R&D priority-setting for global catastrophic risks: The case of the NASA planetary defense mission

"Mission-oriented" public research organizations invest in R&D to improve decision-making around complex policy problems from climate change to asteroid impacts, thus producing public value. However, the estimation of benefits produced by such R&D projects is notoriously difficult to predict and measure - a challenge that is magnified for global catastrophic risks (GCRs). GCRs are highly uncertain risks that may pose enormous negative consequences for humanity. This article explores how public research organizations systematically reduce key uncertainties associated with GCRs. Building off of recent literature highlighting the organizational and political factors that influence R&D priority-setting at public research organizations, this article develops an analytical framework for explaining R&D priority-setting outcomes that integrates the key stages of decision analysis with organizational and political dynamics identified in the literature. This framework is then illustrated with a case study of the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which addresses the GCR of near-Earth object (asteroid and comet) impacts. The case study reveals how organizational and political factors interact with every stage in the R&D priority-setting process - from initial problem definition to project selection. Lastly, the article discusses the extent to which the case study can inform R&D priority-setting at other public organizations, particularly those addressing GCRs.     

给地球画张重力图

要想速减肥,赶快到斯里兰卡海边去航海.由于中印度海盆的存在,那里是地球上重力场最弱的地区之一.     

Tailoring an information skills programme for Trainee Nursing Associates

This feature describes the tailored information skills programme which was delivered for the second cohort of Trainee Nursing Associates (TNAs) at Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and presents the results of the evaluation which was undertaken. Literature searching and critical appraisal were offered to the first cohort. Feedback was collated, and sessions were refined and tailored to better meet the information needs of the second cohort of TNAs. A comparison of confidence ratings before and after the programme ascertained whether the information skills programme had a positive benefit in confidence levels of attendees. D.I.     

Health informatics in Chile: responding to health reforms

Chile is in the throes of health reforms aimed at ensuring that every person with specified chronic diseases receives timely and high quality care. CITs are crucial to the achievement of this vision because they make it possible to manage information and knowledge in a more efficient way. Until a few years ago, the incorporation of CITs was limited to individual initiatives, but since 2004 there has been a master plan to coordinate this task in the public sector. Some projects are now operative but there is still a long road to travel before getting to our destination. One of the most underdeveloped areas is the clinical applications of health CITs, especially the incorporation of biomedical knowledge to clinical practice. The two biggest challenges facing the Digital Agenda for the health care system are (i) to develop a critical mass of clinicians and health related professionals with expertise in Health Informatics; and (ii) to foster technical integration of the private and public sectors of the health care market.     

Maintenance of responding when reinforcement becomes delayed

In four experiments with rats, we examined the persistence of behavior when reinforcement was switched from immediate to delayed. In Experiment 1, lever pressing elicited by instrumental training with immediate reinforcement continued when a 20-sec delay of reinforcement was introduced (easy-to-hard condition), whereas when the delay condition was introduced from the start (hard-to-hard condition), responding remained low throughout. A similar result was obtained in Experiment 2, in which lever pressing was elicited by a classical conditioning (autoshaping) procedure. In Experiment 3, rats initially trained with delayed reinforcement continued to respond at a low rate when switched to immediate reinforcement (hard-to-easy condition). By measuring magazine entry (goal tracking) as well as lever pressing (sign tracking) in Experiment 4, we confirmed that such transfer effects at least partly involve the persistence of whatever type of behavior was initially dominant.     

Interactions between retroactive-interference and context-mediated treatments that impair Pavlovian conditioned responding

In Pavlovian fear conditioning, context-mediated decrements in conditioned responding (e.g., the US preexposure effect) can counteract competition between cues trained together (e.g., overshadowing). Two experiments were conducted using rats in a conditioned lick suppression preparation to determine whether context-mediated competition also counteracts competition between cues trained separately (retroactive interference, or RI). In Experiment 1, a combination of degraded contingency and RI treatments produced less of a decrement in conditioned responding than did either of those treatments alone. Experiment 2 showed that RI treatment attenuates the normally deleterious effect of trial massing. The results suggest that empirical similarities are shared by interference between cues trained apart and competition between cues trained together.     

Factors underlying students' decisions to use mobile devices in clinical settings

University policies prohibiting use of mobile devices by medical students during clinical placements are contradicted by regular use by physicians. Consequently, many students use their mobile devices, which can be beneficial for learning but may put patient privacy at risk. This study explores the reasons underlying students' decisions about using mobile devices in clinical settings. We used a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design involving a questionnaire and focus groups. Qualitative data from the questionnaire and focus groups was analysed through thematic analysis. We found students were aware of the risks mobile devices posed to professionalism and medical practice. Despite prohibitions, many made individual decisions to use mobile devices because the benefits outweighed the risks. These students were influenced by an organised, strategic approach to learning and a motivation to comply with the beliefs and behaviours of their medical teams and conform to physicians' directives in order to participate in their community of practice. Many students appear to be transferring everyday use of mobile devices to clinical settings. There is a need to understand and promote aspects of learning that are enhanced by mobile devices in clinical settings, while articulating clear guidelines and boundaries compatible with the professional behaviour expected of students.     

An Experimental Investigation of Antisocial Lie-Telling Among Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Typically Developing Children

Children's lie-telling is surprisingly understudied among children with significant behavioral problems. In the present study, experimental paradigms were used to examine antisocial lie-telling among ethnically diverse 5- to 10-year-old children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD; n = 71) and a typically developing (TD) comparison sample (n = 50) recruited from a southeastern state from 2013 to 2014. Children completed two games that measured the prevalence and skill of their lies: (a) for personal gain and (b) to conceal wrongdoing. Children with DBD were more likely to lie for personal gain than TD children. With age, children were more likely to lie to conceal wrongdoing, but the reverse was true regarding lies for personal gain. Results advance knowledge concerning individual differences in children's lie-telling.     

Religious Development in African American Adolescents: Growth Patterns That Offer Protection

Although religiosity promotes resilient outcomes in African American (AA) adolescents, there is a lack of research that examines the protective role of religious development in the context of stressful life events (SLEs). In 1,595 AA adolescents, a cohort-sequential design was used from ages 12 to 18 to examine subtypes of religiosity, as well as distinct developmental patterns within subtypes. The protective role of religious development was also examined in the context of SLEs. The study findings indicated two subtypes of religiosity—extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity—as well as low and high developmental patterns in the identified subtypes. Furthermore, the protective influence of extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity gradually diminished from age 12 to 18 in the context of SLEs.     

The Development of Empathic Concern in Siblings: A Reciprocal Influence Model

This study utilized actor–partner interdependence modeling to examine the bidirectional effects of younger (M_age = 18 months) and older siblings (M_age = 48 months) on later empathy development in a large (n = 452 families), diverse (42% immigrant) Canadian sample. Controlling for parenting, demographic characteristics, sibling relationship quality, and within-child stability in empathic concern, both younger and older siblings’ observed empathic concern uniquely predicted relative increases in the other's empathy over a period of 18 months. The strength of the partner effects did not differ by birth order. Sex composition moderated the younger sibling partner effect, whereas age gap moderated the older sibling partner effect. This study highlights the important role that siblings play in enhancing the development of care and concern for others.