{"title":"Interests, Norms, Meanings: A Study of Rice Biotechnology in India","authors":"Avinash Kumar, Sambit Mallick","doi":"10.1177/0270467621995700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467621995700","url":null,"abstract":"Agrarian environments have to be comprehended as being part of a biophysical and social environment that includes the urban and the nonurban, the arable and the nonarable, and other areas that are integrally linked to the world of agriculture and environment and their allied socioeconomic relations. This article examines the responses of rice biotechnologists located in selected Indian public agricultural institutes under the aegis of the State Agricultural University and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research on questions such as “How is GM (genetically modified) technology perceived by rice biotechnologists and under what limiting conditions is it being pursued in rice biotechnology research? Is there a consensus among rice biotechnologists over the application of GM technology? What are the complexities of the GM policy? and What are the implications of intellectual property rights on GM-based research and how scientists are responding to such institutional norms?”","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"40 1","pages":"31 - 39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0270467621995700","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45660137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stephen C. Rea, Hanzelle Kleeman, Qin Zhu, Benjamin Gilbert, Chuan Yue
{"title":"Crowdsourcing as a Tool for Research: Methodological, Fair, and Political Considerations","authors":"Stephen C. Rea, Hanzelle Kleeman, Qin Zhu, Benjamin Gilbert, Chuan Yue","doi":"10.1177/02704676211003808","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02704676211003808","url":null,"abstract":"Crowdsourcing platforms are powerful tools for academic researchers. Proponents claim that crowdsourcing helps researchers quickly and affordably recruit enough human subjects with diverse backgrounds to generate significant statistical power, while critics raise concerns about unreliable data quality, labor exploitation, and unequal power dynamics between researchers and workers. We examine these concerns along three dimensions: methods, fairness, and politics. We find that researchers offer vastly different compensation rates for crowdsourced tasks, and address potential concerns about data validity by using platform-specific tools and user verification methods. Additionally, workers depend upon crowdsourcing platforms for a significant portion of their income, are motivated more by fear of losing access to work than by specific compensation rates, and are frustrated by a lack of transparency and occasional unfair treatment from job requesters. Finally, we discuss critical computing scholars’ proposals to address crowdsourcing’s problems, challenges with implementing these resolutions, and potential avenues for future research.","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"40 1","pages":"40 - 53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/02704676211003808","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48807968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Technological Singularity as the Emergence of a Collective Consciousness: An Anthropological Perspective","authors":"Matthew O’Lemmon","doi":"10.1177/0270467620981000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467620981000","url":null,"abstract":"The technological singularity is popularly envisioned as a point in time when (a) an explosion of growth in artificial intelligence (AI) leads to machines becoming smarter than humans in every capacity, even gaining consciousness in the process; or (b) humans become so integrated with AI that we could no longer be called human in the traditional sense. This article argues that the technological singularity does not represent a point in time but a process in the ongoing construction of a collective consciousness. Innovations from the earliest graphic representations to the present reduced the time it took to transmit information, reducing the cognitive space between individuals. The steady pace of innovations ultimately led to the communications satellite, fast-tracking this collective consciousness. The development of AI in the late 1960s has been the latest innovation in this process, increasing the speed of information while allowing individuals to shape events as they happen.","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"40 1","pages":"15 - 27"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0270467620981000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44329966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Systematic Review of Multiple Terminologies for ICT in Government: A Mesh of Concentric and Overlapping Circles","authors":"Pragati Rawat","doi":"10.1177/0270467620980996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467620980996","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of the current article is to identify the frequently used terms for the field of study that deals with the information and communication technology usage in the government and explore the difference and relationship, if any, between these terms. This field of study is inundated with old and new terminologies that lack clarity of usage leading to opportunistic usage, confusion, and impacting accumulation of knowledge. A three-stage search was followed to: (1) identify key terms used to refer to the field of study; (2) identify top ranked journals across social science, computer, and business management that publish in this field; and (3) identify the most frequently used terms in these select journals. The