Building Research Infrastructures to Study Digital Technology and Politics: Lessons from Switzerland

ABSTRACT The relationship between digital technology and politics is an important phenomenon that remains poorly understood due to several structural problems. A key issue is the lack of adequate research infrastructures or the lack of access. This article discusses the challenges many social scientists face and presents the infrastructure we built in Switzerland to overcome them, using COVID-19 as an example. We conclude by discussing seven lessons we learned: automatization is key; avoid data hoarding; outsource some parts of the infrastructure but not others; focus on substantive questions; share data in the context of collaborations; engage in targeted public outreach; and collaboration is more promising than competition. We hope that our experience is helpful to other researchers pursuing similar goals.

The Global Scenario of A1, A2 β-Casein Variant in Cattle and its Impact on Human Health

Beta casein (β-casein) has gained considerable interest among scientists and farmers as it provides promising factors to milk that enhance its quality and concentration. It is believed that the A1 β-casein variant shares an association with numerous human diseases. Since there are numerous hypotheses concerning the link between variants of β-casein and human diseases, many researchers across the globe have genotyped the cattle in terms of A1, A2 β-casein variants. This paper catalogs the A1 and A2 β-casein genotypes shared by different cattle breeds across the globe. Various literature encompassing the adverse effects of β-casein variants were assessed adequately. This paper suggests that the effects of undertaking the A1 β-casein variant on human health are ambiguous. Adequate research providing stronger evidence is needed for understanding the effects imparted by the consumption of both A1 and A2 β-casein variants on human health.

Can We Really Defund the Police? A Nine-Agency Study of Police Response to Calls for Service

The protests following the killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 led to contentious discussions and debates in many cities about policing, with some calling to “defund the police.” However, this debate has generally proceeded without adequate research about either the scale or nature of issues that the police handle and the potential consequences of the proposed reform efforts. To respond to this research gap, we analyze millions of 911 calls for service across nine U.S. agencies. We report on the types of calls for service that the police handle, including how frequently different calls arise, how much time agencies spend on different categories of calls, and the outcomes of those calls. We find that the amount and types of incidents for which people call the police are voluminous, with the vast majority not obviously transferable to other organizations or government sectors without significant resource expenditures or adjustments. However, if the police retain these responsibilities, they also need to reconsider how they can more effectively address community concerns.

Natural Substances in the Fight of SARS-CoV-2: A Critical Evaluation Resulting from the Cross-Fertilization of Molecular Modeling Data with the Pharmacological Aspects

: The recent pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2, the last isolated human beta-coronavirus, has revolutionized modern knowledge of the pathogenesis of viral pneumonia. The lack of specific antiviral drugs and the need to develop adequate research for new antiviral drugs capable of treating this new form of the disease undertook three different research paths quickly. The first one is aimed to test antiviral molecules already present in therapeutic use, with a mechanism of an action directed towards viral proteins functional to replication or adsorption; the second one, it is the repositioning of molecules with known pharmacological activity for which various chemistry studies have been prepared in an attempt to find new and specific viral targets; the third, it is the search for molecules of natural origin for which to demonstrate a specific anti-coronavirus activity. Many databases of natural and synthetic substances have been used for the identification of potent inhibitors of various viral targets. The field of computer-aided drug design seems to be promising and useful for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors; hence, different structure- and ligand-based computational approaches have been used for their identification. This review analyzes in-depth and critically the most recent publications in the field of applied computational chemistry to find out molecules of natural origin with potent antiviral activity. Furthermore, a critical and functional selection of some molecules with the best hypothetical anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity is made for further studies by biological tests.

Correlation of Selected Kayak Pro Parameters In-land and In-boat

There is no adequate research on the validity of rowing ergometers in measuring paddling performance of Paradragon Boat paddlers. This study then aimed to determine the validity of a specific rowing ergometer in measuring paddling performance. This study used a prospective correlational research design. The study was conducted in a sea channel and a university gym. Ten paddlers in a non-profit organization paddled on a rowing ergometer and in-boat on actual seawater. The time duration, number of strokes, and speed of each subject per 200 m, 500 m, and 2000 m were recorded. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the correlational relationship between paddling parameters in-land and in-boat. Validity coefficients showed strong positive relationship between ergometer and inboat performance in all assessed technical parameters: time (200 m: r = 0.89; 500 m: r = 0.90; 2000 m: r = 0.84), number of strokes (200 m: r = 0.88; 500 m: r = 0.91; 2000 m: r = 0.82), and speed (200 m: r = 0.87; 500 m: r = 0.89; 2000 m: r = 0.82). Therefore, the rowing ergometer is a valid tool in assessing paddling performance of Paradragon boat paddlers.

