WorldWideScience

Sample records for serve user communities

  1. Serving Data to the GLAST Users Community

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephens, Thomas E.

    2007-01-01

    The scientific community will access the public GLAST data through the website of the GLAST Science Support Center (GSSC). For most data products the GSSC website will link to the NASA High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center's (HEASARC) Browse interface, which will actually serve the data. For example, data from the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM) from a given burst will be packaged together and accessible through Browse. However, the photon and event data produced by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), GLAST's primary instrument, will be distributed through a custom GSSC interface. These data will be collected over the LAT's large field-of-view, usually while the LAT is scanning the sky, and thus photons from a particular direction cannot be attributed to a single 'observation' in the traditional sense. Users will request all photons detected from a region on the sky over a specified time and energy range. Through its website the GSSC will also provide long and short term science timelines, spacecraft position and attitude histories, exposure maps and other scientific data products. The different data products provided by the GSSC will be described

  2. Serving Satellite Remote Sensing Data to User Community through the OGC Interoperability Protocols

    Science.gov (United States)

    di, L.; Yang, W.; Bai, Y.

    2005-12-01

    Remote sensing is one of the major methods for collecting geospatial data. Hugh amount of remote sensing data has been collected by space agencies and private companies around the world. For example, NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) is generating more than 3 Tb of remote sensing data per day. The data collected by EOS are processed, distributed, archived, and managed by the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Currently, EOSDIS is managing several petabytes of data. All of those data are not only valuable for global change research, but also useful for local and regional application and decision makings. How to make the data easily accessible to and usable by the user community is one of key issues for realizing the full potential of these valuable datasets. In the past several years, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has developed several interoperability protocols aiming at making geospatial data easily accessible to and usable by the user community through Internet. The protocols particularly relevant to the discovery, access, and integration of multi-source satellite remote sensing data are the Catalog Service for Web (CS/W) and Web Coverage Services (WCS) Specifications. The OGC CS/W specifies the interfaces, HTTP protocol bindings, and a framework for defining application profiles required to publish and access digital catalogues of metadata for geographic data, services, and related resource information. The OGC WCS specification defines the interfaces between web-based clients and servers for accessing on-line multi-dimensional, multi-temporal geospatial coverage in an interoperable way. Based on definitions by OGC and ISO 19123, coverage data include all remote sensing images as well as gridded model outputs. The Laboratory for Advanced Information Technology and Standards (LAITS), George Mason University, has been working on developing and implementing OGC specifications for better serving NASA Earth science data to the user community for many

  3. Data latency and the user community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, V. M.; Brown, M. E.; Carroll, M.

    2013-12-01

    The community using NASA Earth science observations in applications has grown significantly, with increasing sophistication to serve national interests. The National Research Council's Earth Science Decadal Survey report stated that the planning for applied and operational considerations in the missions should accompany the acquisition of new knowledge about Earth (NRC, 2007). This directive has made product applications at NASA an integral part of converting the data collected into actionable knowledge that can be used to inform policy. However, successfully bridging scientific research with operational decision making in different application areas requires looking into user data requirements and operational needs. This study was conducted to determine how users are incorporating NASA data into applications and operational processes. The approach included a review of published materials, direct interviews with mission representatives, and an online professional review, which was distributed to over 6000 individuals. We provide a complete description of the findings with definitions and explanations of what goes into measuring latency as well as how users and applications utilize NASA data products. We identified 3 classes of users: operational (need data in 3 hours or less), near real time (need data within a day of acquisition), and scientific users (need highest quality data, time independent). We also determined that most users with applications are interested in specific types of products that may come from multiple missions. These users will take the observations when they are available, however the observations may have additional applications value if they are available either by a certain time of day or within a period of time after acquisition. NASA has supported the need for access to low latency data on an ad-hoc basis and more substantively in stand-alone systems such as the MODIS Rapid Response system and more recently with LANCE. The increased level

  4. Evolution of the EOSDIS Data User Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupp, B. M.; Murphy, K. J.; Wanchoo, L.; Chang, H.

    2011-12-01

    Since NASA's EOS Terra platform began operations in early FY2000, data centers affiliated with the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) have distributed over 12.8 Petabytes (PB) and 1.2 billion files of data to over 2.3 million distinct users through the end of FY2010. Metrics on data ingest, archive, and distribution have been collected throughout the EOS era by different automated systems. The functionality of these systems has improved over the years, allowing more types of metrics analyses to be made with greater precision. The ESDIS Metrics System (EMS) replaced the earlier ESDIS Data Gathering and Reporting System (EDGRS) in FY2005. Since then it has collected increasingly more accurate information about data users obtaining products from the many EOSDIS data centers. The information allows characterization of the various EOSDIS user communities, and enables studies of how these communities have changed over time. User information obtained when an order is placed, or products are downloaded from a data center's FTP site, include the user's IP host (or IP address) and email address. The EMS system is able to resolve most IP addresses to specific domains. Combined with science discipline information associated with the data products themselves, users and data distributions to them can be characterized in a number of ways, including by countries, disciplines (e.g. Atmosphere, Ocean, Land), and [most readily for the United States] affiliations (Government, Education, Non-profit, or Commercial). The purpose of this investigation is to analyze patterns of data distributions within the different user groups mentioned above and to trace their evolution over time. Results show, for example, that the number of foreign users has increased greatly over the years, as has the number of countries receiving EOSDIS data products. These kinds of studies can be very useful to the various data centers. By gaining a better understanding of how their user communities are

  5. Profiting from innovative user communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppesen, Lars Bo

    Modding - the modification of existing products by consumers - is increasingly exploited by manufacturers to enhance product development and sales. In the computer games industry modding has evolved into a development model in which users act as unpaid `complementors' to manufacturers' product pl......, a manufacturer can incorporate and commercialize the best complements found in the user communities. Keywords: innovation, modding, user communities, software platform, business model. JEL code(s): L21; L23; O31; O32...... platforms. This article explains how manufacturers can profit from their abilities to organize and facilitate a process of innovation by user communities and capture the value of the innovations produced in such communities. When managed strategically, two distinct, but not mutually exclusive business...... models appear from the production of user complements: firstly, a manufacturer can let the (free) user complements `drift' in the user communities, where they increase the value to consumers of owning the given platform and thus can be expected to generate increased platform sales, and secondly...

  6. EMI New User Communities

    CERN Document Server

    Riedel, M

    2013-01-01

    This document provides pieces of information about new user communities that directly or indirectly take advantage of EMI Products. Each user community is described via one specific EMI product use case to understand and communicate the current usage of EMI Products in practice.

  7. Stable self-serving personality traits in recreational and dependent cocaine users.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris B Quednow

    Full Text Available Chronic cocaine use has been associated with impairments in social cognition, self-serving and antisocial behavior, and socially relevant personality disorders (PD. Despite the apparent relationship between Machiavellianism and stimulant use, no study has explicitly examined this personality concept in cocaine users so far. In the frame of the longitudinal Zurich Cocaine Cognition Study, the Machiavellianism Questionnaire (MACH-IV was assessed in 68 recreational and 30 dependent cocaine users as well as in 68 psychostimulant-naïve controls at baseline. Additionally, three closely related personality dimensions from the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-cooperativeness, (social reward dependence, and self-directedness-and the screening questionnaire of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II were acquired. At the one-year follow-up, 57 cocaine users and 48 controls were reassessed with the MACH-IV. Finally, MACH-IV scores were correlated with measures of social cognition and interaction (cognitive/emotional empathy, Theory-of-Mind, prosocial behavior and with SCID-II PD scores assessed at baseline. Both recreational and dependent cocaine users showed significantly higher Machiavellianism than controls, while dependent cocaine users additionally displayed significantly lower levels of TCI cooperativeness and self-directedness. During the one-year interval, MACH-IV scores showed high test-retest reliability and also the significant gap between cocaine users and controls remained. Moreover, in cocaine users, higher Machiavellianism correlated significantly with lower levels of cooperativeness and self-directedness, with less prosocial behavior, and with higher cluster B PD scores. However, Machiavellianism was not correlated with measures of cocaine use severity (r<-.15. Both recreational and dependent cocaine users display pronounced and stable Machiavellian personality traits. The lack of

  8. Community-aware user profile enrichment in folksonomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Haoran; Li, Qing; Mao, Xudong; Li, Xiaodong; Cai, Yi; Rao, Yanghui

    2014-10-01

    In the era of big data, collaborative tagging (a.k.a. folksonomy) systems have proliferated as a consequence of the growth of Web 2.0 communities. Constructing user profiles from folksonomy systems is useful for many applications such as personalized search and recommender systems. The identification of latent user communities is one way to better understand and meet user needs. The behavior of users is highly influenced by the behavior of their neighbors or community members, and this can be utilized in constructing user profiles. However, conventional user profiling techniques often encounter data sparsity problems as data from a single user is insufficient to build a powerful profile. Hence, in this paper we propose a method of enriching user profiles based on latent user communities in folksonomy data. Specifically, the proposed approach contains four sub-processes: (i) tag-based user profiles are extracted from a folksonomy tripartite graph; (ii) a multi-faceted folksonomy graph is constructed by integrating tag and image affinity subgraphs with the folksonomy tripartite graph; (iii) random walk distance is used to unify various relationships and measure user similarities; (iv) a novel prototype-based clustering method based on user similarities is used to identify user communities, which are further used to enrich the extracted user profiles. To evaluate the proposed method, we conducted experiments using a public dataset, the results of which show that our approach outperforms previous ones in user profile enrichment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Community Identity and User Engagement in a Multi-Community Landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Justine; Hamilton, William L; Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, Cristian; Jurafsky, Dan; Leskovec, Jure

    2017-05-01

    A community's identity defines and shapes its internal dynamics. Our current understanding of this interplay is mostly limited to glimpses gathered from isolated studies of individual communities. In this work we provide a systematic exploration of the nature of this relation across a wide variety of online communities. To this end we introduce a quantitative, language-based typology reflecting two key aspects of a community's identity: how distinctive , and how temporally dynamic it is. By mapping almost 300 Reddit communities into the landscape induced by this typology, we reveal regularities in how patterns of user engagement vary with the characteristics of a community. Our results suggest that the way new and existing users engage with a community depends strongly and systematically on the nature of the collective identity it fosters, in ways that are highly consequential to community maintainers. For example, communities with distinctive and highly dynamic identities are more likely to retain their users. However, such niche communities also exhibit much larger acculturation gaps between existing users and newcomers, which potentially hinder the integration of the latter. More generally, our methodology reveals differences in how various social phenomena manifest across communities, and shows that structuring the multi-community landscape can lead to a better understanding of the systematic nature of this diversity.

  10. Serving remote users in selected public university libraries in Kenya ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The provision of information services to support teaching, learning and research has long been a major objective of libraries in higher education. The students being served by these libraries, specifically in Kenya, may consist of on-campus and remote user groups. This study set out to explore the library section heads' ...

  11. Why firm-established user communities work for innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppesen, Lars Bo; Frederiksen, Lars

    Studies of the sources of innovations have recognized that many innovations are developedby users. However, the fact that firms employ communities of users to strengthen their innovationprocess has not yet received much attention. In firm-established user communities users freely revealinnovation...... by selling them to all users. We study the key personal attributes of the individuals responsiblefor innovations and the creation of value in this organizational context, namely the innovative users, toexplain why firm-established user communities work. Analyzing data derived from a web...

  12. Why firm-established user communities work for innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppesen, Lars Bo; Frederiksen, Lars

    2004-01-01

    Studies of the sources of innovations have recognized that many innovations are developedby users. However, the fact that firms employ communities of users to strengthen their innovationprocess has not yet received much attention. In firm-established user communities users freely revealinnovation...... by selling them to all users. We study the key personal attributes of the individuals responsiblefor innovations and the creation of value in this organizational context, namely the innovative users, toexplain why firm-established user communities work. Analyzing data derived from a web...

  13. Exploring users motivation in innovation communities

    OpenAIRE

    Ståhlbröst, Anna; Bergvall-Kåreborn, Birgitta

    2011-01-01

    A rapid growth of technologies supporting user interaction on the Internet, such as social networking sites and other virtual communities, can be seen today. These virtual communities have been shown to be of great value to companies that want to involve users in their innovation processes. However, in order to guide organisations on how to utilise their innovation intermediary communities, more knowledge is needed regarding who they are and their motivational drivers for participating in a c...

  14. Analysis and visualization of social user communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel LÓPEZ SÁNCHEZ

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel framework for social user clustering is proposed. Given a current controversial political topic, the Louvain Modularity algorithm is used to detect communities of users sharing the same political preferences. The political alignment of a set of users is labeled manually by a human expert and then the quality of the community detection is evaluated against this gold standard. In the last section, we propose a novel force-directed graph algorithm to generate a visual representation of the detected communities.   

  15. IT User Community Survey

    CERN Document Server

    Peter Jones (IT-CDA-WF)

    2016-01-01

    IT-CDA is gathering information to more accurately form a snapshot of the CERN IT user community and we would appreciate you taking time to complete the following survey.   We want to use this survey to better understand how the user community uses their devices and our services, and how the delivery of those services could be improved. You will need to authenticate to complete the survey. However please note that your responses are confidential and will be compiled together and analysed as a group. You can also volunteer to offer additional information if you so wish. This survey should take no longer than 5 minutes. Thanks in advance for your collaboration.

  16. ECHO Responds to NASA's Earth Science User Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfister, Robin; Ullman, Richard; Wichmann, Keith; Perkins, Dorothy C. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Over the past decade NASA has designed, built, evolved, and operated the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Information Management System (IMS) in order to provide user access to NASA's Earth Science data holdings. During this time revolutionary advances in technology have driven changes in NASA's approach to providing an IMS service. This paper will describe NASA's strategic planning and approach to build and evolve the EOSDIS IMS and to serve the evolving needs of NASA's Earth Science community. It discusses the original strategic plan and how lessons learned help to form a new plan, a new approach and a new system. It discusses the original technologies and how they have evolved to today.

  17. User-led innovation in civic energy communities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, Gerben; Boon, Wouter; Peine, A.

    2016-01-01

    Building on user and grassroots innovation literature, we explore user innovations in five Dutch civic energy communities. Less attention has been paid to the interplay of social, symbolic and technological innovations that seems to be at the heart of many civic energy communities. In this paper, we

  18. Identifying influential user communities on the social network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weishu; Gong, Zhiguo; Hou U, Leong; Guo, Jingzhi

    2015-10-01

    Nowadays social network services have been popularly used in electronic commerce systems. Users on the social network can develop different relationships based on their common interests and activities. In order to promote the business, it is interesting to explore hidden relationships among users developed on the social network. Such knowledge can be used to locate target users for different advertisements and to provide effective product recommendations. In this paper, we define and study a novel community detection problem that is to discover the hidden community structure in large social networks based on their common interests. We observe that the users typically pay more attention to those users who share similar interests, which enable a way to partition the users into different communities according to their common interests. We propose two algorithms to detect influential communities using common interests in large social networks efficiently and effectively. We conduct our experimental evaluation using a data set from Epinions, which demonstrates that our method achieves 4-11.8% accuracy improvement over the state-of-the-art method.

  19. Community Extreme Tonnage User Service (CETUS): A 5000 Ton Open Research Facility in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danielson, L. R.; Righter, K.; Vander Kaaden, K. E.; Rowland, R. L., II; Draper, D. S.; McCubbin, F. M.

    2017-12-01

    Large sample volume 5000 ton multi-anvil presses have contributed to the exploration of deep Earth and planetary interiors, synthesis of ultra-hard and other novel materials, and serve as a sample complement to pressure and temperature regimes already attainable by diamond anvil cell experiments. However, no such facility exists in the Western Hemisphere. We are establishing an open user facility for the entire research community, with the unique capability of a 5000 ton multi-anvil and deformation press, HERA (High pressure Experimental Research Apparatus), supported by a host of extant co-located experimental and analytical laboratories and research staff. We offer wide range of complementary and/or preparatory experimental options. Any required synthesis of materials or follow up experiments can be carried out controlled atmosphere furnaces, piston cylinders, multi-anvil, or experimental impact apparatus. Additionally, our division houses two machine shops that would facilitate any modification or custom work necessary for development of CETUS, one for general fabrication and one located specifically within our experimental facilities. We also have a general sample preparation laboratory, specifically for experimental samples, that allows users to quickly and easily prepare samples for ebeam analyses and more. Our focus as contract staff is on serving the scientific needs of our users and collaborators. We are seeking community expert input on multiple aspects of this facility, such as experimental assembly design, module modifications, immediate projects, and future innovation initiatives. We've built a cooperative network of 12 (and growing) collaborating institutions, including COMPRES. CETUS is a coordinated effort leveraging HERA with our extant experimental, analytical, and planetary process modelling instrumentation and expertise in order to create a comprehensive model of the origin and evolution of our solar system and beyond. We are looking to engage

  20. Autonomy and Accountability in Schools Serving Disadvantaged Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Esther Dominique

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Increased school autonomy and accountability have been a common denominator of national reforms in otherwise heterogeneous governance systems in Europe and the USA. The paper argues that because schools serving disadvantaged communities (SSDCs) often have lower average performance, they are more often sanctioned or under closer scrutiny,…

  1. Operating a production pilot factory serving several scientific domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sfiligoi, I.; Würthwein, F.; Andrews, W.; Dost, J. M.; MacNeill, I.; McCrea, A.; Sheripon, E.; Murphy, C. W.

    2011-12-01

    Pilot infrastructures are becoming prominent players in the Grid environment. One of the major advantages is represented by the reduced effort required by the user communities (also known as Virtual Organizations or VOs) due to the outsourcing of the Grid interfacing services, i.e. the pilot factory, to Grid experts. One such pilot factory, based on the glideinWMS pilot infrastructure, is being operated by the Open Science Grid at University of California San Diego (UCSD). This pilot factory is serving multiple VOs from several scientific domains. Currently the three major clients are the analysis operations of the HEP experiment CMS, the community VO HCC, which serves mostly math, biology and computer science users, and the structural biology VO NEBioGrid. The UCSD glidein factory allows the served VOs to use Grid resources distributed over 150 sites in North and South America, in Europe, and in Asia. This paper presents the steps taken to create a production quality pilot factory, together with the challenges encountered along the road.

  2. Operating a production pilot factory serving several scientific domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sfiligoi, I; Würthwein, F; Andrews, W; Dost, J M; MacNeill, I; McCrea, A; Sheripon, E; Murphy, C W

    2011-01-01

    Pilot infrastructures are becoming prominent players in the Grid environment. One of the major advantages is represented by the reduced effort required by the user communities (also known as Virtual Organizations or VOs) due to the outsourcing of the Grid interfacing services, i.e. the pilot factory, to Grid experts. One such pilot factory, based on the glideinWMS pilot infrastructure, is being operated by the Open Science Grid at University of California San Diego (UCSD). This pilot factory is serving multiple VOs from several scientific domains. Currently the three major clients are the analysis operations of the HEP experiment CMS, the community VO HCC, which serves mostly math, biology and computer science users, and the structural biology VO NEBioGrid. The UCSD glidein factory allows the served VOs to use Grid resources distributed over 150 sites in North and South America, in Europe, and in Asia. This paper presents the steps taken to create a production quality pilot factory, together with the challenges encountered along the road.

  3. Coexistence Performance of High-Altitude Platform and Terrestrial Systems Using Gigabit Communication Links to Serve Specialist Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Grace

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents three feasible methods to serve specialist users within a service area of up to 150 km diameter by using spot-beam gigabit wireless communication links from high-altitude platforms (HAPs. A single HAP serving multiple spot beams coexists with terrestrial systems, all sharing a common frequency band. The schemes provided in the paper are used to adjust the pointing direction of aperture antennas operating in the mm-wave bands, such that the peak carrier to interference plus noise ratio (CINR is delivered directly toward the location of the specialist users; the schemes include the small step size scheme, half distance scheme, and beam switch scheme. The pointing process is controlled iteratively using the mean distance between the peak CINR locations and user positions. The paper shows that both the small step size and half distance schemes significantly enhance the CINR at the user, but performance is further improved if beams with adverse performance below a specific threshold are switched off, or are assigned another channel.

  4. Coexistence Performance of High-Altitude Platform and Terrestrial Systems Using Gigabit Communication Links to Serve Specialist Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Z

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This paper presents three feasible methods to serve specialist users within a service area of up to 150 km diameter by using spot-beam gigabit wireless communication links from high-altitude platforms (HAPs. A single HAP serving multiple spot beams coexists with terrestrial systems, all sharing a common frequency band. The schemes provided in the paper are used to adjust the pointing direction of aperture antennas operating in the mm-wave bands, such that the peak carrier to interference plus noise ratio (CINR is delivered directly toward the location of the specialist users; the schemes include the small step size scheme, half distance scheme, and beam switch scheme. The pointing process is controlled iteratively using the mean distance between the peak CINR locations and user positions. The paper shows that both the small step size and half distance schemes significantly enhance the CINR at the user, but performance is further improved if beams with adverse performance below a specific threshold are switched off, or are assigned another channel.

  5. Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts - Are we Meeting the Requirements of our User Communities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klump, J.

    2007-12-01

    The 20th century brought about an "information revolution" that has forever altered the way we work, communicate, and live. The way science has been conducted for the past 200 years has been challenged by new media of communication and for the dissemination of data. We now have the tools at hand, commonly called cyberinfrastructure, that enable new forms of global collaboration. But are we fully realising the potential of cyberinfrastructure? Has it become an integral part of our scientific culture? Tools developed in Earth and Space Science Informatics projects suffer the same effects like informatics developments in other fields. Many of the projects fail to meet user requirements, and they do so for a number of reasons. Besides a certain reluctance on the side of scientists to adopt new tools for conducting their research, many cyberinfrastructure projects suffer from "marketing myopia" (Levitt, 1960) in the way they try to "sell" their applications. According to Levitt, the difference between selling and marketing is that the former fulfils the needs of the seller and the latter the needs of the buyer. Cyberinfrastructure projects must stop trying to sell their achievements to the scientific community, and instead market them by considering the scientists" needs right at the beginning of their endeavours. Admittedly, the requirements of scientific user communities are "moving targets", because scientific workflows are often subject to ad-hoc changes, depending on the outcome of the preceding step. Another important risk factor, faced by many cyberinfrastructure projects, is that the designated user community is not aware of the availability of this new resource. This is where training and outreach are essential, especially to draw in early adopters of new technology and multipliers among researchers. Only cyberinfrastructure tools that truly serve their designated user community will eventually become part of the scientific infrastructure. This presentation

  6. The significance of education and training of librarians to serve users with special needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrijana Biba Starman

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The article presents the importance of education and training of librarians to serve users with special needs as perceived by students of library and information science (LIS and by students and graduates with special needs in the role of library users.Methodology/approach: Surveys amongst the 3rd year students of Librarianship and Information Science (bachelor’s degree at the Faculty of Arts (University of Ljubljana as well as half structured interviews with 12 students and graduates with special needs as library users have been conducted. The acquired data were then analyzed and compared.Results: The results show a high level of motivation of LIS students for working with users with special needs as well as the desire for additional education and training.Comparisons of data indicate differences in understanding users with special needs,thus confirming the need for further education and training of librarians.Research limitation: Small sample size and inability to generalize the findings.Originality/practical implications: The first study in Slovenia dealing with the significance of education and training of librarians to work with users with special needs.

  7. Multilabel user classification using the community structure of online networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizos, Georgios; Papadopoulos, Symeon; Kompatsiaris, Yiannis

    2017-01-01

    We study the problem of semi-supervised, multi-label user classification of networked data in the online social platform setting. We propose a framework that combines unsupervised community extraction and supervised, community-based feature weighting before training a classifier. We introduce Approximate Regularized Commute-Time Embedding (ARCTE), an algorithm that projects the users of a social graph onto a latent space, but instead of packing the global structure into a matrix of predefined rank, as many spectral and neural representation learning methods do, it extracts local communities for all users in the graph in order to learn a sparse embedding. To this end, we employ an improvement of personalized PageRank algorithms for searching locally in each user's graph structure. Then, we perform supervised community feature weighting in order to boost the importance of highly predictive communities. We assess our method performance on the problem of user classification by performing an extensive comparative study among various recent methods based on graph embeddings. The comparison shows that ARCTE significantly outperforms the competition in almost all cases, achieving up to 35% relative improvement compared to the second best competing method in terms of F1-score.

  8. Multilabel user classification using the community structure of online networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgios Rizos

    Full Text Available We study the problem of semi-supervised, multi-label user classification of networked data in the online social platform setting. We propose a framework that combines unsupervised community extraction and supervised, community-based feature weighting before training a classifier. We introduce Approximate Regularized Commute-Time Embedding (ARCTE, an algorithm that projects the users of a social graph onto a latent space, but instead of packing the global structure into a matrix of predefined rank, as many spectral and neural representation learning methods do, it extracts local communities for all users in the graph in order to learn a sparse embedding. To this end, we employ an improvement of personalized PageRank algorithms for searching locally in each user's graph structure. Then, we perform supervised community feature weighting in order to boost the importance of highly predictive communities. We assess our method performance on the problem of user classification by performing an extensive comparative study among various recent methods based on graph embeddings. The comparison shows that ARCTE significantly outperforms the competition in almost all cases, achieving up to 35% relative improvement compared to the second best competing method in terms of F1-score.

  9. Exploring user behavior and needs in Q & A communities

    OpenAIRE

    Choudhury, Smitashree; Alani, Harith

    2014-01-01

    One of the difficult challenges of any knowledge centric online community is to sustain the momentum of knowledge sharing and knowledge creation effort by its members through various means. This requires a clearer understanding of user needs that drive community members to contribute, engage and stay loyal to the community. In this paper, we explore the applicability of Abraham Maslow’s theory (1943) to understand user behavior and their latent needs using Exploratory Factor analysis. Results...

  10. The Function to Serve: A Social-Justice-Oriented Investigation of Community College Mission Statements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Luis M.; Lundberg, Carol A.

    2018-01-01

    This study investigated the ways that mission statements from 70 Hispanic-serving community colleges communicated their commitment to their Hispanic-serving function. Reference specifically to the Hispanic-serving function was absent, but references to culture and access were relatively common. Findings describe the ways culture and access were…

  11. Transformative Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Realizing Equity Praxis through Community Connections and Local Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Marisol; Valverde, Michelle

    2012-01-01

    Schools serve as antidemocratic spaces where teacher, parent, community member, and student voices are typically disregarded. Instead, philanthropists and businesses are allowed to drive school and district agendas. An exploration of 3 local efforts that connect a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) with prekindergarten to Grade 12 students and…

  12. User community development for the space transportation system/Skylab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, J. L.; Beauchamp, N. A.

    1974-01-01

    The New User Function plan for identifying beneficial uses of space is described. Critical issues such as funding, manpower, and protection of user proprietary rights are discussed along with common barriers which impede the development of a user community. Studies for developing methodologies of identifying new users and uses of the space transportation system are included.

  13. Assessment of Soil Moisture Data Requirements by the Potential SMAP Data User Community: Review of SMAP Mission User Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Molly E.; Escobar, Vanessa M.

    2013-01-01

    NASA's Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission is planned for launch in October 2014 and will provide global measurements of soil moisture and freeze thaw state. The project is driven by both basic research and applied science goals. Understanding how application driven end-users will apply SMAP data, prior to the satellite's launch, is an important goal of NASA's applied science program and SMAP mission success. Because SMAP data are unique, there are no direct proxy data sets that can be used in research and operational studies to determine how the data will interact with existing processes. The objective of this study is to solicit data requirements, accuracy needs, and current understanding of the SMAP mission from the potential user community. This study showed that the data to be provided by the SMAP mission did substantially meet the user community needs. Although there was a broad distribution of requirements stated, the SMAP mission fit within these requirements.

  14. Understanding User Behavioral Patterns in Open Knowledge Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xianmin; Song, Shuqiang; Zhao, Xinshuo; Yu, Shengquan

    2018-01-01

    Open knowledge communities (OKCs) have become popular in the era of knowledge economy. This study aimed to explore how users collaboratively create and share knowledge in OKCs. In particular, this research identified the behavior distribution and behavioral patterns of users by conducting frequency distribution and lag sequential analyses. Some…

  15. User roles and contributions during the new product development process in collaborative innovation communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Wei; Zheng, Qing; An, Weijin; Peng, Wei

    2017-09-01

    Collaborative innovation (co-innovation) community emerges as a new product design platform where companies involve users in the new product development (NPD) process. Large numbers of users participate and contribute to the process voluntarily. This exploratory study investigates the heterogeneous roles of users based on a global co-innovation project in online community. Content analysis, social network analysis and cluster method are employed to measure user behaviors, distinguish user roles, and analyze user contributions. The study identifies six user roles that emerge during the NPD process in co-innovation community: project leader, active designer, generalist, communicator, passive designer, and observer. The six user roles differ in their contribution forms and quality. This paper contributes to research on co-innovation in online communities, including design team structure, user roles and their contribution to design task and solution, as well as user value along the process. In addition, the study provides practices guidance on implementing project, attracting users, and designing platform for co-innovation community practitioners. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Emotions and Activity Profiles of Influential Users in Product Reviews Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorian eTanase

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Viral marketing seeks to maximize the spread of a campaignthrough an online social network, often targeting influential nodes with highcentrality. In this article, we analyze behavioral aspects of influentialusers in trust-based product reviews communities, quantifying emotionalexpression, helpfulness, and user activity level. We focus on two independentproduct review communities, Dooyoo and Epinions, in whichusers can write product reviews and define trust links to filter productrecommendations. Following the patterns of social contagion processes, wemeasure user social influence by means of the k-shell decomposition of trustnetworks. For each of these users, we apply sentiment analysis to extracttheir extent of positive, negative, and neutral emotional expression. Inaddition, we quantify the level of feedback they received in their reviews,the length of their contributions, and their level of activity over theirlifetime in the community. We find that users of both communities exhibit alarge heterogeneity of social influence, and that helpfulness votes and ageare significantly better predictors of the influence of an individual thansentiment. The most active of the analyzed communities shows a particularstructure, in which the inner core of users is qualitatively different fromits periphery in terms of a stronger positive and negative emotionalexpression. These results suggest that both objective and subjective aspectsof reviews are relevant to the communication of subjective experience.

  17. Dependence and resistance in community mental health care-Negotiations of user participation between staff and users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Femdal, I; Knutsen, I R

    2017-10-01

    WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Implementation of user participation is described as a change from a paternalistic healthcare system to ideals of democratization where users' voices are heard in relational interplays with health professionals. The ideological shift involves a transition from welfare dependency and professional control towards more active service-user roles with associated rights and responsibilities. A collaborative relationship between users and professionals in mental health services is seen as important by both parties. Nevertheless, the health professionals find it challenging in practice to reorient their roles and to find productive ways to cooperate. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This study illuminates how user participation is negotiated and involves multiple and shifting subject positions in the collaboration between users and professionals in community mental health care. By taking different positions, the relationship between users and professionals develops through dynamic interaction. This study challenges understandings of equality and implicit "truths" in user participation by illuminating subtle forms of power and dilemmas that arise in user-professional negotiations. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Instead of denying the appearance of power, it is important to question the execution of power in the interplay between users and professionals. Focusing on the negotiation processes between users and professionals is important for increasing reflection on and improving understanding of the dynamic in collaboration and speech. By focusing on negotiations, power can be used in productive ways in user-professional relationships. Introduction Implementation of user participation is considered important in today's mental health care. Research shows, however, that user participation lacks clarity and provokes uncertainty regarding shifting roles. Aim To investigate negotiation of user participation in a microstudy of

  18. Frédéric Hemmer: Serving a world-wide community

    CERN Multimedia

    2009-01-01

    CERN’s IT Department provides a variety of services to the Organization, its users and hundreds of institutes around the world. It plays a vital role in the operation of the LHC and its experiments. This week we meet the new IT Department Head, who tells us about the challenges his teams will face over the coming years. In this period leading up to the first data being produced at the LHC and processed via the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG), the IT Department is focussing on service for users and the new Computing Centre which should be built on the Prévessin site. As Frédéric Hemmer, the new IT Department Head, explains, "we are here to serve CERN, its associated institutes and its industrial partners. The Grid is the best illustration of this, but we do have other informatics products that we share with a large number of users across the world, such as INDICO (conference management system) and INVENIO (archiving system used...

  19. Firm and user community collaboration: A complex love story

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita; La Cour, Anders

    The purpose of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive framework that describes the dynamic relationship between firms and user communities. To understand the implications of collaboration, from the relation between users and firms rather than from their individual properties, this thesis urges...

  20. Community placement and reintegration of service users from long ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To ascertain community placement and reintegration of service users from long-term mental health care facilities. Method: This study reviewed the progress during 2003 with the alternative placement of a selected candidate group of 27 service users in some of Lifecare's long-term mental health care facilities in ...

  1. Permafrost knowledge to serve as foundation for Inuit community planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibéryen, T.; Allard, M.

    2011-12-01

    With the recent announcement of Québec's provincial government's Plan Nord, Nunavik will see a 500 new houses sweep onto it's territory over the next 5 years. The local Inuit communities are confronted with the pressuring need to find suitable land to safely accommodate the new infrastructures in the long term. Additional to human and environmental constraints are those related to warming permafrost. Intensive studies on four Nunavik communities (Inukjuak, Puvirnituq, Akulivik, Kangirsuk) have allowed us to extensively consult local and regional authorities on their planning and management considerations. Recent and archived drilling data have been used to corroborate air photo interpretation, surficial geology and permafrost mapping. All collected information are integrated into aggregated maps that will eventually serve as community master plans. General recommendations on how to best manage and plan for community expansions on warming permafrost are made. Appropriate engineering techniques assuring long-term stable foundations are outlined and additionally mapped, taking into consideration the variable terrain conditions and simulated changes in permafrost temperature and active layer thickness according to climate change scenarios. The final purpose of our results is for them to support local and regional governments in their community planning process towards the best possible climate change adaptation strategies.

  2. Supporting National User Communities at NERSC and NCAR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Killeen, Timothy L.; Simon, Horst D.

    2006-05-16

    The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center(NERSC) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are twocomputing centers that have traditionally supported large national usercommunities. Both centers have developed responsive approaches to supportthese user communities and their changing needs, providing end-to-endcomputing solutions. In this report we provide a short overview of thestrategies used at our centers in supporting our scientific users, withan emphasis on some examples of effective programs and futureneeds.

  3. Exposing the Strategies that Can Reduce the Obstacles: Improving the Science User Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Francis E.; Brennan, Jennifer; Behnke, Jeanne; Lynnes, Chris

    2017-01-01

    It is now well established that pursuing generic solutions to what seem are common problems in Earth science data access and use can often lead to disappointing results for both system developers and the intended users. This presentation focuses on real-world experience of managing a large and complex data system, NASAs Earth Science Data and Information Science System (EOSDIS), whose mission is to serve both broad user communities and those in smaller niche applications of Earth science data and services. In the talk, we focus on our experiences with known data user obstacles characterizing EOSDIS approaches, including various technological techniques, for engaging and bolstering, where possible, user experiences with EOSDIS. For improving how existing and prospective users discover and access NASA data from EOSDIS we introduce our cross-archive tool: Earthdata Search. This new search and order tool further empowers users to quickly access data sets using clever and intuitive features. The Worldview data visualization tool is also discussed highlighting how many users are now performing extensive data exploration without necessarily downloading data. Also, we explore our EOSDIS data discovery and access webinars, data recipes and short tutorials, targeted technical and data publications, user profiles and social media as additional tools and methods used for improving our outreach and communications to a diverse user community. These efforts have paid substantial dividends for our user communities by allowing us to target discipline specific community needs. The desired take-away from this presentation will be an improved understanding of how EOSDIS has approached, and in several instances achieved, removing or lowering the barriers to data access and use. As we look ahead to more complex Earth science missions, EOSDIS will continue to focus on our user communities, both broad and specialized, so that our overall data system can continue to serve the needs of

  4. Exposing the Strategies that can Reduce the Obstacles: Improving the Science User Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, F. E.; Brennan, J.; Behnke, J.; Lynnes, C.

    2017-12-01

    It is now well established that pursuing generic solutions to what seem are common problems in Earth science data access and use can often lead to disappointing results for both system developers and the intended users. This presentation focuses on real-world experience of managing a large and complex data system, NASA's Earth Science Data and Information Science System (EOSDIS), whose mission is to serve both broad user communities and those in smaller niche applications of Earth science data and services. In the talk, we focus on our experiences with known data user obstacles characterizing EOSDIS approaches, including various technological techniques, for engaging and bolstering, where possible, user experiences with EOSDIS. For improving how existing and prospective users discover and access NASA data from EOSDIS we introduce our cross-archive tool: Earthdata Search. This new search and order tool further empowers users to quickly access data sets using clever and intuitive features. The Worldview data visualization tool is also discussed highlighting how many users are now performing extensive data exploration without necessarily downloading data. Also, we explore our EOSDIS data discovery and access webinars, data recipes and short tutorials, targeted technical and data publications, user profiles and and social media as additional tools and methods used for improving our outreach and communications to a diverse user community. These efforts have paid substantial dividends for our user communities by allowing us to target discipline specific community needs. The desired take-away from this presentation will be an improved understanding of how EOSDIS has approached, and in several instances achieved, removing or lowering the barriers to data access and use. As we look ahead to more complex Earth science missions, EOSDIS will continue to focus on our user communities, both broad and specialized, so that our overall data system can continue to serve the needs of

  5. Design of an online health-promoting community: negotiating user community needs with public health goals and service capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekberg, Joakim; Timpka, Toomas; Angbratt, Marianne; Frank, Linda; Norén, Anna-Maria; Hedin, Lena; Andersen, Emelie; Gursky, Elin A; Gäre, Boel Andersson

    2013-07-04

    An online health-promoting community (OHPC) has the potential to promote health and advance new means of dialogue between public health representatives and the general public. The aim of this study was to examine what aspects of an OHPC that are critical for satisfying the needs of the user community and public health goals and service capabilities. Community-based participatory research methods were used for data collection and analysis, and participatory design principles to develop a case study OHPC for adolescents. Qualitative data from adolescents on health appraisals and perspectives on health information were collected in a Swedish health service region and classified into categories of user health information exchange needs. A composite design rationale for the OHPC was completed by linking the identified user needs, user-derived requirements, and technical and organizational systems solutions. Conflicts between end-user requirements and organizational goals and resources were identified. The most prominent health information needs were associated to food, exercise, and well-being. The assessment of the design rationale document and prototype in light of the regional public health goals and service capabilities showed that compromises were needed to resolve conflicts involving the management of organizational resources and responsibilities. The users wanted to discuss health issues with health experts having little time to set aside to the OHPC and it was unclear who should set the norms for the online discussions. OHPCs can be designed to satisfy both the needs of user communities and public health goals and service capabilities. Compromises are needed to resolve conflicts between users' needs to discuss health issues with domain experts and the management of resources and responsibilities in public health organizations.

  6. Serving the Needs of the Latina Community for Health Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. A. Yaros

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Latinos remain the largest US population with limited health literacy (Andrulis D.P. & Brach, 2007. Concerned with how local media can meet the information needs of underserved audiences, we interviewed Latinas who were pregnant or mothers of young children living in a Spanish speaking community, and surveyed 33 local health professionals. Findings are that Latina women’s most common source of health information was family and friends. They said they tune to Spanish television and radio programs, but gave low grades to news media for health information. Medical professionals agreed that Latinas generally get their health information through friends and family, and rated the media poorly in terms of serving Latinas’ needs. Since the data indicate that the local news media are not serving Latinas’ health information needs as much as they could, we offer recommendations to potentially exploit new technological affordances and suggest expansion of conventional definitions of health literacy.

  7. Understanding Motivations and User Interests as Antecedents for Different Interaction Forms in Online Communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Lina; Sørensen, Bjarne Taulo; Tudoran, Ana Alina

    This study contributes to the understanding of online user communities as a potential source of innovation. That would require an interest from users in interacting in such communities. In order to establish interaction, users must provide as well as consume information. However, depending...... on the innovation task, one may be more important than the other. It is therefore important to understand, how companies can increase user willingness to engage in these different interaction forms. This study investigates the influence of various motivation factors and user interests on intention to provide...... or consume information in online food communities. A survey was conducted among 1009 respondents followed by analysis based on Structural Equation Modelling. Results revealed the effect of motivation factors to be stronger than basic consumer interests indicating that companies can influence the intended...

  8. Serving Special Populations: A Study of Former Foster Youth at California Community Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rassen, Elisa; Cooper, Darla M.; Mery, Pamela

    2010-01-01

    Community colleges nationwide are tasked with meeting the needs of a wide range of students, many of whom come to higher education with financial, educational, and social disadvantages. Developing strategies to effectively serve these students and promote their academic and personal success can be challenging and resource-intensive. The study…

  9. End-User Development of Information Visualization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pantazos, Kostas; Lauesen, Søren; Vatrapu, Ravi

    2013-01-01

    such as data manipulation, but no formal training in programming. 18 visualization tools were surveyed from an enduser developer perspective. The results of this survey study show that end-user developers need better tools to create and modify custom visualizations. A closer collaboration between End......This paper investigates End-User Development of Information Visualization. More specifically, we investigated how existing visualization tools allow end-user developers to construct visualizations. End-user developers have some developing or scripting skills to perform relatively advanced tasks......-User Development and Information Visualization researchers could contribute towards the development of better tools to support custom visualizations. In addition, as empirical evaluations of these tools are lacking both research communities should focus more on this aspect. The study serves as a starting point...

  10. Looking to the Future: Communicating with an expanding cryospheric user community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gergely, K.; Scott, D.; Booker, L.

    2009-12-01

    The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado is known for its customer service. Through the User Services Office (USO) NSIDC provides end-to-end data support with timely, friendly, and professional assistance. This service includes expertise in selecting, obtaining, and handling of data, as well as the dissemination of information related to NSIDC’s cryospheric data and information. This dissemination happens across many mediums, such as email, newsletters, and Web-published data documentation. With surveys like the American Customer Service Index, we are learning more and more about what the user’s informational needs are, and beginning to anticipate what the user's needs might be in the future. In this presentation, we will examine the current USO processes for communicating with our user community, and explore how social networking tools, such as Twitter, Blogging, or Facebook may enhance the overall user experience. We will assess a communication approach that combines mainstream and emerging technologies in order to maintain a high standard of customer service with an expanding cryospheric user community.

  11. Housing preferences of Irish forensic mental health service users on moving into the community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweeney, Patricia; Rani Shetty, Shobha

    2013-01-01

    Housing is one of the important services required by forensic mental health service users on reintegration into the community. In the Republic of Ireland, a recent amendment to Section 13 of the Criminal Law Insanity Act (2006) has given the prospect of conditional discharge, which has increased the need for housing among Irish forensic mental health service users. This article reports findings of a qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore the housing preferences of these service users. While identifying and capturing their views, the study also identified the strengths and weaknesses of current housing services from a service user perspective. Data were collected from nine service users using semistructured interviews. Colaizzi's (1978) approach was used to analyze the data. Three themes that emerged from the analysis are as follows: (a) living choices; (b) future considerations; and (c) service users' expectations. Although concerns were raised regarding legislation and policy, service users strongly preferred normal independent living and recommended continued community support, gradual discharge, and community hostels. Findings suggest that service users' expectations may be fulfilled with effective collaboration between forensic mental health service and housing services. This is the first study to be carried out in Ireland that adds a new dimension to the literature on housing policy and service users' perspectives.

  12. mcaGUI: microbial community analysis R-Graphical User Interface (GUI)

    OpenAIRE

    Copeland, Wade K.; Krishnan, Vandhana; Beck, Daniel; Settles, Matt; Foster, James A.; Cho, Kyu-Chul; Day, Mitch; Hickey, Roxana; Schütte, Ursel M.E.; Zhou, Xia; Williams, Christopher J.; Forney, Larry J.; Abdo, Zaid

    2012-01-01

    Summary: Microbial communities have an important role in natural ecosystems and have an impact on animal and human health. Intuitive graphic and analytical tools that can facilitate the study of these communities are in short supply. This article introduces Microbial Community Analysis GUI, a graphical user interface (GUI) for the R-programming language (R Development Core Team, 2010). With this application, researchers can input aligned and clustered sequence data to create custom abundance ...

  13. Is the contribution of community forest users financially efficient? A household level benefit-cost analysis of community forest management in Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajesh Kumar Rai

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Community forestry in Nepal is considered an exemplary forest management regime. However, the economics behind managing a community forest is not fully studied. This study examines whether the benefits generated from community forest management justify the contributions of forest users. The study is based on a survey of community forest users in Chitwan, Nepal. A household level benefit-cost analysis was performed to quantify and compare the costs and benefits from community forest management. Only direct benefits were included in the analysis. The study shows that older forest user groups derive more benefits to households compared to more recently established ones. The extent of timber harvesting also substantially influences the size of the household benefits. In addition, redistribution of benefits at the household level, in terms of income generating activities and payment for involvement in forest management activities, also enhances household benefits. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the current practice of community forest management enhances the welfare of rural households in this subsistence community. However, this finding is sensitive to assumptions regarding the opportunity cost of time. The study also found that the household costs of community forest management depend upon two factors – the area of community forest and the size of the forest area relative to the number of households.

  14. Research on gender differences in online health communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xuan; Sun, Min; Li, Jia

    2018-03-01

    With the growing concern about health issues and the emergence of online communities based on user-generated content (UGC), more and more people are participating in online health communities (OHCs) to exchange opinions and health information. This paper aims to examine whether and how male and female users behave differently in OHCs. Using data from a leading diabetes community in China (Tianmijiayuan), we incorporate three different techniques: topic modeling analysis, sentiment analysis and friendship network analysis to investigate gender differences in chronic online health communities. The results indicated that (1) Male users' posting content was usually more professional and included more medical terms. Comparatively speaking, female users were more inclined to seek emotional support in the health communities. (2) Female users expressed more negative emotions than male users did, especially anxiety and sadness. (3) In addition, male users were more centered and influential in the friendship network than were women. Through these analyses, our research revealed the behavioral characteristics and needs for different gender users in online health communities. Gaining a deeper understanding of gender differences in OHCs can serve as guidance to better meet the information needs, emotional needs and relationship needs of male and female patients. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Technology in Community-Based Organizations that Serve Older People: High Tech Meets High Touch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renold, Carl; Meronk, Cheryl; Kelly, Christopher

    2005-01-01

    Appropriate implementation of information technology (IT) can help create a more efficient, less costly, and higher-quality service-delivery environment for community-based organizations that serve older people. Relevant studies and reports on technology in healthcare can be compared and applied to these organizations. This study is the result of…

  16. An outlook of the user support model to educate the users community at the CMS Experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Malik, Sudhir

    2011-01-01

    The CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiment is one of the two large general-purpose particle physics detectors built at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The diverse collaboration combined with a highly distributed computing environment and Petabytes/year of data being collected makes CMS unlike any other High Energy Physics collaborations before. This presents new challenges to educate and bring users, coming from different cultural, linguistics and social backgrounds, up to speed to contribute to the physics analysis. CMS has been able to deal with this new paradigm by deploying a user support structure model that uses collaborative tools to educate about software, computing an physics tools specific to CMS. To carry out the user support mission worldwide, an LHC Physics Centre (LPC) was created few years back at Fermilab as a hub for US physicists. The LPC serves as a "brick and mortar" location for physics excellence for the CMS physicists where graduate and postgraduate scien...

  17. Dynamic boundaries of user communities: exploiting synergies rather than managing dilemmas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita; Salomo, Søren; La Cour, Anders

    2013-01-01

    literature characterises such tensions as dilemmas between competing demands that firms must balance to encourage and benefit from user contributions. This paper brings in a systems theory perspective to show that what is currently described as trade-offs that must be managed are in fact synergies......A large body of literature indicates that innovation not only stems from a firm’s internal investments but also relies on input from external sources. This is also reflected in an increasing interest in user innovation. In particular, users, who increasingly gather in communities, can offer...

  18. Nonaffiliated Users in Academic Libraries: Using W.D. Ross's Ethical Pluralism to Make Sense of the Tough Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenker, Mark; Kocevar-Weidinger, Elizabeth

    2010-01-01

    Though the academic library's primary mission is to serve the students, faculty, and staff of its parent institution, would-be users not officially associated with the institution frequently call upon the library to provide services and/or resources. Requests by these nonaffiliated users (sometimes called community users) pose a moral quandary for…

  19. Atmospheric data access for the geospatial user community

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Vegte, John; Som de Cerff, Wim-Jan; van den Oord, Gijsbertus H. J.; Sluiter, Raymond; van der Neut, Ian A.; Plieger, Maarten; van Hees, Richard M.; de Jeu, Richard A. M.; Schaepman, Michael E.; Hoogerwerf, Marc R.; Groot, Nikée E.; Domenico, Ben; Nativi, Stefano; Wilhelmi, Olga V.

    2007-10-01

    Historically the atmospheric and meteorological communities are separate worlds with their own data formats and tools for data handling making sharing of data difficult and cumbersome. On the other hand, these information sources are becoming increasingly of interest outside these communities because of the continuously improving spatial and temporal resolution of e.g. model and satellite data and the interest in historical datasets. New user communities that use geographically based datasets in a cross-domain manner are emerging. This development is supported by the progress made in Geographical Information System (GIS) software. The current GIS software is not yet ready for the wealth of atmospheric data, although the faint outlines of new generation software are already visible: support of HDF, NetCDF and an increasing understanding of temporal issues are only a few of the hints.

  20. Exploring user-producer interaction in an online community : The case of Habbo Hotel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slot, M.

    2009-01-01

    This article attempts to explore the user-producer interaction in the online community of Habbo Hotel. Based on desk research, interviews, an online survey among more than 3000 Habbo Hotel users in The Netherlands and online discussion groups with 45 Habbos, three specific issues that illustrate the

  1. Evaluating the Mental Health Training Needs of Community-based Organizations Serving Refugees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Anne Simmelink

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This exploratory study examines the mental health knowledge and training needs of refugee-serving community based organizations in a Midwestern state. A survey was administered to 31 staff members at 27 community based organizations (CBOs to assess the ability of staff to recognize and screen for mental health symptoms that may interfere with successful resettlement. Of the 31 respondents 93.5% (n=29 see refugees with mental health issues and 48.4% (n=15 assess refugees for mental health symptoms – primarily through informal assessment. Mainstream organizations were more likely than ethnic organizations to have received training related to the mental health needs of refugees. Results indicate that while refugee led CBOs recognize mental health symptoms of refugees they may be less likely to assess mental health symptoms and refer for treatment. Policy recommendations for improving CBO services to refugees are offered.

  2. Liaisons as Sales Force: Using Sales Techniques to Engage Academic Library Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathaniel King

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In Brief Liaison librarians are assuming a wide variety of new roles that serve their institutions’ students, staff, and faculty. An essential foundation of these new roles is the ability to engage with the liaison’s user community. These engagement skills are not necessarily natural or innate, nor are they skills that most liaison librarians have had an opportunity to learn and develop. This article adapts a practical selling framework for the liaison context with examples that demonstrate how this framework can lead to improved communication, engagement, and problem-solving with liaison user communities.

  3. Factors explaining user loyalty in a social media-based brand community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louis M. Potgieter

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Marketers are interested in taking advantage of the capabilities of social media-based brand communities to develop long-term relationships with their customers. This research investigated the usage of a South African Facebook page to understand user attitudes and attendant pressures on users related to social norms and user loyalty. Objectives: The research investigated the extent to which perceived value, service quality and social factors influenced the customer’s intention to continue using a global motor vehicle firm’s social media-based online brand community (OBC. Method: We used an online voluntary survey to collect data from social media-based brand community members. In total, 303 responses were collected over a period of 4 weeks from a population of 3100 members. We analysed the relationship between trust, perceived responsiveness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social norms and the members’ intention to continue using the firm’s OBC. 293 usable observations were subjected to descriptive, correlation and regression analysis. Results: The age of the respondents varied from 18 to 58 years with a mean age of 32 years. Of these, 60% were men and 40% women. About 86.7% of the respondents reported having at least some form of tertiary education. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that service quality factors such as trust (25.5% and social influence factors such as social norms (12.5% explain a greater part of the variance in OBC continuance intention compared with utility factors such as perceived usefulness (18.2%. The effects for responsiveness and ease of use were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Social media-based brand communities are playing an important role in enhancing the overall trust relationship, value offering, sociality, knowledge and information sharing between customers and firms. Practitioners should note that the loyalty of customers using a firm

  4. mcaGUI: microbial community analysis R-Graphical User Interface (GUI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copeland, Wade K; Krishnan, Vandhana; Beck, Daniel; Settles, Matt; Foster, James A; Cho, Kyu-Chul; Day, Mitch; Hickey, Roxana; Schütte, Ursel M E; Zhou, Xia; Williams, Christopher J; Forney, Larry J; Abdo, Zaid

    2012-08-15

    Microbial communities have an important role in natural ecosystems and have an impact on animal and human health. Intuitive graphic and analytical tools that can facilitate the study of these communities are in short supply. This article introduces Microbial Community Analysis GUI, a graphical user interface (GUI) for the R-programming language (R Development Core Team, 2010). With this application, researchers can input aligned and clustered sequence data to create custom abundance tables and perform analyses specific to their needs. This GUI provides a flexible modular platform, expandable to include other statistical tools for microbial community analysis in the future. The mcaGUI package and source are freely available as part of Bionconductor at http://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/mcaGUI.html

  5. Supporting Shared Resource Usage for a Diverse User Community: the OSG Experience and Lessons Learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garzoglio, Gabriele; Levshina, Tanya; Sehgal, Chander; Slyz, Marko; Rynge, Mats

    2012-01-01

    The Open Science Grid (OSG) supports a diverse community of new and existing users in adopting and making effective use of the Distributed High Throughput Computing (DHTC) model. The LHC user community has deep local support within the experiments. For other smaller communities and individual users the OSG provides consulting and technical services through the User Support area. We describe these sometimes successful and sometimes not so successful experiences and analyze lessons learned that are helping us improve our services. The services offered include forums to enable shared learning and mutual support, tutorials and documentation for new technology, and troubleshooting of problematic or systemic failure modes. For new communities and users, we bootstrap their use of the distributed high throughput computing technologies and resources available on the OSG by following a phased approach. We first adapt the application and run a small production campaign on a subset of “friendly” sites. Only then do we move the user to run full production campaigns across the many remote sites on the OSG, adding to the community resources up to hundreds of thousands of CPU hours per day. This scaling up generates new challenges – like no determinism in the time to job completion, and diverse errors due to the heterogeneity of the configurations and environments – so some attention is needed to get good results. We cover recent experiences with image simulation for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), small-file large volume data movement for the Dark Energy Survey (DES), civil engineering simulation with the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), and accelerator modeling with the Electron Ion Collider group at BNL. We will categorize and analyze the use cases and describe how our processes are evolving based on lessons learned.

  6. Understanding persistence in the use of online fitness communities : comparing novice and experienced users

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stragier, Jeroen; Vanden Abeele, Mariek; Mechant, Peter; De Marez, Lieven

    2016-01-01

    Mobile and wearable technologies facilitate physiological data collection for health and wellness purposes. Users typically access these data via Online Fitness Community (OFC) platforms (e.g., Fitbit, Strava, RunKeeper). These platforms present users with functionalities centered on

  7. Rationality of Antimicrobial Prescriptions in Community Pharmacy Users.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara I V C Lima

    Full Text Available Although there is a conflict between the treatment benefits for a single individual and society, restrictions on antibiotic use are needed to reduce the prevalence of resistance to these drugs, which is the main result of irrational use. Brazil, cataloged as a pharmemerging market, has implemented restrictive measures for the consumption of antibiotics. The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of antimicrobial prescriptions and user knowledge of their treatment with these drugs.A two-stage cross-sectional, combined and stratified survey of pharmacy users holding an antimicrobial prescription was conducted in the community between May and November 2014. A pharmacist analyzed each prescription for legibility and completeness, and applied a structured questionnaire to the users or their caregivers on their knowledge regarding treatment and user sociodemographic data. An estimated 29.3% of prescriptions had one or more illegible items, 91.3% had one or more missing items, and 29.0% had both illegible and missing items. Dosing schedule and patient identification were the most commonly unreadable items in prescriptions, 18.81% and 12.14%, respectively. The lack of complete patient identification occurred in 90.53% of the prescriptions. It is estimated that 40.3% of users have used antimicrobials without prescription and that 46.49% did not receive any guidance on the administration of the drug.Despite the measures taken by health authorities to restrict the misuse of antimicrobials, it was observed that prescribers still do not follow the criteria of current legislation, particularly relating to items needed for completion of the prescription. Moreover, users receive little information about their antimicrobial treatment.