seven terms thus identified are smart government, e-government, e-governance, digital government, open government, e-democracy, and e-participation. The origin, definitions, and models of these terms is further explored, and their relationship is illustrated in diagrams of concentric and overlapping circles. The current study is a step toward developing a stable and dependable vocabulary that may benefit scholars in operationalizing the terms and practitioners in policy implementation and assessing policy effectiveness.","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"40 1","pages":"3 - 14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0270467620980996","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43604041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Customized anterior craniocervical reconstruction via a modified high-cervical retropharyngeal approach following resection of a spinal tumor involving C1-2/C1-3.","authors":"Shaohui He, Chen Ye, Nanzhe Zhong, Minglei Yang, Xinghai Yang, Jianru Xiao","doi":"10.3171/2019.8.SPINE19874","DOIUrl":"10.3171/2019.8.SPINE19874","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The surgical treatment of an upper cervical spinal tumor (UCST) at C1-2/C1-3 is challenging due to anterior exposure and reconstruction. Limited information has been published concerning the effective approach and reconstruction for an anterior procedure after C1-2/C1-3 UCST resection. The authors attempted to introduce a novel, customized, anterior craniocervical reconstruction between the occipital condyles and inferior vertebrae through a modified high-cervical retropharyngeal approach (mHCRA) in addressing C1-2/C1-3 spinal tumors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Seven consecutive patients underwent 2-stage UCST resection with circumferential reconstruction. Posterior decompression and occiput-cervical instrumentation was conducted at the stage 1 operation, and anterior craniocervical reconstruction using a 3D-printed implant was performed between the occipital condyles and inferior vertebrae via an mHCRA. The clinical characteristics, perioperative complications, and radiological outcomes were reviewed, and the rationale for anterior craniocervical reconstruction was also clarified.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean age of the 7 patients in the study was 47.6 ± 19.0 years (range 12-72 years) when referred to the authors' center. Six patients (85.7%) had recurrent tumor status, and the interval from primary to recurrence status was 53.0 ± 33.7 months (range 24-105 months). Four patients (57.1%) were diagnosed with a spinal tumor involving C1-3, and 3 patients (42.9%) with a C1-2 tumor. For the anterior procedure, the mean surgical duration and average blood loss were 4.1 ± 0.9 hours (range 3.0-6.0 hours) and 558.3 ± 400.5 ml (range 100-1300 ml), respectively. No severe perioperative complications occurred, except 1 patient with transient dysphagia. The mean pre- and postoperative visual analog scale scores were 8.0 ± 0.8 (range 7-9) and 2.4 ± 0.5 (range 2.0-3.0; p < 0.001), respectively, and the mean improvement rate of cervical spinal cord function was 54.7% ± 13.8% (range 42.9%-83.3%) based on the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale score (p < 0.001). Circumferential instrumentation was in good position and no evidence of disease was found at the mean follow-up of 14.8 months (range 7.3-24.2 months).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The mHCRA provides optimal access to the surgical field at the C0-3 level. Customized anterior craniocervical fixation between the occipital condyles and inferior vertebrae can be feasible and effective in managing anterior reconstruction after UCST resection.</p>","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"16 1","pages":"432-440"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2019-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87064186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah McGriff, Paige Percer, Iberia Sosa, Hector Mendez-Figueroa, Joseph L Mills, Manisha Gandhi
{"title":"When the Uterus Competes for Perfusion: Management of a Pregnant Patient with Bypass Graft Occlusion.","authors":"Sarah McGriff, Paige Percer, Iberia Sosa, Hector Mendez-Figueroa, Joseph L Mills, Manisha Gandhi","doi":"10.1155/2019/2432809","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2019/2432809","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in pregnancy has serious implications and requires multidisciplinary management. This becomes even more complicated in the setting of active disease and history of prior vascular grafts.</p><p><strong>Case: </strong>A woman presented with increasing left lower extremity pain at 18 weeks of gestation with a complex history of PAD and a previous bifurcated aorta-left femoral, -right iliac bypass. CT angiogram demonstrated known occluded bypass graft. A multidisciplinary team of providers developed guidelines for potential surgical intervention based upon clinical symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Pelvic PAD can worsen in pregnancy in the setting of the enlarging uterus, which can potentially deplete perfusion of existing collateral vessels. Symptomatic approach to worsening disease provided an effective management strategy in this case.