WorldWideScience

Sample records for wikipedia promotion process

  1. Building a Reputation System for Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Christian D.

    2011-01-01

    Wikipedia is a web-based encyclopedia, written and edited collaboratively by Internet users. Wikipedia has an extremely open editorial policy that allows anybody to create or modify articles. This has promoted a broad and detailed coverage of subjects, but also introduced problems relating...... to the quality of articles. The Wikipedia Recommender System (WRS) was developed to help users determine the credibility of articles based on feedback from other Wikipedia users. The WRS provides a rating which emphasizes feedback from recommenders that the user has agreed with in the past. This paper presents...... some of the work that has gone into the development of the Wikipedia Recommender System. We first developed a generic architecture for integrating a reputation system into existing legacy systems and based our design of the WRS on this architecture. Both the generic architecture and our design...

  2. Wikipedia and neurological disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brigo, Francesco; Igwe, Stanley C; Nardone, Raffaele; Lochner, Piergiorgio; Tezzon, Frediano; Otte, Willem M

    2015-07-01

    Our aim was to evaluate Wikipedia page visits in relation to the most common neurological disorders by determining which factors are related to peaks in Wikipedia searches for these conditions. Millions of people worldwide use the internet daily as a source of health information. Wikipedia is a popular free online encyclopedia used by patients and physicians to search for health-related information. The following Wikipedia articles were considered: Alzheimer's disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Dementia; Epilepsy; Epileptic seizure; Migraine; Multiple sclerosis; Parkinson's disease; Stroke; Traumatic brain injury. We analyzed information regarding the total article views for 90 days and the rank of these articles among all those available in Wikipedia. We determined the highest search volume peaks to identify possible relation with online news headlines. No relation between incidence or prevalence of neurological disorders and the search volume for the related articles was found. Seven out of 10 neurological conditions showed relations in search volume peaks and news headlines. Six out of these seven peaks were related to news about famous people suffering from neurological disorders, especially those from showbusiness. Identification of discrepancies between disease burden and health seeking behavior on Wikipedia is useful in the planning of public health campaigns. Celebrities who publicly announce their neurological diagnosis might effectively promote awareness programs, increase public knowledge and reduce stigma related to diagnoses of neurological disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Wikipedia use: Risk for developing technology addiction

    OpenAIRE

    Manoj Kumar Sharma

    2016-01-01

    The present case highlights the addictive potential of Wikipedia usage. The users approached a technology addiction clinic for the management of excessive use of technology. A clinical interview was used to elicit information about usages. It indicates the addictive use of Wikipedia and associated dysfunction in lifestyle. It has implication for promotion of healthy use of technology.

  4. Wikipedia use: Risk for developing technology addiction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manoj Kumar Sharma

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present case highlights the addictive potential of Wikipedia usage. The users approached a technology addiction clinic for the management of excessive use of technology. A clinical interview was used to elicit information about usages. It indicates the addictive use of Wikipedia and associated dysfunction in lifestyle. It has implication for promotion of healthy use of technology.

  5. Improving credibility evaluations on Wikipedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lucassen, T.; Schmettow, Martin; Wiering, Caro H.; Pieters, Jules M.; Boer, Henk

    2011-01-01

    In this chapter, ongoing research on trust in Wikipedia is used as a case study to illustrate the design process of a support tool for Wikipedia, following the ASCE-model. This research is performed from a cognitive perspective and aims at users actively evaluating the credibility of information on

  6. Improve Research Visibility and Impact by Contributing to Wikipedia

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahim, Nader Ale

    2017-01-01

    Wikipedia is a tool for collaboration, information sharing and knowledge/content management which anyone can edit. Wikipedia is widely used by students during the research process. So, due to Wikipedia popularity, contributing to Wikipedia website is one way of increasing citation score. In this workshop, I try to answer “Does including your papers as citations on Wikipedia increase the number of academic citations you get?” if yes, how?.

  7. Towards Automatic Classification of Wikipedia Content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szymański, Julian

    Wikipedia - the Free Encyclopedia encounters the problem of proper classification of new articles everyday. The process of assignment of articles to categories is performed manually and it is a time consuming task. It requires knowledge about Wikipedia structure, which is beyond typical editor competence, which leads to human-caused mistakes - omitting or wrong assignments of articles to categories. The article presents application of SVM classifier for automatic classification of documents from The Free Encyclopedia. The classifier application has been tested while using two text representations: inter-documents connections (hyperlinks) and word content. The results of the performed experiments evaluated on hand crafted data show that the Wikipedia classification process can be partially automated. The proposed approach can be used for building a decision support system which suggests editors the best categories that fit new content entered to Wikipedia.

  8. Wikipedias: Collaborative web-based encyclopedias as complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlatić, V.; Božičević, M.; Štefančić, H.; Domazet, M.

    2006-07-01

    Wikipedia is a popular web-based encyclopedia edited freely and collaboratively by its users. In this paper we present an analysis of Wikipedias in several languages as complex networks. The hyperlinks pointing from one Wikipedia article to another are treated as directed links while the articles represent the nodes of the network. We show that many network characteristics are common to different language versions of Wikipedia, such as their degree distributions, growth, topology, reciprocity, clustering, assortativity, path lengths, and triad significance profiles. These regularities, found in the ensemble of Wikipedias in different languages and of different sizes, point to the existence of a unique growth process. We also compare Wikipedias to other previously studied networks.

