A Feminist Ethics of Power Perspective on Gender Inequalities in Information Systems Development

With the rise of socio-political movements seeking to improve women\u27s circumstances in society, research on gender has been continuously growing in Information Systems (IS) research. Despite this growth, critical-ethical perspectives on gender power dynamics are lacking. Therefore, we critically investigate the perceptions of male and female IS developers on gender inequalities using feminist ethics of power. We find that interviewees coincide in the belief that inequalities are improving and that gender is not a limiting factor of competencies. However, men and women deviate regarding perceptions of respect and validation, equality, and the drivers that (re-)produce disparities. Additionally, women exhibit fragmented conceptualizations of inclusion. Through a critical analysis of these findings, we expose ethical dilemmas that arise from these contradictory perceptions of gender inequalities and propose pathways for transforming the prevailing order. Our study contributes by advancing a broader perspective on inequalities through the lens of feminist ethics of power

Short-term effects of controlled mating and selection on the genetic variance of honeybee populations

Directional selection in a population yields reduced genetic variance due to the Bulmer effect. While this effect has been thoroughly investigated in mammals, it is poorly studied in social insects with biological peculiarities such as haplo-diploidy or the collective expression of traits. In addition to the natural adaptation to climate change, parasites, and pesticides, honeybees increasingly experience artificial selection pressure through modern breeding programs. Besides selection, many honeybee breeding schemes introduce controlled mating. We investigated which individual effects selection and controlled mating have on genetic variance. We derived formulas to describe short-term changes of genetic variance in honeybee populations and conducted computer simulations to confirm them. Thereby, we found that the changes in genetic variance depend on whether the variance is measured between queens (inheritance criterion), worker groups (selection criterion), or both (performance criterion). All three criteria showed reduced genetic variance under selection. In the selection and performance criteria, our formulas and simulations showed an increased genetic variance through controlled mating. This newly described effect counterbalanced and occasionally outweighed the Bulmer effect. It could not be observed in the inheritance criterion. A good understanding of the different notions of genetic variance in honeybees, therefore, appears crucial to interpreting population parameters correctly

A theoretical derivation of response to selection with and without controlled mating in honeybees

This article was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.Background: In recent years, the breeding of honeybees has gained significant scientific interest, and numerous theoretical and practical improvements have been made regarding the collection and processing of their performance data. It is now known that the selection of high-quality drone material is crucial for mid to long-term breeding success. However, there has been no conclusive mathematical theory to explain these findings. Methods: We derived mathematical formulas to describe the response to selection of a breeding population and an unselected passive population of honeybees that benefits indirectly from genetic improvement in the breeding population via migration. This was done under the assumption of either controlled or uncontrolled mating of queens in the breeding population. Results: Our model equations confirm what has been observed in simulation studies. In particular, we have proven that the breeding population and the passive population will show parallel genetic gain after some years and we were able to assess the responses to selection for different breeding strategies. Thus, we confirmed the crucial importance of controlled mating for successful honeybee breeding. When compared with data from simulation studies, the derived formulas showed high coefficients of determination >0.95 in cases where many passive queens had dams from the breeding population. For self-sufficient passive populations, the coefficients of determination were lower (∼0.8) if the breeding population was under controlled mating. This can be explained by the limited simulated time-frame and lower convergence rates. Conclusion: The presented theoretical derivations allow extrapolation of honeybee-specific simulation results for breeding programs to a wide range of population parameters. Furthermore, they provide general insights into the genetic dynamics of interdependent populations, not only for honeybees but also in a broader context.Peer Reviewe

VLSI implementation of the SIFT algorithm for pitch detection

Speech voicing classification and pitch detection are fundamental techniques in speech analysis. Voicing information provides valuable insights into the nature of the excitation source used in speech production, and the pitch information is useful to many speech processing applications. In 1972 John Markel developed a technique which combines the benefits of inverse linear predictive (LPC) analysis and simple short-time autocorrelation to extract essential speech parameters. The research resulted in the simplified inverse filter tracking (SIFT) algorithm to make voiced/unvoiced classification of speech signals and determine the pitch period. Up until now this algorithm was used in various software algorithms only. However, this paper describes a real-time CMOS hardware implementation of this algorithm small enough to be implemented into various mobile communications equipment

A Closer Look into Recent Video-based Learning Research: A Comprehensive Review of Video Characteristics, Tools, Technologies, and Learning Effectiveness

People increasingly use videos on the Web as a source for learning. To support this way of learning, researchers and developers are continuously developing tools, proposing guidelines, analyzing data, and conducting experiments. However, it is still not clear what characteristics a video should have to be an effective learning medium. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of 257 articles on video-based learning for the period from 2016 to 2021. One of the aims of the review is to identify the video characteristics that have been explored by previous work. Based on our analysis, we suggest a taxonomy which organizes the video characteristics and contextual aspects into eight categories: (1) audio features, (2) visual features, (3) textual features, (4) instructor behavior, (5) learners activities, (6) interactive features (quizzes, etc.), (7) production style, and (8) instructional design. Also, we identify four representative research directions: (1) proposals of tools to support video-based learning, (2) studies with controlled experiments, (3) data analysis studies, and (4) proposals of design guidelines for learning videos. We find that the most explored characteristics are textual features followed by visual features, learner activities, and interactive features. Text of transcripts, video frames, and images (figures and illustrations) are most frequently used by tools that support learning through videos. The learner activity is heavily explored through log files in data analysis studies, and interactive features have been frequently scrutinized in controlled experiments. We complement our review by contrasting research findings that investigate the impact of video characteristics on the learning effectiveness, report on tasks and technologies used to develop tools that support learning, and summarize trends of design guidelines to produce learning video

Monad constructions of omalous bundles

We consider a particular class of holomorphic vector bundles relevant for supersymmetric string theory, called \emph{omalous}, over nonsingular projective varieties. We use monads to construct examples of such bundles over 3-fold hypersurfaces in $\mathbb{P}^{4}$, complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds in $\mathbb{P}^{k}$, blow-ups of $\mathbb{P}^{2}$ at $n$ distinct points, and products $\mathbb{P}^{m}\times\mathbb{P}^{n}$.Comment: 10 page

Transformation in transportation?

The world of transportation is changing. Due to increasing mobility demand, challenges like financing, dealing with emissions and volatile oil prices are accentuated. Decision-makers in the areas of policy and planning have to address these challenges and have try to develop a transportation system capable of meeting the future needs of society and the economy. Thus there is a need for conceptions of the future system as guidelines for decisions. Besides developing new mobility solutions, adapting to a changed world of energy dependencies and addressing social developments will be the main tasks for decision-makers. This paper shows the results of future-oriented research based on the qualitative analysis of megatrends, which were used to describe the main trends setting the direction for future development in transportation and their likely effects. Based on the question of whether there is a transformation – a process of actively supporting change in the transportation system according to trends and changes in frame conditions – going on, analysis of current policies provide a different conclusion. The change in transportation appears as a process of substitution within the boundaries of the fossil-fueled world rather than as transformation in the sense of a fundamental change. Finding alternative development paths would require a perception of transformation as a process of actively shaping and redirecting the system by anticipating and addressing future challenges. Starting points and impulses in this context are rare and to be found in strategies of China, in other parts of Asia and in Europe. The approach of using recent, established and prospective, uncertain megatrends with their potential impact as a basis to provide a future perspective on change processes turned out to be an appropriate way to identify starting points for further research, which should integrate quantitative analysis. Furthermore, additional future-oriented research on megatrends would be needed to accommodate the complexity of the systemic perspective