  8. nanoHUB.org: Experiences and Challenges in Software Sustainability for a Large Scientific Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lynn Zentner

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The science gateway nanoHUB.org, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF, serves a large scientific community dedicated to research and education in nanotechnology with community-contributed simulation codes as well as a vast repository of other materials such as recorded presentations, teaching materials, and workshops and courses. Nearly 330,000 users annually access over 4400 items of content on nanoHUB, including 343 simulation tools. Arguably the largest nanotechnology facility in the world, nanoHUB has led the way not only in providing open access to scientific code in the nanotechnology community, but also in lowering barriers to the use of that code, by providing a platform where developers are able to easily and quickly deploy code written in a variety of languages with user-friendly graphical user interfaces and where users can run the latest versions of codes transparently on the grid or other powerful resources without ever having to download or update code. Being a leader in open access code deployment provides nanoHUB with opportunities and challenges as it meets the current and future needs of its community. This paper discusses the experiences of nanoHUB in addressing and adapting to the changing landscape of scientific software in ways that best serve its community and meet the needs of the largest portion of its user base.

  9. User acceptance of diesel/PV hybrid system in an island community

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phuangpornpitak, N.; Kumar, S.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a study conducted at a rural (island) community to understand the role of PV hybrid system installed on an island. Until 2004, most islanders had installed diesel generators in their homes to generate electricity, which was directly supplied to appliances or stored in the batteries for later use. A field survey was carried out to study the user satisfaction of the PV hybrid system in the island community. The attitude of islanders to the PV hybrid system was mostly positive. The islanders can use more electricity, the supply of which can meet the demand. A comparison of pollutions before and after installation of the PV hybrid system was made along with the interviews with the users. The data show that the users are highly satisfied with the PV hybrid system which can reduce environmental impact, especially air and noise pollutions. New opportunities as a result of access to electric service include studying and reading at night that were not possible earlier. All the islanders use the PV hybrid system and more importantly, no one found that the system made their life worse as compared to the earlier state of affairs. (author)

  10. Must Invisible Colleges Be Invisible? An Approach to Examining Large Communities of Network Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruth, Stephen R.; Gouet, Raul

    1993-01-01

    Discussion of characteristics of users of computer-mediated communication systems and scientific networks focuses on a study of the scientific community in Chile. Topics addressed include users and nonusers; productivity; educational level; academic specialty; age; gender; international connectivity; public policy issues; and future research…

  11. Community-Supported Data Repositories in Paleobiology: A 'Middle Tail' Between the Geoscientific and Informatics Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, J. W.; Ashworth, A. C.; Betancourt, J. L.; Bills, B.; Blois, J.; Booth, R.; Buckland, P.; Charles, D.; Curry, B. B.; Goring, S. J.; Davis, E.; Grimm, E. C.; Graham, R. W.; Smith, A. J.

    2015-12-01

    Community-supported data repositories (CSDRs) in paleoecology and paleoclimatology have a decades-long tradition and serve multiple critical scientific needs. CSDRs facilitate synthetic large-scale scientific research by providing open-access and curated data that employ community-supported metadata and data standards. CSDRs serve as a 'middle tail' or boundary organization between information scientists and the long-tail community of individual geoscientists collecting and analyzing paleoecological data. Over the past decades, a distributed network of CSDRs has emerged, each serving a particular suite of data and research communities, e.g. Neotoma Paleoecology Database, Paleobiology Database, International Tree Ring Database, NOAA NCEI for Paleoclimatology, Morphobank, iDigPaleo, and Integrated Earth Data Alliance. Recently, these groups have organized into a common Paleobiology Data Consortium dedicated to improving interoperability and sharing best practices and protocols. The Neotoma Paleoecology Database offers one example of an active and growing CSDR, designed to facilitate research into ecological and evolutionary dynamics during recent past global change. Neotoma combines a centralized database structure with distributed scientific governance via multiple virtual constituent data working groups. The Neotoma data model is flexible and can accommodate a variety of paleoecological proxies from many depositional contests. Data input into Neotoma is done by trained Data Stewards, drawn from their communities. Neotoma data can be searched, viewed, and returned to users through multiple interfaces, including the interactive Neotoma Explorer map interface, REST-ful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), the neotoma R package, and the Tilia stratigraphic software. Neotoma is governed by geoscientists and provides community engagement through training workshops for data contributors, stewards, and users. Neotoma is engaged in the Paleobiological Data Consortium

  12. Exploring the role of intermediaries in firm-user community collaborations: resolving or multiplying conflicts?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita

    2015-01-01

    in which they originate. Nevertheless, despite its popularity there is still a paucity of studies on intermediaries mediating firm-community collaboration. On the basis of an embedded case study, this article suggests that instead of resolving conflicts, intermediaries create a new membership construct......Research on user innovation shows that innovation can be impeded by the conflicting demands that arise in the context of collaborations between firms and their user communities. Studies argue that intermediary organizations can help to resolve these conflicts, by bridging the opposing logics...... from which new tensions arise. I propose that if intermediary organizations foster a clearer view of this membership construct, the result can be an innovative synthesis of opposing logics. Thus, I suggest a novel approach to the debate about user innovation by arguing that mediating firm...

  13. Users' Continuance Intention of Virtual Learning Community Services: The Moderating Role of Usage Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Min; Liu, Yupei; Yan, Weiwei; Zhang, Yan

    2017-01-01

    Users' continuance intention plays a significant role in the process of information system (IS) service, especially virtual learning community (VLC) services. Following the IS success model and IS post-acceptance model, this study explores the determinants of users' intention to continue using VLCs' service from the perspective of quality,…

  14. Service users' expectations of treatment and support at the Community Mental Health Centre in their recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biringer, Eva; Davidson, Larry; Sundfør, Bengt; Ruud, Torleif; Borg, Marit

    2017-09-01

    Focus on service users' needs, coping and empowerment, user involvement, and comprehensiveness are supposed to be key elements of the Community Mental Health Centres in Norway. Taking a user-oriented approach means acknowledging the individual's own expectations, aims and hopes. However, studies that have investigated service users' expectations of treatment and support at Community Mental Health Centres are hard to find. The aim of the study was therefore to explore service users' expectations at the start of treatment at a Community Mental Health Centre. Within a collaborative framework, taking a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach, ten service users participated in in-depth interviews about their expectations, hopes and aims for treatment and recovery. The participants sought help due to various mental health issues that had interfered with their lives and created disability and suffering. A data-driven stepwise approach in line with thematic analysis was used. The study was approved by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services. The following four main themes representing participants' expectations at the start of treatment were elicited: hope for recovery, developing understanding, finding tools for coping and receiving counselling and practical assistance. Participants' expectations about treatment were tightly interwoven with their personal aims and hopes for their future life, and expectations were often related to practical and financial problems, the solution of which being deemed necessary to gain a safe basis for recovery in the long run. The transferability of the results may be limited by the small number of participants. The study emphasises how important it is that service users' personal aims and expectations guide the collaborative treatment process. In addition to providing treatment aimed at improving symptoms, Community Mental Health Centres should take a more comprehensive approach than today by providing more support with family issues

  15. An Evaluation of the British Red Cross’ Educational Pilot Project for Young People Serving Reparation Orders

    OpenAIRE

    Dresser, Paul; Irving, Adele; Soppitt, Sarah

    2015-01-01

    Using Newcastle Youth Offending Team (YOT) as a case-study, this report presents the findings of the evaluation of the British Red Cross (BRC) Educational Pilot Project (EPP) for service users serving reparation as part of Community Orders. The EPP was implemented between November 2011 and June 2012. However prior to this development, the BRC and Newcastle YOT had been working in partnership since 2005, to offer young people alternative forms of youth justice, focused around more physical tas...

  16. Constructing an AIRS Climatology for Data Visualization and Analysis to Serve the Climate Science and Application Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Feng; Keim, Elaine; Hearty, Thomas J.; Wei, Jennifer; Savtchenko, Andrey; Theobald, Michael; Vollmer, Bruce

    2016-01-01

    The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) is the home of processing, archiving, and distribution services for NASA sounders: the present Aqua AIRS mission and the succeeding SNPP CrIS mission. The AIRS mission is entering its 15th year of global observations of the atmospheric state, including temperature and humidity profiles, outgoing longwave radiation, cloud properties, and trace gases. The GES DISC, in collaboration with the AIRS Project, released product from the version 6 algorithm in early 2013. Giovanni, a Web-based application developed by the GES DISC, provides a simple and intuitive way to visualize, analyze, and access vast amounts of Earth science remote sensing data without having to download the data. Most important variables from version 6 AIRS product are available in Giovanni. We are developing a climatology product using 14-year AIRS retrievals. The study can be a good start for the long term climatology from NASA sounders: the AIRS and the succeeding CrIS. This presentation will show the impacts to the climatology product from different aggregation methods. The climatology can serve climate science and application communities in data visualization and analysis, which will be demonstrated using a variety of functions in version 4 Giovanni. The highlights of these functions include user-defined monthly and seasonal climatology, inter annual seasonal time series, anomaly analysis.

  17. Barriers and Facilitators to Community Mobility for Assistive Technology Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha Layton

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobility is frequently described in terms of individual body function and structures however contemporary views of disability also recognise the role of environment in creating disability. Aim. To identify consumer perspectives regarding barriers and facilitators to optimal mobility for a heterogeneous population of impaired Victorians who use assistive technology in their daily lives. Method. An accessible survey investigated the impact of supports or facilitators upon actual and desired life outcomes and health-related quality of life, from 100 AT users in Victoria, Australia. This paper reports upon data pertaining to community mobility. Results. A range of barriers and enablers to community mobility were identified including access to AT devices, environmental interventions, public transport, and inclusive community environs. Substantial levels of unmet need result in limited personal mobility and community participation. Outcomes fall short of many principles enshrined in current policy and human rights frameworks. Conclusion. AT devices as well as accessible and inclusive home and community environs are essential to maximizing mobility for many. Given the impact of the environment upon the capacity of individuals to realise community mobility, this raises the question as to whether rehabilitation practitioners, as well as prescribing AT devices, should work to build accessible communities via systemic advocacy.

  18. Guidelines for NASA Missions to Engage the User Community as a Part of the Mission Life Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, V. M.; Friedl, L.; Bonniksen, C. K.

    2017-12-01

    NASA continues to improve the Earth Science Directorate in the areas of thematic integration, stakeholder feedback and Project Applications Program tailoring for missions to transfer knowledge between scientists and projects. The integration of application themes and the implementation of application science activities in flight projects have evolved to formally include user feedback and stakeholder integration. NASA's new Flight Applied Science Program Guidelines are designed to bridge NASA Earth Science Directorates in Flight, Applied Sciences and Research and Development by agreeing to integrate the user community into mission life cycles. Thus science development and science applications will guide all new instruments launched by NASAs ESD. The continued integration with the user community has enabled socio-economic considerations into NASA Earth Science projects to advance significantly. Making users a natural part of mission science leverages future socio-economic impact research and provides a platform for innovative and more actionable product to be used in decision support systems by society. This presentation will give an overview of the new NASA Guidelines and provide samples that demonstrate how the user community can be a part of NASA mission designs.

  19. National Synchrotron Light Source users manual: Guide to the VUV and x-ray beam lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gmuer, N.F.; White-DePace, S.M.

    1987-08-01

    The success of the National Synchrotron Light Source in the years to come will be based, in large part, on the size of the users community and the diversity of the scientific disciplines represented by these users. In order to promote this philosophy, this National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) Users Manual: Guide to the VUV and X-Ray Beam Lines, has been published. This manual serves a number of purposes. In an effort to attract new research, it will present to the scientific community-at-large the current and projected architecture and capabilities of the various VUV and x-ray beam lines and storage rings. We anticipate that this publication will be updated periodically in order to keep pace with the constant changes at the NSLS

  20. Conceptualization and Support of the Role of Teachers Serving as Team Leaders in a Professional Learning Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordin, Lanelle

    2010-01-01

    This study presents the results of a phenomenological qualitative investigation into the new role of teachers serving as team leaders in a professional learning community, as well as the support team leaders need from members and principals to be effective. Collaborative teacher teams in 6 schools that have been developing as professional learning…

  1. ServAR: An augmented reality tool to guide the serving of food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rollo, Megan E; Bucher, Tamara; Smith, Shamus P; Collins, Clare E

    2017-05-12

    Accurate estimation of food portion size is a difficult task. Visual cues are important mediators of portion size and therefore technology-based aids may assist consumers when serving and estimating food portions. The current study evaluated the usability and impact on estimation error of standard food servings of a novel augmented reality food serving aid, ServAR. Participants were randomised into one of three groups: 1) no information/aid (control); 2) verbal information on standard serving sizes; or 3) ServAR, an aid which overlayed virtual food servings over a plate using a tablet computer. Participants were asked to estimate the standard serving sizes of nine foods (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, kidney beans, potato, pasta, rice, and sweetcorn) using validated food replicas. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared median served weights of each food to reference standard serving size weights. Percentage error was used to compare the estimation of serving size accuracy between the three groups. All participants also performed a usability test using the ServAR tool to guide the serving of one randomly selected food. Ninety adults (78.9% female; a mean (95%CI) age 25.8 (24.9-26.7) years; BMI 24.2 (23.2-25.2) kg/m 2 ) completed the study. The median servings were significantly different to the reference portions for five foods in the ServAR group, compared to eight foods in the information only group and seven foods for the control group. The cumulative proportion of total estimations per group within ±10%, ±25% and ±50% of the reference portion was greater for those using ServAR (30.7, 65.2 and 90.7%; respectively), compared to the information only group (19.6, 47.4 and 77.4%) and control group (10.0, 33.7 and 68.9%). Participants generally found the ServAR tool easy to use and agreed that it showed potential to support optimal portion size selection. However, some refinements to the ServAR tool are required to improve the user experience. Use of the

  2. Parallel community climate model: Description and user`s guide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drake, J.B.; Flanery, R.E.; Semeraro, B.D.; Worley, P.H. [and others

    1996-07-15

    This report gives an overview of a parallel version of the NCAR Community Climate Model, CCM2, implemented for MIMD massively parallel computers using a message-passing programming paradigm. The parallel implementation was developed on an Intel iPSC/860 with 128 processors and on the Intel Delta with 512 processors, and the initial target platform for the production version of the code is the Intel Paragon with 2048 processors. Because the implementation uses a standard, portable message-passing libraries, the code has been easily ported to other multiprocessors supporting a message-passing programming paradigm. The parallelization strategy used is to decompose the problem domain into geographical patches and assign each processor the computation associated with a distinct subset of the patches. With this decomposition, the physics calculations involve only grid points and data local to a processor and are performed in parallel. Using parallel algorithms developed for the semi-Lagrangian transport, the fast Fourier transform and the Legendre transform, both physics and dynamics are computed in parallel with minimal data movement and modest change to the original CCM2 source code. Sequential or parallel history tapes are written and input files (in history tape format) are read sequentially by the parallel code to promote compatibility with production use of the model on other computer systems. A validation exercise has been performed with the parallel code and is detailed along with some performance numbers on the Intel Paragon and the IBM SP2. A discussion of reproducibility of results is included. A user`s guide for the PCCM2 version 2.1 on the various parallel machines completes the report. Procedures for compilation, setup and execution are given. A discussion of code internals is included for those who may wish to modify and use the program in their own research.

  3. Exploring engagement in a virtual community of practice in pediatric rehabilitation: who are non-users, lurkers, and posters?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurtubise, Karen; Pratte, Gabrielle; Rivard, Lisa; Berbari, Jade; Héguy, Léa; Camden, Chantal

    2017-12-20

    Communities of practice are increasingly recognized in rehabilitation as useful knowledge transfer tools; however, little is known about their users. This exploratory study describes the characteristics of participants and non-participants invited to engage in a pediatric rehabilitation virtual community of practice. In addition, we explored virtual community of practice utilization behaviors, engagement predictors, and the impact of strategies designed to foster engagement. Participants' demographics including information-seeking style and organization e-readiness, as well as online platform frequency of use data were collected and analyzed using descriptive, comparative, and predictive statistics. Seventy-four percent of those invited used the virtual community of practice. Users had less years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation than non-users. Among the users, 71% were classified as "lurkers," who engaged through reading content only; while 29% were classified as "posters," editing online content. Predictive factors were not uncovered, however an increased number of forum visits correlated with being a poster, a non-information seeker, an employee of an organization demonstrating e-readiness, and regularly working with children with the virtual community of practice specific condition. User-engagement strategies increased visits to the forum. These findings will assist rehabilitation leaders in leveraging rehabilitation-specific virtual community of practice to improve knowledge transfer and practice in pediatric rehabilitation and disability management. Implications for Rehabilitation Communities of practice are increasingly recognized as useful knowledge transfer tools for rehabilitation professionals and are made more accessible thanks to virtual technologies. Our virtual community of practice was found to be optimized in health care organizations with an electronic culture, when the topic area had daily relevance to its target audience, and was

  4. Does social climate influence positive eWOM? A study of heavy-users of online communities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Ruiz-Mafe

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a deeper understanding of the role of social influences on positive eWOM behaviour (PeWOM of heavy-users of online communities. Drawing on Social Interaction Utility Framework, Group Marketing and Social Learning Theories, we develop and test a research model integrating the interactions between the social climate of a website and Interpersonal Influences in PeWOM. 262 Spanish heavy-users of online communities were selected and the data analysed using partial least squares equation modelling. Overall, the model explains 59% of the variance of PeWOM on online communities. Findings reveal that interaction with other members of the online community (Social Presence is the main predictor of PeWOM. Social Identity is a mediator between Social Presence and PeWOM. Interpersonal Influence has an important role as a moderator variable; the greater the impact of Interpersonal Influence, the stronger the relationship between Social Presence and PeWOM.

  5. Serving English as a Second Language Communities: A Literary Review and an In-Service Plan To Assist Administrators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westendorf, David; Karr-Kidwell, PJ

    This paper presents a literature review and describes an inservice plan for aspiring and current elementary administrators in schools serving English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) communities. The literature review examines habits and guidelines for effective leaders to use in educational settings, discusses laws regarding bilingual/ESL education,…

  6. Exploring the role of intermediary organizations in firm and user community collaborations: Resolving or multiplying paradoxes?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita

    2015-01-01

    Research on user innovation shows that innovation can be impeded by the conflicting demands that arise in the context of collaborations between firms and their user communities. One stream of research, however, applies a paradox lens to argue that intermediary organizations can help to resolve...... these conflicts, by bridging the opposing logics in which they originate. On the basis of an embedded case study, this article suggests that instead of resolving a paradox of innovation, intermediaries create new paradoxical tensions. Further, I argue that mediating firm-community collaboration is not a matter...

  7. Reducing the volume of antibiotic prescriptions: a peer group intervention among physicians serving a community with special ethnic characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilf-Miron, Rachel; Ron, Naama; Ishai, Shlomit; Chory, Hana; Abboud, Louis; Peled, Ronit

    2012-05-01

    Antibiotics are a front-line weapon against many infectious diseases. However, antibiotic overuse is the key driver of drug resistance. Previously published studies have suggested benefits of using peer-to-peer education, working with group leaders to build trust and maintain confidentiality within a quality initiative. We hypothesized that working with physicians as a peer group might be beneficial in influencing antibiotic prescribing patterns. To describe and evaluate a peer group model for an intervention to reduce the volume of antibiotic prescriptions among physicians with above average prescribing rates serving an Arab community in northern Israel. Primary care physicians in a defined geographic area who served Arab communities and had high antibiotic prescribing rates--defined as above average number of antibiotic prescriptions per office visit compared with regional and organizational averages--were recruited for the intervention. All other physicians from the same region served as a comparison group. The intervention was administered during 2007 and was completed in early 2008. Four structured meetings scheduled 2 months apart, in which the group explored the issues related to antibiotic overuse, included the following topics: adherence to clinical guidelines; the special position physicians serving Arab communities hold and the influence it has on their practices; pressure due to consumer demands; and suggestions for possible strategies to face ethnic sensitivity, mainly because of the special ties the physicians have with their communities. T-tests for independent samples were used to perform between-group comparisons for each quarter and year of observation from 2006 through 2010, and t-tests for paired samples were used to compare pre-intervention with post-intervention antibiotic prescribing rates. In the 2006 pre-intervention period, the antibiotic prescribing rates were 0.17 for the peer group (n = 11 physicians) and 0.15 for the comparison group

  8. Access to health and human services for drug users: an urban/rural community systems perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivers, J E; Komaroff, E; Kibort, A C

    1999-01-01

    Publicly funded drug-user treatment programs in both urban and rural areas are under unprecedented pressure to adapt to multiple perspectives of their mission, reduced governmental funding, diminished entitlement program resources for clients, managed care reforms, and continuing unmet need for services. This article describe an ongoing health services research study that is investigating how these and related health and human service programs currently serve and cross-refer chronic drug users and how they perceive and are reacting to systemic pressures. Interim analysis on intra-agency diversity and managed care perceptions are reported.

  9. From Help-Seekers to Influential Users: A Systematic Review of Participation Styles in Online Health Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carron-Arthur, Bradley; Ali, Kathina; Cunningham, John Alastair; Griffiths, Kathleen Margaret

    2015-12-01

    Understanding how people participate in and contribute to online health communities (OHCs) is useful knowledge in multiple domains. It is helpful for community managers in developing strategies for building community, for organizations in disseminating information about health interventions, and for researchers in understanding the social dynamics of peer support. We sought to determine if any patterns were apparent in the nature of user participation across online health communities. The current study involved a systematic review of all studies that have investigated the nature of participation in an online health community and have provided a quantifiable method for categorizing a person based on their participation style. A systematic search yielded 20 papers. Participatory styles were classified as either multidimensional (based on multiple metrics) or unidimensional (based on one metric). With respect to the multidimensional category, a total of 41 different participation styles were identified ranging from Influential Users who were leaders on the board to Topic-Focused Responders who focused on a specific topic and tended to respond to rather than initiate posts. However, there was little overlap in participation styles identified both across OHCs for different health conditions and within OHCs for specific health conditions. Five of the 41 styles emerged in more than one study (Hubs, Authorities, Facilitators, Prime Givers, and Discussants), but the remainder were reported in only one study. The focus of the unidimensional studies was on level of engagement and particularly on high-engaged users. Eight different metrics were used to evaluate level of engagement with the greatest focus on frequency of posts. With the exception of high-engaged users based on high post frequency, the current review found little evidence for consistent participatory styles across different health communities. However, this area of research is in its infancy, with most of the

  10. Reasons for the treatment of users of crack in a therapeutic community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maycon Rogério Seleghim

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Knowing the motivation of crack users for treatment in hospital environments. Method: Descriptive and qualitative search, using the design of some cases. Twenty male crack users, aged over 18 years old, hospitalized in a Therapeutic Community in Southern Brazil, were interviewed. A semi-structured interview was used and the data were analyzed by their thematic content. Results: Were found three categories that reflect the treatment motivations: perception of the crack harmful consequences; the compulsive use of drugs as the treatment initiation; and, the family participation looking for a treatment. Conclusion: Significant events (turning points favored the interruption of the crack use and the family assumed a very important place to the users behavior in relation to the use of the drug, exclusively. Descriptors: Street drugs, Crack Cocaine, Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Family.

  11. The Community College as Change Agent: How Community Colleges Address Health Issues in Counties Served by the Healthy Places North Carolina Initiative. A Report to the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust

    Science.gov (United States)

    MDC, Inc., 2015

    2015-01-01

    Community colleges serve a unique purpose in American higher education. For many students, these institutions present the best opportunity for the postsecondary credential needed to pursue a living-wage job with career potential. For others, a community college represents the gateway to a four-year institution or beyond, and potential career paths…

  12. Maximising the benefits of satellite LST within the user community: ESA DUE GlobTemperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghent, D.

    2014-12-01

    Land surface temperature (LST) is the mean radiative skin temperature of an area of land resulting from the mean balance of solar heating and land-atmosphere cooling fluxes. It is a basic determinant of the terrestrial thermal behaviour, as it controls the effective radiating temperature of the Earth's surface. The sensitivity of LST to soil moisture and vegetation cover means it is an important component in numerous applications. With the demand for LST data from Earth Observation currently experiencing considerable growth it is important that the users of this data are appropriately engaged by the LST data providers. The GlobTemperature project under the Data User Element of ESA's 4th Earth Observation Envelope Programme (2013-2017) aims to promote the wider uptake of global-scale satellite LST by the research and operational user communities; the key to success depending on the coherence and openness of the interactions between the LST and user communities. By incorporating detailed user input into the specifications, their subsequent testing of the LST data sets, and sustained access to data in a user-friendly manner through common data formats GlobTemperature is enhancing the portfolio of LST products from Earth Observation, while concurrently breaking down the barriers to successful application of such data through its programme of dialogue between the data providers and data users. Here we present the outcomes from the first phase of the project, which is achieving some innovative developments: a globally representative and consistent matchup database enabling validation and intercomparison of multi-sensor LST data sets; a prototype combined geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) global data set for LST to resolve the diurnal cycle which is a key request from users of LST data; the delivery of the first LST data sets via a dedicated Data Portal in harmonised data format; and the establishment, in collaboration with international colleagues

  13. Tweeting badges: user motivations for displaying achievement in publicly networked environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, K Hazel; Halavais, Alexander; Havener, Shannon

    2015-02-01

    Badge systems, a common mechanism for gamification on social media platforms, provide a way for users to present their knowledge or experience to others. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of why social media users publicize their achievements in the form of online badges. Five motivational factors for badge display in public networked environments are distinguished-self-efficacy, social incentives, networked support, passing time, and inattentive sharing-and it is suggested that different badge types are associated with different motivations. System developers are advised to consider these components in their designs, applying the elements most appropriate to the communities they serve. Comparing user motivations associated with badges shared across boundaries provides a better understanding of how online badges relate to the larger social media ecosystem.

  14. Over ten thousand cases and counting: acidbase.org is serving the critical care community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbers, Paul W G; Van Regenmortel, Niels; Gatz, Rainer

    2015-01-01

    Acidbase.org has been serving the critical care community for over a decade. The backbone of this online resource consists of Peter Stewart's original text "How to understand Acid-Base" which is freely available to everyone. In addition, Stewart's Textbook of Acid Base, which puts the theory in today's clinical context is available for purchase from the website. However, many intensivists use acidbase.org on a daily basis for its educational content and in particular for its analysis module. This review provides an overview of the history of the website, a tutorial and descriptive statistics of over 10,000 queries submitted to the analysis module.

  15. Utilizing Web 2.0 Technologies for Library Web Tutorials: An Examination of Instruction on Community College Libraries' Websites Serving Large Student Bodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blummer, Barbara; Kenton, Jeffrey M.

    2015-01-01

    This is the second part of a series on Web 2.0 tools available from community college libraries' Websites. The first article appeared in an earlier volume of this journal and it illustrated the wide variety of Web 2.0 tools on community college libraries' Websites serving large student bodies (Blummer and Kenton 2014). The research found many of…

  16. YouPower : An open source platform for community-oriented smart grid user engagement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huang, Yilin; Hasselqvist, Hanna; Poderi, Giacomo; Scepanovic, S.; Kis, F.; Bogdan, Cristian; Warnier, Martijn; Brazier, F.M.

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents YouPower, an open source platform designed to make people more aware of their energy consumption and encourage sustainable consumption with local communities. The platform is designed iteratively in collaboration with users in the Swedish and Italian test sites of the project

  17. Study on online community user motif using web usage mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alphy, Meera; Sharma, Ajay

    2016-04-01

    The Web usage mining is the application of data mining, which is used to extract useful information from the online community. The World Wide Web contains at least 4.73 billion pages according to Indexed Web and it contains at least 228.52 million pages according Dutch Indexed web on 6th august 2015, Thursday. It’s difficult to get needed data from these billions of web pages in World Wide Web. Here is the importance of web usage mining. Personalizing the search engine helps the web user to identify the most used data in an easy way. It reduces the time consumption; automatic site search and automatic restore the useful sites. This study represents the old techniques to latest techniques used in pattern discovery and analysis in web usage mining from 1996 to 2015. Analyzing user motif helps in the improvement of business, e-commerce, personalisation and improvement of websites.

  18. Community-based participatory research and user-centered design in a diabetes medication information and decision tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Vida A; Barr, Kathryn L; An, Lawrence C; Guajardo, Claudia; Newhouse, William; Mase, Rebecca; Heisler, Michele

    2013-01-01

    Together, community-based participatory research (CBPR), user-centered design (UCD), and health information technology (HIT) offer promising approaches to improve health disparities in low-resource settings. This article describes the application of CBPR and UCD principles to the development of iDecide/Decido, an interactive, tailored, web-based diabetes medication education and decision support tool delivered by community health workers (CHWs) to African American and Latino participants with diabetes in Southwest and Eastside Detroit. The decision aid is offered in English or Spanish and is delivered on an iPad in participants' homes. The overlapping principles of CBPR and UCD used to develop iDecide/Decido include a user-focused or community approach, equitable academic and community partnership in all study phases, an iterative development process that relies on input from all stakeholders, and a program experience that is specified, adapted, and implemented with the target community. Collaboration between community members, researchers, and developers is especially evident in the program's design concept, animations, pictographs, issue cards, goal setting, tailoring, and additional CHW tools. The principles of CBPR and UCD can be successfully applied in developing health information tools that are easy to use and understand, interactive, and target health disparities.

  19. Exploring community resilience in workforce communities of first responders serving Katrina survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyche, Karen Fraser; Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Norris, Fran H; Wisnieski, Deborah; Younger, Hayden

    2011-01-01

    Community resilience activities were assessed in workplace teams that became first responders for Hurricane Katrina survivors. Community resilience was assessed by a survey, focus groups, and key informant interviews. On the survey, 90 first responders ranked their team's disaster response performance as high on community resilience activities. The same participants, interviewed in 11 focus groups and 3 key informant interviews, discussed how their teams engaged in community resilience activities to strengthen their ability to deliver services. Specifically, their resilient behaviors were characterized by: shared organizational identity, purpose, and values; mutual support and trust; role flexibility; active problem solving; self-reflection; shared leadership; and skill building. The implications for research, policy, practice, and education of professionals are discussed. © 2011 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

  20. Community Based Flood Modeling in Southern and Baja California to Meet End User Needs for Decision-Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, B. F.

    2017-12-01

    Flooding of coastal and fluvial systems are the most significant natural hazards facing society, and damages have been escalating for decades globally and in the U.S. Almost all metropolitan areas are exposed to flood risk. The threat from river flooding is especially high in India and China, and coastal cities around the world are threatened by storm surge and rising sea levels. Several trends including rising sea levels, urbanization, deforestation, and rural-to-urban population shifts will increase flood exposure in the future. Flood impacts are escalating despite advances in hazards science and extensive effort to manage risks. The fundamental issue is not that flooding is becoming more severe, even though it is in some places, but rather that societies are become more vulnerable to flood impacts. A critical factor contributing to the escalation of flood impacts is that the most vulnerable sectors of communities are left out of processes to prepare for and respond to flooding. Furthermore, the translation of knowledge about flood hazards and vulnerabilities into actionable information for communities has not been effective. In Southern and Baja California, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has partnered with stakeholders in flood vulnerable communities to co-develop flood hazard information systems designed to meet end-user needs for decision-making. The initiative leveraged the power of advanced, fine-scale hydraulic models of flooding to craft intuitive visualizations of context-sensitive scenarios. This presentation will cover the ways by which the process of flood inundation modeling served as a focal point for knowledge development, as well as the unique visualizations that populate on-line information systems accessible here: http://floodrise.uci.edu/online-flood-hazard-viewers/

  1. An Evaluation of a Community-Based Psycho-Educational Program for Users of Child Sexual Exploitation Material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillespie, Steven M; Bailey, Alexandra; Squire, Tom; Carey, Melissa L; Eldridge, Hilary J; Beech, Anthony R

    2018-03-01

    Online sexual offenders represent an increasingly large proportion of all sexual offenders. Many of these offenders receive noncustodial sentences, and there is a growing need for community-based interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate a psycho-educational program for community dwelling users of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM). A total of 92 adult male participants completed self-report measures at pre and post. A subset of participants also completed measures after a follow-up period. Results suggested benefits across depression, anxiety, and stress; social competency, including locus of control and self-esteem; and distorted attitudes. Furthermore, these effects remained 8 to 12 weeks following program completion. Our results suggest that CSEM users are amenable to treatment in the community and that there are beneficial outcomes in affective and interpersonal functioning following psycho-education. These factors represent treatment targets for sexual offenders and are recognized risk factors for contact sexual offense recidivism.

  2. Optimizing Data Center Services to Foster Stewardship and Use of Geospatial Data by Heterogeneous Populations of Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downs, R. R.; Chen, R. S.; de Sherbinin, A. M.

    2017-12-01

    Growing recognition of the importance of sharing scientific data more widely and openly has refocused attention on the state of data repositories, including both discipline- or topic-oriented data centers and institutional repositories. Data creators often have several alternatives for depositing and disseminating their natural, social, health, or engineering science data. In selecting a repository for their data, data creators and other stakeholders such as their funding agencies may wish to consider the user community or communities served, the type and quality of data products already offered, and the degree of data stewardship and associated services provided. Some data repositories serve general communities, e.g., those in their host institution or region, whereas others tailor their services to particular scientific disciplines or topical areas. Some repositories are selective when acquiring data and conduct extensive curation and reviews to ensure that data products meet quality standards. Many repositories have secured credentials and established a track record for providing trustworthy, high quality data and services. The NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) serves users interested in human-environment interactions, including researchers, students, and applied users from diverse sectors. SEDAC is selective when choosing data for dissemination, conducting several reviews of data products and services prior to release. SEDAC works with data producers to continually improve the quality of its open data products and services. As a Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) of the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System, SEDAC is committed to improving the accessibility, interoperability, and usability of its data in conjunction with data available from other DAACs, as well as other relevant data sources. SEDAC is certified as a Regular Member of the International Council for Science World Data System (ICSU-WDS).

  3. Experience and meaning of user involvement: some explorations from a community mental health project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truman, Carole; Raine, Pamela

    2002-05-01

    With an increased interest in and policy commitment to involving service users in the planning and delivery of health service provision, there is a clear need to explore both the rhetoric and realities of what user involvement entails. In the present paper, by drawing upon an evaluation of a community-based exercise facility for people with mental health problems, the authors explore ways in which the reality of user involvement is subject to a range of configurations within health services. The paper describes a piece of qualitative research that was undertaken within a participatory framework to explore the nature of user involvement within the facility. The data have been analysed using a grounded theory approach to provide insights into: the organisational context in which user involvement takes place; factors which encourage meaningful participation on the part of service users; perceived barriers to user involvement; and issues of sustainability and continuity. This research approach has enabled the authors to explore the views and experiences of users, service providers and referral agencies in relation to the nature and potential for user involvement. The findings illustrate ways in which user involvement may take place under both flexible and formal arrangements across a variety of activities. The present paper provides an account of some of the meanings and experiences of what 'successful' user participation may involve and the conditions which underpin 'success'. The authors conclude that successful and meaningful user involvement should enable and support users to recognise their existing skills, and to develop new ones, at a pace that suits their particular circumstances and personal resources. This process may require adaptation not only by organisations, but also by service providers and non-involved users.

  4. Making User-Generated Content Communities Work in Higher Education - The Importance of Setting Incentives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vom Brocke, Jan; White, Cynthia; Walker, Ute; Vom Brocke, Christina

    The concept of User-Generated Content (UGC) offers impressive potential for innovative learning and teaching scenarios in higher education. Examples like Wikipedia and Facebook illustrate the enormous effects of multiple users world-wide contributing to a pool of shared resources, such as videos and pictures and also lexicographical descriptions. Apart from single examples, however, the systematic use of these virtual technologies in higher education still needs further exploration. Only few examples display the successful application of UGC Communities at university scenarios. We argue that a major reason for this can be seen in the fact that the organizational dimension of setting up UGC Communities has widely been neglected so far. In particular, we indicate the need for incentive setting to actively involve students and achieve specific pedagogical objectives. We base our study on organizational theories and derive strategies for incentive setting that have been applied in a practical e-Learning scenario involving students from Germany and New Zealand.

  5. Impact of a longitudinal community HIV intervention targeting injecting drug users' stage of change for condom and bleach use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamner, M S; Wolitski, R J; Corby, N H

    1997-01-01

    To evaluate the impact of the Long Beach AIDS Community Demonstration Project, a community-based HIV-prevention intervention incorporating principles from the Transtheoretical model in its design and evaluation. Repeated cross-sectional sampling with matched intervention and comparison communities. Neighborhoods in Long Beach, California, having a high prevalence of drug abuse and prostitution. 3081 injecting drug users who were sexually active and/or shared injection equipment. Trained peer volunteers distributed fliers featuring role model stories targeted to the population's stage of change. Fliers were packaged with bleaching kits and/or condoms. Primary outcome measures were exposure to the intervention, condom carrying, and stage of change for disinfecting injection equipment with bleach and for using condoms with main and other partners. Toward the end of the study, 77% of injection drug users in the intervention area reported being exposed to the intervention. In the intervention area, rates of condom carrying increased from 10 to 27% (p project exposure had higher stage-of-change scores for using condoms with a main partner (p Project intervention for reaching injecting drug users in the community and for motivating the adoption of risk-reducing practices.

  6. Disk Operating System User's Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    1972-05-01

    This document serves the purpose of bringing together in one place most of the information a user needs to use the DDP-516 Disk Operating System, (DOS). DOS is a core resident, one user, console-oriented operating system which allows the user to cont...

  7. The association between income source and met need among community mental health service users in Ontario, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durbin, Anna; Bondy, Susan J; Durbin, Janet

    2012-10-01

    We examined income source and match between recommended and received care among users of community mental health services. We conducted a secondary analysis of needs-based planning data on adults in Ontario community mental health programs from 2000 to 2002. The outcome was whether clients were severely underserved (yes/no) based on the match between level of care recommended and received. A logistic regression model investigated if income source predicted this outcome. 13% of clients were severely underserved. Over 40% were on public assistance and they had a higher risk of being severely undeserved than the others. Men were at greater risk. One aim of mental health reform is to increase access to care for vulnerable individuals. The finding that among users of community mental health services, individuals with public assistance income support are most vulnerable to being severely underserved should be considered by service planners and providers.

  8. Loyalty in Online Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, William L; Zhang, Justine; Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, Cristian; Jurafsky, Dan; Leskovec, Jure

    2017-05-01

    Loyalty is an essential component of multi-community engagement. When users have the choice to engage with a variety of different communities, they often become loyal to just one, focusing on that community at the expense of others. However, it is unclear how loyalty is manifested in user behavior, or whether certain community characteristics encourage loyalty. In this paper we operationalize loyalty as a user-community relation: users loyal to a community consistently prefer it over all others; loyal communities retain their loyal users over time. By exploring a large set of Reddit communities, we reveal that loyalty is manifested in remarkably consistent behaviors. Loyal users employ language that signals collective identity and engage with more esoteric, less popular content, indicating that they may play a curational role in surfacing new material. Loyal communities have denser user-user interaction networks and lower rates of triadic closure, suggesting that community-level loyalty is associated with more cohesive interactions and less fragmentation into subgroups. We exploit these general patterns to predict future rates of loyalty. Our results show that a user's propensity to become loyal is apparent from their initial interactions with a community, suggesting that some users are intrinsically loyal from the very beginning.

  9. Inventory of activation analysis facilities available in the European Community to Industrial users

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pauwels, J.

    1975-01-01

    This inventory includes lists of activation equipment produced in the European Community, facilities available for industrial users and activation laboratories existing in the European companies. The aim of this inventory is to provide all information that may be useful, to companies interested in activation analysis, as well as to give an idea on existing routine applications and on the European market in facilities

  10. Giving Voice to the Medically Under-Served: A Qualitative Co-Production Approach to Explore Patient Medicine Experiences and Improve Services to Marginalized Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latif, Asam; Tariq, Sana; Abbasi, Nasa; Mandane, Baguiasri

    2018-01-27

    With an aging population, the appropriate, effective and safe use of medicines is a global health priority. However, "'medically under-served" patients continue to experience significant inequalities around access to healthcare services. This study forms part of a wider project to co-develop and evaluate a digital educational intervention for community pharmacy. The aim of this paper is to explore the medicine needs of patients from marginalized communities and suggest practical way on how services could be better tailored to their requirements. Following ethical approval, qualitative data was gathered from: (1) workshops with patients and professionals ( n = 57 attendees); and (2) qualitative semi-structured interviews (10 patients and 10 pharmacists). Our findings revealed that patients from marginalized communities reported poor management of their medical conditions and significant problems with adherence to prescribed medicines. Their experience of pharmacy services was found to be variable with many experiencing discrimination or disadvantage as a result of their status. This study highlights the plight of medically under-served communities and the need for policy makers to tailor services to an individual's needs and circumstances. Furthermore, patients and professionals can work in collaboration using a co-production approach to develop educational interventions for pharmacy service improvements.

  11. Profile of tobacco users amongst treatment seekers: A comparison between clinic and community sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Savita Malhotra

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives: Despite the huge burden of tobacco use or addiction, there has been a glaring scarcity of resources to tackle the problem. Although some of the tobacco users want to quit, very few have the opportunity to seek help from available treatment facilities. The study aimed to find out the profile of treatment seekers from clinic and community programs and also to compare the two groups. Method: This is a cross sectional, retrospective study of subjects enrolled in the clinic and various community outreach programs of a Tobacco Cessation Centre from the year 2002-2011. Modified intake form developed by the WHO was administered to the subjects. Results: Significant difference was found between the two groups with regard to the age of treatment seeking, education and socio economic status. Older subjects reported in greater numbers to the clinic, whereas younger subjects belonged to the community group. Community group had lower level of education, belonged to lower or upper lower socio economic status whereas clinic group had higher level of education and were from the middle or upper socio economic status. Curiosity (Z score = 3.2,P = 0.001 played a significant role in initiating the use in clinic group whereas role model (Z score = 5.1, P = <0.0001 and low self esteem (Z score = 2.0, P = 0.023 were significantly associated with community sample. Presence of medical complications (Z score = 12.5, P = <0.0001, awareness of physical harm of nicotine (Z score = 5.0, P = <0.0001 and awareness of addiction was significantly more in the clinic group. Interpretation and Conclusions: The difference in the socio-demographic and clinical profile of tobacco users in these two treatment groups is noteworthy, and is expected to offer useful information for the clinicians and as well as for the policy makers.

  12. Links between real and virtual networks: a comparative study of online communities in Japan and Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishii, Kenichi; Ogasahara, Morihiro

    2007-04-01

    The present study explores how online communities affect real-world personal relations based on a cross-cultural survey conducted in Japan and Korea. Findings indicate that the gratifications of online communities moderate the effects of online communities on social participation. Online communities are categorized into a real-group-based community and a virtual-network-based community. The membership of real-group-based online community is positively correlated with social bonding gratification and negatively correlated with information- seeking gratification. Japanese users prefer more virtual-network-based online communities, while their Korean counterparts prefer real-group-based online communities. Korean users are more active in online communities and seek a higher level of socializing gratifications, such as social bonding and making new friends, when compared with their Japanese counterparts. These results indicate that in Korea, personal relations via the online community are closely associated with the real-world personal relations, but this is not the case in Japan. This study suggests that the effects of the Internet are culture-specific and that the online community can serve a different function in different cultural environments.

  13. Diffusion of Messages from an Electronic Cigarette Brand to Potential Users through Twitter.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kar-Hai Chu

    Full Text Available This study explores the presence and actions of an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette brand, Blu, on Twitter to observe how marketing messages are sent and diffused through the retweet (i.e., message forwarding functionality. Retweet networks enable messages to reach additional Twitter users beyond the sender's local network. We follow messages from their origin through multiple retweets to identify which messages have more reach, and the different users who are exposed.We collected three months of publicly available data from Twitter. A combination of techniques in social network analysis and content analysis were applied to determine the various networks of users who are exposed to e-cigarette messages and how the retweet network can affect which messages spread.The Blu retweet network expanded during the study period. Analysis of user profiles combined with network cluster analysis showed that messages of certain topics were only circulated within a community of e-cigarette supporters, while other topics spread further, reaching more general Twitter users who may not support or use e-cigarettes.Retweet networks can serve as proxy filters for marketing messages, as Twitter users decide which messages they will continue to diffuse among their followers. As certain e-cigarette messages extend beyond their point of origin, the audience being exposed expands beyond the e-cigarette community. Potential implications for health education campaigns include utilizing Twitter and targeting important gatekeepers or hubs that would maximize message diffusion.

  14. A scalable new mechanism to store and serve the ATLAS detector description through a REST web API

    CERN Document Server

    Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    Until now, geometry information for the detector description of HEP experiments was only stored in online relational databases integrated in the experiments’ frameworks or described in files with text-based markup languages. In all cases, to build and store the detector description, a full software stack was needed. In this paper we present a new and scalable mechanism to store the geometry data and to serve the detector description data through a REST web-based API. This new approach decouples the geometry information from the experiment’s framework. Moreover, it provides new functionalities to users, who can now search for specific volumes and get partial detector description, or filter geometry data based on custom criteria. We present two approaches to build a REST API to serve geometry data, based on two different technologies used in other fields and communities: the search engine ElasticSearch and the graph database Neo4j. We describe their characteristics and we compare them using real-world usage...

  15. A scalable new mechanism to store and serve the ATLAS detector description through a REST web API

    CERN Document Server

    Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    Until now, geometry information for the detector description of HEP experiments was only stored in online relational databases integrated into the experiments’ frameworks or described in files with text-based markup languages. In all cases, to build and store the detector description, a full software stack was needed. In this paper, we present a new and scalable mechanism to store the geometry data and to serve the detector description data through a web interface and a REST API. This new approach decouples the geometry information from the experiment’s framework. Moreover, it provides new functionalities to users, who can now search for specific volumes and get partial detector description, or filter geometry data based on custom criteria. We present two approaches to build a REST API to serve geometry data, based on two different technologies used in other fields and communities: the search engine ElasticSearch and the graph database Neo4j. We describe their characteristics and we compare them using rea...

  16. Serving an Indigenous community: Exploring the cultural competence of medical students in a rural setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chin Hoong Wong

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Since 2013, medical students from the International Medical University (IMU in Malaysia have been providing primary healthcare services, under the supervision of faculty members, to the indigenous people living in Kampung Sebir. The project has allowed the students to learn experientially within a rural setting. This study aims to examine the cultural competence of IMU medical students through an examination of their perspective of the indigenous people who they serve and the role of this community service in their personal and professional development. Students who participated in the project were required to complete a questionnaire after each community engagement activity to help them reflect on the above areas. We analysed the responses of students from January to December 2015 using a thematic analysis approach to identify overarching themes in the students’ responses. Students had differing perceptions of culture and worldviews when compared to the indigenous people. However, they lacked the self-reflection skills necessary to understand how such differences can affect their relationship with the indigenous people. Because of this, the basis of their engagement with the indigenous community (as demonstrated by their views of community service is focused on their agenda of promoting health from a student’s perspective rather than connecting and building relationships first. Students also lacked the appreciation that building cultural competency is a continuous process. The results show that the medical students have a developing cultural competence. The project in Kampung Sebir is an experiential learning platform of great value to provide insights into and develop the cultural competency of participating students. This study also reflects on the project itself, and how the relationship with stakeholders, the competence and diversity of academic staff, and the support of the university can contribute toward training in cultural

  17. Accelerator facilities users' guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walter, H.C.; Adrion, L.; Frosch, R.; Salzmann, M.

    1994-07-01

    In 1981 the ''Green Book'' of SIN was distributed, a User Handbook serving the needs of people already working at SIN as well as informing new users about our installations. An update of the Green Book is necessary because many beams have disappeared, been modified or added, and the installation has been upgraded in intensity and versatility quite considerably. The spectrum of users has shifted away from nuclear and particle physics; applications in medicine, solid state physics and materials science have gained in importance. This Users' Guide is intended to inform our users about the changes, and to interest potential new users in coming to PSI. (author) figs., tabs

  18. Utilizing Big Data and Twitter to Discover Emergent Online Communities of Cannabis Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Baumgartner

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Large shifts in medical, recreational, and illicit cannabis consumption in the United States have implications for personalizing treatment and prevention programs to a wide variety of populations. As such, considerable research has investigated clinical presentations of cannabis users in clinical and population-based samples. Studies leveraging big data, social media, and social network analysis have emerged as a promising mechanism to generate timely insights that can inform treatment and prevention research. This study extends a novel method called stochastic block modeling to derive communities of cannabis consumers as part of a complex social network on Twitter. A set of examples illustrate how this method can ascertain candidate samples of medical, recreational, and illicit cannabis users. Implications for research planning, intervention design, and public health surveillance are discussed.

  19. Coordinated Transmissions to Direct and Relayed Users in Wireless Cellular Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thai, Chan; Popovski, Petar; Kaneko, Megumi

    2011-01-01

    The ideas of wireless network coding at the physical layer promise high throughput gains in wireless systems with relays and multi–way traffic flows. This gain can be ascribed to two principles: (1) joint transmission of multiple communication flows and (2) usage of a priori information to cancel...... the interference. In this paper we use these principles to devise new transmission schemes in wireless cellular systems that feature both users served directly by the base stations (direct users) and users served through relays (relayed users). We present four different schemes for coordinated transmission...... of uplink and downlink traffic in which one direct and one relayed user are served. These schemes are then used as building blocks in multi–user scenarios, where we present several schemes for scheduling pairs of users for coordinated transmissions. The optimal scheme involves exhaustive search of the best...

  20. What Online User Innovation Communities Can Teach Us about Capturing the Experiences of Patients Living with Chronic Health Conditions. A Scoping Review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Amann

    Full Text Available In order to adapt to societal changes, healthcare systems need to switch from a disease orientation to a patient-centered approach. Virtual patient networks are a promising tool to favor this switch and much can be learned from the open and user innovation literature where the involvement of online user communities in the innovation process is well-documented.The objectives of this study were 1 to describe the use of online communities as a tool to capture and harness innovative ideas of end users or consumers; and 2 to point to the potential value and challenges of these virtual platforms to function as a tool to inform and promote patient-centered care in the context of chronic health conditions.A scoping review was conducted. A total of seven databases were searched for scientific articles published in English between 1995 and 2014. The search strategy was refined through an iterative process.A total of 144 studies were included in the review. Studies were coded inductively according to their research focus to identify groupings of papers. The first set of studies focused on the interplay of factors related to user roles, motivations, and behaviors that shape the innovation process within online communities. Studies of the second set examined the role of firms in online user innovation initiatives, identifying different organizational strategies and challenges. The third set of studies focused on the idea selection process and measures of success with respect to online user innovation initiatives. Finally, the findings from the review are presented in the light of the particularities and challenges discussed in current healthcare research.The present paper highlights the potential of virtual patient communities to inform and promote patient-centered care, describes the key challenges involved in this process, and makes recommendations on how to address them.

  1. What Online User Innovation Communities Can Teach Us about Capturing the Experiences of Patients Living with Chronic Health Conditions. A Scoping Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amann, Julia; Zanini, Claudia; Rubinelli, Sara

    2016-01-01

    In order to adapt to societal changes, healthcare systems need to switch from a disease orientation to a patient-centered approach. Virtual patient networks are a promising tool to favor this switch and much can be learned from the open and user innovation literature where the involvement of online user communities in the innovation process is well-documented. The objectives of this study were 1) to describe the use of online communities as a tool to capture and harness innovative ideas of end users or consumers; and 2) to point to the potential value and challenges of these virtual platforms to function as a tool to inform and promote patient-centered care in the context of chronic health conditions. A scoping review was conducted. A total of seven databases were searched for scientific articles published in English between 1995 and 2014. The search strategy was refined through an iterative process. A total of 144 studies were included in the review. Studies were coded inductively according to their research focus to identify groupings of papers. The first set of studies focused on the interplay of factors related to user roles, motivations, and behaviors that shape the innovation process within online communities. Studies of the second set examined the role of firms in online user innovation initiatives, identifying different organizational strategies and challenges. The third set of studies focused on the idea selection process and measures of success with respect to online user innovation initiatives. Finally, the findings from the review are presented in the light of the particularities and challenges discussed in current healthcare research. The present paper highlights the potential of virtual patient communities to inform and promote patient-centered care, describes the key challenges involved in this process, and makes recommendations on how to address them.

  2. Are men well served by family planning programs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardee, Karen; Croce-Galis, Melanie; Gay, Jill

    2017-01-23

    Although the range of contraceptives includes methods for men, namely condoms, vasectomy and withdrawal that men use directly, and the Standard Days Method (SDM) that requires their participation, family planning programming has primarily focused on women. What is known about reaching men as contraceptive users? This paper draws from a review of 47 interventions that reached men and proposes 10 key considerations for strengthening programming for men as contraceptive users. A review of programming shows that men and boys are not particularly well served by programs. Most programs operate from the perspective that women are contraceptive users and that men should support their partners, with insufficient attention to reaching men as contraceptive users in their own right. The notion that family planning is women's business only is outdated. There is sufficient evidence demonstrating men's desire for information and services, as well as men's positive response to existing programming to warrant further programming for men as FP users. The key considerations focus on getting information and services where men and boys need it; addressing gender norms that affect men's attitudes and use while respecting women's autonomy; reaching adolescent boys; including men as users in policies and guidelines; scaling up successful programming; filling gaps with implementation research and monitoring & evaluation; and creating more contraceptive options for men.

  3. The right place? Users and professionals' constructions of the place's influence on personal recovery in community mental health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Femdal, Ingrid

    2018-01-01

    Current mental health policy emphasizes the importance of community-based service delivery for people with mental health problems to encompass personal recovery. The aim of this study is to explore how users and professionals construct the place's influence on personal recovery in community mental health services. This is a qualitative, interpretive study based on ten individual, semi-structured interviews with users and professionals, respectively. A discourse analysis inspired by the work of Foucault was used to analyze the interviews. The findings show how place can be constructed as a potential for and as a barrier against recovery. Constructions of the aim of the services matter when choosing a place for the services. Further, constructions of user-professional relationships and flexibility are important in the constructions of an appropriate place for the services. The aim of the service, the user-professional relationship, and flexibility in choosing place were essential in the participants' constructions. To find "the right place" for mental health services was constructed as context-sensitive and complex processes of assessment and co-determination. Trial registration The study is approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, Norway (REK-Midt 2011/2057).

  4. Evolving Frameworks for Different Communities of Scientists and End Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graves, S. J.; Keiser, K.

    2016-12-01

    Two evolving frameworks for interdisciplinary science will be described in the context of the Common Data Framework for Earth-Observation Data and the importance of standards and protocols. The Event Data Driven Delivery (ED3) Framework, funded by NASA Applied Sciences, provides the delivery of data based on predetermined subscriptions and associated workflows to various communities of end users. ED3's capabilities are used by scientists, as well as policy and resource managers, when event alerts are triggered to respond to their needs. The EarthCube Integration and Testing Environment (ECITE) Assessment Framework for Technology Interoperability and Integration is being developed to facilitate the EarthCube community's assessment of NSF funded technologies addressing Earth science problems. ECITE is addressing the translation of geoscience researchers' use cases into technology use case that apply EarthCube-funded building block technologies (and other existing technologies) for solving science problems. EarthCube criteria for technology assessment include the use of data, metadata and service standards to improve interoperability and integration across program components. The long-range benefit will be the growth of a cyberinfrastructure with technology components that have been shown to work together to solve known science objectives.

  5. 45 CFR 2551.81 - What type of clients are eligible to be served?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What type of clients are eligible to be served... FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE SENIOR COMPANION PROGRAM Clients Served § 2551.81 What type of clients are eligible to be served? Senior Companions serve only adults, primarily older adults, who have...

  6. Building the Realtime User Experience

    CERN Document Server

    Roden, Ted

    2010-01-01

    The Web is increasingly happening in realtime. With websites such as Facebook and Twitter leading the way, users are coming to expect that all sites should serve content as it occurs -- on smartphones as well as computers. This book shows you how to build realtime user experiences by adding chat, streaming content, and including more features on your site one piece at a time, without making big changes to the existing infrastructure. You'll also learn how to serve realtime content beyond the browser. Throughout the book are many practical JavaScript and Python examples that you can use on yo

  7. Who Uses Earth Observations? User Types in Group on Earth Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontaine, K. S.

    2011-12-01

    How can we communicate concepts in the physical sciences unless we know our audience? The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) User Interface Committee (UIC) has a responsibility within GEO to support and advocate for the user community in the development of Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS) and related work. As part of its efforts, the UIC has been working on developing a taxonomy that can be used to characterize the broad spectrum of users of GEOSS and its data, services, and applications. The user type taxonomy is designed to be broad and flexible but aims at describing the needs of the users GEOSS is going to serve. These user types represent a continuum of users of Earth observations from research through to decision support activities, and it includes organizations that use GEOSS as a tool to provide data and services for customers and consumers of the information. The classification scheme includes factors about skills and capacity for using Earth observations, sophistication level, spatial resolution, latency, and frequency of data. As part of the effort to develop a set of User Types, the GEO UIC foresees that those inside and outside GEO can use the typologies to understand how to engage users at a more effective level. This talk presents the GEOSS User Type taxonomy, explaining the development and highlights of key feedback. The talk will highlight possible ways to use the User Type taxonomy to communicate concepts and promote the use of Earth observations to a wide variety of users.