  9. [Wikipedia and wikinutrition: key tools for the global promotion of nutrition].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanz-Valero, J; Wanden-Berghe, C; Culebras-Fernández, J M; Gil, A; Ruiz, M D; Luengo, L M; Veiga, J

    2012-01-01

    Wikipedia is an encyclopedia collaboratively edited by volunteers from around the world built on the Web since 2003. Today is the sixth most visited site on the Internet, making it the biggest hit of participatory democracy in the field of information dissemination. The English edition, with more than 3 million items, has become an indispensable part of the Internet and the largest and most popular reference work. In this context, it could be argued that Wikipedia is a valuable tool for the general knowledge of the nutritional sciences terminology. At the same time, it does not only facilitate access to knowledge but also can generate it. It also permits to socialize these spaces for collaboration and development, contributing therefore to disclose science to the society. Consequently, in this article we present and discuss the main features of Wikipedia, emphasizing above all its role in food science and nutrition.

  10. Wikipedia for Africanists

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muller, H.; Damen, J.C.M.

    2014-01-01

    How can Africanists and information specialists in African research and documentation get the most out of Wikipedia, and how can they contribute to Wikipedia? This article argues that Wikipedia is useful both as a universally accessible - albeit not specifically academic - free reference tool and as

  11. The Truth of Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathaniel Tkacz

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available What does it mean to assert that Wikipedia has a relation to truth? That there is, despite regular claims to the contrary, an entire apparatus of truth in Wikipedia? In this article, I show that Wikipedia has in fact two distinct relations to truth: one which is well known and forms the basis of existing popular and scholarly commentaries, and another which refers to equally well-known aspects of Wikipedia, but has not been understood in terms of truth. I demonstrate Wikipedia's dual relation to truth through a close analysis of the Neutral Point of View core content policy (and one of the project's 'Five Pillars'. I conclude by indicating what is at stake in the assertion that Wikipedia has a regime of truth and what bearing this has on existing commentaries.

  12. Wikipedia and neurological disorders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brigo, Francesco; Igwe, Stanley C.; Nardone, Raffaele; Lochner, Piergiorgio; Tezzon, Frediano; Otte, WM

    2015-01-01

    Our aim was to evaluate Wikipedia page visits in relation to the most common neurological disorders by determining which factors are related to peaks in Wikipedia searches for these conditions. Millions of people worldwide use the internet daily as a source of health information. Wikipedia is a

  13. Contribute to Wikipedia: An approach to Increase Research Visibility on the Web

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahim, Nader Ale

    2016-01-01

    Wikipedia is a tool for collaboration, information sharing and knowledge/content management which anyone can edit. Wikipedia is widely used by students during the research process. So, due to Wikipedia popularity, contributing to Wikipedia website is one way of increasing citation score. In this workshop, I try to answer “Does including your papers as citations on Wikipedia increase the number of academic citations you get?” if yes, how?.

  14. Wikipedia in Promoting Science Literary Skills in Primary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Sunitha; Alias, Norlidah; DeWitt, Dorothy

    2014-01-01

    In learning Science, online environments allowing for user generated content are becoming increasingly important since they offer possibilities for learners to elaborate on assignments and projects. This study investigates how Wikipedia can serve as a means for enhancing science literary skills when students are encouraged to participate in…

  15. Extracting central places from the link structure in Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessler, Carsten

    2017-01-01

    of the German language edition of Wikipedia. The official upper and middle centers declared, based on German spatial laws, are used as a reference dataset. The characteristics of the link structure around their Wikipedia pages, which link to each other or mention each other, and how often, are used to develop...... a bottom-up method for extracting central places from Wikipedia. The method relies solely on the structure and number of links and mentions between the corresponding Wikipedia pages; no spatial information is used in the extraction process. The output of this method shows significant overlap...... with the official central place structure, especially for the upper centers. The results indicate that real-world relationships are in fact reflected in the link structure on the web in the case of Wikipedia....

  16. Reengineering the Wikipedia for Reputation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korsgaard, Thomas Rune; Jensen, Christian D.

    2008-01-01

    The Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia collaboratively edited by Internet users with a minimum of administration. Anybody can write an article for the Wikipedia and there is no verification of the author’s expertise on the particular subject. This may lead to problems relating to the quality...... of articles, especially completeness and correctness of information, and inaccuracies in the Wikipedia have been rumoured to cause students to fail courses; innocent people have been associated with the killing of John F. Kennedy, etc. Providing a means to assess the correctness, completeness and impartiality...... of information in the Wikipedia is therefore vitally important for the users to build trust in the Wikipedia and ensure the continued success and growth of the system. Integrating a reputation system into the Wikipedia would help users assess the quality of articles and provide a powerful incentive for authors...

  17. Wikipedia the missing manual

    CERN Document Server

    Broughton, John

    2008-01-01

    Want to be part of the largest group-writing project in human history? Learn how to contribute to Wikipedia, the user-generated online reference for the 21st century. Considered more popular than eBay, Microsoft.com, and Amazon.com, Wikipedia servers respond to approximately 30,000 requests per second, or about 2.5 billion per day. It's become the first point of reference for people the world over who need a fact fast.If you want to jump on board and add to the content, Wikipedia: The Missing Manual is your first-class ticket. Wikipedia has more than 9 million entries in 250 languages, over 2

  18. Readability of Wikipedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lucassen, T.; Dijkstra, Roald; Schraagen, Johannes Martinus Cornelis

    2012-01-01

    Wikipedia is becoming widely acknowledged as a reliable source of encyclopedic information. However, concerns have been expressed about its readability. Wikipedia articles might be written in a language too difficult to be understood by most of its visitors. In this study, we apply the Flesch

  19. Supporting Multi-Agent Reputation Calculation in the Wikipedia Recommender System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Christian D.

