scholarly journals Toward a rational and ethical sociotechnical system of autonomous vehicles: A novel application of multi-criteria decision analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256224
Author(s):  
Veljko Dubljevic ◽  
George List ◽  
Jovan Milojevich ◽  
Nirav Ajmeri ◽  
William A. Bauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Sociotechnical System ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽  
Reliable Assessment ◽  
The Status ◽  
Potential Benefits

The impacts of autonomous vehicles (AV) are widely anticipated to be socially, economically, and ethically significant. A reliable assessment of the harms and benefits of their large-scale deployment requires a multi-disciplinary approach. To that end, we employed Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to make such an assessment. We obtained opinions from 19 disciplinary experts to assess the significance of 13 potential harms and eight potential benefits that might arise under four deployments schemes. Specifically, we considered: (1) the status quo, i.e., no AVs are deployed; (2) unfettered assimilation, i.e., no regulatory control would be exercised and commercial entities would “push” the development and deployment; (3) regulated introduction, i.e., regulatory control would be applied and either private individuals or commercial fleet operators could own the AVs; and (4) fleets only, i.e., regulatory control would be applied and only commercial fleet operators could own the AVs. Our results suggest that two of these scenarios, (3) and (4), namely regulated privately-owned introduction or fleet ownership or autonomous vehicles would be less likely to cause harm than either the status quo or the unfettered options.

Political Street Art in Social Mobilization : A Tale of Two Protests in Argentina

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Eva Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
Street Art ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Aesthetic

Separated by almost two decades, the large-scale social mobilizations known as El siluetazo and El argentinazo have been understood by some scholars as watershed moments in Argentine politics. At these times of heightened political contestation, it has been possible to observe a dissolution of the status quo and the emergence of new or alternative political paradigms. Less recognized, however, is the central role that ‘the aesthetic’ has played within such processes of political transformation. By focusing on the spectacular outpouring of street art that accompanied these two protest events, the chapter aims to illuminate some of the analytical gaps and grey areas that exist between art, aesthetics and social movement studies today.

scholarly journals The Potential Role of Ammonia as Marine Fuel—Based on Energy Systems Modeling and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Hansson ◽  
Selma Brynolf ◽  
Erik Fridell ◽  
Mariliis Lehtveer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Systems Modeling ◽  
Marine Fuel ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽  
Ghg Reduction

To reduce the climate impact of shipping, the introduction of alternative fuels is required. There is a range of different marine fuel options but ammonia, a potential zero carbon fuel, has recently received a lot of attention. The purpose of this paper is to assess the prospects for ammonia as a future fuel for the shipping sector in relation to other marine fuels. The assessment is based on a synthesis of knowledge in combination with: (i) energy systems modeling including the cost-effectiveness of ammonia as marine fuel in relation to other fuels for reaching global climate targets; and (ii) a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach ranking marine fuel options while considering estimated fuel performance and the importance of criteria based on maritime stakeholder preferences. In the long-term and to reach global GHG reduction, the energy systems modeled indicate that the use of hydrogen represents a more cost-effective marine fuel option than ammonia. However, in the MCDA covering more aspects, we find that ammonia may be almost as interesting for shipping related stakeholders as hydrogen and various biomass-based fuels. Ammonia may to some extent be an interesting future marine fuel option, but many issues remain to be solved before large-scale introduction.

Beyond Crisis Management: Governments, Academics, and Strategic Thinking about the Arab Uprisings

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-119
Author(s):  
Jane Kinninmont
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
The Status ◽  
New Thinking ◽  
Analytical Frameworks

The Arab uprisings prompted the promise of a grand rethink of Western policy towards the region, but four years on there is still a lack of new thinking about new Western strategic approaches to the region, as policymakers have been stretched by the need for immediate, emergency responses to the subsequent series of interconnected crises. This paper lays out some of the differences and overlaps between academic researchers and government policymakers in terms of their interests and approaches. It goes on to identify some of the research that helped to explain – and sometimes presage – the uprisings, and the gaps that became evident in policy analysis. It considers how research interactions have changed as a result, but also how changes to policymakers’ research approaches or analytical frameworks have been limited, as policymakers have been preoccupied with short-term responses to pressing conflicts and crises. Given the different timescales that governments and academic researchers work to, much of the research on the Arab uprisings is only being published now, at a time when the policy agenda has largely moved on to counterterrorism and stabilisation. Yet it remains vitally important to understand the causes of the 2011 unrest, especially as many of the same grievances persist and continue to drive challenges to the status quo, even if these now take different forms to the large-scale, coalition-based and largely peaceful mass protests seen in 2011.

Decision Analysis of a Large-Scale Fishing Experiment Designed to Test for a Genetic Effect of Size-Selective Fishing on British Columbia Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1305-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murdoch K. McAllister ◽  
Randall M. Peterman
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Genetic Effect ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Pink Salmon Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha ◽  
Wide Range

Past work suggested that size-selective harvesting of large fish combined with heritability of body size has caused the large (up to 34%) decrease in mean adult weight of British Columbia pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) since 1950. In a companion paper (Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sei. 49: 1294–1304) we evaluated the statistical performance of a large-scale fishing experiment that could enable managers to test this hypothesis and at the same time increase catch biomass if that hypothesis were correct. In this paper we evaluate the economic performance of the proposed experiment using Monte Carlo simulation and decision analysis under a wide range of conditions that encompasses existing biological uncertainties. We accounted for uncertainties through prior probabilities placed on two key biological hypotheses. We computed the expected economic value of catch biomass for the experimental and current nonexperimental (status quo) management strategies using a 20-yr time horizon and a 10-yr experiment with four spatial replicates. Under a variety of discount rates, the expected economic value of experimentation exceeded that of status quo management in most of the conditions examined, in some cases by as much as 60%.

