bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementasi Moderasi Beragama dalam Mencegah Faham Radikalisme dan Intoleran di Kampung Kristen Bojonegoro
Authors: Habibi Ibnu
Published: August 2022

: Religious moderation is very much needed in the life of today's nation. Along with the emergence of extreme religious beliefs that have threatened harmony in social life so that it can lead to the notion of radicalism and intolerance between religious communities which leads to the division of the unity of the Republic of Indonesia. This study aims to describe the implementation of religious moderation in preventing radicalism and intolerance in the Kampung Kristen of Leran Village, Kalitidu District, Bojonegoro Regency. This research is a field research with a qualitative approach and developed with an inductive method in order to understand the social situation in depth and find a pattern of relationships between findings in the field, then formulate hypotheses and draw conclusions. Data collection techniques by observation, interviews and documentation. Sources of data are also obtained from primary data and secondary data. Primary data is data obtained directly from field research. And secondary data is data obtained by researchers indirectly through data from documentation or other results. The results of this study indicate that the community of Kampung Kristen has implemented several principles of Religious Moderation which include; tawasut (taking the middle way), tawazun (balance), tasamuh (tolerant), Musawah (egalitarian), shura (deliberation), and tathawwur wa ibtikar (dynamic and innovative). This is shown by the existence of RT deliberations, village deliberations, village community service, attending tahlil, and attending activities carried out by Christians when invited, there is an agreement between the three religious sects, mutual awareness, mutual respect, being kind, keeping existing problems. In the community so that other people don't know. This is what makes Christian Villages able to prevent radicalism and intolerance so that life becomes safe, peaceful and serene.
Moderasi Islam di Era Generasi Milenial
Authors: Anah Saiul
Published: August 2022

From the pesantren's womb figures were born who helped declarator and motorized the progress of the nation. However, in the recent development of boarding schools such as losing direction and identity in navigating the era of modernization. There are several traditions in the pesantren that are missing, such as intensive recitation of the sorogan and bandongan systems, which are proven to have produced reliable pesantren alumni who in the past were important elements in the pesantren system and curriculum. It should, when there is an effort to revitalize and optimize some of the important elements in the pesantren, the contribution of pesantren to the Indonesian nation will not be questioned anymore. This study aims to track pesantren religious thoughts and movements in the era of globalization. As well as describing the Islamic spirit of the santri in the pesantren environment which continues to be sought as a fortress for Muslims, In line with the millennial era, the faces of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia are no longer monopolized by traditional groups or radicals, but have been colored by new pesantren formed by other Islamic groups with different faces.
Considering the Polemics of between Tasawuf and Fiqh: Analysis of the Thoughts of Sheikh Abu Nasr Al-Sarraj Al-Thusi in Kitab Al-Luma'
Authors: Hosen Hosen , Mukit Abdul , Kamiluddin Kamiluddin
Published: August 2022

One of the problems that occur in Islamic civilization is the existence of conflicts and debates between fellow Muslims. In the process of developing the religion of Islam, people should first examine the various controversies that have occurred throughout Islamic civilization. One of the controversies that occur among the Muslims is the controversy between the Sufis and the mutafaqqih regarding fiqh. This is due to differences in perception between the Sufis whose views are spiritual and the mutafaqqih who are outward in nature. In analyzing the data of this study, the author uses two theories, the theory of A.J. Arberry and the second is following the theory of Annemarie Schimmel. This study concludes that the opinion of Sheikh Abu Nasr Sarraj regarding the controversy of the Sufis against the mutafaqqih regarding fiqh and religion is so partial to justifying the Sufis. Because Al-Luma' was written by him as an arbiter of the conflict between the Sufis and the mutafaqqih in the past few centuries, especially about the untrue accusations made by the mutafaqqih. So, Sheikh Abu Nasr AL-SARRAJ has tried to mediate the conflict between the two groups through the book Al-Luma'
Efektifitas Sistem Pemasaran Tradisional Wisata Tradisional Berbasis Local Wisdom dan Tradisi Agama di Kabupaten Banyuwangi.
Authors: Biati Lilit
Published: August 2022

Alas Purwo National Park is one of the tourist attractions in Banyuwangi, which is the center of attention, especially for performers of rituals and praying for Hindus. The kawitan site is a ancestral temple which is still actively used for prayer, while many rituals are carried out in caves and on the shores of the pancur. The objectives of this study are to describe the effectiveness of traditional marketing systems based on local wisdom and religious traditions and to examine the role of local communities in promoting tourism destinations and religious traditions in Banyuwangi Regency. The research method used in this research is a qualitative research with a case study design, with an ethnographic approach, and participatory. The location of the research object is Alas Purwo National Park, Banyuwangi Regency. Data collection techniques used in-depth interviews (indept interviews), role observations (Participant Observation), and documentation (Documentation). Meanwhile, the data analysis technique used is data reduction, data display, withdrawal and data testing (drowing and ferrivying conclusions).
Internalisasi Nilai-Nilai Multikultural dalam Mengembangkan Sikap Moderasi Beragama (Studi Kasus di PMD. Gontor Ponorogo)
Authors: El-Yunusi Muhammad Yusron Maulana
Published: August 2022

