Open data for accountability at times of exception: an exploratory analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose At exceptional times, governments are entrusted with greater authority. This creates significant concerns over governments’ transparency and accountability. This paper aims to pursue a twofold objective: assessing the patterns of open government data during the extraordinary time initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic drawing relevant policy and managerial implications regarding the future development of open data as a mechanism of accountability at times of exception. Design/methodology/approach The study follows exploratory research, relying on a web content analysis. The empirical setting is provided by 20 Italian regional governments during the COVID-19 pandemic as a shock that has triggered an exceptional time for governments. Findings Results on the desirable (extrinsic and intrinsic) characteristics of the data analyzed show that in the empirical setting investigated, open data does not enable to properly address the accountability concerns of a demanding forum at times of exception. Research limitations/implications The paper enriches the state of the art on accountability and provides both scholars and practitioners (e.g. policymakers, managers, etc.) a current reading of data-driven orientation as a stimulus to the accountability of public administrations during exceptional times. Originality/value The paper investigates open data as a condition of public accountability, assessing whether and how Italian regional governments have concretely opened their data to enable their forums to elaboration of an informed opinion about their conduct during the ongoing pandemic. This fosters the understanding of how accountability is deployed in times of exception in light of the possibilities offered by the availability of online platforms.

Understanding Empathy in Children

<p>Health, particularly diet and everyday nutrition, as the ultimate causal factor in life is an important aspect of every child's education. Meanwhile, computer generated (CG) 3-dimensional (3-D) graphics is a medium often used by entertainment and advertising. Educational intervention to help children make appropriate dietary choices can be designed by employing similar methods used by entertainment and advertising, such as 3-D characters aimed at children. The question that this research asked is: can creating an empathic bond between 3-D characters and children communicate a healthy nutrition message effectively? This thesis is based on qualitative research founded on the constructionist theory that focuses on exploring the perspective of children via focus groups. Educational designs based on familiar computer-generated graphics will help equip children to deal with nutritional and dietary choices, ultimately initiating behavioural change as their relationship with food matures earlier. Empathy on the children's and adult's sides of the healthy nutrition conversation is important to establish this relationship in children's nutritional decisions. The main challenge for nutrition education is not in short-term diversions, but long-term changes in behavioural responses in media literacy. A constructionist approach of helping children work through advertising by improving their media vocabulary would be a more sustainable approach to enhancing their ability to decode advertising rhetoric and in turn forming their own informed opinion and responses. Industry referenced educational content intent on healthy lifestyles can balance the prevalent advertising messages leading to a more balanced overall media that children are exposed to.</p>

Understanding Empathy in Children

<p>Health, particularly diet and everyday nutrition, as the ultimate causal factor in life is an important aspect of every child's education. Meanwhile, computer generated (CG) 3-dimensional (3-D) graphics is a medium often used by entertainment and advertising. Educational intervention to help children make appropriate dietary choices can be designed by employing similar methods used by entertainment and advertising, such as 3-D characters aimed at children. The question that this research asked is: can creating an empathic bond between 3-D characters and children communicate a healthy nutrition message effectively? This thesis is based on qualitative research founded on the constructionist theory that focuses on exploring the perspective of children via focus groups. Educational designs based on familiar computer-generated graphics will help equip children to deal with nutritional and dietary choices, ultimately initiating behavioural change as their relationship with food matures earlier. Empathy on the children's and adult's sides of the healthy nutrition conversation is important to establish this relationship in children's nutritional decisions. The main challenge for nutrition education is not in short-term diversions, but long-term changes in behavioural responses in media literacy. A constructionist approach of helping children work through advertising by improving their media vocabulary would be a more sustainable approach to enhancing their ability to decode advertising rhetoric and in turn forming their own informed opinion and responses. Industry referenced educational content intent on healthy lifestyles can balance the prevalent advertising messages leading to a more balanced overall media that children are exposed to.</p>

Silvopastoral Systems and Costa Rica's Low Carbon Livestock Strategy: An Informed Opinion