    2010-01-01

    editorial policy that allows anybody, to create or modify articles. This has resulted in a broad and detailed coverage of subjects, but it has also caused problems relating to the quality of articles. The Wikipedia Recommender System (WRS) was developed to help human users determine the credibility...... articles that they have read. This makes the WRS a rating-based collaborative filtering system, which implements trust metrics to determine the weight of feedback from different recommenders. In this paper the authors describe the WRS outlining some of the requirements and constraints that shaped...... of an article based on feedback from other Wikipedia users. The WRS calculates a personalised rating for any Wikipedia article based on feedback (recommendations) provided by other Wikipedia users. As part of this process, WRS users are expected to provide their own feedback about the quality of Wikipedia...

  20. Wikipedias inntog på kildelista – holdninger blant lærere og elever til Wikipedia i en skolekontekst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marte Blikstad-Balas

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available I denne artikkelen diskuterer vi hvordan elever og lærere forholder seg til et av verdens mest populære nettsteder, det digitale leksikonet Wikipedia. Internasjonal forskning antyder at mens Wikipedia er svært populært blant elever, kan mange lærere styre sin begeistring for Wikipedia som faglig kilde i skolearbeid. Studien vi presenterer kombinerer to ulike datakilder for å belyse empirisk hvordan elever og lærere forholder seg til Wikipedia. Dataene om elevers holdninger er skriftlige svar 168 elever i videregående skole har gitt på spørsmål om hva de anser som de største fordelene og de største ulempene med Wikipedia i skolesammenheng. Dataene som sier noe om hvordan lærere forholder seg til det samme nettstedet er kvalitative intervjuer av fire samfunnsfaglærere. Lærerne intervjues om hvordan de forholder seg til elevenes bruk av Wikipedia og i hvilken grad de selv integrerer Wikipedia i undervisningen sin. Studien viser at mens elevene er svært samstemte om Wikipedias kvaliteter, er det stor individuell variasjon i lærernes holdninger til Wikipedia, og i hvilken grad de eksplisitt gir elevene opplæring og råd om kildekritikk. Vi finnes også at flere elever anser lærernes skepsis som en av Wikipedias største ulemper i skolesammenheng og tilpasser seg lærernes preferanser på ulike vis. Avslutningsvis diskuterer vi implikasjoner av studien og argumenterer for at det kan være uheldig om det er tilfeldig om Wikipedia adresseres eksplisitt i undervisning eller ei.

  1. Historie på Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bekker-Nielsen, Tønnes

    2011-01-01

    Wikipedia.dk er et meget populært redskab til informationssøgning. Men hvor pålideligt er det?......Wikipedia.dk er et meget populært redskab til informationssøgning. Men hvor pålideligt er det?...

  2. Semantic analysis of links in the musical Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mølgaard, Lasse Lohilahti; Hansen, Lars Kai; Larsen, Jan

    2008-01-01

    are generated automatically, and they may even maliciously be used to promote certain topics. Wikipedia has been analyzed recently using methods fromWeb and text mining, however, the fact the link structure is different from the Web’s makes this approach questionable. To better understand the link structure...

  3. Researching trust in Wikipedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lucassen, T.; Schraagen, Johannes Martinus Cornelis

    2011-01-01

    As the use of collaborative online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia grows, so does the need for research on how users evaluate its credibility. In this paper we compare three experimental approaches to study trust in Wikipedia, namely think aloud, eye-tracking, and online questionnaires. The

  4. Making sense of the German Wikipedia community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rikke Frank Jørgensen

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the findings from a qualitative study of the German Wikipedia community, focusing on how people engaged with Wikipedia make sense of norms, collaborative practices and means of regulation within the community. The study highlights the strong focus on the quality of the end-product (the encyclopedia in the German community, stressing that article quality is seen as more important than the wiki-process as such. As the community has grown, an increasing number of rules and mechanisms have been deployed to resolve various issues and conflicts, however the interviewees do not perceive Wikipedia as being bureaucratic, but rather describe it as a “rule-governed anarchy”. The findings suggest that people contribute for a variety of reasons, yet point to reactions from and interactions with fellow Wikipedians as one of the strongest motivational drivers for participation.

  5. Wikipedia ranking of world universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lages, José; Patt, Antoine; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2016-03-01

    We use the directed networks between articles of 24 Wikipedia language editions for producing the wikipedia ranking of world Universities (WRWU) using PageRank, 2DRank and CheiRank algorithms. This approach allows to incorporate various cultural views on world universities using the mathematical statistical analysis independent of cultural preferences. The Wikipedia ranking of top 100 universities provides about 60% overlap with the Shanghai university ranking demonstrating the reliable features of this approach. At the same time WRWU incorporates all knowledge accumulated at 24 Wikipedia editions giving stronger highlights for historically important universities leading to a different estimation of efficiency of world countries in university education. The historical development of university ranking is analyzed during ten centuries of their history.

  6. Teaching with Wikipedia in a 21 st -century classroom: Perceptions of Wikipedia and its educational benefits

    OpenAIRE

    Konieczny , Piotr

    2016-01-01

    International audience; This paper explores the current perception of Wikipedia in academia, focusing on both the reasons for its unpopularity among some, and the reasons for its growing acceptance among others. First, the reasons that Wikipedia is still struggling to gain acceptance among many academics and higher education professionals are identified. These include common misconceptions about Wikipedia, doubts about its quality; uneasiness with the challenge it poses to the traditional pee...

  7. WikiScience: Wikipedia for science and technology

    OpenAIRE

    Aibar Puentes, Eduard

    2015-01-01

    Peer-reviewed Presentació de la conferència "WikiScience: Wikipedia for science and technology". Presentación de la conferencia "WikiScience: Wikipedia for science and technology". Presentation of the conference "Science Wiki: Wikipedia for science and technology".