The existence of many kinds of cultures, also its cases have happened, there is an influence towards educational systems. Even, they are able to link or cooperate. Then, the multi cultural education gives awareness that the differences. Some researchers have chosen a Islamic boarding school, GONTOR as a researching object because it has a good receiver of acceptance background. The main aim of that research is to comprehend the moderation and the internal values of cultures which developed. This research is qualitative. Technically, data collection has been done by observation, interview and documentation. The values of multi cultures which developed by PMD Gontor in forming the attitudes of religious moderation on Santri (students) consist of The Five Values, PMDG also develops a motto. The modern values implementated in teaching, forming 'pesantren' culture as well as extra and intra curricula.
Eksistensi Pendidikan Islam Nu dan Muhammadiyah sebagai Potret Islam Moderat di Indonesia
Authors: Yumnah Siti
Published: August 2022

As "Islam with a cheerful face", Indonesian Islam is known as a peaceful and moderate Islam, so there is no conflict with modernity, democracy, human rights, or other tendencies in the modern world. The importance of government groups and non-governmental organizations to sow and strengthen moderate Islam through education, whether formal, informal, or non-formal. Muhammadiyah and NU, which were labeled as moderate Islam from the start, are likely to play an important role in empowering moderate Islam in Indonesia. It is time for moderate religious mass organizations, such as NU and Muhammadiyah, to direct religious groups to channel their religious militancy through wisdom, not terror and bloodshed. This paper aims to see how effective the existence of NU and Muhammadiyah Islamic Education is in promoting moderate Islam in Indonesia.
Analisis Retorika Pidato Cinta Laura Kiehl pada Malam Peluncuran Aksi Moderasi Beragama Kementerian Agama Ri
Authors: Fasadena Nova Saha
Published: August 2022

Tulisan ini membahas tentang analisis retorika terhadap pidato yang disampaikan Cinta Laura Kiehl pada Malam Peluncuran Aksi Moderasi Beragama Kementerian Agama RI, 22 September 2021. Penting untuk dianalisis karena Cinta Laura Kiehl ditunjuk Kementerian Agama RI sebagai sarana komunikasi untuk mempromosikan moderasi beragama pada kalangan generasi milenial. Untuk itu peneliti menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif melalui paradigma interpretatif. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah tonton, simak catat. Selanjutnya dianalisis dengan meintepretasikan konsep persuasif dan lima hukum retorika Aristoteles. Teknik analisis yang digunakan menggunakan model Miles, Huberman, dan Saldana, yaitu pengumpulan data, kondensasi data, penyajian data dan verifikasi. Hasil peneltian menunjukkan terdapat total 32 data temuan dengan rincian 19 data dari konsep retorika persuasive dan 15 data dari prinsip lima hukum retorika Aristoteles.
Sistem Pakar Menggunakan Forward Chaining dalam Mendeteksi Tingkat Keparahan Skizofrenia
Authors: Surya Mirantie Prima
Published: August 2022

Penelitian Riset Kesehatan Dasar (Riskesdas) pada tahun 2018 menunjukkan prevalensi Skizofrenia di Indonesia sebanyak 7% per 1.000 rumah tangga. Cakupan indikator Penderita Gangguan Jiwa Mendapatkan Pengobatan dan Tidak Ditelantarkan (PGJMPTD) nasional sebesar 38,14%, dan Provinsi Sumatera Barat untuk indikator yang sama dengan angka 45,58% berada pada urutan provinsi keempat teratas dengan nilai 45,58%. Penelitian ini bertujuan membangun sistem terhadap indikator Skizofrenia secara tepat. Sistem yang dibangun dalam bentuk Sistem Pakar. Sistem Pakar merupakan kemampuan dari komputer mengubah pengetahuan-pengetahuan dari manusia ke dalam komputer dan dapat membantu menanggulangi permasalahan yang hanya bisa diselesaikan oleh pakar. Sistem pakar deteksi tingkat keparahan Skizofrenia merupakan sistem yang mengadopsi pengetahuan Psikiater dalam menentukan tingkat keparahan Skizofrenia seorang pasien kejiwaan. Sistem pakar ini dibuat dengan metode Forward Chaining. Tujuan dari Sistem Pakar ini adalah untuk membuktikan bahwa metode Forward Chaining dapat diimplementasikan dalam pembuatan Sistem Pakar ini. Selain itu, Sistem Pakar dapat memberikan manfaat untuk membantu seorang Psikiater dalam melakukan tes penentuan tingkat keparahan Skizofrenia pasien. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 20 data Rekam Medis pasien, berupa gejala-gejala penyakit serta data diagnosa pasien oleh dokter Spesialis  Kedokteran  Jiwa. Selanjutnya,  data  diolah  menggunakan  metode Inferensi Forward Chaining dan  di  disajikan  dalam bentuk  aplikasi dengan bahasa pemograman PHP. Hasil dari penelitian ini berupa 18 data valid dan 2 data tidak valid sehingga didapatkan nilai akurasi sebesar 90%. Sistem Pakar dengan metode Forward Chaining cocok daan dapat digunakan untuk mendeteksi tingkat keparahan penyakit Skizoprenia.
Identifikasi Citra Paru-Paru pada Pasien COVID-19 dengan Teknik Edge Detection
Authors: Marisha Pertiwi
Published: August 2022

