bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the impact of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme on the quality of recovery in patients undergoing a scheduled hysterectomy: a prospective single-centre before-after study protocol (RAACHYS study)
Authors: Martin Flora , Vautrin Nicolas , Elnar Arpiné Ardzivian , Goetz Christophe , Bécret Antoine
Published: April 2022

Introduction

The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes following hysterectomies have been studied since 2010, and their positive effects on clinical or economic criteria are now well established. However, the benefits on health outcomes, especially rapid recovery after surgery from patients’ perspective is lacking in literature, leading to develop scores supporting person-centred and value-based care such as patient-reported outcome measures. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of an ERAS programme on patients’ well-being after undergoing hysterectomy.

Methods and analysis

This is an observational, prospective single-centre before-after clinical trial. 148 patients are recruited and allocated into two groups, before and after ERAS programme implementation, respectively. The ERAS programme consists in optimising factors dealing with early rehabilitation, such as preoperative patient education, multimodal pain management, early postoperative fluid taken and mobilisation. A self-questionnaire quality of recovery-15 (QoR-15) on the preoperative day 1 (D−1), postoperative day 0 evening (D0) and the postoperative day 1 (D+1) is completed by patients. Patients scheduled to undergo hysterectomy, aged 18 years and above, whose physical status are classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists score 1−3 and who are able to return home after being discharged from hospital and contact their physician or the medical department if necessary are recruited for this study. The total duration of inclusion is 36 months. The primary outcome is the difference in QoR-15 scores measured on D+1 which will be compared between the ‘before’ and the ‘after’ group, using multiple linear regression model.

Ethics and dissemination

Approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee (Paris, France). Subjects are actually being recruited after giving their oral agreement or non-objection to participate in this clinical trial and following the oral and written information given by the anaesthesiologist practitioner.

Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT04268576(Pre-result).
Experiences and actions related to living with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway: a qualitative study conducted during July to December 2020
Authors: Pleym Karin , Iversen Marjolein Memelink , Broström Anders
Published: April 2022

Objectives

The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of adults with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway, and what actions they took to cope with the situation.

Design

An inductive, descriptive design applying the critical incident technique was used to collect qualitative data between July 2020 and December 2020.

Setting

A strategic selection was made from diabetes specialist outpatient clinics at three different hospitals in eastern Norway. The hospitals, two community hospitals and one university hospital, were situated in both rural and urban areas.

Participants

Inclusion criteria were people with T1DM aged 18–65 years. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, people with chronic pulmonary disorders, people with active cancer diseases and people diagnosed with a myocardial infarction or stroke during the previous 6 months. Semistructured individual interviews with 19 people with T1DM were conducted.

Results

Experiences were categorised into two main areas: ‘increased psychosocial burden of T1DM during the COVID-19 pandemic’ and ‘changed conditions for T1DM treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic’. Uncertainty distress and social consequences from infection control measures contributed to the burden of T1DM. Disrupted T1DM follow-up and altered daily routines created challenges. However, having increased time to focus on T1DM self-management during lockdown represented an improvement. Actions to handle the situation were categorised into two main areas: ‘actions to handle psychosocial strain related to T1DM and COVID-19’ and ‘actions to handle changed conditions for T1DM treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic’.

Conclusions

Patients experienced an increased psychosocial burden of T1DM and difficulties from a disrupted daily life affecting T1DM self-management routines. Uncertainty-reducing behaviours and actions to adapt to the situation provided a general sense of coping despite these difficulties. Tailored information and follow-up by telephone or video call was emphasised to reduce uncertainly distress and support adequate diabetes T1DM self-management.
Telerehabilitation programmes for patients with cancer and survivors: a protocol for a systematic review
Authors: He Yu , Han Xiaochai , Zou Wenchen , Liu Xuemin , Sun Nianyi , Zhou Fenghua
Published: April 2022

Introduction

The global cancer burden is a major public health problem. Cancer rehabilitation is an essential component of survivorship care for preventing complications, decreasing symptoms and improving functional quality of life (QOL). In addition to pre-existing challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected cancer rehabilitation programmes and their delivery to patients. This comprehensive systematic review will assess the efficacy and safety of telerehabilitation on functional outcomes and QOL in patients with cancer and survivors.

