How To Help Bumblebees Before The World Ends... With Dave Goulson

In this episode of SciPod Radio we talk with Dave Goulson about his research on bumblebees. We cover why they’re so important to our existence, how to get more involved with bees if your a keen gardener, and even how you can help if you’re not green-fingered or you don’t have a garden…

Resources mentioned:

Best garden flowers for bees: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/goulsonlab/resources/flowers

For Dave’s new book click here: “The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet”

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Professor Pei Wang | Defining AI to Ensure Effective Research and Policymaking

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SciPod · Defining AI to Ensure Effective Research and Policymaking

About this episode

Artificial intelligence – or AI – is receiving increasing attention for its rapid development and potential to change society. Researchers are working hard to develop its capabilities, while regulators are racing to ensure it is managed and governed properly. But what do we mean by AI, and how can we define such a complex term? In a recent paper, Professor Pei Wang at Temple University argues that the lack of an agreed definition makes it difficult for policymakers to assess what AI will be capable of in the near future, or even which kinds of AI are desirable. To combat this, he discusses what makes a robust definition, and suggests his own. More

AI is fundamentally changing our world, and we are working out how to navigate its opportunities and risks. The business world is strategizing, while regulations and laws are being suggested in many countries. To be able to confront these challenges successfully, we need to be able to clearly define ‘AI’. However, the term is currently used in many different ways, and there is no widely accepted definition.

Given the complexity of what it means to be ‘intelligent’, it makes sense that there is currently no consensus. However, while we cannot postpone research until a consensus is reached, working towards one is still a vital endeavor. At the same time, it is important to recognize the differences in the current usages of the term.

The field known as AI today was mainly founded by the scholars McCarthy, Minsky, Newell, and Simon. They proposed intuitive but vague conceptions of intelligence. As the field has grown, scholarship has lacked a common theoretical foundation. Consequently, there are many disagreements over evaluation criteria, progress milestones, and benchmark problems.

The different working definitions of AI correspond to various facets of human intelligence and different research goals. In his recent article, Professor Pei Wang identifies five major perspectives from which AI is viewed.

The first is Structure AI, which assumes that intelligence describes the mental capability of the human brain and that it aims to faithfully simulate its structure. Secondly, Behavior AI associates intelligence not to its internal structure but to its external behaviors. The third is Capability AI, in which people’s interest in AI comes mainly from its potential applications and problem-solving abilities.

Fourth, Function AI distinguishes AI from the other branches of computer science, defining it by abstracted cognitive functions, such as searching, reasoning, learning, planning, perceiving, acting, or communicating. Finally, researchers in the field of Principle AI attempt to find fundamental principles that can uniformly explain relevant phenomena.

To work towards a more formalized definition of AI, we need to understand exactly what a definition is. In its most common sense, a definition specifies the meaning or significance of a word or phrase. It can relate to either the usage of a word or the content of the concept expressed. When it comes to AI, the debate is about the latter.

There are at least two types of definition within scientific discussions. A dictionary definition summarizes the existing usage of the term, while a working definition introduces a proposed usage of the term.

With respect to AI, the dictionary definition is relatively clear, and this can be used by a journal or conference reviewer to decide whether a submission is in scope. However, a working definition of AI may be different and can have a diverse range of uses. It is the working definition that Professor Wang seeks to clarify.

So, what makes a good working definition?

Professor Wang draws on the work of Carnap, who sought to create a solid foundation for probability theory by defining the term probability.

Firstly, the working definition should be similar to its common usage, and therefore its dictionary definition. In AI, it usually isn’t a problem to interpret the word ‘artificial’ but defining intelligence is a complex challenge. However, a working definition does not need to cover all common usages of a concept. For example, in the commercial world, the label ‘intelligent’ is often used to mean ‘more powerful’, but this can be neglected for current purposes, since it is not part of the core meaning of the concept.