X-ray chest radiographs produce digital radiographic images of the chest area such as the lungs, heart and ribs. This image can visualize the lung condition of patients with COVID-19. The Edge Detection technique can see the edges of objects in the lungs of COVID-19 patients more clearly. The lungs of patients with COVID-19 are damaged due to the GGO (Ground Glass Opacity) COVID-19, namely there is white fog, the lungs look blurry at the edges or areas affected by the disease and also affect the area of ​​​​the area. This technique can make it easier for health workers to see X-ray results on objects in the lungs of COVID-19 patients and assist doctors in handling COVID-19 patients. With advances in the computer field in the application of image processing techniques, this Edge Detection Technique uses Matlab software to obtain edge and area images of clean lungs in COVDI-19 patients. The data used in this study were 30 samples of lung images of COVID patients and 10 images of healthy patients' lungs as a comparison sourced from Embung Fatimah Hospital Batam, which were processed in the grayscale stage, then the image was preprocessed with Intensity Adjustment then segmented with Active Contour and then using Edge Detection Technique. The results of this study were as many as 22 lung images produced an accuracy value of 73%. The image of the test results with the Edge Detection Technique to identify the edges of the object's lungs of COVID-19 patients which are quite clear by producing white pixels that are so visible. The perimeter of the right lung of COVID-19 patients ranged from 110,897 - 261,254 mm and Area 267,719 - 940,668 mm2, Perimeter of the left lung ranged from 114,613 - 262,943 and Area 170.616 - 856,993 mm2, while healthy patients as comparison had the right lung Perimeter range of 187,598 -270,624 and Area 514,947 - 1025.44 mm2, Perimeter of the left lung 182,226 - 287,358 and Area 480,592 - 901,418 mm2 means that COVID-19 virus infection reduces lung area, the range of COVID-19 lungs is lower than healthy lungs.
THE KEY ASPECTS OF CRM RELEVANT TO IMPLEMENTATION IN THE BANKING SECTOR
Authors: Rani Paras Rani* , Ali Mushtaque Ali Jariko , Channa Nizamudinn Channa
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACT
 
Purpose— Adopting a qualitative approach, this study inquired into the implementation of Customer relationship management (CRM) within the banking sector. The aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of how and why the banking sector implements CRM in the workplace.
FACTORS AFFECTING INVESTOR’S DECISION-MAKING IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN PAKISTAN
Authors: Ansar Ansar Ali Khan , Qasim Muhammad Qasim Shabbir , Khalique Muhammad Khalique
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACT

 

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of financial literacy on the investment decisions of the SME’s investors in Pakistan.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN BANKING EMPLOYEES OF PAKISTAN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: Safia Safia Rashid* , Fatima Fatima Khurram Bukhari
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACT

 

Purpose: The present paper reviews the existing literature in the field of psychological well-being (PWB) while presenting a comprehendible vision of existing dynamics and exploring the diversity of the notion. This systematic literature review reflects on a number of accessible research papers from ten years (i.e., 2012 to 2021) contributing to the factors associated to psychological well-being in organizational setup of Pakistani banking sector employees.
Taxonomic notes on the Indian assassin bug Ectomocoris simulans (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) with two new synonyms
Authors: Liu Yingqi , Cai Wanzhi
Published: August 2022

The Indian assassin bug, Ectomocoris simulans Distant, 1919 (Hemiptera: Hetero-
ptera: Reduviidae: Peiratinae) is redescribed, with habitus images and figures of male genitalia provided. Ectomocoris melanopterus Distant, 1919, syn. nov., and E. xavierei Vennison & Ambrose, 1990, syn. nov., are placed as its junior subjective synonyms. Types of the above three nominal species were examined, illustrated, and lectotypes of E. simulans and E. melanopterus are designated.
Home-Based Factors, Institutional Environment and Teacher Characteristics as Determinants of Students’ Academic Performance in Ogun State Senior Secondary Schools, Nigeria
Authors: Adewale Sotannde Rabiu Sotannde Rabiu
Published: August 2022