Methods and analysis

This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols. The following key electronic bibliographic databases will be searched from their inception to April 2021: MEDLINE, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). We will include randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in English that examine the effects of telerehabilitation programmes on patients with cancer and survivors. The terms ‘telerehabilitation’, ‘neoplasm’, ‘RCT’ and their analogous terms will be used in our search strategy. Two reviewers will independently complete the study screening, selection, data extraction and quality rating. The PEDro scale will be used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Narrative or quantitative synthesis will be conducted on the basis of the final data. The planned start and end dates for the study are 1 March 2021 and 1 May 2022, respectively.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval will not be required for this review, and the results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021243467.
Mass gathering events: a retrospective analysis of the triage categories, type of injury or medical complaint and medical usage rates
Authors: Van Remoortel Hans , Scheers Hans , Lauwers Karen , Gillebeert Johan , Stroobants Stijn , Vranckx Pascal , De Buck Emmy , Vandekerckhove Philippe
Published: April 2022

Background

Adequate on-site first aid delivery at mass gatherings (MGs) is one of the cornerstones to ensure safe and healthy MGs. We investigated medical usage rates, frequency of triage categories and type of injury or medical complaint, among attendees at MGs in Belgium.

Methods

We analysed the Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System database, which includes prospectively collected person-level data regarding individuals visiting on-site posts at MGs in Belgium. MGs attended by >10 000 people and organised ≥5 times between 2009 and 2018 were included. We determined the proportion of patients in each triage category (‘first aid’ vs ‘medical condition’ vs ‘medical emergency’ vs ‘no treatment’) and each type of injury or medical complaint, and we calculated patient presentation rate (PPR) and transfer to hospital rate (TTHR).

Results

Twenty-eight MGs, totalling 194 events, were included involving 148 265 patient visits. ‘First aid’ was the most common triage category (80%, n=118 514). The need for a nurse/physician (‘medical condition’), and for the treatment of life-threatening conditions (‘medical emergency’) was rare (8.9%, n=13 052, and 0.6%, n=860, of all patient presentations, respectively), but remarkably higher during indoor electronic dance music (EDM) events (17.8% (n=26 391) and 4.0% (n=5930), of all patient presentations, respectively). ‘Skin wounds’ were the most common injury category (42.4%, n=62 275). ‘Respiratory problems’, ‘neurological problems’, ‘intoxication’, ‘heart complaints’ and ‘gastrointestinal complaints’ were more frequent during indoor (electronic) dance, whereas ‘burns’, ‘fracture/contusion’ and ‘skin wounds’ were higher during outdoor music, sports events and city festivals, respectively. PPR (per 10 000 attendees) was highest for outdoor EDM and outdoor music (median 130 (IQR 79) and 129 (IQR 104), respectively). TTHR (per 10 000 attendees) was highest for indoor EDM (median 4.4 (IQR 8.5)).

Conclusion

Medical usage rates, proportion of patients in triage and injury or medical complaint categories varied across different MG categories, suggesting opportunities for planning medical coverage at these events.
Quantitative effect of sex on disease activity and disability accumulation in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Magyari Melinda , Koch-Henriksen Nils
Published: April 2022

Objective

To quantify sex differences in activity and severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) and how it depends on disease duration and time since clinical onset.

Methods

All Danish citizens with onset of relapsing MS since 1996 who have received disease-modifying therapy have been followed with annual or biannual control visits with mandatory notification of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry. Men and women were compared by the inverse probability of being female. Relapse rates and changes in the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores were analysed with weighted general linear models, and we used weighted Cox regression for HRs between men and women for different EDSS endpoints.

Results

We included 3028 men and 6619 women. The weighted female:male relapse rate ratio was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.10 to 1.22) but after age 50 years, the difference disappeared. The annualised increase in EDSS was 0.07 in men (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.08) and 0.05 in women (95% CI: 0.04 to 0.06); p=0.017. With women as reference, the HR for reaching EDSS 4 was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.23 to 1.45; p<0.001), and for reaching EDSS 6 it was 1.43 (95% CI: 1.28 to 1.61; p<0.001). The diagnostic delay did not differ significantly between the sexes.

Conclusion

Women have more inflammatory disease activity in terms of relapses than men up to the age of menopause indicating that sex hormones may play a role. Men are more subject to the neurodegenerative component of MS than women, particularly after the age of 45 years.
Cytokine autoantibodies in SARS-CoV-2 prepandemic and intrapandemic samples from an SLE cohort
Authors: Choi May Y , Clarke Ann Elaine , Buhler Katherine , Jung Michelle , Mathew Hannah , Zhang Meifeng , Cardwell Francesca S , Waldhauser Heather , Fritzler Marvin J
Published: April 2022