  8. Online Community Transition Detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Biying; Zhu, Feida; Qu, Qiang

    2014-01-01

    communities over time. How to automatically detect the online community transitions of individual users is a research problem of immense practical value yet with great technical challenges. In this paper, we propose an algorithm based on the Minimum Description Length (MDL) principle to trace the evolution......Mining user behavior patterns in social networks is of great importance in user behavior analysis, targeted marketing, churn prediction and other applications. However, less effort has been made to study the evolution of user behavior in social communities. In particular, users join and leave...... of community transition of individual users, adaptive to the noisy behavior. Experiments on real data sets demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed method....

  9. User-Generated Content, YouTube and Participatory Culture on the Web: Music Learning and Teaching in Two Contrasting Online Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldron, Janice

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, I draw on seminal literature from new media researchers to frame the broader implications that user-generated content (UGC), YouTube, and participatory culture have for music learning and teaching in online communities; to illustrate, I use examples from two contrasting online music communities, the Online Academy of Irish…

  10. Are You Being Served?

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacIntyre, Mairi; Parry, Glenn; Angelis, Jannis

    This book came about as the growing community of practitioners and academics were progressing the area of services to new levels of understanding. Servitization was first introduced as the trend in which corporations offer fuller market packages or bundles of customer-focused combinations of goods, services, support, self-service and knowledge. As production becomes increasingly commoditised in the eyes of the end user, companies have pursued value downstream through greater customer involvement and interaction. This change in business focus, and indeed strategy, has presented new challenges and opportunities to all involved with it.

  11. Serving online customers lessons for libraries from the business world

    CERN Document Server

    Barclay, Donald A

    2014-01-01

    To compete in the digital age, libraries must provide outstanding customer service to their virtual users. Serving Online Customers: Lessons for Libraries from the Business World is a practical guide to help libraries adopt and adapt the best practices of e-business for their own online operations.

  12. Satellite communication from user to user

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gern, Manfred

    Satellite communication systems which allow a multitude of user-to-user, point-to-point, and multipoint connections, are presented. The bit rates are 64 kbit/sec and multiples, up to 1.92 Mbit/sec. If required, the ground-stations are installed at the customer's site or at suitable locations in order to serve several customers. However, technical requirements for station location have also to be fulfulled, in order to avoid interference with terrestrial radio services. The increasing number of participants to Satellite Multi Service and INTELSAT Business Services imposes the solution of the problem of communication using cheap techniques. The changes of the German Federal Post Office also permit the economic use of satellite radio techniques for short distances.

  13. The characteristics and experience of community food program users in arctic Canada: a case study from Iqaluit, Nunavut.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, James; Lardeau, Marie-Pierre; Vanderbilt, Will

    2012-06-21

    Community food programs (CFPs), including soup kitchens and food banks, are a recent development in larger settlements in the Canadian Arctic. Our understanding of utilization of these programs is limited as food systems research has not studied the marginalised and transient populations using CFPs, constraining service planning for some of the most vulnerable community members. This paper reports on a baseline study conducted with users of CFPs in Iqaluit, Nunavut, to identify and characterize utilization and document their food security experience. Open ended interviews and a fixed-choice survey on a census (n = 94) were conducted with of users of the food bank, soup kitchen, and friendship centre over a 1 month period, along with key informant interviews. Users of CFPs are more likely to be Inuit, be unemployed, and have not completed high school compared to the general Iqaluit population, while also reporting high dependence on social assistance, low household income, and an absence of hunters in the household. The majority report using CFPs for over a year and on a regular basis. The inability of users to obtain sufficient food must be understood in the context of socio-economic transformations that have affected Inuit society over the last half century as former semi-nomadic hunting groups were resettled into permanent settlements. The resulting livelihood changes profoundly affected how food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed, and the socio-cultural relationships surrounding such activities. Consequences have included the rising importance of material resources for food access, the weakening of social safety mechanisms through which more vulnerable community members would have traditionally been supported, and acculturative stress. Addressing these broader challenges is essential for food policy, yet CFPs also have an essential role in providing for those who would otherwise have limited food access.

  14. Design and Construction for Community Health Service Precision Fund Appropriation System Based on Performance Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xing; He, Yao; Hu, Hongpu

    2017-01-01

    Allowing for the differences in economy development, informatization degree and characteristic of population served and so on among different community health service organizations, community health service precision fund appropriation system based on performance management is designed, which can provide support for the government to appropriate financial funds scientifically and rationally for primary care. The system has the characteristic of flexibility and practicability, in which there are five subsystems including data acquisition, parameter setting, fund appropriation, statistical analysis system and user management.

  15. “Un-Googling”: Research Technologies, Communities at Risk and the Ethics of User Studies in HCI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shklovski, Irina; Vertesi, Janet

    2012-01-01

    Recent increase in volume of qualitative work on transnational technologies, HCI for development, virtual communities, and collaborative systems across a range of areas has resulted in focus on user communities whose very uniqueness may be of interest to HCI, but whose exposure in a research...... setting presents real threats to those individual’s or community’s livelihoods, work, or civil liberties. As the tools of research dissemination increasingly make scholarly publications more easily accessible to the public and other entities outside the academic community through simple search engines......, scholars must grapple with new challenges to the ethics of exposure. We present a case-study of un-Googling publication of research results and consider potential problems with such an approach to minimizing risk to research participants....

  16. Factors affecting collective action for forest fire management: a comparative study of community forest user groups in central Siwalik, Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sapkota, Lok Mani; Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; Jourdain, Damien; Shivakoti, Ganesh P

    2015-01-01

    The attributes of social ecological systems affect the management of commons. Strengthening and enhancing social capital and the enforcement of rules and sanctions aid in the collective action of communities in forest fire management. Using a set of variables drawn from previous studies on the management of commons, we conducted a study across 20 community forest user groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal, by dividing the groups into two categories based on the type and level of their forest fire management response. Our study shows that the collective action in forest fire management is consistent with the collective actions in other community development activities. However, the effectiveness of collective action is primarily dependent on the complex interaction of various variables. We found that strong social capital, strong enforcement of rules and sanctions, and users' participation in crafting the rules were the major variables that strengthen collective action in forest fire management. Conversely, users' dependency on a daily wage and a lack of transparency were the variables that weaken collective action. In fire-prone forests such as the Siwalik, our results indicate that strengthening social capital and forming and enforcing forest fire management rules are important variables that encourage people to engage in collective action in fire management.

  17. User community vs. producer innovation development efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hienerth, Christoph; von Hippel, Eric; Jensen, Morten Berg

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we report upon a first empirical exploration of the relative efficiency of innovation development by product users vs. product producers. In a study of over 50 years of product innovation in the whitewater kayaking field, we find users in aggregate were approximately 3× more efficie...

  18. Digital Library Services: Perceptions and Expectations of User Communities and Librarians in a New Zealand Academic Library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Wei

    2003-01-01

    Provides an overview of research conducted at Victoria University of Wellington regarding differing perceptions and expectations of user communities and librarians related to the usability of digital services. Considers access to services, currency of information on the Web site, the online public access catalog, databases, electronic journals,…

  19. CaWingz user's guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cha, Ben-chin.

    1994-01-01

    This document assumes that you have read and understood the Wingz user's manuals. CaWingz is an external Wingz program which, when combined with a set of script files, provides easy-to-use EPICS channel access interface functions for Wingz users. The external function run allows Wingz user to invoke any Unix processor within caWingz. Few additional functions for accessing static database field and monitoring of value change event is available for EPICS users after release 3.11. The functions, script files, and usage are briefly described in this document. The script files supplied here serve as examples only. Users are responsible for generating their own spreadsheet and script files. CaWingz communicates with IOC through channel access function calls

  20. Mental health recovery on care farms and day centres: a qualitative comparative study of users' perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iancu, Sorana C; Zweekhorst, Marjolein B M; Veltman, Dick J; van Balkom, Anton J L M; Bunders, Joske F G

    2014-01-01

    Mental health services increasingly incorporate the vision of recovery. This qualitative study analysed and compared experiences of recovery on prevocational services, in order to assess if users make progress towards recovery, relative to a staged recovery model. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with participants on care farms (n = 14), work (n = 7) and creative projects (n = 5). The transition from past to current lives was described as a progressive, non-linear process, with different stages guided by different goals. Participants on creative projects lacked clear goals, presented less interest in peers and high need for emotional support. Participants on work projects aimed for occupational rehabilitation, but struggled with the patient culture of the peer community. Participants on care farms aimed for daytime occupations and closer contact with society. They experienced care farms as open, real-life work settings where they could exercise responsibility and connect with people. Participants progressed towards recovery, as care farms, work- and creative projects empowered them to leave behind inactive, isolated or disorganized living. In day centres, users focused on self-reflection and personal development (creative projects) or on occupational performance (work projects), whereas on care farms, users fulfilled worker roles in a real-life, open community environment. Organized as open communities in real-life settings, care farms facilitate the reflection on personal and social responsibility, and therefore have the potential to help users internalize worker identities and improve their motivation to progress towards recovery. Supervisors on care farms are regarded by users as close contacts within the social networks they develop on the service, a position that allows supervisors to actively engage and promote users' progress towards recovery. Elements of the farm environment (such as the "normal life", presence of family

  1. Perspectives on distributed computing : thirty people, four user types, and the distributed computing user experience.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Childers, L.; Liming, L.; Foster, I.; Mathematics and Computer Science; Univ. of Chicago

    2008-10-15

    This report summarizes the methodology and results of a user perspectives study conducted by the Community Driven Improvement of Globus Software (CDIGS) project. The purpose of the study was to document the work-related goals and challenges facing today's scientific technology users, to record their perspectives on Globus software and the distributed-computing ecosystem, and to provide recommendations to the Globus community based on the observations. Globus is a set of open source software components intended to provide a framework for collaborative computational science activities. Rather than attempting to characterize all users or potential users of Globus software, our strategy has been to speak in detail with a small group of individuals in the scientific community whose work appears to be the kind that could benefit from Globus software, learn as much as possible about their work goals and the challenges they face, and describe what we found. The result is a set of statements about specific individuals experiences. We do not claim that these are representative of a potential user community, but we do claim to have found commonalities and differences among the interviewees that may be reflected in the user community as a whole. We present these as a series of hypotheses that can be tested by subsequent studies, and we offer recommendations to Globus developers based on the assumption that these hypotheses are representative. Specifically, we conducted interviews with thirty technology users in the scientific community. We included both people who have used Globus software and those who have not. We made a point of including individuals who represent a variety of roles in scientific projects, for example, scientists, software developers, engineers, and infrastructure providers. The following material is included in this report: (1) A summary of the reported work-related goals, significant issues, and points of satisfaction with the use of Globus software

  2. Routing Questions to the Right Users in Online Communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Yanhong; Cong, Gao; Cui, Bin

    2009-01-01

    Online forums contain huge amounts of valuable user-generated content. In current forum systems, users have to passively wait for other users to visit the forum systems and read/answer their questions. The user experience for question answering suffers from this arrangement. In this paper, we...

  3. Building Library Community Through Social Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott Woodward Hazard Young

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In this article academic librarians present and analyze a model for community building through social media. Findings demonstrate the importance of strategy and interactivity via social media for generating new connections with library users. Details of this research include successful guidelines for building community and developing engagement online with social media. By applying intentional social media practices, the researchers’ Twitter user community grew 100 percent in one year, with a corresponding 275 percent increase in user interactions. Using a community analysis approach, this research demonstrates that the principles of personality and interactivity can lead to community formation for targeted user groups. Discussion includes the strategies and research approaches that were employed to build, study, and understand user community, including user type analysis and action-object mapping. From this research a picture of the library as a member of an active academic community comes into focus.

  4. Evaluation of community provision of a preventive cardiovascular programme - the National Health Service Health Check in reaching the under-served groups by primary care in England: cross sectional observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woringer, Maria; Cecil, Elizabeth; Watt, Hillary; Chang, Kiara; Hamid, Fozia; Khunti, Kamlesh; Dubois, Elizabeth; Evason, Julie; Majeed, Azeem; Soljak, Michael

    2017-06-14

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature mortality and a major contributor of health inequalities in England. Compared to more affluent and white counterparts, deprived people and ethnic minorities tend to die younger due to preventable CVD associated with lifestyle. In addition, deprived, ethnic minorities and younger people are less likely to be served by CVD prevention services. This study assessed the effectiveness of community-based outreach providers in delivering England's National Health Services (NHS) Health Check programme, a CVD preventive programme to under-served groups. Between January 2008 and October 2013, community outreach providers delivered a preventive CVD programme to 50,573 individuals, in their local communities, in a single consultation without prescheduled appointments. Community outreach providers operated on evenings and weekends as well as during regular business hours in venues accessible to the general public. After exclusion criteria, we analysed and compared socio-demographic data of 43,177 Health Check attendees with the general population across 38 local authorities (LAs). We assessed variation between local authorities in terms of age, sex, deprivation and ethnicity structures using two sample t-tests and within local authority variation in terms of ethnicity and deprivation using Chi squared tests and two sample t-tests respectively. Using Index of Multiple Deprivation, the mean deprivation score of the population reached by community outreach providers was 6.01 higher (p successful in recruiting ethnic minority groups. The mean proportion of men screened was 11.39% lower (p successful in motivating the under-served groups to improve lifestyle, it may reduce health inequalities therein.

  5. From Innovation Community to Community Innovation User-initiated Innovation in Wireless Leiden

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oost, Elizabeth C.J.; Verhaegh, Stefan; Oudshoorn, Nelly E.J.

    2009-01-01

    The role of users in innovation processes has gained increasing attention in innovation studies, technology studies, and media studies. Scholars have identified users and use practices as a source of innovation. So far, however, little insight has been generated in innovation processes in which

  6. Dietary Supplement Intake and Associated Factors Among Gym Users in a University Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attlee, Amita; Haider, Amina; Hassan, Asma; Alzamil, Noura; Hashim, Mona; Obaid, Reyad Shaker

    2018-01-02

    Dietary supplement intake and associated factors among gym users in a university community in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), were assessed using a structured, self-administered questionnaire in this cross-sectional study. Adults (N = 320) from five gyms in the University City of Sharjah participated in this cross-sectional study. The prevalence of dietary supplement intake was 43.8%. Statistically significant associations were found between the use of dietary supplements and sex (47.7% males, 28.1% females; p = .006), as well as weight lifting (88.6% taking supplements vs. 11.4% not taking supplements; p power and to boost exercise recovery. Females mainly used dietary supplements to increase energy, maintain their health, and prevent nutrition deficiency. Overall, protein supplements (whey proteins [48.6%] and protein powder [45.7%]) were among the most-consumed dietary supplements, followed by multivitamins (38.6%), branched-chain amino acids (36.4%), caffeine (35.0%), and creatine (29.3%). A widespread use of Internet-driven, self-prescribed dietary supplement intake was reported among gym users (60.7%). Only 12.8% of dietary supplement users sought information from dietitians. Practical implications suggest that gym instructors and coaches should be sufficiently trained to be able to provide accurate and scientifically sound information on dietary supplements to the exercisers in gyms in the university environment.

  7. Serving some and serving all: how providers navigate the challenges of providing racially targeted health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Amy

    2017-10-01

    Racially targeted healthcare provides racial minorities with culturally and linguistically appropriate health services. This mandate, however, can conflict with the professional obligation of healthcare providers to serve patients based on their health needs. The dilemma between serving a particular population and serving all is heightened when the patients seeking care are racially diverse. This study examines how providers in a multi-racial context decide whom to include or exclude from health programs. This study draws on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork at an Asian-specific HIV organization. Fieldwork included participant observation of HIV support groups, community outreach programs, and substance abuse recovery groups, as well as interviews with providers and clients. Providers managed the dilemma in different ways. While some programs in the organization focused on an Asian clientele, others de-emphasized race and served a predominantly Latino and African American clientele. Organizational structures shaped whether services were delivered according to racial categories. When funders examined client documents, providers prioritized finding Asian clients so that their documents reflected program goals to serve the Asian population. In contrast, when funders used qualitative methods, providers could construct an image of a program that targets Asians during evaluations while they included other racial minorities in their everyday practice. Program services were organized more broadly by health needs. Even within racially targeted programs, the meaning of race fluctuates and is contested. Patients' health needs cross cut racial boundaries, and in some circumstances, the boundaries of inclusion can expand beyond specific racial categories to include racial minorities and underserved populations more generally.

  8. Science gateways for distributed computing infrastructures development framework and exploitation by scientific user communities

    CERN Document Server

    Kacsuk, Péter

    2014-01-01

    The book describes the science gateway building technology developed in the SCI-BUS European project and its adoption and customization method, by which user communities, such as biologists, chemists, and astrophysicists, can build customized, domain-specific science gateways. Many aspects of the core technology are explained in detail, including its workflow capability, job submission mechanism to various grids and clouds, and its data transfer mechanisms among several distributed infrastructures. The book will be useful for scientific researchers and IT professionals engaged in the develop

  9. The consequences of shoulder pain intensity on quality of life and community participation in paraplegic wheelchair users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nulle A.

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Background/Objective: Shoulder overuse due weight-bearing loads – wheelchair propulsion and transfers – are supposed to cause shoulder pain in active wheelchair users. Consequently, shoulder pain has been found to have a high prevalence in the spinal cord-injured population. Severity of pain levels in individuals with spinal cord injury has been shown to impact quality of life. Aim of this study was to describe the consequences of shoulder pain intensity on quality of life, physical activity, and community activities in spinal cord-injured paraplegic wheelchair users. Materials and Methods: It was a qualitative, analytical one moment study where was involved persons after spinal cord injury below Th1 with lower paraplegia, who used manually operated wheelchairs for mobility at least 50% of the time. Main outcomes measure: SF-36textregistered Health Survey, Physical Activity Scale for Individuals With Physical Disabilities, Community Activities Checklist, Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index, Functional Independence Measure, Goniometry for shoulder joint. Results and analysis: 40 participants (9 female, 31 male after spinal cord injury (SCI, mean age – 30,8 years, one to twenty years after spinal cord injury. 20 participants had pain in shoulder, 20 participants without pain in shoulder. The intensity of shoulder pain was not related to duration of SCI or the duration of shoulder pain. Shoulder pain intensity scores were inversely related to quality of life. There was a moderate, inverse relationship between shoulder pain intensity and physical activity. There was no relationship, however, between shoulder pain intensity and community activities. The level of community activity was positively related to quality of life. Conclusions: Persons with spinal cord injury who reported lower subjective quality of life and physical activity scores experienced significantly higher levels of shoulder pain. Shoulder pain intensity did not relate to

  10. User-centered 3D geovisualisation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Anette Hougaard

    2004-01-01

    . In a broader perspective, the overall aim is to develop a language in 3D Geovisualisation gained through usability projects and the development of a theoretical background. A conceptual level of user-centered 3D Geovisualisation is introduced by applying a categorisation originating from Virtual Reality...... and shadowing effects or with weather phenomena serving a level of realism and providing depth cues. The rendered objects and scenes are graphically accessible through the interface where immersive or non-immersive monitors in different sizes and shapes are relevant. Through the user interface, users can...

  11. Seasonal Patterns of Community Participation and Mobility of Wheelchair Users Over an Entire Year.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borisoff, Jaimie F; Ripat, Jacquie; Chan, Franco

    2018-03-23

    To describe how people who use wheelchairs participate and move at home and in the community over an entire yearlong period, including during times of inclement weather conditions. Longitudinal mixed-methods research study. Urban community in Canada. People who use a wheelchair for home and community mobility (N=11). Not applicable. Use of a global positioning system (GPS) tracker for movement in community (number of trips per day), use of accelerometer for bouts of wheeling mobility (number of bouts per day, speed, distance, and duration), prompted recall interviews to identify supports and barriers to mobility and participation. More trips per day were taken during the summer (P= .03) and on days with no snow and temperatures above 0°C. Participants reliant on public transportation demonstrated more weather-specific changes in their trip patterns. The number of daily bouts of mobility remained similar across seasons; total daily distance wheeled, duration, and speed were higher on summer days, days with no snow, and days with temperatures above 0°C. A higher proportion of outdoor wheeling bouts occurred in summer (P=.02) and with temperatures above 0°C (P=.03). Inaccessible public environments were the primary barrier to community mobility and participation; access to social supports and private transportation were the primary supports. Objective support is provided for the influence of various seasonal weather conditions on community mobility and participation for people who use a wheelchair. Longitudinal data collection provided a detailed understanding of the patterns of, and influences on, wheelchair mobility and participation within wheelchair users' own homes and communities. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. A model project in community mental health: Consultation to an urban welfare center serving a single-room occupancy hotel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levitt, L I; Brownlee, W H; Lewars, M H

    1968-12-01

    A continuing consultative relationship between a general hospital department of psychiatry and an urban welfare center serving the residents of a privately owned hotel is described-the relationship is based on biweekly seminars. Individual case study is the method of training, and an activity program the vehicle for development of indigenous resident leadership. Problems in residents' relationship to their community, worker-resident relationships, resistances of residents, anticipating both workers and residents' readiness to assume responsibility, and defining the role of consultant were confronted. The project demonstrates the effectiveness of the technique, pointing up the need for refinement of the process and the development of tools for measurement.

  13. Health-care users, key community informants and primary health care workers' views on health, health promotion, health assets and deficits: qualitative study in seven Spanish regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pons-Vigués, Mariona; Berenguera, Anna; Coma-Auli, Núria; Pombo-Ramos, Haizea; March, Sebastià; Asensio-Martínez, Angela; Moreno-Peral, Patricia; Mora-Simón, Sara; Martínez-Andrés, Maria; Pujol-Ribera, Enriqueta

    2017-06-13

    Although some articles have analysed the definitions of health and health promotion from the perspective of health-care users and health care professionals, no published studies include the simultaneous participation of health-care users, primary health care professionals and key community informants. Understanding the perception of health and health promotion amongst these different stakeholders is crucial for the design and implementation of successful, equitable and sustainable measures that improve the health and wellbeing of populations. Furthermore, the identification of different health assets and deficits by the different informants will generate new evidence to promote healthy behaviours, improve community health and wellbeing and reduce preventable inequalities. The objective of this study is to explore the concept of health and health promotion and to compare health assets and deficits as identified by health-care users, key community informants and primary health care workers with the ultimate purpose to collect the necessary data for the design and implementation of a successful health promotion intervention. A descriptive-interpretive qualitative research was conducted with 276 participants from 14 primary care centres of 7 Spanish regions. Theoretical sampling was used for selection. We organized 11 discussion groups and 2 triangular groups with health-care users; 30 semi-structured interviews with key community informants; and 14 discussion groups with primary health care workers. A thematic content analysis was carried out. Health-care users and key community informants agree that health is a complex, broad, multifactorial concept that encompasses several interrelated dimensions (physical, psychological-emotional, social, occupational, intellectual, spiritual and environmental). The three participants' profiles consider health promotion indispensable despite defining it as complex and vague. In fact, most health-care users admit to having

  14. A student-facilitated community-based support group initiative for Mental Health Care users in a Primary Health Care setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leana Meiring

    2017-12-01

    Methods: Qualitative research methods were applied. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a collage-making and storytelling method. Thematic analysis highlighted the main themes representing the meaning the five participants ascribed to the group. Results: The findings suggest that the group offered the participants a sense of belonging and a means of social and emotional support. The group also created opportunity for learning, encouraged mental and physical mobilisation and stimulation, and served as an additional link to professional services. Conclusion: The findings suggest that student-facilitated support groups could offer a viable supplement for offering support to service users in PHC settings. The group assisted MHC users to cope with symptoms, social integration, and participating in meaningful activities as part of rehabilitation services.

  15. Reinforcing user data analysis with Ganga in the LHC era: scalability, monitoring and user-support

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elmsheuser, Johannes; Ebke, Johannes; Brochu, Frederic; Dzhunov, Ivan; Kokoszkiewicz, Lukasz; Maier, Andrew; Mościcki, Jakub; Tuckett, David; Vanderster, Daniel; Egede, Ulrik; Reece, Will; Williams, Michael; Jha, Manoj Kumar; Lee, Hurng-Chun; München, Tim; Samset, Bjorn; Slater, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Ganga is a grid job submission and management system widely used in the ATLAS and LHCb experiments and several other communities in the context of the EGEE project. The particle physics communities have entered the LHC operation era which brings new challenges for user data analysis: a strong growth in the number of users and jobs is already noticeable. Current work in the Ganga project is focusing on dealing with these challenges. In recent Ganga releases the support for the pilot job based grid systems Panda and Dirac of the ATLAS and LHCb experiment respectively have been strengthened. A more scalable job repository architecture, which allows efficient storage of many thousands of jobs in XML or several database formats, was recently introduced. A better integration with monitoring systems, including the Dashboard and job execution monitor systems is underway. These will provide comprehensive and easy job monitoring. A simple to use error reporting tool integrated at the Ganga command-line will help to improve user support and debugging user problems. Ganga is a mature, stable and widely-used tool with long-term support from the HEP community. We report on how it is being constantly improved following the user needs for faster and easier distributed data analysis on the grid.

  16. Shared decision-making in mental health care-A user perspective on decisional needs in community-based services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grim, Katarina; Rosenberg, David; Svedberg, Petra; Schön, Ulla-Karin

    2016-01-01

    Shared decision-making (SDM) is an emergent research topic in the field of mental health care and is considered to be a central component of a recovery-oriented system. Despite the evidence suggesting the benefits of this change in the power relationship between users and practitioners, the method has not been widely implemented in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to investigate decisional and information needs among users with mental illness as a prerequisite for the development of a decision support tool aimed at supporting SDM in community-based mental health services in Sweden. Three semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 22 adult users with mental illness. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using a directed content analysis. This method was used to develop an in-depth understanding of the decisional process as well as to validate and conceptually extend Elwyn et al.'s model of SDM. The model Elwyn et al. have created for SDM in somatic care fits well for mental health services, both in terms of process and content. However, the results also suggest an extension of the model because decisions related to mental illness are often complex and involve a number of life domains. Issues related to social context and individual recovery point to the need for a preparation phase focused on establishing cooperation and mutual understanding as well as a clear follow-up phase that allows for feedback and adjustments to the decision-making process. The current study contributes to a deeper understanding of decisional and information needs among users of community-based mental health services that may reduce barriers to participation in decision-making. The results also shed light on attitudinal, relationship-based, and cognitive factors that are important to consider in adapting SDM in the mental health system.

  17. Shared decision-making in mental health care—A user perspective on decisional needs in community-based services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarina Grim

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Shared decision-making (SDM is an emergent research topic in the field of mental health care and is considered to be a central component of a recovery-oriented system. Despite the evidence suggesting the benefits of this change in the power relationship between users and practitioners, the method has not been widely implemented in clinical practice. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate decisional and information needs among users with mental illness as a prerequisite for the development of a decision support tool aimed at supporting SDM in community-based mental health services in Sweden. Methods: Three semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 22 adult users with mental illness. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using a directed content analysis. This method was used to develop an in-depth understanding of the decisional process as well as to validate and conceptually extend Elwyn et al.'s model of SDM. Results: The model Elwyn et al. have created for SDM in somatic care fits well for mental health services, both in terms of process and content. However, the results also suggest an extension of the model because decisions related to mental illness are often complex and involve a number of life domains. Issues related to social context and individual recovery point to the need for a preparation phase focused on establishing cooperation and mutual understanding as well as a clear follow-up phase that allows for feedback and adjustments to the decision-making process. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The current study contributes to a deeper understanding of decisional and information needs among users of community-based mental health services that may reduce barriers to participation in decision-making. The results also shed light on attitudinal, relationship-based, and cognitive factors that are important to consider in adapting SDM in the mental health system.

  18. Serving Diverse Knowledge Systems in Academia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William F. Birdsall

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Libraries and academic disciplines are experiencing a major transformation to the digital era. A challenge for libraries is to adapt and coordinate their transformation with differing rates and types of changes in teaching, research, and scholarly communication among the disciplines they serve. This paper argues libraries need to acknowledge the diversity of knowledge systems and adopt a strategy that requires collaboration between libraries and multiple communities of knowing in the development and provision of heterogeneous services.

  19. The innovation effect of user design: Exploring consumers' innovation perceptions of firms selling products designed by users

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Schreier (Martin); C. Fuchs (Christoph); D.W. Dahl (Darren)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractThe authors study consumer perceptions of firms that sell products designed by users. In contrast with the traditional design mode, in which professional designers employed by firms handle the design task, common design by users involves the firm's user community in creating new product

  20. User involvement in the innovation process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Dan Saugstrup

    2008-01-01

    User involvement in the innovation process is not a new phenomenon. However, combined with the growing individualisation of demand and with highly competitive and dynamic environments, user involvement in the innovation process and thereby in the design, development, and manufacturing process, can...... nevertheless provide a competitive advantage. This is the case as an intensified user involvement in the innovation process potentially results in a more comprehensive understanding of the user needs and requirements and the context within which these are required, and thereby provides the possibility...... of developing better and more suitable products. The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on user involvement in the innovation process and how user involvement in the innovation process can be deployed in relation to deriving and colleting user needs and requirements, and thereby serves...

  1. Identifying opportunities in online-communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hienerth, C.; Lettl, Christopher

    how this phenomenon - as manifested in user communities - can be used to derive deeper insights into the prominent phases of opportunity identification, evaluation and exploitation. We also outline how user communities create new avenues for empirical research on these early entrepreneurial processes....... Based on our analysis, we develop a set of hypotheses on how processes in user communities affect the outcome of entrepreneurial activities....

  2. Nonspeech audio in user interfaces for TV

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sluis, van de Richard; Eggen, J.H.; Rypkema, J.A.

    1997-01-01

    This study explores the end-user benefits of using nonspeech audio in television user interfaces. A prototype of an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) served as a carrier for the research. One of the features of this EPG is the possibility to search for TV programmes in a category-based way. The EPG

  3. 77 FR 22769 - Amendment to the Inland Waterways Users Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Amendment to the Inland Waterways Users Board AGENCY... charter for the Inland Waterways Users Board (hereafter referred to as ``the Board''). The Board is... shall invite primary commercial users and shippers of the inland and intracoastal waterways to serve on...

  4. User-Centered Design in Practice: The Brown University Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bordac, Sarah; Rainwater, Jean

    2008-01-01

    This article presents a case study in user-centered design that explores the needs and preferences of undergraduate users. An analysis of LibQual+ and other user surveys, interviews with public service staff, and a formal American with Disabilities Act accessibility review served as the basis for planning a redesign of the Brown University…

  5. ETICS User feedback and Usability Workshop

    CERN Document Server

    Begin, Marc-Elian

    2007-01-01

    As ETICS is gaining momentum, its user community is growing. We now have over 15 projects (mainly Grid related) from different grid user communities; for example: gLite developers and integrators, high-level services developers (e.g. GridWay and DILIGENT). This workshop will provide an opportunity for exchange between the growing ETICS user community and ETICS developers. ETICS is powered by Grid middleware, via the NMI/Condor that ‘We're using the Grid to build the Grid’. This is why ETICS can claim The Grid allows ETICS users to transparently build and test complex software on a wide range of architecture, operating system and environments, in turn accelerating the ability for software to properly execute in heterogeneous environment like Grids. We are not yet able to run on the EGEE infrastructure, since we're missing an important element: virtualisation. As soon as we are able to ship with a build and test job a VM of the environment required for the job, we'll be able to exploit the full power of the...

  6. AstroMail: Electronic mail for the astrophysics community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherrer, Phillip H.; Bogart, Richard S.

    1993-01-01

    As part of the NASA Science Internet User Support Services program, NASA Goddard was interested in R&D which could extend the SolarMail system developed by members of the Wilcox Space Observatory at Stanford University to support a larger astrophysics user community. Specific objectives of the R&D effort were to include: a clone of the existing SolarMail system with additional documentation, enabling a parallel mail system to be established by populating the database; a cloned version of SolarMail functioning with a user database similar to that of the High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) of the American Astronomical Society; a report on the status and surveyed usage of SolarMail and its clones into an extendable distributed mail system to serve as the basis for AstroMail, including a draft declaration of policy; a prototype AstroMail system based on the above specifications and including at least SolarMail and one of its clones supporting a set of astronomy user databases as subsets; and a report on the status of the prototype AstroMail with recommendations for future modifications to AstroMail.

  7. Experimental Facilities Division/User Program Division technical progress report 1999-2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    In October 1999, the two divisions of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), the Accelerator Systems Division (ASD) and the Experimental Facilities Division (XFD), were reorganized into four divisions (see high-level APS organizational chart, Fig. 1.1). In addition to ASD and XFD, two new divisions were created, the APS Operations Division (AOD), to oversee APS operations, and the User Program Division (UPD), to serve the APS user community by developing and maintaining the highest quality user technical and administration support. Previous XFD Progress Reports (ANL/APS/TB-30 and ANL/APS/TB-34) covered a much broader base, including APS user administrative support and what was previously XFD operations (front ends, interlocks, etc.) This Progress Report summarizes the main scientific and technical activities of XFD, and the technical support, research and development (R and D) activities of UPD from October 1998 through November 2000. The report is divided into four major sections, (1) Introduction, (2) SRI-CAT Beamlines, Technical Developments, and Scientific Applications, (3) User Technical Support, and (4) Major Plans for the Future. Sections 2 and 3 describe the technical activities and research accomplishments of the XFD and UPD personnel in supporting the synchrotron radiation instrumentation (SRI) collaborative access team (CAT) and the general APS user community. Also included in this report is a comprehensive list of publications (Appendix 1) and presentations (Appendix 2) by XFD and UPD staff during the time period covered by this report. The organization of section 2, SRI CAT Beamlines, Technical Developments, and Scientific Applications has been made along scientific techniques/disciplines and not ''geographical'' boundaries of the sectors in which the work was performed. Therefore items under the subsection X-ray Imaging and Microfocusing could have been (and were) performed on several different beamlines by staff in different divisions. The management of

  8. University multi-user facility survey-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Melissa B

    2011-12-01

    Multi-user facilities serve as a resource for many universities. In 2010, a survey was conducted investigating possible changes and successful characteristics of multi-user facilities, as well as identifying problems in facilities. Over 300 surveys were e-mailed to persons identified from university websites as being involved with multi-user facilities. Complete responses were received from 36 facilities with an average of 20 years of operation. Facilities were associated with specific departments (22%), colleges (22%), and university research centers (8.3%) or were not affiliated with any department or college within the university (47%). The five most important factors to succeed as a multi-user facility were: 1) maintaining an experienced, professional staff in an open atmosphere; 2) university-level support providing partial funding; 3) broad client base; 4) instrument training programs; and 5) an effective leader and engaged strategic advisory group. The most significant problems were: 1) inadequate university financial support and commitment; 2) problems recovering full service costs from university subsidies and user fees; 3) availability of funds to repair and upgrade equipment; 4) inability to retain highly qualified staff; and 5) unqualified users dirtying/damaging equipment. Further information related to these issues and to fee structure was solicited. Overall, there appeared to be a decline in university support for facilities and more emphasis on securing income by serving clients outside of the institution and by obtaining grants from entities outside of the university.

  9. How to Guide: Aggregate under-served markets into buying pools

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2000-12-26

    This activity promotes new opportunities to increase energy security and lower energy costs for under-served markets. It involves market analysis and collaboration with community partners, as well as outreach activities to inform target markets and technical assistance for participants.

  10. LncRNAWiki: harnessing community knowledge in collaborative curation of human long non-coding RNAs

    KAUST Repository

    Ma, L.

    2014-11-15

    Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) perform a diversity of functions in numerous important biological processes and are implicated in many human diseases. In this report we present lncRNAWiki (http://lncrna.big.ac.cn), a wiki-based platform that is open-content and publicly editable and aimed at community-based curation and collection of information on human lncRNAs. Current related databases are dependent primarily on curation by experts, making it laborious to annotate the exponentially accumulated information on lncRNAs, which inevitably requires collective efforts in community-based curation of lncRNAs. Unlike existing databases, lncRNAWiki features comprehensive integration of information on human lncRNAs obtained from multiple different resources and allows not only existing lncRNAs to be edited, updated and curated by different users but also the addition of newly identified lncRNAs by any user. It harnesses community collective knowledge in collecting, editing and annotating human lncRNAs and rewards community-curated efforts by providing explicit authorship based on quantified contributions. LncRNAWiki relies on the underling knowledge of scientific community for collective and collaborative curation of human lncRNAs and thus has the potential to serve as an up-to-date and comprehensive knowledgebase for human lncRNAs.

  11. Synthesis Report on User Acceptability of Ventilation Technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Olena Kalyanova; Heiselberg, Per

    This report is prepared to summarise user satisfaction surveys available for 18 buildings in Building AdVent project. The results of user satisfaction survey are assembled in Building AdVent project D7 report for the Work Package 3. These serve a background for further discussions of acceptabilit...

  12. User Driven Data Mining, Visualization and Decision Making for NOAA Observing System and Data Investments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, M.

    2016-12-01

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observing system enterprise represents a $2.4B annual investment. Earth observations from these systems are foundational to NOAA's mission to describe, understand, and predict the Earth's environment. NOAA's decision makers are charged with managing this complex portfolio of observing systems to serve the national interest effectively and efficiently. The Technology Planning & Integration for Observation (TPIO) Office currently maintains an observing system portfolio for NOAA's validated user observation requirements, observing capabilities, and resulting data products and services. TPIO performs data analytics to provide NOAA leadership business case recommendations for making sound budgetary decisions. Over the last year, TPIO has moved from massive spreadsheets to intuitive dashboards that enable Federal agencies as well as the general public the ability to explore user observation requirements and environmental observing systems that monitor and predict changes in the environment. This change has led to an organizational data management shift to analytics and visualizations by allowing analysts more time to focus on understanding the data, discovering insights, and effectively communicating the information to decision makers. Moving forward, the next step is to facilitate a cultural change toward self-serve data sharing across NOAA, other Federal agencies, and the public using intuitive data visualizations that answer relevant business questions for users of NOAA's Observing System Enterprise. Users and producers of environmental data will become aware of the need for enhancing communication to simplify information exchange to achieve multipurpose goals across a variety of disciplines. NOAA cannot achieve its goal of producing environmental intelligence without data that can be shared by multiple user communities. This presentation will describe where we are on this journey and will provide examples of

  13. A Study of the Impacts of Navigational Links, Task Complexity, and Experience with the Older User on Website Usability in a Community College Domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrett, Robin Eileen

    2014-01-01

    Community colleges serve a diverse population of learners including many older students counting on the community college for enhanced skills or personal enrichment. Many of these colleges target this population with programs designed specifically to meet the needs and goals of the older adult but may not consider this population when designing a…

  14. Inferring Smoking Status from User Generated Content in an Online Cessation Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amato, Michael S; Papandonatos, George D; Cha, Sarah; Wang, Xi; Zhao, Kang; Cohn, Amy M; Pearson, Jennifer L; Graham, Amanda L

    2018-01-22

    User generated content (UGC) is a valuable but underutilized source of information about individuals who participate in online cessation interventions. This study represents a first effort to passively detect smoking status among members of an online cessation program using UGC. Secondary data analysis was performed on data from 826 participants in a web-based smoking cessation randomized trial that included an online community. Domain experts from the online community reviewed each post and comment written by participants and attempted to infer the author's smoking status at the time it was written. Inferences from UGC were validated by comparison with self-reported 30-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA). Following validation, the impact of this method was evaluated across all individuals and timepoints in the study period. Of the 826 participants in the analytic sample, 719 had written at least one post from which content inference was possible. Among participants for whom unambiguous smoking status was inferred during the 30 days preceding their 3-month follow-up survey, concordance with self-report was almost perfect (kappa = 0.94). Posts indicating abstinence tended to be written shortly after enrollment (median = 14 days). Passive inference of smoking status from UGC in online cessation communities is possible and highly reliable for smokers who actively produce content. These results lay the groundwork for further development of observational research tools and intervention innovations. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Reducing substance use and risky sexual behaviour among drug users in Durban, South Africa: Assessing the impact of community-level risk-reduction interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parry, C D H; Carney, T; Petersen Williams, P

    2017-12-01

    Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use is increasingly recognised as having a direct and indirect effect on the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, there is evidence to suggest that drug- and sex-related HIV risk-reduction interventions targeted at drug users within drug treatment centres or via community outreach efforts can lead to positive health outcomes. This study aimed to test whether a community-level intervention aimed at AOD users has an impact on risky AOD use and sexual risk behaviour. In 2007, in collaboration with a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Durban, an initiative was begun to implement a number of harm reduction strategies for injection and non-injection drug users. The NGO recruited peer outreach workers who received intensive initial training, which was followed by six-monthly monitoring and evaluation of their performance. Participants had to be 16 years of age or older, and self-reported alcohol and/or drug users. Peer outreach workers completed a face-to-face baseline questionnaire with participants which recorded risk behaviours and a risk-reduction plan was developed with participants which consisted of reducing injection (if applicable) and non-injection drug use and sex-related risks. Other components of the intervention included distribution of condoms, risk-reduction counselling, expanded access to HIV Testing Services, HIV/sexually transmitted infection care and treatment, and referrals to substance abuse treatment and social services. At follow-up, the baseline questionnaire was completed again and participants were also asked the frequency of reducing identified risk behaviours. Baseline information was collected from 138 drug users recruited into the study through community-based outreach, and who were subsequently followed up between 2010 and 2012. No injection drug users were reached. The data presented here are for first contact (baseline) and the final follow-up contact with the participants

  16. From Community to Meta-Community Mental Health Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nick Bouras

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Since the 1960s, we have witnessed the development and growth of community mental health care that continues to dominate mental health policy and practice. Several high-income countries have implemented community mental health care programmes but for many others, including mostly low- and middle-income countries, it remains an aspiration. Although community mental health care has been positive for many service users, it has also had severe shortcomings. Expectations that it would lead to fuller social integration have not been fulfilled and many service users remain secluded in sheltered or custodial environments with limited social contacts and no prospect of work. Others receive little or no service at all. In today’s complex landscape of increasingly specialised services for people with mental health problems, the number of possible interfaces between services is increasing. Together with existing uneven financing systems and a context of constant change, these interfaces are challenging us to develop effective care pathways adjusted to the needs of service users and their carers. This discussion paper reviews the developments in community mental health care over the recent years and puts forward the concept of “Meta-Community Mental Health Care”. “Meta-Community Mental Health Care” embraces pluralism in understanding and treating psychiatric disorders, acknowledges the complexities of community provision, and reflects the realities and needs of the current era of care.

  17. A user's manual to the PMBOK guide

    CERN Document Server

    Stackpole Snyder, Cynthia

    2013-01-01

    The must-have manual to understand and use the latest edition of the Fifth Edition The professional standard in the field of project management, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide-Fifth Edition) published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) serves as the ultimate resource for professionals and as a valuable studying and training device for students taking the PMP® Exam. A User''s Manual to the PMBOK® Guide takes the next logical step to act as a true user''s manual. With an accessible format and easy-to-understand language, it helps to not only distill es

  18. Ill Literates or Illiterates? Investigating the eHealth Literacy of Users of Online Health Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrič, Gregor; Atanasova, Sara; Kamin, Tanja

    2017-10-04

    Electronic health (eHealth) literacy is an important skill that allows patients to navigate intelligibly through the vast, often misleading Web-based world. Although eHealth literacy has been investigated in general and specific demographic populations, it has not yet been analyzed on users of online health communities (OHCs). Evidence shows that OHCs are important Web 2.0 applications for patients for managing their health, but at the same time, warnings have been expressed regarding the quality and relevance of shared information. No studies exist that investigate levels of eHealth literacy among users of OHCs and differences in eHealth literacy between different types of users. The study aimed to investigate eHealth literacy across different types of users of OHCs based on a revised and extended eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS). The study was based on a cross-sectional Web survey on a simple random sample of 15,000 registered users of the most popular general OHC in Slovenia. The final sample comprised 644 users of the studied OHC. An extended eHEALS (eHEALS-E) was tested with factor analytical procedures, whereas user types were identified with a hierarchical clustering algorithm. The research question was analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure and pairwise comparison tests. Factor analysis of the revised and extended eHEALS revealed six dimensions: awareness of sources, recognizing quality and meaning, understanding information, perceived efficiency, validating information, and being smart on the Net. The factor solution demonstrates a good fit to the data (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA]=.059). The most developed dimension of eHEALS-E is awareness of different Internet sources (mean=3.98, standard deviation [SD]=0.61), whereas the least developed is understanding information (mean=3.11, SD=0.75). Clustering resulted in four user types: active help-seekers (48.3%, 311/644), lurkers (31.8%, 205/644), core relational users (16

  19. USERS' PERCEPTION OF LIBRARY USE MALPRACTICES: CASE ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Study recommended adherence to user's opinion and an addition of counseling to users-orientation ... student, lecturers, researchers and other community of scholars. ..... School Library Resources Centres for Educational Excellence. Ibadan:.

  20. The Pros and Cons of Getting Engaged in an Online Social Community Embedded Within Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Survey Among Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulson, Neil S; Smedley, Richard; Bostock, Sophie; Kyle, Simon D; Gollancz, Rosie; Luik, Annemarie I; Hames, Peter; Espie, Colin A

    2016-04-25

    Sleepio is a proven digital sleep improvement program based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Users have the option to join an online community that includes weekly expert discussions, peer-to-peer discussion forums, and personal message walls. The aim of this study was to conduct an online survey to (1) explore the reasons for deciding to engage with the Sleepio online community, (2) explore the potential benefits arising from engagement with the online community, and (3) identify and describe any problematic issues related to use of the online community. We developed an online survey and posted an invitation to the community discussion forum inviting users to participate. In addition, we sent an email invitation to 970 individuals who had previously or were currently working through the Sleepio program to participate in this study. In total, 100 respondents (70/100, 70% female; mean age 51 years, range 26-82 years) completed the online survey. Most respondents had started Sleepio with chronic sleep problems (59/100, 59% up to 10 years; 35/100, 35% >10 years) and had actively engaged with the online community (85/100, 85%) had made a discussion or wall post). At the time of the survey, respondents had used Sleepio for a median of 12 weeks (range from 3 weeks to 2 years). We analyzed responses to the open-ended questions using thematic analysis. This analysis revealed 5 initial drivers for engagement: (1) the desire to connect with people facing similar issues, (2) seeking personalized advice, (3) curiosity, (4) being invited by other members, and (5) wanting to use all available sleep improvement tools. Advantages of engagement included access to continuous support, a reduced sense of isolation, being part of a nonjudgmental community, personalized advice, positive comparisons with others, encouragement to keep going, and altruism. We found 5 potential disadvantages: design and navigation issues, uncertain quality of user-generated content, negative

  1. Technology of serving

    OpenAIRE

    Taskov, Nako

    2013-01-01

    The book “Technology of serving” was prepared according to the curriculum and it is intended for students at the faculty of tourism and business logistics in republic of Macedonia In its contents on the subject of Technology of serving it includes the following - the rooms for serving, the types of catering objects in which food and beverages are served, professional serving staff, equipment and inventory for serving, card selection services in serving .,getting to know drin...

  2. User-Generated Social Media Events in Tourism

    OpenAIRE

    Mariné Roig, Estela; Martín Fuentes, Eva; Daries Ramón, Natalia

    2017-01-01

    Social media and mobile technologies have revolutionised communication and particular attention has been given to user-generated content (UGC) and the formation of online communities; however, little attention has been given to tourist events entirely generated by users through social media. This paper aims to define and characterise the phenomenon of tourism user-generated events (UGEs) through social media around the user's new empowered role and to assess user-generated social media events...

  3. Method of recommending items to a user based on user interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bollen, John; Van De Sompel, Herbert

    2013-11-05

    Although recording of usage data is common in scholarly information services, its exploitation for the creation of value-added services remains limited due to concerns regarding, among others, user privacy, data validity, and the lack of accepted standards for the representation, sharing and aggregation of usage data. A technical, standards-based architecture for sharing usage information is presented. In this architecture, OpenURL-compliant linking servers aggregate usage information of a specific user community as it navigates the distributed information environment that it has access to. This usage information is made OAI-PMH harvestable so that usage information exposed by many linking servers can be aggregated to facilitate the creation of value-added services with a reach beyond that of a single community or a single information service.

  4. [Municipal Health Councils: activity and representation of grassroots communities].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerschman, Silvia

    2004-01-01

    This article was based on the results of research concerning health policy in municipalities that achieved the most extensive development of decentralization and innovation in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The study applied a questionnaire for health system users' representatives in Municipal Health Councils. The central issues were: the Councils' political role; social control by the Councils, viewed as surveillance by organized society over government actions; the nature of social representation exercised by the Council members; and the type of mandate they serve. Community representatives in the Councils reinforce aspects pertaining to the exercise of representation in unequal societies. There is a predominance of a differentiated elite consisting of older males with more schooling and higher income than the community average. The notion of "social control" as the basis for the Councils is difficult for the members to grasp. Exercise of representation is diffuse, occurring by way of designation by community associations, election in assemblies, or designation by institutional health policy agencies.

  5. User-Centered Agile Methods

    CERN Document Server

    Beyer, Hugh

    2010-01-01

    With the introduction and popularization of Agile methods of software development, existing relationships and working agreements between user experience groups and developers are being disrupted. Agile methods introduce new concepts: the Product Owner, the Customer (but not the user), short iterations, User Stories. Where do UX professionals fit in this new world? Agile methods also bring a new mindset -- no big design, no specifications, minimal planning -- which conflict with the needs of UX design. This lecture discusses the key elements of Agile for the UX community and describes strategie

  6. Search-User Interface Design

    CERN Document Server

    Wilson, Max

    2011-01-01

    Search User Interfaces (SUIs) represent the gateway between people who have a task to complete, and the repositories of information and data stored around the world. Not surprisingly, therefore, there are many communities who have a vested interest in the way SUIs are designed. There are people who study how humans search for information, and people who study how humans use computers. There are people who study good user interface design, and people who design aesthetically pleasing user interfaces. There are also people who curate and manage valuable information resources, and people who desi

  7. Forecasting the Commercial Attractiveness of User-Generated Designs Using Online Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Morten Berg; Hienerth, Christoph; Lettl, Christopher

    2014-01-01

    workload in the selection phase by predicting which user-generated designs it would most likely perceive as commercially attractive. Prior research emphasizes that among the vast amount of ideas generated in online user communities, it is the lead users’ ideas that tend to stick out in terms of commercial...... attractiveness. Our paper aims to provide the next step by developing a heuristic for filtering commercially attractive ideas that are generated in online user communities. Therefore, prior lead user research is used as a point of reference for our study. This research stream has produced rich insights......-generated designs. We find an inverted U-shaped relationship between the complexity of a user-generated design and its perceived commercial attractiveness. Furthermore, we find a positive relationship between the positive feedback received by a given user-generated design within the peer community and its perceived...

  8. The HADDOCK2.2 Web Server: User-Friendly Integrative Modeling of Biomolecular Complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Zundert, G C P; Rodrigues, J P G L M; Trellet, M; Schmitz, C; Kastritis, P L; Karaca, E; Melquiond, A S J; van Dijk, M; de Vries, S J; Bonvin, A M J J

    2016-02-22

    The prediction of the quaternary structure of biomolecular macromolecules is of paramount importance for fundamental understanding of cellular processes and drug design. In the era of integrative structural biology, one way of increasing the accuracy of modeling methods used to predict the structure of biomolecular complexes is to include as much experimental or predictive information as possible in the process. This has been at the core of our information-driven docking approach HADDOCK. We present here the updated version 2.2 of the HADDOCK portal, which offers new features such as support for mixed molecule types, additional experimental restraints and improved protocols, all of this in a user-friendly interface. With well over 6000 registered users and 108,000 jobs served, an increasing fraction of which on grid resources, we hope that this timely upgrade will help the community to solve important biological questions and further advance the field. The HADDOCK2.2 Web server is freely accessible to non-profit users at http://haddock.science.uu.nl/services/HADDOCK2.2. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  9. Art engagement and mental health: experiences of service users of a community-based arts programme at Tate Modern, London.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKeown, Eamonn; Weir, Hannele; Berridge, Emma-Jane; Ellis, Liz; Kyratsis, Yiannis

    2016-01-01

    To examine the experiences of mental health service users who took part in an arts-based programme at Tate Modern, a major London art gallery. Exploratory qualitative design. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 mental health service users who had taken part in a community-based programme at Tate Modern. Additionally, six art educators from Tate Modern were interviewed. Concepts that emerged from the text were identified using thematic analysis. All participants valued the gallery-based programme. The three overarching thematic areas were: the symbolic and physical context in which the programme workshops were located; the relational and social context of the programme workshops; and reflections on the relationship between the arts-based programme and subsequent mental health. Art galleries are increasingly seen to function as vehicles for popular education with mental health service users. This study adds to the growing body of evidence related to how mental health service users experience and reflect on arts-related programmes targeted at them. This study indicates that emphasis on how users experience gallery-based programmes may contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between art and mental health. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Multiple-User, Multitasking, Virtual-Memory Computer System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Generazio, Edward R.; Roth, Don J.; Stang, David B.

    1993-01-01

    Computer system designed and programmed to serve multiple users in research laboratory. Provides for computer control and monitoring of laboratory instruments, acquisition and anlaysis of data from those instruments, and interaction with users via remote terminals. System provides fast access to shared central processing units and associated large (from megabytes to gigabytes) memories. Underlying concept of system also applicable to monitoring and control of industrial processes.

  11. Lodge Programs Serving Family Functions for People with Psychiatric Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onaga, Esther E.; McKinney, Kathleen G.; Pfaff, Judy

    2000-01-01

    Interviews were conducted with people affiliated with lodges, a community program for people with psychiatric disabilities, about their perceptions of promising practices. Responses validated the notion that the lodge serves many of the functions of a family. Provides excerpts from interviews to supplement this theme. Discusses implications for…

  12. User-Generated Social Media Events in Tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Estela Marine-Roig

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Social media and mobile technologies have revolutionised communication and particular attention has been given to user-generated content (UGC and the formation of online communities; however, little attention has been given to tourist events entirely generated by users through social media. This paper aims to define and characterise the phenomenon of tourism user-generated events (UGEs through social media around the user’s new empowered role and to assess user-generated social media events’ online socialness. It is also our aim to provide a useful mixed-methodology analysis framework for UGEs in relation to social media and to highlight their interest for organisations. The methodological approach includes a quantitative model to store, analyse and compare events’ online socialness, which is combined with qualitative, participant observation at the events. This approach is applied to the analysis of three Instagram meetups organised by a specific online community at Catalan ski resorts. The paper’s results show the differential characteristic of tourism UGEs: user initiative and empowerment, full organisation and structure, great social media use and UGC production, brand dissemination, attraction capacity, strong online community bond and faithfulness. With UGEs, an event management paradigm shift occurs as organisations are no longer the main initiators and controllers of the event.

  13. HBIM and augmented information: towards a wider user community of image and range-based reconstructions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barazzetti, L.; Banfi, F.; Brumana, R.; Oreni, D.; Previtali, M.; Roncoroni, F.

    2015-08-01

    This paper describes a procedure for the generation of a detailed HBIM which is then turned into a model for mobile apps based on augmented and virtual reality. Starting from laser point clouds, photogrammetric data and additional information, a geometric reconstruction with a high level of detail can be carried out by considering the basic requirements of BIM projects (parametric modelling, object relations, attributes). The work aims at demonstrating that a complex HBIM can be managed in portable devices to extract useful information not only for expert operators, but also towards a wider user community interested in cultural tourism.

  14. HBIM and augmented information: towards a wider user community of image and range-based reconstructions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Barazzetti

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a procedure for the generation of a detailed HBIM which is then turned into a model for mobile apps based on augmented and virtual reality. Starting from laser point clouds, photogrammetric data and additional information, a geometric reconstruction with a high level of detail can be carried out by considering the basic requirements of BIM projects (parametric modelling, object relations, attributes. The work aims at demonstrating that a complex HBIM can be managed in portable devices to extract useful information not only for expert operators, but also towards a wider user community interested in cultural tourism.

  15. IEDA Integrated Services: Improving the User Experience for Interdisciplinary Earth Science Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter-Orlando, M.; Ferrini, V. L.; Lehnert, K.; Carbotte, S. M.; Richard, S. M.; Morton, J. J.; Shane, N.; Ash, J.; Song, L.