The issue of students’ academic performance has become a matter of general interest to the nation’s governments, educationists, parents, and students because of the growing rate of academic failure especially at the secondary school level. Hence, this work investigated home-based factors, institutional environment and teacher characteristics as determinants of students’ academic performance in Ogun State senior secondary schools.The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The sample consisted of 1700 respondents made up of 1400 students and 300 teachers selected through stratified random sampling technique from public secondary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. Three research instruments were used for data collection. They are, ‘Students Home Factors Questionnaire (SHFQ) (r = .76), Institutional Environment Questionnaire (IEQ) (r = .82), and Records of Students Academic Performance (RESAP). Data were analysed using Multiple Regression Analysis. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level.Findings revealed that home based factors, institutional environment and teachers’ characteristics made significant joint contribution to the prediction of students’ academic performance (F = 25.487; p < .05). Moreover, these variables made significant independent contributions to the prediction of students’ academic performance. Out of the three predictors, the most potent factor was teachers’ characteristics (β= 6.131, t = 4.181, p < .05); followed by home based factors (β= 4.254; t= 3.154, p < .05) while institutional environment (β= 2.734, t= 2.691; p < .05) was the least potent predictor of students’ academic performance.It was recommended that parents should be encouraged to make their homes to be learners’ friendly. This can be done by creating awareness on the influential role of home factors on students’ academic performance. This should be done during PTA meetings, school visiting days and through the mass media. That governments, school proprietors and school administrators should endeavour to make the school environment to be conducive for learning through proper location of schools, provision of teaching – learning facilities and making the school environment to be learners’ friendly. Also, teachers’ quality should be continually improved through self-development efforts, periodic seminars, and workshops, and on-the-job training to keep teachers abreast of the developments in their field. Finally, schools should provide effective counselling services and administrative supports to facilitate teaching and learning in order to improve students’ academic performance.
Taxis and Logico-Semantic Relations in Selected News Articles On Insecurity in Nigeria
Authors: Akinseye Tolulope , Oni Emmanuel , Opaleye Kehinde
Published: August 2022

The media increasingly creates and reports peoples’ experiences of insecurity in divers news reports on insecurity in Nigeria. Previous studies on media discourse and insecurity in Nigeria have focused largely on discourse construction and representations without full attention to clausal structures and logical sequence of information in the selected media reports. This study, therefore examines the clause complexes as the meaning domain and clause connectors as cohesive devices in selected news articles on insecurity in Nigeria with a view to establishing the inter-clausal structures and logical sequence of ideas in the reportage. The clause complex of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) which sees clause as the meaning domain in a text, served as framework in the study. The main focus was on three categories: banditry, farmer/herders crisis and ethnic rivalry. Twenty-one news articles were purposively selected for their relevance to the study. The findings revealed the hypotactict constructions dominate the selected news articles. The dependent clauses were employed to amplify the meaning in the dominant clauses, and to give circumstantial information about the process rather than the participants. Also, status of clause was used to establish level of importance ascribed to the unit of information it depicted. Activities of the bandits, kidnappers and killers were often written in main clauses which gave credence to the act of insecurity in the country, while efforts of the government often came in subordinate clauses, apart from those that talked about the process. The paper concludes that news articles displays hypotactic structures than paratactic because it allows writers to describe and give circumstantial information.
Framing of the anti-corruption war in Nigeria from 2015-2019: An Evaluation of the Punch and Daily Trust Newspapers
Authors: Edema Patrick Kelele , Ufuophu-Biri Emmanuel , Igben Harvey G.O.
Published: August 2022

The study examines the framing of anti-corruption war by newspapers in Nigeria from 2015 to 2019. Content analysis was adopted for the study while 608 hard copies of the The Punch and Daily Trust Nation newspapers published during the period were examined. The study was situated in the framing theory which posits that the media give salience to issues in a manner to shape public opinion. Data were collected and presented in tables were analyzed with the Chi-square statistical tool. Findings show that there were significant differences in the frequency and prominence in the framing of the anti-corruption war by the newspapers. The study recommends that mainstream media organizations should review their editorial policies to increase the frequency and prominence in their framing of the anti-corruption war to help mitigate the consequences of corruption on the socio - economic and political development of the country.
Analysis of Blink Data Behaviour Between Male and Female Adult Readers of English Text
Authors: Tooze Louise
Published: August 2022

This study intended to clarify the ambiguity around gender differences during electronic English reading. Through determining a correlation amongst blink eye movement behaviour and gender. The study reviewed blink behaviour between 16 participants (n=11) male and (n=5) female participants during a silent electronic English reading task. Using a standardised white background and black font comprising three reading slides. Eye parameters measured were (i) blink count, (ii) blink duration and (iii) blink frequency. Despite previous literature published, it was found during this study that no significant results were reported amongst the two groups for the three parameters examined. This study contributes that gender does not correlate with blink behaviour during reading, therefore both groups responded the same when viewing the reading stimuli. Furthermore, it was also found that the format of material should be considered i.e., hardcopy vs electronic when conducting further research. As these, amongst other factors such as stress and fatigue are identified to influence blink behaviour in male and female readers. Further investigation into this area includes exploration into alternative cognitive eye movement parameters such as pupil diameter.
The Neuropsychological Correlates of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: A Systematic Review Protocol
Authors:   University of Western Australia, Stuart Nicole , Dorrington Karina , Sheridan Andrew , Pestell Carmela
Published: August 2022