  8. Articles as Assignments - Modalities and Experiences of Wikipedia Use in University Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wannemacher, Klaus

    In spite of perceived quality deficits, Wikipedia is a popular information resource among students. Instructors increasingly take advantage of the positive student attitude through actively integrating Wikipedia as a learning tool into university courses. The contribution raises the question if Wikipedia assignments in university courses are suited to make complex research, editing and bibliographic processes through which scholarship is produced transparent to students and to effectively improve their research and writing skills.

  9. How Elementary Is "Wikipedia"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontichiaro, Kristin; Harvey, Carl A., II

    2010-01-01

    Despite easy access to expert resources and extensive in-school modeling, students--even the youngest--are relying heavily upon "Wikipedia," especially when they do research away from school. With "Wikipedia" holding steady as one of the top ten Web sites worldwide, it is no wonder students are flocking there. For teachers, parents, and students,…

  10. Time evolution of Wikipedia network ranking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Young-Ho; Frahm, Klaus M.; Benczúr, András; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2013-12-01

    We study the time evolution of ranking and spectral properties of the Google matrix of English Wikipedia hyperlink network during years 2003-2011. The statistical properties of ranking of Wikipedia articles via PageRank and CheiRank probabilities, as well as the matrix spectrum, are shown to be stabilized for 2007-2011. A special emphasis is done on ranking of Wikipedia personalities and universities. We show that PageRank selection is dominated by politicians while 2DRank, which combines PageRank and CheiRank, gives more accent on personalities of arts. The Wikipedia PageRank of universities recovers 80% of top universities of Shanghai ranking during the considered time period.

  11. Talk before you type: Coordination in Wikipedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Viégas, F.B.; Wattenberg, M.; Kriss, J.; Ham, van F.J.J.

    2007-01-01

    Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, has attracted attention both because of its popularity and its unconventional policy of letting anyone on the Internet edit its articles. This paper describes the results of an empirical analysis of Wikipedia and discusses ways in which the Wikipedia community has

  12. Robust clustering of languages across Wikipedia growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ban, Kristina; Perc, Matjaž; Levnajić, Zoran

    2017-10-01

    Wikipedia is the largest existing knowledge repository that is growing on a genuine crowdsourcing support. While the English Wikipedia is the most extensive and the most researched one with over 5 million articles, comparatively little is known about the behaviour and growth of the remaining 283 smaller Wikipedias, the smallest of which, Afar, has only one article. Here, we use a subset of these data, consisting of 14 962 different articles, each of which exists in 26 different languages, from Arabic to Ukrainian. We study the growth of Wikipedias in these languages over a time span of 15 years. We show that, while an average article follows a random path from one language to another, there exist six well-defined clusters of Wikipedias that share common growth patterns. The make-up of these clusters is remarkably robust against the method used for their determination, as we verify via four different clustering methods. Interestingly, the identified Wikipedia clusters have little correlation with language families and groups. Rather, the growth of Wikipedia across different languages is governed by different factors, ranging from similarities in culture to information literacy.

  13. Robust clustering of languages across Wikipedia growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ban, Kristina; Levnajić, Zoran

    2017-01-01

    Wikipedia is the largest existing knowledge repository that is growing on a genuine crowdsourcing support. While the English Wikipedia is the most extensive and the most researched one with over 5 million articles, comparatively little is known about the behaviour and growth of the remaining 283 smaller Wikipedias, the smallest of which, Afar, has only one article. Here, we use a subset of these data, consisting of 14 962 different articles, each of which exists in 26 different languages, from Arabic to Ukrainian. We study the growth of Wikipedias in these languages over a time span of 15 years. We show that, while an average article follows a random path from one language to another, there exist six well-defined clusters of Wikipedias that share common growth patterns. The make-up of these clusters is remarkably robust against the method used for their determination, as we verify via four different clustering methods. Interestingly, the identified Wikipedia clusters have little correlation with language families and groups. Rather, the growth of Wikipedia across different languages is governed by different factors, ranging from similarities in culture to information literacy. PMID:29134106

  14. Effectiveness of shared leadership in Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Haiyi; Kraut, Robert E; Kittur, Aniket

    2013-12-01

    The objective of the paper is to understand leadership in an online community, specifically, Wikipedia. Wikipedia successfully aggregates millions of volunteers' efforts to create the largest encyclopedia in human history. Without formal employment contracts and monetary incentives, one significant question for Wikipedia is how it organizes individual members with differing goals, experience, and commitment to achieve a collective outcome. Rather than focusing on the role of the small set of people occupying a core leadership position, we propose a shared leadership model to explain the leadership in Wikipedia. Members mutually influence one another by exercising leadership behaviors, including rewarding, regulating, directing, and socializing one another. We conducted a two-phase study to investigate how distinct types of leadership behaviors (transactional, aversive, directive, and person-focused), the legitimacy of the people who deliver the leadership, and the experience of the people who receive the leadership influence the effectiveness of shared leadership in Wikipedia. Our results highlight the importance of shared leadership in Wikipedia and identify trade-offs in the effectiveness of different types of leadership behaviors. Aversive and directive leadership increased contribution to the focal task, whereas transactional and person-focused leadership increased general motivation. We also found important differences in how newcomers and experienced members responded to leadership behaviors from peers. These findings extend shared leadership theories, contribute new insight into the important underlying mechanisms in Wikipedia, and have implications for practitioners who wish to design more effective and successful online communities.

