Hodges' Model: Welcome to the QUAD: July 2016

Hodges' model is a conceptual framework to support reflection and critical thinking. Situated, the model can help integrate all disciplines (academic and professional). Amid news items, are posts that illustrate the scope and application of the model. A bibliography and A4 template are provided in the sidebar. Welcome to the QUAD ...

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Data visualisation: Contributions to evidence-based decision-making

A SciDev.Net Learning Report

"Data visualisation – the visual representation of data in charts and graphs – has grown in popularity in recent years. Media outlets and research communication organisations alike have invested in the production of data visualisation, committing to the belief that visualisation is an effective form of communication.

In this report, Chapter 1 contextualises the rise of data visualisation and its purported potential to stimulate a 'data revolution' in development. The specific contributions of data visualisation to research communication goals are discussed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 explores instances in which data visualisation is an appropriate form of research communication, recognising that it is not a ‘magic bullet’ solution to the need for more evidence informed decision-making, but should instead be used selectively. Chapter 4 discusses ways to enhance the effectiveness of data visualisation. Lastly, Chapter 5, provides concluding remarks and highlights areas in which further research and discussion are required so data visualisations can be used to the greatest effect in the research communication sector.

While a number of claims have been made around the potential of data visualisation as a communication tool, there has been a relative lack of informed discussion around the role that data visualisation can play in the research communication sector.

This report builds on our experiences of producing data visualisations and in data journalism more broadly, and brings together the lessons we have learned with insights from the broader sector of research communication. What follows will help researchers, research communication managers and journalists to make more informed decisions about when to invest in data visualisations in order to meet research communication goals."


...

My source: SciDev.net on twitter

Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Periodic Table

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ---------------------------------------  mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group
Person-centered
|
|
?
ability, age, class, ethnicity, gender,
race, religion, sexual orientation





BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation


"Never again!"

UN-
Periodic or otherwise

.... 1945 ... ...?



Periodic Table image:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table

Book image:
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/184014334744756712/

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

A Checklist for Personhood

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ---------------------------------------  mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group

"Philosophers disagree on exactly what it would 
take for an animal to qualify as a person. 
Kristin Andrews at York University in Toronto, Canada, 
suggests searching for the six attributes listed here." p.17


SUBJECTIVITY
(REASONING) --------------

PERSONALITY

NARRATIVE SELF

AUTONOMY

(OBJECTIVITY)
--------------- RATIONALITY








RELATIONSHIPS





HI Peter,

Oh, that's interesting! I'd move Rationality to objectivity/science, though, as it refers to the ability to engage in logical reasoning, solve problems, etc. There's been a lot of interest recently on the logical abilities of babies (Sue Carey's team) and chimpanzees (e.g. Josep Call's team) and they both seem to be able to engage in exclusion reasoning (i.e. disjunctive syllogism).  I discuss animal rationality in my book The Animal Mind. 

Rationality isn't consciousness; I could add consciousness to the list, but it's there already, just subsumed by narrative self and relationships too.

cheers,
Kristin

___________________________________________________________
Kristin Andrews
Associate Professor
Philosophy/Cognitive Science
York University
4700 Keele St.
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
CANADA

www.yorku.ca/andrewsk

Rutkin, A. (2016). Almost human? New Scientist, 2 July. 231:3080. 16-17.

Additional link:
BBC Future: 'Wisdom of the crowd'; The Myths and Realities

Sunday, July 17, 2016

"I kept your wild, cold, raw."

individual
|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ---------------------------------------  mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
|
group


"You see, when 

lived far away, you knew 
I was there, and I kept something for you,
even though you had never seen 
a polar bear or an ice floe . . .

kept your wild, cold, raw. ...


When you see it whole, 
you remember that 
it’s not polar bears over there,

and snakes over here;

 it’s one place, 
one strange special place. 

It comes as a 
whole 
or not at all."
  


Jeanette Winterson, Polar Bear
also cited by
Scott, L. (2015) The Four-Dimensional Human, Windmill Books. p.200.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

New Book Series "Coding for Humanists” 1st Vol. "Drupal for Humanists"

The Institute for Digital Humanities, Media and Culture (IDHMC) at Texas A&M University (http://idhmc.tamu.edu) is pleased to announce “Coding for Humanists,” a new book series from Texas A&M Press that addresses the practical skill-development needs of scholars in the humanities. The series is edited by Quinn Drombrowski and Laura Mandell.

The hands-on training offered at an institute or workshop such as DHSI, DHOxSS, and HILT equips scholars to pursue new directions in their research and/or pedagogy. These workshops stand apart from generic technical training sessions through their focus on the specific needs, interests and goals of humanists. The pedagogical approach respects students’ intelligence and expertise without assuming a pre-existing knowledge of other programming languages or technologies.

The “Coding for Humanists” book series follows in the spirit of these workshops (http://coding.forhumanists.org). Each volume focuses on a particular tool, technology, methodology, or programming language, using humanities examples. Without assuming any prerequisite technical knowledge, “Coding for Humanists” books guide scholars through the jargon, concepts, and processes fundamental to the technology under consideration, leaving them ready to use the technology independently, or deepen their knowledge through resources written for a general audience. For scholars who are unable to attend an in-person workshop, or who wish to develop new technical skills as time permits, the “Coding for Humanists” series fills an unmet need for clearly-written, accessible training materials developed specifically for a humanistic audience.