Review question / Objective: The objective the current review is to delineate the cognitive profile of SCT, particularly where it is similar to or different from ADHD-related inattention. In addition, the review will provide an analysis of methodological factors that might account for discrepancies in research findings and guidance for future studies. Condition being studied: Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is a constellation of symptoms originally identified among children with the inattentive subtype of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD-I). These symptoms include daydreaming, inconsistent alertness, hypoactivity and lethargy. Although there is considerable overlap with ADHD-I, factor analytic and convergent and discriminant validity studies suggest that SCT is a distinct construct. Moreover, there is evidence that SCT may be common in a number of other disorders, including depression and autism - suggesting that SCT might represent an important transdiagnostic construct.
Mechanical vibrations and increased alveolar bone density in animal models as an alternative to improve bone quality during orthodontic treatment: A systematic review
Authors:   Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Villegas Aguilar Julio Cesar , Orozco Marco Felipe Salas , Bernal Maria de los Angeles Moyaho , Cervantes Eric Reyes , Flores-Tochihuitl Julia , Domínguez Alberto Vinicio Jerezano , Santana Miguel Angel Casillas
Published: August 2022

Review question / Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to determine whether mechanical vibration increases alveolar bone density in animals models and their possible application during orthodontic treatment. In this sense, the focused question is: Is the increase in alveolar bone density by mechanical vibrations in animal models an alternative to improve bone quality during orthodontic treatment? Eligibility criteria: All published animal studies will be included. Animal studies where high or low frequency vibrations were be applied, Articles where density or osteogenesis were be measured and compared to a control group. All publications will be considered except for those where the full-text article will not available, or the authors’ affiliation or the place of publication will not be specified. Only articles published in English.
Teachers’ Best Practices: A Phenomenological Philosophy
Authors: Dultra Jonifer
Published: August 2022

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of teachers in the field in order to generate a theory from teachers’ best practices.  This qualitative study utilized a survey questionnaire and followed a Straussian grounded-theory design to guide the coding and collection of interview data to identify emerging categories and generate such theory.  The researcher had collected data through interviews with 15 respondents who are regular/permanent secondary school teachers.  A constantant comparative analysis of the data were generated on teachers’ best practices theory.  This emergent theory states that the perception of teachers’ practices will matter that there is great interest in educational leadership in the early part of the 21st century because of the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to the school and student outcomes.
Helping deep tech founders build in strange shores
Authors: Banal James L.
Published: August 2022

Immigrant deep tech founders have significantly contributed to the trillion-dollar U.S. economy. Yet, U.S. immigration policies for foreign-born founders remain challenging to navigate. The U.S. may lose to the global competition for deep tech talent in countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, and U.K. where access to entrepreneurship visas are easier to obtain. If the U.S. wants to continue leading the world in deep tech innovation, it can expand immigration policies for foreign-born entrepreneurs to make building startups here more attractive — not only to promote innovation but to support the U.S. economy.
An interview with Ryan Morhard: On biosecurity and pandemic preparedness
Authors: Malik, M.D. Meryem , Pan Pamela , Lepe Bianca
Published: August 2022

MIT Science Policy Review spoke with Mr. Ryan Morhard about the ties between bioeconomy development and pandemic preparedness. Mr. Morhard is the Director of Policy and Partnerships at Ginkgo Bioworks, a Boston-based synthetic biology company. He obtained a J.D. at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Formerly, Mr. Morhard has served as the Head of COVID Action Platform and Lead of Global Health Security at the World Economic Forum. From 2014 to 2016, he was the Branch Chief of International Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he engaged with international partners to improve collective capacities and handle public health emergencies. We spoke with Mr. Morhard’s about his professional experience in biosecurity, insights in capacity building, and outlooks about leveraging advancements in biotechnology and the growing bioeconomy to address future pandemics and other significant societal and environmental challenges.
Whither Section 230? – Law and disruptive technology
Authors: Akula John L.
Published: August 2022

Fast-moving technological innovations with major social impact pose a challenge to the U.S. legal system, which often has difficulty fashioning a timely and appropriate response, especially if the innovations create opportunities for new forms of social mischief. Courts have a poorly understood but critical role in providing clarity to any response. This article examines the role of the courts in interpreting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and the implications of that role for the current policy debate over Section 230 reform.
Methane emissions and global warming: Mitigation technologies, policy ambitions, and global efforts
Authors: Sawyer William J. , Genina Islam , Brenneis Rebecca J. , Feng Haosheng , Li Yunpo , Luo Shao-Xiong L.
Published: August 2022