Cytokine autoantibodies, particularly those directed to type I interferon (T1IFN), have been reported to portend an increased risk of severe COVID-19. Since SLE is one of the conditions historically associated with T1IFN autoantibodies, we sought to determine the prevalence of cytokine autoantibodies in our local cohort of 173 patients with SLE prepandemic and intrapandemic, of which nine had confirmed exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Autoantibodies to 16 different cytokines, including T1IFN, were measured by an addressable laser bead immunoassay. None of the 9 patients with confirmed exposure to SARS-CoV-2 had autoantibodies to T1IFN and none had severe COVID-19 symptoms, necessitating hospitalisation. Hence, we could not confirm that TIIFN autoantibodies increase the risk for severe COVID-19. In addition, the cytokine autoantibody pattern did not differ between those with and without evidence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure.
Innovative, centralised, multidisciplinary medicines optimisation clinic for PCSK9 inhibitors
Authors: Khatib Rani , Khan Mutiba , Barrowcliff Abigail , Ikongo Eunice , Burton Claire , Mansfield Michael , Hall Alistair
Published: April 2022

Background

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9is) are an important but underutilised option to help optimise lipid management. We developed a new service to improve patient access to these medicines in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations. This paper describes the model and provides lipid-lowering results and feedback from the first 100 referred patients.

Methods

The service is based on a centralised multidisciplinary clinic that is the sole prescriber of PCSK9i therapy in the area. Referred patients are assessed for eligibility and given tailored, person-centred support, education and monitoring to promote treatment adherence and lipids optimisation. The clinic also supports referred patients that do not meet PCSK9i eligibility criteria.

Results

Among the first 100 patients referred (n=62 male; mean age: 62.9±10.5 years), 48 were initiated on PCSK9i therapy. Mean total cholesterol decreased from 7.7±1.6 mmol/L at baseline to 4.5±1.4 mmol/L at 3 months (41% reduction), while mean low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) fell from 5.0±1.6 mmol/L to 2.1±1.3 mmol/L (58% reduction; p<0.0001) and median LDL-C decreased from 4.8 mmol/L to 1.6 mmol/L (67% reduction) over the same period. These decreases were maintained at 12 months (45%, 65% and 67% reductions, respectively; p<0.0001 for the decrease in mean LDL-C from baseline). Patient feedback on the clinic was positive and overall satisfaction was high.

Conclusions

This innovative, person-centred, multidisciplinary service successfully initiated PCSK9i therapy for eligible patients and drove long-term monitoring, adherence and cholesterol lowering. It also provided medicines optimisation and adherence assistance to PCSK9i-ineligible patients. The model could be used in other areas to support better uptake and optimisation of PCSK9i therapy.
Norms, rules and policy tools: understanding Article 5.3 as an instrument of tobacco control governance
Authors: Ralston Rob , Hirpa Selamawit , Bassi Shalini , Male Denis , Kumar Praveen , Barry Rachel Ann , Collin Jeff
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, elaborated via its implementation guidelines, can be understood as a policy instrument comprising norms, rules and policy tools designed to shape practices of policy making and minimise tobacco industry interference.

Methods

This qualitative research is based on in-depth interviews with officials from diverse government sectors and non-governmental organisations across countries (Ethiopia, India, Uganda) that have adopted measures to implement Article 5.3.

Results

The data highlight varied perceptions and knowledge of Article 5.3 norms between health and non-health sectors. Health officials typically link itscorenorm of a fundamental conflict between public health and industry interests to thegovernancenorm of protecting public health policies from industry interference. While officials in sectors beyond health broadly endorsed this core norm, they exhibited more limited awareness of Article 5.3 and its model of governance. The results examine how rules to implement Article 5.3 have been codified, but identify the absence of policy tools necessary to operationalise rules and norms. This limitation, alongside restricted awareness beyond health departments, suggests that political commitments to implement Article 5.3 will have limited impact on practices of stakeholder consultation and policy engagement with the tobacco industry.

Conclusion

Conceptualising Article 5.3 as a policy instrument helps to explain how its rules and policy tools interact with each other and with broader governance processes. This framework has the potential to enhance understanding of Article 5.3 and help identify opportunities and constraints in its implementation.
Holographic drag force in non-conformal plasma
Authors: Domurcukgul Tolga , Morad Razieh
Published: April 2022

In this study, the gauge/string duality is used to investigate the dynamics of a moving heavy quark in a strongly coupled, non-conformal plasma. The drag force in this non-conformal model is smaller than that of $$\mathcal {N} = 4$$

N
=
4

supersymmetric Yang–Mills (SYM) plasma and decreases as the level of non-conformality is increased. At intermediate temperatures, the world-sheet temperature, which is derived numerically by calculating the world-sheet horizon, deviates from its conformal value, but at high temperatures, it tends to its conformal value.
Canonical analysis of non-relativistic string with non-relativistic world-sheet
Authors: Klusoň Josef
Published: April 2022

We perform canonical analysis of non-relativistic string theory with non-relativistic world-sheet gravity. We determine structure of constraints and symplectic structure of canonical variables.
Thermal neutron conversion by high purity 10B-enriched layers: PLD-growth, thickness-dependence and neutron-detection performances
Authors: Caricato Anna Paola , Cesaria Maura , Finocchiaro Paolo , Amaducci Simone , Longhitano Fabio , Provenzano Chiara , Marra Marcella , Martino Maurizio , Aziz Muhammad Rizwan , Serra Antonio , Manno Daniela , Calcagnile Lucio , Quarta Gianluca
Published: April 2022

