grant agreement 2014041).Peer Reviewe

An Ensemble Method: Case-Based Reasoning and the Inverse Problems in Investigating Financial Bubbles

This paper presents an ensemble approach and model; IPCBR, that leverages the capabilities of Case based Reasoning (CBR) and Inverse Problem Techniques (IPTs) to describe and model abnormal stock market fluctuations (often associated with asset bubbles) in time series datasets from historical stock market prices. The framework proposes to use a rich set of past observations and geometric pattern description and then applies a CBR to formulate the forward problem; Inverse Problem formulation is then applied to identify a set of parameters that can statistically be associated with the occurrence of the observed patterns. The technique brings a novel perspective to the problem of asset bubbles predictability. Conventional research practice uses traditional forward approaches to predict abnormal fluctuations in financial time series; conversely, this work proposes a formative strategy aimed to determine the causes of behaviour, rather than predict future time series points. This suggests a deviation from the existing research trend

Standing on the feet of giants - Reproducibility in AI

A recent study implies that research presented at top artificial intelligence conferences is not documented well enough for the research to be reproduced. My objective was to investigate whether the quality of the documentation is the same for industry and academic research or if differences actually exist. My hypothesis is that industry and academic research presented at top artificial intelligence conferences is equally well documented. A total of 325 International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence and Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence research papers reporting empirical studies have been surveyed. Of these, 268 were conducted by academia, 47 were collaborations, and 10 were conducted by the industry. A set of 16 variables, which specifies how well the research is documented, was reviewed for each paper and each variable was analyzed individually. Three reproducibility metrics were used for assessing the documentation quality of each paper. The findings indicate that academic research does score higher than industry and collaborations on all three reproducibility metrics. Academic research also scores highest on 15 out of the 16 surveyed variables. The result is statistically significant for 3 out of the 16 variables, but none of the reproducibility metrics. The conclusion is that the results are not statistically significant, but still indicate that my hypothesis probably should be refuted. This is surprising, as the conferences use double-blind peer review and all research is judged according to the same standards