Methane emissions are the second highest contributor to climate change. Despite having a much lower atmospheric concentration than carbon dioxide, anthropogenic methane emissions account for almost one-third of anthropogenic warming since the pre-industrial period. Recently, the reduction of methane emissions has been recognized as an effective lever for reducing the impact of climate change in the next decade with less drastic economic and industrial costs than equivalent carbon dioxide mitigation. However, the wide range of methane emission sources, many of which are intermittent and at low concentration, poses a challenge for current detection and mitigation tools. Promising technical progress has been made on both fronts over the past decade, especially within the oil and gas sector, yet widespread implementation of mitigation policies and technologies lags considerably. The 2021 Global Methane Pledge for a 30% reduction in emissions by 2030 signals an increase in political will and can be achieved with these existing tools. It is estimated that the majority of these reductions can be accomplished through revenue-neutral or positive actions. Yet, a faster rate of reductions and sustained reductions beyond what is already available will be needed to maintain a 1.5◦C pathway. In the long term, more comprehensive policies, coupled with significant innovations in methane emission monitoring and mitigation, could enable an effective climate change mitigation strategy.
An interview with Sairee Chahal: Founder, serial entrepreneur, and evangelist for women’s role in nation building
Authors: Khandagale Abheejit
Published: August 2022

Sairee Chahal is a serial entrepreneur, mom, angel investor, and evangelist for #womensinternet. She currently runs SHEROES, an online ecosystem for women offering support, entrepreneurial and employment opportunities, content and community, and Mahila Money, a community neobank for women. Ms. Chahal also serves on the board of Milaan Foundation, Paytm Payments Bank and US-based Women in Cloud. An Aspen Leadership Fellow and a Braddock Scholar, she has been recognized for her achievements globally. Ms. Chahal is a winner of the Devi Award, the Femina Achievers Award, and the Cartier Award, has been selected as Editor’s choice for L’Oreal Femina Women’s Award and has been listed in Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in Indian Business. MIT SPR spoke to Ms. Chahal about female entrepreneurship and policies to promote women in the business and technology sectors.
Survey and analysis of U.S. policies to address ransomware
Authors: Blessing Jenny , Drean Jules , Radway Sarah
Published: August 2022

Ransomware poses a critical threat to the U.S. economy and critical infrastructure. The frequency of attacks has increased dramatically in recent years, enabled by the growing prominence of cryptocurrencies, which provide an effective means of ransom payment. In this article, we review existing policies, players, and technologies involved in the ransomware ecosystem, discussing the potential efficacy of these policies and technologies in discouraging ransomware attacks.First, we survey the economic and technical forces driving ransomware attacks, outlining measures institutions can take to protect themselves, and summarizing the financial and political factors that motivate companies’ decisions when faced with a ransomware attack. In the second half of the article, we systematize existing and pending U.S. regulatory proposals intended to mitigate the impact of ransomware, investigating: (1) blanket bans on ransomware payment, (2) mandatory reporting of ransomware incidents and payments, and (3) regulation of cryptocurrency exchange platforms. We examine the effectiveness of each of these policies as a means of preventing ransomware attacks, evaluating their impact on key players in the ransomware market.
AML by design: Designing a central bank digital currency to stifle money laundering
Authors: Mahari Robert Z. , Hardjono Thomas , Pentland Alex
Published: August 2022

This article explores how technical central bank digital currency (CBDC) design choices can be used to make a CBDC inherently resistant to money laundering. These design choices not only further anti-money laundering (AML), but they can also help to better balance AML priorities with other goals including financial inclusion, privacy and compliance costs. Moreover, CBDCs provide an opportunity to measure the effectiveness of different design choices in real time. These measurements can facilitate the iterative redesign of CBDCs to identify optimal approaches to meeting regulatory objectives.
An interview with Oscar Ocampo: On reaching net zero in Mexico
Authors: Nevarez Diego
Published: August 2022

Mr. Oscar Ocampo is an energy coordinator at the Mexican Institute for Competiveness (IMCO), a non-profit, non-partisan research center that researches and acts on evidence to solve the most important challenges in Mexico. Prior to IMCO, he worked as an advisor to the independent directors of the Board of Directors of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). He was also a consultant in public affairs at De la Calle, Madrazo, Mancera, SC, where he participated in the design and evaluation of public policies, regulation, legislative reforms, sectoral studies, matters related to international trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as in the review of international best practices for various industrial and service sectors. He studied Political Science at the Universität Hamburg and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Natural language processing: Understanding the current landscape
Authors: Patki Medha , Soni Prajna
Published: August 2022