Neutron applications and detection are of paramount importance in industry, medicine, scientific research, homeland security, production of extreme UV optics and so on. Neutron detection requires a converter element that, as a result of its interaction with neutrons, produces reaction products (mainly charged particles) whose detection can be correlated with the neutron flux. Reduced availability and increased cost of the most used converter element,3He, have triggered research efforts for alternative materials, proper deposition methods and new detector architectures.10B converter is a valid alternative to3He thanks to its high thermal neutron cross section and relatively high Q value. In this paper we report on the room temperature Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) of high quality and uniform10B films with the expected density, different thickness values (0.5, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 and 2.0 μm) and uniform thickness over a circular area of about 30 mm in diameter. Additionally, they are adherent to the substrate with a negligible presence of contaminants. The conversion properties of such10B coatings coupled to a Si solid state detector are studied upon exposure to a neutron flux from an Am-Be neutron source (2.2·106 n/s). The experimental results, compared with spectra simulated by using a GEANT4 code, present a good agreement and efficiencies of the order of a few percent.
Multiscale roughness analysis by microprofilometry based on conoscopic holography: a new tool for treatment monitoring in highly reflective metal artworks
Authors: Daffara Claudia , Mazzocato Sara , Marchioro Giacomo
Published: April 2022

The analysis of surface roughness in highly reflective metal artworks is challenging and requires contactless devices capable to measure regions with high micrometer accuracy in both depth and lateral directions. We demonstrate optical profilometry based on scanning conoscopic holography for micrometer measurement of silver samples treated with different hand-made cleaning processes. The technique is shown effective in acquiring shiny and smooth metal samples providing high-resolution and high-accurate dataset ($$0.1\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$

0.1

μ
m

depth and $$5\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$

5

μ
m

lateral resolution) that is a reliable representation of the microsurface structure. From a statistical point of view, the cleaning treatments have the same nature of the low-abrasion, but the underlying mechanical processes are different. This fact suggested a more in-depth study of both the amplitude and the hybrid areal roughness parameters. It is proposed a workflow for a dual integrated multiscale roughness analysis for surface characterization: a scale inspection to detect possible texture non-homogeneity, and a signals separation to outline the most significant texture components. The scale-limited components allowed to discriminate the different surface processes. The results on silver samples demonstrate the potential of multiscale roughness analysis by conoscopic holography as a new tool for treatment monitoring in metal artworks.
Measuring far-field beam divergence angle of supercontinuum fiber sources
Authors: Kang Jiacheng , Chen Shengping , Yang Weiqiang
Published: April 2022

We measured the divergence angles of supercontinuum fiber sources from various types of silica fibers in the spectral range from 0.5 to 2.3[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m, covering almost the entire range of supercontinuum that can be generated from silica fibers. The divergence angle of the supercontinuum directly output from the photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) increases monotonously with the increase of the wavelength. The divergence angle of the supercontinuum after transmitting through single-mode fibers, including HI1060, SMF-28 and 10/130 fibers, increases firstly and decreases then with the increase of the wavelength. The turning point is different for the three kinds of fibers. The beam parameter product (BPP) increases monotonously with wavelength for both the PCF and the single-mode fibers. Theoretical calculations are also made for the mentioned four types of fibers. The divergence angle of supercontinuum after transmitting through multimode fibers with 50, 100 and 200[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m core diameters is also measured, which varies in a certain range without obvious rules depending on the wavelength.
SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE OF INFORMAL MICRO-ENTERPRISES: THE CASE OF SENEGAL
Authors: AIDARA SAMSIDINE , AL MAMUN ABDULLAH , MD NASIR NOORUL AZWIN , MOHIUDDIN MUHAMMAD
Published: April 2022

This study empirically investigates the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and sustainability performance. It also explores the direct effects of financial capital, human capital, social capital, government support and business environment on sustainability performance of micro-enterprises operating in the informal sector. The study is conducted within the context of Senegal and through the lens of resource-based view theory. Employing a cross-sectional design, data is collected from randomly selected micro and small entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector. The outcomes include a positive effect of opportunity recognition competency, commitment competency and government support on the sustainability performance of micro-enterprises. An Importance Performance Matrix analysis indicates that these factors are the most important factors determining sustainability performance of micro-enterprises within the context of the informal sector. The findings extend the scope of RBV while simultaneously enhancing the knowledge and understanding pertaining to the interplay of entrepreneurial competencies and sustainability performance, particularly for small business operators in the informal sector. Implications are drawn to theory development, practice and public policy.
FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EMPLOYABILITY AND EMPOWERMENT: IMPACT OF THE MUDRA LOAN SCHEME
Authors: AGARWALA VARUNA , MAITY SUDARSHAN , SAHU TARAK NATH
Published: April 2022