  15. The importance of link evidence in Wikipedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamps, J.; Koolen, M.

    2008-01-01

    Wikipedia is one of the most popular information sources on the Web. The free encyclopedia is densely linked. The link structure in Wikipedia differs from the Web at large: internal links in Wikipedia are typically based on words naturally occurring in a page, and link to another semantically

  16. Collective remembering of organizations: Co-construction of organizational pasts in Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Etter, Michael Andreas; Nielsen, Finn Årup

    2015-01-01

    is to investigate the online encyclopedia Wikipedia as a global memory place, where the pasts of organizations are communicatively co-constructed by actors of a loosely connected community. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze 1,459 edits of Wikipedia pages of ten organizations from various industries....... Quantitative content analysis detects Wikipedia edits for their reputational relevance and reference to formal sources, such as corporate communication or newspapers. Furthermore, the authors investigate to which degree current corporate communication in form of 177 press releases has an influence...... on the remembering process in Wikipedia. Findings – The analysis shows how the continuous construction of collective memories bridges past formal corporate communication, news media, and other sources with the present, exposing, and suppressing relevant information concerning corporate reputation for large audiences...

  17. The Wikipedia Image Retrieval Task

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    T. Tsikrika (Theodora); J. Kludas

    2010-01-01

    htmlabstractThe wikipedia image retrieval task at ImageCLEF provides a testbed for the system-oriented evaluation of visual information retrieval from a collection of Wikipedia images. The aim is to investigate the effectiveness of retrieval approaches that exploit textual and visual evidence in the

  18. Análise de textos enciclopédicos da Simple English Wikipedia e da Wikipedia: algumas discussões para o ensino de língua inglesa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Silva

    2018-03-01

    (Wikipedia. We aim at introducing the encyclopedic text as a pedagogical resource for the enhancement and practice of vocabulary in English. Our specific goals are the following: 1 proceed an analysis of the lexical profile of texts from Simple English Wikipedia and Wikipedia; 2 compare the texts of both encyclopedias and 3 check whether the adapted texts from the encyclopedia designed for English language learners do employ more simple vocabulary. The theoretical background resorts to studies concerning Lexicology (NATION, 2001, 2003, 2015 and Corpus Linguistics (BERBER SARDINHA, 2004, 2012. Regarding methodology, the 35 best articles from Simple English Wikipedia, in the editor´s opinion, were converted to simple text format and later analyzed by the software VocabProfile, version 4, an online software that divides a text into frequency bands. After processing the files, VocabProfile verified the lexical profile of the encyclopedic texts. The findings show that, from a lexicoquantitative perspective, there is no significant difference between the lexical profile in Simple English Wikipedia and Wikipedia. Both encyclopedias primarily differ in terms of article length. Keywords: vocabulary; english language; Wikipedia; Simple English Wikipedia.

  19. Growing Wikipedia Across Languages via Recommendation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wulczyn, Ellery; West, Robert; Zia, Leila; Leskovec, Jure

    2016-01-01

    The different Wikipedia language editions vary dramatically in how comprehensive they are. As a result, most language editions contain only a small fraction of the sum of information that exists across all Wikipedias. In this paper, we present an approach to filling gaps in article coverage across different Wikipedia editions. Our main contribution is an end-to-end system for recommending articles for creation that exist in one language but are missing in another. The system involves identifying missing articles, ranking the missing articles according to their importance, and recommending important missing articles to editors based on their interests. We empirically validate our models in a controlled experiment involving 12,000 French Wikipedia editors. We find that personalizing recommendations increases editor engagement by a factor of two. Moreover, recommending articles increases their chance of being created by a factor of 3.2. Finally, articles created as a result of our recommendations are of comparable quality to organically created articles. Overall, our system leads to more engaged editors and faster growth of Wikipedia with no effect on its quality. PMID:27819073

  20. Some Linguistic-based and temporal analysis on Wikipedia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasseri, T.

    2010-01-01

    Wikipedia as a web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopaedia project is a very suitable field to carry out research on social dynamics and to investigate the complex concepts of conflict, collaboration, competition, dispute, etc in a large community (∼26 Million) of Wikipedia users. The other face of Wikipedia as a productive society, is its output, consisting of (∼17) Millions of articles written unsupervised by unprofessional editors in more than 270 different languages. In this talk we report some analysis performed on Wikipedia in two different approaches: temporal analysis to characterize disputes and controversies among users and linguistic-based analysis to characterize linguistic features of English texts in Wikipedia. (author)

  1. Temporal patterns of scientific information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segev, Elad; Sharon, Aviv J

    2017-11-01

    In response to the news coverage of scientific events and to science education, people increasingly go online to get more information. This study investigates how patterns of science and technology information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia change over time, in ways that differ between "ad hoc" terms that correspond to news coverage and "cyclic" terms that correspond to the academic period. Findings show that the science and technology activity in Google and Wikipedia was significantly associated with ad hoc and cyclic patterns. While the peak activity in Google and Wikipedia largely overlapped for ad hoc terms, it mismatched for cyclic terms. The findings indicate the importance of external cues such as news media and education, and also of the online engagement process, and particularly the crucial but different role played by Google and Wikipedia in gaining science and technology knowledge. Educators and policy makers could benefit from taking into account those different patterns.

  2. Map Projections in Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nedjeljko Frančula

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Wikipedia (wiki + encyclopaedia is a multilingual, web-based encyclopaedia with free content. It is a wiki, which means it is written by numerous volunteers, and most articles can be changed by anyone with Internet access and an adequate web browser. The project was started on January 15, 2001. Wikipedia currently has more than 3 700 000 articles in many languages (including a million articles in English.

  3. Wikipedia Infobox Temporal RDF Knowledge Base and Indices

    OpenAIRE

    Song, Aige

    2015-01-01

    As real world evolves, Infoboxes for Wikipedia subjects are updated to reflect the information changes in the real world, and there is a growing interest in the evolution history of subjects in the Wikipedia. Thus, the management of historical information and the efficiencies of queries for these temporal information have become the major concern. In this paper, we introduce the Wikipedia Infobox temporal RDF knowledge base that constructed from the Wikipedia Infobox history dump, and evaluat...