Secondly, agreeing on a working definition of a concept is intended to resolve ambiguity. Therefore, it should provide sufficient and necessary conditions for deciding the applicability of the concept in any situation. This can only be relatively satisfied, as there is no way to completely remove ambiguity in a definition.

Thirdly, a definition should be useful. When a researcher defines AI, it is not usually something that already fully exists, but something to be built. To serve the role of being a research objective, a working definition should set a clear goal for the research.

Finally, it is widely agreed that a scientific concept should be as simple as possible. This requirement does not deny the complexity of intelligence. Here, the hope is to identify certain essential features of intelligence, from which many other features can be implied.

Using these considerations, Professor Wang suggests his own definition of intelligence. He says that ‘intelligence is the capacity of an information-processing system to adapt to its environment while operating with insufficient knowledge and resources’.

‘Information-processing system’ is used in a broad sense to include all computer systems and robotic devices, as well as many animals. ‘Insufficient knowledge and resources’ specifies the normal working condition of the system. In this context, ‘sufficient knowledge’ means that the system knows the proper algorithm for solving the problem, and ‘sufficient resources’ means that the system has the time and space to apply the algorithm to the problem. In many situations, neither of the two is available, and this is where intelligence is needed.

He suggests this definition as the foundation of a framework called the Non-Axiomatic Reasoning System. This is a system capable of reasoning and learning in a way that mimics human cognitive processes. Unlike traditional logic-based systems, it emphasizes adaptability. It can revise its conclusions in light of new evidence without invalidating previous ones. It can also incorporate truth-value, which represents the degree to which there is evidence for proposition. This means it can handle uncertainty.

Overall, the Non-Axiomatic Reasoning System can reason effectively, learn from experience, and adapt to changing circumstances without relying on pre-defined algorithms.

The working definition of AI matters. Different choices lead research in different directions and will impact its future development and regulation. Currently, there is no correct working definition of AI, and each has its own theoretical and practical values, but they cannot include each other. We should work towards a future where AI and its different subtypes are defined clearly and robustly. Before that time, we should take greater consideration to understand the definitions we use and how this impacts research and action. For instance, one approach of regulation may be proper for one type of AI, but not at all for another type.

Original Article Reference

This Audio is a summary of ‘On Defining Artificial Intelligence’ in the Journal of Artificial General Intelligence, doi.org/10.2478/jagi-2019-0002

Contact

For further information, you can connect with Professor Pei Wang at pei.wang@temple.edu

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Professor Lobelia Samavati | Paving the Way for Antibody-based Diagnostics for Tuberculosis and Sarcoidosis

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SciPod · Paving the Way for Antibody-based Diagnostics for Tuberculosis and Sarcoidosis

About this episode

Tuberculosis – or TB – is a global health threat, with 10 million new cases annually. Diagnosing TB can be a challenge, as there is a lack of rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests. It can also be difficult to distinguish between TB and other inflammatory diseases, such as Sarcoidosis. One option may be to identify antibodies in patient samples that can reveal the presence of TB. However, current antibody tests for TB lack accuracy. Professor Lobelia Samavati and colleagues at the Wanye State University School of Medicine in Michigan are tackling this challenge to cast light on the immune signature of these diseases. Their aim is to develop new diagnostic techniques for TB and Sarcoidosis. More

TB is major global health scourge, leading to 1.7 million deaths annually. It has been estimated that up to one-third of the world’s population may be infected with TB. In most cases, these infections are latent and symptomless, but they can become active in approximately 10% of cases. Active TB is contagious and can be lethal, particularly if left untreated, and typically involves chronic cough, blood-containing mucus, fever and weight loss.

Diagnosing TB is notoriously challenging. Distinguishing between latent and active disease can be tricky, as well as distinguishing between TB and other inflammatory diseases, such as Sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis typically involves the formation of lumps of white blood cells called granulomas. When sarcoidosis presents in the lungs, it can create similar symptoms to TB, such as coughing and weight loss.