    2017-12-01

    The Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA) is an NSF-funded data facility that provides data tools and services to support the Ocean, Earth, and Polar Sciences. IEDA systems, developed and maintained primarily by the IEDA partners EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS), serve as primary community data collections for global geochemistry and marine geoscience research and support the preservation, discovery, retrieval, and analysis of a wide range of observational field and analytical data types. Individual IEDA systems originated independently and differ from one another in purpose and scope. Some IEDA systems are data repositories (EarthChem Library, Marine Geo-Digital Library), while others are actively maintained data syntheses (GMRT, PetDB, EarthChem Portal, Geochron). Still others are data visualization and analysis tools (GeoMapApp). Although the diversity of IEDA's data types, tools, and services is a major strength and of high value to investigators, it can be a source of confusion. And while much of the data managed in IEDA systems is appropriate for interdisciplinary research, investigators may be unfamiliar with the user interfaces and services of each system, especially if it is not in their primary discipline. This presentation will highlight new ways in which IEDA helps researchers to more efficiently navigate data submission and data access. It will also discuss how IEDA promotes discovery and access within and across its systems, to serve interdisciplinary science while also remaining aware of and responsive to the more specific needs of its disciplinary user communities. The IEDA Data Submission Hub (DaSH), which is currently under development, aspires to streamline the submission process for both the science data contributor and for the repository data curator. Instead of users deciding a priori, which system they should contribute their data to, the DaSH helps route them to the appropriate repository based primarily on data

  16. Educating the Music User

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Mark C.

    2016-01-01

    To better serve students' evolving needs in music, music educators must connect classroom learning with how students use and interact with music in their daily lives. One way to accomplish this is by approaching classrooms with the music user in mind, which can open new possibilities for meaningful music making and remove students from the…

  17. The Community Boundary De-paradoxifyed

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita; Salomo, Søren

    2012-01-01

    . In order to improve connections and collaborations across interfaces, it is therefore necessary to improve our understanding of the community boundary construct. Existing studies of community boundaries within the user innovation literature predominantly describe boundaries as incentives for user...

  18. Books, Books, Books--Let Us Read: A Library Serving Sheltered and Incarcerated Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Pam

    1994-01-01

    Describes the growth and development of a library program serving a shelter for abused and neglected children and youth and a juvenile detention center in Orange County (California). Program funding, materials preferred by teen users, library management, special events, and problems are discussed. Teen patrons and their use of the services are…

  19. Community-Based Programming: An Opportunity and Imperative for the Community College.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boone, Edgar J.

    1992-01-01

    Defines community-based programing as a cooperative process in which the community college serves as leader and catalyst in effecting collaboration among community members, leaders, and groups. Recommends 15 tasks for community college leaders involved in community-based programing, including environmental scanning and coalition building. (DMM)

  20. Operating the EOSDIS at the land processes DAAC managing expectations, requirements, and performance across agencies, missions, instruments, systems, and user communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalvelage, T.A.; ,

    2002-01-01

    NASA developed the Earth Observing System (EOS) during the 1990'S. At the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), located at the USGS EROS Data Center, the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is required to support heritage missions as well as Landsat 7, Terra, and Aqua. The original system concept of the early 1990'S changed as each community had its say - first the managers, then engineers, scientists, developers, operators, and then finally the general public. The systems at the LP DAAC - particularly the largest single system, the EOSDIS Core System (ECS) - are changing as experience accumulates, technology changes, and each user group gains influence. The LP DAAC has adapted as contingencies were planned for, requirements and therefore plans were modified, and expectations changed faster than requirements could hope to be satisfied. Although not responsible for Quality Assurance of the science data, the LP DAAC works to ensure the data are accessible and useable by influencing systems, capabilities, and data formats where possible, and providing tools and user support as necessary. While supporting multiple missions and instruments, the LP DAAC also works with and learns from multiple management and oversight groups as they review mission requirements, system capabilities, and the overall operation of the LP DAAC. Stakeholders, including the Land Science community, are consulted regularly to ensure that the LP DAAC remains cognizant and responsive to the evolving needs of the user community. Today, the systems do not look or function as originally planned, but they do work, and they allow customers to search and order of an impressive amount of diverse data.

  1. Editorial: Serving the Optics and Photonics Community for 40 Years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xi-Cheng

    2017-06-01

    Editor-in-Chief Xi-Cheng Zhang celebrates Optics Letters' 40th anniversary by discussing the Journal's success and clarifying an editorial policy that balances the Journal's high standards with the fulfillment of its mission to support the greater optics and photonics community.

  2. Motivations and Paths to Becoming Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Blake

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Drawing upon 15 qualitative interviews with early- to mid-career faculty (seven men and eight women at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs, this study examines the diverse motivations and paths those faculty members have taken to becoming professors at their respective institutions. The faculty come from a range of MSIs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, and Predominantly Black Institutions across the country and represent a broad spectrum of disciplines. This study sheds light on factors that guide their choices of discipline and entrance into the faculty ranks at MSIs. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT was used as a lens during qualitative coding and analysis in order to develop the findings, which reveal that (1 teaching, activism, and community uplift were primary motivators to enter the professoriate; (2 supportive environmental factors, including single individuals, proved pivotal in influencing faculty to take these roles; and (3 career transitions into the academy were spurred by learning experiences that revealed disciplinary and teaching interests. The findings suggest that MSIs attract community-oriented individuals to their faculty positions, and that colleges and universities interested in diversifying their faculties should craft such roles in ways that are appealing to the populations that they are trying to recruit and retain.

  3. Community-Based Study Recruitment of American Indian Cigarette Smokers and Electronic Cigarette Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, Dana Mowls; Brame, Lacy S; Stephens, Lancer D; Wagener, Theodore L; Campbell, Janis E; Beebe, Laura A

    2018-02-01

    Data on the effectiveness of strategies for the recruitment of American Indians (AIs) into research is needed. This study describes and compares methods for identifying and recruiting AI tobacco users into a pilot study. Community-based strategies were used to recruit smokers (n = 35), e-cigarette users (n = 28), and dual users (n = 32) of AI descent. Recruitment was considered proactive if study staff contacted the individual at a pow wow, health fair, or vape shop and participation on-site or reactive if the individual contacted the study staff and participation occurred later. Screened, eligible, participated and costs and time spent were compared with Chi square tests. To understand AI descent, the relationship between number of AI grandparents and AI blood quantum was examined. Number of participants screened via the proactive strategy was similar to the reactive strategy (n = 84 vs. n = 82; p-value = 0.8766). A significantly greater proportion of individuals screened via the proactive than the reactive strategy were eligible (77 vs. 50%; p-value = 0.0002) and participated (75 vs. 39%; p-value = < 0.0001). Per participant cost and time estimated for the proactive strategy was $89 and 87 min compared to $79 and 56 min for the reactive strategy. Proportion at least half AI blood quantum was 32, 33, and 70% among those with 2, 3, and 4 AI grandparents, respectively (p = 0.0017). Proactive strategies resulted in two-thirds of the sample, but required more resources than reactive strategies. Overall, we found both strategies were feasible and resulted in the ability to reach sample goals. Lastly, number of AI biological grandparents may be a good, non-invasive indicator of AI blood quantum.

  4. Demand access communications for TDRSS users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zillig, David; Weinberg, Aaron; Mcomber, Robert

    1994-01-01

    The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) has long been used to provide reliable low and high-data rate relay services between user spacecraft in Earth orbit and the ground. To date, these TDRSS services have been implemented via prior scheduling based upon estimates of user needs and mission event timelines. While this approach may be necessary for large users that require greater amounts of TDRSS resources, TDRSS can potentially offer the planned community of smaller science missions (e.g., the small explorer missions), and other emerging users, the unique opportunity for services on demand. In particular, innovative application of the existing TDRSS Multiple Access (MA) subsystem, with its phased array antenna, could be used to implement true demand access services without modification to either the TDRSS satellites or the user transponder, thereby introducing operational and performance benefits to both the user community and the Space Network. In this paper, candidate implementations of demand access service via the TDRSS MA subsystem are examined in detail. Both forward and return link services are addressed and a combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments are provided. The paper also identifies further areas for investigation in this ongoing activity that is being conducted by GSFC/Code 531 under the NASA Code O Advanced Systems Program.

  5. Depicted serving size: cereal packaging pictures exaggerate serving sizes and promote overserving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tal, Aner; Niemann, Stina; Wansink, Brian

    2017-02-06

    Extensive work has focused on the effects of nutrition label information on consumer behavior on the one hand, and on the effects of packaging graphics on the other hand. However, little work has examined how serving suggestion depictions - graphics relating to serving size - influence the quantity consumers serve themselves. The current work examines the prevalence of exaggerated serving size depictions on product packaging (study 1) and its effects on food serving in the context of cereal (study 2). Study 1 was an observational field survey of cereal packaging. Study 2 was a mixed experimental cross-sectional design conducted at a U.S. university, with 51 student participants. Study 1 coded 158 US breakfast cereals and compared the serving sizes depicted on the front of the box with the suggested serving size stated on the nutrition facts panel. Study 2 measured the amount of cereal poured from exaggerated or accurate serving size depictions. Study 1 compared average servings via t-tests. Study 2 used a mixed model with cereal type as the repeated measure and a compound symmetry covariance matrix. Study 1 demonstrated that portion size depictions on the front of 158 cereal boxes were 65.84% larger (221 vs. 134 calories) than the recommended portions on nutrition facts panels of those cereals. Study 2 showed that boxes that depicted exaggerated serving sizes led people to pour 20% more cereal compared to pouring from modified boxes that depicted a single-size portion of cereal matching suggested serving size. This was 45% over the suggested serving size. Biases in depicted serving size depicted on cereal packaging are prevalent in the marketplace. Such biases may lead to overserving, which may consequently lead to overeating. Companies should depict the recommended serving sizes, or otherwise indicate that the depicted portion represents an exaggerated serving size.

  6. Depicted serving size: cereal packaging pictures exaggerate serving sizes and promote overserving

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aner Tal

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Extensive work has focused on the effects of nutrition label information on consumer behavior on the one hand, and on the effects of packaging graphics on the other hand. However, little work has examined how serving suggestion depictions - graphics relating to serving size - influence the quantity consumers serve themselves. The current work examines the prevalence of exaggerated serving size depictions on product packaging (study 1 and its effects on food serving in the context of cereal (study 2. Methods Study 1 was an observational field survey of cereal packaging. Study 2 was a mixed experimental cross-sectional design conducted at a U.S. university, with 51 student participants. Study 1 coded 158 US breakfast cereals and compared the serving sizes depicted on the front of the box with the suggested serving size stated on the nutrition facts panel. Study 2 measured the amount of cereal poured from exaggerated or accurate serving size depictions. Study 1 compared average servings via t-tests. Study 2 used a mixed model with cereal type as the repeated measure and a compound symmetry covariance matrix. Results Study 1 demonstrated that portion size depictions on the front of 158 cereal boxes were 64.7% larger (221 vs. 134 calories than the recommended portions on nutrition facts panels of those cereals. Study 2 showed that boxes that depicted exaggerated serving sizes led people to pour 17.8% more cereal compared to pouring from modified boxes that depicted a single-size portion of cereal matching suggested serving size. This was 42% over the suggested serving size. Conclusions Biases in depicted serving size depicted on cereal packaging are prevalent in the marketplace. Such biases may lead to overserving, which may consequently lead to overeating. Companies should depict the recommended serving sizes, or otherwise indicate that the depicted portion represents an exaggerated serving size.

  7. Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions: The Motivations and Challenges behind Seeking a Federal Designation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Julie J.; Chang, Mitchell J.

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the development of legislation to create a Minority Serving Institution federal designation for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) serving institutions. Specifically, the article draws from interviews with nineteen policy makers, congressional staffers, and community advocates in order to address their motivations for…

  8. Libraries serving dialogue

    CERN Document Server

    Dupont, Odile

    2014-01-01

    This book based on experiences of libraries serving interreligious dialogue, presents themes like library tools serving dialogue between cultures, collections dialoguing, children and young adults dialoguing beyond borders, story telling as dialog, librarians serving interreligious dialogue.

  9. Servicom in the user services of federal univerisyt of technology ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... using counting, tables and simple percentages. Finally, the conclusion and recommendations on how best to serve her users, for example by commending the automation and provision of Internet services and urging them to go on and automate all her services. Key words: SERVICOM, User, Services, Univeristy, Library ...

  10. Multicultural Milky Way: Ethnoastronomy and Planetarium Shows for Under-served Arizonans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knierman, Karen

    2018-01-01

    The astronomy outreach initiative, Multicultural Milky Way, partners the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) at Arizona State University (ASU) with under-served populations in Arizona in learning about our Milky Way and other galaxies. Arizona is home to many diverse populations with rich cultural histories such as Mayan, Navajo, and Apache. Linking astronomy practiced by one’s indigenous culture to that of Western astronomy may increase the interest in science. Through multicultural planetarium shows and associated hands-on activities, under-served students and families will learn how the Milky Way is represented in different cultures and about the science of galaxies. New planetarium shows using the Mesa Community College (MCC) Digital Planetarium and STARLAB portable planetarium explore how the Milky Way is interpreted in different cultures. STARLAB shows and associated new hands-on activities have been featured during school visits, teacher trainings, and Community Astronomy Nights around Arizona. For authentic assessment, evaluation techniques and procedures were developed.

  11. The online age and the agricultural user education

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yousif-Aballi, A F [Scientific Research Council, Baghdad (Iraq). Scientific Affairs Office

    1990-05-01

    Accelerated developments in the computer and telecommunication technologies have been well exploited in production and provision of information to meet needs of different groups of agricultural user population; however, in developing countries topmost computerized agricultural scientific and technical services available serve groups who by profession are scientists and academics. User education became of crucial importance for optimum utilization of information. General user educational requirement, particular user response and problems, information resources, services, and available facilities were taken into consideration in designing an information service training course for agricultural researchers, a detailed outline of the course is given in this paper as well as trainees and trainers evaluation. (author). 6 refs.

  12. The online age and the agricultural user education

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yousif-Aballi, A.F.

    1990-05-01

    Accelerated developments in the computer and telecommunication technologies have been well exploited in production and provision of information to meet needs of different groups of agricultural user population; however, in developing countries topmost computerized agricultural scientific and technical services available serve groups who by profession are scientists and academics. User education became of crucial importance for optimum utilization of information. General user educational requirement, particular user response and problems, information resources, services, and available facilities were taken into consideration in designing an information service training course for agricultural researchers, a detailed outline of the course is given in this paper as well as trainees and trainers evaluation. (author). 6 refs

  13. Making the Invisible Visible: Personas and Mental Models of Distance Education Library Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Cynthia; Contrino, Jacline

    2016-01-01

    Gaps between users' and designers' mental models of digital libraries often result in adverse user experiences. This article details an exploratory user research study at a large, predominantly online university serving non-traditional distance education students with the goal of understanding these gaps. Using qualitative data, librarians created…

  14. Self-reported osteoporosis prevention in inhaled corticosteroid users in community pharmacy setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valerie Chan

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The use of inhaled corticosteroids is the standard maintenance therapy in asthma therapy and as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A dose-related increase in fracture risk is associated with inhaled corticosteroid use; there is an inverse relationship between bone mineral density and duration and cumulative dose of inhaled corticosteroid. Adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D are cornerstones of osteoporosis prevention. The objectives are to assess whether the proportion of patients receiving inhaled corticosteroids are taking calcium and vitamin D; the association between long-term inhaled corticosteroid use and abnormal bone mineral density or fractures; and how many qualified patients received bone mineral density scans. Methods: Patients who filled a prescription for inhaled corticosteroids at selected community pharmacies across Alberta were recruited for a survey of their osteoporosis prevention activities. Results: A total of 256 patients from 12 community pharmacies were included. The average age was 60 ± 17.4 years with 65% female. There were 21%, 51%, and 28% of patients on high, medium, and low dose inhaled corticosteroids, respectively. Only 17% of patients >50 years old received recommended calcium and vitamin D supplementation and 87 (73% of the qualified patients received bone mineral density scan. Conclusion: Osteoporosis prevention in inhaled corticosteroid users is currently poorly addressed. More promotion is needed to raise pharmacist awareness of the risks of inhaled corticosteroids.

  15. The use of Photovoice to document and characterize the food security of users of community food programs in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lardeau, M-P; Healey, G; Ford, J

    2011-01-01

    Food insecurity is a chronic problem affecting Inuit communities. The most comprehensive assessment of Inuit food security to-date, the Inuit Health Survey, reported that 70% of Inuit pre-school children lived in 'food insecure' households. Food banks and soup kitchens are relatively new in the Arctic but the number of users is increasing. Little is known about the experience and determinants of food insecurity among food program users who are often among the most marginalized (socially and economically) in communities. The use of participatory research methods when working in the north of Canada can promote meaningful knowledge exchange with community members and this approach was used in the present 'Photovoice' research. Photovoice uses photography to develop a baseline understanding of an issue, in this case the experience and determinants of food insecurity among users of community food programs in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The target population includes those who face significant social and economic marginalization, an often neglected group in Arctic food systems research. Eight regular users of food programs were recruited and engaged in a Photovoice research project to document factors determining their daily food consumption. The research method was introduced in workshops and discussion included the ethical concerns related to photography and how to take pictures. Participants were supplied with digital cameras, and asked to answer the following question using photography: 'What aspects of your everyday life affect what you eat and how much you have to eat?'. In the final workshop, photographs were discussed among the group and participants identified key themes in the photographs, offering an understanding of food insecurity from their perspectives. The group then discussed what should be done with the knowledge gained. Factors improving food security were the customary systems for sharing 'country food', and the presence of social support networks in the

  16. Potential Roles of Mhealth for Community Health Workers: Formative Research With End Users in Uganda and Mozambique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thondoo, Meelan; Strachan, Daniel Ll; Nakirunda, Maureen; Ndima, Sozinho; Muiambo, Abel; Källander, Karin; Hill, Zelee

    2015-07-23

    Community health workers are reemerging as an essential component of health systems in low-income countries. However, there are concerns that unless they are adequately supported, their motivation and performance will be suboptimal. mHealth presents an opportunity to improve support for community health workers; however, most interventions to date have been designed through a top-down approach, rarely involve the end user, and have not focused on motivation. To use formative research to explore the views of community health workers in Uganda and Mozambique on the potential role of mHealth in their work delivering integrated community case management of children. We conducted 24 in-depth interviews and 5 focus group discussions with community health workers in Uganda and Mozambique. Data were collected on: current phone use, preferred phone and charger characteristics, and perceptions of a range of potential mHealth interventions. Interviews were conducted in the local language, were audio recorded and converted into expanded notes. Interviews were coded for key thematic areas using both deductive and inductive codes. Deductive codes included mHealth's potential impact on motivation and performance. The most salient roles of mHealth in improving performance and motivation were reducing the need for travel, improving efficiency and planning, receiving feedback and information, and improving communication with supervisors and other community health workers. This was mostly through improved voice and short message service (SMS) text communication. Specific components of mHealth interventions that participants felt could improve motivation included increasing their visibility and credibility through branding of phones; providing an SMS response to data submission; and sending SMS messages about the importance of their work and achievements, rather than just reminders or technical messages. Participants identified feasibility issues related to the language of SMS

  17. User Multiplexing in Relay Enhanced LTE-Advanced Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teyeb, Oumer Mohammed; Frederiksen, Frank; Redana, Simone

    2010-01-01

    is radio relaying. This uses relay nodes that act as surrogate base stations for mobile users whose radio links with the base stations are not experiencing good enough conditions. In the downlink, the data that is destined for the relayed users may first have to be multiplexed by the base station, sent...... over the wireless backhaul link towards the relay node, and de-multiplexed and forwarded to the individual users by the relay node. The reverse process also has to be undertaken in the uplink. In this paper, we present a novel multiplexing scheme which is able to adapt the addressing and bitmapping...... of user identification to the actual number of users being served by the relay nodes, and thus greatly reduce the multiplexing overhead....

  18. Predicting Volleyball Serve-Reception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paulo, Ana; Zaal, Frank T J M; Fonseca, Sofia; Araujo, Duarte

    2016-01-01

    Serve and serve-reception performance have predicted success in volleyball. Given the impact of serve-reception on the game, we aimed at understanding what it is in the serve and receiver's actions that determines the selection of the type of pass used in serve-reception and its efficacy. Four

  19. Hearing aid user guides: suitability for older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caposecco, Andrea; Hickson, Louise; Meyer, Carly

    2014-02-01

    The aim of this study was to analyse the content, design, and readability of printed hearing aid user guides to determine their suitability for older adults, who are the main users of hearing aids. Hearing aid user guides were assessed using four readability formulae and a standardized tool to assess content and design (SAM - Suitability Assessment of Materials). A sample of 36 hearing aid user guides (four user guides from nine different hearing aid manufacturers) were analysed. Sixty nine percent of user guides were rated 'not suitable' and 31% were rated 'adequate' for their suitability. Many scored poorly for scope, vocabulary, aspects of layout and typography, and learning stimulation and motivation. The mean reading grade level for all user guides was grade 9.6 which is too high for older adults. The content, design, and readability of hearing aid user guides are not optimal for older adults and thus may serve as a barrier to successful hearing aid outcomes for this population.

  20. Grid Service for User-Centric Job

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lauret, Jerome

    2009-07-31

    The User Centric Monitoring (UCM) project was aimed at developing a toolkit that provides the Virtual Organization (VO) with tools to build systems that serve a rich set of intuitive job and application monitoring information to the VO’s scientists so that they can be more productive. The tools help collect and serve the status and error information through a Web interface. The proposed UCM toolkit is composed of a set of library functions, a database schema, and a Web portal that will collect and filter available job monitoring information from various resources and present it to users in a user-centric view rather than and administrative-centric point of view. The goal is to create a set of tools that can be used to augment grid job scheduling systems, meta-schedulers, applications, and script sets in order to provide the UCM information. The system provides various levels of an application programming interface that is useful through out the Grid environment and at the application level for logging messages, which are combined with the other user-centric monitoring information in a abstracted “data store”. A planned monitoring portal will also dynamically present the information to users in their web browser in a secure manor, which is also easily integrated into any JSR-compliant portal deployment that a VO might employ. The UCM is meant to be flexible and modular in the ways that it can be adopted to give the VO many choices to build a solution that works for them with special attention to the smaller VOs that do not have the resources to implement home-grown solutions.

  1. NASA EOSDIS Enabling Science by Improving User Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, F. E.; Brennan, J.; Blumenfeld, J.

    2016-12-01

    NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has been a central component of the NASA Earth observation program since the 1990's. The data collected by NASA's remote sensing instruments, airborne platforms and field campaigns represent a significant public investment in Earth science research. EOSDIS provides free and open access of these data to a diverse end-user community worldwide. Over time the EOSDIS data user community has grown substantially in both number and in the diversity of their needs. Commensurate with this growth, there also have been substantial changes in internet-based technologies and the expectation of users demanding more sophisticated EOSDIS information products describing, highlighting and providing insight to our vast data collections. To meet these increased expectations and to more fully engage our users, EOSDIS is evolving our use of traditional forms of purely static methods of public engagement such as stand-alone text and imagery toward more immersive and interactive forms of communications. This paper highlights and elucidates the methods and forms used by EOSDIS in this emerging world of dynamic and interactive media. Lessons learned and the impacts of applying these newer methods are explained and include several examples from our current efforts. These examples include interactive, on-line webinars focusing on data discovery and access (including tool usage), informal and informative `data chats' with data experts across our EOSDIS community, and profiles of scientists, researchers, and managers actively using EOSDIS data. Our efforts also include improved conference and meeting interactions with data users through the ability to use EOSDIS data interactively during hyperwall talks and the EOSDIS Worldview data visualization and exploration client. The suite of internet-based, interactive capabilities and technologies has allowed EOSDIS to expand our user community by making the data and applications from

  2. WFIRST: User and mission support at ISOC - IPAC Science Operations Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akeson, Rachel; Armus, Lee; Bennett, Lee; Colbert, James; Helou, George; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Laine, Seppo; Meshkat, Tiffany; Paladini, Roberta; Ramirez, Solange; Wang, Yun; Xie, Joan; Yan, Lin

    2018-01-01

    The science center for WFIRST is distributed between the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). The main functions of the IPAC Science Operations Center (ISOC) are:* Conduct the GO, archival and theory proposal submission and evaluation process* Support the coronagraph instrument, including observation planning, calibration and data processing pipeline, generation of data products, and user support* Microlensing survey data processing pipeline, generation of data products, and user support* Community engagement including conferences, workshops and general support of the WFIRST exoplanet communityWe will describe the components planned to support these functions and the community of WFIRST users.

  3. EPRINT ARCHIVE USER SURVEY

    CERN Multimedia

    2001-01-01

    University of Southampton invites the CERN community to participate in a survey Professor Stevan Harnad is conducting on current users and non-users of Eprint Archives. http://www.eprints.org/survey/ The findings will be used to suggest potential enhancements of the services as well as to get a deeper understanding of the very rapid developments in the on-line dissemination and use of scientific and scholarly research. (The survey is anonymous. Revealing your identity is optional and it will be kept confidential.)

  4. Rooftop Unit Comparison Calculator User Manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, James D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2015-04-30

    This document serves as a user manual for the Packaged rooftop air conditioners and heat pump units comparison calculator (RTUCC) and is an aggregation of the calculator’s website documentation. Content ranges from new-user guide material like the “Quick Start” to the more technical/algorithmic descriptions of the “Methods Pages.” There is also a section listing all the context-help topics that support the features on the “Controls” page. The appendix has a discussion of the EnergyPlus runs that supported the development of the building-response models.

  5. Earth Science Informatics Community Requirements for Improving Sustainable Science Software Practices: User Perspectives and Implications for Organizational Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downs, R. R.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Robinson, E.

    2014-12-01

    Science software is integral to the scientific process and must be developed and managed in a sustainable manner to ensure future access to scientific data and related resources. Organizations that are part of the scientific enterprise, as well as members of the scientific community who work within these entities, can contribute to the sustainability of science software and to practices that improve scientific community capabilities for science software sustainability. As science becomes increasingly digital and therefore, dependent on software, improving community practices for sustainable science software will contribute to the sustainability of science. Members of the Earth science informatics community, including scientific data producers and distributers, end-user scientists, system and application developers, and data center managers, use science software regularly and face the challenges and the opportunities that science software presents for the sustainability of science. To gain insight on practices needed for the sustainability of science software from the science software experiences of the Earth science informatics community, an interdisciplinary group of 300 community members were asked to engage in simultaneous roundtable discussions and report on their answers to questions about the requirements for improving scientific software sustainability. This paper will present an analysis of the issues reported and the conclusions offered by the participants. These results provide perspectives for science software sustainability practices and have implications for actions that organizations and their leadership can initiate to improve the sustainability of science software.

  6. Conceptions of end users in current smart grid research and opportunities for further social scientific research on users in smart grids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Lars Ege

    of existing knowledge and seeing new possibilities for social scientific research where knowledge gaps appear. Different user representations and user roles are found through a content analysis of project related documents from a selection of European and North American smart grid projects. It is argued......Many resources have been put into preparing our energy provision systems for a future with more distributed and intermittent energy production. Especially in Europe and the US a large amount of public research funds has gone to the research field of smart grids. Within policy communities and smart...... grid research communities there is a consensus that a changed user-system relation where users become sensitive to system level constraints is a key element of smart grids. However, the way this sensitivity is conceptualized and the nature of claims differs from one project to the other and sometimes...

  7. Managing Dynamic User Communities in a Grid of Autonomous Resources

    CERN Document Server

    Alfieri, R; Gianoli, A; Spataro, F; Ciaschini, Vincenzo; dell'Agnello, L; Bonnassieux, F; Broadfoot, P; Lowe, G; Cornwall, L; Jensen, J; Kelsey, D; Frohner, A; Groep, DL; Som de Cerff, W; Steenbakkers, M; Venekamp, G; Kouril, D; McNab, A; Mulmo, O; Silander, M; Hahkala, J; Lhorentey, K

    2003-01-01

    One of the fundamental concepts in Grid computing is the creation of Virtual Organizations (VO's): a set of resource consumers and providers that join forces to solve a common problem. Typical examples of Virtual Organizations include collaborations formed around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments. To date, Grid computing has been applied on a relatively small scale, linking dozens of users to a dozen resources, and management of these VO's was a largely manual operation. With the advance of large collaboration, linking more than 10000 users with a 1000 sites in 150 counties, a comprehensive, automated management system is required. It should be simple enough not to deter users, while at the same time ensuring local site autonomy. The VO Management Service (VOMS), developed by the EU DataGrid and DataTAG projects[1, 2], is a secured system for managing authorization for users and resources in virtual organizations. It extends the existing Grid Security Infrastructure[3] architecture with embedded VO ...

  8. A new facility to serve the neutrino community

    CERN Multimedia

    Antonella Del Rosso

    2014-01-01

    Following the recommendations of the European Strategy document, CERN is setting up a programme to fulfill the needs of neutrino detector R&D. In the framework of this programme, a new neutrino platform will be brought to light in the North Area in 2016 and the ICARUS neutrino detector is heading to CERN this week to be refurbished and upgraded.   The first ICARUS TPC arrived at CERN on 1 December and is now being housed in a CERN clean room.  CERN’s vocation is to provide particle physicists with state-of-the-art technical facilities and the new CERN neutrino platform will be no exception. “The new platform will allow the large community of neutrino experts to develop their R&D programmes here at CERN, in preparation for their participation in the large neutrino experiments that will be carried out world-wide,” explains Sergio Bertolucci, CERN’s Director of Research and Computing. “CERN’s goal is to assist and fos...

  9. agriGO v2.0: a GO analysis toolkit for the agricultural community, 2017 update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Tian; Liu, Yue; Yan, Hengyu; You, Qi; Yi, Xin; Du, Zhou; Xu, Wenying; Su, Zhen

    2017-07-03

    The agriGO platform, which has been serving the scientific community for >10 years, specifically focuses on gene ontology (GO) enrichment analyses of plant and agricultural species. We continuously maintain and update the databases and accommodate the various requests of our global users. Here, we present our updated agriGO that has a largely expanded number of supporting species (394) and datatypes (865). In addition, a larger number of species have been classified into groups covering crops, vegetables, fish, birds and insects closely related to the agricultural community. We further improved the computational efficiency, including the batch analysis and P-value distribution (PVD), and the user-friendliness of the web pages. More visualization features were added to the platform, including SEACOMPARE (cross comparison of singular enrichment analysis), direct acyclic graph (DAG) and Scatter Plots, which can be merged by choosing any significant GO term. The updated platform agriGO v2.0 is now publicly accessible at http://systemsbiology.cau.edu.cn/agriGOv2/. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  10. User engineering: A new look at system engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mclaughlin, Larry L.

    1987-01-01

    User Engineering is a new System Engineering perspective responsible for defining and maintaining the user view of the system. Its elements are a process to guide the project and customer, a multidisciplinary team including hard and soft sciences, rapid prototyping tools to build user interfaces quickly and modify them frequently at low cost, and a prototyping center for involving users and designers in an iterative way. The main consideration is reducing the risk that the end user will not or cannot effectively use the system. The process begins with user analysis to produce cognitive and work style models, and task analysis to produce user work functions and scenarios. These become major drivers of the human computer interface design which is presented and reviewed as an interactive prototype by users. Feedback is rapid and productive, and user effectiveness can be measured and observed before the system is built and fielded. Requirements are derived via the prototype and baselined early to serve as an input to the architecture and software design.

  11. NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS): A U.S. Network of Data Centers Serving Earth Science Data: A Network Member of ICSU WDS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnke, Jeanne; Ramapriyan, H. K. " Rama"

    2016-01-01

    NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has been in operation since August 1994, and serving a diverse user community around the world with Earth science data from satellites, aircraft, field campaigns and research investigations. The ESDIS Project, responsible for EOSDIS is a Network Member of the International Council for Sciences (ICSU) World Data System (WDS). Nine of the 12 Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), which are part of EOSDIS, are Regular Members of the ICSUWDS. This poster presents the EOSDIS mission objectives, key characteristics of the DAACs that make them world class Earth science data centers, successes, challenges and best practices of EOSDIS focusing on the years 2014-2016, and illustrates some highlights of accomplishments of EOSDIS. The highlights include: high customer satisfaction, growing archive and distribution volumes, exponential growth in number of products distributed to users around the world, unified metadata model and common metadata repository, flexibility provided to uses by supporting data transformations to suit their applications, near-real-time capabilities to support various operational and research applications, and full resolution image browse capabilities to help users select data of interest. The poster also illustrates how the ESDIS Project is actively involved in several US and international data system organizations.

  12. Addiction and treatment experiences among active methamphetamine users recruited from a township community in Cape Town, South Africa: A mixed-methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meade, Christina S; Towe, Sheri L; Watt, Melissa H; Lion, Ryan R; Myers, Bronwyn; Skinner, Donald; Kimani, Stephen; Pieterse, Desiree

    2015-07-01

    Since 2000, there has been a dramatic increase in methamphetamine use in South Africa, but little is known about the experiences of out-of-treatment users. This mixed-methods study describes the substance use histories, addiction symptoms, and treatment experiences of a community-recruited sample of methamphetamine users in Cape Town. Using respondent driven sampling, 360 methamphetamine users (44% female) completed structured clinical interviews to assess substance abuse and treatment history and computerized surveys to assess drug-related risks. A sub-sample of 30 participants completed in-depth interviews to qualitatively explore experiences with methamphetamine use and drug treatment. Participants had used methamphetamine for an average of 7.06 years (SD=3.64). They reported using methamphetamine on an average of 23.49 of the past 30 days (SD=8.90); 60% used daily. The majority (90%) met ICD-10 criteria for dependence, and many reported severe social, financial, and legal consequences. While only 10% had ever received drug treatment, 90% reported that they wanted treatment. In the qualitative interviews, participants reported multiple barriers to treatment, including beliefs that treatment is ineffective and relapse is inevitable in their social context. They also identified important motivators, including desires to be drug free and improve family functioning. This study yields valuable information to more effectively respond to emerging methamphetamine epidemics in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. Interventions to increase uptake of evidence-based services must actively seek out drug users and build motivation for treatment, and offer continuing care services to prevent relapse. Community education campaigns are also needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. E-ServEval: a system for quality evaluation of the on-line public services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru BALOG

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the objectives, the general architecture and the components of the web-based system for quality evaluation of the on-line public services developed using the framework of the complex research project “System for quality evaluation of the on-line public services for citizens and business environment (e-ServEval”. The paper also presents the technological options regarding the design and development of the system, the functions of the components and the aspects regarding the interface between user and e-ServEval system. Finally, the stage of the project and the conclusions are presented.

  14. Remote community electrification program - small wind integration in BC's offgrid communities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lafaille, Julien [BC Hydro (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    The paper presents the Remote Community Electrification (RCE) program and wind integration in BC's off grid communities. The program offers electric utility service to eligible remote communities in BC. Most of them are offered off-grid services although it is cheaper to connect a community to a grid. BC hydro serves some communities that are not connected to the main grid. Local diesel or small hydro-generating stations are used to serve remote communities. The renewable energy program target is to reach 50% of remote communities. The reason that wind is a small part of the renewables is that hydro and biomass are abundant in BC. Some other barriers include high installation costs, durability concerns, and lack of in-house technical expertise. Some small Wind initiatives that have been taken were relatively few and fairly small. It can be concluded that due to a poor wind resource and the relatively low cost of diesel, there is limited potential for wind in BC remote communities.

  15. Analyzing User Activities, Demographics, Social Network Structure and User-Generated Content on Instagram

    OpenAIRE

    Manikonda, Lydia; Hu, Yuheng; Kambhampati, Subbarao

    2014-01-01

    Instagram is a relatively new form of communication where users can instantly share their current status by taking pictures and tweaking them using filters. It has seen a rapid growth in the number of users as well as uploads since it was launched in October 2010. Inspite of the fact that it is the most popular photo sharing application, it has attracted relatively less attention from the web and social media research community. In this paper, we present a large-scale quantitative analysis on...

  16. Developing a Framework and Implementing User-Driven Innovation in Supply and Value Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Alexia; Lassen, Astrid Heidemann; Wandahl, Søren

    2011-01-01

    This paper serves to create a framework for and, subsequently, implementing user-driven innovation in a construction material industry network. The research has its outset in Project InnoDoors that consists of a Danish university and a construction material network. The framework and the implemen......This paper serves to create a framework for and, subsequently, implementing user-driven innovation in a construction material industry network. The research has its outset in Project InnoDoors that consists of a Danish university and a construction material network. The framework...

  17. A Community-based Partnership for a Sustainable GNSS Geodetic Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dokka, R. K.

    2009-12-01

    data to multiple user communities, supports National Spatial Reference System needs through NGS CORS, and serves the private sector by helping to make it become more profitable. The private sector participates through direct support that sustains operations, but most importantly by raising awareness among policy makers and federal and state appropriators.

  18. Important wheelchair skills for new manual wheelchair users: health care professional and wheelchair user perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Kerri A; Engsberg, Jack R; Gray, David B

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this project was to identify wheelchair skills currently being taught to new manual wheelchair users, identify areas of importance for manual wheelchair skills' training during initial rehabilitation, identify similarities and differences between the perspectives of health care professionals and manual wheelchair users and use the ICF to organize themes related to rehabilitation and learning how to use a manual wheelchair. Focus groups were conducted with health care professionals and experienced manual wheelchair users. ICF codes were used to identify focus group themes. The Activities and Participation codes were more frequently used than Structure, Function and Environment codes. Wheelchair skills identified as important for new manual wheelchair users included propulsion techniques, transfers in an out of the wheelchair, providing maintenance to the wheelchair and navigating barriers such as curbs, ramps and rough terrain. Health care professionals and manual wheelchair users identified the need to incorporate the environment (home and community) into the wheelchair training program. Identifying essential components for training the proper propulsion mechanics and wheelchair skills in new manual wheelchair users is an important step in preventing future health and participation restrictions. Implications for Rehabilitation Wheelchair skills are being addressed frequently during rehabilitation at the activity-dependent level. Propulsion techniques, transfers in an out of the wheelchair, providing maintenance to the wheelchair and navigating barriers such as curbs, ramps and rough terrain are important skills to address during wheelchair training. Environment factors (in the home and community) are important to incorporate into wheelchair training to maximize safe and multiple-environmental-setting uses of manual wheelchairs. The ICF has application to understanding manual wheelchair rehabilitation for wheelchair users and therapists for improving

  19. Pseudo-single-bunch mode for a 100 MHz storage ring serving soft X-ray timing experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsson, T.; Leemann, S. C.; Georgiev, G.; Paraskaki, G.

    2018-06-01

    At many storage rings for synchrotron light production there is demand for serving both high-flux and timing users simultaneously. Today this is most commonly achieved by operating inhomogeneous fill patterns, but this is not preferable for rings that employ passive harmonic cavities to damp instabilities and increase Touschek lifetime. For these rings, inhomogeneous fill patterns could severely reduce the effect of the harmonic cavities. It is therefore of interest to develop methods to serve high-flux and timing users simultaneously without requiring gaps in the fill pattern. One such method is pseudo-single-bunch (PSB), where one bunch in the bunch train is kicked onto another orbit by a fast stripline kicker. The light emitted from the kicked bunch can then be separated by an aperture in the beamline. Due to recent developments in fast kicker design, PSB operation in multibunch mode is within reach for rings that operate with a 100 MHz RF system, such as the MAX IV and Solaris storage rings. This paper describes machine requirements and resulting performance for such a mode at the MAX IV 1.5 GeV storage ring. A solution for serving all beamlines is discussed as well as the consequences of beamline design and operation in the soft X-ray energy range.

  20. Exploring the Therapeutic Affordances of Self-Harm Online Support Communities: An Online Survey of Members

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullock, Emma

    2017-01-01

    Background A growing number of online communities have been established to support those who self-harm. However, little is known about the therapeutic affordances arising from engagement with these communities and resulting outcomes. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the presence of therapeutic affordances as reported by members of self-harm online support communities. Methods In total, 94 respondents (aged 13-63 years, mean=23.5 years; 94% female) completed an online survey exploring their experiences of engaging with a self-harm online support community. Respondents varied in terms of how long they had been accessing an online community, with 22% (21/94) accessing less than 1 year, 39% (37/94) 1 to 2 years, 14% (13/94) 2 to 3 years, and 24.5% (23/94) more than 3 years. Responses were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Results The results of our analysis describe each of the five therapeutic affordances that were present in the data, namely (1) connection, the ability to make contact with others who self-harm for the purposes of mutual support and in so doing reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation; (2) adaptation, that is, how use of online support varies in relation to the personal circumstances of the individual user; (3) exploration, that is, the ability to learn about self-harm and learn about strategies to reduce or stop self-harming behavior; (4) narration, that is, the ability to share experiences, as well as read about the experiences of others; and (5) self-presentation, that is, how and what users present about themselves to others in the online community. Conclusions Our findings suggest that engagement with self-harm online support communities may confer a range of therapeutic benefits for some users, which may serve to minimize the psychosocial burden of self-harm and promote positive coping strategies. In addition, the online nature of the support available may be helpful to those who are unable to access face

  1. Partnership selection and formation: a case study of developing adolescent health community-researcher partnerships in fifteen U.S. communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straub, Diane M; Deeds, Bethany Griffin; Willard, Nancy; Castor, Judith; Peralta, Ligia; Francisco, Vincent T; Ellen, Jonathan

    2007-06-01

    This study describes the partner selection process in 15 U.S. communities developing community-researcher partnerships for the Connect to Protect (C2P): Partnerships for Youth Prevention Interventions, an initiative of the Adolescent Trials Network for human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) Interventions. Each site generated an epidemiological profile of urban youth in their community, selected a focus population and geographic area of youth at risk for HIV, conducted a series of successive structured interviews, and engaged in a process of relationship-building efforts culminating in a collaborative network of community agencies. Sites chose as their primary target population young women who have sex with men (n = 8 sites), young men who have sex with men (n = 6), and intravenous drug users (n = 1). Of 1162 agencies initially interviewed, 281 of 335 approached (84%) agreed to join the partnership (average 19/site). A diverse array of community agencies were represented in the final collaborative network; specific characteristics included: 93% served the sites' target population, 54% were predominantly youth oriented, 59% were located in the geographical area of focus, and 39% reported provision of HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infection) prevention services. Relationship-building activities, development of collaborative relationships, and lessons learned, including barriers and facilitators to partnership, are also described. Study findings address a major gap in the community partner research literature. Health researchers and policymakers need an effective partner selection framework whereby community-researcher partnerships can develop a solid foundation to address public health concerns.

  2. Diagnosis of energy-management-system user complaints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyfantis, J.

    There are a number of problems that require the joint effort of both users and vendors to resolve. User education is the pivotal factor, but only if the vendor community exercises self-restraint, and possibly self-regulation. In light of the ongoing media exposure of energy-management system difficulties and failures, it behooves the industry to set out to improve its image and to bring order to its rapid growth, both of which result in user confidence and satisfaction.

  3. Mining Community-Level Influence in Microblogging Network: A Case Study on Sina Weibo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yufei Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Social influence analysis is important for many social network applications, including recommendation and cybersecurity analysis. We observe that the influence of community including multiple users outweighs the individual influence. Existing models focus on the individual influence analysis, but few studies estimate the community influence that is ubiquitous in online social network. A major challenge lies in that researchers need to take into account many factors, such as user influence, social trust, and user relationship, to model community-level influence. In this paper, aiming to assess the community-level influence effectively and accurately, we formulate the problem of modeling community influence and construct a community-level influence analysis model. It first eliminates the zombie fans and then calculates the user influence. Next, it calculates the user final influence by combining the user influence and the willingness of diffusing theme information. Finally, it evaluates the community influence by comprehensively studying the user final influence, social trust, and relationship tightness between intrausers of communities. To handle real-world applications, we propose a community-level influence analysis algorithm called CIAA. Empirical studies on a real-world dataset from Sina Weibo demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model.

  4. Similarity between community structures of different online social networks and its impact on underlying community detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, W.; Yeung, K. H.

    2015-03-01

    As social networking services are popular, many people may register in more than one online social network. In this paper we study a set of users who have accounts of three online social networks: namely Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter. Community structure of this set of users may be reflected in these three online social networks. Therefore, high correlation between these reflections and the underlying community structure may be observed. In this work, community structures are detected in all three online social networks. Also, we investigate the similarity level of community structures across different networks. It is found that they show strong correlation with each other. The similarity between different networks may be helpful to find a community structure close to the underlying one. To verify this, we propose a method to increase the weights of some connections in networks. With this method, new networks are generated to assist community detection. By doing this, value of modularity can be improved and the new community structure match network's natural structure better. In this paper we also show that the detected community structures of online social networks are correlated with users' locations which are identified on Foursquare. This information may also be useful for underlying community detection.

  5. Customer Satisfaction Perceptions of Dislocated Workers Served by WIN Job Centers in the Mississippi Corridor Consortium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washburn, Dava Michelle

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of satisfaction of dislocated workers served by WIN Job Centers in the Mississippi Corridor Consortium. Four WIN Job Centers participated in this study: Northeast Mississippi Community College WIN Job Center in Corinth, Northwest Mississippi Community College WIN Job Center in Oxford,…

  6. Toss differences between the slice serve and the kick serve in tennis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Carboch

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pre-contact information of servers' motion is important for receiving players in tennis. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine whether serving players use the same ball toss for kick serve (KS and slice serve (SS at two different directions of serves, from the receiver's view. Methods: 10 male right-handed professional tennis players with an average ATP ranking of 533 were videotaped from the receiver's view using a high-speed video camera (200 Hz. Firstly, they served SS and then KS from deuce court. After reaching 3 successful SS and 3 KS to the correct location, the same procedure followed from the ad court. Kinematic analysis was used to obtain the point of ball release, vertical toss peak and racquet-ball contact. Results: Even though the release point was found nearly in the same location, the vertical toss peak of KS was horizontally to the right compared to SS and the point of racquet ball-contact of KS was even more to the right by approximately 30 cm from the receiver's view. Similar findings were obtained from deuce court and ad court. Conclusions: We found differences in the ball toss execution between KS and SS. The serve toss can provide useful information for receiving players. Serving players should use the same toss for each type of serve to hide their intention.

  7. IT Department User Survey PDF Usage Report

    CERN Document Server

    Jones, Pete

    2017-01-01

    During 2016 the IT-CDA group carried out a study of IT users and their working environments and habits with the aim of understanding the user community better. This project involved interviews with users from different working backgrounds and an online survey containing questions of user devices and software preferences. A section of the questions was aimed at understanding how people handle PDF documents and this note analyses the responses to these. This analysis will help IT-CDA to better understand the PDF requirements and so help us to improve the services that rely on these documents.

  8. Identification of influential users by neighbors in online social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheikhahmadi, Amir; Nematbakhsh, Mohammad Ali; Zareie, Ahmad

    2017-11-01

    Identification and ranking of influential users in social networks for the sake of news spreading and advertising has recently become an attractive field of research. Given the large number of users in social networks and also the various relations that exist among them, providing an effective method to identify influential users has been gradually considered as an essential factor. In most of the already-provided methods, those users who are located in an appropriate structural position of the network are regarded as influential users. These methods do not usually pay attention to the interactions among users, and also consider those relations as being binary in nature. This paper, therefore, proposes a new method to identify influential users in a social network by considering those interactions that exist among the users. Since users tend to act within the frame of communities, the network is initially divided into different communities. Then the amount of interaction among users is used as a parameter to set the weight of relations existing within the network. Afterward, by determining the neighbors' role for each user, a two-level method is proposed for both detecting users' influence and also ranking them. Simulation and experimental results on twitter data shows that those users who are selected by the proposed method, comparing to other existing ones, are distributed in a more appropriate distance. Moreover, the proposed method outperforms the other ones in terms of both the influential speed and capacity of the users it selects.

  9. COMMUNITTY HEALTH II – SUBJECT THAT PROMOTES THE LEARNING- SERVING-COMUNITTY INTERACTION AIMING THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH, CARE AND COMFORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onã Silva

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In the context of the teaching and learning process, the communication between the fields of study and their subjects is important, once such integration reflects on the formation and the learning-serving-community triad. This pedagogical basis figures in the syllabi of the subjects Community Health II and its Training Course, offered by the Nursing Program. Objective: Reporting the teaching and learning process for the academic subject Community Health II, as being an inclusive part of learning-serving-community triad, with regards of developing care for the health of individuals, family and community, according to the reports of the experiences of this author during the training course. Methodological Description: It was reported the events dealing with the data experienced by the author over the second term of 2012. The following places were used in that report. In the academic environment and in the training course which took place in one of the administrative regions of Distrito Federal. The pedagogical theoretical basis was made on Paulo Freire. Data were collected from the studied subjects, legislation, theoretical and practical meetings, communication materials on the virtual environment among other sources. Results and discussion: this experience revealed that the subject CH-II presents an interdisciplinary, multiprofessional and inclusive view of learning-serving-community triad. The participants mediated by the problematization contributed for the construction of theoretical and practical knowledge using reflections, debates, and discussions according to the Pedagogy of Autonomy. The teaching and learning methods permitted the development of independence, competencies and abilities contained in the political project. Conclusion: The training course experienced in the environment of CH-II was an unique experience, generating benefits to all the people involved in the process, besides the resignification of their practices

  10. Virtual Communities For Elderly Healthcare: User-Based Requirements Elicitation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van 't Klooster, J.W.J.R.; van Beijnum, Bernhard J.F.; Pawar, P.; Sikkel, Nicolaas; Meertens, Lucas Onno; Hermens, Hermanus J.

    2011-01-01

    Virtual communities for elderly healthcare have a potential to improve the community building process and to facilitate care services through support for activities, participation and information needs. This paper expounds on this idea by proposing a mobile virtual community (MVC) platform for

  11. A notational analysis of elite tennis serve and serve-return strategies on slow surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillet, Eric; Leroy, David; Thouvarecq, Régis; Stein, Jean-François

    2009-03-01

    A notational analysis of singles events at the French Open Grand Slam tournament was undertaken in 2005 and 2006 to characterize the game patterns and strategies of serve and serve-return and to determine their influence on the point issue on a clay court surface. One hundred sixteen men's singles matches were video analyzed. The flat serve (57.6%), particularly down the "T" location (50.3%), allowed servers to win significantly more points than the topspin (24.1%) and slice serves (18.3%). When the topspin was the first serve strategy, servers kept a high percentage of points won from the serve (52.4%). This strategy was essentially used on the second serve (91.6%) by playing the "T" location in the deuce court and the wide zone in the advantage court. Returns to the central zone allowed receivers to win more points (73.3% on first serve and 65.9% on second serve) than plays to external locations. The results highlight the high impact of the first shots of all opponents on the rally. Even on clay, the slowest court surface, serves and serve-returns remain the strokes that most influence the match results in modern tennis games.

  12. Online extremism and the communities that sustain it: Detecting the ISIS supporting community on Twitter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Kenneth; Carley, Kathleen M.

    2017-01-01

    The Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) continues to use social media as an essential element of its campaign to motivate support. On Twitter, ISIS’ unique ability to leverage unaffiliated sympathizers that simply retweet propaganda has been identified as a primary mechanism in their success in motivating both recruitment and “lone wolf” attacks. The present work explores a large community of Twitter users whose activity supports ISIS propaganda diffusion in varying degrees. Within this ISIS supporting community, we observe a diverse range of actor types, including fighters, propagandists, recruiters, religious scholars, and unaffiliated sympathizers. The interaction between these users offers unique insight into the people and narratives critical to ISIS’ sustainment. In their entirety, we refer to this diverse set of users as an online extremist community or OEC. We present Iterative Vertex Clustering and Classification (IVCC), a scalable analytic approach for OEC detection in annotated heterogeneous networks, and provide an illustrative case study of an online community of over 22,000 Twitter users whose online behavior directly advocates support for ISIS or contibutes to the group’s propaganda dissemination through retweets. PMID:29194446

  13. Passive solar energy information user study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belew, W.W.; Wood, B.L.; Marle, T.L.; Reinhardt, C.L.

    1980-11-01

    The results of a series of telephone interviews with groups of users of information on passive solar heating and cooling are described. These results, part of a larger study on many different solar technologies, identify types of information each group needed and the best ways to get information to each group. The overall study provides baseline data about information needs in the solar community. An earlier study identified the information user groups in the solar community and the priority (to accelerate solar energy commercialization) of getting information to each group. In the current study only high-priority groups were examined. Results from seven passive groups respondents are analyzed in this report: Federally Funded Researchers, Manufacturer Representatives, Architects, Builders, Educators, Cooperative Extension Service County Agents, and Homeowners. The data will be used as input to the determination of information products and services the Solar Energy Research Institute, the Solar Energy Information Data Bank Network, and the entire information outreach community should be preparing and disseminating.

  14. Increasing user value through professional identity profiles, profile-based connection agents and games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maxwell, Katrina; Angehrn, Albert; Sereno, Bertrand

    2007-01-01

    Encouraging users of online communities to complete, maintain and improve their electronic profiles is a challenging task. Only if users see real value for themselves will they invest their time and energy in this activity, and become active contributing members of the online community. In this

  15. How Social Communications Influence Advertising Perception and Response in Online Communities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Fue; Tao, Ran; Yang, Yanwu; Xie, Tingting

    2017-01-01

    This research aims to explore how social communications of online communities affect users' perception and responses toward social media advertising. We developed a conceptual model based on the SBT, encapsulating 9 constructs and 10 hypothesis extracted from the extant social media advertising literature. Our research outcome proves that social communications can effectively boost users' behaviors to be in accordance with an online social community, thus facilitate their acceptance and responses toward social media advertising, with users' group intention as an intervening factor. From an operational standpoint, it's an effective way to build and maintain social bonds between users and the community by boosting social communications, supporting fluent interpersonal communications. In addition, managers of an online community should elaborate on users' group intentions to increase users' advertising acceptance and response.

  16. INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECT OF USER'S EXPERIENCE TO MOTIVATE PLAYING ONLINE GAMES

    OpenAIRE

    RYAN RANDY SURYONO; APOL PRIBADI SUBRIADI

    2016-01-01

    Internet technology has been growing and become one of the options for people to interact with others. Now days, one of the most famous usage of the internet was as an entertainment. Online game was a sample. For this reason, therefore the online business games also growth among the public. As someone frequently play the online games, interaction with other users could increase, which would lead for more users to join the game�s community. In this community, users might perform specific roles...

  17. Perceptions of the community on the pricing of community mental health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogden, J R; Ogden, D T

    1992-01-01

    In the past few years there has been a decrease in governmental support of Community Mental Health centers. Because of this, there has been some concern, on the part of Community Mental Health professionals, as to the overall impact of this decreased governmental support. Research has been conducted that speculates on how best to handle this mini-crisis. One article suggests moving to an overall marketing approach to help combat this dollar support decline (Day and Ford 1988). Others provide methods for surveying Community Mental Health users (Ludke, Curry & Saywell 1983). William Winston (1988) suggests an overall psychographic segmentation approach to developing market targets. There has also been research detailing promotional methods for expanded marketing coverage (Moldenhauer 1988), however little has been written defining the pricing impact on Community Mental Health services. This study addresses the perceptions of Community Mental Health Center users toward the price variable of the marketing mix.

  18. Enlisting User Community Perspectives to Inform Development of a Semantic Web Application for Discovery of Cross-Institutional Research Information and Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johns, E. M.; Mayernik, M. S.; Boler, F. M.; Corson-Rikert, J.; Daniels, M. D.; Gross, M. B.; Khan, H.; Maull, K. E.; Rowan, L. R.; Stott, D.; Williams, S.; Krafft, D. B.