  4. Readability and quality of wikipedia pages on neurosurgical topics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modiri, Omeed; Guha, Daipayan; Alotaibi, Naif M; Ibrahim, George M; Lipsman, Nir; Fallah, Aria

    2018-03-01

    Wikipedia is the largest online encyclopedia with over 40 million articles, and generating 500 million visits per month. The aim of this study is to assess the readability and quality of Wikipedia pages on neurosurgical related topics. We selected the neurosurgical related Wikipedia pages based on the series of online patient information articles that are published by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). We assessed readability of Wikipedia pages using five different readability scales (Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Index, SMOG) Grade level, and Coleman-Liau Index). We used the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Clear Communication Index as well as the DISCERN Instrument to evaluate the quality of each Wikipedia article. We identified a total of fifty-five Wikipedia articles that corresponded with patient information articles published by the AANS. This constitutes 77.46% of the AANS topics. The mean Flesch Kincaid reading ease score for all of the Wikipedia articles we analyzed is 31.10, which indicates that a college-level education is necessary to understand them. In comparison to the readability analysis for the AANS articles, the Wikipedia articles were more difficult to read across every scale. None of the Wikipedia articles meet the CDC criterion for clear communications. Our analyses demonstrated that Wikipedia articles related to neurosurgical topics are associated with higher grade levels for reading and also below the expected levels of clear communications for patients. Collaborative efforts from the neurosurgical community are needed to enhance the readability and quality of Wikipedia pages related to neurosurgery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Harnessing Context for Vandalism Detection in Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lakshmish Ramaswamy

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The importance of collaborative social media (CSM applications such as Wikipedia to modern free societies can hardly be overemphasized. By allowing end users to freely create and edit content, Wikipedia has greatly facilitated democratization of information. However, over the past several years, Wikipedia has also become susceptible to vandalism, which has adversely affected its information quality. Traditional vandalism detection techniques that rely upon simple textual features such as spammy or abusive words have not been very effective in combating sophisticated vandal attacks that do not contain common vandalism markers. In this paper, we propose a context-based vandalism detection framework for Wikipedia. We first propose a contextenhanced finite state model for representing the context evolution ofWikipedia articles. This paper identifies two distinct types of context that are potentially valuable for vandalism detection, namely content-context and contributor-context. The distinguishing powers of these contexts are discussed by providing empirical results. We design two novel metrics for measuring how well the content-context of an incoming edit fits into the topic and the existing content of a Wikipedia article. We outline machine learning-based vandalism identification schemes that utilize these metrics. Our experiments indicate that utilizing context can substantially improve vandalism detection accuracy.

  6. Topics of Bioengineering in Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vassia Atanassova

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The present report aims to give a snapshot of how topics from the field of bioengineering (bioinformatics, bioprocess systems, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, etc. are currently covered in the free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia. It also offers insights and information about what Wikipedia is, how it functions, how and when to cite Wikipedian articles, if necessary. Several external wikis, devoted to topics of bioengineering, are also listed and reviewed.

  7. Wikipedia in the eyes of its beholders: A systematic review of scholarly research on wikipedia readers and readership

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okoli, Chitu; Mehdi, Mohamad; Mesgari, Mostafa

    2014-01-01

    Hundreds of scholarly studies have investigated various aspects of Wikipedia. Although a number of literature reviews have provided overviews of this vast body of research, none has specifically focused on the readers of Wikipedia and issues concerning its readership. In this systematic literatur...

  8. EVE: Explainable Vector Based Embedding Technique Using Wikipedia

    OpenAIRE

    Qureshi, M. Atif; Greene, Derek

    2017-01-01

    We present an unsupervised explainable word embedding technique, called EVE, which is built upon the structure of Wikipedia. The proposed model defines the dimensions of a semantic vector representing a word using human-readable labels, thereby it readily interpretable. Specifically, each vector is constructed using the Wikipedia category graph structure together with the Wikipedia article link structure. To test the effectiveness of the proposed word embedding model, we consider its usefulne...

  9. “The Sum of All Human Knowledge”: A Systematic Review of Scholarly Research on the Content of Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mesgari, Mostafa; Okoli, Chitu; Mehdi, Mohamad

    2015-01-01

    Wikipedia may be the best-developed attempt thus far to gather all human knowledge in one place. Its accomplishments in this regard have made it a point of inquiry for researchers from different fields of knowledge. A decade of research has thrown light on many aspects of the Wikipedia community......, its processes, and its content. However, due to the variety of fields inquiring about Wikipedia and the limited synthesis of the extensive research, there is little consensus on many aspects of Wikipedia's content as an encyclopedic collection of human knowledge. This study addresses the issue...... by systematically reviewing 110 peer-reviewed publications on Wikipedia content, summarizing the current findings, and highlighting the major research trends. Two major streams of research are identified: the quality of Wikipedia content (including comprehensiveness, currency, readability, and reliability...

  10. Scholars, don’t disregard Wikipedia. Become Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Chiara Pievatolo

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Nel marzo 2012, la rivista ad accesso aperto PLoS Computational Biology ha compiuto l’esperimento di pubblicare, con la procedura normale, un articolo di stile enciclopedico, impegnandosi però a caricarne una versione sulla Wikipedia in lingua inglese. Gli studiosi accademici sono affetti da una peculiare schizofrenia o, meglio, da un’idiozia specializzata. Tutti noi sappiamo, con Weber, [...

  11. Two-dimensional ranking of Wikipedia articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhirov, A. O.; Zhirov, O. V.; Shepelyansky, D. L.

