Simulating the Social Processes of Science

Science is the result of a substantially social process. That is, science relies on many inter-personal processes, including: selection and communication of research findings, discussion of method, checking and judgement of others' research, development of norms of scientific behaviour, organisation of the application of specialist skills/tools, and the organisation of each field (e.g. allocation of funding). An isolated individual, however clever and well resourced, would not produce science as we know it today. Furthermore, science is full of the social phenomena that are observed elsewhere: fashions, concern with status and reputation, group-identification, collective judgements, social norms, competitive and defensive actions, to name a few. Science is centrally important to most societies in the world, not only in technical, military and economic ways, but also in the cultural impacts it has, providing ways of thinking about ourselves, our society and our environment. If we believe the following: simulation is a useful tool for understanding social phenomena, science is substantially a social phenomenon, and it is important to understand how science operates, then it follows that we should be attempting to build simulation models of the social aspects of science. This Special Section of <i>JASSS</i> presents a collection of position papers by philosophers, sociologists and others describing the features and issues the authors would like to see in social simulations of the many processes and aspects that we lump together as "science". It is intended that this collection will inform and motivate substantial simulation work as described in the last section of this introduction.Simulation, Science, Science and Technology Studies, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Processes

Factors Influencing Household Uptake of Improved Solid Fuel Stoves in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Household burning of solid fuels in traditional stoves is detrimental to health, the environment and development. A range of improved solid fuel stoves (IS) are available but little is known about successful approaches to dissemination. This qualitative systematic review aimed to identify factors that influence household uptake of IS in low- and middle-income countries. Extensive searches were carried out and studies were screened and extracted using established systematic review methods. Fourteen qualitative studies from Asia, Africa and Latin-America met the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis was used to synthesise data and findings are presented under seven framework domains. Findings relate to user and stakeholder perceptions and highlight the importance of cost, good stove design, fuel and time savings, health benefits, being able to cook traditional dishes and cleanliness in relation to uptake. Creating demand, appropriate approaches to business, and community involvement, are also discussed. Achieving and sustaining uptake is complex and requires consideration of a broad range of factors, which operate at household, community, regional and national levels. Initiatives aimed at IS scale up should include quantitative evaluations of effectiveness, supplemented with qualitative studies to assess factors affecting uptake, with an equity focus

Longitudinal Relationship between Personal CO and Personal PM2.5PM_{2.5} among Women Cooking with Woodfired Cookstoves in Guatemala

Household air pollution (HAP) due to solid fuel use is a major public health threat in low-income countries. Most health effects are thought to be related to exposure to the fine particulate matter (PM) component of HAP, but it is currently impractical to measure personal exposure to PM in large studies. Carbon monoxide (CO) has been shown in cross-sectional analyses to be a reliable surrogate for particles<2.5 µm in diameter ($PM_{2.5}$) in kitchens where wood-burning cookfires are a dominant source, but it is unknown whether a similar $PM_{2.5}$-CO relationship exists for personal exposures longitudinally. We repeatedly measured (216 measures, 116 women) 24-hour personal $PM_{2.5}$ (median [IQR] = 0.11 [0.05, 0.21] mg/$m^3$) and CO (median [IQR] = 1.18 [0.50, 2.37] mg/$m^3$) among women cooking over open woodfires or chimney woodstoves in Guatemala. Pollution measures were natural-log transformed for analyses. In linear mixed effects models with random subject intercepts, we found that personal CO explained 78% of between-subject variance in personal $PM_{2.5}$. We did not see a difference in slope by stove type. This work provides evidence that in settings where there is a dominant source of biomass combustion, repeated measures of personal CO can be used as a reliable surrogate for an individual's $PM_{2.5}$ exposure. This finding has important implications for the feasibility of reliably estimating long-term (months to years) $PM_{2.5}$ exposure in large-scale epidemiological and intervention studies of HAP

Reviews

Judith Jeffcoate, Multimedia in Practice ‐Technology and Applications, BCS Practitioner Series, Prentice‐Hall International, 1995. ISBN: 0–13–123324–6. £24.95