The objective of this opinion is to reflect the role of silvopastoral systems (SPS) in Costa Rica's Low Carbon Livestock Strategy (EGBC, for its acronym in Spanish), and how these sustainable and extensive integrated livestock production function as a model, and how the woody component is integrated in the system, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases favoring the mitigation of climate change. Applying relevance to the purpose, this revision refers to the integration of forestry activity in livestock production, as a viable alternative of its production system. Based on SPS criteria from which a tree component (natural or established) is associated with an herbaceous community (natural or improved pastures) and a farming component (livestock) in the same site, where biological interactions exist among components, and land use is maximized. This essay also clarifies how SPS are grouped striving to be fair-minded in evaluating the economic, productive, social, and environmental points of view, and the effects of the interaction among its components. Therefore, this analysis applies significance to the interpretation of the SPS relation among biology, society, and culture, and its role in Costa Rica's Low Carbon Livestock Strategy. El objetivo de este dictamen es reflejar el papel de los sistemas silvopastoriles (SPS) en la Estrategia de Ganadería Baja en Carbono (EGBC) de Costa Rica, y cómo funcionan como modelo estas producciones ganaderas integradas, sostenibles y extensivas, y cómo se integra el componente leñoso en el sistema, contribuyendo a la reducción de gases de efecto invernadero favoreciendo la mitigación del cambio climático. Aplicando la relevancia al propósito, esta revisión se refiere a la integración de la actividad forestal en la producción ganadera, como una alternativa viable de su sistema de producción. Con base en los criterios de SPS a partir de los cuales se asocia un componente arbóreo (natural o establecido) con una comunidad herbácea (pastos naturales o mejorados) y un componente agrícola (ganadería) en un mismo sitio, donde existen interacciones biológicas entre los componentes, y se maximiza el uso de la tierra. Este ensayo también aclara cómo se agrupan los SPS tratando de ser justos en la evaluación de los puntos de vista económico, productivo, social y ambiental, y los efectos de la interacción entre sus componentes. Por lo tanto, este análisis aplica la importancia de la interpretación de la relación de los SPS entre la biología, la sociedad y la cultura, y su papel en la Estrategia de Ganadería Baja en Carbono de Costa Rica.

Silvopastoral Systems and Costa Rica's Low Carbon Livestock Strategy: An Informed Opinion

The objective of this opinion is to reflect the role of silvopastoral systems (SPS) in Costa Rica's Low Carbon Livestock Strategy (EGBC, for its acronym in Spanish), and how these sustainable and extensive integrated livestock production models, in which the woody component is integrated in the system, contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases favoring the mitigation of climate change. For such purpose, this revision refers to the integration of the forestry activity in livestock production, as a viable alternative of production system (Guerrero et al., 2019). Based on the criterion that SPS are agroecosystems in which a tree component (natural or established) is associated with a herbaceous community (natural or improved pastures) and a farming component (livestock) in the same site, where biological interactions exist among components, and land use is maximized. This essay also describes how SPS are grouped; their opportunities from the economic, productive, social, and environmental points of view; and the effects of the interaction among its components. This analysis allows to state that SPSs are a product of the relation among biology, society, and culture, and in them there is a large diversity; likewise, they allow the reconversion of the very little productive extensive livestock production into more productive and sustainable systems, as well as the rehabilitation of the areas degraded by this type of livestock production, deforestation, and soil depletion (Ibrahim & Peso, 2012; Iglesias et al, 2011, ). El objetivo de este dictamen es reflejar el papel de los sistemas silvopastoriles (SPS) en la Estrategia Ganadera Baja en Carbono (EGBC) de Costa Rica, y cómo estos modelos de producción ganadera integrada, sostenible y extensiva, en los que el componente leñoso está integrado en el sistema, contribuyen a la reducción de gases de efecto invernadero favoreciendo la mitigación del cambio climático. Para ello, esta revisión se refiere a la integración de la actividad forestal en la producción ganadera, como una alternativa viable de sistema de producción (Guerrero et al., 2019). Con base en el criterio de que los SPS son agroecosistemas en los que se asocia un componente arbóreo (natural o establecido) con una comunidad herbácea (pastos naturales o mejorados) y un componente agrícola (ganadero) en un mismo sitio, donde existen interacciones biológicas entre los componentes, y se maximiza el uso del suelo. Este ensayo también describe cómo se agrupan los SPS; sus oportunidades desde el punto de vista económico, productivo, social y ambiental; y los efectos de la interacción entre sus componentes. Este análisis permite afirmar que los SPS son producto de la relación entre la biología, la sociedad y la cultura, y en ellos existe una gran diversidad; asimismo, permiten la reconversión de la muy poco productiva ganadería extensiva en sistemas más productivos y sostenibles, así como la rehabilitación de las áreas degradadas por este tipo de ganadería, la deforestación y el agotamiento del suelo (Ibrahim & Peso, 2012; Iglesias et al, 2011, ).

The Complex Chemistry of Diversity and Inclusion: A 30-Year Synthesis

Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour’s career as a research chemist, educator, and advocate spanned more than forty years. Much of her work took place within a disciplinary culture ignorant of the scholarship supporting organizational change towards inclusive excellence. Her contributions are extensively covered in other articles in this special issue, and her achievements are all the more remarkable given that her colleague, Dr. Gordon Freeman, held gender-biased attitudes which he shared in a peer reviewed article in a national science journal. Three decades later another Canadian chemist, Dr. Tomáš Hudlický, published a peer reviewed essay in an international chemistry journal which included his views on the negative impacts of diversity initiatives on organic synthesis research. Both articles were retracted, but clearly a faulty and pervasively biased peer review system enabled the distribution of prejudiced opinions which were not informed by demonstrated expertise, nor supported by data. These two events are reflective of challenges that Dr. Armour faced in her efforts to diversify chemical sciences. We need to build on her critical work to increasing awareness about inclusive excellence in chemistry, as well as educating scientists on what constitutes an informed opinion. Here, we use Freeman and Hudlický incidents as case studies to indicate how pervasive bias can be superficially perceived as scientific scholarship. Furthermore, we use analogies of analytical processes to illustrate how talent gets systemically excluded. Finally, we provide recommendations to chemistry community members for improving outcomes in terms of synthesis of new knowledge, ideas and solutions, toward leveraging all the available human talent and creating an environment that is both excellent and inclusive.