    2015-12-01

    Researchers seek information and data through a variety of avenues: published literature, search engines, repositories, colleagues, etc. In order to build a web application that leverages linked open data to enable multiple paths for information discovery, the EarthCollab project has surveyed two geoscience user communities to consider how researchers find and share scholarly output. EarthCollab, a cross-institutional, EarthCube funded project partnering UCAR, Cornell University, and UNAVCO, is employing the open-source semantic web software, VIVO, as the underlying technology to connect the people and resources of virtual research communities. This study will present an analysis of survey responses from members of the two case study communities: (1) the Bering Sea Project, an interdisciplinary field program whose data archive is hosted by NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL), and (2) UNAVCO, a geodetic facility and consortium that supports diverse research projects informed by geodesy. The survey results illustrate the types of research products that respondents indicate should be discoverable within a digital platform and the current methods used to find publications, data, personnel, tools, and instrumentation. The responses showed that scientists rely heavily on general purpose search engines, such as Google, to find information, but that data center websites and the published literature were also critical sources for finding collaborators, data, and research tools.The survey participants also identify additional features of interest for an information platform such as search engine indexing, connection to institutional web pages, generation of bibliographies and CVs, and outward linking to social media. Through the survey, the user communities prioritized the type of information that is most important to display and describe their work within a research profile. The analysis of this survey will inform our further development of a platform that will

  19. How users adopt healthcare information: An empirical study of an online Q&A community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Jiahua; Yan, Xiangbin; Li, Yijun; Li, Yumei

    2016-02-01

    The emergence of social media technology has led to the creation of many online healthcare communities, where patients can easily share and look for healthcare-related information from peers who have experienced a similar problem. However, with increased user-generated content, there is a need to constantly analyse which content should be trusted as one sifts through enormous amounts of healthcare information. This study aims to explore patients' healthcare information seeking behavior in online communities. Based on dual-process theory and the knowledge adoption model, we proposed a healthcare information adoption model for online communities. This model highlights that information quality, emotional support, and source credibility are antecedent variables of adoption likelihood of healthcare information, and competition among repliers and involvement of recipients moderate the relationship between the antecedent variables and adoption likelihood. Empirical data were collected from the healthcare module of China's biggest Q&A community-Baidu Knows. Text mining techniques were adopted to calculate the information quality and emotional support contained in each reply text. A binary logistics regression model and hierarchical regression approach were employed to test the proposed conceptual model. Information quality, emotional support, and source credibility have significant and positive impact on healthcare information adoption likelihood, and among these factors, information quality has the biggest impact on a patient's adoption decision. In addition, competition among repliers and involvement of recipients were tested as moderating effects between these antecedent factors and the adoption likelihood. Results indicate competition among repliers positively moderates the relationship between source credibility and adoption likelihood, and recipients' involvement positively moderates the relationship between information quality, source credibility, and adoption

  20. Downlink Error Rates of Half-duplex Users in Full-duplex Networks over a Laplacian Inter-User Interference Limited and EGK fading

    KAUST Repository

    Soury, Hamza; Elsawy, Hesham; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    This paper develops a mathematical framework to study downlink error rates and throughput for half-duplex (HD) terminals served by a full-duplex (FD) base station (BS). The developed model is used to motivate long term pairing for users that have

  1. Community-Based Programming: An Opportunity and Imperative for the Community College. Institutes & Workshops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boone, Edgar J.

    Community-based programming (CBP) is a cooperative process in which a community college serves as the leader and catalyst in effecting collaboration among the people, leaders and community organizations in its service area. This report discusses the changing role of the community college, the nature of CBP, and expected outcomes of the process,…

  2. Feedback from community pharmacy users on the contribution of community pharmacy to improving the public's health: a systematic review of the peer reviewed and non‐peer reviewed literature 1990–2002

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Claire; Blenkinsopp, Alison; Armstrong, Miriam

    2004-01-01

    Abstract Objective  To systematically review feedback from pharmacy users on their perceptions and experiences of health‐related advice and services provided from community pharmacies. Methods  The focus of the review was community pharmacy activities in relation to promoting health and well‐being, preventing ill‐health and maintaining health. Searches were conducted for peer‐reviewed (international) and non‐peer‐reviewed (UK) research. Electronic databases searched included MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts; hand searches of key journals and conference abstracts, key informants. Key informants in the UK were contacted to identify unpublished studies. The inclusion period was 1990 onwards. Data extraction and synthesis  Data were abstracted into a matrix by one author with a sample checked by a second. The Health Development Agency's Evidence Base 2000 standards and the evidence categories used by the Department of Health in the National Service Frameworks were applied to each item. Main results  Seven peer reviewed papers and 13 non‐peer reviewed reports were identified for inclusion in the review. Consumer usage of pharmacies is almost universal with prescription supplies and purchase of over the counter medicines predominating. Evidence shows that not only is usage low for general health advice, but that pharmacists are perceived as ‘drugs experts’ rather than experts on health and illness. Emergency hormonal contraception and head lice management schemes have been well received. There is a need to consider privacy and confidentiality surrounding advice giving. Conclusions  Users of community pharmacy‐based health development initiatives express a high level of satisfaction. If community pharmacies are to be used to their full extent, then actions to extending the public's awareness and acceptance of the pharmacist's role in giving advice will be crucial. Further research will be needed to

  3. Vind(x): Using the user through cooperative annotation

    OpenAIRE

    Williams, A.D.; Vuurpijl, Louis; Schomaker, Lambert; van den Broek, Egon

    2002-01-01

    In this paper, the image retrieval system Vind(x) is described. The architecture of the system and first user experiences are reported. Using Vind(x), users on the Internet may cooperatively annotate objects in paintings by use of the pen or mouse. The collected data can be searched through query-by-drawing techniques, but can also serve as an (ever-growing) training and benchmark set for the development of automated image retrieval systems of the future. Several other examples of cooperative...

  4. Impact of Maltreatment on Children Served in Community Mental Health Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walrath, Christine M.; Ybarra, Michele L.; Sheehan, Angela K.; Holden, E. Wayne; Burns, Barbara J.

    2006-01-01

    Despite a decline in the incidence of child abuse over the last decade, victimization rates remain troubling. This study used a subset of data from the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program to investigate and compare the demographic, psychosocial, and service use…

  5. The Users Office turns 20

    CERN Multimedia

    2009-01-01

    20 years ago, in the summer of 1989, an office was created to assist the thousands of users who come to CERN each year, working over the broad range of projects and collaborations. Chris Onions (right), head of the Users’ Office, with Bryan Pattison (left), the Office’s founder.Before the inception of the Users Office, it was common for users to spend at least an entire day moving from office to office in search of necessary documentation and information in order to make their stay official. "Though the Office has undergone various changes throughout its lifetime, it has persisted in being a welcoming bridge to facilitate the installation of visitors coming from all over the world", says Chris Onions, head of the Users Office. This September, the Office will celebrate its 20-year anniversary with a drink offered to representatives of the User community, the CERN management and staff members from the services with whom the Office is involved. &...

  6. Discrimination in relation to parenthood reported by community psychiatric service users in the UK: a framework analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffery, Debra; Clement, Sarah; Corker, Elizabeth; Howard, Louise M; Murray, Joanna; Thornicroft, Graham

    2013-04-20

    Experienced discrimination refers to an individual's perception that they have been treated unfairly due to an attribute and is an important recent focus within stigma research. A significant proportion of mental health service users report experiencing mental illness-based discrimination in relation to parenthood. Existing studies in this area have not gone beyond prevalence, therefore little is known about the nature of experienced discrimination in relation to parenthood, and how is it constituted. This study aims to generate a typology of community psychiatric service users' reports of mental illness-based discrimination in relation to becoming or being a parent. A secondary aim is to assess the prevalence of these types of experienced discrimination. In a telephone survey 2026 community psychiatric service users in ten UK Mental Health service provider organisations (Trusts) were asked about discrimination experienced in the previous 12 months using the Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC). The sample were asked if, due to their mental health problem, they had been treated unfairly in starting a family, or in their role as a parent, and gave examples of this. Prevalence is reported and the examples of experienced discrimination in relation to parenthood were analysed using the framework method of qualitative analysis. Three hundred and four participants (73% female) reported experienced discrimination, with prevalences of 22.5% and 28.3% for starting a family and for the parenting role respectively. Participants gave 89 examples of discrimination about starting a family and 228 about parenting, and these occurred in social and professional contexts. Ten themes were identified. These related to being seen as an unfit parent; people not being understanding; being stopped from having children; not being allowed to see their children; not getting the support needed; children being affected; children avoiding their parents; children's difficulties being blamed

  7. Effective heart disease prevention: lessons from a qualitative study of user perspectives in Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Netto, G; McCloughan, L; Bhatnagar, A

    2007-03-01

    Coronary heart disease (CHD) has a high mortality, incidence and prevalence among Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in the UK, indicating the need for effective heart disease prevention initiatives for these communities. This paper considers how service user perspectives can be used to develop effective, culturally focused CHD prevention interventions for these target groups by addressing identified barriers, including deeply held cultural beliefs. A qualitative research study, using a longitudinal action research approach. This was a community-based study in Edinburgh. Six focus group discussions--two for each community--were organized with participants from these communities at the beginning of the project. A further six focus group discussions for the same communities were organized six months later. Over the period examined, participants reported varying changes in levels of knowledge relating to the nature, causes and symptoms of CHD. Some participants reported taking slight to significant steps to reduce or prevent heart disease, while others did not. The project was viewed as helpful in increasing knowledge about CHD and preventive measures and encouraging healthier lifestyles. However, persistent barriers to change were also identified, requiring changes to the project that involved not only matching intervention materials and messages to observable, superficial characteristics of the target population, but more fundamental changes that address the cultural, social, historical, environmental and psychological forces that influence health behaviour. CHD prevention initiatives need to identify and respond to deep-rooted influences on health-behaviour in 'at-risk' groups, in addition to superficial characteristics of the target populations. It is important for specific prevention initiatives to be linked into wider CHD frameworks to ensure transferability of learning and integration within wider service provision.

  8. Internet user behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radbâță, A.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Internet is a useful tool for everybody in a technologically advanced world. As Internet appears and develops, it creates a totally new network environment. The development of commerce on the Internet based on virtual communities has become one of the most successful business models in the world. After analyzing the concept of internet, the e-commerce market and its marketing mix and the benefits and limitations of the Internet, we have presented a few studies on Internet user behaviour. Furthermore, the paper looks at a representative sample of Romanian internet users. The results reveal that the Romanians are using the Internet especially for information gathering, e-mail, entertainment and social networking.

  9. CDS User survey

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Document Service

    2011-01-01

      The CERN Document Server is launching a user survey in order to collect information relative to its search engine, submission interfaces, collaborative features and content organisation. With the view of re-shaping its collections and interfaces and to better integrate with the new INSPIRE platform that serves all HEP literature, CERN Document Server team invites you to take part in the survey. Your input is essential to provide us with useful information before setting up the new service and improve your interactions with CDS. Thanks for participating !  

  10. NGDS USER CENTERED DESIGN MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE GEOTHERMAL COMMUNITY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyd, Suzanne [Anthro-Tech; Zheng, Sam Xianjun [Siemens Corporation; Patten, Kim [Arizona Geological Survey; Blackman, Harold [Boise State University

    2013-12-23

    In order to ensure the widest and greatest utility of IT and software projects designed for geothermal reservoir engineering the full consideration of end users’ task and workflow needs must be evaluated. This paper describes the user-centered design (UCD) approach taken in the development of a user interface (UI) solution for the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS). This development process has been researched based, highly collaborative, and incorporates state-of-the-art practices to ensure a quality user experience. Work is continuing on the interface, including future usability tests to further refine the interfaces as the overall system is developed.

  11. NGDS User Centered Design Meeting the Needs of the Geothermal Community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyd, Suzanne [Anthro-Tech, Inc; Zheng, Sam [Siemens Corporation; Patten, Kim [Arizona Geological Survey; Blackman, Harold [Boise State University

    2013-10-15

    In order to ensure the widest and greatest utility of IT and software projects designed for geothermal reservoir engineer- ing the full consideration of end users’ task and workflow needs must be evaluated. This paper describes the user-centered design (UCD) approach taken in the development of a user interface (UI) solution for the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS). This development process has been research based, highly collabora- tive, and incorporates state-of-the-art practices to ensure a quality user experience. Work is continuing on the interface, including future usability tests to further refine the interfaces as the overall system is developed.

  12. The relationship between mother to child calories served and maternal perception of hunger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stromberg, S E; Janicke, D M

    2016-06-01

    Research has examined self-serving portions in adults and children and has shown that larger portion size is related to more calories consumed. The present study examines factors that may influence the portion sizes a mother serves her child at a mealtime. The present observational study included a community-based sample of 29 mother-child dyads. Dyads attended a 1-h session in which they shared a meal together. A buffet of food was provided and the mother was asked to serve her child and herself. The amount of food served and consumed by the child was recorded. Main independent variables of interest included maternal body mass index (BMI), child BMI Z-score, and maternal perception of personal and child hunger. The primary dependent variable was the total calories the mother served her child. Regression models and a moderated mediation were used to examine the relation between variables. Calories served to the child was positively associated with calories consumed by the child. Maternal perception of her own hunger was related to her perception of her child's hunger. Furthermore, maternal perception of child hunger explained the relationship between maternal perception of personal hunger and total calories served to the child, although only for obese mothers. Mothers may be serving their children larger portion sizes based on their personal weight and their perception of their child's hunger. To help children obtain or maintain a healthy weight, obesity prevention and intervention programmes should help mothers serve more appropriate serving sizes to their children. © 2015 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  13. Multi-Sector Sustainability Browser (MSSB) User Manual: A ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA’s Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) Research Program is developing methodologies, resources, and tools to assist community members and local decision makers in implementing policy choices that facilitate sustainable approaches in managing their resources affecting the built environment, natural environment, and human health. In order to assist communities and decision makers in implementing sustainable practices, EPA is developing computer-based systems including models, databases, web tools, and web browsers to help communities decide upon approaches that support their desired outcomes. Communities need access to resources that will allow them to achieve their sustainability objectives through intelligent decisions in four key sustainability areas: • Land Use • Buildings and Infrastructure • Transportation • Materials Management (i.e., Municipal Solid Waste [MSW] processing and disposal) The Multi-Sector Sustainability Browser (MSSB) is designed to support sustainable decision-making for communities, local and regional planners, and policy and decision makers. Document is an EPA Technical Report, which is the user manual for the Multi-Sector Sustainability Browser (MSSB) tool. The purpose of the document is to provide basic guidance on use of the tool for users

  14. Filling the Void: Community Spanish Language Programs in Los Angeles Serving to Preserve the Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carreira, Maria M.; Rodriguez, Rey M.

    2011-01-01

    An extensive body of research documents the successes of immigrant groups in establishing community language schools. Studied within this tradition, Latino immigrant communities appear to come up short, because of the scarcity of such schools for Spanish-speaking children. However, as we show in this paper, Latino immigrant communities do have…

  15. Power User Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfister, Robin; McMahon, Joe

    2006-01-01

    Power User Interface 5.0 (PUI) is a system of middleware, written for expert users in the Earth-science community, PUI enables expedited ordering of data granules on the basis of specific granule-identifying information that the users already know or can assemble. PUI also enables expert users to perform quick searches for orderablegranule information for use in preparing orders. PUI 5.0 is available in two versions (note: PUI 6.0 has command-line mode only): a Web-based application program and a UNIX command-line- mode client program. Both versions include modules that perform data-granule-ordering functions in conjunction with external systems. The Web-based version works with Earth Observing System Clearing House (ECHO) metadata catalog and order-entry services and with an open-source order-service broker server component, called the Mercury Shopping Cart, that is provided separately by Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the Department of Energy. The command-line version works with the ECHO metadata and order-entry process service. Both versions of PUI ultimately use ECHO to process an order to be sent to a data provider. Ordered data are provided through means outside the PUI software system.

  16. The diabetes online community: Older adults supporting self-care through peer health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litchman, Michelle L; Rothwell, Erin; Edelman, Linda S

    2018-03-01

    The use of the diabetes online community (DOC) is growing across all age groups. The aim of this exploratory study was to describe why older adults participated in the DOC, and how DOC users interacted with their healthcare providers. Telephone interviews (N=20) were conducted with older adult DOC users (born between 1946 and 1964) living in the United States. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis adhering to rigor and reproducibility standards. Themes that emerged from the data related to DOC participation included: information to improve self-care, emotional support, belonging to a community, validation of information, cause for concern and interaction with healthcare providers. Participants used the DOC for day to day diabetes management advice and healthcare providers for medical information and care. Participants highly valued the DOC and regarded their participation as a way to increase knowledge to improve self-care and reciprocate emotional support with others for diabetes management. The DOC filled gaps in knowledge and support participants were not able to get elsewhere. The DOC serves as an important source of information and support for individuals with diabetes and may be a cost-effective strategy to augment standard diabetes care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Perceptions of community and family level IDU and HIV related stigma, disclosure decisions and experiences with layered stigma among HIV positive injection drug users in Vietnam

    OpenAIRE

    Rudolph, A.E.; Davis, W.W.; Quan, V.M.; Ha, T.V.; Minh, N.L.; Gregowski, A.; Salter, Megan; Celentano, D.D.; Go, V.

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores how perceived stigma and layered stigma related to injection drug use and being HIV positive influence the decision to disclose one’s HIV status to family and community and experiences with stigma following disclosure among a population of HIV positive male injection drug users (IDUs) in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. In qualitative interviews conducted between 2007 and 2008, 25 HIV positive male IDUs described layered stigma in their community but an absence of layered stigma with...

  18. Social Media and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN): Analysis of Advanced Metrics From the First Year of a New Twitter Community: #MPNSM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pemmaraju, Naveen; Utengen, Audun; Gupta, Vikas; Kiladjian, Jean-Jacques; Mesa, Ruben; Thompson, Michael A

    2016-12-01

    The social media platform Twitter has provided the hematology/oncology community with unprecedented, novel methods of interpersonal communication and increased ability for the dissemination of important updates in a rapidly moving field. The advent, and subsequent success, of disease-specific Twitter communities have further enabled interested healthcare stakeholders to become quickly organized around a unique set of rare medical conditions, such as hematologic malignancies, that, historically, generally lack large amounts of reliable online information. One example is the Twitter community #MPNSM (myeloproliferative neoplasms on social media), which was started approximately one and half years ago and has served as a recognized venue for discussion among many members of the MPN community, including patients, researchers, providers, and advocacy organizations. This article will focus on understanding the impact of the founding of this community via the analysis of advanced Twitter metrics of user experience, from the first year of use for this novel healthcare hashtag.

  19. Complete Web Monitoring Watching Performance, Users, and Communities

    CERN Document Server

    Croll, Alistair

    2009-01-01

    Complete Web Monitoring demonstrates how to measure every aspect of your web presence -- including analytics, backend performance, usability, communities, customer feedback, and competitive analysis -- whether you're running an e-commerce site, a community, a media property, or a Software-as-a-Service company. This book's concrete examples, clear explanations, and practical recommendations make it essential for anyone who runs a website.

  20. User oriented design features of Korea Multi-purpose Research Reactor and its utilization plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Byungkoo; Jun, Byungjin

    1994-01-01

    Construction of a 30 MW class Korea Multi-purpose Research Reactor (KMRR) is near its completion and expected to reach initial criticality by the end of 1994 at KAERI Taejon site. As Korea will become one of developed countries during the lifetime of this reactor and many worldwide high performance research reactors of the first generation are reaching end of life, it is believed that KMRR will meet the increasing domestic needs to utilize high performance research reactor and its worldwide role will be important as well. In reactor design, effort has been focused on optimization which can satisfy various future utilization demands as much as possible with enhanced safety as a basic requirement. Light water cooled and heavy water reflected compact core using low enriched and high uranium loaded fuel, computer controlled operation, etc. are expected to provide truly multi-purpose user environments with stable high quality neutron flux. High level experimental facilities and equipment for reactor fuel and material test, various studies using neutron beam, radioisotope production, semiconductor doping, neutron activation analysis, etc., will be completed in parallel with the reactor or gradually depending on users' needs. When KMRR becomes fully operational, it will not only serve the domestic users but also be a valuable tool for a worldwide research community using a research reactor

  1. Wheelchair-related accidents: relationship with wheelchair-using behavior in active community wheelchair users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wan-Yin; Jang, Yuh; Wang, Jung-Der; Huang, Wen-Ni; Chang, Chan-Chia; Mao, Hui-Fen; Wang, Yen-Ho

    2011-06-01

    To report the prevalence, mechanisms, self-perceived causes, consequences, and wheelchair-using behaviors associated with wheelchair-related accidents. A case-control study. Community. A sample of experienced, community-dwelling, active manual and powered wheelchair users (N=95) recruited from a hospital assistive technology service center. Not applicable. Wheelchair-using behaviors, wheelchair-related accidents over a 3-year period, and the mechanisms and consequences of the accidents. Among the 95 participants, 52 (54.7%) reported at least 1 accident and 16 (16.8%) reported 2 or more accidents during the 3 years prior to the interview. A total of 74 accidents, were categorized into tips and falls (87.8%), accidental contact (6.8%), and dangerous operations (5.4%). A logistic regression found individuals who failed to maintain their wheelchairs regularly (odds ratio [OR]=11.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.62-48.61) and used a wheelchair not prescribed by professionals (OR=4.31; 95% CI, 1.10-16.82) had significantly greater risks of accidents. In addition to the risk factor, lack of regular wheelchair maintenance, the Poisson regression corroborated the other risk factor, seat belts not used (incident rate ratio=2.14; 95% CI, 1.08-4.14), for wheelchair-related accidents. Wheelchair-related accidents are closely related to their wheelchair-using behaviors. Services including professional evaluation, repair, maintenance, and an educational program on proper wheelchair use may decrease the risks of wheelchair accidents. Copyright © 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Research brief : Serving Bowl Selection Biases the Amount of Food Served

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleef, van E.; Shimizu, M.; Wansink, B.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To determine how common serving bowls containing food for multiple persons influence serving behavior and consumption and whether they do so independently of satiation and food evaluation. Methods: In this between-subjects experiment, 68 participants were randomly assigned to either a

  3. Coalition building by drug user and sex worker community-based organizations in Vietnam can lead to improved interactions with government agencies: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Leah T; Grau, Lauretta E; Nguyen, Huong H; Khuat, Oanh Hai T; Heimer, Robert

    2015-10-16

    Drug users and female sex workers are among the groups most vulnerable to HIV infection in Vietnam. To address the HIV epidemic within these communities, former drug users and sex workers established the first community-based organizations (CBOs) in 2009. The study provides a focused assessment of CBOs' expanding efforts to advocate for their members that identifies existing collaborations with Vietnamese government programs. This assessment explores the barriers to and facilitators of expansion in order to propose recommendations to improve the working relationship between CBOs and government programs. Thirty-two individuals from drug user and sex worker CBOs (n = 24) and relevant government programs (n = 8) participated in face-to-face interviews in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong. Coded interview transcripts were analyzed qualitatively concerning the purpose of CBOs, the interactions between CBOs and government programs, and the perceived barriers, facilitators, and feasibility of future CBO-government program collaborations. Services provided by the CBOs were considered to improve members' quality of life. The formation of coalitions among CBOs increased efficiency in meeting members' specific service needs, in addition to internal capacity building. Government field staff interacted with CBOs by providing CBOs with technical and legal support. CBOs and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics collaborated to help the clinics meet patient enrollment quotas and facilitate entry into treatment for CBO members. Barriers to CBO-government program collaboration included perceived conflicting missions on how to address drug use and sex work in the community, limited CBO-government program communication, CBO mistrust of the MMT system, and lack of legal status for CBOs. To reduce these barriers, we recommend (1) introduction of CBO consultative services at government healthcare centers, (2) enlistment of CBO outreach to ensure full access to the

  4. ANOPP2 User's Manual: Version 1.2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, L. V.; Burley, C. L.

    2016-01-01

    This manual documents the Aircraft NOise Prediction Program 2 (ANOPP2). ANOPP2 is a toolkit that includes a framework, noise prediction methods, and peripheral software to aid a user in predicting and understanding aircraft noise. This manual includes an explanation of the overall design and structure of ANOPP2, including a brief introduction to aircraft noise prediction and the ANOPP2 background, philosophy, and architecture. The concept of nested acoustic data surfaces and its application to a mixed-fidelity noise prediction are presented. The structure and usage of ANOPP2, which includes the communication between the user, the ANOPP2 framework, and noise prediction methods, are presented for two scenarios: wind-tunnel and flight. These scenarios serve to provide the user with guidance and documentation references for performing a noise prediction using ANOPP2.

  5. Unscrambling The "Average User" Of Habbo Hotel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikael Johnson

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The “user” is an ambiguous concept in human-computer interaction and information systems. Analyses of users as social actors, participants, or configured users delineate approaches to studying design-use relationships. Here, a developer’s reference to a figure of speech, termed the “average user,” is contrasted with design guidelines. The aim is to create an understanding about categorization practices in design through a case study about the virtual community, Habbo Hotel. A qualitative analysis highlighted not only the meaning of the “average user,” but also the work that both the developer and the category contribute to this meaning. The average user a represents the unknown, b influences the boundaries of the target user groups, c legitimizes the designer to disregard marginal user feedback, and d keeps the design space open, thus allowing for creativity. The analysis shows how design and use are intertwined and highlights the developers’ role in governing different users’ interests.

  6. A System Concept for Facilitating User Preferences in En Route Airspace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vivona, R. A.; Ballin, M. G.; Green, S. M.; Bach, R. E.; McNally, B. D.

    1996-01-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to make its air traffic management system more responsive to the needs of the aviation community by exploring the concept of 'free flight' for aircraft flying under instrument flight rules. A logical first step toward free flight could be made without significantly altering current air traffic control (ATC) procedures or requiring new airborne equipment by designing a ground-based system to be highly responsive to 'user preference' in en route airspace while providing for an orderly transition to the terminal area. To facilitate user preference in all en route environments, a system based on an extension of the Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS) is proposed in this document. The new system would consist of two integrated components. An airspace tool (AT) focuses on unconstrained en route aircraft (e.g., not transitioning to the terminal airspace), taking advantage of the relatively unconstrained nature of their flights and using long-range trajectory prediction to provide cost-effective conflict resolution advisories to sector controllers. A sector tool (ST) generates efficient advisories for all aircraft, with a focus on supporting controllers in analyzing and resolving complex, highly constrained traffic situations. When combined, the integrated AT/ST system supports user preference in any air route traffic control center sector. The system should also be useful in evaluating advanced free-flight concepts by serving as a test bed for future research. This document provides an overview of the design concept, explains its anticipated benefits, and recommends a development strategy that leads to a deployable system.

  7. Community Mental Health as a Population-based Mental Health Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuxuan Cai, Stefanie; Shuen Sheng Fung, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    Mental health services for youths in Singapore were challenged by accessibility and resource constraints. A community-based mental health program working with schools and other partners was developed to address the population needs. To describe the formation of a community-based mental health program and evaluate the program in terms of its outcome and the satisfaction of the users of this program. Based on needs analyses, a community multidisciplinary team was set up in 15 schools to pilot a new model of care for youths. Implemented progressively over five years, networks of teams were divided into four geographic zones. Each zone had clusters of 10 to 15 schools. These teams worked closely with school counselors. Teams were supported by a psychiatrist and a resident. Interventions were focused on empowering school-based personnel to work with students and families, with the support of the teams. 4,184 students were served of whom 10% were seen by the school counselors and supported by the community team. Only 0.15% required referral to tertiary services. Outcome measured by counselor and teacher ratings showed improvements in the Clinical Global Impression scale and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These included reductions in conduct problems, emotional problems, hyperactive behaviors and peer problems. Furthermore, prosocial behavior also significantly improved. Preliminary cost effectiveness analyses suggest that community treatments are superior to clinic interventions.

  8. Photovoltaics information user study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belew, W.W.; Wood, B.L.; Marie, T.L.; Reinhardt, C.L.

    1980-10-01

    The results of a series of telephone interviews with groups of users of information on photovoltaics (PV) are described. These results, part of a larger study on many different solar technologies, identify types of information each group needed and the best ways to get information to each group. The report is 1 of 10 discussing study results. The overall study provides baseline data about information needs in the solar community. It covers these technological areas: photovoltaics, passive solar heating and cooling, active solar heating and cooling, biomass energy, solar thermal electric power, solar industrial and agricultural process heat, wind energy, ocean energy, and advanced energy storage. An earlier study identified the information user groups in the solar community and the priority (to accelerate solar energy commercialization) of getting information to each group. In the current study only high-priority groups were examined. Results from seven PV groups respondents are analyzed in this report: DOE-Funded Researchers, Non-DOE-Funded Researchers, Researchers Working for Manufacturers, Representatives of Other Manufacturers, Representatives of Utilities, Electric Power Engineers, and Educators.

  9. 75 FR 60759 - Enforcement Action Plan for Promotion and Advertising Restrictions; Availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... virtually all new users of tobacco products are under the minimum legal age to purchase such products... expertise and experience in serving minority communities. FDA created two dockets to solicit information... stakeholders with demonstrated expertise and experience in serving minority communities, about the advertising...

  10. Exploring How Peer Communities Enable Lead User Innovations to Become Standard Equipment in the Industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hienerth, Christoph; Lettl, Christopher

    2011-01-01

    Literature on new product development indicates that on average around 40% of new products fail across different industries (e.g., Crawford, ; Crawford and Di Benedetto, ). Out of those that survive only few become widely accepted standard equipment in the industry (Utterback, ). Literature...... they are developed. It is therefore the aim of this study to shed light on how innovations become widely accepted by large segments of the market and specifically which demand-side forces are at work. An approach suitable for pursuing this objective is to focus on those individuals who are on the leading edge...... with respect to an important market trend (lead users) and their respective peer communities. As little knowledge is available, an explorative case study design is applied, working with cases from two different industries, specifically the medical equipment and sporting equipment industry. A longitudinal...

  11. Transmit Antenna Selection for Multi-User Underlay Cognitive Transmission with Zero-Forcing Beamforming

    KAUST Repository

    Hanif, Muhammad

    2017-03-20

    We present a transmit antenna subset selection scheme for an underlay cognitive system serving multiple secondary receivers. The secondary system employs zero-forcing beamforming to nullify the interference to multiple primary users and eliminate inter-user interference to the secondary users simultaneously. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves near-optimal performance with low computational complexity. Lastly, an optimal power allocation strategy is also introduced to improve the secondary network throughput.

  12. Open source community organization

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Molefe, Onkgopotse M

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Open Source communities (OSCs), sometimes referred to as virtual or online communities play a significant role in terms of the contribution they continue to make in producing user-friendly Open Source Software (OSS) solutions. Many projects have...

  13. User Interface Technology for Formal Specification Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowry, Michael; Philpot, Andrew; Pressburger, Thomas; Underwood, Ian; Lum, Henry, Jr. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    Formal specification development and modification are an essential component of the knowledge-based software life cycle. User interface technology is needed to empower end-users to create their own formal specifications. This paper describes the advanced user interface for AMPHION1 a knowledge-based software engineering system that targets scientific subroutine libraries. AMPHION is a generic, domain-independent architecture that is specialized to an application domain through a declarative domain theory. Formal specification development and reuse is made accessible to end-users through an intuitive graphical interface that provides semantic guidance in creating diagrams denoting formal specifications in an application domain. The diagrams also serve to document the specifications. Automatic deductive program synthesis ensures that end-user specifications are correctly implemented. The tables that drive AMPHION's user interface are automatically compiled from a domain theory; portions of the interface can be customized by the end-user. The user interface facilitates formal specification development by hiding syntactic details, such as logical notation. It also turns some of the barriers for end-user specification development associated with strongly typed formal languages into active sources of guidance, without restricting advanced users. The interface is especially suited for specification modification. AMPHION has been applied to the domain of solar system kinematics through the development of a declarative domain theory. Testing over six months with planetary scientists indicates that AMPHION's interactive specification acquisition paradigm enables users to develop, modify, and reuse specifications at least an order of magnitude more rapidly than manual program development.

  14. HANET: Millimeter wave based intelligent radio architecture for serving place time capacity issue

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lala, Purnima; Sørensen, Troels Bundgaard; Prasad, Ramjee

    2015-01-01

    Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are advancing their scope beyond military applications. Most of the work has been concentrated in employing multi-UAV systems in providing cellular services to enhance network coverage. However, little or no attention has been considered in serving moving...... on airborne HANET members as load balancing assistance to the primary network to offload user traffic to the nearby base station. The paper also presents a conceptual physical design of a HANET member to further endorse the proposed architecture....

  15. A Helpful Serving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rockower, David

    2006-01-01

    This article briefly describes how a fifth-grade class collaborated with a downtown diner for several months and then actually ran the restaurant for four hours. Through the Chatters Cafe, a local high school cafe that serves as a culinary arts training ground for high school students, fifth graders had the opportunity to prepare and serve dinner…

  16. The Community WRF-Hydro Modeling System Version 4 Updates: Merging Toward Capabilities of the National Water Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAllister, M.; Gochis, D.; Dugger, A. L.; Karsten, L. R.; McCreight, J. L.; Pan, L.; Rafieeinasab, A.; Read, L. K.; Sampson, K. M.; Yu, W.

    2017-12-01

    The community WRF-Hydro modeling system is publicly available and provides researchers and operational forecasters a flexible and extensible capability for performing multi-scale, multi-physics options for hydrologic modeling that can be run independent or fully-interactive with the WRF atmospheric model. The core WRF-Hydro physics model contains very high-resolution descriptions of terrestrial hydrologic process representations such as land-atmosphere exchanges of energy and moisture, snowpack evolution, infiltration, terrain routing, channel routing, basic reservoir representation and hydrologic data assimilation. Complementing the core physics components of WRF-Hydro are an ecosystem of pre- and post-processing tools that facilitate the preparation of terrain and meteorological input data, an open-source hydrologic model evaluation toolset (Rwrfhydro), hydrologic data assimilation capabilities with DART and advanced model visualization capabilities. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), through collaborative support from the National Science Foundation and other funding partners, provides community support for the entire WRF-Hydro system through a variety of mechanisms. This presentation summarizes the enhanced user support capabilities that are being developed for the community WRF-Hydro modeling system. These products and services include a new website, open-source code repositories, documentation and user guides, test cases, online training materials, live, hands-on training sessions, an email list serve, and individual user support via email through a new help desk ticketing system. The WRF-Hydro modeling system and supporting tools which now include re-gridding scripts and model calibration have recently been updated to Version 4 and are merging toward capabilities of the National Water Model.

  17. Exploring the Therapeutic Affordances of Self-Harm Online Support Communities: An Online Survey of Members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulson, Neil S; Bullock, Emma; Rodham, Karen

    2017-10-13

    A growing number of online communities have been established to support those who self-harm. However, little is known about the therapeutic affordances arising from engagement with these communities and resulting outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore the presence of therapeutic affordances as reported by members of self-harm online support communities. In total, 94 respondents (aged 13-63 years, mean=23.5 years; 94% female) completed an online survey exploring their experiences of engaging with a self-harm online support community. Respondents varied in terms of how long they had been accessing an online community, with 22% (21/94) accessing less than 1 year, 39% (37/94) 1 to 2 years, 14% (13/94) 2 to 3 years, and 24.5% (23/94) more than 3 years. Responses were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. The results of our analysis describe each of the five therapeutic affordances that were present in the data, namely (1) connection, the ability to make contact with others who self-harm for the purposes of mutual support and in so doing reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation; (2) adaptation, that is, how use of online support varies in relation to the personal circumstances of the individual user; (3) exploration, that is, the ability to learn about self-harm and learn about strategies to reduce or stop self-harming behavior; (4) narration, that is, the ability to share experiences, as well as read about the experiences of others; and (5) self-presentation, that is, how and what users present about themselves to others in the online community. Our findings suggest that engagement with self-harm online support communities may confer a range of therapeutic benefits for some users, which may serve to minimize the psychosocial burden of self-harm and promote positive coping strategies. In addition, the online nature of the support available may be helpful to those who are unable to access face-to-face support. ©Neil S Coulson, Emma Bullock, Karen Rodham

  18. NSI customer service representatives and user support office: NASA Science Internet

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-01-01

    The NASA Science Internet, (NSI) was established in 1987 to provide NASA's Offices of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) missions with transparent wide-area data connectivity to NASA's researchers, computational resources, and databases. The NSI Office at NASA/Ames Research Center has the lead responsibility for implementing a total, open networking program to serve the OSSA community. NSI is a full-service communications provider whose services include science network planning, network engineering, applications development, network operations, and network information center/user support services. NSI's mission is to provide reliable high-speed communications to the NASA science community. To this end, the NSI Office manages and operates the NASA Science Internet, a multiprotocol network currently supporting both DECnet and TCP/IP protocols. NSI utilizes state-of-the-art network technology to meet its customers' requirements. THe NASA Science Internet interconnects with other national networks including the National Science Foundation's NSFNET, the Department of Energy's ESnet, and the Department of Defense's MILNET. NSI also has international connections to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and several European countries. NSI cooperates with other government agencies as well as academic and commercial organizations to implement networking technologies which foster interoperability, improve reliability and performance, increase security and control, and expedite migration to the OSI protocols.

  19. Examination of neural systems sub-serving facebook "addiction".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turel, Ofir; He, Qinghua; Xue, Gui; Xiao, Lin; Bechara, Antoine

    2014-12-01

    Because addictive behaviors typically result from violated homeostasis of the impulsive (amygdala-striatal) and inhibitory (prefrontal cortex) brain systems, this study examined whether these systems sub-serve a specific case of technology-related addiction, namely Facebook "addiction." Using a go/no-go paradigm in functional MRI settings, the study examined how these brain systems in 20 Facebook users (M age = 20.3 yr., SD = 1.3, range = 18-23) who completed a Facebook addiction questionnaire, responded to Facebook and less potent (traffic sign) stimuli. The findings indicated that at least at the examined levels of addiction-like symptoms, technology-related "addictions" share some neural features with substance and gambling addictions, but more importantly they also differ from such addictions in their brain etiology and possibly pathogenesis, as related to abnormal functioning of the inhibitory-control brain system.

  20. EarthCubed: Community Convergence and Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, J. C.; Black, R.; Davis, R.; Dick, C.; Lee, T.; Allison, M. L.

    2015-12-01

    What drives engagement across a diverse community with the common goal of creating a robust cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences? Which applications, social media venues and outreach mechanisms solicit the most valuable feedback? Of the dizzying toolkit available for community-building, which tools should receive time, attention and dedication? Finally, how does it all relate to better geoscience research? Research projects in the geosciences are rapidly becoming more interdisciplinary, requiring use of broader data-sets and a multitude of data-types in an effort to explain questions important to both the scientific community and the general public. Effective use of the data and tools available requires excellent community communication and engagement across disciplines, as well as a manner to easily obtain and access those data and tools. For over two years, the EarthCube project has sought to create the most active and engaged community possible, bringing together experts from all across the NSF GEO directorate and its many-faceted disciplines. Initial efforts focused on collecting insight and opinions at in-person "end-user workshops," and informal organization of interest groups and teams. Today, efforts feature an organizational structure with dedicated internal communication and outreach groups. The EarthCube Office has been largely responsible for coordination of these groups and the social media and Internet presence of the project to date, through the creation and curation of the EarthCube.org website, social media channels, live-streaming of meetings, and newsletters. Measures of the effectiveness of these efforts will be presented, to serve as potential reference and guidance for other projects seeking to grow their own communities. In addition, we will discuss how the Office's role in outreach and engagement has changed over the past year with the creation of the Engagement and Liaison Teams, and what it signifies for the Office's role in Earth

  1. The Role of Social Media User Experience as a Mediator for Understanding Social Media User Behavior in Indonesia’s Museum Industry: Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundjaja, A. M.; LumanGaol, F.; Budiarti, T.; Abbas, B. S.; Abdinagoro, S. B.; Ongowarsito, H.

    2017-01-01

    Social media has changed the interaction between the customer and the business, social media has proven to provide new opportunities in facilitating access to information, efficiency and ease of interaction between customers and businesses that are distributed geographically dispersed. Ease of interaction to improve access to information about products, services, and prices have proven to have a positive impact for consumers. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual model to test the effect of user motivation, user expectations, and online community involvement to the intention of behavior that is mediated by the use of social media museum experience. This article is a literature study on exploration of social media user experiences museum in Indonesia. Authors searched and examined 85 articles from google scholar with the following keywords: motivation, expectations, online communities, user experience, social media, Technology Acceptance Model, Experiential Marketing, Uses and Gratification Theory. Proposed data collection techniques are literature study, survey and observation. The sample used in this research is 400 respondents of social media users that follow the social media managed by Indonesia’s museum. The sampling technique are systematic sampling. We use Structural Equation Model with AMOS for analyze the data.

  2. Services, systems, and policies affecting mobility device users' community mobility: A scoping review: Services, systèmes et politiques influençant la mobilité dans la communauté des utilisateurs d'aides à la mobilité : examen de la portée.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jónasdóttir, Sigrún Kristín; Polgar, Jan Miller

    2018-04-01

    Opportunities to travel from one place to another in the community, or community mobility, are especially important for mobility device users' ability to participate fully in society. However, contextual challenges to such mobility exist. This study summarizes the literature on existing community mobility barriers and facilitators of mobility device users created by services, systems, and policies as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). Arksey and O'Malley's approach for scoping studies was used for the review. The extraction chart was organized following the ICF, and frequency counts were used to report the data. The findings suggest that certain factors, such as transportation, open-space planning, and architecture and construction, influence community mobility opportunities. However, little attention has been paid to services, systems, and policies in the research literature, limiting the knowledge on the subject. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between specific services, systems, and policies and mobility device users' mobility within their communities.

  3. WAM-E user's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rayes, L.G.; Riley, J.E.

    1986-07-01

    The WAM-E series of mainframe computer codes have been developed to efficiently analyze the large binary models (e.g., fault trees) used to represent the logic relationships within and between the systems of a nuclear power plant or other large, multisystem entity. These codes have found wide application in reliability and safety studies of nuclear power plant systems. There are now nine codes in the WAM-E series, with six (WAMBAM/WAMTAP, WAMCUT, WAMCUT-II, WAMFM, WAMMRG, and SPASM) classified as Type A Production codes and the other three (WAMFTP, WAMTOP, and WAMCONV) classified as Research codes. This document serves as a combined User's Guide, Programmer's Manual, and Theory Reference for the codes, with emphasis on the Production codes. To that end, the manual is divided into four parts: Part I, Introduction; Part II, Theory and Numerics; Part III, WAM-E User's Guide; and Part IV, WAMMRG Programmer's Manual

  4. Tensoral for post-processing users and simulation authors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dresselhaus, Eliot

    1993-01-01

    The CTR post-processing effort aims to make turbulence simulations and data more readily and usefully available to the research and industrial communities. The Tensoral language, which provides the foundation for this effort, is introduced here in the form of a user's guide. The Tensoral user's guide is presented in two main sections. Section one acts as a general introduction and guides database users who wish to post-process simulation databases. Section two gives a brief description of how database authors and other advanced users can make simulation codes and/or the databases they generate available to the user community via Tensoral database back ends. The two-part structure of this document conforms to the two-level design structure of the Tensoral language. Tensoral has been designed to be a general computer language for performing tensor calculus and statistics on numerical data. Tensoral's generality allows it to be used for stand-alone native coding of high-level post-processing tasks (as described in section one of this guide). At the same time, Tensoral's specialization to a minute task (namely, to numerical tensor calculus and statistics) allows it to be easily embedded into applications written partly in Tensoral and partly in other computer languages (here, C and Vectoral). Embedded Tensoral, aimed at advanced users for more general coding (e.g. of efficient simulations, for interfacing with pre-existing software, for visualization, etc.), is described in section two of this guide.

  5. A Generic System-Level Framework for Self-Serve Health Monitoring System through Internet of Things (IoT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Mobyen Uddin; Björkman, Mats; Lindén, Maria

    2015-01-01

    Sensor data are traveling from sensors to a remote server, data is analyzed remotely in a distributed manner, and health status of a user is presented in real-time. This paper presents a generic system-level framework for a self-served health monitoring system through the Internet of Things (IoT) to facilities an efficient sensor data management.

  6. Deriving user-informed climate information from climate model ensemble results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huebener, Heike; Hoffmann, Peter; Keuler, Klaus; Pfeifer, Susanne; Ramthun, Hans; Spekat, Arne; Steger, Christian; Warrach-Sagi, Kirsten

    2017-07-01

    Communication between providers and users of climate model simulation results still needs to be improved. In the German regional climate modeling project ReKliEs-De a midterm user workshop was conducted to allow the intended users of the project results to assess the preliminary results and to streamline the final project results to their needs. The user feedback highlighted, in particular, the still considerable gap between climate research output and user-tailored input for climate impact research. Two major requests from the user community addressed the selection of sub-ensembles and some condensed, easy to understand information on the strengths and weaknesses of the climate models involved in the project.

  7. Oakton Community College Annual Report to the Community, Fiscal Year 1996.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oakton Community Coll., Des Plaines, IL.

    This 1996 annual report from Oakton Community College in Illinois was prepared to inform the community about the college's operations and finances, but in a more condensed, user friendly format than the comprehensive financial report. It includes statements from the board chairman and president, a mission statement, and a description of the board…

  8. Solar information user priority study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belew, W.W.; Wood, B.L.

    1980-05-01

    This report identifies for each solar technology those members or potential members of the solar community who, either currently or in the future, will require solar information. In addition, it rates each user's relative need for information within the next three years. This information will be used as input for subsequent studies that will identify specific user needs information. These studies, in turn, will be the basis for information product and data base development for the Solar Energy Information Data Bank (SEIDB). In addition, they will be input for the Technical Information Dissemination (TID) Program.

  9. NASA EOSDIS: Enabling Science by Improving User Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Francis; Brennan, Jennifer; Blumenfeld, Joshua

    2016-01-01

    Lessons learned and impacts of applying these newer methods are explained and include several examples from our current efforts such as the interactive, on-line webinars focusing on data discovery and access including tool usage, informal and informative data chats with data experts across our EOSDIS community, data user profile interviews with scientists actively using EOSDIS data in their research, and improved conference and meeting interactions via EOSDIS data interactively used during hyper-wall talks and Worldview application. The suite of internet-based, interactive capabilities and technologies has allowed our project to expand our user community by making the data and applications from numerous Earth science missions more engaging, approachable and meaningful.

  10. The unbearable lightness of user consent

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rikke Frank Joergensen

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses challenges to privacy protection in social media platforms, focusing in particular on the principle of user consent. Based on a Danish study, the article argues that in relation to Facebook, user consent de facto served as the price for participating and for gaining access to a social infrastructure. The article opens with a brief introduction to privacy as a human right, followed by a discussion of some of the critique that has been raised towards social media platforms vis-à-vis the right to privacy. Second, it presents the findings from a study conducted amongst 68 Danish high school students in October 2013 concerning their privacy perceptions and practices when using social media platforms. Thirdly, it discusses the implications of these findings in relation to the principle of user consent as a means of providing individuals with control over their personal information in the context of social media platforms.

  11. Low Cost Desktop Image Analysis Workstation With Enhanced Interactive User Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratib, Osman M.; Huang, H. K.

    1989-05-01

    A multimodality picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is in routine clinical use in the UCLA Radiology Department. Several types workstations are currently implemented for this PACS. Among them, the Apple Macintosh II personal computer was recently chosen to serve as a desktop workstation for display and analysis of radiological images. This personal computer was selected mainly because of its extremely friendly user-interface, its popularity among the academic and medical community and its low cost. In comparison to other microcomputer-based systems the Macintosh II offers the following advantages: the extreme standardization of its user interface, file system and networking, and the availability of a very large variety of commercial software packages. In the current configuration the Macintosh II operates as a stand-alone workstation where images are imported from a centralized PACS server through an Ethernet network using a standard TCP-IP protocol, and stored locally on magnetic disk. The use of high resolution screens (1024x768 pixels x 8bits) offer sufficient performance for image display and analysis. We focused our project on the design and implementation of a variety of image analysis algorithms ranging from automated structure and edge detection to sophisticated dynamic analysis of sequential images. Specific analysis programs were developed for ultrasound images, digitized angiograms, MRI and CT tomographic images and scintigraphic images.

  12. Enlarging the STEM pipeline working with youth-serving organizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porro, I.

    2005-12-01

    The After-School Astronomy Project (ASAP) is a comprehensive initiative to promote the pursuit of science learning among underrepresented youth. To this end ASAP specifically aims at building the capacity of urban community-based centers to deliver innovative science out-of-school programming to their youth. ASAP makes use of a modular curriculum consisting of a combination of hands-on activities and youth-led explorations of the night sky using MicroObservatory. Through project-based investigations students reinforce learning in astronomy and develop an understanding of science as inquiry, while also develop communication and computer skills. Through MicroObservatory students gain access to a network of educational telescopes, that they control over the Internet, software analysis tools and an online community of users. An integral part of ASAP is to provide professional development opportunities for after-school workers. This promotes a self-sustainable implementation of ASAP long-term and fosters the creation of a cadre of after-school professionals dedicated to facilitating science-based programs.

  13. Communities of Practice Transition Online - Lessons learned from NASA's EPO Online Workspace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davey, B.

    2012-12-01

    The Earth Forum Education and Public Outreach (EP/O) community has long interacted to better their practice as a community as well as individually. Working together to share knowledge and grow, they function as a community of practice. In 2009, NASA designed and implemented an online workspace in hopes of promoting the communities continued interactions. This study examines the role of an online workspace component of a community in the work of a community of practice. Much has been studied revealing the importance of communities of practice to organizations, project success, and knowledge management and some of these same successes hold true for virtual communities of practice. Study participants were 75 Education and Public Outreach community members of NASA's Science Mission Directorate Earth Forum. In this mixed methods study, online workspace metrics were used to track participation and a survey completed by 21 members was used to quantify participation. For a more detailed analysis, 15 community members (five highly active users, five average users, and five infrequent users) selected based on survey responses, were interviewed. Finally, survey data was gathered from seven online facilitators to understand their role in the community. Data collected from these 21 community members and five facilitating members suggest that highly active users (logging into the workspace daily), were more likely to have transformative experiences, co-create knowledge, feel ownership of community knowledge, have extended opportunities for community exchange, and find new forms of evaluation. Average users shared some similar characteristics with both the highly active members and infrequent users, representing a group in transition as they become more engaged and active in the online workspace. Inactive users viewed the workspace as having little value, being difficult to navigate, being mainly for gaining basic information about events and community news, and as another demand

  14. EPOS Seismology services and their users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haslinger, Florian; Dupont, Aurelien; Michelini, Alberto; Rietbrock, Andreas; Sleeman, Reinoud; Wiemer, Stefan; Basili, Roberto; Bossu, Rémy; Cakti, Eser; Cotton, Fabrice; Crawford, Wayne; Crowley, Helen; Danciu, Laurentiu; Diaz, Jordi; Garth, Tom; Locati, Mario; Luzi, Lucia; Pitilakis, Kyriazis; Roumelioti, Zafeiria; Strollo, Angelo

    2017-04-01

    The construction of seismological community services for the European Plate Observing System Research Infrastructure (EPOS) is by now well under way. A significant number of services are already operational, largely based on those existing at established institutions or collaborations like ORFEUS, EMSC, AHEAD and EFEHR, and more are being added to be ready for internal validation by late 2017. In this presentation we focus on a number of issues related to the interaction of the community of users with the services provided by the seismological part of the EPOS research infrastructure. How users interact with a service (and how satisfied they are with this interaction) is viewed as one important component of the validation of a service within EPOS, and certainly is key to the uptake of a service and from that also it's attributed value. Within EPOS Seismology, the following aspects of user interaction have already surfaced: - user identification (and potential tracking) versus ease-of-access and openness Requesting users to identify themselves when accessing a service provides various advantages to providers and users (e.g. quantifying & qualifying the service use, customization of services and interfaces, handling access rights and quotas), but may impact the ease of access and also shy away users who don't wish to be identified for whatever reason. - service availability versus cost There is a clear and prominent connection between the availability of a service, both regarding uptime and capacity, and its operational cost (IT systems and personnel), and it is often not clear where to draw the line (and based on which considerations). In connection to that, how to best utilize third-party IT infrastructures (either commercial or public), and what the long-term cost implications of that might be, is equally open. - licensing and attribution The issue of intellectual property and associated licensing policies for data, products and services is only recently gaining

  15. The Organization and Structure of Community Education Offerings in Community Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Michael; Grover, Kenda S.; Kacirek, Kit

    2014-01-01

    One of the key services community colleges provide is community education, meaning those programs and activities that are often offered for leisure or self-improvement and not for credit. Programs of this nature are increasingly challenged to be self-financing, whether through user fees or externally funded grants. The current study explored 75…

  16. Factors Associated With Weight Change in Online Weight Management Communities: A Case Study in the LoseIt Reddit Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappa, Gisele Lobo; Cunha, Tiago Oliveira; Bicalho, Paulo Viana; Ribeiro, Antonio; Couto Silva, Ana Paula; Meira, Wagner; Beleigoli, Alline Maria Rezende

    2017-01-16

    Recent research has shown that of the 72% of American Internet users who have looked for health information online, 22% have searched for help to lose or control weight. This demand for information has given rise to many online weight management communities, where users support one another throughout their weight loss process. Whether and how user engagement in online communities relates to weight change is not totally understood. We investigated the activity behavior and analyze the semantic content of the messages of active users in LoseIt (r/loseit), a weight management community of the online social network Reddit. We then explored whether these features are associated with weight loss in this online social network. A data collection tool was used to collect English posts, comments, and other public metadata of active users (ie, users with at least one post or comment) on LoseIt from August 2010 to November 2014. Analyses of frequency and intensity of user interaction in the community were performed together with a semantic analysis of the messages, done by a latent Dirichlet allocation method. The association between weight loss and online user activity patterns, the semantics of the messages, and real-world variables was found by a linear regression model using 30-day weight change as the dependent variable. We collected posts and comments of 107,886 unique users. Among these, 101,003 (93.62%) wrote at least one comment and 38,981 (36.13%) wrote at least one post. Median percentage of days online was 3.81 (IQR 9.51). The 10 most-discussed semantic topics on posts were related to healthy food, clothing, calorie counting, workouts, looks, habits, support, and unhealthy food. In the subset of 754 users who had gender, age, and 30-day weight change data available, women were predominant and 92.9% (701/754) lost weight. Female gender, body mass index (BMI) at baseline, high levels of online activity, the number of upvotes received per post, and topics discussed

  17. General solar energy information user study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belew, W.W.; Wood, B.L.; Marle, T.L.; Reinhardt, C.L.

    1981-03-01

    This report describes the results of a series of telephone interviews with groups of users of information on general solar energy. These results, part of a larger study on many different solar technologies, identify types of information each group needed and the best ways to get information to each group. The report is 1 of 10 discussing study results. The overall study provides baseline data about information needs in the solar community. An earlier study identified the information user groups in the solar community and the priority (to accelerate solar energy commercialization) of getting information to each group. In the current study only high-priority groups were examined. Results from 13 groups of respondents are analyzed in this report: Loan Officers, Real Estate Appraisers, Tax Assessors, Insurers, Lawyers, Utility Representatives, Public Interest Group Representatives, Information and Agricultural Representatives, Public Interest Group Representatives, Information and Agricultural Specialists at State Cooperative Extension Service Offices, and State Energy Office Representatives. The data will be used as input to the determination of information products and services the Solar Energy Research Institute, the Solar Energy Information Data Bank Network, and the entire information outreach community should be preparing and disseminating.

  18. Non-orthogonal transmission in multi-user systems with Grassmannian beamforming

    KAUST Repository

    Xia, Minghua

    2011-06-01

    Aiming to achieve the sum-rate capacity in multiuser multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channels with N t antennas implemented at the transmitter, opportunistic beamforming (OBF) generates N t orthonormal beams and serves N t users during each transmission, which results in high scheduling delay over the users, especially in densely populated wireless networks. Non-orthogonal OBF with more than N t transmit beams can be exploited to serve more users simultaneously and further decreases scheduling delay. However, the inter-beam interference will inevitably deteriorate the sum-rate. Therefore, there is a tradeoff between the sum-rate and the increasing number of transmit beams. In this context, the sum-rate of non-orthogonal OBF with N > N t beams are studied, where the transmitter is based on the Grassmannian beamforming. Our results show that non-orthogonal OBF is an interference-limited system. Moreover, when the inter-beam interference reaches its minimum for fixed N t and N, the sum-rate scales as N ln (N/N-N t) and it decreases monotonically with N for fixed N t. Numerical results corroborate the accuracy of our analyses. © 2011 IEEE.

  19. Incarceration experiences among a community-recruited sample of injection drug users in Bangkok, Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lai Calvin

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Since 2003 Thailand has waged an aggressive "war on drugs" campaign focused on arresting and incarcerating suspected drug users and dealers. However, little is known about incarceration experiences among IDU in the wake of the recent war on drugs. Therefore, we sought to examine incarceration experiences among IDU in Bangkok, Thailand. Methods We examined the prevalence of incarceration among community-recruited IDU participating in the Mitsampan Community Research Project. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with a self-reported history of incarceration. We also examined the prevalence of injection drug use and syringe sharing within prisons. Results 252 IDU were recruited in August 2008; 66 (26.2% were female and the median age was 36.5 years. In total, 197 (78.2% participants reported a history of incarceration. In multivariate analyses, reporting a history of incarceration was associated with a history of compulsory drug treatment (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.95 - 12.48, non-fatal overdose (AOR = 3.69; 95%CI: 1.45 - 9.39, syringe sharing (AOR = 2.20; 95%CI: 1.12 - 4.32, and female gender (AOR = 0.41; 95%CI: 0.20 - 0.82. Among those who reported a history of incarceration, 59 (29.9% reported injection drug use in prison, and 48 (81.4% of these individuals reported sharing syringes in prison. Incarceration was not associated with the number of injections performed in the previous week (p = 0.202. Conclusion Over three-quarters of the IDU participating in this study reported a history of incarceration, and 30% of these individuals reported injection drug use within prison. Further, an alarmingly high level of syringe sharing within prison was reported, and incarceration was not associated with reductions in drug use. These findings provide further evidence of the need for community diversion strategies, as well as harm reduction programs, in Thai

  20. 77 FR 16535 - Request for Nominations of Members To Serve on the Census Bureau National Advisory Committee on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-21

    ...-based organizations, and the private sector. 5. No employee of the federal government can serve as a..., considering such factors as race, ethnicity, geography, gender, technical expertise, community involvement...