SMART Cables for Observing the Global Ocean: Science and Implementation

The ocean is key to understanding societal threats including climate change, sea level rise, ocean warming, tsunamis, and earthquakes. Because the ocean is difficult and costly to monitor, we lack fundamental data needed to adequately model, understand, and address these threats. One solution is to integrate sensors into future undersea telecommunications cables. This is the mission of the SMART subsea cables initiative (Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications). SMART sensors would “piggyback” on the power and communications infrastructure of a million kilometers of undersea fiber optic cable and thousands of repeaters, creating the potential for seafloor-based global ocean observing at a modest incremental cost. Initial sensors would measure temperature, pressure, and seismic acceleration. The resulting data would address two critical scientific and societal issues: the long-term need for sustained climate-quality data from the under-sampled ocean (e.g., deep ocean temperature, sea level, and circulation), and the near-term need for improvements to global tsunami warning networks. A Joint Task Force (JTF) led by three UN agencies (ITU/WMO/UNESCO-IOC) is working to bring this initiative to fruition. This paper explores the ocean science and early warning improvements available from SMART cable data, and the societal, technological, and financial elements of realizing such a global network. Simulations show that deep ocean temperature and pressure measurements can improve estimates of ocean circulation and heat content, and cable-based pressure and seismic-acceleration sensors can improve tsunami warning times and earthquake parameters. The technology of integrating these sensors into fiber optic cables is discussed, addressing sea and land-based elements plus delivery of real-time open data products to end users. The science and business case for SMART cables is evaluated. SMART cables have been endorsed by major ocean science organizations, and JTF is working with cable suppliers and sponsors, multilateral development banks and end users to incorporate SMART capabilities into future cable projects. By investing now, we can build up a global ocean network of long-lived SMART cable sensors, creating a transformative addition to the Global Ocean Observing System

Supervision and culture: Meetings at thresholds

Counsellors are required to engage in supervision in order to reflect on, reflexively review, and extend their practice. Supervision, then, might be understood as a partnership in which the focus of practitioners and supervisors is on ethical and effective practice with all clients. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, there has recently been interest in the implications for supervision of cultural difference, particularly in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi as a practice metaphor, and when non-Māori practitioners counsel Māori clients. This article offers an account of a qualitative investigation by a group of counsellors/supervisors into their experiences of supervision as cultural partnership. Based on interviews and then using writing-as-research, the article explores the playing out of supervision’s contribution to practitioners’ effective and ethical practice in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing a range of possible accounts and strategies and discussing their effects. Employing the metaphor of threshold, the article includes a series of reflections and considerations for supervision practice when attention is drawn to difference

Iridium Complexes and Clusters in Dealuminated Zeolite HY: Distribution between Crystalline and Impurity Amorphous Regions

Dealuminated zeolite HY was used to support Ir(CO)_2 complexes formed from Ir(CO)_2(C_5H_7O_2). Infrared and X-ray absorption spectra and atomic resolution electron microscopy images identify these complexes, and the images and ^(27)Al NMR spectra identify impurity amorphous regions in the zeolite where the iridium is more susceptible to aggregation than in the crystalline regions. The results indicate the value of electron microscopy in characterizing the amorphous impurity regions of zeolites and a significant stability limitation of metals in these regions of zeolite catalyst supports

Household Air Pollution and Acute Lower Respiratory Infections in Adults: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Household air pollution from solid fuel burning kills over 4 million people every year including half a million children from acute lower respiratory infections. Although biologically plausible, it is not clear whether household air pollution is also associated with acute lower respiratory infections in adults. We systematically reviewed the literature on household air pollution and acute lower respiratory infection in adults to identify knowledge gaps and research opportunities. METHODS: Ten bibliographic databases were searched to identify studies of household air pollution and adult acute lower respiratory infection. Data were extracted from eligible studies using standardised forms. RESULTS: From 4617 titles, 513 abstracts and 72 full-text articles were reviewed. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria of which 2 found a significant adjusted increased risk of acute lower respiratory infection, 2 identified a univariate association whilst 4 found no significant association. Study quality was generally limited. Heterogeneity in methods and findings precluded meta-analysis. DISCUSSION: A systematic review of the literature found limited evidence for an association between household air pollution and risk of acute lower respiratory infection in adults. Additional research, with carefully defined exposure and outcome measures, is required to complete the risk profile caused by household air pollution in adults. REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42015028042