The first volume, Drupal for Humanists by Quinn Dombrowski (http://drupal.forhumanists.org/), will be published this fall. Co-editor of the series, Quinn Dombrowski is the Digital Humanities Coordinator in Research IT at UC Berkeley, and has developed numerous digital humanities sites using Drupal, including the DiRT Directory and DHCommons. She has taught “Drupal for Digital Humanities Projects” at DHSI since 2014, and Drupal for Humanists expands upon the materials that have been used successfully in that course.

This book is a significant expansion of, and improvement on, the open access early drafts that have been posted on this site since 2013, and are still available through the Wayback Machine. Over the next year, excerpts from the book will be posted to the site. In addition, there is a great deal of further information about Drupal modules, configuration, and tips and tricks for building Drupal sites that extends beyond the maximum feasible word count for the book. This information, too, will be posted on an ongoing basis, and contributions will be solicited from the community of humanities Drupal users and developers. (From: http://drupal.forhumanists.org/ )
Upcoming volumes in the “Coding for Humanists” series include _XQuery for Humanists_, by Clifford B. Anderson, Jonathan Robie, and Joseph C. Wicentowski; _XSLT for Humanists: Building Digital Editions_, by co-editor of the book series, Laura Mandell; and _Databases for Humanists_, by Harvey Quamen. The series is accepting proposals for additional volumes; please see submission guidelines here:
http://coding.forhumanists.org/submission-guidelines.

Laura Mandell
Director, Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media, and Culture
Professor, English
Texas A&M University
e: idhmc AT tamu.edu
@mandellc

My source: Laura via humanist AT lists.digitalhumanities.org
List info and archives at at: http://digitalhumanities.org/humanist

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

ERCIM News No. 106 Special theme: Cybersecurity

Dear ERCIM News Reader,

ERCIM News No. 106 has just been published at http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en106

This issue features:

- a Special Theme presenting a variety of research results that show the richness and range of Cybersecurity issues and their application domains. This special theme has been coordinated by the guest editors Fabio Martinelli (IIT-CNR) and Edgar Weippl (SBA Research).

ERCIM News 106
- a Keynote by Afonso Ferreira and Paul Timmers (DG CONNECT, European Commission): "Cybersecurity: A Key Pillar of the European Digital Single Market"

- an article "International Informatics" written by Gerard Alberts (University of Amsterdam) on the Occasion of Aad van Wijngaarden’s 100th Birthday

- a section Research and Innovation" with news about research activities and innovative developments from European research institutes

This issue is also available for download in pdf and ePUB

Thank you for your interest in ERCIM News. Feel free to forward this message to others who might be interested.

Next issue: No. 107, October 2016 - Special Theme: "Machine Learning - current trends and new paradigms" (see Call for contributions)

Best regards,
Peter Kunz
ERCIM News editor in chief

Monday, July 11, 2016

Atlas of eHealth country profiles: The use of eHealth in support of universal health coveage

Dear All,

As we all know that eHealth plays a vital role in promoting universal health coverage in a variety of ways. For example, it helps provide services to remote populations and underserved communities through telehealth or mHealth. It facilitates the training of the health workforce through the use of eLearning, and makes education more widely accessible especially for those who are isolated. It enhances diagnosis and treatment by providing accurate and timely patient information through electronic health records. And through the strategic use of ICT, it improves the operations and financial efficiency of health care systems.

The third global survey on eHealth conducted by the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe) has a special focus -the use of eHealth in support of universal health coverage.

To read the Global Observatory for eHealth, World Health Organization, 2016
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/204523/1/9789241565219_eng.pdf

Hope you find it interesting.

Ghassan Shahrour

HIFA profile: Ghassan Shahrour is Chair of the Syrian Medical Informatics Association (Syrmia). His professional interests include Health for All, Health Promotion, and Equity in Health. syrmia AT gmail.com


My source: HIFA  Healthcare Information For All: www.hifa2015.org

Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Evaluation: The Development of RUFDATA c/o Saunders (2000)

Evaluation (activity)

The Development of RUFDATA

"Approaches that are high in ‘fidelity’ are not appropriate for complex, dispersed organizations. In other words, an approach which depends heavily on the precise specification and performance of its various components in order for it to work at local level will be subverted, understood as a necessary evil or even resented as a tool of surveillance and control. What is required is an approach that is low in fidelity. The metaphor of a ‘framework’ is therefore apt. A framework should provide a generic context for action in which some recognizable shaping characteristics are evident but within the shape a wide range of actions is possible (p.15). ...

RUFDATA is an acronym for the procedural decisions that would shape evaluation activity. The letters of the acronym stand for the following:
reasons and purposes; 
uses; 
focus; 
data and evidence; 
audience; 
timing; 
agency." (p.15)


Saunders, M. (2000). Beginning an Evaluation with RUFDATA: Theorizing a Practical Approach to Evaluation Planning. Evaluation, 6(1), 7-21.

Ack: Dr B. Bligh.

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Threshold and Conceptual Mobility: Hodges' model

threshold ramp


conceptual - inter(trans)disciplinary ramps
INTRA-INTERPERSONAL
SCIENCES


SOCIOLOGY

POLITICAL


Image source:
http://www.wheelchair-ramps.co.uk/d/