While Sarcoidosis and TB can present very similarly, their causes and required treatments differ significantly. Therefore, developing new diagnostic tools that can rapidly and accurately distinguish between active TB, latent TB and Sarcoidosis would be very valuable in enabling clinicians to prescribe the most appropriate course of treatment as soon as possible.

Both Sarcoidosis and TB involve significant inflammation, and there is evidence for the role of the immune system in both diseases. Moreover, identifying proteins that are characteristically present in each disease state could be useful in diagnosing them. One way to do this is to identify antibodies in patient blood samples that will bind to these proteins.

Antibodies are typically Y-shaped protein structures that are created and released into the blood by cells of the immune system. They can bind to other proteins, such as those present on bacterial pathogens, with a high degree of specificity. Therefore, they can be very useful tools for researchers measuring specific proteins in the body or for doctors who wish to identify a protein that is associated with a specific disease. Despite the promise of antibody-based diagnostic assays, those created for TB diagnosis have lacked accuracy.

Professor Lobelia Samavati and her colleagues at the Wanye State University School of Medicine in Michigan are working to change this. Their work in this area began to emerge in 2015, when they published a paper in the journal EBioMedicine. In this paper, they describe a technique to identify the relationships between proteins and antibodies in Sarcoidosis that could pave the way for antibody-based diagnostic tools.

This involved isolating DNA from white blood cells and airway cells obtained from Sarcoidosis patients. The researchers then inserted this isolated DNA into a phage display. Phages are tiny viruses that infect bacteria, but they will dutifully display the proteins encoded by the inserted DNA on their surfaces – creating a so-called ‘peptide array’.

Next, Professor Samavati and her team exposed the peptide array to serum samples from Sarcoidosis patients and healthy controls. Human serum contains huge numbers of antibodies, and some of these bound strongly to specific peptides on the array.

By analyzing the binding pattern, the researchers identified a set of antibody-bound peptides that were hallmarks of Sarcoidosis. This allowed them to discriminate between the serum of healthy controls and that of Sarcoidosis patients. Interestingly, when the researchers exposed the array to serum from TB patients, it also revealed characteristic binding that allowed them to discriminate between serum samples from TB, Sarcoidosis and healthy controls.

In a follow-on study in the journal Microbiology Spectrum published in 2023, Professor Samavati’s team performed a similar task. This time, however, they focused on one of the most promising diagnostic targets discovered during their previous study. This is the protein Transketolase, which is essential for the growth of the bacteria that cause TB.

The researchers created peptides that represented slightly different parts of the Transketolase protein, and then incorporated them into a rapid assay that may be suited for diagnostic purposes, known as an ELISA.

Using their new assay, the team tested serum samples from patients with TB, latent TB, Sarcoidosis and from healthy controls. They found that the approach could sensitively and specifically discriminate between TB, latent TB, Sarcoidosis and healthy samples. Interestingly, the technology may also be amenable to incorporation into a lateral flow test, such as the ubiquitous COVID-19 tests or common pregnancy tests, which could make it well suited for point-of-care use. Other applications may include using the Transketolase peptides as components in a TB vaccine.

Professor Samavati hopes that her team’s findings will pave the way for easy-to-use, rapid diagnostic tests that can be deployed by community healthcare workers or in local clinics in the fight against TB and Sarcoidosis. Administering the correct treatment as soon as possible is crucial in achieving optimal treatment outcomes. Such diagnostic breakthroughs may help to make this possible in the case of TB and Sarcoidosis.