Improved access to credit influences socio-economic growth. Accordingly, financial support schemes have been used widely as a development tool to help underserved individuals grow and elevate themselves out of poverty. Uplifting women, who are subject to unfair treatment because of gender biases, have been a major target of these programs. Therefore, the present study examines one such government microcredit scheme, the Mudra Yojana, which supports individuals financially to start an enterprise or expand the existing one by providing collateral-free loans. Further, it encourages female participants by charging lower interest rates. The present study, based on 417 female beneficiaries from the tribal districts of West Bengal, India, investigates how financial support has benefitted women in their socio-economic growth. It evaluates the scheme’s effect based on women’s employability and empowerment level. To analyze the data, the study employs ordered logistic regression, Wilcoxon Sign test, effect size, etc. The results suggest micro-credit through Mudra Yojana encourages female entrepreneurship, raises earnings and employability, and thereby empowers them financially, socially, psychologically and in the political arena. The findings of these studies reinforce the fact women could be “active agents of change” and play an important role in both the family and society.
Survey of Reinforcement Learning based on Human Prior Knowledge
Authors: Guo Zijing , Yao Chendie , Feng Yanghe , Xu Yue
Published: April 2022

At present, task planning is mainly solved by rules or operational research methods. The time complexity and space complexity of these methods increase exponentially with the growth of problem size. Thus, it is challenging to solve large-scale problems. Moreover, it is helpless to solve dynamic task planning problems. Reinforcement learning (RL) is often used to solve the dynamic planning problem of continuous decision making. RL agent constantly interacts with the environment to achieve the expected goal. However, the RL method meets challenges when handling the problem with ample state space. More sampling and exploration are needed to update the strategy gradient, and the convergence speed is slow. Humans ensure a quick start of learning by using prior knowledge, which reduces the exploration time of problems. Thus, we review the methods which combine human prior knowledge with RL through temporal node classification of human prior knowledge combined with RL. In this way, agents effectively reduce the sampling and exploration of the environment and eventually get the optimal strategy faster. Finally, we propose the development direction.
High–low temperature dualities for the classical β-ensembles
Authors: Forrester Peter J.
Published: April 2022

The loop equations for the [Formula: see text]-ensembles are conventionally solved in terms of a [Formula: see text] expansion. We observe that it is also possible to fix N and expand in inverse powers of [Formula: see text]. At leading order, for the one-point function [Formula: see text] corresponding to the average of the linear statistic [Formula: see text] and after specialising to the classical weights, this reclaims well known results of Stieltjes relating the zeros of the classical polynomials to the minimum energy configuration of certain log–gas potential energies. Moreover, it is observed that the differential equations satisfied by [Formula: see text] in the case of classical weights — which are particular Riccati equations — are simply related to the differential equations satisfied by [Formula: see text] in the high temperature scaled limit [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] fixed, [Formula: see text]), implying a certain high–low temperature duality. A generalisation of this duality, valid without any limiting procedure, is shown to hold for [Formula: see text] and all its higher point analogues in the classical [Formula: see text]-ensembles.
Palaeostrait tectonosedimentary facies during late Cenozoic microplate rifting and dispersal in the western Mediterranean
Authors: Cavazza William , Longhitano Sergio G.
Published: April 2022

Palaeostraits are common features formed during the extension and fragmentation of active continental margins, when back-arc basins are formed and microplates develop through upper-plate extension. In this contribution, we focus on narrow seaways and straits associated with successive pulses of late Cenozoic rifting along the southwestern Eurasian continental margin, and the ensuing formation and dispersal of microplates. The incomplete and largely non-cylindrical Africa–Eurasia continental collision in the Mediterranean region provides snapshots of the various phases of microplate fragmentation and dispersal, punctuated by the presence of narrow seaways/straits. These peculiar physiographical conditions induced current amplification, and led to the accumulation of characteristic large-scale, cross-stratified deposits and tidal facies in an otherwise generally microtidal setting. Although not univocally related to rifting, the identification of such distinctive sedimentary facies within deformed orogenic belts may ultimately help in terrane analysis and in the discrimination of individual microplates, which were then amalgamated. Recognition and dating of palaeostrait tectonosedimentary facies can thus constrain the presence and the onset of extension in the geological record.
Conversations About Crime: Re-Enforcing and Fighting Against Platformed Racism on Reddit
Authors: Wu Qunfang , Williams Louisa Kayah , Simpson Ellen , Semaan Bryan
Published: April 2022