  1. HANARO user support and training

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seong, Baek Seok; Lee, J. S.; Sim, C. M. [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-10-15

    The purpose of this project is to support external users to promote shared-use of HANARO effectively. To this end, external manpower was recruited and trained. Also, in order to broaden HANARO user-base, practice-oriented training was given. The total number of projects selected as a part of this program was 36 this year. These composed of four broad fields: neutron beam utilization, materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, neutron activation analysis and radioisotope production. In each field, the number of projects was 22, 4, 6 and 4 respectively. The HANARO user supports used for these projects were carried out 40 events with 355 samples for neutron beam utilization, 16 events with 1,404 hr for materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, 8 events with 369 samples and 4 events for radioisotope production. In order to broaden HANARO's potential user-base and increase the utilization of the HANARO experimental facility, practice-oriented HANARO user training was given. All participants from industry, academia, and national labs trained on working instruments of various fields such as neutron beam applications, materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, and neutron activation analysis. 'HANARO (utilization and research) information management system' has been developed in an effort to create a single database. By having it available on the net, it will serve as HANARO's important 'Information Platform' along with HANARO web site

  2. Reports of evidence planting by police among a community-based sample of injection drug users in Bangkok, Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lai Calvin

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Drug policy in Thailand has relied heavily on law enforcement-based approaches. Qualitative reports indicate that police in Thailand have resorted to planting drugs on suspected drug users to extort money or provide grounds for arrest. The present study sought to describe the prevalence and factors associated with this form of evidence planting by police among injection drug users (IDU in Bangkok. Methods Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with evidence planting of drugs by police among a community-based sample of IDU in Bangkok. We also examined the prevalence and average amount of money paid by IDU to police in order to avoid arrest. Results 252 IDU were recruited between July and August, 2008, among whom 66 (26.2% were female and the median age was 36.5 years. In total, 122 (48.4% participants reported having drugs planted on them by police. In multivariate analyses, this form of evidence planting was positively associated with midazolam use (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 2.84; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.58 - 5.11, recent non-fatal overdose (AOR = 2.56; 95%CI: 1.40 - 4.66, syringe lending (AOR = 2.08; 95%CI: 1.19 - 3.66, and forced drug treatment (AOR = 1.88; 95%CI: 1.05 - 3.36. Among those who reported having drugs planted on them, 59 (48.3% paid police a bribe in order to avoid arrest. Conclusion A high proportion of community-recruited IDU participating in this study reported having drugs planted on them by police. Drug planting was found to be associated with numerous risk factors including syringe sharing and participation in government-run drug treatment programs. Immediate action should be taken to address this form of abuse of power reportedly used by police.

  3. Reports of evidence planting by police among a community-based sample of injection drug users in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairbairn, Nadia; Kaplan, Karyn; Hayashi, Kanna; Suwannawong, Paisan; Lai, Calvin; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas

    2009-10-07

    Drug policy in Thailand has relied heavily on law enforcement-based approaches. Qualitative reports indicate that police in Thailand have resorted to planting drugs on suspected drug users to extort money or provide grounds for arrest. The present study sought to describe the prevalence and factors associated with this form of evidence planting by police among injection drug users (IDU) in Bangkok. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with evidence planting of drugs by police among a community-based sample of IDU in Bangkok. We also examined the prevalence and average amount of money paid by IDU to police in order to avoid arrest. 252 IDU were recruited between July and August, 2008, among whom 66 (26.2%) were female and the median age was 36.5 years. In total, 122 (48.4%) participants reported having drugs planted on them by police. In multivariate analyses, this form of evidence planting was positively associated with midazolam use (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 2.84; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.58 - 5.11), recent non-fatal overdose (AOR = 2.56; 95%CI: 1.40 - 4.66), syringe lending (AOR = 2.08; 95%CI: 1.19 - 3.66), and forced drug treatment (AOR = 1.88; 95%CI: 1.05 - 3.36). Among those who reported having drugs planted on them, 59 (48.3%) paid police a bribe in order to avoid arrest. A high proportion of community-recruited IDU participating in this study reported having drugs planted on them by police. Drug planting was found to be associated with numerous risk factors including syringe sharing and participation in government-run drug treatment programs. Immediate action should be taken to address this form of abuse of power reportedly used by police.

  4. Leading-Following: Guiding Care in the Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz, Mario R

    2018-04-01

    There are many ways nurses may be leaders and serve others in the community by utilizing a unique knowledge base that is grounded in the extant nursing theories and models. Leading and serving others with nursing knowledge demarks the contributions nurses make in all situations. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate how Parse's leading-following model and the Rainbow PRISM model (RPM) guide healthcare services in academic nursing health and wellness centers that serve the needs of all persons living in the community. Also, concepts within the RPM are discussed to align with Parse's current refinements of the humanbecoming paradigm.

  5. The role of online community from user and firm perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ponnamma Divakaran, Pradeep Kumar

    for firm’s benefits. The overall objective of this doctoral dissertation is to provide insights about how online communities as a collective unit can be exploited for solving some of the problems faced by companies in their product development especially in their pre-launch period. This objective is built...... on the community itself and its characteristics, (2) research focussed on studying the off-line consumer or market behaviour using community as the field setting and (3) research focussed on investigating the various functions and roles of online communities as a collective unit. The first two studies...

  6. Solar thermal electric power information user study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belew, W.W.; Wood, B.L.; Marle, T.L.; Reinhardt, C.L.

    1981-02-01

    The results of a series of telephone interviews with groups of users of information on solar thermal electric power are described. These results, part of a larger study on many different solar technologies, identify types of information each group needed and the best ways to get information to each group. The report is 1 of 10 discussing study results. The overall study provides baseline data about information needs in the solar community. An earlier study identified the information user groups in the solar community and the priority (to accelerate solar energy commercialization) of getting information to each group. In the current study only high-priority groups were examined. Results from five solar thermal electric power groups of respondents are analyzed: DOE-Funded Researchers, Non-DOE-Funded Researchers, Representatives of Utilities, Electric Power Engineers, and Educators. The data will be used as input to the determination of information products and services the Solar Energy Research Institute, the Solar Energy Information Data Bank Network, and the entire information outreach community should be preparing and disseminating.

  7. Enrichment of Multi-criteria Communities for Context-aware Recommendations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thuy Ngoc Nguyen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Recommender systems are designed to help users alleviate the information overload problem by offering personalized recommendations. Most systems apply collaborative filtering to predict individual preferences based on opinions of like-minded people through their ratings on items. Recently, context-aware recommender systems (CARSs are developed to offer users more suitable recommendations by exploiting additional context data such as time, location, etc. However, most CARSs use only ratings as a criterion for building communities, and ignore other available data allowing users to be grouped into communities. This paper presents a novel approach for exploiting multi-criteria communities to provide context-aware recommendations. The main idea of the proposed algorithm is that for a given context, the significance of multi-criteria communities could be different. So communities from the most suitable criteria followed by a learning phase are incorporated into the recommendation process.

  8. User-driven Innovation in a Supply and Value Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cankaya, Alev; Lassen, Astrid Heidemann; Wandahl, Søren

    This article serves to conduct a systematic literary review upon the subject of user driven innovation in a supply and value network. The methodology behind the review is strict, organised, and controlled by peers in order to ensure that most of the relevant theory behind the subject is covered...

  9. Being connected to the local community through a Festival mobile application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Kyungsik; Wirth, Richard; Hanrahan, Benjamin; Chen, Jiawei; Lee, Sooyeon; Carroll, John M.

    2016-04-25

    In this paper we report our investigation into how using and interacting with a local festival mobile app enhanced users’ festival experiences and connected them to other local users and their community. We explored the relationship between users’ perceived basic affordances of mobile technology, perceived opportunities of the festival app, and three elements that sustain the local community — attachment, engagement, and social support networks. Based on the usage logs of 348 active users, as well as survey responses from 80 users, we present a mobile-mediated local community framework and found that engagement is a key mediator of mobile experiences and facets of community.

  10. Model Based User's Access Requirement Analysis of E-Governance Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Shilpi; Jeon, Seung-Hwan; Robles, Rosslin John; Kim, Tai-Hoon; Bandyopadhyay, Samir Kumar

    The strategic and contemporary importance of e-governance has been recognized across the world. In India too, various ministries of Govt. of India and State Governments have taken e-governance initiatives to provide e-services to citizens and the business they serve. To achieve the mission objectives, and make such e-governance initiatives successful it would be necessary to improve the trust and confidence of the stakeholders. It is assumed that the delivery of government services will share the same public network information that is being used in the community at large. In particular, the Internet will be the principal means by which public access to government and government services will be achieved. To provide the security measures main aim is to identify user's access requirement for the stakeholders and then according to the models of Nath's approach. Based on this analysis, the Govt. can also make standards of security based on the e-governance models. Thus there will be less human errors and bias. This analysis leads to the security architecture of the specific G2C application.

  11. User-Friendly Data Servers for Climate Studies at the Asia-Pacific Data-Research Center (APDRC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, G.; Shen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Merrill, R.; Waseda, T.; Mitsudera, H.; Hacker, P.

    2002-12-01

    The APDRC was recently established within the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at the University of Hawaii. The APDRC mission is to increase understanding of climate variability in the Asia-Pacific region by developing the computational, data-management, and networking infrastructure necessary to make data resources readily accessible and usable by researchers, and by undertaking data-intensive research activities that will both advance knowledge and lead to improvements in data preparation and data products. A focus of recent activity is the implementation of user-friendly data servers. The APDRC is currently running a Live Access Server (LAS) developed at NOAA/PMEL to provide access to and visualization of gridded climate products via the web. The LAS also allows users to download the selected data subsets in various formats (such as binary, netCDF and ASCII). Most of the datasets served by the LAS are also served through our OPeNDAP server (formerly DODS), which allows users to directly access the data using their desktop client tools (e.g. GrADS, Matlab and Ferret). In addition, the APDRC is running an OPeNDAP Catalog/Aggregation Server (CAS) developed by Unidata at UCAR to serve climate data and products such as model output and satellite-derived products. These products are often large (> 2 GB) and are therefore stored as multiple files (stored separately in time or in parameters). The CAS remedies the inconvenience of multiple files and allows access to the whole dataset (or any subset that cuts across the multiple files) via a single request command from any DODS enabled client software. Once the aggregation of files is configured at the server (CAS), the process of aggregation is transparent to the user. The user only needs to know a single URL for the entire dataset, which is, in fact, stored as multiple files. CAS even allows aggregation of files on different systems and at different locations. Currently, the APDRC is serving NCEP, ECMWF

  12. User's guide for the small-angle neutron scattering facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlak, W.A.H.M.; Werkhoven, E.J.

    1989-04-01

    This report serves as a manual for the users of the small-angle neutron scattering instrument located at beamport HB3 of the High Flux Reactor in Petten. The main part of the text is devoted to the control of the facility and the data handling by means of a μVAX computer. Also, the various possibilities to access the facility across computer networks are discussed. A collection of menu-driven and command-driven programs, which utilize the flexibility of the VMS operating system without requiring detailed knowledge of the user about the computer environment, enables to control the instrument. For the convenience of the experienced user, who might wish to update or extend the software, a technical supplement is included. 15 figs.; 8 refs

  13. The community health worker cultural mentoring project: preparing professional students for team work with health workers from urban communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherwen, Laurie N; Schwolsky-Fitch, Elena; Rodriquez, Romelia; Horta, Greg; Lopez, Ivanna

    2007-01-01

    Community Health Workers or CHWs (also known by a variety of alternative titles) are health workers drawn from communities to provide access to care for members of their communities. CHWs have been documented as effective in delivering a variety of services in a culturally-sensitive manner, and in providing a bridge between health professionals and underserved or minority communities. Yet, CHWs have not been well incorporated into interdisciplinary health care teams. The majority of health professionals are not even aware of the possible role and skills of CHWs. Believing that the best time to educate professionals about this valuable health worker and ensure that CHWs become part of interdisciplinary health care teams is during the student years, the Hunter College Schools of the Health Professions, and the Community Health Worker Network of New York City developed a pilot project, the Community Health Worker Cultural Mentoring Project. Community Health Workers, who were members of the Network, served as "community mentors" for health professions students drawn from the programs of community health education, nursing, and nutrition. CHWs worked with faculty of selected courses in each of the professional programs, and served as panelists in these courses, presenting information about health beliefs and alternative health practices of diverse cultural groups in communities of New York City. Class sessions were first held in the fall of 2004; subsequent sessions were held in following semesters. Approximately 40 students participated in 7 classes, with 6 CHWs serving as mentors - two per class. At the end of the classroom presentations, students wrote reflections relating to their understanding of the CHW role and relevance for their future interdisciplinary practice. The majority of reflections met the goal of increasing professional students' understanding of the CHW role and skills. At this point, quantitative and qualitative data will need to be collected to

  14. A proposal: LEIR to serve biomedicine

    CERN Document Server

    Antonella Del Rosso

    2012-01-01

    LEIR is the CERN facility that produces high-density ion beams for the LHC and for the SPS fixed target experiments. Since its operational schedule is not fully booked, LEIR could, in principle, be exploited even further. A brainstorming meeting recently took place at CERN to evaluate the possibility of modifying LEIR to serve the biomedical community. Discussions are in progress.   The Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR). LEIR is a small synchrotron with a circumference of about 78 m. It currently receives particles from Linac 3 and prepares beams for the SPS and the LHC. “In order for LEIR to be able to provide ion beams with appropriate energies for studies of interest for biomedical applications, a new ejection system with new beam lines needs to be designed,” explains Christian Carli, from the Beams Department. “In addition, Linac 3 could be upgraded to include a second ion source and a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) optimized for ions of interest for bi...

  15. Accidental Discovery of Information on the User-Defined Social Web: A Mixed-Method Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Chi-Jung

    2012-01-01

    Frequently interacting with other people or working in an information-rich environment can foster the "accidental discovery of information" (ADI) (Erdelez, 2000; McCay-Peet & Toms, 2010). With the increasing adoption of social web technologies, online user-participation communities and user-generated content have provided users the…

  16. HANARO user support and training

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seong, Baek Seok; Lee, J. S.; Sim, C. M. [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-10-15

    The purpose of this project is to support external users to promote shared-use of HANARO effectively. To this end, external manpower was recruited and trained. Also, in order to broaden HANARO user-base, practice-oriented training was given. The total number of projects selected as a part of this program was 20 this year. These composed of four broad fields: neutron beam utilization, materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, neutron activation analysis and radioisotope production. In each field, the number of projects was 11, 1, 3 and 2 respectively. In addition, considering the time spent on support, total supporting ratio has reached to an average of 14% over three fields. It was 23% for neutron beam utilization, 11% for materials/nuclear materials irradiation test, and 8% for neutron activation analysis. In order to broaden HANARO's potential user-base and increase the utilization of the HANARO experimental facility, practice-oriented HANARO user training was given. All participants from industry, academia, and national labs trained on working instruments of various fields such as neutron beam applications, materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, and neutron activation analysis. 'HANARO (utilization and research) information management system' has been developed in an effort to create a single database. By having it available on the net, it will serve as HANARO's important 'Information Platform' along with HANARO web site

  17. Development and evaluation of nursing user interface screens using multiple methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyun, Sookyung; Johnson, Stephen B; Stetson, Peter D; Bakken, Suzanne

    2009-12-01

    Building upon the foundation of the Structured Narrative Electronic Health Record (EHR) model, we applied theory-based (combined Technology Acceptance Model and Task-Technology Fit Model) and user-centered methods to explore nurses' perceptions of functional requirements for an electronic nursing documentation system, design user interface screens reflective of the nurses' perspectives, and assess nurses' perceptions of the usability of the prototype user interface screens. The methods resulted in user interface screens that were perceived to be easy to use, potentially useful, and well-matched to nursing documentation tasks associated with Nursing Admission Assessment, Blood Administration, and Nursing Discharge Summary. The methods applied in this research may serve as a guide for others wishing to implement user-centered processes to develop or extend EHR systems. In addition, some of the insights obtained in this study may be informative to the development of safe and efficient user interface screens for nursing document templates in EHRs.

  18. User Collaboration for Improving Access to Historical Texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clemens Neudecker

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The paper will describe how web-based collaboration tools can engage users in the building of historical printed text resources created by mass digitisation projects. The drivers for developing such tools will be presented, identifying the benefits that can be derived for both the user community and cultural heritage institutions. The perceived risks, such as new errors introduced by the users, and the limitations of engaging with users in this way will be set out with the lessons that can be learned from existing activities, such as the National Library of Australia's newspaper website which supports collaborative correction of Optical Character Recognition (OCR output. The paper will present the work of the IMPACT (Improving Access to Text project, a large-scale integrating project funded by the European Commission as part of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7. One of the aims of the project is to develop tools that help improve OCR results for historical printed texts, specifically those works published before the industrial production of books from the middle of the 19th century. Technological improvements to image processing and OCR engine technology are vital to improving access to historic text, but engaging the user community also has an important role to play. Utilising the intended user can help achieve the levels of accuracy currently found in born-digital materials. Improving OCR results will allow for better resource discovery and enhance performance by text mining and accessibility tools. The IMPACT project will specifically develop a tool that supports collaborative correction and validation of OCR results and a tool to allow user involvement in building historical dictionaries which can be used to validate word recognition. The technologies use the characteristics of human perception as a basis for error detection.

  19. Beyond NIMBYism: understanding community antipathy toward needle distribution services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Peter J; Howe, Mary

    2014-05-01

    In late 2007 the Homeless Youth Alliance (HYA), a small non-profit serving homeless youth in the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood of San Francisco, USA, attempted to move its needle exchange service from a site on the Haight street commercial strip to a community centre approximately 150m away. The reaction of the housed community in the area was vocal and organized, and attracted considerable regional media attention. Ultimately, the plan to move the service had to be cancelled. The authors were, respectively, board chair and executive director of HYA at the time, and collected extensive field notes and media records as events unfolded. In this paper, we re-examine these events through literatures on contested spaces and on 'Not In My Backyard' (NIMBY) resistance to social services. We found that opposition to the service relocation had little to do with opposition to needle exchange itself, but rather was symptomatic of broader contestation over the identity and character of the neighbourhood. On the one hand, the neighbourhood had experienced skyrocketing housing prices over the past 40 years, making home ownership almost exclusively the province of the wealthy. On the other, the neighbourhood retains historic connections to the 1968 'Summer of Love', and the main commercial strip forms the centre of an active injecting drug use scene. As a consequence, many home owners who felt they had made considerable sacrifices to afford to live in the area expressed a sense of being "under siege" from drug users, and also believed that the City government pursues a deliberate policy of "keeping the Haight weird" by supporting ongoing service provision to drug users in the area. Housed residents responded to this situation in a variety of ways. One response was to engage in what we term 'defensive place making', in which a small part of a broader neighbourhood is reimagined as "a different neighbourhood". HYA's attempt to move from its current location to this 'different

  20. Do recommender systems benefit users? a modeling approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeung, Chi Ho

    2016-04-01

    Recommender systems are present in many web applications to guide purchase choices. They increase sales and benefit sellers, but whether they benefit customers by providing relevant products remains less explored. While in many cases the recommended products are relevant to users, in other cases customers may be tempted to purchase the products only because they are recommended. Here we introduce a model to examine the benefit of recommender systems for users, and find that recommendations from the system can be equivalent to random draws if one always follows the recommendations and seldom purchases according to his or her own preference. Nevertheless, with sufficient information about user preferences, recommendations become accurate and an abrupt transition to this accurate regime is observed for some of the studied algorithms. On the other hand, we find that high estimated accuracy indicated by common accuracy metrics is not necessarily equivalent to high real accuracy in matching users with products. This disagreement between estimated and real accuracy serves as an alarm for operators and researchers who evaluate recommender systems merely with accuracy metrics. We tested our model with a real dataset and observed similar behaviors. Finally, a recommendation approach with improved accuracy is suggested. These results imply that recommender systems can benefit users, but the more frequently a user purchases the recommended products, the less relevant the recommended products are in matching user taste.

  1. Micro-blogging and Online Community

    OpenAIRE

    Richardson, L-J

    2015-01-01

    The dominance of social media technologies on the Internet has located virtual communities around the use of proprietary social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, although the situation, location and definition of any online community are constantly evolving. Belonging to a number of these online communities, through social networking sites or forums is becoming a normal practice among Internet users. Yet much of the academic analysis of these online communities and...

  2. Focus Group in Community Mental Health Research: Need for Adaption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zupančič, Vesna; Pahor, Majda; Kogovšek, Tina

    2018-04-27

    The article presents an analysis of the use of focus groups in researching community mental health users, starting with the reasons for using them, their implementation in mental health service users' research, and the adaptations of focus group use when researching the experiences of users. Based on personal research experience and a review of scientific publications in the Google Scholar, Web of Science, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and Scopus databases, 20 articles published between 2010 and 2016 were selected for targeted content analysis. A checklist for reporting on the use of focus groups with community mental health service users, aiming to improve the comparability, verifiability and validity was developed. Adaptations of the implementation of focus groups in relation to participants' characteristics were suggested. Focus groups are not only useful as a scientific research technique, but also for ensuring service users' participation in decision-making in community mental health and evaluating the quality of the mental health system and services .

  3. Evaluation of a co-delivered training package for community mental health professionals on service user- and carer-involved care planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grundy, A C; Walker, L; Meade, O; Fraser, C; Cree, L; Bee, P; Lovell, K; Callaghan, P

    2017-08-01

    WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: There is consistent evidence that service users and carers feel marginalized in the process of mental health care planning. Mental health professionals have identified ongoing training needs in relation to involving service users and carers in care planning. There is limited research on the acceptability of training packages for mental health professionals which involve service users and carers as co-facilitators. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: A co-produced and co-delivered training package on service user- and carer-involved care planning was acceptable to mental health professionals. Aspects of the training that were particularly valued were the co-production model, small group discussion and the opportunity for reflective practice. The organizational context of care planning may need more consideration in future training models. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Mental health nurses using co-production models of delivering training to other mental health professionals can be confident that such initiatives will be warmly welcomed, acceptable and engaging. On the basis of the results reported here, we encourage mental health nurses to use co-production approaches more often. Further research will show how clinically effective this training is in improving outcomes for service users and carers. Background There is limited evidence for the acceptability of training for mental health professionals on service user- and carer-involved care planning. Aim To investigate the acceptability of a co-delivered, two-day training intervention on service user- and carer-involved care planning. Methods Community mental health professionals were invited to complete the Training Acceptability Rating Scale post-training. Responses to the quantitative items were summarized using descriptive statistics (Miles, ), and qualitative responses were coded using content analysis (Weber, ). Results Of 350 trainees, 310 completed the

  4. User Environment Tracking and Problem Detection with XALT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agrawal, Kapil [ORNL; Fahey, Mark R [ORNL; McLay, Robert [Texas Advanced Computing Center; James, Doug [Texas Advanced Computing Center

    2014-01-01

    This work improves our understanding of individual users software needs, then leverages that understanding to help stakeholders conduct business in a more efficient, effective, and systematic way. The product, XALT, builds on work that is already improving the user experience and enhancing support programs for thousands of users on twelve supercomputers across the United States and Europe. XALT will instrument individual jobs on high-end computers to generate a picture of the compilers, libraries, and other software that users need to run their jobs successfully. It will highlight the products our researchers need and do not need, and alert users and support staff to the root causes of software configuration issues as soon as the problems occur. A key objective of this work is generating the information needed to improve efficiency and effectiveness for an extensive community of stakeholders including users, sponsoring institutions, support organizations, and development teams. Efficiency, effectiveness, and responsible stewardship each require a clear picture of users needs. XALT is an important step in the quest to achieve that clarity.

  5. Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS). Volume 1, User`s guide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-01-14

    The Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) is a consolidated set of automated resources that effectively manage the data gathered during environmental monitoring and restoration of the Hanford Site. HEIS includes an integrated database that provides consistent and current data to all users and promotes sharing of data by the entire user community. HEIS is an information system with an inclusive database. Although the database is the nucleus of the system, HEIS also provides user access software: query-by-form data entry, extraction, and browsing facilities; menu-driven reporting facilities; an ad hoc query facility; and a geographic information system (GIS). These features, with the exception of the GIS, are described in this manual set. Because HEIS contains data from the entire Hanford Site, many varieties of data are included and have.been divided into subject areas. Related subject areas comprise several volumes of the manual set. The manual set includes a data dictionary that lists all of the fields in the HEIS database, with their definitions and a cross reference of their locations in the database; definitions of data qualifiers for analytical results; and a mapping between the HEIS software functions and the keyboard keys for each of the supported terminals or terminal emulators.

  6. Adoption of an evidence-based colorectal cancer screening promotion program by community organizations serving Filipino Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Filipino Americans have low rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and high CRC mortality. To reduce this disparity, we conducted a dissemination trial in which we offered two levels of technical assistance to community organizations to disseminate an evidence-based CRC screening promotion program among their Filipino American members. This report describes the recruitment of organizations and adoption – the proportion and representativeness of organizations that decided to implement the program. Methods During the recruitment phase, we completed organizational assessments with 44 community-based organizations (previous partners in research, organizations that were referred to us, or new organizations) to assess their eligibility to participate (having ≥ 150 Filipino American members age 50+). We compared organizational characteristics of organizations that did and did not adopt our CRC screening promotion program. Results Twenty two of the 44 community organizations that completed the assessment adopted the CRC screening promotion program (50%). Adoption was highest among organizations that had previously partnered with us (11/14 = 79%) and among organizations that were referred to us by community partners (5/10 = 50%) and lowest among new organizations (6/20 = 30%). Few organizational differences were found between adopters and non-adopters. Conclusions The high rate of adoption among organizations that were referred by community partners or had partnered with us in the past underscores the importance of community resources, community-academic relationships, and partnership in the dissemination process. However, the moderate rate of adoption among new organizations and the demands of completing documentation and assessments in our trial to advance dissemination research raise questions regarding the generalizability of study findings. PMID:24618267

  7. Community identities as visions for landscape change

    Science.gov (United States)

    William P. Stewart; Derek Liebert; Kevin W. Larkin

    2004-01-01

    Residents' felt senses of their community can play substantial roles in determining visions for landscape change. Community identities are often anchored in tangible environments and events of a community, and have the potential to serve as visions for landscape planning processes. Photo-elicitation is applied in this study to connect community-based meanings to...

  8. Opening up closed policy communities.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Termeer, C.J.A.M.; Werkman, R.A.

    2010-01-01

    Agricultural policy networks have served as classic cases of closed policy communities, facing pressure to open up. However attempts to involve new stakeholders slowly move forward. This paper addresses the question why it is so difficult to open up agricultural communities and what might help to

  9. European correlation counter (ECC) VER. 1.0 users manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vocino, V.

    1989-01-01

    The users manual is conceived for the utilization of personal computers linked to a shift register for the assay of Pu containing fuel. It is based on an MS DOS system and permits the users to store calibration curves, constants, measurement and assay data on floppy disks for ulterior utilisation. The interpretation models use the latest theories of neutron multiplication and dead time effects. The inspector is guided by the screen display step by step from the instrument test via calibration to the assay and data storage. All test, calibration and assay data can be printed out on paper tape and serve to the inspector to prepare the respective inspection report. The users are invited to make suggestions to the authors, such that the manual's use can be adapted to further requirements

  10. Initial Efforts in Characterizing Radiation and Plasma Effects on Space Assets: Bridging the Space Environment, Engineering and User Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Y.; Ganushkina, N. Y.; Guild, T. B.; Jiggens, P.; Jun, I.; Mazur, J. E.; Meier, M. M.; Minow, J. I.; Pitchford, D. A.; O'Brien, T. P., III; Shprits, Y.; Tobiska, W. K.; Xapsos, M.; Rastaetter, L.; Jordanova, V. K.; Kellerman, A. C.; Fok, M. C. H.

    2017-12-01

    The Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) has been leading the community-wide model validation projects for many years. Such effort has been broadened and extended via the newly-launched International Forum for Space Weather Modeling Capabilities Assessment (https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/assessment/), Its objective is to track space weather models' progress and performance over time, which is critically needed in space weather operations. The Radiation and Plasma Effects Working Team is working on one of the many focused evaluation topics and deals with five different subtopics: Surface Charging from 10s eV to 40 keV electrons, Internal Charging due to energetic electrons from hundreds keV to several MeVs. Single Event Effects from solar energetic particles (SEPs) and galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) (several MeV to TeVs), Total Dose due to accumulation of doses from electrons (>100 KeV) and protons (> 1 MeV) in a broad energy range, and Radiation Effects from SEPs and GCRs at aviation altitudes. A unique aspect of the Radiation and Plasma Effects focus area is that it bridges the space environments, engineering and user community. This presentation will summarize the working team's progress in metrics discussion/definition and the CCMC web interface/tools to facilitate the validation efforts. As an example, tools in the areas of surface charging/internal charging will be demoed.

  11. A Growing Opportunity: Community Gardens Affiliated with US Hospitals and Academic Health Centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Daniel R; Rovniak, Liza S; Kraschnewski, Jennifer L; Hanson, Ryan; Sciamanna, Christopher N

    Community gardens can reduce public health disparities through promoting physical activity and healthy eating, growing food for underserved populations, and accelerating healing from injury or disease. Despite their potential to contribute to comprehensive patient care, no prior studies have investigated the prevalence of community gardens affiliated with US healthcare institutions, and the demographic characteristics of communities served by these gardens. In 2013, national community garden databases, scientific abstracts, and public search engines (e.g., Google Scholar) were used to identify gardens. Outcomes included the prevalence of hospital-based community gardens by US regions, and demographic characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, education, household income, and obesity rates) of communities served by gardens. There were 110 healthcare-based gardens, with 39 in the Midwest, 25 in the South, 24 in the Northeast, and 22 in the West. Compared to US population averages, communities served by healthcare-based gardens had similar demographic characteristics, but significantly lower rates of obesity (27% versus 34%, p gardens are located in regions that are demographically representative of the US population, and are associated with lower rates of obesity in communities they serve.

  12. Proceedings of the U.S. Geological Survey Eighth Biennial Geographic Information Science Workshop and first The National Map Users Conference, Denver, Colorado, May 10-13, 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sieverling, Jennifer B.; Dietterle, Jeffrey

    2014-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is sponsoring the first The National Map Users Conference in conjunction with the eighth biennial Geographic Information Science (GIS) Workshop on May 10-13, 2011, in Lakewood, Colorado. The GIS Workshop will be held at the USGS National Training Center, located on the Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, Colorado, May 10-11. The National Map Users Conference will be held directly after the GIS Workshop at the Denver Marriott West, a convention hotel in the Lakewood, Colorado area, May 12-13. The National Map is designed to serve the Nation by providing geographic data and knowledge for government, industry, and public uses. The goal of The National Map Users Conference is to enhance communications and collaboration among the communities of users of and contributors to The National Map, including USGS, Department of the Interior, and other government GIS specialists and scientists, as well as the broader geospatial community. The USGS National Geospatial Program intends the conference to serve as a forum to engage users and more fully discover and meet their needs for the products and services of The National Map. The goal of the GIS Workshop is to promote advancement of GIS and related technologies and concepts as well as the sharing of GIS knowledge within the USGS GIS community. This collaborative opportunity for multi-disciplinary GIS and associated professionals will allow attendees to present and discuss a wide variety of geospatial-related topics. The Users Conference and Workshop collaboration will bring together scientists, managers, and data users who, through presentations, posters, seminars, workshops, and informal gatherings, will share accomplishments and progress on a variety of geospatial topics. During this joint event, attendees will have the opportunity to present or demonstrate their work; to develop their knowledge by attending hands-on workshops, seminars, and presentations given by professionals from USGS and

  13. IMPROVISATION OF SEEKER SATISFACTION IN YAHOO! COMMUNITY QUESTION ANSWERING PORTAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Latha

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available One popular Community question answering (CQA site, Yahoo! Answers, had attracted 120 million users worldwide, and had 400 million answers to questions available. A typical characteristic of such sites is that they allow anyone to post or answer any questions on any subject. Question Answering Community has emerged as popular, and often effective, means of information seeking on the web. By posting questions, for other participants to answer, information seekers can obtain specific answers to their questions. However, CQA is not always effective: in some cases, a user may obtain a perfect answer within minutes, and in others it may require hours and sometimes days until a satisfactory answer is contributed. We investigate the problem of predicting information seeker satisfaction in yahoo collaborative question answering communities, where we attempt to predict whether a question author will be satisfied with the answers submitted by the community participants. Our experimental results, obtained from a large scale evaluation over thousands of real questions and user ratings, demonstrate the feasibility of modeling and predicting asker satisfaction. We complement our results with a thorough investigation of the interactions and information seeking patterns in question answering communities that correlate with information seeker satisfaction. We also explore automatic ranking, creating abstract from retrieved answers, and history updation, which aims to provide users with what they want or need without explicitly ask them for user satisfaction. Our system could be useful for a variety of applications, such as answer selection, user feedback analysis, and ranking.

  14. If you want to benefit from users - don't be a chicken!

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita

    2015-01-01

    to overcome internal resistance and constraints when firms introduce user-centric business models. Using a lens of paradox, this article offers a novel model of management that explains how managers can leverage their innovation capabilities and provide long-term relief from tensions arising from user...... communities. Proposing mechanisms to be implemented, the model helps managers to benefit from the distinct characteristics of firms and users and to encourage synergies. Finally, I develop propositions and suggest implications for user innovation practice and research....

  15. Reducing the standard serving size of alcoholic beverages prompts reductions in alcohol consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kersbergen, Inge; Oldham, Melissa; Jones, Andrew; Field, Matt; Angus, Colin; Robinson, Eric

    2018-05-14

    To test whether reducing the standard serving size of alcoholic beverages would reduce voluntary alcohol consumption in a laboratory (study 1) and a real-world drinking environment (study 2). Additionally, we modelled the potential public health benefit of reducing the standard serving size of on-trade alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom. Studies 1 and 2 were cluster-randomized experiments. In the additional study, we used the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model to estimate the number of deaths and hospital admissions that would be averted per year in the United Kingdom if a policy that reduces alcohol serving sizes in the on-trade was introduced. A semi-naturalistic laboratory (study 1), a bar in Liverpool, UK (study 2). Students and university staff members (study 1: n = 114, mean age = 24.8 years, 74.6% female), residents from local community (study 2: n = 164, mean age = 34.9 years, 57.3% female). In study 1, participants were assigned randomly to receive standard or reduced serving sizes (by 25%) of alcohol during a laboratory drinking session. In study 2, customers at a bar were served alcohol in either standard or reduced serving sizes (by 28.6-33.3%). Outcome measures were units of alcohol consumed within 1 hour (study 1) and up to 3 hours (study 2). Serving size condition was the primary predictor. In study 1, a 25% reduction in alcohol serving size led to a 20.7-22.3% reduction in alcohol consumption. In study 2, a 28.6-33.3% reduction in alcohol serving size led to a 32.4-39.6% reduction in alcohol consumption. Modelling results indicated that decreasing the serving size of on-trade alcoholic beverages by 25% could reduce the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions and deaths per year in the United Kingdom by 4.4-10.5% and 5.6-13.2%, respectively. Reducing the serving size of alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom appears to lead to a reduction in alcohol consumption within a single drinking occasion. © 2018 The Authors. Addiction

  16. A Risk Radar driven by Internet of intelligences serving for emergency management in community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chongfu; Wu, Tong; Renn, Ortwin

    2016-07-01

    Today, most of the commercial risk radars only have the function to show risks, as same as a set of risk matrixes. In this paper, we develop the Internet of intelligences (IOI) to drive a risk radar monitoring dynamic risks for emergency management in community. An IOI scans risks in a community by 4 stages: collecting information and experience about risks; evaluating risk incidents; verifying; and showing risks. Employing the information diffusion method, we optimized to deal with the effective information for calculating risk value. Also, a specific case demonstrates the reliability and practicability of risk radar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Marketing Model for Community College.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chahin, Jaime

    In order to survive projected enrollment decreases and to better serve nontraditional students, community colleges must develop marketing plans that make effective use of five community resources: local school system personnel, business and industry, civic and social service agencies, college personnel, and the local media. In approaching these…

  18. Female spouses of injection drug users in Pakistan: a bridge population of the HIV epidemic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, S; Mehmood, J; Awan, A B; Zafar, S T; Khoshnood, K; Khan, A A

    2011-04-01

    An estimated 21% of injection drug users (IDUs) in Pakistan are HIV-positive and data suggest that the spouses of IDUs may be a critical component of the HIV transmission chain. This study interviewed 101 spouses of male IDUs about their sexual practices and drug use. We found that 43% had been sexually active with their partners in the past month but only 4% reported selling sex. Almost a quarter (23%) used drugs and 19% injected drugs, usually a combination of diazepam and pheniramine. Although sex work was infrequent among spouses of IDUs, their risk of contracting HIV and transmitting it to others was high because they received injection drugs, sometimes along with their IDU husbands, from the same health centres that provided therapeutic injections to the rest of the community. IDU spouses may thus serve as a bridge group via therapeutic injections, rather than via sex work.

  19. Transmit Antenna Selection for Multi-User Underlay Cognitive Transmission with Zero-Forcing Beamforming

    KAUST Repository

    Hanif, Muhammad; Yang, Hong-Chuan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    We present a transmit antenna subset selection scheme for an underlay cognitive system serving multiple secondary receivers. The secondary system employs zero-forcing beamforming to nullify the interference to multiple primary users and eliminate

  20. 76 FR 12996 - Data Users Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting and Agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Users Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting... advice to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the points of view of data users from various sectors of the U.S. economy, including the labor, business, research, academic, and government communities, on...

  1. Data and Science: GES DISC Users' Data Usage and Science Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shie, C. L.; Greene, M.; Acker, J. G.; Lei, G. D.; Al-Jazrawi, A. F.; Meyer, D. J.

    2017-12-01

    Motivation: Recall the arguably most renowned anecdote in the history of science: the young Isaac Newton was hit on his head by a falling apple (the data!) when he sat in his garden, which inspired Newton's brilliant insight and his eventually understanding and demonstrating of gravitational force (the science!). This well-known "coupling" of "data" and "science" can be considered as the trigger for this study (as well as its title). The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Service Center (GES DISC) has provided massive amounts of Earth science data, information, and services to diverse research communities and the general public for decades. How much those data products from different missions or projects have been used by diverse user communities, as well as how they have been used by our various user categories (such as research scientists, applications scientists, general public, and students) for different science research or/and applications are the primary focus of this study. We have performed an integrated analysis on "data usage" vs. "science research/application" by investigating three different, yet related, groups of records, i.e., user Help Tickets (the questions and feedback from the users), user publications (info acquired especially via users' acknowledgments of using Giovanni, our powerful in-house visualization tool, in their papers), and user metrics (the collected information of data and service usage by the users) in recent years (2013-2017). For example, precipitation, hydrology, and atmospheric chemistry have been found as frequently applied science variables or/and science areas that have been exploited or/and explored by the users based on the user tickets we have analyzed so far. With regard to Giovanni, a significant minority of the users are applications users (air quality, water quality, agriculture, natural disasters, etc.) in contrast to the majority of basic research users. More users employ Giovanni as an adjunct data

  2. Unified Photo Enhancement by Discovering Aesthetic Communities From Flickr.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Richang; Zhang, Luming; Tao, Dacheng

    2016-03-01

    Photo enhancement refers to the process of increasing the aesthetic appeal of a photo, such as changing the photo aspect ratio and spatial recomposition. It is a widely used technique in the printing industry, graphic design, and cinematography. In this paper, we propose a unified and socially aware photo enhancement framework which can leverage the experience of photographers with various aesthetic topics (e.g., portrait and landscape). We focus on photos from the image hosting site Flickr, which has 87 million users and to which more than 3.5 million photos are uploaded daily. First, a tagwise regularized topic model is proposed to describe the aesthetic topic of each Flickr user, and coherent and interpretable topics are discovered by leveraging both the visual features and tags of photos. Next, a graph is constructed to describe the similarities in aesthetic topics between the users. Noticeably, densely connected users have similar aesthetic topics, which are categorized into different communities by a dense subgraph mining algorithm. Finally, a probabilistic model is exploited to enhance the aesthetic attractiveness of a test photo by leveraging the photographic experiences of Flickr users from the corresponding communities of that photo. Paired-comparison-based user studies show that our method performs competitively on photo retargeting and recomposition. Moreover, our approach accurately detects aesthetic communities in a photo set crawled from nearly 100000 Flickr users.

  3. Community Radiation Monitoring Program annual report, October 1, 1987--September 30, 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lucas, R.P. Jr.; Cooper, E.N.

    1989-03-01

    In addition to enhancing and augmenting the collection of airborne radiation data from communities close-in to the test site, something that could easily be done with automated equipment, the Community Radiation Monitoring Program seeks to involve local residents of those areas. That is accomplished in two ways: hiring intelligent, well-respected members of the community as Station Managers and Alternates and providing them the training they need to respond to community concerns and questions; and then getting out to those and surrounding communities and holding meetings that serve not just as a forum for DOE and EPA spokesmen, but as a chance for concerned citizens to receive honest and credible answers to questions they might have. The Community Radiation Monitoring Program is, after more than seven years, sound and in focus. Continuous enhancements and ''fine tuning'' will serve to improve its ability to serve the people who live in communities surrounding the Nevada Test Site. 11 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

  4. Context-Aware Community Construction in Proximity-Based Mobile Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Na Yu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Sensor-equipped mobile devices have allowed users to participate in various social networking services. We focus on proximity-based mobile social networking environments where users can share information obtained from different places via their mobile devices when they are in proximity. Since people are more likely to share information if they can benefit from the sharing or if they think the information is of interest to others, there might exist community structures where users who share information more often are grouped together. Communities in proximity-based mobile networks represent social groups where connections are built when people are in proximity. We consider information influence (i.e., specify who shares information with whom as the connection and the space and time related to the shared information as the contexts. To model the potential information influences, we construct an influence graph by integrating the space and time contexts into the proximity-based contacts of mobile users. Further, we propose a two-phase strategy to detect and track context-aware communities based on the influence graph and show how the context-aware community structure improves the performance of two types of mobile social applications.

  5. Randomized, community-based pharmacy intervention to expand services beyond sale of sterile syringes to injection drug users in pharmacies in New York City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, Natalie D; Amesty, Silvia; Rivera, Alexis V; Harripersaud, Katherine; Turner, Alezandria; Fuller, Crystal M

    2013-09-01

    Structural interventions may help reduce racial/ethnic disparities in HIV. In 2009 to 2011, we randomized pharmacies participating in a nonprescription syringe access program in minority communities to intervention (pharmacy enrolled and delivered HIV risk reduction information to injection drug users [IDUs]), primary control (pharmacy only enrolled IDUs), and secondary control (pharmacy did not engage IDUs). Intervention pharmacy staff reported more support for syringe sales than did control staff. An expanded pharmacy role in HIV risk reduction may be helpful.

  6. Collaborative Filtering Based on Sequential Extraction of User-Item Clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Katsuhiro; Notsu, Akira; Ichihashi, Hidetomo

    Collaborative filtering is a computational realization of “word-of-mouth” in network community, in which the items prefered by “neighbors” are recommended. This paper proposes a new item-selection model for extracting user-item clusters from rectangular relation matrices, in which mutual relations between users and items are denoted in an alternative process of “liking or not”. A technique for sequential co-cluster extraction from rectangular relational data is given by combining the structural balancing-based user-item clustering method with sequential fuzzy cluster extraction appraoch. Then, the tecunique is applied to the collaborative filtering problem, in which some items may be shared by several user clusters.

  7. Pandora technical description and user guide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Astrand, P.-G.; Breed, R. [Facilia AB, Bromma (Sweden); Jones, J. [Svensk Karnbranslehantering AB, Stockholm (Finland)

    2005-11-15

    Pandora is an extension of the well-known technical computing and simulation software MATLAB and Simulink of The Mathworks Inc. Pandora was developed to simplify development of models resulting in large systems of differential equations where decay of radionuclides is included in the model and to enhance the graphical user interface to be more suitable for radioecological modelling. MATLAB is a programming language and a computing environment. It provides core mathematics and advanced graphical tools for data analysis, visualisation, application development etc. Simulink is mainly targeted at modelling and simulating dynamic systems. Simulink provides a block diagram interface for MATLAB. Pandora facilitates effective use of them for radionuclide transport modelling. In the report the technical solutions of Pandora are outlined through a presentation of the key elements and a step-by-step sample case serving also as a user guide. (orig.)

  8. Pandora technical description and user guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Astrand, P.-G.; Breed, R.; Jones, J.

    2005-11-01

    Pandora is an extension of the well-known technical computing and simulation software MATLAB and Simulink of The Mathworks Inc. Pandora was developed to simplify development of models resulting in large systems of differential equations where decay of radionuclides is included in the model and to enhance the graphical user interface to be more suitable for radioecological modelling. MATLAB is a programming language and a computing environment. It provides core mathematics and advanced graphical tools for data analysis, visualisation, application development etc. Simulink is mainly targeted at modelling and simulating dynamic systems. Simulink provides a block diagram interface for MATLAB. Pandora facilitates effective use of them for radionuclide transport modelling. In the report the technical solutions of Pandora are outlined through a presentation of the key elements and a step-by-step sample case serving also as a user guide. (orig.)

  9. Reconstructed Living Lab: supporting drug users and families ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    based organisations are discussed. Data on relatives of drug users using the system are included. Conclusion: The use of mobile phone technology has advantages for community-based organisations acting as a first point of contact to drug ...

  10. Data archiving and serving system implementation in CLEP's GRAS Core System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuo, Wei; Zeng, Xingguo; Zhang, Zhoubin; Geng, Liang; Li, Chunlai

    2017-04-01

    The Ground Research & Applications System(GRAS) is one of the five systems of China's Lunar Exploration Project(CLEP), it is responsible for data acquisition, processing, management and application, and it is also the operation control center during satellite in-orbit and payload operation management. Chang'E-1, Chang'E-2 and Chang'E-3 have collected abundant lunar exploration data. The aim of this work is to present the implementation of data archiving and Serving in CLEP's GRAS Core System software. This first approach provides a client side API and server side software allowing the creation of a simplified version of CLEPDB data archiving software, and implements all required elements to complete data archiving flow from data acquisition until its persistent storage technology. The client side includes all necessary components that run on devices that acquire or produce data, distributing and streaming to configure remote archiving servers. The server side comprises an archiving service that stores into PDS files all received data. The archiving solution aims at storing data coming for the Data Acquisition Subsystem, the Operation Management Subsystem, the Data Preprocessing Subsystem and the Scientific Application & Research Subsystem. The serving solution aims at serving data for the various business systems, scientific researchers and public users. The data-driven and component clustering methods was adopted in this system, the former is used to solve real-time data archiving and data persistence services; the latter is used to keep the continuous supporting ability of archive and service to new data from Chang'E Mission. Meanwhile, it can save software development cost as well.

  11. Long-term User and Community Impacts of High-speed Rail in the United States’ Midwest Corridor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey C. Peters

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study contributes new insights in the debate over the viability of high-speed rail (HSR in the United States and the value proposition for government investment. The modeling focus of this study is two-fold, and the modeling approach makes a case for a fundamental shift from the current perspective of HSR viability. First, the user and community impact assessment of HSR is conducted in the same manner as traditional transportation system evaluation (i.e., vehicle operating costs (VOC, travel time, safety, emissions, and energy consumption to provide comparable conclusions regarding intercity transportation alternatives. Second, the model presented in this study analyzes both ridership and impacts within the same systematic framework to assess the long-term impacts on the individual transportation modes, total system metrics, and efficacy of alternate policies. Using this model, decision-makers can introduce various externalities to determine both the ideal and problematic conditions for the viability of a new HSR system.

  12. Understanding consumer motivations for interacting in online food communities – potential for innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Lina; Sørensen, Bjarne Taulo; Tudoran, Ana Alina

    This study contributes to the understanding of online user communities as a potential source of innovation. That would require an interest from users in interacting in such communities. In order to establish interaction, users must provide as well as consume information. However, depending...... on the innovation task, one may be more important than the other. It is therefore important to understand, how companies can increase user willingness to engage in these different interaction forms. This study investigates the influence of various motivation factors and user interests on intention to provide...... or consume information in online food communities. A survey was conducted among 1009 respondents followed by analysis based on Structural Equation Modelling. Results revealed the effect of motivation factors to be stronger than basic consumer interests indicating that companies can influence the intended...

  13. Life span in online communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabowski, A.; Kosiński, R. A.

    2010-12-01

    Recently online communities have attracted great interest and have become an important medium of information exchange between users. The aim of this work is to introduce a simple model of the evolution of online communities. This model describes (a) the time evolution of users’ activity in a web service, e.g., the time evolution of the number of online friends or written posts, (b) the time evolution of the degree distribution of a social network, and (c) the time evolution of the number of active users of a web service. In the second part of the paper we investigate the influence of the users’ lifespan (i.e., the total time in which they are active in an online community) on the process of rumor propagation in evolving social networks. Viral marketing is an important application of such method of information propagation.

  14. Active solar heating and cooling information user study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belew, W.W.; Wood, B.L.; Marle, T.L.; Reinhardt, C.L.

    1981-01-01

    The results of a series of telephone interviews with groups of users of information on active solar heating and cooling (SHAC). An earlier study identified the information user groups in the solar community and the priority (to accelerate solar energy commercialization) of getting information to each group. In the current study only high-priority groups were examined. Results from 19 SHAC groups respondents are analyzed in this report: DOE-Funded Researchers, Non-DOE-Funded Researchers, Representatives of Manufacturers (4 groups), Distributors, Installers, Architects, Builders, Planners, Engineers (2 groups), Representatives of Utilities, Educators, Cooperative Extension Service County Agents, Building Owners/Managers, and Homeowners (2 groups). The data will be used as input to the determination of information products and services the Solar Energy Research Institute, the Solar Energy Information Data Bank Network, and the entire information outreach community should be preparing and disseminating.

  15. The GEOSS Science and Technology Stakeholder Network and Service Suite: Linking S&T Communities and GEOSS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plag, Hans-Peter; Jules-Plag, Shelley

    2015-04-01

    The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) developed by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) aims to provide practice-relevant knowledge in support of decision making in a wide range of societal benefit areas. Generating this practice-relevant knowledge based on Earth observations, socio-economic data and models often depends on research, and utilization of the societal benefits of EOs requires the involvement of science and research communities. Building a GEOSS responding to the needs of a wide range of users necessitates contributions from many science and technology (S&T) communities. In particular, a strong engagement of science and technology (S&T) communities in both the development and use of GEOSS is necessary to address the complex issues associated with the on-going transition out of the Holocene. S&T support is needed to improve interoperability between global observing, modeling, and information systems; to enable data integration across disciplinary boundaries; to facilitate data sharing, archiving, dissemination, and reanalysis; to optimize the recording of observations, assimilation of data into models, and generation of data products; to enhance the value of observations from individual observing systems through their integration in the SBAs; and to harmonize well-calibrated, highly accurate, stable, sustained in-situ and satellite observations of the same variable recorded by different sensors and different agencies. Consequently, the GEO Work Plan includes several Tasks focusing on outreach to S&T communities, and most of the GEO Community of Practice have a strong S&T component. The GEOSS S&T Stakeholder Network facilitates input from S&T communities to GEO. Infrastructure serving and linking S&T users communities and GEOSS has been developed and is integrated into a GEOSS S&T Service Suite (GSTSS). The GSTSS has several outreach components for the demonstration of GEOSS and its value for S&T communities, and for services supporting

  16. Activity Management System user reference manual. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gates, T.A.; Burdick, M.B.

    1994-01-01

    The Activity Management System (AMS) was developed in response to the need for a simple-to-use, low-cost, user interface system for collecting and logging Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant Project (HWVP) activities. This system needed to run on user workstations and provide common user access to a database stored on a local network file server. Most important, users wanted a system that provided a management tool that supported their individual process for completing activities. Existing system treated the performer as a tool of the system. All AMS data is maintained in encrypted format. Users can feel confident that any activities they have entered into the database are private and that, as the originator, they retain sole control over who can see them. Once entered into the AMS database, the activities cannot be accessed by anyone other than the originator, the designated agent, or by authorized viewers who have been explicitly granted the right to look at specific activities by the originator. This user guide is intended to assist new AMS users in learning how to use the application and, after the initial learning process, will serve as an ongoing reference for experienced users in performing infrequently used functions. Online help screens provide reference to some of the key information in this manual. Additional help screens, encompassing all the applicable material in this manual, will be incorporated into future AMS revisions. A third, and most important, source of help is the AMS administrator(s). This guide describes the initial production version of AMS, which has been designated Revision 1.0

  17. Serving the medicinal chemistry community with Royal Society of Chemistry cheminformatics platforms

    OpenAIRE

    Williams, Antony

    2015-01-01

    The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a major participant in providing access to chemistry related data via the web. As an internationally renowned society for the chemical sciences, a scientific publisher and the host of the ChemSpider database for the community, RSC continues to make dramatic strides in providing online access to data. ChemSpider provides access to over 30 million chemicals sourced from over 500 data suppliers and linked out to related information on the web. The platform...

  18. Mental health service user participation in Chinese culture: a model of independence or interdependence?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jessica Pui-Shan; Tse, Samson Shu-Ki; Davidson, Larry; Cheng, Patrick

    2017-12-22

    Current models of user participation in mental health services were developed within Western culture and thus may not be applicable to Chinese communities. To present a new model of user participation, which emerged from research within a Chinese community, for understanding the processes of and factors influencing user participation in a non-Western culture. Multiple qualitative methods, including focus groups, individual in-depth interviews, and photovoice, were applied within the framework of constructivist grounded theory and collaborative research. Diverging from conceptualizations of user participation with emphasis on civil rights and the individual as a central agent, participants in the study highlighted the interpersonal dynamics between service users and different players affecting the participation intensity and outcomes. They valued a reciprocal relationship with their caregivers in making treatment decisions, cooperated with staff to observe power hierarchies and social harmony, identified the importance of peer support in enabling service engagement and delivery, and emphasized professional facilitation in advancing involvement at the policy level. User participation in Chinese culture embeds dynamic interdependence. The proposed model adds this new dimension to the existing frameworks and calls for attention to the complex local ecology and cultural consistency in realizing user participation.

  19. What Do Our Users Want? Perspectives on Understanding and Meeting User Needs for Multi-Mission Data Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGuire, Robert E.; Candey, Robert M.; Bilitza, D.

    2006-01-01

    The Sun-Earth Connection Active Archive (SECAA) project of NASA's Space Physics Data Facility operates a range of unique and heavily used multi-mission data services in support of the large-scale science objectives of the Great Observatory, including services such as CDAWeb, the CDAWeb Plus client, SSCWeb, OMNIweb and the CDF data format. In developing and operating these services, we have encountered and continue to struggle with a wide range of issues such as balancing scope and functionality with simplicity and ease of use, understanding the effectiveness of our choices and identifying areas most important for further improvement. In this paper, we will review our key services and then discuss some of our observations and new approaches to understanding and meeting user data service requirements. Some observations are obvious but may still have substantial implications; e.g. functionality without information content is of little user interest, which has led to our recent emphasis on development of web services interfaces, so the content and functionality we already serve is readily and fully available as a building block for new services. Some observations require careful design and tradeoffs; e.g. users will complain when they are offered interfaces with limited options but users are also easily intimidated and become lost when offered extensive options for customization. Some observations remain highly challenging; e.g. a comprehensive multi-mission, multi-source view of all data and services available easily produces a daunting list, but a more selective view can easily lead users to overlook available and relevant data. It is often difficult to obtain and meaningfully interpret measures of true productive usage and overall user satisfaction, even with a variety of techniques including statistics, citations, case studies, user feedback and advisory committees. Most of these issues will apply to and may even be more acute for distributed implementation

  20. Dynamic Distribution and Layouting of Model-Based User Interfaces in Smart Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roscher, Dirk; Lehmann, Grzegorz; Schwartze, Veit; Blumendorf, Marco; Albayrak, Sahin

    The developments in computer technology in the last decade change the ways of computer utilization. The emerging smart environments make it possible to build ubiquitous applications that assist users during their everyday life, at any time, in any context. But the variety of contexts-of-use (user, platform and environment) makes the development of such ubiquitous applications for smart environments and especially its user interfaces a challenging and time-consuming task. We propose a model-based approach, which allows adapting the user interface at runtime to numerous (also unknown) contexts-of-use. Based on a user interface modelling language, defining the fundamentals and constraints of the user interface, a runtime architecture exploits the description to adapt the user interface to the current context-of-use. The architecture provides automatic distribution and layout algorithms for adapting the applications also to contexts unforeseen at design time. Designers do not specify predefined adaptations for each specific situation, but adaptation constraints and guidelines. Furthermore, users are provided with a meta user interface to influence the adaptations according to their needs. A smart home energy management system serves as running example to illustrate the approach.