Original Article Reference

This Audio is a summary of the papers ‘Development of a T7 Phage Display Library to Detect Sarcoidosis and Tuberculosis by a Panel of Novel Antigens’, in EBioMedicine, doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2015.03.007; and ‘Discovery of Novel Transketolase Epitopes and the Development of IgG-Based Tuberculosis Serodiagnostics’, in Microbiology Spectrum, doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.03377-22

Contact

For further information, you can connect with Professor Lobelia Samavati at ay6003@wayne.edu

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Professor Xiaobei Li | How HR Management Can Help Businesses Weather a Changing World

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SciPod · How HR Management Can Help Businesses Weather a Changing World

About this episode

Businesses today exist in a changing world, which brings both opportunities for growth and increasingly complex challenges. To survive and thrive, organisations need a robust understanding of HR management. In their research, Professor Xiaobei Li and her colleagues at various universities, including University of New South Wales, Arizona State University and Peking University, recently explored how organisations can motivate their staff to ensure high-quality performance. More

Professor Li’s team has conducted three research projects on different aspects of HR management. They look at encouraging innovative behaviour in the workforce, the role of HR practices in different local contexts, and the practice of paradoxical leader behaviour.

In one research project, Professor Li and her colleagues focus on the role of innovation, and explore an interesting question: “Are performance-based rewards sufficient to encourage innovation?”. In the current global market, companies need to be adaptable and versatile in order to thrive. “Employee innovative behaviours” are increasingly recognised as a major contributor to organisational innovation. This refers to activities undertaken by employees to generate, develop and implement new ideas. Businesses increasingly aim to encourage their employees to work in this way.

Research on how HR management can foster innovative behaviour is still in its early stages. Professor Li’s work is an important and timely contribution to this.

She draws on situational strength theory, which suggests that the extent to which your personality traits drive your behaviour depends on the situation you are in. She references research arguing that strong organisational structures that provide support and clarity can liberate their employees from unhelpful distractions and enhance creativity.

Using these ideas, she investigates the relationships between financial and non-financial performance-based rewards, employee perceptions of HR strength, and the uncertainty avoidance of the country within which an organisation operates.

HR strength refers to the level of clarity and consistency in terms of what employees are expected to deliver and why. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which a society, organisation, or group relies on social norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate the unpredictability of future events.

In her study, she used responses from 1589 employees and 186 managers in 29 organisations across 10 countries. The study adopted a multilevel design, which aimed for both breadth and depth, drawing on data at individual, organisation, and country levels. The organisations represented in the sample are from different industries and vary in size, and the perceptions of both employees and managers are included.

Dr Li’s research found that performance-based rewards alone were not significantly associated with innovative behaviours. However, they were much stronger where there was high HR strength and low uncertainty avoidance. Put simply, performance rewards were more effective at encouraging innovation when HR processes were clear and supportive, and when the host society of the organisation was more accepting of ambiguity, uncertainty and change. This emphasises the important role of HR practices and employees’ understanding of them.

In a second research project, Professor Li and her colleagues conducted two studies to investigate an intriguing question: “Will companies’ investment in employees enhance performance?” They explored the impact of the skills, knowledge and experience of the workforce in a region, and examined how this affects the relationship between a company’s HR practices and how well the company does in China.

In recent years, there has been much emphasis on researching the fit between HR practices and their operating contexts. This has become increasingly vital given that globalisation has facilitated the rapid spread of strategic HR management from west to east. However, our knowledge about the effectiveness of HR practices in different socioeconomic and cultural environments remains limited.

In one study, Professor Li and her colleagues looked at data from 9,125 companies across 30 provinces. In another, they looked at 203 companies across seven provinces.

They found that when the quality of the employees in a region was low, the way a company managed its employees had a bigger impact on the company’s performance. They also found that when a company focused on being innovative, the effect was even stronger. Once again, this highlights the importance of HR practices and their increasing relevance in a landscape that rewards innovation.

In the third research project, Professor Li and her colleagues theorized the role of leadership.

As organisational environments become increasingly complex and dynamic, leaders face contradictory demands. They are required to combine self-centredness with a focus on their employees and colleagues. They must develop a closeness with their colleagues while maintaining a professional distance, treat junior members of staff equally while allowing individualisation, enforce work requirements while allowing workplace flexibility, and maintain control whilst encouraging autonomy. Professor Li and her colleagues call this “paradoxical leader behaviour”.