With the emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), people are being exposed to an increased volume of crime-related information, which induces fear. While the fear of crime has been explored around people's experiences with crime, little is known about how people frame their conversations about crime online. In this study, we explore how citizens talk about crime on Reddit. By collecting crime conversations from the subreddit r/baltimore, we find that, on the surface, redditors discuss topics such as comparing crime rates in Baltimore with other cities in an effort to destigmatize the depictions of Baltimore as a city rife with crime. On a deeper level, we find that through their conversations about crime, redditors are engaging in discourse frames that both re-enforce and fight against platformed racism. On the one hand, some redditors perpetuate racially coded language that is rife with anti-Black stereotypes, framing their conversations using old and new racism to cover their racism and discrimination against Black people. On the other hand, others push back against platformed racism by drawing attention to individual racism and systemic racism, and situating crime in root, societal causes. We then discuss how platformed racism operates in online conversations, and develop the concepts of weaponized identity and digital gentrification, which we argue are ways in which people, through their engagements in digital platforms, continue to perpetuate white hegemonic power structures in society. Finally, we discuss implications for how to design to support the fight against platformed racism in sociotechnical systems like Reddit. As a content note and warning, this paper discusses racist content which may be upsetting or harmful to some readers.
Image DePO: Towards Gradual Decentralization of Online Social Networks using Decentralized Privacy Overlays
Authors: Logas Jacob , Schlesinger Ari , Li Zhouyu , Das Sauvik
Published: April 2022

Centralized online social networks --- e.g., Facebook, Twitter and TikTok --- help drive social connection on the Internet, but have nigh unfettered access to monitor and monetize the personal data of their users. This centralization can especially undermine the use of the social internet by minority populations, who disproportionately bear the costs of institutional surveillance. We introduce a new class of privacy-enhancing technology --- decentralized privacy overlays (DePOs) --- that helps cOSN users regain some control over their personal data by allowing them to selectively share secret content on cOSNs through decentralized content distribution networks. As a first step, we present an implementation and user evaluation of Image DePO, a proof-of-concept design probe that allows users to upload and share secret photos on Facebook through the Interplanetary File System peer-to-peer protocol. We qualitatively evaluated Image DePO in a controlled, test environment with 19 queer and Black, Indigenous, (and) Person of Color (BIPOC) participants. We found that while Image DePO could help address the institutional threats with which our participants expressed concern, interpersonal threats were the more salient concern in their decisions to share content. Accordingly, we argue that in order to see widespread use, DePOs must align protection against abstract institutional threats with protection against the more salient interpersonal threats users consider when making specific sharing decisions.
Analyzing the Impact and Accuracy of Facebook Activity on Facebook's Ad-Interest Inference Process
Authors: Sabir Aafaq , Lafontaine Evan , Das Anupam
Published: April 2022

Social media platforms like Facebook have become increasingly popular for serving targeted ads to their users. This has led to increased privacy concerns due to the lack of transparency regarding how ads are matched against each user profile. Facebook infers user interests through their activities and targets ads based on those interests. Although Facebook provides explanations for why a particular interest is inferred about a user, there is still a gap in understanding what activities lead to interest inferences and the extent to which the sentiment or context of activities is considered in inferring interests.

To obtain insights into how Facebook generates interests from a user's Facebook activities, we performed controlled experiments by creating new accounts and systematically executing numerous planned activities. This enabled us to make causal inferences about activities that lead to generating specific interests, many of which were not representative of actual user preferences. We also evaluated which activities resulted in interests and found that very naive activities, such as only viewing/scrolling through a page, lead to an interest inference. We found 33.22% of the inferred interests were inaccurate or irrelevant. We further evaluated the interest inference explanations provided by Facebook and found that these explanations were too generalized and, at times, misleading. To understand if our findings hold for a large and diverse sample, we conducted a user study where we recruited 146 participants (through Amazon Mechanical Turk) from different regions of the world to evaluate the accuracy of interests inferred by Facebook. We developed a browser extension to extract data from their own Facebook accounts and ask questions based on such data. Our participants reported a similar range (29%) of inaccuracy as observed in our controlled experiments. We also found that most of our participants were unaware of the availability of Facebook's ad preference manager, interest inference process, and even interest explanations.
Assistive Communication Technologies and Stigma: How Perceived Visibility of Cochlear Implants Affects Self-Stigma and Social Interaction Anxiety
Authors: Chang Pamara F. , Tucker Rachel V.
Published: April 2022