  1. University-based user facilities: lessons from Tantalus and Aladdin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huber, D.L.

    1985-01-01

    The establishment of university-based user facilities is a relatively new development in the federal funding of research in condensed matter science. Because the Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC) has been a pioneer user facility, a certain degree of experience, both good and bad, has been acquired in the construction and operation of university-based facilities for synchrotron-related research. The history of SRC is discussed and some of the general lessons learned in the area of advanced planning are outlined. No attempt is made to be either definitive or exhaustive. In the present context, a university-based user facility is understood to be a dedicated facility under direct university control where a majority of the users come from outside the local university community

  2. Reconsidering Community-based Retailing

    OpenAIRE

    Maughan, Rebecca; O'Driscoll, Aidan

    2012-01-01

    One of the areas with great potential for economic, social and environmental benefit is community-based retailing. The concept of community based retailing can incorporate a number of different tenets. We suggest that it is retailing that is based close to the community it serves, usually within the town or village centre rather than out-of-town locations, and which is composed of a diverse range of small and medium sized business that are often independently or co-operatively owned. These co...

  3. The Third Annual NASA Science Internet User Working Group Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lev, Brian S. (Editor); Gary, J. Patrick (Editor)

    1993-01-01

    The NASA Science Internet (NSI) User Support Office (USO) sponsored the Third Annual NSI User Working Group (NSIUWG) Conference March 30 through April 3, 1992, in Greenbelt, MD. Approximately 130 NSI users attended to learn more about the NSI, hear from projects which use NSI, and receive updates about new networking technologies and services. This report contains material relevant to the conference; copies of the agenda, meeting summaries, presentations, and descriptions of exhibitors. Plenary sessions featured a variety of speakers, including NSI project management, scientists, and NSI user project managers whose projects and applications effectively use NSI, and notable citizens of the larger Internet community. The conference also included exhibits of advanced networking applications; tutorials on internetworking, computer security, and networking technologies; and user subgroup meetings on the future direction of the conference, networking, and user services and applications.

  4. Perspectives on the Massachusetts Community Health Information Profile (MassCHIP): developing an online data query system to target a variety of user needs and capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Bruce B; Franklin, Saul; West, James K

    2006-01-01

    The Massachusetts Community Health Information Profile (MassCHIP) has many distinctive features. These features evolved to maximize the usefulness of this query system for a broad group of users with varied needs, differing levels of knowledge about public health, and diverse experience using public health data. Three major features of MassCHIP help target our large user population. These features are as follows: (1) multiple avenues of entry to initiate queries ranging from an alphabetical list of simple topics to detailed International Classification of Disease codes; (2) the inclusion of data sets from other state agencies in addition to those of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to reflect a broad view of public health; and (3) the capacity to retrieve data for multiple levels of geography, from the neighborhood through the state, including planning districts and hospitals. In this article, we discuss the history and design of MassCHIP, and focus on the features of MassCHIP that target a great variety of user needs and capabilities, and which are distinctive among Web-based data query systems.

  5. Incorporating profile information in community detection for online social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, W.; Yeung, K. H.

    2014-07-01

    Community structure is an important feature in the study of complex networks. It is because nodes of the same community may have similar properties. In this paper we extend two popular community detection methods to partition online social networks. In our extended methods, the profile information of users is used for partitioning. We apply the extended methods in several sample networks of Facebook. Compared with the original methods, the community structures we obtain have higher modularity. Our results indicate that users' profile information is consistent with the community structure of their friendship network to some extent. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to discuss how profile information can be used to improve community detection in online social networks.

  6. SDN Based User-Centric Framework for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaoming Lu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the rapid growth of mobile data traffic, more and more basestations and access points (APs have been densely deployed to provide users with ubiquitous network access, which make current wireless network a complex heterogeneous network (HetNet. However, traditional wireless networks are designed with network-centric approaches where different networks have different quality of service (QoS strategies and cannot easily cooperate with each other to serve network users. Massive network infrastructures could not assure users perceived network and service quality, which is an indisputable fact. To address this issue, we design a new framework for heterogeneous wireless networks with the principle of user-centricity, refactoring the network from users’ perspective to suffice their requirements and preferences. Different from network-centric approaches, the proposed framework takes advantage of Software Defined Networking (SDN and virtualization technology, which will bring better perceived services quality for wireless network users. In the proposed user-centric framework, control plane and data plane are decoupled to manage the HetNets in a flexible and coadjutant way, and resource virtualization technology is introduced to abstract physical resources of HetNets into unified virtualized resources. Hence, ubiquitous and undifferentiated network connectivity and QoE (quality of experience driven fine-grained resource management could be achieved for wireless network users.

  7. Space station operations task force. Panel 3 report: User development and integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-01-01

    The User Development and Integration Panel of the Space Station Operations Task Force was chartered to develop concepts relating to the operations of the Space Station manned base and the platforms, user accommodation and integration activities. The needs of the user community are addressed in the context with the mature operations phase of the Space Station. Issues addressed include space station pricing options, marketing strategies, payload selection and resource allocation options, and manifesting techniques.

  8. The GEOSS User Requirement Registry (URR): A Cross-Cutting Service-Oriented Infrastructure Linking Science, Society and GEOSS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plag, H.-P.; Foley, G.; Jules-Plag, S.; Ondich, G.; Kaufman, J.

    2012-04-01

    The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is implementing the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) as a user-driven service infrastructure responding to the needs of users in nine interdependent Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) of Earth observations (EOs). GEOSS applies an interdisciplinary scientific approach integrating observations, research, and knowledge in these SBAs in order to enable scientific interpretation of the collected observations and the extraction of actionable information. Using EOs to actually produce these societal benefits means getting the data and information to users, i.e., decision-makers. Thus, GEO needs to know what the users need and how they would use the information. The GEOSS User Requirements Registry (URR) is developed as a service-oriented infrastructure enabling a wide range of users, including science and technology (S&T) users, to express their needs in terms of EOs and to understand the benefits of GEOSS for their fields. S&T communities need to be involved in both the development and the use of GEOSS, and the development of the URR accounts for the special needs of these communities. The GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) at the core of GEOSS includes system-oriented registries enabling users to discover, access, and use EOs and derived products and services available through GEOSS. In addition, the user-oriented URR is a place for the collection, sharing, and analysis of user needs and EO requirements, and it provides means for an efficient dialog between users and providers. The URR is a community-based infrastructure for the publishing, viewing, and analyzing of user-need related information. The data model of the URR has a core of seven relations for User Types, Applications, Requirements, Research Needs, Infrastructure Needs, Technology Needs, and Capacity Building Needs. The URR also includes a Lexicon, a number of controlled vocabularies, and

  9. Travel Models for Corridors of Metropolitan Areas Served by Railways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brzeziński A.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In recent years adverse processes of suburbanization have been observed in cities. It has become a serious challenge for urban and transport planners, as it influences largely the quality of space, the quality of life, and the cost of running the city. This paper is dedicated to travel models in areas serviced by a railway system, and is based on a real-life survey example of the Błonie community, a district belonging to the Warsaw metropolitan area. Research carried out in 2014 focused on combined travels behaviors recorded using GPS locators as well as quantitative research (volumes of users across various transport systems.

  10. Bloggers Behavior and Emergent Communities in Blog Space

    OpenAIRE

    Mitrović, Marija; Tadić, Bosiljka

    2009-01-01

    Interactions between users in cyberspace may lead to phenomena different from those observed in common social networks. Here we analyse large data sets about users and Blogs which they write and comment, mapped onto a bipartite graph. In such enlarged Blog space we trace user activity over time, which results in robust temporal patterns of user--Blog behavior and the emergence of communities. With the spectral methods applied to the projection on weighted user network we detect clusters of us...

  11. Changes in blood pressure among users of lay health worker or volunteer operated community-based blood pressure programs over time: a systematic review protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skar, Pål; Young, Lynne; Gordon, Carol

    2015-10-01

    The objective of this review is to identify studies reporting on lay health worker- or volunteer-led community-based programs for blood pressure screening and cardiovascular awareness in order to determine if these programs contribute to changes in blood pressure among participants over time.The specific question for this review is: What are the changes in blood pressure among adult users of community-based blood pressure screening and awareness programs operated by lay health workers or volunteers as measured by the differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the user's first visit to the program and their last visit to the program? Cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and heart disease, are quickly becoming global diseases manifesting in countries and communities where they traditionally had not been widespread. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that "in the Asia/Pacific region, [cardiovascular disease] has become increasingly prevalent in recent decades, and now accounts for about one third of all deaths". One risk factor that can lead to cardiovascular disease is hypertension. Based on WHO data from 2008, hypertension is now a global problem affecting 27% of the population 25 years of age or older.The risk for cardiovascular disease also appears to be higher among people in urban areas. A recent United Nations population report indicates that in the next 40 years we could see an increase in the world's population by 2.3 billion people. The majority of these people will be residing in urban areas, particularly in developing nations. Between 2011 and 2050, "the population living in urban areas is projected to gain 2.6 billion, passing from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion in 2050". Population growth in urban areas is therefore not only projected to include the expected population growth but also expected to include a shift of rural population to urban centers and "most of the population growth expected in urban areas will be

  12. Usability evaluation of user interface of thesis title review system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tri, Y.; Erna, A.; Gellysa, U.

    2018-03-01

    Presentation of programs with user interface that can be accessed online through the website of course greatly provide user benefits. User can easily access the program they need. There are usability values that serve as a benchmark for the success of a user accessible program, ie efficiency, effectiveness, and convenience. These usability values also determine the development of the program for the better use. Therefore, on the review title thesis program that will be implemented in STT Dumai was measured usability evaluation. It aims to see which sides are not yet perfect and need to be improved to improve the performance and utilization of the program. Usability evaluation was measured by using smartPLS software. Database used was the result of respondent questionnaires that include questions about the experience when they used program. The result of a review of thesis title program implemented in STT Dumai has an efficiency value of 22.615, the effectiveness of 20.612, and satisfaction of 33.177.

  13. Community Pharmacy Users' Characteristics, Reasons for Visit to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nx 6110

    This study investigated the customers' perceptions of community pharmacies and ... study. Permission was obtained from the pharmacist in charge to interview consumers while they were still in the premises. Seven consumers visiting each pharmacy were ... health insurance cover (medical aid). The respondents' mean age ...

  14. Identifying User Experience Goals for Interactive Climate Management Business Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemmensen, Torkil; Barlow, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents findings from interpretative phenomenological interviews about the user experience of interactive climate management with six growers and crop consultants. The focus of user experience research has been on quantitative studies of consumers’ initial usage experiences, for example...... of mobile phones or e-commerce websites. In contrast, this empirical paper provides an example of how to capture user experience in work contexts and with a qualitative methodology. We present a model of the essence of the emotional user experience of interactive climate management. Then we suggest...... of interactive climate management in this and other domains. The overall aim with the paper is to take the concept of user experience into the IS community and to describe and understand what are individual workers’ positive emotional use experiences when interacting with workplace systems....

  15. Developing a Natural User Interface and Facial Recognition System With OpenCV and the Microsoft Kinect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutensohn, Michael

    2018-01-01

    The task for this project was to design, develop, test, and deploy a facial recognition system for the Kennedy Space Center Augmented/Virtual Reality Lab. This system will serve as a means of user authentication as part of the NUI of the lab. The overarching goal is to create a seamless user interface that will allow the user to initiate and interact with AR and VR experiences without ever needing to use a mouse or keyboard at any step in the process.

  16. Ethical considerations related to participation and partnership: an investigation of stakeholders' perceptions of an action-research project on user fee removal for the poorest in Burkina Faso.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, Matthew R; Gogognon, Patrick; Ridde, Valéry

    2014-02-20

    Healthcare user fees present an important barrier for accessing services for the poorest (indigents) in Burkina Faso and selective removal of fees has been incorporated in national healthcare planning. However, establishing fair, effective and sustainable mechanisms for the removal of user fees presents important challenges. A participatory action-research project was conducted in Ouargaye, Burkina Faso, to test mechanisms for identifying those who are indigents, and funding and implementing user fee removal. In this paper, we explore stakeholder perceptions of ethical considerations relating to participation and partnership arising in the action-research. We conducted 39 in-depth interviews to examine ethical issues associated with the action-research. Respondents included 14 individuals identified as indigent through the community selection process, seven members of village selection committees, six local healthcare professionals, five members of the management committees of local health clinics, five members of the research team, and four regional or national policy-makers. Using constant comparative techniques, we carried out an inductive thematic analysis of the collected data. The Ouargaye project involved a participatory model, included both implementation and research components, and focused on a vulnerable group within small, rural communities. Stakeholder perceptions and experiences relating to the participatory approach and reliance on multiple partnerships in the project were associated with a range of ethical considerations related to 1) seeking common ground through communication and collaboration, 2) community participation and risk of stigmatization, 3) impacts of local funding of the user fee removal, 4) efforts to promote fairness in the selection of the indigents, and 5) power relations and the development of partnerships. This investigation of the Ouargaye project serves to illuminate the distinctive ethical terrain of a participatory public

  17. HIV-1 subtype A infection in a community of intravenous drug users in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khan Muhammad N

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Data on the subtypes of HIV in a population help in predicting the potential foci of epidemic, tracking the routes of infection and following the patterns of the virus' genetic divergence. Globally, the most prevalent HIV infection is the HIV-1 subtype C. In Asia, predominant subtypes of HIV-1 are B, C, and CRF-01AE. During the last few years, HIV prevalence in Pakistan has taken the form of a concentrated epidemic in at least two high risk groups, namely, Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs and Male Sex Workers (MSWs. Factors that have facilitated the proliferation of HIV infection include transmission through a large number of repatriates and needle-sharing intravenous drug users, unscreened blood transfusions, and sexual illiteracy. The HIV subtypes infecting Pakistani populations have not been explored to date. In this study, we analyzed HIV-1 subtypes from in a high-risk community of IDUs in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. Methods Samples were collected from 34 IDUs after their informed consent. In addition, the study subjects were administered a questionnaire regarding their sexual behavior and travel history. For HIV analysis, DNA was extracted from the samples and analyzed for HIV types and subtypes using subtype-specific primers in a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR. The results from this PCR were further confirmed using the Heteroduplex Mobility Assay (HMA. Results We found HIV-1 subtype A in all the 34 samples analyzed. A few of the study subjects were found to have a history of travel and stay in the United Arab Emirates. The same subjects also admitted to having contact with commercial sex workers during their stay abroad. Conclusion Our study therefore shows clade A HIV-1 to be prevalent among the IDUs in Karachi. As the prevalence of HIV in Pakistan continues to rise, more work needs to be done to track the infection, and to analyze the strains of HIV spreading through the country.

  18. Investigating Methods for Serving Visualizations of Vertical Profiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, J. T.; Cechini, M. F.; Lanjewar, K.; Rodriguez, J.; Boller, R. A.; Baynes, K.

    2017-12-01

    Several geospatial web servers, web service standards, and mapping clients exist for the visualization of two-dimensional raster and vector-based Earth science data products. However, data products with a vertical component (i.e., vertical profiles) do not have the same mature set of technologies and pose a greater technical challenge when it comes to visualizations. There are a variety of tools and proposed standards, but no obvious solution that can handle the variety of visualizations found with vertical profiles. An effort is being led by members of the NASA Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) team to gather a list of technologies relevant to existing vertical profile data products and user stories. The goal is to find a subset of technologies, standards, and tools that can be used to build publicly accessible web services that can handle the greatest number of use cases for the widest audience possible. This presentation will describe results of the investigation and offer directions for moving forward with building a system that is capable of effectively and efficiently serving visualizations of vertical profiles.

  19. Criminality Among Rural Stimulant Users in the United States

    OpenAIRE

    Oser, Carrie; Leukefeld, Carl; Staton-Tindall, Michele; Duvall, Jamieson; Garrity, Thomas; Stoops, William; Falck, Russel; Wang, Jichuan; Carlson, Robert; Sexton, Rocky; Wright, Patricia; Booth, Brenda

    2011-01-01

    Despite the increase in media attention on “meth cooking” in rural areas of the United States, little is known about rural stimulant use, particularly the criminality associated with stimulant use. Data were collected from community stimulant users in rural Ohio, Arkansas, and Kentucky (N=709). Findings from three logistic regression models indicate that younger stimulant users (x =32.55, SD = 10.35), those with more convictions, and those who used crack frequently were significantly more lik...

  20. Salt Lake Community College Veterans Services: A Model of Serving Veterans in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahern, Aaron; Foster, Michael; Head, Darlene

    2015-01-01

    This chapter outlines the birth and growth of a veterans' program in Salt Lake City, Utah, and discusses next steps in spurring additional innovations and advancements to improve service for student veterans in community colleges.

  1. An Analysis of the Network Selection Problem for Heterogeneous Environments with User-Operator Joint Satisfaction and Multi-RAT Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. J. Escudero-Garzás

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The trend in wireless networks is that several wireless radio access technologies (RATs coexist in the same area, forming heterogeneous networks in which the users may connect to any of the available RATs. The problem of associating a user to the most suitable RAT, known as network selection problem (NSP, is of capital importance for the satisfaction of the users in these emerging environments. However, also the satisfaction of the operator is important in this scenario. In this work, we propose that a connection may be served by more than one RAT by using multi-RAT terminals. We formulate the NSP with multiple RAT association based on utility functions that take into consideration both user’s satisfaction and provider’s satisfaction. As users are characterized according to their expected quality of service, our results exhaustively analyze the influence of the user’s profile, along with the network topology and the type of applications served.

  2. EpiPOD : community vaccination and dispensing model user's guide.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berry, M.; Samsa, M.; Walsh, D.; Decision and Information Sciences

    2009-01-09

    EpiPOD is a modeling system that enables local, regional, and county health departments to evaluate and refine their plans for mass distribution of antiviral and antibiotic medications and vaccines. An intuitive interface requires users to input as few or as many plan specifics as are available in order to simulate a mass treatment campaign. Behind the input interface, a system dynamics model simulates pharmaceutical supply logistics, hospital and first-responder personnel treatment, population arrival dynamics and treatment, and disease spread. When the simulation is complete, users have estimates of the number of illnesses in the population at large, the number of ill persons seeking treatment, and queuing and delays within the mass treatment system--all metrics by which the plan can be judged.

  3. Five-Factor Model personality profiles of drug users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Crum Rosa M

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Personality traits are considered risk factors for drug use, and, in turn, the psychoactive substances impact individuals' traits. Furthermore, there is increasing interest in developing treatment approaches that match an individual's personality profile. To advance our knowledge of the role of individual differences in drug use, the present study compares the personality profile of tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin users and non-users using the wide spectrum Five-Factor Model (FFM of personality in a diverse community sample. Method Participants (N = 1,102; mean age = 57 were part of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA program in Baltimore, MD, USA. The sample was drawn from a community with a wide range of socio-economic conditions. Personality traits were assessed with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R, and psychoactive substance use was assessed with systematic interview. Results Compared to never smokers, current cigarette smokers score lower on Conscientiousness and higher on Neuroticism. Similar, but more extreme, is the profile of cocaine/heroin users, which score very high on Neuroticism, especially Vulnerability, and very low on Conscientiousness, particularly Competence, Achievement-Striving, and Deliberation. By contrast, marijuana users score high on Openness to Experience, average on Neuroticism, but low on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Conclusion In addition to confirming high levels of negative affect and impulsive traits, this study highlights the links between drug use and low Conscientiousness. These links provide insight into the etiology of drug use and have implications for public health interventions.

  4. Internet Shop Users: Computer Practices and Its Relationship to E-Learning Readiness

    OpenAIRE

    Jasper Vincent Q. Alontaga

    2018-01-01

    Access to computer technology is essential in developing 21st century skills. One venue that serves to bridge the gap in terms of access is internet shops (also known cybercafés or internet cafés). As such, it is important to examine the type of activities internet shop users engage in and how they develop and relate to their e-learning readiness. This study examined the profile, computer practices and e-learning readiness of seventy one (71) internet shop users. A researcher-made internet sh...

  5. HP-SEE User Forum 2012

    CERN Document Server

    Karaivanova, Aneta; Oulas, Anastasis; Liabotis, Ioannis; Stojiljkovic, Danica; Prnjat, Ognjen

    2014-01-01

    This book is a collection of carefully reviewed papers presented during the HP-SEE User Forum, the meeting of the High-Performance Computing Infrastructure for South East Europe’s (HP-SEE) Research Communities, held in October 17-19, 2012, in Belgrade, Serbia. HP-SEE aims at supporting and integrating regional HPC infrastructures; implementing solutions for HPC in the region; and making HPC resources available to research communities in SEE, region, which are working in a number of scientific fields with specific needs for massively parallel execution on powerful computing resources. HP-SEE brings together research communities and HPC operators from 14 different countries and enables them to share HPC facilities, software, tools, data and research results, thus fostering collaboration and strengthening the regional and national human network; the project specifically supports research groups in the areas of computational physics, computational chemistry and the life sciences. The contributions presented i...

  6. Sense of Community on Twitter and Instagram: Exploring the Roles of Motives and Parasocial Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blight, Michael G; Ruppel, Erin K; Schoenbauer, Kelsea V

    2017-05-01

    Although research has explored the ways in which people form virtual communities to converse about media figures, television shows, and similar topics, little research has examined the link between virtual communities and the parasocial relationships (PSRs) that are often the focus of these conversations and users' experiences in those virtual communities. We examined sense of community (SOC) on Twitter and Instagram as a function of users' motives for use and users' PSR on the sites. In addition to examining the relative importance of different motives for using Twitter and Instagram, we predicted that PSR would mediate the association between motives for use and SOC. Results of an online survey revealed that Instagram users (n = 276) reported stronger social interaction motives than did Twitter users (n = 223). Social interaction and expressive information sharing motives were directly positively associated with SOC for users of both sites. Instagram users also exhibited indirect effects of expressive information sharing and companionship motives on SOC, through PSR. These findings suggest potentially influential differences between Twitter and Instagram, particularly regarding the role of PSR in fostering a general SOC.

  7. Finding local communities in protein networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voevodski, Konstantin; Teng, Shang-Hua; Xia, Yu

    2009-09-18

    Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play fundamental roles in nearly all biological processes, and provide major insights into the inner workings of cells. A vast amount of PPI data for various organisms is available from BioGRID and other sources. The identification of communities in PPI networks is of great interest because they often reveal previously unknown functional ties between proteins. A large number of global clustering algorithms have been applied to protein networks, where the entire network is partitioned into clusters. Here we take a different approach by looking for local communities in PPI networks. We develop a tool, named Local Protein Community Finder, which quickly finds a community close to a queried protein in any network available from BioGRID or specified by the user. Our tool uses two new local clustering algorithms Nibble and PageRank-Nibble, which look for a good cluster among the most popular destinations of a short random walk from the queried vertex. The quality of a cluster is determined by proportion of outgoing edges, known as conductance, which is a relative measure particularly useful in undersampled networks. We show that the two local clustering algorithms find communities that not only form excellent clusters, but are also likely to be biologically relevant functional components. We compare the performance of Nibble and PageRank-Nibble to other popular and effective graph partitioning algorithms, and show that they find better clusters in the graph. Moreover, Nibble and PageRank-Nibble find communities that are more functionally coherent. The Local Protein Community Finder, accessible at http://xialab.bu.edu/resources/lpcf, allows the user to quickly find a high-quality community close to a queried protein in any network available from BioGRID or specified by the user. We show that the communities found by our tool form good clusters and are functionally coherent, making our application useful for biologists who wish to

  8. Finding local communities in protein networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teng Shang-Hua

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein-protein interactions (PPIs play fundamental roles in nearly all biological processes, and provide major insights into the inner workings of cells. A vast amount of PPI data for various organisms is available from BioGRID and other sources. The identification of communities in PPI networks is of great interest because they often reveal previously unknown functional ties between proteins. A large number of global clustering algorithms have been applied to protein networks, where the entire network is partitioned into clusters. Here we take a different approach by looking for local communities in PPI networks. Results We develop a tool, named Local Protein Community Finder, which quickly finds a community close to a queried protein in any network available from BioGRID or specified by the user. Our tool uses two new local clustering algorithms Nibble and PageRank-Nibble, which look for a good cluster among the most popular destinations of a short random walk from the queried vertex. The quality of a cluster is determined by proportion of outgoing edges, known as conductance, which is a relative measure particularly useful in undersampled networks. We show that the two local clustering algorithms find communities that not only form excellent clusters, but are also likely to be biologically relevant functional components. We compare the performance of Nibble and PageRank-Nibble to other popular and effective graph partitioning algorithms, and show that they find better clusters in the graph. Moreover, Nibble and PageRank-Nibble find communities that are more functionally coherent. Conclusion The Local Protein Community Finder, accessible at http://xialab.bu.edu/resources/lpcf, allows the user to quickly find a high-quality community close to a queried protein in any network available from BioGRID or specified by the user. We show that the communities found by our tool form good clusters and are functionally coherent

  9. Distributed User Selection in Network MIMO Systems with Limited Feedback

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil; Eltayeb, Mohammed E.; Dahrouj, Hayssam; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

    2015-01-01

    We propose a distributed user selection strategy in a network MIMO setting with M base stations serving K users. Each base station is equipped with L antennas, where LM ≪ K. The conventional selection strategy is based on a well known technique called semi-orthogonal user selection when the zero-forcing beamforming (ZFBF) is adopted. Such technique, however, requires perfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT), which might not be available or need large feedback overhead. This paper proposes an alternative distributed user selection technique where each user sets a timer that is inversely proportional to his channel quality indicator (CQI), as a means to reduce the feedback overhead. The proposed strategy allows only the user with the highest CQI to respond with a feedback. Such technique, however, remains collision free only if the transmission time is shorter than the difference between the strongest user timer and the second strongest user timer. To overcome the situation of longer transmission times, the paper proposes another feedback strategy that is based on the theory of compressive sensing, where collision is allowed and all users encode their feedback information and send it back to the base-stations simultaneously. The paper shows that the problem can be formulated as a block sparse recovery problem which is agnostic on the transmission time, which makes it a good alternative to the timer approach when collision is dominant.

  10. Distributed User Selection in Network MIMO Systems with Limited Feedback

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil

    2015-09-06

    We propose a distributed user selection strategy in a network MIMO setting with M base stations serving K users. Each base station is equipped with L antennas, where LM ≪ K. The conventional selection strategy is based on a well known technique called semi-orthogonal user selection when the zero-forcing beamforming (ZFBF) is adopted. Such technique, however, requires perfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT), which might not be available or need large feedback overhead. This paper proposes an alternative distributed user selection technique where each user sets a timer that is inversely proportional to his channel quality indicator (CQI), as a means to reduce the feedback overhead. The proposed strategy allows only the user with the highest CQI to respond with a feedback. Such technique, however, remains collision free only if the transmission time is shorter than the difference between the strongest user timer and the second strongest user timer. To overcome the situation of longer transmission times, the paper proposes another feedback strategy that is based on the theory of compressive sensing, where collision is allowed and all users encode their feedback information and send it back to the base-stations simultaneously. The paper shows that the problem can be formulated as a block sparse recovery problem which is agnostic on the transmission time, which makes it a good alternative to the timer approach when collision is dominant.

  11. National Synchrotron Light Source user's manual: Guide to the VUV and x-ray beamlines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gmuer, N.F.

    1993-04-01

    The success of the National Synchrotron Light Source is based, in large part, on the size of the user community and the diversity of the scientific and technical disciplines represented by these users. As evidence of this success, the VUV Ring has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and the X-ray Ring will do the same in 1995. In order to enhance this success, the NSLS User's Manual: Guide to the VUV and X-Ray Beamlines - Fifth Edition, is being published. This Manual presents to the scientific community-at-large the current and projected architecture, capabilities and research programs of the various VUV and X-ray beamlines. Also detailed is the research and computer equipment a General User can expect to find and use at each beamline when working at the NSLS. The Manual is updated periodically in order to keep pace with the constant changes on these beamlines

  12. Measuring mental health in the clinical setting: what is important to service users? The Mini-Service user Recovery Evaluation scale (Mini-SeRvE).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, Joanna M; Parsons, Helen; Wilson, Carol A; Cook, Christopher C H

    2017-12-01

    Since 2001, a policy of positive mental health recovery has been promoted in the UK, with service user involvement. This has not been easy to implement in the clinical setting. To develop and validate a brief self-report, service user-designed, outcome measure (Mini-SeRvE), for clinical use, including spiritual and religious issues. From the previously developed Service user Recovery Evaluation scale (SeRvE), 15 questions were selected for Mini-SeRvE which was self-completed by 207 people; 100 service users and, for comparison, 107 staff. Results were analysed using SPSS software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Mini-SeRvE is reliable, Cronbach's alpha 0.852. Correlation with another recovery scale, Mental Health Recovery Measure, was high, r = 0.819. Three reliable subscales emerged; existential well-being (EWB), mental ill-being (MIB) and religious well-being (RWB). Scores of the EWB and MIB subscales were higher for staff, consistent with higher mental well-being. Religious well-being scores were higher in service users, who also rated religion as more important to them. Mini-SeRvE is a valid measure of service user recovery. The importance of religion/spiritual belief for our users is highlighted, this being reflected in the subject matter of Mini-SeRvE. Mini-SeRvE assessments could show individual priorities, evaluate therapy and aid clinical decision-making.

  13. Professionals' views on mental health service users' education: challenges and support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieminen, I; Kaunonen, M

    2017-02-01

    WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Mental health service users (MHSUs) may experience disruptions in their education. However, education has been shown to have a positive influence on their recovery, potentially offering them broader employment opportunities. The literature suggests that providing support for MHSUs in their educational efforts may be beneficial and is wished for by the service users themselves. However, there is a lack of mental health professionals' views on the topic in the setting of a community mental health centre. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO THE EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: In the perception of mental health professionals, the predominance of disease in the life of MHSUs and their marginalization may form barriers to their success in education. Professionals can support MHSUs in their educational efforts by strengthening the MHSUs' internal resources and creating a supportive environment with professional expertise available. A service user-centred education might further help MHSUs to achieve their educational goals. Our findings confirm previous knowledge of a recovery-oriented approach to supporting MHSUs' education. This study explored the topic from the professionals' perspective in the context of community mental health centres, which is a fresh view in the research literature. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The findings suggest which types of support professionals perceive to be required for MHSUs to advance their studies. Knowledge of adequate forms of support can be applied in the mental health nursing practice to develop support measures for service users to advance in their studies. All levels of the community mental health centres should be aware of and adopt a recovery-oriented approach. MHSUs and professionals need to have a shared opinion on the definition of recovery orientation. This requires mutual discussion and the more active involvement of MHSUs in the design of their own rehabilitation process. Introduction Studies show

  14. A Case Study of User-Centred Design in Four Swiss RUP Projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ljiljana Vukelja

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available We analysed four Rational Unified Process (RUP projects in Switzerland that identified themselves as following a user-centred approach. Grounded theory served for analysis of 12 interviews with software developers, project managers, and UI specialists. For each professional group we analysed their work context, motivations, work practices, and strategies used to overcome the obstacles to user-centred design. Results show that end users did not participate in the projects. Instead of working directly with end users, participants used data from marketing research or consulted colleagues from other departments. Prototypes played an important role. We suggest the following remedies: (1 developing methods for easy integration of existing company knowledge about products with usability features, (2 professionalising UI design by educating project stakeholders in standard UI design, (3 creating an approved pool of company's personas for UI specialists' work, and (4 educating customers on their right to get good user interfaces.

  15. Who are mobile app users from healthy lifestyle websites? Analysis of patterns of app use and user characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elavsky, Steriani; Smahel, David; Machackova, Hana

    2017-12-01

    The use of online communities and websites for health information has proliferated along with the use of mobile apps for managing health behaviors such as diet and exercise. The scarce evidence available to date suggests that users of these websites and apps differ in significant ways from non-users but most data come from US- and UK-based populations. In this study, we recruited users of nutrition, weight management, and fitness-oriented websites in the Czech Republic to better understand who uses mobile apps and who does not, including user sociodemographic and psychological profiles. Respondents aged 13-39 provided information on app use through an online survey (n = 669; M age = 24.06, SD = 5.23; 84% female). Among users interested in health topics, respondents using apps for managing nutrition, weight, and fitness (n = 403, 60%) were more often female, reported more frequent smartphone use, and more expert phone skills. In logistic regression models, controlling for sociodemographics, web, and phone activity, mHealth app use was predicted by levels of excessive exercise (OR 1.346, 95% CI 1.061-1.707, p users, we found differences in types of apps used by gender, age, and weight status. Controlling for sociodemographics and web and phone use, drive for thinness predicted the frequency of use of apps for healthy eating (β = 0.14, p user characteristics of mHealth app users from nutrition, weight management, and fitness websites, helping inform subsequent design of mHealth apps and mobile intervention strategies.

  16. The management of radioactive wastes produced by radioisotope users

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1965-01-01

    This code of practice deals with the problem of handling the relatively small quantities of waste arising from the use of radionuclides in laboratories, hospitals and industry when no special facilities for radioactive waste disposal are available on the site. It stresses the need for proper governmental control of the arrangements made for receiving, using and disposing of radioactive materials. The document discusses waste management that can be left to the individual user, waste management in a central facility serving a number of users, and waste storage and environmental containment. A table showing the types of waste associated with some of the more common uses of a number of radionuclides is appended.

  17. The Nature of Teacher-Community Contact in Schools Serving Southwest Indian Children. American Indian Education Papers, No. 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Margaret E.

    Previous school-community research in American Indian communities has demonstrated that "isolation" or lack of communication between school staff and community parents has contributed to the failure of educating American Indian children. To validate this research in the Southwest, a diary indicating the out-of-school activities was…

  18. Interaction between users of large and small research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moon, R.M.

    1983-10-01

    An attitude of cooperation rather than competition should and does exist between large and small reactor centers with regard to neutron scattering. Two areas of clear mutual interest are the development of user communities and the development of improved instrumentation. The current situation in Europe and the United States is examined and contrasted for these two areas. A recommendation is advanced for increased cooperation in the US between large and small reactor centers in the education and training of neutron scattering users

  19. Supplying the six. [Supplies of nuclear fuels and ores to the European Community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oboussier, F

    1975-07-01

    Under the Euratom Treaty, the European Community must ensure that all users in the Community receive a regular and equitable supply of ores and nuclear fuels. Supply to users in the Community of ores, source materials, and special fissile materials is based on the principle of equal access of the users to the supply sources. To ensure such equal access, the Treaty prohibits all practices designed to secure a privileged position for certain users. In addition, an agency has been set up with two essential rights--that of an option on all ores, source materials, and special fissile materials produced in the territories of the Member States; and the exclusive right to conclude all contracts relating to the supply of ores, source materials, and special fissile materials coming from inside the Community or from outside. Dealings of the Agency with outside agencies, especially the former US AEC, are described. The uranium market and its economics and the availability of special fissile materials are summarized. (MCW)

  20. Connecting Mobile Users Through Mobile Social Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faisal Alkhateeb

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, social networks become popular with the emerging of web-based social networking services. Recently, several mobile services are developed to connect users to their favourite social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. However, these services depends upon the existing web-based social networks. In this paper, we present a mobile service for joining groups across communities. The originality of the work is that the framework of the service allows creating and joining social networks that are self-contained for mobile company servers. The service consists of several sub-services such as users invitation, group finding and others. Users, regardless of their disability, can use the service and its sub-services without the need to create their own accounts on social web sites and thus their own groups. We also propose a privacy control policy for mobile social networks.

  1. Users as essential contributors to spatial cyberinfrastructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poore, B.S.

    2011-01-01

    Current accounts of spatial cyberinfrastructure development tend to overemphasize technologies to the neglect of critical social and cultural issues on which adoption depends. Spatial cyberinfrastructures will have a higher chance of success if users of many types, including nonprofessionals, are made central to the development process. Recent studies in the history of infrastructures reveal key turning points and issues that should be considered in the development of spatial cyberinfrastructure projects. These studies highlight the importance of adopting qualitative research methods to learn how users work with data and digital tools, and how user communities form. The author's empirical research on data sharing networks in the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis at the turn of the 21st century demonstrates that ordinary citizens can contribute critical local knowledge to global databases and should be considered in the design and construction of spatial cyberinfrastructures.

  2. Users as essential contributors to spatial cyberinfrastructures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poore, Barbara S

    2011-04-05

    Current accounts of spatial cyberinfrastructure development tend to overemphasize technologies to the neglect of critical social and cultural issues on which adoption depends. Spatial cyberinfrastructures will have a higher chance of success if users of many types, including nonprofessionals, are made central to the development process. Recent studies in the history of infrastructures reveal key turning points and issues that should be considered in the development of spatial cyberinfrastructure projects. These studies highlight the importance of adopting qualitative research methods to learn how users work with data and digital tools, and how user communities form. The author's empirical research on data sharing networks in the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis at the turn of the 21st century demonstrates that ordinary citizens can contribute critical local knowledge to global databases and should be considered in the design and construction of spatial cyberinfrastructures.

  3. Researchers and practitioners talk about users and each other: making user and audience studies matter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brenda Dervin

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. We report here on the research phase of a multi-stage dialogue examining convergences and divergences in how three fields (library and information science, human computer interaction and communication and media studies looked at users and each other. Focus was on what researchers and practitioners saw as the big unanswered questions in user studies and what they saw as the convergences and divergences across disciplinary and practice-research divides. Method. Eighty-three international experts in the three fields were interviewed by phone; thirty-one local experts, public and academic librarians serving universities and colleges in central Ohio, were interviewed using self-journals and focus group reports. Analysis. A thematic analysis was completed. Purpose was not to fix substantive differences but to tap ways in which convergences and divergences showed relevance to the communicative aspects of the research enterprise. A theory of dialogue was applied that purposively positioned this analysis as only one of potentially many. Results. All informants showed strong commitment to improving user studies and making them matter more to design, practice and society. At the same time, regardless of field or perspective, they struggled with the incoherencies of avalanches of user research. They decried the general inability to communicate across fields and between research and practice. They decried the ways in which structural conditions seemed to constrain possibilities. Yet, they hoped for making things better. Conclusion. . The traditional modes used for communication in the social science research enterprise are not doing the job for user studies. We need to reclaim some procedures lost in the current emphases on quantity over quality and invent other options. This is the theme of our second paper, in this same issue.

  4. Service user involvement in mental health system strengthening in a rural African setting: qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abayneh, Sisay; Lempp, Heidi; Alem, Atalay; Alemayehu, Daniel; Eshetu, Tigist; Lund, Crick; Semrau, Maya; Thornicroft, Graham; Hanlon, Charlotte

    2017-05-18

    It is essential to involve service users in efforts to expand access to mental health care in integrated primary care settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is little evidence from LMICs to guide this process. The aim of this study was to explore barriers to, and facilitators of, service user/caregiver involvement in rural Ethiopia to inform the development of a scalable approach. Thirty nine semi-structured interviews were carried out with purposively selected mental health service users (n = 13), caregivers (n = 10), heads of primary care facilities (n = 8) and policy makers/planners/service developers (n = 8). The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed in Amharic, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was applied. All groups of participants supported service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening. Potential benefits were identified as (i) improved appropriateness and quality of services, and (ii) greater protection against mistreatment and promotion of respect for service users. However, hardly any respondents had prior experience of service user involvement. Stigma was considered to be a pervasive barrier, operating within the health system, the local community and individuals. Competing priorities of service users included the need to obtain adequate individual care and to work for survival. Low recognition of the potential contribution of service users seemed linked to limited empowerment and mobilization of service users. Potential health system facilitators included a culture of community oversight of primary care services. All groups of respondents identified a need for awareness-raising and training to equip service users, caregivers, service providers and local community for involvement. Empowerment at the level of individual service users (information about mental health conditions, care and rights) and the group level (for advocacy and representation) were considered

  5. MX1: a bending-magnet crystallography beamline serving both chemical and macromolecular crystallography communities at the Australian Synchrotron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowieson, Nathan Philip; Aragao, David; Clift, Mark; Ericsson, Daniel J.; Gee, Christine; Harrop, Stephen J.; Mudie, Nathan; Panjikar, Santosh; Price, Jason R.; Riboldi-Tunnicliffe, Alan; Williamson, Rachel; Caradoc-Davies, Tom

    2015-01-01

    The macromolecular crystallography beamline MX1 at the Australian Synchrotron is described. MX1 is a bending-magnet crystallography beamline at the 3 GeV Australian Synchrotron. The beamline delivers hard X-rays in the energy range from 8 to 18 keV to a focal spot at the sample position of 120 µm FWHM. The beamline endstation and ancillary equipment facilitate local and remote access for both chemical and biological macromolecular crystallography. Here, the design of the beamline and endstation are discussed. The beamline has enjoyed a full user program for the last seven years and scientific highlights from the user program are also presented

  6. Software Prototyping: A Strategy to Use When User Lacks Data Processing Experience

    OpenAIRE

    Peter M Ogedebe; Babatunde Peter Jacob

    2012-01-01

    A prototype is a working physical model of a system and it serves as a preliminary version of the system. One of the major challenges faced by developers is to know when to use prototype and when not to. This is so considering that there are many disagreements among developers on the proper use of prototyping. This study looked at the question “Is prototyping the best strategy to use when the user lacks data processing?” There is an accepted assumption about users by application developers; t...

  7. A simple method for serving Web hypermaps with dynamic database drill-down

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carson Ewart R

    2002-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background HealthCyberMap http://healthcybermap.semanticweb.org aims at mapping parts of health information cyberspace in novel ways to deliver a semantically superior user experience. This is achieved through "intelligent" categorisation and interactive hypermedia visualisation of health resources using metadata, clinical codes and GIS. HealthCyberMap is an ArcView 3.1 project. WebView, the Internet extension to ArcView, publishes HealthCyberMap ArcView Views as Web client-side imagemaps. The basic WebView set-up does not support any GIS database connection, and published Web maps become disconnected from the original project. A dedicated Internet map server would be the best way to serve HealthCyberMap database-driven interactive Web maps, but is an expensive and complex solution to acquire, run and maintain. This paper describes HealthCyberMap simple, low-cost method for "patching" WebView to serve hypermaps with dynamic database drill-down functionality on the Web. Results The proposed solution is currently used for publishing HealthCyberMap GIS-generated navigational information maps on the Web while maintaining their links with the underlying resource metadata base. Conclusion The authors believe their map serving approach as adopted in HealthCyberMap has been very successful, especially in cases when only map attribute data change without a corresponding effect on map appearance. It should be also possible to use the same solution to publish other interactive GIS-driven maps on the Web, e.g., maps of real world health problems.

  8. Rakhaine community embraces family planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhury, S M

    1994-01-01

    The Rakhaines are a small, tightly knit community of 15,000 people who occupy parts of the coastal and hilly districts of southern Bangladesh. It is a closed community with different ethnic origins and religion from other Bangladeshis. As such, they have been largely unreached by government health and family planning services. In response to the need to bring services to these people, contact was established between the Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB) and the Rakhaine in 1987 in the interest of improving family health and well-being among the Rakhaine people through the introduction of maternal and child health care and family planning. The Family Planning Services for the Rakhaine Community project of the FPAB began in Cox's Bazar and Harbang in late 1987, and spread gradually over the hilly terrain inhabited by the Rakhaine to now serve 2000 couples. Although family planning was the focal point, the project also incorporated schemes for income generation, maternal and child health care, and sanitation. At baseline, less than 25% of reproductive age couples were using contraception, but this proportion grew to 69% by 1993, higher than the national contraceptive prevalence rate of approximately 40%. Used by 41% of married women of reproductive age, the pill is the most preferred contraceptive method, followed by sterilization among 10% of women. The efforts of fieldworkers were crucial to program success. The author notes that current users have been using contraception on average for just over two years. Moreover, the level of tetanus toxoid immunization rose to 60% of pregnant women, while 75% of children are now immunized against major life-threatening diseases. Some costs are recovered, but not enough to finance the project.

  9. A Study on Technology Architecture and Serving Approaches of Electronic Government System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chunnian; Huang, Yiyun; Pan, Qin

    As E-government becomes a very active research area, a lot of solutions to solve citizens' needs are being deployed. This paper provides technology architecture of E-government system and approaches of service in Public Administrations. The proposed electronic system addresses the basic E-government requirements of user friendliness, security, interoperability, transparency and effectiveness in the communication between small and medium sized public organizations and their citizens, businesses and other public organizations. The paper has provided several serving approaches of E-government, which includes SOA, web service, mobile E-government, public library and every has its own characteristics and application scenes. Still, there are a number of E-government issues for further research on organization structure change, including research methodology, data collection analysis, etc.

  10. Community psychiatry: An audit of the services in southern Gauteng

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Y H Moosa

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To audit the community psychiatric services in southern Gauteng with a view to determining whether the objectives of the country’s mental health legislation and policies are being achieved. Results. Although southern Gauteng’s community psychiatric clinics are situated in a primary health setting, primary health clinicians play no active role in the management of mentally ill patients. Care is supplied mainly by specialist psychiatrists, psychiatric registrars (in training and psychiatric nurses. For first appointments, a mean of 2 patients are seen per doctor per clinic day for a mean duration of 30 minutes. For follow- up appointments, a mean of 17 patients are seen per doctor per clinic day for a mean duration of 8 minutes. The waiting time for new patient appointments is a mean of 6 months. Follow-up patients are seen once a month by nursing staff and approximately once every 4 months by doctors. An average of 1 in 5 patients is treated with oral atypical antipsychotics; in the majority of clinics, this is the total extent of care. However, where psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists are present, only 0.2% of all users have access to them. Conclusion. The community psychiatric services, although better than those in some other countries, fall short of what is required by South African legislation and policies. General community health services ought to play an active role in the structure and delivery of psychiatric services by developing and strengthening the current limited services, with an emphasis on cost-effective and preventive approaches. Existing community psychiatric services, if so transformed, could serve as a model for other countries in Africa.

  11. Serving an Indigenous community: Exploring the cultural competence of medical students in a rural setting

    OpenAIRE

    Wong, Chin Hoong; Chen, Lee Ping; Koh, Kwee Choy; Chua, Siew Houy; Jong, Darren Chee Hiung; Mohd Fauzi, Nurliyana Mardhiah; Lim, Sue Yin

    2017-01-01

    Since 2013, medical students from the International Medical University (IMU) in Malaysia have been providing primary healthcare services, under the supervision of faculty members, to the indigenous people living in Kampung Sebir. The project has allowed the students to learn experientially within a rural setting. This study aims to examine the cultural competence of IMU medical students through an examination of their perspective of the indigenous people who they serve and the role of this co...

  12. Following User Pathways: Cross Platform and Mixed Methods Analysis in Social Media Studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hall, Margeret; Mazarakis, Athanasios; Peters, Isabella

    2016-01-01

    is the mixed method approach (e.g. qualitative and quantitative methods) in order to better understand how users and society interacts online. The workshop 'Following User Pathways' brings together a community of researchers and professionals to address methodological, analytical, conceptual, and technological......Social media and the resulting tidal wave of available data have changed the ways and methods researchers analyze communities at scale. But the full potential for social scientists (and others) is not yet achieved. Despite the popularity of social media analysis in the past decade, few researchers...... challenges and opportunities of cross-platform, mixed method analysis in social media ecosystems....

  13. Common Graphics Library (CGL). Volume 1: LEZ user's guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Nancy L.; Hammond, Dana P.; Hofler, Alicia S.; Miner, David L.

    1988-01-01

    Users are introduced to and instructed in the use of the Langley Easy (LEZ) routines of the Common Graphics Library (CGL). The LEZ routines form an application independent graphics package which enables the user community to view data quickly and easily, while providing a means of generating scientific charts conforming to the publication and/or viewgraph process. A distinct advantage for using the LEZ routines is that the underlying graphics package may be replaced or modified without requiring the users to change their application programs. The library is written in ANSI FORTRAN 77, and currently uses a CORE-based underlying graphics package, and is therefore machine independent, providing support for centralized and/or distributed computer systems.

  14. Lower risk of incident dementia among Chinese older adults having three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits a day.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Allen T C; Richards, Marcus; Chan, Wai C; Chiu, Helen F K; Lee, Ruby S Y; Lam, Linda C W

    2017-09-01

    dietary modification can potentially reduce dementia risk, but the importance of fruits and the amount of vegetables and fruits required for cognitive maintenance are uncertain. We examined whether the minimal daily requirement of vegetables and fruits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) would independently lower dementia risk. in this population-based observational study, we examined the diet of 17,700 community-living dementia-free Chinese older adults who attended the Elderly Health Centres in Hong Kong at baseline and followed their cognitive status for 6 years. In line with the WHO recommendation, we defined the cutoff for minimal intake of vegetables and fruits as at least three and two servings per day, respectively. The study outcome was incident dementia in 6 years. Dementia was defined by presence of clinical dementia in accordance with the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) or Clinical Dementia Rating of 1-3. multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the estimated odds ratios for incident dementia were 0.88 (95% confidence interval 0.73-1.06; P = 0.17) for those consuming at least three servings of vegetables per day, 0.86 (0.74-0.99; P dementia in older adults. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  15. Evaluation of a needle social marketing strategy to control HIV among injecting drug users in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zunyou; Luo, Wei; Sullivan, Sheena G; Rou, Keming; Lin, Peng; Liu, Wei; Ming, Zhongqiang

    2007-12-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of a needle social marketing strategy to reduce needle sharing and hepatitis C Virus (HCV)/HIV transmission among injecting drug users (IDU) in China. Two-armed, prospective, community-randomized prevention trial. Four counties/townships in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces; one randomized to intervention the other to control in each province. Injecting drug users: 823 (443 intervention, 382 control) at baseline and 852 (415 intervention, 407 control) at the second cross-sectional survey 12 months later. A needle social marketing programme, including promotion of safe injection norms and increased access to clean needles over a 12 month period. Cross sectional surveys at baseline and follow-up compared changes in drug using behaviours and HIV and HCV rates in the intervention and control communities. Needle sharing behaviours were similar in the two groups at baseline (68.4 vs. 67.8%), and dropped significantly to 35.3% in the intervention community and remained relatively stable in the control community (62.3%; P marketing can reduce risky injecting behaviour and HIV/HCV transmission among injecting drug users in China and should be expanded.

  16. Sparks in the Fog: Social and Economic Mechanisms as Enablers for Community Network Clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Amin KHAN

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Internet and communication technologies have lowered the costs of enabling individuals and communities to collaborate together. This collaboration has provided new services like user-generated content and social computing, as evident from success stories like Wikipedia. Through collaboration, collectively built infrastructures like community wireless mesh networks where users provide the communication network, have also emerged. Community networks have demonstrated successful bandwidth sharing, but have not been able to extend their collective effort to other computing resources like storage and processing. The success of cloud computing has been enabled by economies of scale and the need for elastic, flexible and on-demand provisioning of computing services. The consolidation of today’s cloud technologies offers now the possibility of collectively built community clouds, building upon user-generated content and user-provided networks towards an ecosystem of cloud services. We explore in this paper how social and economic mechanisms can play a role in overcoming the barriers of voluntary resource provisioning in such community clouds, by analysing the costs involved in building these services and how they give value to the participants. We indicate socio-economic policies and how they can be implemented in community networks, to ease the uptake and ensure the sustainability of community clouds.

  17. 75 FR 39701 - Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: Users, Uses, and Benefits of Landsat Satellite Imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-12

    ... information from this collection to understand if they are currently meeting the needs of their user community... (1028-0091) provided up-to-date information about the current users and uses of Landsat imagery, as well... provided general information from a broader population of moderate resolution imagery users. This revised...

  18. A New Method to Retrieve the Data Requirements of the Remote Sensing Community – Exemplarily Demonstrated for Hyperspectral User NEEDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ils Reusen

    2007-08-01

    community in Europe – showed that a VBA is a suitable method for analyzing the needs of hyperspectral data users and supporting the sensor/data specification-building process. The VBA has the advantage of being easy to handle, resulting in a comprehensive evaluation. The primary disadvantage is the large effort in realizing such an analysis because the level of detail is extremely high.

  19. Enhancing Users' Participation in Business Process Modeling through Ontology-Based Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macris, A.; Malamateniou, F.; Vassilacopoulos, G.

    Successful business process design requires active participation of users who are familiar with organizational activities and business process modelling concepts. Hence, there is a need to provide users with reusable, flexible, agile and adaptable training material in order to enable them instil their knowledge and expertise in business process design and automation activities. Knowledge reusability is of paramount importance in designing training material on process modelling since it enables users participate actively in process design/redesign activities stimulated by the changing business environment. This paper presents a prototype approach for the design and use of training material that provides significant advantages to both the designer (knowledge - content reusability and semantic web enabling) and the user (semantic search, knowledge navigation and knowledge dissemination). The approach is based on externalizing domain knowledge in the form of ontology-based knowledge networks (i.e. training scenarios serving specific training needs) so that it is made reusable.

  20. Pre-Launch Assessment of User Needs for SWOT Mission Data Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasan, M. M.; Peterson, C. A.; Doorn, B.

    2015-12-01

    In order to effectively address the applications requirements of future Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission data users, we must understand their needs with respect to latency, spatial scales, technical capabilities, and other practical considerations. We have developed the 1st SWOT User Survey for broad distribution to the SWOT applications community to provide the SWOT Project with an understanding of and improved ability to support users needs. Actionable knowledge for specific applications may be realized when we can determine the margins of user requirements for data products and access. The SWOT Applications team will be launching a SWOT Early Adopters program and are interested in identifying a broad community of users who will participate in pre-launch applications activities including meetings, briefings, and workshops. The SWOT applications program is designed to connect mission scientists to end users and leverage the scientific research and data management tools with operational decision-making for different thematic users and data requirements. SWOT is scheduled to launch in 2020, so simulated hydrology and ocean data sets have been and will continued to be developed by science team members and the SWOT Project in order to determine how the data will represent the physical Earth systems targeted by the mission. SWOT will produce the first global survey of Earth's surface water by measuring sea surface height and the heights, slopes, and inundated areas of rivers, lakes, and wetlands. These coastal, lake and river measurements will be used for monitoring the hydrologic cycle, flooding, and climate impacts of a changing environment. The oceanographic measurements will enhance understanding of submesoscale processes and extend the capabilities of ocean state and climate prediction models.

  1. Matching user needs in health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bremer, G; Leggate, P

    1982-01-01

    Outlines patterns of library service available to users in the (British) National Health Service (NHS); gives preliminary results of a study detailing the character of the library system users, the nature of their needs and the degree to which the library system output meshes with user needs. The NHS library system is composed of widely scattered but small libraries, many of which can be characterized according to the narrow range of needs they serve. The largest libraries of the system, the teaching hospital library, share features of the NHS and university library systems. The most numerous, however, are the postgraduate medical education center libraries and nurse training school libraries. Until recently, there had been no cohesive organizational structure uniting the facilities and services of these various library groups. Regional library systems dating from 1967 have sought to encourage collaboration among libraries and to take into account user needs in policy planning. Recent research into medical libraries conducted by the British Library Research and Development Department points out the need for medical students and doctors to be able to adapt themselves to extracting needed information from any library which they might need to use during their career. Data showed that both clinical and preclinical medical personnel use a wide range of libraries, and are most satisfied with a multifunction library. Interpretation of data was undertaken within a conceptual framework of modelling developed by Checkland which provides a structure for thinking about the system. It is hoped that this approach will help to identify the sort of model of users which the library must maintain in order to provide them with the services they desire.

  2. Power to the People: End-User Building of Digital Library Collections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witten, Ian H.; Bainbridge, David; Boddie, Stefan J.