Teaching experiences based on action research: a guide to publishing in scientific journals

<p class="Abstract">The aim of this paper is to justify action research as an adequate research model (sufficiently simple and efficient) to analyse and disseminate teaching innovation experiences in university contexts undertaken by lecturers-researchers whose main area of knowledge is business management or other social sciences where action research is a well-known methodology. We will justify that the teaching experiences of implementing good teaching/learning practices are perfectly suited to the characteristics of action research. A checklist of the research report content for publishing in scientific journals will be proposed. Consequently, the article will be useful to higher education academics and professionals.</p><p> </p>

Practice-led Research in the Art Museum

As art museum education practices get more ambitious in form and content, and to a higher degree inform the overall audience strategies, the need for a research framing is required. The art museum is facing new and high expectation from society and policy makers in terms of being a relevant social and democratic platform inclusive for everyone. To manifest the changes, the institution must draw on all the different museal knowledges, not least the one about the audience. There has been a history of professional hierarchy and knowledge hegemony inside the art museum, where the object-based knowledge has trumped the practice-based. An important reason for this imbalance has been the lack of adequate practice related research methods and a theoretical framing within art museum education. Research in art museum has to a large extent operated within the classical art historical field, but more and more museums are looking to and are drawing on other models outside the museum disciplines to develop new adequate research standards. One of the museums that have undergone a profound change much due to a change in how they think about practice and research, is Tate with research leader Emily Pringle in the lead. Inspired by models within the arts and school system, they have developed a practice-led research method. In this article I will reflect on how and why it is important for art museum educators to do research on their own practice, drawing on both the Tate model and my own experience from working at the National Museum for over ten years.

CFRP-to-concrete bond behavior under aggressive exposure of sewer chamber

The growing industrialization over the past century has led to increased exposure of structures to such aggressive conditions as found in sewer networks. The rehabilitation and maintenance of sewer systems call for innovative wastewater collection systems based on their design life cycle and operational conditions. Acid exposure is one such condition whose impacts on sewer systems strengthened with FRP sheets still await adequate research. The present paper reports the results of a study conducted in an aggressive concrete sewer chamber in an industrial zone, chosen as an outdoor test design to investigate the effects of an acid environment on the bond strength of FRP sheets bonded on the concrete surface via either of the two techniques of externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) or externally bonded reinforcement on grooves (EBROG). The results show that the bond strength of the EBR specimens depends on both exposure type and duration while the aggressive environment has no significant effects on the bond strength of EBROG specimens. Generally, maximum bond strength in EBR specimens decreases by up to about 19.7% with increasing exposure duration to 6000 h. In the case of EBROG specimens, however, maximum bond strength initially increases by 8.9% after 3000 h of exposure before it declines by 3.6% after 6000 h.

Mikhail Prishvin’s artistic outlook in Razumnik Ivanov-Razumnik’s interpretation

It is well known that the discovery of Mikhail Prishvin as an original writer belongs to Ivanov-Razumnik with whom they were friends during a long period of time. However, the critic’s interpretation or Mikhail Prishvin’s artistic outlook is not covered well enough and objectively in the literary criticism due to serious ideological reasons. Ivanov-Razumnik who was in the most conspicuous place in sociaist-revolutionary party was struck out from the Soviet literary process in spite of his undoubted merits in the Russian culture. The politicisation of the Soviet literary criticism did not promote to adequate research of Mikhail Prishvin’s creative heritage too. It was no accident that the investigators of Mikhail Prishvin’s heritage passed over very significant page in writer’s life and heritage, which is his collaboration in the socialist-revolutionary direction journal «The Covenants» in 1912–1914 where Ivanov-Razumnik was literary editor and leading critic. The world-view positions difference did not promote for the critic to mark essential features of Mikhail Prishvin’s artistic outlook, which is confirmed by researching the materials of Ivanov-Razumnik’s articles and Mikhail Prishvin’s creative heritage and diaries.