Assistive technologies promise improved functionality for people with disabilities, but their use and adoption are complicated. Previous research has identified several reasons why people with disabilities choose to abandon their assistive technologies. However, less is known about the adoption of assistive technologies that are permanent and user perceptions of these technologies. This study builds upon existing assistive technology, disability, identity, and stigma literature by examining the role of perceptions of cochlear implants, an assistive technology that permanently renders an invisible disability visible, among the single-sided deaf community. Analysis of survey data from 332 single-sided deaf individuals with cochlear implants all over the world revealed that the perceived visibility of assistive technology is positively associated with self-stigma and social interaction anxiety. Results from this study highlight the centrality of sociotechnical perceptions of assistive technologies to the experience of stigma, rather than the objective characteristics and features of technology, and problematize the existing dichotomous approach (visible v. invisible) to understanding assistive technologies. This study also illuminates the importance of studying assistive technologies on an intragroup level as well as focusing on how specific stigmatized niche communities may perceive and use their assistive technologies.
Deciding Fast and Slow: The Role of Cognitive Biases in AI-assisted Decision-making
Authors: Rastogi Charvi , Zhang Yunfeng , Wei Dennis , Varshney Kush R. , Dhurandhar Amit , Tomsett Richard
Published: April 2022

Several strands of research have aimed to bridge the gap between artificial intelligence (AI) and human decision-makers in AI-assisted decision-making, where humans are the consumers of AI model predictions and the ultimate decision-makers in high-stakes applications. However, people's perception and understanding are often distorted by their cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, anchoring bias, availability bias, to name a few. In this work, we use knowledge from the field of cognitive science to account for cognitive biases in the human-AI collaborative decision-making setting, and mitigate their negative effects on collaborative performance. To this end, we mathematically model cognitive biases and provide a general framework through which researchers and practitioners can understand the interplay between cognitive biases and human-AI accuracy. We then focus specifically on anchoring bias, a bias commonly encountered in human-AI collaboration. We implement a time-based de-anchoring strategy and conduct our first user experiment that validates its effectiveness in human-AI collaborative decision-making. With this result, we design a time allocation strategy for a resource-constrained setting that achieves optimal human-AI collaboration under some assumptions. We, then, conduct a second user experiment which shows that our time allocation strategy with explanation can effectively de-anchor the human and improve collaborative performance when the AI model has low confidence and is incorrect.
Disinformation as Infrastructure: Making and Maintaining the QAnon Conspiracy on Italian Digital Media
Authors: Pasquetto Irene V. , Olivieri Alberto F. , Tacchetti Luca , Riotta Gianni , Spada Alessandra
Published: April 2022

Building from sociotechnical studies of disinformation and of information infrastructures, we examine how - over a period of eleven months - Italian QAnon supporters designed and maintained a distributed, multi-layered "infrastructure of disinformation" that spans multiple social media platforms, messaging apps, online forums, alternative media channels, as well as websites, databases, and content aggregators. Examining disinformation from an infrastructural lens reveals how QAnon disinformation operations extend well-beyond the use of social media and the construction of false narratives. While QAnon conspiracy theories continue to evolve and adapt, the overarching (dis)information infrastructure through which "epistemic evidence" is constructed and constantly updated is rather stable and has increased in size and complexity over time. Most importantly, we also found that deplatforming is a time-sensitive effort. The longer platforms wait to intervene, the harder it is to eradicate infrastructures as they develop new layers, get distributed across the Internet, and can rely on a critical mass of loyal followers. More research is needed to examine whether the key characteristics of the disinformation infrastructure that we identified extend to other disinformation infrastructures, which might include infrastructures put together by climate change denialists, vaccine skeptics, or voter fraud advocates.
Easier Said or Easier Done? Exploring the Relative Merits of Common Feedback Presentations
Authors: Crain Patrick , Bailey Brian
Published: April 2022

Feedback such as rubrics, pre-authored statements, and free-form comments are widely deployed in classrooms and feedback exchange communities. Despite these formats having different levels of detail and requiring different composition processes, little research has related these compositional processes for the provider to the feedback perceptions and revision outcomes for the recipient. In an online experiment, we investigated how novice participants (N=285) revised short stories in response to expert feedback composed with four common processes: rubrics, open comments, rubrics with open comments, and rubrics with comments on each rubric item (per-criterion comments). We also surveyed the feedback providers (N=4) to contrast the costs of composing feedback with the benefits of that feedback for the recipients. We found rubrics with per-criterion comments led to the highest revision quality, providers believed rubrics with open comments were most helpful to recipients, and rubrics alone took the least time to compose. Recipients' revision quality and perceptions of feedback helpfulness and credibility increased with feedback detail. We contribute an emergent framework for selecting feedback composition techniques based on attributes of interest and insights linking the composition costs with the benefits of the resulting feedback.
Examining Source Effects on Perceptions of Fake News in Rural India
Authors: Shahid Farhana , Mare Shrirang , Vashistha Aditya
Published: April 2022