scholarly journals Emerging semantics to link phenotype and environment

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Thessen ◽  
Daniel E. Bunker ◽  
Pier Luigi Buttigieg ◽  
Laurel D. Cooper ◽  
Wasila M. Dahdul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Model ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Computing Methods ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Biological Ontologies ◽  
Fundamental Goal ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Status ◽  
Link Data

Understanding the interplay between environmental conditions and phenotypes is a fundamental goal of biology. Unfortunately, data that include observations on phenotype and environment are highly heterogeneous and thus difficult to find and integrate. One approach that is likely to improve the status quo involves the use of ontologies to standardize and link data about phenotypes and environments. Specifying and linking data through ontologies will allow researchers to increase the scope and flexibility of large-scale analyses aided by modern computing methods. Investments in this area would advance diverse fields such as ecology, phylogenetics, and conservation biology. While several biological ontologies are well-developed, using them to link phenotypes and environments is rare because of gaps in ontological coverage and limits to interoperability among ontologies and disciplines. In this manuscript, we present (1) use cases from diverse disciplines to illustrate questions that could be answered more efficiently using a robust linkage between phenotypes and environments, (2) two proof-of-concept analyses that show the value of linking phenotypes to environments in fishes and amphibians, and (3) two proposed example data models for linking phenotypes and environments using the extensible observation ontology (OBOE) and the Biological Collections Ontology (BCO); these provide a starting point for the development of a data model linking phenotypes and environments.

scholarly journals Regulatory Promotion and Benefit Analysis of Biogas-Power and Biogas-Digestate from Anaerobic Digestion in Taiwan’s Livestock Industry

Fermentation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Tien Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Animal Manure ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Cattle Industry ◽  
Biogas Digestate ◽  
The Status ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Livestock Farms ◽  
Methane Reduction

The objectives of this paper were to summarize the status of the livestock (pig and cattle) industry and its waste management in Taiwan. The Water Pollution Control Act authorized the reuse of liquor and digestate from anaerobic digestion (AD) as fertilizers for agricultural lands on 24 November 2015. A large number of official databases and literature have been surveyed and analyzed to address the characterization of the biogas (AD-based) digestate and the potential benefits of biogas-to-power in Taiwan. On the promulgation of the Act, the central ministries have jointly managed the applications of livestock farms for reusing the AD-based liquor and digestate as fertilizers for farmlands. The survey findings revealed that the biogas digestate from a pig farm in Taiwan contained significant amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other soil nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. However, it is necessary to control zinc present in the biogas digestate from pig-raising farms. A preliminary analysis based on 123 large-scale pig farms with a total of 1,223,674 heads showed the annual benefits of methane reduction of 6.1 Gg, electricity generation of 3.7 × 107 kW-h, equivalent electricity charge saving of 4.0 × 106 US$, and equivalent carbon dioxide mitigation of 152.5 thousand tons (Gg). Obviously, the integration of AD and biogas-to-power for treating animal manure is a win-win option for livestock farms to gain environmental, energy, and economic benefits.

scholarly journals Heads or Tails: The Impact of a Coin Toss on Major Life Decisions and Subsequent Happiness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D Levitt
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Coin Toss ◽  
Randomized Field Experiment ◽  
The Status ◽  
Life Decisions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Little is known about whether people make good choices when facing important decisions. This article reports on a large-scale randomized field experiment in which research subjects having difficulty making a decision flipped a coin to help determine their choice. For important decisions (e.g. quitting a job or ending a relationship), individuals who are told by the coin toss to make a change are more likely to make a change, more satisfied with their decisions, and happier six months later than those whose coin toss instructed maintaining the status quo. This finding suggests that people may be excessively cautious when facing life-changing choices.

scholarly journals III—On Principled Compromise: When Does a Process of Transitional Justice Qualify as Just?

2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-70
Author(s):  
Colleen Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Truth Commissions ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Devil

Abstract Processes of transitional justice (for instance, amnesty, truth commissions, reparations, trials) deal with large-scale wrongdoing committed during extended periods of conflict or repression. This paper discusses three common moral objections to processes of transitional justice, which I label shaking hands with the devil, selling victims short, and entrenching the status quo. Given the scale of wrongdoing and the context in which transitional justice processes are adopted, compromise is necessary. To respond to these objections, I argue, it is necessary to articulate the conditions that make a compromise principled. I defend three criteria that distinguish principled from unprincipled compromises.

Your data is gold – Data donation for better healthcare?

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 219-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Strotbaum ◽  
Monika Pobiruchin ◽  
Björn Schreiweis ◽  
Martin Wiesner ◽  
Brigitte Strahwald
Keyword(s):  
Personal Data ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
Medical Data ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
The Status ◽  
Potential Benefits

Abstract Today, medical data such as diagnoses, procedures, imaging reports and laboratory tests, are not only collected in context of primary research and clinical studies. In addition, citizens are tracking their daily steps, food intake, sport exercises, and disease symptoms via mobile phones and wearable devices. In this context, the topic of “data donation” is drawing increased attention in science, politics, ethics and practice. This paper provides insights into the status quo of personal data donation in Germany and from a global perspective. As this topic requires a consideration of several perspectives, potential benefits and related, multifaceted challenges for citizens, patients and researchers are discussed. This includes aspects such as data quality & accessibility, privacy and ethical considerations.

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