    Digital library systems focus principally on the reader: the consumer of the material that constitutes the library. In contrast, this paper describes an interface that makes it easy for people to build their own library collections. Collections may be built and served locally from the user's own Web server, or (given appropriate permissions)…

  3. Community-based health care for indigenous women in Mexico: a qualitative evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelcastre-Villafuerte, Blanca; Ruiz, Myriam; Meneses, Sergio; Amaya, Claudia; Márquez, Margarita; Taboada, Arianna; Careaga, Katherine

    2014-01-06

    Indigenous women in Mexico represent a vulnerable population in which three kinds of discrimination converge (ethnicity, gender and class), having direct repercussions on health status. The discrimination and inequity in health care settings brought this population to the fore as a priority group for institutional action. The objective of this study was to evaluate the processes and performance of the "Casa de la Mujer Indígena", a community based project for culturally and linguistically appropriate service delivery for indigenous women. The evaluation summarizes perspectives from diverse stakeholders involved in the implementation of the model, including users, local authorities, and institutional representatives. The study covered five Casas implementation sites located in four Mexican states. A qualitative process evaluation focused on systematically analyzing the Casas project processes and performance was conducted using archival information and semi-structured interviews. Sixty-two interviews were conducted, and grounded theory approach was applied for data analysis. Few similarities were observed between the proposed model of service delivery and its implementation in diverse locations, signaling discordant operating processes. Evidence gathered from Casas personnel highlighted their ability to detect obstetric emergencies and domestic violence cases, as well as contribute to the empowerment of women in the indigenous communities served by the project. These themes directly translated to increases in the reporting of abuse and referrals for obstetric emergencies. The model's cultural and linguistic competency, and contributions to increased referrals for obstetric emergencies and abuse are notable successes. The flexibility and community-based nature of the model has allowed it to be adapted to the particularities of diverse indigenous contexts. Local, culturally appropriate implementation has been facilitated by the fact that the Casas have been

  4. Canadian Academic Library Support for International Faculty: Library Experience and Information Needs of Chinese Visiting Scholars at the University of Western Ontario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiyi Xie

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available International faculty constitute a relatively small proportion of the library user community in Canadian post-secondary institutions, but they are underserved when compared to other user groups on campus, particularly international students. The author obtained first hand information about Chinese visiting scholars at the University of Western Ontario, and in this paper she presents conclusions from her experience regarding the visiting scholars' use of libraries as well as some recommendations for serving international faculty. The author suggests that academic libraries carefully consider international faculty when planning relevant services for diverse user groups. Providing necessary and satisfying library services for this group of patrons is an excellent opportunity to better serve academic communities and to demonstrate that academic libraries are an important partner in supporting their university's international initiatives.

  5. Barriers and facilitators to using NHS Direct: a qualitative study of 'users' and 'non-users'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Erica J; Randhawa, Gurch; Large, Shirley; Guppy, Andy; Chater, Angel M; Ali, Nasreen

    2014-10-25

    NHS Direct, introduced in 1998, has provided 24/7 telephone-based healthcare advice and information to the public in England and Wales. National studies have suggested variation in the uptake of this service amongst the UK's diverse population. This study provides the first exploration of the barriers and facilitators that impact upon the uptake of this service from the perspectives of both 'users' and 'non- users'. Focus groups were held with NHS Direct 'users' (N = 2) from Bedfordshire alongside 'non-users' from Manchester (N = 3) and Mendip, Somerset (N = 4). Each focus group had between five to eight participants. A total of eighty one people aged between 21 and 94 years old (M: 58.90, SD: 22.70) took part in this research. Each focus group discussion lasted approximately 90 minutes and was audiotape-recorded with participants' permission. The recordings were transcribed verbatim. A framework approach was used to analyse the transcripts. The findings from this research uncovered a range of barriers and facilitators that impact upon the uptake of NHS Direct. 'Non-users' were unaware of the range of services that NHS Direct provided. Furthermore, 'non-users' highlighted a preference for face-to face communication, identifying a lack of confidence in discussing healthcare over the telephone. This was particularly evident among older people with cognitive difficulties. The cost to telephone a '0845' number from a mobile was also viewed to be a barrier to access NHS Direct, expressed more often by 'non-users' from deprived communities. NHS Direct 'users' identified that awareness, ease of use and convenience were facilitators which influenced their decision to use the service. An understanding of the barriers and facilitators which impact on the access and uptake of telephone-based healthcare is essential to move patients towards the self-care model. This research has highlighted the need for telephone-based healthcare services to increase public awareness; through

  6. [Substance use and risk behaviors of out-of-treatment cocaine base paste and cocaine hydrochloride users].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santis B, Rodrigo; Hidalgo C, Carmen Gloria; Hayden C, Viviana; Anselmo M, Enzo; Rodríguez T, Jorge; Cartajena de la M, Fernando; Dreyse D, Jorge; Torres B, Rafael

    2007-01-01

    In Chile, cocaine base paste (CBP) is the illegal substance that produces the highest rate of addiction. Nonetheless, a marginal number of users receive treatment each year. To compare the consumption patterns and risk behavior of CBP and cocaine hydrochloride (CH) users who do not attend rehabilitation services. In a prospective research design, through a study methodology called Privileged Access Interview of hidden populations, 28 surveyors recruited 231 CBP users (group 1) and 236 CH users (group 2). The Risk Behavior Questionnaire was applied in four communities of Metropolitan Santiago, that have the highest prevalence of PBC and CH use. CBP users showed higher schools drop-out and unemployment rates. Subjects of both groups were predominantly polysubstance and polyaddicted users. The severity of addiction to CBP of group 1 was significantly higher than the severity of addiction to CH of group 2 (5.5 versus 5.1: psexual risk behaviors, antisocial behavior, self infliction of injuries, suicide attempt and child neglect. A higher vulnerability was shown for users of CBP than those of CH. Attention is drawn to the need for developing community interventions in order to alter substance abuse and the risk behavior of these vulnerable groups.

  7. Building a design community for sustainable homes through configuration and open innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thuesen, Christian Langhoff; Jespersen, Kristina Risom

    2009-01-01

    . Furthermore will an idea space collect and rate ideas from the users. Through a combination of technical and user driven innovation the design community will act as a learning tool for the users and producers and thereby facilitate the development of a market for sustainable homes.......This paper presents a development project which aims to create a market place for sustainable homes – around a design community where the uses and producers collectively can develop new energy efficient solutions and thereby reduce the emmisson of CO2. The core functionality of the design community...... is a configurator where the users based on the produceres templates can design their own home at a selected address visualizing and estimating the energy consumption, total cost, CO2 emission etc. All the designs will be collected and rated in a design space creating transparency over the market and technologies...

  8. Designing for Communities

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2011-01-01

    In 2008, Mark Boulton's small design firm won the project to redesign drupal.org home to the Drupal open source content management project and its community of over 400,000 users and developers. Designing for open source communities has its challenges: it is a developer-centric environment where discussion, debate and consensus rules and where design processes are often viewed sceptically. To help dispel some misconceptions behind the design process, Mark's team worked completely openly with the Drupal community - and broader the web design community - throughout the project. This talk will walk through some of the challenges and solutions for designing for large communities. Mark will share the successes - and the horror stories - of how a traditional design process was challenged every step of the way and how the Drupal community became an integral part of that new process. Mark and his team will be working with the Communication Group on an open project to r...

  9. Bridging Flows: Microfluidic End‐User Solutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sabourin, David

    Microfluidic applications hold promise for many different end‐users both within and outside, and across many different research communities. Despite the benefits of microfluidic approaches, adoption and implementation thereof is often hindered by practical issues. Microfluidic components which......‐integrated interconnection and miniaturized peristaltic pump solutions were then combined into modular microfluidic systems. One system provides high interconnection numbers/density and allows many possible configurations. Additionally, and apart from many other accounts of modular microfluidic solutions, methods...... for control and actuation of microfluidic networks built from the modular components is described. Prototypes of the microfluidic system have begun to be distributed to external collaborators and researcher parties. These end‐users will assist in the validation of the approach and ultimately fulfil the key...

  10. Consensus-based methodology for detection communities in multilayered networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karimi-Majd, Amir-Mohsen; Fathian, Mohammad; Makrehchi, Masoud

    2018-03-01

    Finding groups of network users who are densely related with each other has emerged as an interesting problem in the area of social network analysis. These groups or so-called communities would be hidden behind the behavior of users. Most studies assume that such behavior could be understood by focusing on user interfaces, their behavioral attributes or a combination of these network layers (i.e., interfaces with their attributes). They also assume that all network layers refer to the same behavior. However, in real-life networks, users' behavior in one layer may differ from their behavior in another one. In order to cope with these issues, this article proposes a consensus-based community detection approach (CBC). CBC finds communities among nodes at each layer, in parallel. Then, the results of layers should be aggregated using a consensus clustering method. This means that different behavior could be detected and used in the analysis. As for other significant advantages, the methodology would be able to handle missing values. Three experiments on real-life and computer-generated datasets have been conducted in order to evaluate the performance of CBC. The results indicate superiority and stability of CBC in comparison to other approaches.

  11. Insights Gained From 4 Years of EOSDIS User Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnke, J.; Boquist, C. L.

    2007-12-01

    The Earth Observation System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a large, complex data system currently supporting over 18 operational NASA satellite missions including the flagship EOS missions: Terra, Aqua, and Aura. A critical underpinning for management of EOSDIS is developing a thorough knowledge of the EOSDIS user community and how they use the EOSDIS products in their research. It is important to know whether the system is meeting the users' needs and expectations. Thus, in 2004 NASA commissioned a comprehensive survey to determine user satisfaction using the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) approach. NASA has continued to survey users yearly since. Users continue to rate EOSDIS systems and services highly as the EOSDIS ACSI score has outperformed both the averages for U.S. companies and for Federal Agencies. In addition, users' comments have provided valuable insight into the effect of data center processes on users' experiences. Although their satisfaction has remained high, their preferences have changed with the rapid advances in web-based services. We now have four years of data on user satisfaction from these surveys. The results of each survey highlight areas that, if improved, could lead to increased user satisfaction, including overall product quality, product documentation, and product selection and ordering processes. This paper will present the survey results and how they compare from year to year.

  12. The Economic Outcomes of Community College Attendance. ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Alyssa N.

    This digest discusses research on economic gains for community college students and explores whether a community college education serves to minimize the wage gap between women and men and between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. It summarizes research that supports the assertion that a community college education offers economic advancement…

  13. Training in Geoethics: Shared Values in Serving Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peppoloni, S.; Di Capua, G.

    2014-12-01

    Geosciences have evident repercussions on society. Geoscientists possess knowledge and skills to investigate, manage and intervene on the Geosphere, and this implies ethical obligations. So, the adoption of ethical principles and standards is crucial if geoscientists want to best serve the public. Their ethical responsibility requires a more active role in interacting with society, by giving people valuable contexts that inform the need for sustainable development, and perspectives that reveal essential and delicate balances of natural systems that impact humanity. Geoethics consists of research and reflection on those values upon which to base appropriate behaviour and practices where human activities intersect the Geosphere, and should become an essential point of reference in geoscientists' curricula. Acting in this direction implies the awareness by the geological community of its ethical commitments and the necessity to train new generations of geoscientists that in the future will be able to transfer to society not only practical aspects of geological knowledge, but also a new way to understand our planet. The IAPG - International Association for Promoting Geoethics (www.iapg.geoethics.org) was born to build a new awareness in the scientific community. It aims at joining forces of geoscientists all over the world, through creation of an international, multidisciplinary and scientific platform for discussing ethical problems and dilemmas in Earth Sciences, for strengthening the research base on Geoethics through scientific publications and conferences. Its main goal is to give a new cultural framework of reference, in which to develop effective training tools, in order to sensitize young geoscientists on ethical and social issues related to their future work, starting from the definition of shared values within the scientific community. This work provides an overview on the IAPG goals, activities and ongoing initiatives.

  14. Developing a vision and strategic action plan for future community-based residency training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skelton, Jann B; Owen, James A

    2016-01-01

    The Community Pharmacy Residency Program (CPRP) Planning Committee convened to develop a vision and a strategic action plan for the advancement of community pharmacy residency training. Aligned with the profession's efforts to achieve provider status and expand access to care, the Future Vision and Action Plan for Community-based Residency Training will provide guidance, direction, and a strategic action plan for community-based residency training to ensure that the future needs of community-based pharmacist practitioners are met. National thought leaders, selected because of their leadership in pharmacy practice, academia, and residency training, served on the planning committee. The committee conducted a series of conference calls and an in-person strategic planning meeting held on January 13-14, 2015. Outcomes from the discussions were supplemented with related information from the literature. Results of a survey of CPRP directors and preceptors also informed the planning process. The vision and strategic action plan for community-based residency training is intended to advance training to meet the emerging needs of patients in communities that are served by the pharmacy profession. The group anticipated the advanced skills required of pharmacists serving as community-based pharmacist practitioners and the likely education, training and competencies required by future residency graduates in order to deliver these services. The vision reflects a transformation of community residency training, from CPRPs to community-based residency training, and embodies the concept that residency training should be primarily focused on training the individual pharmacist practitioner based on the needs of patients served within the community, and not on the physical location where pharmacy services are provided. The development of a vision statement, core values statements, and strategic action plan will provide support, guidance, and direction to the profession of pharmacy to

  15. Disseminating online tools for building capacity among community practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Christina M; Fawcett, Stephen B; Schultz, Jerry A; Jones, Jami A; Berkowitz, Bill; Wolff, Thomas J; Francisco, Vincent T; Rabinowitz, Philip W

    2013-01-01

    To prepare the workforce for building healthier communities, we need to assure capabilities of a diverse and geographically distributed community of practitioners. Although the Internet is used extensively to disseminate practice information, less is known about the relative impact of various strategies for promoting its use. This empirical case study examines implementation of dissemination strategies and their association with increased user sessions in the online Community Tool Box (CTB), a widely used resource for community building. Dissemination activities included social media efforts, eNewsletters, search engine optimization efforts, partnering with other Web sites, and implementing a global Out of the Box Prize. Results suggest that increased user sessions were associated with search optimization and "mashups" delivering CTB content through partners' Web sites. The report concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities in promoting widespread use of capacity-building tools among those working to improve their communities.

  16. Military Cultural Competency: Understanding How to Serve Those Who Serve

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonura, Kimberlee Bethany; Lovald, Nicole

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this essay is to define and describe the different constituents of the military population, and present the challenges this demographic faces when pursuing higher education. The essay also discusses key aspects higher education professionals must understand in order to better serve military populations, such as federal regulations and…

  17. The ATLAS multi-user upgrade and potential applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mustapha, B.; Nolen, J. A.; Savard, G.; Ostroumov, P. N.

    2017-12-01

    With the recent integration of the CARIBU-EBIS charge breeder into the ATLAS accelerator system to provide for more pure and efficient charge breeding of radioactive beams, a multi-user upgrade of the ATLAS facility is being proposed to serve multiple users simultaneously. ATLAS was the first superconducting ion linac in the world and is the US DOE low-energy Nuclear Physics National User Facility. The proposed upgrade will take advantage of the continuous-wave nature of ATLAS and the pulsed nature of the EBIS charge breeder in order to simultaneously accelerate two beams with very close mass-to-charge ratios; one stable from the existing ECR ion source and one radioactive from the newly commissioned EBIS charge breeder. In addition to enhancing the nuclear physics program, beam extraction at different points along the linac will open up the opportunity for other potential applications; for instance, material irradiation studies at ~ 1 MeV/u and isotope production at ~ 6 MeV/u or at the full ATLAS energy of ~ 15 MeV/u. The concept and proposed implementation of the ATLAS multi-user upgrade will be presented. Future plans to enhance the flexibility of this upgrade will also be presented.

  18. Connecting Satellite-Based Precipitation Estimates to Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, George J.; Bolvin, David T.; Nelkin, Eric

    2018-01-01

    Beginning in 1997, the Merged Precipitation Group at NASA Goddard has distributed gridded global precipitation products built by combining satellite and surface gauge data. This started with the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), then the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), and recently the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG). This 20+-year (and on-going) activity has yielded an important set of insights and lessons learned for making state-of-the-art precipitation data accessible to the diverse communities of users. Merged-data products critically depend on the input sensors and the retrieval algorithms providing accurate, reliable estimates, but it is also important to provide ancillary information that helps users determine suitability for their application. We typically provide fields of estimated random error, and recently reintroduced the quality index concept at user request. Also at user request we have added a (diagnostic) field of estimated precipitation phase. Over time, increasingly more ancillary fields have been introduced for intermediate products that give expert users insight into the detailed performance of the combination algorithm, such as individual merged microwave and microwave-calibrated infrared estimates, the contributing microwave sensor types, and the relative influence of the infrared estimate.

  19. A la Carte Community

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gundelach, Peter; Brincker, Benedikte

    2010-01-01

    and shows that there are high levels of virtual as well as face-to-face interaction among the members. The participants feel that they belong to the community and many also feel that they are recognised as part of the community. However, the members do not share common values neither in relation to software......The exchange of open source software is a phenomenon that is becoming in- creasingly significant to IT users. This article presents the results of a study of the TYPO3 community, a community related to an open source CMS software. The article explores the community, identity and values of TYPO3...... pro- duction nor generally. Instead, they stress that you are free to choose your own values. Against this background, the authors introduce the notion of an ‘a la carte community', i.e. a community where individuals pick and choose their degree of participation and integra- tion into the community...

  20. User Driven Development of Software Tools for Open Data Discovery and Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlobinski, Sascha; Keppel, Frank; Dihe, Pascal; Boot, Gerben; Falkenroth, Esa

    2016-04-01

    The use of open data in research faces challenges not restricted to inherent properties such as data quality, resolution of open data sets. Often Open data is catalogued insufficiently or fragmented. Software tools that support the effective discovery including the assessment of the data's appropriateness for research have shortcomings such as the lack of essential functionalities like support for data provenance. We believe that one of the reasons is the neglect of real end users requirements in the development process of aforementioned software tools. In the context of the FP7 Switch-On project we have pro-actively engaged the relevant user user community to collaboratively develop a means to publish, find and bind open data relevant for hydrologic research. Implementing key concepts of data discovery and exploration we have used state of the art web technologies to provide an interactive software tool that is easy to use yet powerful enough to satisfy the data discovery and access requirements of the hydrological research community.

  1. Cream of the Crop: Clinical Representativeness of Eligible and Ineligible Cannabis Users in Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, Alexis S; Sodos, Louise M; Hirst, Rayna B; Vaughn, Dylan; Lorkiewicz, Sara A

    2018-03-06

    Experts have recommended criteria (Gonzalez et al., 2002) for recruiting pure chronic cannabis users (i.e., those without polysubstance use or psychiatric illness) when evaluating cannabis' non-acute effects on cognition. We sought to demonstrate the implications of using such criteria by examining characteristics of respondents who completed an eligibility screening for a parent study evaluating the cognitive effects of chronic cannabis use. Over a 3-year, 8-month period, 612 respondents from the community completed an eligibility screening based on recommendations in the cannabis literature. Using independent samples t-tests and chi-square tests, we examined whether qualified/eligible respondents (n = 219) differed from non-qualified/ineligible respondents (n = 393). Compared to ineligible cannabis users, eligible cannabis-using respondents were significantly younger, used cannabis more frequently, used alcohol less frequently, and were less likely to have a history of other drug use, a psychiatric diagnosis, or to have used psychiatric medication. Conclusions/Importance: Our findings indicate that eligible/pure cannabis users are not representative of typical cannabis users in the general community (i.e., ineligible users with polysubstance use and/or psychiatric diagnoses) who ultimately comprised the majority of our cannabis-using sample (65.2%). Thus, typical cannabis users may be more accurately characterized as polysubstance users, posing a number of challenges related to the generalizability of findings from studies utilizing pure samples of cannabis users. Recruiting samples of typical cannabis users will improve external validity in research. Furthermore, reporting comprehensive characteristics of such samples will enable consumers to gauge the applicability of study findings to populations of interest.

  2. Costs, cobenefits, and community responses to REDD+: a case study from Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bishnu P. Sharma

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We examine the role of subnational institutions in carbon sequestration and assess whether community forest user groups can meet both existing forest needs and international carbon demand. By conducting a qualitative evaluation of a pilot program in Nepal that made carbon payments to forest user groups, we examine if community forestry institutions can be effective, efficient, and equitable in implementing Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+. Our evaluation relies on focus group discussions, meetings, and community and program documents of forestry user groups that participated in the REDD+ pilot and matched groups that did not. Compared to control groups, REDD+ user groups appear to be more effective in carbon sequestration, perhaps because of increased prevention of forest fires and grazing, nursery establishment, and other forest management. REDD+ user groups report a larger number of forest conservation, forest utilization, and community development activities relative to control groups. Participating communities bear transaction costs of US$4.5/hectare and implementation costs of US$2.5/hectare on average (or NPR 50,000 (US$600 per year. The mean REDD+ rent per ton of additional carbon sequestered was US$1.3. Targeting of benefits improves partly because some marginalized groups, particularly women, participate more in the planning and management. In terms of equity, microcredit and capacity development activities were skewed to the poorest households, whereas alternate fuel and carbon monitoring were more advantageous to middle or high income households. Overall, our analyses suggest that REDD+ activities can be successfully executed, if communities receive technical and capacity building support for institutional strengthening, in addition to carbon payments.

  3. A Data-driven Study of Influences in Twitter Communities

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen, Huy; Zheng, Rong

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a quantitative study of Twitter, one of the most popular micro-blogging services, from the perspective of user influence. We crawl several datasets from the most active communities on Twitter and obtain 20.5 million user profiles, along with 420.2 million directed relations and 105 million tweets among the users. User influence scores are obtained from influence measurement services, Klout and PeerIndex. Our analysis reveals interesting findings, including non-power-law in...

  4. Profiles of social networking sites users in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Constantinides, Efthymios; Alarcón del Amo, Maria del Carmen; Lorenzo Romero, Carlota

    2010-01-01

    Online social networking has become a reality and integral part of the daily personal, social and business life. The extraordinary increase of the user numbers of Social Networking Sites (SNS) and the rampant creation of online communities presents businesses with many challenges and opportunities.

  5. Community Partnership to Address Snack Quality and Cost in Afterschool Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilley, Falon; Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle; Weaver, Robert Glenn; Jones, Sonya

    2014-01-01

    Background Policies call on afterschool programs (ASPs) to serve more nutritious snacks. A major barrier for improving snack quality is cost. This study describes the impact on snack quality and expenditures from a community-partnership between ASPs and local grocery stores. Methods Four large-scale ASPs (serving ∼500 children aged 6-12 years each day) and a single local grocery store chain participated in the study. The nutritional quality of snacks served was recorded pre-intervention (18 weeks spring/fall 2011) and post-intervention (7 weeks spring 2012) via direct observation, along with cost/child/snack/day. Results Pre-intervention snacks were low-nutrient-density salty snacks (eg, chips, 3.0 servings/week), sugar-sweetened beverages (eg, powdered-lemonade, 1.9 servings/week), and desserts (eg, cookies, 2.1servings/week), with only 0.4 servings/week of fruits and no vegetables. By post-intervention, fruits (3.5 servings/week) and vegetables (1.2 servings/week) increased, while sugar-sweetened beverages and desserts were eliminated. Snack expenditures were $0.26 versus $0.24 from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Partnership savings versus purchasing snacks at full retail cost was 24.5% or $0.25/serving versus $0.34/serving. Conclusions This innovative partnership can serve as a model in communities where ASPs seek to identify low-cost alternatives to providing nutritious snacks. PMID:25040123

  6. Laughing at the Looking Glass: Does Humor Style Serve as an Interpersonal Signal?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The provision of information appears to be an important feature of humor. The present studies examined whether humor serves as an interpersonal signal such that an individual's style of humor is associated with how the individual is perceived by others. Method: We examined this issue across two studies. In Study 1, undergraduate participants (257 targets were rated more positively by their friends and family members (1194 perceivers when they possessed more benign humor styles. In Study 2, 1190 community participants rated the romantic desirability of targets ostensibly possessing different humor styles. Results: Across both studies, our results were consistent with the possibility that humor serves as a signal. More specifically, individuals with benign humor styles (affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles were evaluated more positively than those targets with injurious humor styles (aggressive and self-defeating humor styles. Conclusion: These findings are discussed in terms of the role that humor may play in interpersonal perception and relationships.

  7. Managing the uncontrollable: Empirical studies of user-generated content online

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, H.H.

    2014-01-01

    Addressing "uncontrollability' of online buzz, this thesis examines unstructured user-generated content in response to corporate social responsibility communications in the blogosphere and explores the content of company-administered co-creation communities. Analyzing text-based content online, the

  8. Doing Your Community Education Evaluation: A Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Malcolm B.; And Others

    Intended to assist in the evaluation of community education programs, this guide is for program decision makers, primarily at the local level, including staff of school districts, park and recreation departments, other local and state agencies, and private citizens serving on community education boards and councils. Part 1, Evaluation and…

  9. DESI-Detection of early-season invasives (software-installation manual and user's guide version 1.0)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokaly, Raymond F.

    2011-01-01

    This report describes a software system for detecting early-season invasive plant species, such as cheatgrass. The report includes instructions for installing the software and serves as a user's guide in processing Landsat satellite remote sensing data to map the distributions of cheatgrass and other early-season invasive plants. The software was developed for application to the semi-arid regions of southern Utah; however, the detection parameters can be altered by the user for application to other areas.

  10. Privacy Preserved Self-Awareness on the Community via Crowd Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiting Fan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In social activities, people are interested in some statistical data, such as purchase records, monthly consumption, and health data, which are usually utilized in recommendation systems. And it is seductive for them to acquire the ranking of these data among friends or other communities. In the meantime, they want their privacy data to be confidential. Therefore, a strategy is presented to allow users to obtain the result of calculating their privacy data while preserving these data. In this method, firstly a polynomial approximation function model is set up for each user. Afterwards, “fragment” the coefficients of each model into pieces. Eventually “blend” all scraps to build the global model of all users. Users can use the global model to gain their corresponding ranking results after a special computing. Security analyses of three aspects elaborate the validity of proposed privacy method, even if some spiteful attackers try to steal private data of users, no matter who they are (users or someone outside the community. Experiments results manifest that the global model competently fits all users data and all privacy data are protected.

  11. Scheduling for dual-hop block-fading channels with two source-user pairs sharing one relay

    KAUST Repository

    Zafar, Ammar

    2013-09-01

    In this paper, we maximize the achievable rate region of a dual-hop network with two sources serving two users independently through a single shared relay. We formulate the problem as maximizing the sum of the weighted long term average throughputs of the two users under stability constraints on the long term throughputs of the source-user pairs. In order to solve the problem, we propose a joint user-and-hop scheduling scheme, which schedules the first or second hop opportunistically based on instantaneous channel state information, in order to exploit multiuser diversity and multihop diversity gains. Numerical results show that the proposed joint scheduling scheme enhances the achievable rate region as compared to a scheme that employs multi-user scheduling on the second-hop alone. Copyright © 2013 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.

  12. The benefit of the European User Community from transnational access to national radiation facilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barrier, Elise; Manuel Braz Fernandes, Francisco; Bujan, Maya

    2014-01-01

    Transnational access (TNA) to national radiation sources is presently provided via programmes of the European Commission by BIOSTRUCT-X and CALIPSO with a major benefit for scientists from European countries. Entirely based on scientific merit, TNA allows all European scientists to realise synchr...... development of the research infrastructure of photon science. Taking into account the present programme structure of HORIZON2020, the European Synchrotron User Organization (ESUO) sees considerable dangers for the continuation of this successful collaboration in the future....... synchrotron radiation experiments for addressing the Societal Challenges promoted in HORIZON2020. In addition, by TNA all European users directly take part in the development of the research infrastructure of facilities. The mutual interconnection of users and facilities is a strong prerequisite for future...

  13. New Developments in Mental Health and Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Fazenda

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The community mental health model implies a bio‐psycho‐social perspective of mental health/illness issues, as well as a set of values that advocate equity in service access, community treatment, respect for human rights, a recovery vision, promotion of independent living, social integration and user and family participation. In accordance with the priorities set by the European Union, mental health services must guarantee that these principles are applied in the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and promotion of mental health. Inter‐sector cooperation is an essential part of developing transversal policies that ensure society’s involvement in mental health promotion. Advances in community mental health in‐ dicate the relevance of considering human rights both in policy development and in practice, of the recovery perspective and of the need to promote the participation of user and carer organizations.

  14. Jane Kelsey, Serving Whose Interests? The Political Economy of Trade in Services Agreements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maureen Irish

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Serving Whose Interests is an examination of the General Agreement on Trade in Services [GATS] since its inception in 1995, with several case studies that discuss services trade in specific applications around the world. The scholarship i s extensive and detailed. Jane Kelsey, law professor at the University of Auckland, has criticized the pro-market services trade regime i n her role as a political activist. In this book, her goals are to make the technicalities of trade rules accessible and to show their effects on people and communities.

  15. RSIC [Radiation Shielding Information Center] after 25 years: Challenges and opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roussin, R.W.; Maskewitz, B.F.; Trubey, D.K.

    1988-01-01

    The Radiation Shielding Information Center (RSIC) observed its 25th year in operation in 1987. During that time numerous changes have occurred in the government programs that sponsor RSIC and in the radiation transport community which it serves. The continued need for RSIC is evident from the steady volume of requests and interactions with the user community. It is a continual challenge to adjust and adapt our operation to respond to the demands placed on RSIC by sponsors and users. Cooperation between sponsors, users, and the RSIC staff is the key to keeping RSIC as the focus of activities in the international radiation transport community. 7 refs

  16. Service user experiences of specialist mental health supported accommodation: A systematic review of qualitative studies and narrative synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krotofil, Joanna; McPherson, Peter; Killaspy, Helen

    2018-04-02

    Specialist supported accommodation services have become a key component of most community-based mental healthcare systems. While mental health policies highlight the importance of service user involvement in service development and care planning, there are no comprehensive literature reviews synthesising services users' perspectives on, or experiences of, supported accommodation services. This systematic review was undertaken to fill this gap. We searched electronic databases (January 2015, updated June 2017), conducted hand searches and used forward-backward snowballing to identify 13,678 papers. We inspected the full-text of 110 papers and included 50 of these in the final review. Data extraction and quality assessments were conducted. We used narrative synthesis to develop a conceptual model of service users' experiences that included structural, process, relational and contextual factors, such as the characteristics of the service, relationships with staff and other service users, the intensity and nature of support, the physical environment, and social and community integration. The review highlights the complex interplay of individual, service-level and community factors in shaping the lived experience of service users and their impact on personal identity and recovery. Our approach addressed some of the widely reported limitations of the quantitative research in this field, providing a conceptual model relevant to service user experiences across supported accommodation service types, population groups and countries. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Call Me Guru: User Categories and Large-Scale Behavior in YouTube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biel, Joan-Isaac; Gatica-Perez, Daniel

    While existing studies on YouTube's massive user-generated video content have mostly focused on the analysis of videos, their characteristics, and network properties, little attention has been paid to the analysis of users' long-term behavior as it relates to the roles they self-define and (explicitly or not) play in the site. In this chapter, we present a statistical analysis of aggregated user behavior in YouTube from the perspective of user categories, a feature that allows people to ascribe to popular roles and to potentially reach certain communities. Using a sample of 270,000 users, we found that a high level of interaction and participation is concentrated on a relatively small, yet significant, group of users, following recognizable patterns of personal and social involvement. Based on our analysis, we also show that by using simple behavioral features from user profiles, people can be automatically classified according to their category with accuracy rates of up to 73%.

  18. An Exploratory Assessment of the Validity of the Community College Survey of Men (CCSM): Implications for Serving Veteran Men

    Science.gov (United States)

    De La Garza, Thomas; Wood, J. Luke; Harris, Frank, III

    2015-01-01

    The Community College Survey of Men (CCSM) assesses predictors of student success for historically underrepresented and underserved men in community colleges. The instrument is designed to inform programming and service-delivery for male students (Wood & Harris, 2013). While the instrument was designed for community college men in general,…

  19. Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) user's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-10-01

    The Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) is a consolidated set of automated resources that effectively manage the data gathered during environmental monitoring and restoration of the Hanford Site. The HEIS includes an integrated database that provides consistent and current data to all users and promotes sharing of data by the entire user community. Data stored in the HEIS are collected under several regulatory programs. Currently these include the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA); and the Ground-Water Environmental Surveillance Project, managed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The HEIS is an information system with an inclusive database. The manual, the HEIS User's Manual, describes the facilities available to the scientist, engineer, or manager who uses the system for environmental monitoring, assessment, and restoration planning; and to the regulator who is responsible for reviewing Hanford Site operations against regulatory requirements and guidelines

  20. Classification of Arabic Twitter Users: A Study Based on User Behaviour and Interests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullatif Alabdullatif

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Social networks are among the most popular interactive media today due to their simplicity and their ability to break down the barriers of community rules and their speed and because of the increasing pressures of work environments that make it more difficult for people to visit or call friends. There are many social networking products available and they are widely used for social interaction. As the amount of threading data is growing, producing analysis from this large volume of communications is becoming increasingly difficult for public and private organisations. One of the important applications of this work is to determine the trends in social networks that depend on identifying relationships between members of a community. This is not a trivial task as it has numerous challenges. Information shared between social members does not have a formal data structure but is transmitted in the form of texts, emoticons, and multimedia. The inspiration for addressing this area is that if a company is advertising a sports product, for example, it has a difficulty in identifying targeted samples of Arab people on social networks who are interested in sports. In order to accomplish this, an experiment oriented approach is adopted in this study. A goal for this company is to discover users who have been interacting with other users who have the same interests, so they can receive the same type of message or advertisement. This information will help a company to determine how to develop advertisements based on Arab people’s interests. Examples of such work include the timely advertisement of the utilities that can be effectively marketed to increase the audience; for example, on the weekend days, the effective market approaches can yield considerable results in terms of increasing the sales and profits. In addition, finding an efficient way to recommend friends to a user based on interest similarity, celebrity degree, and online behaviour is of

  1. Informing and involving: the community`s right to know [marine oil spills

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watson, G. [Marine and Coastal Community Network, Perth, WA (Australia)

    1996-12-31

    The Marine and Coastal Community Network was established in 1993 to facilitate communication between all user groups of Australia`s coasts and seas, to promote ecological sustainability, to encourage greater community involvement, and to provide information. It is proving successful in providing a line of communication between a broad range of sectorial interests and developing a cooperative approach to ecological sustainability. This paper addresses the question of how the oil industry is shaping up in relation to providing relevant, accessible, understandable and up-to-date information to the community, in involving the community, and in developing and delivering industry best practice. It also outlines what the community wants to know and what industry can do better. The community, it is concluded, is always going to react very strongly over oil spills. Maintenance of water quality and the conservation of Australia`s coastline are extremely important issues for the community. A greater willingness to involve the community and a greater commitment to better research and practices is considered necessary. (author). 1 tab., 1 fig., 20 refs.

  2. Involving mental health service users in quality assurance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, Jenny

    2006-01-01

    Abstract Objective  This study compares the process and outcomes of two approaches to engaging mental health (MH) service users in the quality assurance (QA) process. Background  QA plays a significant role in health and care services, including those delivered in the voluntary sector. The importance of actively, rather than passively, involving service users in evaluation and service development has been increasingly recognized during the last decade. Design  This retrospective small‐scale study uses document analysis to compare two QA reviews of a MH Day Centre, one that took place in 1998 as a traditional inspection‐type event and one that took place in 2000 as a collaborative process with a user‐led QA agenda. Setting and participants  The project was undertaken with staff, volunteers and service users in a voluntary sector MH Day Centre. Intervention  The study compares the management, style, evaluation tools and service user responses for the two reviews; it considers staff perspectives and discusses the implications of a collaborative, user‐led QA process for service development. Results  The first traditional top–down inspection‐type QA event had less ownership from service users and staff and served the main purpose of demonstrating that services met organizational standards. The second review, undertaken collaboratively with a user‐led agenda focused on different priorities, evolving a new approach to seeking users’ views and achieving a higher response rate. Conclusions  Because both users and staff had participated in most aspects of the second review they were more willing to work together and action plan to improve the service. It is suggested that the process contributed to an evolving ethos of more effective quality improvement and user involvement within the organization. PMID:16677189

  3. A user-friendly, graphical interface for the Monte Carlo neutron optics code MCLIB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thelliez, T.; Daemen, L.; Hjelm, R.P.; Seeger, P.A.

    1995-01-01

    The authors describe a prototype of a new user interface for the Monte Carlo neutron optics simulation program MCLIB. At this point in its development the interface allows the user to define an instrument as a set of predefined instrument elements. The user can specify the intrinsic parameters of each element, its position and orientation. The interface then writes output to the MCLIB package and starts the simulation. The present prototype is an early development stage of a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations package that will serve as a tool for the design, optimization and assessment of performance of new neutron scattering instruments. It will be an important tool for understanding the efficacy of new source designs in meeting the needs of these instruments

  4. [The nutritional and dietary intake among community-dwelling elderly female users of mobile vendor vehicles].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimura, Yukio; Ito, Hideki; Yoshimura, Hidenori; Kamada, Chiemi; Okumura, Ryota; Shinno, Yuki; Suzuki, Taro; Horie, Kazumi; Takaya, Koji; Omi, Hideaki

    2018-01-01

    We compared the nutritional and dietary intakes of users of mobile vendor vehicles and users of stores to clarify the problems in the nutritional intake of users of mobile vendor vehicles. We conducted a questionnaire about the food accessibility among 257 elderly women (age: ≥65 years) who used mobile vendor vehicles and/or stores to shop. The nutritional intake was assessed using the 24-hour recall method. We used an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to calculate the age-adjusted mean values for the total nutritional intake. The nutritional intake among users of mobile vendor vehicles included significantly lower intakes of energy (168 kcal), green vegetables, other vegetables, and meats. Furthermore, those who only shopped at mobile vendor vehicles consumed less energy and fewer nutrients than those who shopped at places other than mobile vendor vehicles. The comparison of the shopping frequency and nutritional intake of the subjects who used mobile vendor vehicles alone revealed that the energy and protein intakes of those who shopped once per week was significantly lower in comparison to those who shopped twice per week. Users of mobile vendor vehicles had lower intakes of macronutrients and various minerals and vitamins. Among the food groups, intakes of vegetables, meat, and dairy products were low. These findings suggest that the lack of means of shopping other than mobile vendor vehicles and shopping once per week may be associated with an inadequate dietary intake among users of mobile vendor vehicles. It would be desirable to develop the shopping environment is desirable.

  5. Bringing Together Users and Developers of Forest Biomass Maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Molly Elizabeth; Macauley, Molly K.

    2012-01-01

    Forests store carbon and thus represent important sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Reducing uncertainty in current estimates of the amount of carbon in standing forests will improve precision of estimates of anthropogenic contributions to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to deforestation. Although satellite remote sensing has long been an important tool for mapping land cover, until recently aboveground forest biomass estimates have relied mostly on systematic ground sampling of forests. In alignment with fiscal year 2010 congressional direction, NASA has initiated work toward a carbon monitoring system (CMS) that includes both maps of forest biomass and total carbon flux estimates. A goal of the project is to ensure that the products are useful to a wide community of scientists, managers, and policy makers, as well as to carbon cycle scientists. Understanding the needs and requirements of these data users is helpful not just to the NASA CMS program but also to the entire community working on carbon-related activities. To that end, this meeting brought together a small group of natural resource managers and policy makers who use information on forests in their work with NASA scientists who are working to create aboveground forest biomass maps. These maps, derived from combining remote sensing and ground plots, aim to be more accurate than current inventory approaches when applied at local and regional scales. Meeting participants agreed that users of biomass information will look to the CMS effort not only to provide basic data for carbon or biomass measurements but also to provide data to help serve a broad range of goals, such as forest watershed management for water quality, habitat management for biodiversity and ecosystem services, and potential use for developing payments for ecosystem service projects. Participants also reminded the CMS group that potential users include not only public sector agencies and nongovernmental organizations but also the

  6. Environmental Management Model for Road Maintenance Operation Involving Community Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triyono, A. R. H.; Setyawan, A.; Sobriyah; Setiono, P.

    2017-07-01

    Public expectations of Central Java, which is very high on demand fulfillment, especially road infrastructure as outlined in the number of complaints and community expectations tweeter, Short Mail Massage (SMS), e-mail and public reports from various media, Highways Department of Central Java province requires development model of environmental management in the implementation of a routine way by involving the community in order to fulfill the conditions of a representative, may serve road users safely and comfortably. This study used survey method with SEM analysis and SWOT with Latent Independent Variable (X), namely; Public Participation in the regulation, development, construction and supervision of road (PSM); Public behavior in the utilization of the road (PMJ) Provincial Road Service (PJP); Safety in the Provincial Road (KJP); Integrated Management System (SMT) and latent dependent variable (Y) routine maintenance of the provincial road that is integrated with the environmental management system and involve the participation of the community (MML). The result showed the implementation of routine maintenance of road conditions in Central Java province has yet to implement an environmental management by involving the community; Therefore developed environmental management model with the results of H1: Community Participation (PSM) has positive influence on the Model of Environmental Management (MML); H2: Behavior Society in Jalan Utilization (PMJ) positive effect on Model Environmental Management (MML); H3: Provincial Road Service (PJP) positive effect on Model Environmental Management (MML); H4: Safety in the Provincial Road (KJP) positive effect on Model Environmental Management (MML); H5: Integrated Management System (SMT) has positive influence on the Model of Environmental Management (MML). From the analysis obtained formulation model describing the relationship / influence of the independent variables PSM, PMJ, PJP, KJP, and SMT on the dependent variable

  7. Identification of User Needs. EDIS Task I Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard Research Co., Arlington, VA.

    This report presents the identification of user needs in the Army research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) community. Two types of information are provided in this report. The first type includes discussions of the RDT&E cycle, the level of informational need, time response, item categories and other factors as they relate to the…

  8. Heavy cannabis users at elevated risk of stroke: evidence from a general population survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemachandra, Dilini; McKetin, Rebecca; Cherbuin, Nicolas; Anstey, Kaarin J

    2016-06-01

    Case reports and hospital-based case-control studies suggest that cannabis use may increase the risk of stroke. We examined the risk of non-fatal stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) among cannabis users in the general community. A general population survey of Australians aged 20-24 years (n=2,383), 40-44 years (n=2,525) and 60-64 years (n=2,547) was used to determine the odds of lifetime stroke or TIA among participants who had smoked cannabis in the past year while adjusting for other stroke risk factors. There were 153 stroke/TIA cases (2.1%). After adjusting for age cohort, past year cannabis users (n=1,043) had 3.3 times the rate of stroke/TIA (95% CI 1.8-6.3, pcannabis weekly or more often (IRR 4.7, 95% CI 2.1-10.7) with no elevation among participants who used cannabis less often. Heavy cannabis users in the general community have a higher rate of non-fatal stroke or transient ischemic attack than non-cannabis users. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

  9. Community-based Natural Resource Management of the Jozani ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is an approach that has generally .... rules in use across a broad range of CPR user- communities .... identified these social clusters and vocational groupings as ..... satisfied with the agreement and the villagers .... protection measures for the red colobus monkey ...

  10. The ILL millennium symposium and European user meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlile, C.J.; Frick, B.; Radaelli, P.G.; Alba-Simionesco, C.; Chauty, A.; Niss, K.; Casas, F.; Sokolov, A.; Lequeux, F.; Montes, H.; Harrison, A.; Schurtenberger, P.; Dubbers, D.; Frank, A.; Gudel, H.U.; Wagner, R.; Vettier, C.; Gahler, R.; Protassov, K.; Geltenbort, P.; Plonka, C.; Simpson, G.; Pinston, J.A.; Genevey, J.; Urban, W.; Scherillo, A.; Orlandi, R.; Smith, A.G.; Mana, G.; Abele, H.; Van der Grinten, M.; Steuwer, A.; Klotz, S.; Hamel, G.; Strassle, C.Th.; Kervananois, N.; Koza, M.M.; Nishiyama, Y.; Langan, P.; Wada, M.; Sugiyama, J.; Chanzy, H.; Gunter, M.M.; Lerch, M.; Boysen, H.; Korte, C.; Suard, E.; Blanco, J.A.; Fernandez-Rodriguez, J.; Brown, P.J.; Stunault, A.; Katsumata, K.; Lovesey, S.W.; Iga, F.; Michimura, S.; Kremer, R.K.; Banks, M.; Capogna, L.; Enderle, M.; Gibson, B.J.; McIntyre, G.J.; Ouladdiaf, B.; Pujol, S.; Raggazzoni, J.L.; Rheinstadter, M.; Schefer, J.; Boehm, M.; Roessli, B.; Wills, A.S.; Ouladdiaf, B.; Lelievre-Berna, E.; Goff, J.P.; Toader, A.M.; Skoulatos, M.; Enderle, M.; Stewart, J.R.; Murani, A.; Roger, M.; Shannon, N.; Kaul, E.E.; Geibel, C.; Simonet, V.; Lhotel, E.; Paulsen, C.; Ressouche, E.; Staub, U.; Amato, A.; Baines, C.; Petrakovskii, G.A.; Bramwell, S.; Fukuhara, N.; Ebert, J.; Lindner, D.; Dauvergne, M.T.; Hartlein, M.; Timmins, P.; Conti, E.; Svergun, D.; Budayova-Spano, M.; Bonnete, F.; El Hajji, M.; Blakeley, M.P.; Meilleur, F.; Castro, B.; Gabel, F.; Ferrand, M.; Chenal, A.; Forge, V.; Fragneto, G.; Haertlein, M.; Gillet, D.; Haertlein, M.

    2006-01-01

    Five years ago the ILL (Institute Laue-Langevin) convened the first Millennium symposium in order to launch an ambitious modernization program of instruments and infrastructure known as the ILL Millennium Program. After 5 years of activity we have decided to run a second such symposium. The scientific program of this Millennium Symposium will address the following points: -) instrumental and scientific achievements made possible by the Millennium Program, -) trends in science and engineering and the implications for the ILL, -) scenarios for future instrumentation and user support facilities, and -) the scientific priorities of the user community. This document gathers the abstracts of 63 contributions and 73 posters

  11. The ILL millennium symposium and European user meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carlile, C.J.; Frick, B.; Radaelli, P.G.; Alba-Simionesco, C.; Chauty, A.; Niss, K.; Casas, F.; Sokolov, A.; Lequeux, F.; Montes, H.; Harrison, A.; Schurtenberger, P.; Dubbers, D.; Frank, A.; Gudel, H.U.; Wagner, R.; Vettier, C.; Gahler, R.; Protassov, K.; Geltenbort, P.; Plonka, C.; Simpson, G.; Pinston, J.A.; Genevey, J.; Urban, W.; Scherillo, A.; Orlandi, R.; Smith, A.G.; Mana, G.; Abele, H.; Van der Grinten, M.; Steuwer, A.; Klotz, S.; Hamel, G.; Strassle, C.Th.; Kervananois, N.; Koza, M.M.; Nishiyama, Y.; Langan, P.; Wada, M.; Sugiyama, J.; Chanzy, H.; Gunter, M.M.; Lerch, M.; Boysen, H.; Korte, C.; Suard, E.; Blanco, J.A.; Fernandez-Rodriguez, J.; Brown, P.J.; Stunault, A.; Katsumata, K.; Lovesey, S.W.; Iga, F.; Michimura, S.; Kremer, R.K.; Banks, M.; Capogna, L.; Enderle, M.; Gibson, B.J.; McIntyre, G.J.; Ouladdiaf, B.; Pujol, S.; Raggazzoni, J.L.; Rheinstadter, M.; Schefer, J.; Boehm, M.; Roessli, B.; Wills, A.S.; Ouladdiaf, B.; Lelievre-Berna, E.; Goff, J.P.; Toader, A.M.; Skoulatos, M.; Enderle, M.; Stewart, J.R.; Murani, A.; Roger, M.; Shannon, N.; Kaul, E.E.; Geibel, C.; Simonet, V.; Lhotel, E.; Paulsen, C.; Ressouche, E.; Staub, U.; Amato, A.; Baines, C.; Petrakovskii, G.A.; Bramwell, S.; Fukuhara, N.; Ebert, J.; Lindner, D.; Dauvergne, M.T.; Hartlein, M.; Timmins, P.; Conti, E.; Svergun, D.; Budayova-Spano, M.; Bonnete, F.; El Hajji, M.; Blakeley, M.P.; Meilleur, F.; Castro, B.; Gabel, F.; Ferrand, M.; Chenal, A.; Forge, V.; Fragneto, G.; Haertlein, M.; Gillet, D.; Haertlein, M

    2006-07-01

    Five years ago the ILL (Institute Laue-Langevin) convened the first Millennium symposium in order to launch an ambitious modernization program of instruments and infrastructure known as the ILL Millennium Program. After 5 years of activity we have decided to run a second such symposium. The scientific program of this Millennium Symposium will address the following points: -) instrumental and scientific achievements made possible by the Millennium Program, -) trends in science and engineering and the implications for the ILL, -) scenarios for future instrumentation and user support facilities, and -) the scientific priorities of the user community. This document gathers the abstracts of 63 contributions and 73 posters.

  12. Methods and tools in user-centred design for information technology

    CERN Document Server

    Galer, Margaret; Ziegler, J; Galer, Mark

    1992-01-01

    This book is concerned with the development of human factorsinputs to software design. The aim is to create products whichmatch the requirements and characteristics of users and whichoffer usable user interfaces. The HUFIT project - Human Factorsin Information Technology - was carried out within the EuropeanStrategic Programme for Research and Development in InformationTechnology (ESPRIT) with the objective of enhancing the qualityof software design within the European Community. The variety ofactivities undertaken to achieve this goal are reflected in thisbook. It describes human factors know

  13. Integration of End-User Cloud Storage for CMS Analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Riahi, Hassen; Álvarez Ayllón, Alejandro; Balcas, Justas; Ciangottini, Diego; Hernández, José M; Keeble, Oliver; Magini, Nicolò; Manzi, Andrea; Mascetti, Luca; Mascheroni, Marco; Tanasijczuk, Andres Jorge; Vaandering, Eric Wayne

    2018-01-01

    End-user Cloud storage is increasing rapidly in popularity in research communities thanks to the collaboration capabilities it offers, namely synchronisation and sharing. CERN IT has implemented a model of such storage named, CERNBox, integrated with the CERN AuthN and AuthZ services. To exploit the use of the end-user Cloud storage for the distributed data analysis activity, the CMS experiment has started the integration of CERNBox as a Grid resource. This will allow CMS users to make use of their own storage in the Cloud for their analysis activities as well as to benefit from synchronisation and sharing capabilities to achieve results faster and more effectively. It will provide an integration model of Cloud storages in the Grid, which is implemented and commissioned over the world’s largest computing Grid infrastructure, Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). In this paper, we present the integration strategy and infrastructure changes needed in order to transparently integrate end-user Cloud storage with...

  14. Broadening Participation: Mentoring Community College Students in a Geoscience REU

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, M.; Osborn, J.

    2015-12-01

    Increasingly, REUs are recruiting from community colleges as a means of broadening participation of underrepresented minorities, women, and low-income students in STEM. As inclusion of community college students becomes normalized, defining the role of science faculty and preparing them to serve as mentors to community college students is a key component of well-designed programs. This session will present empirical research regarding faculty mentoring in the first two years of an NSF-REU grant to support community college students in a university's earth and environmental science labs. Given the documented benefits of undergraduate research on students' integration into the scientific community and their career trajectory in STEM, the focus of the investigation has been on the processes and impact of mentoring community college STEM researchers at a university serving a more traditionally privileged population; the degree to which the mentoring relationships have addressed community college students needs including their emotional, cultural and resource needs; and gaps in mentor training and the mentoring relationship identified by mentors and students.

  15. The phenomenological experience of dementia and user interface development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peterson, Carrie Beth; Mitseva, Anelia; Mihovska, Albena D.

    2009-01-01

    This study follows the project ISISEMD through a phenomenological approach of investigating the experience of the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) for someone with dementia. The aim is to accentuate the Assistive Technology (AT) from the end user perspective. It proposes that older adults and those...... with dementia should no longer be an overlooked population, and how the HCI community can learn from their experiences to develop methods and design interfaces which truly benefit these individuals. Guidelines from previous research are incorporated along with eclectic, user-centered strategies as the interface...... designers for ISISEMD develop an appropriate and effective modality. The paper outlines the interconnected difficulties associated with the characteristics of older adults with mild dementia, which are important to be considered when introducing AT to that group of end users. It further presents clear...

  16. Excessive Gambling and Online Gambling Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirola, Anu; Kaakinen, Markus; Oksanen, Atte

    2018-04-05

    The Internet provides an accessible context for online gambling and gambling-related online communities, such as discussion forums for gamblers. These communities may be particularly attractive to young gamblers who are active Internet users. The aim of this study was to examine the use of gambling-related online communities and their relevance to excessive gambling among 15-25-year-old Finnish Internet users (N = 1200). Excessive gambling was assessed by using the South Oaks Gambling Screen. Respondents were asked in a survey about their use of various kinds of gambling-related online communities, and sociodemographic and behavioral factors were adjusted. The results of the study revealed that over half (54.33%) of respondents who had visited gambling-related online communities were either at-risk gamblers or probable pathological gamblers. Discussion in these communities was mainly based on sharing gambling tips and experiences, and very few respondents said that they related to gambling problems and recovery. In three different regression models, visiting gambling-related online communities was a significant predictor for excessive gambling (with 95% confidence level) even after adjusting confounding factors. The association of visiting such sites was even stronger among probable pathological gamblers than among at-risk gamblers. Health professionals working with young people should be aware of the role of online communities in terms of development and persistence of excessive gambling. Monitoring the use of online gambling communities as well as utilizing recovery-oriented support both offline and online would be important in preventing further problems. Gambling platforms should also include warnings about excessive gambling and provide links to helpful sources.

  17. Pulmonary functions in air conditioner users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khaliq, Farah; Sharma, Sameer; Tandon, O P

    2006-01-01

    Air conditioning may affect human health since it has profound effect on our environment, than just lowering temperature. The present study was planned to assess the effect of air conditioners (AC) on pulmonary functions in young healthy non-smoker males. The study group comprised of ten subjects who were using AC's in their cars for at least 1 hr daily since last 6 months. While ten subjects who did not use AC at all served as controls. The pulmonary functions were assessed using PK Morgan 232 spirometer in a closed room. The peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and Forced expiratory flow between 25-75% of vital capacity (FEF25-75) were significantly reduced in subjects using car AC's. Inspiratory flow rates also showed a trend towards decline in AC users but could not reach the level of significance. The lung volumes and capacities were not significantly different in the two groups except for forced expiratory volume in 0.5 sec (FEV 0.5 sec), which also decreased in AC users. The airway resistance and lung compliance did not show significant change. In the presence of normal FEV1, reduced FEF25-75% which is the flow rate over the middle half of vital capacity, is an evidence of mild airflow limitation. The result is suggestive of predisposition of AC users towards respiratory disorders in form of mild airflow restriction.

  18. Does mindfulness matter? Everyday mindfulness, mindful eating and self-reported serving size of energy dense foods among a sample of South Australian adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beshara, Monica; Hutchinson, Amanda D; Wilson, Carlene

    2013-08-01

    Serving size is a modifiable determinant of energy consumption, and an important factor to address in the prevention and treatment of obesity. The present study tested an hypothesised negative association between individuals' everyday mindfulness and self-reported serving size of energy dense foods. The mediating role of mindful eating was also explored. A community sample of 171 South Australian adults completed self-report measures of everyday mindfulness and mindful eating. The dependent measure was participants' self-reported average serving size of energy dense foods consumed in the preceding week. Participants who reported higher levels of everyday mindfulness were more mindful eaters (r=0.41, pMindful eating fully mediated the negative association between everyday mindfulness and serving size. The domains of mindful eating most relevant to serving size included emotional and disinhibited eating. Results suggest that mindful eating may have a greater influence on serving size than daily mindfulness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Engaging the Deaf American Sign Language Community: Lessons From a Community-Based Participatory Research Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee, Michael; Thew, Denise; Starr, Matthew; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Reid, John T.; Graybill, Patrick; Velasquez, Julia; Pearson, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Background Numerous publications demonstrate the importance of community-based participatory research (CBPR) in community health research, but few target the Deaf community. The Deaf community is understudied and underrepresented in health research despite suspected health disparities and communication barriers. Objectives The goal of this paper is to share the lessons learned from the implementation of CBPR in an understudied community of Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users in the greater Rochester, New York, area. Methods We review the process of CBPR in a Deaf ASL community and identify the lessons learned. Results Key CBPR lessons include the importance of engaging and educating the community about research, ensuring that research benefits the community, using peer-based recruitment strategies, and sustaining community partnerships. These lessons informed subsequent research activities. Conclusions This report focuses on the use of CBPR principles in a Deaf ASL population; lessons learned can be applied to research with other challenging-to-reach populations. PMID:22982845

  20. Signage by Design: A Design-Thinking Approach to Library User Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward Luca

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Signage is a powerful visual tool for communication and a crucial component of the library user experience. Signage can welcome, guide, instruct, and delight users, helping them navigate the complex information world of any library. In practice, however, signage can be problematic, revealing tensions between various stakeholders, and contributing to visual noise through information overload; this often leads to signage blindness, library anxiety, and confusion. This article explores how libraries can use a design-thinking approach to improve the user experience in physical library spaces, particularly with respect to signage, based on our experience at the UTS Library, a university library in Australia that serves the University of Technology Sydney (UTS. We found that a design-thinking approach that uses the processes of empathy, problem definition, solution ideation, prototyping, and testing, can help libraries make significant and meaningful changes that can be adopted at relatively low cost.