We spoke with two researchers in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand their perspective on the current landscape of NLP – the challenges, successes, and implications of the technology today.Kathleen Siminyu is an AI Researcher focused on NLP for African languages. She is currently a Machine Learning Fellow at the Mozilla Foundation, supporting the development of a Kiswahili Common Voice dataset and building speech transcription models for end-use cases in the agricultural and financial domains. In her NLP research, Kathleen has previously worked on speech transcription for Luhya languages and contributed to machine translation for Kenyan languages as part of Masakhane. Before joining Mozilla, Kathleen was Regional Coordinator of AI4D Africa, where she worked with ML and artificial intelligence (AI) communities in Africa to run various programs.Chris Tanner is the Head of R&D at Kensho, and he holds a joint appointment at MIT, where he teaches NLP and machine learning (ML). At Kensho, he oversees NLP research, including document layout analysis, summarization, speech recognition, entity linking, and language modeling. Previously, Chris taught and advised graduate students at Harvard, and prior to that, he served as Associate Staff Researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He obtained his Ph.D. from Brown University.
Addressing the single-use plastic proliferation problem
Authors: Pearson Matthew , Khare Eesha
Published: August 2022

Despite the integral role of plastics in modern society, effective management of plastic waste has remained unaddressed, even as the rate of plastic waste accumulation continues to accelerate. The vast majority of plastic waste has a slow degradation rate, leading to harmful environmental consequences, particularly for marine ecosystems, and may potentially have human health impacts. As a result, policymakers have begun taking action in recent years, with a focus on banning single-use plastics. While single-use plastic bans have seemingly become the preferred policy response, there is debate regarding whether they are universally the optimal policy solution. This article reviews current implementations of these bans and examines the associated environmental trade-offs. It then presents a set of potential alternative or supplemental policy options with a focus on the importance of addressing the entirety of the plastic value chain in the development of policies to grapple with the plastic waste problem.
On innovation in public health across government, industry, and academia
Authors: Podila Pradeep S. B. , Bocobo Geoffrey , Lukianov Stefan
Published: August 2022

MIT SPR spoke with three researchers in public health to understand their perspectives on how public health crises (COVID-19, for example) affect innovation in methods and practices across government, academia, and industry.First, Pradeep Podila spoke with Melvin Crum, a computer scientist practicing informatics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His focus is on the systematic application of information/data/computer science and information technology to public health practice, research, and learning. He has over 30 years of experience working at the CDC and currently serves as the Program Manager for Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) at the Office of Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance (DDPHSS), where his work is focused on advancing and coordinating the DMI and IT & Data Governance efforts across the agency. Prior to this, he served in the capacity of Chief – Applications & Infrastructure Development and Engineering (AIDE) Team with the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) and Chief Informatics Officer for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) responsible for piloting innovative ways to collect, manage, process, analyze, visualize and disseminate data in various formats, structures and sizes. In 2020, he was deployed in Washington, DC and worked at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the direct data capture of hospital COVID data.
Space sustainability isn’t just about space debris: On the atmospheric impact of space launches
Authors: Sirieys Elwyn , Gentgen Chloe , Jain Asha , Milton Julia , De Weck Oliver L.
Published: August 2022

Throughout their life cycle, space launch vehicles impact their local and global environments on Earth and in space. Given the space industry’s projected growth, recent literature suggests that the atmospheric consequences of these activities are understudied and insufficiently addressed. Rockets uniquely emit combustion gases and particles into distinct layers of the atmosphere, inducing effects that include perturbations of ozone chemistry and of Earth’s energy balance through radiative forcing. International environmental regulations do not presently address rocket emissions and only scarce, isolated policies exist at the national level. Additional research on the impact of space launches, including new in situ measurements coupled with global atmospheric models, is required to inform policymaking and future mitigation. The development of an actionable and collaborative sustainability index for launch vehicles could serve as a basis for future regulations or incentivize the sector towards more sustainable designs by making emissions reduction a competitive advantage.
Biosecurity risks and governance in the age of synthetic biology
Authors: Sanz John A. , Dunlap Garrett , Nolan Nicholas , O'Leary Colin
Published: August 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the susceptibility of the United States and the world to biological threats. These threats can be unintentional, such as the result of zoonotic spillover or laboratory accidents, or deliberate, such as the release of a pathogen intended to be used as a biological weapon (or, bioweapons). While unintentional outbreaks are difficult to prevent, much effort has been spent to prevent the spread and use of bioweapons in the modern era. However, advances in technology threaten to outpace efforts to control bioweapon proliferation. This article reviews the changing nature of bioweapons, the governance structures established to prevent their spread, and the advances in technology that could deter and mitigate their use.
Biogen’s Aduhelm controversy as a case study for accelerated approval biomarkers in Alzheimer’s and related diseases
Authors: Berg Alex , Mayers Ryan P. , Richards Sarah
Published: August 2022