Existing research on organisational paradoxes has promoted different approaches for understanding and managing them. For example, one researcher suggests that the role of a leader is to support opposing forces and harness the tension that this creates.

Professor Li and her colleagues note that research on organisational paradoxes largely comes from a Western perspective. However, they also acknowledge the basic alignment between these ideas and Eastern perspectives rooted in the yin-yang philosophy. The yin-yang philosophy views the world as a holistic, dynamic environment in which two opposing yet interdependent forces shape all phenomena. This theoretical base could help to broaden our understanding of paradoxes beyond the Western perspectives generally seen in research.

Professor Li and her colleagues used a field sample of 76 supervisors and 516 subordinates from 6 firms. They examined the conditions that exist before and after leaders display paradoxical behaviour and assess how successful this mode of leadership is.

Their findings showed that leaders who think holistically and can understand complexities tend to exhibit this paradoxical leader behaviour. The leaders who embrace this were found to be more effective in complex environments, leading to better performance among their team members. This challenges traditional leadership approaches and emphasises the importance of cognitive flexibility. It also shows that holistic thinking is important for all managers, regardless of cultural differences.

We live in a complex, constantly changing world. For businesses to survive and thrive in this environment, they need to understand how to get the best out of their workforce. Studies like those conducted by Professor Li and her colleagues explore different techniques that can encourage high-quality performance and emphasise the vital importance of HR management.

Original Article Reference

This Audio is a summary of the papers: ‘Performance-based rewards and innovative behaviours’ in Human Resource Management; ‘Human Resource Practices and Firm Performance in China: The Moderating Roles of Regional Human Capital Quality and Firm Innovation Strategy’ in Management and Organization Review; and ‘Paradoxical Leader Behaviours in People Management: Antecedents and Consequences’ in Academy of Management Journal.

Contact

For further information, you can connect with Professor Xiaobei Li at xiaobeili99@163.com

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

What does this mean?

Share: You can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

Adapt: You can change, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Credit: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Professor Uma Lele | Exploring How India Can Ensure Sustainable Growth and Resilience with Broad Participation into the Future

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SciPod · How India Can Ensure Sustainable Growth & Resilience with Broad Participation into the Future

About this episode

India has seen impressive economic and institutional growth in recent years, but the country isn’t yet meeting its full potential. In a world that is increasingly volatile and uncertain, how can India overcome its challenges and ensure resilience into the future? In her recent work, Professor Uma Lele explores various ways that India can achieve this. More

India has been rapidly developing, and some aspects of its economy are flourishing. Its overall economic performance has climbed at a greater rate than other Asian countries, barring China and South Korea.

The country has seen significant poverty reduction, the closure of the gender gap in access to financial services, and the implementation of substantial institutional and physical infrastructure. For example, universal ID cards and public works programmes have been introduced, the population is seeing increased access to sanitation and power, and an active democracy has been established.

In terms of health and medicine, the country has an impressive, low-cost pharmaceutical industry. There is a high vaccination rate amongst children, which has greatly reduced child mortality. An increasing number of births are attended by medical professionals, meaning that the maternal death rate has also dropped by 59%. Even during COVID, the health system performed well, despite some richer countries faring poorly, such as the USA. Supply chain disruptions were overcome and at least 67% of people are fully vaccinated against the virus.

However, despite these impressive statistics, India is facing a number of challenges. While poverty and hunger has reduced, other East and Southeast Asian countries have achieved bigger reductions.

Some of India’s neighbours, such as Bangladesh, have seen more rapid growth in employment, and are more integrated in global trade. India’s growth and quality of employment is declining, and its deficit and short-term borrowing is increasing. The country also has lower rates of agricultural research, slower growth of female employment, and poorer savings and investment strategies than other Asian countries.