    2010-10-01

    The Library of Babel, described by Jorge Luis Borges, stores an enormous amount of information. The Library exists ab aeterno. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopaedia, becomes a modern analogue of such a Library. Information retrieval and ranking of Wikipedia articles become the challenge of modern society. While PageRank highlights very well known nodes with many ingoing links, CheiRank highlights very communicative nodes with many outgoing links. In this way the ranking becomes two-dimensional. Using CheiRank and PageRank we analyze the properties of two-dimensional ranking of all Wikipedia English articles and show that it gives their reliable classification with rich and nontrivial features. Detailed studies are done for countries, universities, personalities, physicists, chess players, Dow-Jones companies and other categories.

  12. Clustering of scientific citations in Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Finn Årup

    The instances of templates in Wikipedia form an interesting data set of structured information. Here I focus on the cite journal template that is primarily used for citation to articles in scientific journals. These citations can be extracted and analyzed: Non-negative matrix factorization...... is performed on a (article x journal) matrix resulting in a soft clustering of Wikipedia articles and scientific journals, each cluster more or less representing a scientific topic....

  13. Knowledge from the web. Putting Wikipedia to the test; Wissen aus dem Netz. Wikipedia auf dem Pruefstand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thieme, Christian [atw Redaktion, Hattingen (Germany)

    2011-02-15

    On January 15, 2011 Wikipedia, the star project of the Web 2.0 Community, celebrated its 10th birthday. Wikipedia has made not only friends over this decade. As a source of knowledge Wikipedia soon became popular among users of the Internet. Educational institutions, however, take a more sceptical view of developments, as they have made students unwilling to conduct literature searches and carefully investigate in all directions available. Students rely 100% on knowledge stored in the Internet without critically observing or examining the information found. To the normal Internet user, however, the encyclopedia reflects the Web 2.0 model. A huge community is engaged in updating and extending knowledge in the database. Moreover, there are no restrictions on taking part in the project. Literally anybody may participate. The subject portals in the ''Technology'' section in Wikipedia contain a ''Nuclear Power'' column. This subject portal is outstanding because of its large number of entries. Information can be found about all areas of nuclear technology, although a real absence of bias is difficult to detect. According to reports, this category of information is characterized by regular skirmishes about the correctness and absence of bias in contents. (orig.)

  14. Accuracy and completeness of drug information in Wikipedia medication monographs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reilly, Timothy; Jackson, William; Berger, Victoria; Candelario, Danielle

    The primary objective of this study was to determine the accuracy and completeness of drug information on Wikipedia and Micromedex compared with U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved U.S. product inserts. The top 10 brand and top 10 generic medications from the 2012 Institute for Health Informatics' list of top 200 drugs were selected for evaluation. Wikipedia medication information was evaluated and compared with Micromedex in 7 sections of drug information; the U.S. product inserts were used as the standard comparator. Wikipedia demonstrated significantly lower completeness and accuracy scores compared with Micromedex (mean composite scores 18.55 vs. 38.4, respectively; P <0.01). No difference was found between the mean composite scores for brand versus generic drugs in either reference (17.8 vs. 19.3, respectively [P = 0.62], for Wikipedia; 39.2 vs. 37.6, [P = 0.06] for Micromedex). Limitations to these results include the speed with which information is edited on Wikipedia, that there was no evaluation of off-label information, and the limited number of drugs that were evaluated. Wikipedia lacks the accuracy and completeness of standard clinical references and should not be a routine part of clinical decision making. More research should be conducted to evaluate the rationale for health care providers' use of Wikipedia. Copyright © 2016 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Excavating the mother lode of human-generated text: A systematic review of research that uses the Wikipedia corpus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mehdi, Mohamad; Okoli, Chitu; Mesgari, Mostafa

    2017-01-01

    Although primarily an encyclopedia, Wikipedia’s expansive content provides a knowledge base that has been continuously exploited by researchers in a wide variety of domains. This article systematically reviews the scholarly studies that have used Wikipedia as a data source, and investigates...... the means by which Wikipedia has been employed in three main computer science research areas: information retrieval, natural language processing, and ontology building. We report and discuss the research trends of the identified and examined studies. We further identify and classify a list of tools that can...... be used to extract data from Wikipedia, and compile a list of currently available data sets extracted from Wikipedia....

  16. Improving CERN's Presence on Wikipedia - Project Report, Summer Student Lecture Program 2017

    CERN Document Server

    Storehaug, Ida

    2017-01-01

    Dissemination of information on high energy physics and related technologies is at the core of CERN’s mission, making research done at CERN available, both to the public and other researchers. Wikipedia, being the most used social media site for researchers and a popular source of science information for the public, is an obvious platform for CERN to be present on. Between 19 June and 25 August 2017, as part of the CERN Summer Student Program, a project to improve CERN’s presence on Wikipedia was carried out in the department of Scientific Information Service at CERN. In the following the use of references in the collection of CERN-related Wikipedia articles is discussed, and the topics of plagiarism and licenses are raised. Furthermore, methods to benefit from the CERN community and archives are described, followed by a summary of how to get a Wikipedia article accepted by the Wikipedia community. Lists of Wikipedia articles created or improved and of Wikipedia articles in need of improvement are given.

  17. Una aproximación a Wikipedia como polisistema cultural

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Alonso-Jiménez

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available En el presente trabajo, de naturaleza cualitativa e interpretativa, se abordan los alcances culturales de Wikipedia desde una aproximación transdisciplinar. Para ello, se analiza la literatura existente centrada en Wikipedia, procedente de medios de comunicación generalistas y de distintas disciplinas académicas (inteligencia artificial, ciencias de la información, educación y estudios de traducción. En dichos trabajos, fundamentalmente de naturaleza descriptiva, empírica y pragmática, se alude a Wikipedia como enciclopedia colaborativa en línea que aúna mecanismos de creación de contenido y de innovación procedentes del software libre. Nuestra propuesta reclama la pertinencia de recurrir a trabajos teóricos que contemplen la dimensión cultural de Wikipedia. Desde una aproximación semiótica, basamos nuestra hipótesis de análisis en el imaginario social de Vázquez Medel y la Teoría de los polisistemas de Even-Zohar, en los que encontramos claves para la consideración de Wikipedia como sistema cultural, en tanto que repositorio de conocimiento y relaciones humanas.