Commentary on: A Call to Action: Facing the Shadow Pandemic of Complicated Forms of Grief

In this contribution, we respond to a letter in Omega: Journal of Death and Dying by Doka. Signatories of this letter to the President of the United States convey concerns that deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a higher prevalence of severe and persistent grief, i.e., prolonged grief disorder. We support their call to action to direct government funding to helping those who develop this condition during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we think that concerns about prolonged grief disorder during the pandemic can be more convincingly conveyed by firmly embedding such concerns within scientific literature. Therefore, we highlight prior scientifically informed opinion pieces from various international researchers who voiced similar concerns in the early months of the pandemic. Additionally, we provide an overview of pioneering empirical research elucidating whether prolonged grief disorder and related mental health problems will become more prevalent during the pandemic.

Bridging Africa’s Infrastructure Gap Through Strong Sino-Africa Cooperation

The objective of the paper was to review the socio-economic benefits of the budding Sino-Africa economic relationship with a view to arriving at an informed opinion on its desirability and potency or contribution in closing Africa’s infrastructure investment gap.The paper also discussed the issues that may militate against or strengthen the new-found relationship against the backdrop of criticisms from pro-West sentiments.The desirability of Sino-Africa economic cooperation was established, and recommendations advanced on the issues that will guarantee mutual benefits and sustainability.

Should society accept sex robots?

In early 2015, Kathleen Richardson announced the arrival of the world’s largest, organised resistance group against the production of sex robots in society: The Campaign Against Sex Robots (CASR). Since the birth of the CASR, Richardson and other feminists have manipulated a combination of radical feminist rhetoric and sex industry abolitionist narratives, in order to promote the criminalisation of sex robots. Moreover, the CASR and Richardson have also made some rather unique claims regarding the “similarities” between sex workers and sex robots, which have not previously surfaced within the narratives of radical feminists in recent years. This article seeks to analyse if their analogous reference to sex workers and sex robots has credibility and viability in the context of the digitalised sex industry and in the wider teledildonic and sex robot market. Furthermore, this article will also formulate solutions for the ethical and social contentions surrounding the merge of sex dolls and robots within the contemporary sex industry. In order to disentangle the radical feminist arguments surrounding sex robots and the sex industry, the following contentions will be addressed:Is moral objection to female sex robots using client-sex worker analogies from feminists justified?Is opposition to sex robots based on informed opinion about the digitalised sex industry?To what extent are the positive considerations around sex robots/dolls and sex-technology ignored in the narratives of radical feminists and the CASR?What practical applications recommendations can be made to the sex robot industry from the stipulations of the CASR and the current state of sex dolls/robots in the sex industry?

European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress Twitter analysis: from ethics to results through the understanding of communication and interaction flows

BackgroundTwitter is a microblogging service providing a platform for social networking. For medical information, Twitter is an interesting channel for sharing and spreading information and as an engagement platform for different stakeholders. Benefits and caveats of uncontrolled medical information must be carefully pondered, considering the possible intended and unintended adverse outcomes of uncontrolled influencing. The aim of this study was to describe the non-commercial content shared on Twitter and to analyse the level of influence of commercial tweeters during the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 annual meeting held in Munich.Design/methodologyA retrospective analysis of the tweets shared in the period 19–23 October 2018 indexed with the hashtag #ESMO18 or #ESMO2018 was performed; methodology of systematic reviews was mirrored. Commercial tweeters (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, device manufacturers and spam tweeters) were excluded from the primary analysis, and only non-commercial tweets from and about the congress were included. Tweets were analysed using a network analytical tool (NodeXL).ResultsA total of 7100 tweets posted by 1334 tweeters were identified for the period of interest. Less than 10% of tweeters were identified as commercial, posting 15.7% of tweets and receiving almost one-quarter of retweets. However, pharmaceutical and biotech tweeters were substantially less likely to be mentioned by other tweeters. All of the top 10 retweeters of non-commercial content were clinicians and/or professional organisations, in stark contrast with the commercial content.ConclusionsThe use of social networks in medical meetings, including oncology, is increasing for real-time communication and informed opinion-making. The uncontrolled spread of information on Twitter can both stimulate discussions on non-official and non-canonical channels of communication and provide uncontrolled influencing of diverse stakeholders. The disclosure of financial declarations of interest on Twitter could enhance the transparency of the information, as is already happening in medical journals.