</p>","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"10 1","pages":"2432809"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6800891/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87234573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rain Enhancement Technology: Making Sense of the “Cloud Seeding” Program in India","authors":"B. Dash","doi":"10.1177/0270467620963708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467620963708","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines cloud seeding technology from a social perspective, with a focus on its evolution in India over the past six decades. It argues that the technology has developed in two intertwined trajectories: as a research experiment and as an operational service. The research dimension has evolved in conjunction with international development, while the operational projects are supported and sustained by the state for their appeal as drought relief. In the absence of a national policy, ambiguities over the efficacy of cloud seeding technology have remained obscured from public debate. It has brought forth a situation where the concerned agencies admit that there is no clarity as yet on effectiveness of the particular technology, and at the same time various state governments execute large cloud seeding projects using taxpayer’s money. It points toward the political dimension of the technology and calls for a review of program assessment framework and inclusion of public participation.","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"39 1","pages":"33 - 42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0270467620963708","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44663296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Sustainability Interrogation of the Autonomous Vehicle at Its Society-Technology Interface","authors":"G. Martin","doi":"10.1177/0270467620965466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467620965466","url":null,"abstract":"This analysis of the emergent automated vehicle technology focuses on the friction at its interface with society, clouding its future. The sequential focus of development → deployment is reconfigured as reciprocal: society ↔ technology. A best path forward is presented that incorporates environmental and social sustainability factors as they relate to climate change and public health. The path’s signpost is automated electric vehicles deployed in public and private fleets. This course has promise to recover automobility from the damaging, unsustainable legacy of personal internal combustion vehicles—highlighted by their toxic and carbon emissions, and road casualties.","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"39 1","pages":"23 - 32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0270467620965466","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45791326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrés Zorrilla-Vaca, Alexander Stone, Andres Fabricio Caballero-Lozada, Stephania Paredes, Michael Conrad Grant
{"title":"Perioperative duloxetine for acute postoperative analgesia: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.","authors":"Andrés Zorrilla-Vaca, Alexander Stone, Andres Fabricio Caballero-Lozada, Stephania Paredes, Michael Conrad Grant","doi":"10.1136/rapm-2019-100687","DOIUrl":"10.1136/rapm-2019-100687","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Multimodal analgesia is a fundamental part of modern surgery and enhanced recovery pathways. Duloxetine, a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, has been validated for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain. The evidence for duloxetine as an adjunct for the treatment of acute postoperative pain remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of duloxetine in the acute perioperative setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A literature search was conducted in the major databases (PubMed, EMBASE and Google Scholar) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating duloxetine compared with placebo control for acute postoperative pain. The primary outcome was postoperative pain assessed at 2, 4, 6, 24 and 48 hours time frames. Secondary outcomes included postoperative opioid administration, as well as side effects, such as postoperative nausea/vomiting (PONV), pruritus, dizziness and headache.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>574 patients (n=9 RCTs) were included in the analysis, divided between duloxetine (n=285 patients) and placebo (n=289 patients). Duloxetine use was associated with a significant reduction in pain scores as early as 4 (mean difference (MD) -0.9, 95% CI -1.33 to -0.47) and as late as 48 (MD -0.94, 95% CI -1.56 to -0.33) hours postoperatively compared with placebo. In addition, duloxetine was associated with a significant reduction in opioid administration at 24 (standardized MD (SMD) -2.24, 95% CI -4.28 to -0.19) and 48 (SMD -2.21, 95% CI -4.13 to -0.28) hours as well as a significant reduction in PONV (risk ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.95, p=0.03) compared with placebo. There was no difference between groups in other side effects.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Duloxetine, a non-opioid neuromodulator, may provide efficacy for the treatment of acute perioperative pain. Additional prospective studies are required to establish optimal perioperative dosing regimens, role in the setting of a comprehensive multimodal analgesic plan and impact on chronic postsurgical pain.</p><p><strong>Prospero registration number: </strong>CRD42019121416.</p>","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87229758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Scientists Unanimous on Anthropogenic Global Warming in 2019","authors":"J. Powell","doi":"10.1177/0270467620922151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467620922151","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38848,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society","volume":"39 1","pages":"3 - 3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0270467620922151","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65144421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}