This paper presents a between-subjects design experiment with 478 people in India to investigate how rural and urban social media users perceive credible and fake posts, and how different types of sources impact their perceptions of information credibility and sharing behaviors. Our findings reveal that: (1) rural social media users were less adept in differentiating between credible and fake posts than their urban counterparts, and (2) source effects on trust and sharing intent manifested differently for urban and rural users. For example, fake posts from family members garnered greater trust among urban users but were trusted the least by rural users. In case of sharing Facebook posts, urban users were more willing to share fake posts from family, whereas, rural users were more inclined to share fake posts from journalists. Drawing on these findings, we propose design interventions to counteract fake news in low-resource environments of the Global South.
Gigified Knowledge Work: Understanding Knowledge Gaps When Knowledge Work and On-Demand Work Intersect
Authors: Wilkins Denise J. , Hulikal Muralidhar Srihari , Meijer Max , Lascau Laura , Lindley Siân
Published: April 2022

Online freelance platforms can transform knowledge work. However, 'gigification' also presents challenges, including how freelance workers can access and work with knowledge, which prior research has not examined. Through a qualitative interview study, we identify disparities in how freelancers who work for enterprise companies are able to utilize knowledge as part of their work, when compared with traditional employees of similar organizations. We examine how 38 knowledge workers (21 freelancers, 17 employees) deploy knowledge, work skillfully and mobilize resources to meet knowledge needs. We find that both employees and freelancers understand their own ability to act knowledgeably as a dynamic, collaborative, negotiated and emergent accomplishment. However, for freelancers, the dynamic dimensions of knowledge work - such as helping others see the meaning and value of their work, and creating ties between their work and the enterprise - are only minimally-legitimized and minimally-supported by organizing structures and tools. We present our results as 'knowledge gaps', and propose design recommendations to reduce these gaps and consequently make on-demand knowledge work more effective and sustainable.
Group Chat Ecology in Enterprise Instant Messaging: How Employees Collaborate Through Multi-User Chat Channels on Slack
Authors: Wang Dakuo , Wang Haoyu , Yu Mo , Ashktorab Zahra , Tan Ming
Published: April 2022

Despite the long history of studying instant messaging usage, we know very little about how today's people participate in group chat channels and interact with others inside a real-world organization. In this short paper, we aim to update the existing knowledge on how group chat is used in the context of today's organizations. The knowledge is particularly important for the new norm of remote works under the COVID-19 pandemic. We have the privilege of collecting two valuable datasets: a total of 4,300 group chat channels in Slack from an R&D department in a multinational IT company; and a total of 117 groups' performance data. Through qualitative coding of 100 randomly sampled group channels from the 4,300 channels dataset, we identified and reported 9 categories such as Project channels, IT-Support channels, and Event channels. We further defined a feature metric with 21 meta-features (and their derived features) without looking at the message content to depict the group communication style for these group chat channels, with which we successfully trained a machine learning model that can automatically classify a given group channel into one of the 9 categories. In addition to the descriptive data analysis, we illustrated how these communication metrics can be used to analyze team performance. We cross-referenced 117 project teams and their team-based Slack channels and identified 57 teams that appeared in both datasets, then we built a regression model to reveal the relationship between these group communication styles and the project team performance. This work contributes an updated empirical understanding of human-human communication practices within the enterprise setting, and suggests design opportunities for the future of human-AI communication experience.
Human-AI Collaboration for UX Evaluation: Effects of Explanation and Synchronization
Authors: Fan Mingming , Yang Xianyou , Yu TszTung , Liao Q. Vera , Zhao Jian
Published: April 2022

Analyzing usability test videos is arduous. Although recent research showed the promise of AI in assisting with such tasks, it remains largely unknown how AI should be designed to facilitate effective collaboration between user experience (UX) evaluators and AI. Inspired by the concepts of agency and work context in human and AI collaboration literature, we studied two corresponding design factors for AI-assisted UX evaluation: explanations and synchronization. Explanations allow AI to further inform humans how it identifies UX problems from a usability test session; synchronization refers to the two ways humans and AI collaborate: synchronously and asynchronously. We iteratively designed a tool-AI Assistant-with four versions of UIs corresponding to the two levels of explanations (with/without) and synchronization (sync/async). By adopting a hybrid wizard-of-oz approach to simulating an AI with reasonable performance, we conducted a mixed-method study with 24 UX evaluators identifying UX problems from usability test videos using AI Assistant. Our quantitative and qualitative results show that AI with explanations, regardless of being presented synchronously or asynchronously, provided better support for UX evaluators' analysis and was perceived more positively; when without explanations, synchronous AI better improved UX evaluators' performance and engagement compared to the asynchronous AI. Lastly, we present the design implications for AI-assisted UX evaluation and facilitating more effective human-AI collaboration.