Declines in child mortality and child poverty have slowed. Consumption of cheap junk food, incidence of obesity, and incidence of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, are on the rise. During COVID, malnutrition amongst children was worsened by the closure of school feeding programs. The country continues to face the threat of new COVID strains, climate change and vulnerability to inflation, especially on food.

India is also lagging behind other Asian countries in terms of demographic transition, which describes the progression from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates.

Going into the future, how can India face many environmental threats, and realize the potential to reverse trends? Climate change has caused more frequent droughts and floods, lower agricultural yields, unsustainable groundwater exploitation, soil degradation and biodiversity loss. The cumulative effect of these stressors is considerable.

So, what will it take for India to achieve robust, broad-based, sustainable growth?

Professor Uma Lele says that, to meet these challenges, India needs to introduce the right mix of policies and increase the capacity of its grassroot institutions to promote grassroot development. It also needs to foster technological innovation such as genetic technologies, digitalisation, the Internet of Things, and AI, to produce more from less.

India’s trade export policies need to be less restrictive and unpredictable, fostering growth. Tariff rates were reduced in 1991, and need to change again to increase regional integration commensurate with its neighbouring countries in East and South-East Asia.

Reforms can improve market efficiency, lower transaction costs and food losses, and lower restrictions on sale, stocking, movement and exports. Investment in building efficient and sustainable supply chains should also be increased.

Professor Lele highlights the significant potential of a diversified Indian agriculture. Diversified agriculture can promote balanced diets, which are currently beyond the reach of many low- and middle-income citizens. This calls for the production of crops beyond rice and wheat, with investment in other nutritional sources.

Professor Lele also suggests that investment in state agricultural universities and research is important. New technologies and practices need to be developed and adopted to meet future demands. Next, she identifies a number of specific interventions that could bolster the agricultural sector.

India has the world’s largest bovine stock, which offers huge potential for productivity, growth and sustainability. However, these cattle are distributed across 80 million small-scale dairy farms, so efficiencies are often low. Furthermore, the milk yields of the most common breeds of Indian cows are relatively low, due to the overall low genetic merit of the national herd.

One method to tackle this is a Ration Balancing Program – a systematic method of formulating animal diets to ensure that they meet nutritional requirements in the most cost-effective manner. These types of interventions can increase productivity from 5 to 15 percent, while reducing emissions by the same amount. To support this, it would be useful to encourage small-scale dairy producers to reinforce organisations into dairy cooperative societies, which would encourage more widespread upgrading of the overall genetic merit of the national dairy herd and the use of Ration Balancing Programs.

There are further initiatives that could encourage sustainable developments in agriculture. One example is investing in precision irrigation technologies. Satellite crop monitoring systems can assess soil moisture, expected rainfall and overall crop conditions, to identify the exact quantity of irrigation required. This provides crops with the best possible conditions and also saves water. Technologies like this can help us to manage natural resources for a more efficient, sustainable, and climate-resilient food system.

Finally, Professor Lele highlights women’s role in agriculture. India’s structural transformation from agriculture to more productive sectors has been slower than in some neighbouring countries. Also, India has experienced lower levels of female labour force participation. However, recent evidence suggests that female labour force participation has been increasing. This is a result of both changes in social norms and greater job opportunities.

The Millenium Development Goals include separate targets for both gender equality and food security. However, these can go hand-in-hand and be mutually reinforcing. Promoting gender equality empowers women in agriculture, which can contribute significantly to the fight against hunger and extreme poverty. Agricultural policies need to focus on training women so that land farmed by women achieves the yields of that farmed by men. By achieving this, the number of undernourished people in the world could be reduced by up to 17%.

The world is experiencing a series of unique shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian War and skyrocketing inflation. The consequences have been far-reaching and countries around the world have seen budget deficits, exchange rate depreciation, and the lowering of projected GDP growth rates.

It is more important than ever that India focuses on reaching its potential and building the resilience required for the future. The adoption of innovative policies and technologies in agriculture and trade are a huge part of this and can pave the way for sustainable growth and a thriving population.