In June 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Biogen’s Aducanumab (brand name Aduhelm) as the first purported therapy to directly impact Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression. While such a therapy was a long-awaited goal in AD treatment, Aduhelm’s approval quickly became controversial due to the fact that its approval was based upon the drug’s ability to clear protein aggregates rather than any observed clinical outcomes for patients. These aggregates had been established as a surrogate endpoint, a probable marker of future clinical outcomes, but the decision to do so was controversial. Furthermore, now that Aduhelm has been approved, considerations about the precedent set by these surrogate endpoint choices now have ramifications for future AD drugs, drugs for other neurodegenerative diseases, and the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program. In this review, we introduce the concept of biomarkers for surrogate versus clinical endpoints, explain why surrogate endpoints are necessary for many diseases like AD, why the endpoints selected for Aduhelm were controversial, and discuss how more appropriate biomarkers can be chosen for future AD and Accelerated Approval drugs.
IMIDOCARB USE IN ANIMALS
Authors: USLU Muhittin , CANBAR Rahmi
Published: August 2022

Imidocarb dipropionate is a carbanilide derivative antiprotozoan drug. The drug is approved for use in animals for the treatment of tick-borne transmitted babesiosis (piroplasmosis) and anaplasmosis. However, its effectiveness against some other microorganisms transmitted by ticks has also been investigated. Although cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, dogs and sheep are defined as target species, they can also be used in other domestic and wild animals. Although it is recommended to use the drug as a single dose, it can be applied 2-3 days later if necessary. The therapeutic index of the drug is narrow, and attention should be paid to the dosage regimen. In this review, it could be tried to give information about the use of imidocarb in animal species, its success in treatment and its side effects.
A Novel Hybrid Ensemble Clustering Technique for Student Performance Prediction
Authors: Fida Sanam , Masood Nayyer , Tariq Nirmal , Qayyum Faiza
Published: August 2022

Educational Data Mining (EDM) is a branch of data mining that focuses on extraction of useful knowledge from data generated through academic activities at school, college or at university level. The extracted knowledge can help to perform the academic activities in a better way, so it is useful for students, parents and institutions themselves. One common activity in EDM is students grade prediction with an aim to identify weak or at-risk students. An early identification of such students helps to take supportive measures that may help students to improve. Among a vast number of approaches available in this field, this study mainly focuses on generating a smarter dataset through reduced feature set without compromising the number of records in it and then producing an approach which combines the strengths of classification and clustering for better prediction results. In this study it has been identified that individual features have distinct effect and that removing misclassified data can affect the overall results. Backward selection is adopted using Pearson correlation as a metric to produce smarter dataset with lesser attributes and better accuracy in prediction. After feature set selection, we have applied EMT (Ensemble Meta-Based Tree Model) classification on it to identify best performing classifiers from five families of classifiers. In hybrid approach, first the ensemble clustering is applied on smart dataset and then EMT classification is applied to reevaluate the un-clustered data, which gives a boost in performance and provides us an accuracy of 93%.
Assessing Repetitive Trials in Serious Games
Authors: Westera Wim
Published: August 2022

Players in serious games may often need multiple trials for correctly completing a game task. Therefore, the number of attempts should be reflected in the score. This article presents three computational score models that take into account the number of attempts that a player makes to be successful. The models, which are extensions of test theory, quantify the random contributions to the scores that need to be removed. They also describe the influence of prior knowledge used for elimination of incorrect options, and take into account that the decision options in a node may not be equally plausible. In a series of simulation studies the score outcomes of the models are compared under various conditions. Results show that the number of trials cannot be ignored as they have a strong impact on the performance scores to be assigned. Neglecting the number of trials leads to inaccurate scores that significantly overrate the observed performances, occasionally up to 100% or even more. The effects depend on the number of decision options, the presence of obvious, correct or incorrect options given the player´s knowledge level and, to a lesser extent, different plausibility levels of the options to decide upon. The practical feasibility is high, because a simple score formula largely solves the problem.
A Deep Learning based Air Quality Prediction Technique Using Influencing Pollutants of Neighboring Locations in Smart City
Authors: Ghose Banani , Rehena Zeenat , Anthopoulos Leonidas
Published: August 2022

The level of air pollution in smart cities plays a critical role in the community’s health and quality of life. Thus, air pollution forecasting would be beneficial and would guide citizens in avoiding exposure to dangerous emissions. The air health of a place can be diagnosed by close observation of the AQI (Air Quality Index) of that place. Moreover, the AQI of a place may have some influence on the pollutant concentration of the neighboring places. To address this issue, this work introduces a hybrid deep learning framework that is able to predict the values of a corresponding metric: AQI of smart cities. As a part of this work, two algorithms are proposed. The first one replaces the missing values in the dataset and the second one formulates the influence of the nearby places’ pollutant concentrations on the air quality of a particular place. A deep learning-based forecasting model is also proposed by combining 1D-CNN and Bi-GRU. To test the applicability of the framework, a large-scale experiment is carried out with the real-world dataset collected from New South Wales, Australia. Experimental results validate that the proposed framework provides a stable forecasting result, it confirms that the AQI of a place gets affected by the pollutant concentration of the nearby places and the comparison of forecasting result with the existing state of the art models shows that the proposed model outperforms the other models.