  18. Knowledge categorization affects popularity and quality of Wikipedia articles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerner, Jürgen; Lomi, Alessandro

    2018-01-01

    The existence of a shared classification system is essential to knowledge production, transfer, and sharing. Studies of knowledge classification, however, rarely consider the fact that knowledge categories exist within hierarchical information systems designed to facilitate knowledge search and discovery. This neglect is problematic whenever information about categorical membership is itself used to evaluate the quality of the items that the category contains. The main objective of this paper is to show that the effects of category membership depend on the position that a category occupies in the hierarchical knowledge classification system of Wikipedia-an open knowledge production and sharing platform taking the form of a freely accessible on-line encyclopedia. Using data on all English-language Wikipedia articles, we examine how the position that a category occupies in the classification hierarchy affects the attention that articles in that category attract from Wikipedia editors, and their evaluation of quality of the Wikipedia articles. Specifically, we show that Wikipedia articles assigned to coarse-grained categories (i. e., categories that occupy higher positions in the hierarchical knowledge classification system) garner more attention from Wikipedia editors (i. e., attract a higher volume of text editing activity), but receive lower evaluations (i. e., they are considered to be of lower quality). The negative relation between attention and quality implied by this result is consistent with current theories of social categorization, but it also goes beyond available results by showing that the effects of categorization on evaluation depend on the position that a category occupies in a hierarchical knowledge classification system.

  19. Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Wikipedia: Opportunities for Improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malcolm Koo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Wikipedia, a free and collaborative Internet encyclopedia, has become one of the most popular sources of free information on the Internet. However, there have been concerns over the quality of online health information, particularly that on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate several page attributes of articles on CAM in the English Wikipedia. A total of 97 articles were analyzed and compared with eight articles of broad categories of therapies in conventional medicine using the Mann-Whitney U test. Based on the Wikipedia editorial assessment grading, 4% of the articles attained “good article” status, 34% required considerable editing, and 56% needed substantial improvements in their content. The median daily access of the articles over the previous 90 days was 372 (range: 7–4,214. The median word count was 1840 with a readability of grade 12.7 (range: 9.4–17.7. Medians of word count and citation density of the CAM articles were significantly lower than those in the articles of conventional medicine therapies. In conclusion, despite its limitations, the general public will continue to access health information on Wikipedia. There are opportunities for health professionals to contribute their knowledge and to improve the accuracy and completeness of the CAM articles on Wikipedia.

  20. The Elephant in the Room: A Place for Wikipedia in Higher Education?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilde Brox

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The article departs from a pilot survey among Norwegian teacher students that maps their usage, skills and attitudes in relation to the web based encyclopedia Wikipedia. The survey shows that the students are heavy users of Wikipedia content yet show a low  level  of knowledge as  to  how content  is  constructed  or  the  ways  in  which Wikipedia differs  from traditional,  paper-based  encyclopedias.  The  students also express little interest in parttaking in creating content or maintaining the site. The second part of the article argues that a way to remedy both lack of knowledge and interest  among  students  is  to  bring  Wikipedia  actively  into  the classrooms and enable students to take part in creating and maintaining Wikipedia content. This way, Wikipedia may serve as an effective tool with which to address and enhance a range of central 21st century skills.

  1. Becoming an Online Editor: Perceived Roles and Responsibilities of Wikipedia Editors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littlejohn, Allison; Hood, Nina

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: We report on the experiences of a group of people as they become Wikipedia editors. We test Benkler's (2002) theory that commons-based production processes accelerate the creation of capital, questioning what knowledge production processes do people engage in as they become editors? The analysis positions the development of editing…

  2. An Evidence Base for Human Spaceflight Risks in Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundrot, Craig; Steil, Jennifer; Lumpkins, Sarah; Pellis, Neal

    2013-01-01

    NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) is focused on understanding and mitigating thirty two risks to crew health and performance in exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. The HRP has developed an evidence report for each of the risks. Most evidence reports are a brief review article describing the evidence related to a specified risk, written at a level appropriate for the scientifically educated, non-specialist reader. Each evidence report captured the current state of knowledge from both research and operations. Two limitations of the evidence reports have become apparent: 1) they are updated infrequently and 2) they do not take full advantage of the expertise available in other space agencies and in related fields of terrestrial research. Therefore, the HRP is experimenting with the use of Wikipedia articles as a repository for evidence. Wikipedia's accessibility to the international space flight community and researchers in related terrestrial fields creates the opportunity to generate a more timely and comprehensive evidence base. Initial Wikipedia articles were populated for seven risks using a subset of the information in the HRP-approved evidence reports: Fatigue and Sleep Loss, Treating An Ill or Injured Crew Member, Radiation Carcinogenesis, Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure, Renal Stone Formation, Team Cohesion, and Intervertebral Disc Damage. Since the initial articles were created, there have been additions to these Wikipedia articles, including content from sources outside the HRP, and editorial changes to the pages. We will report on the nature of the contributions made after the initial articles were created, the comprehensiveness of the resulting Wikipedia articles, and the effort required to maintain quality control of the content. The Wikipedia approach will also be compared to wiki efforts that exert more traditional editorial control of content prior to posting.

  3. Riflessioni sulla narrazione storica nelle voci di Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tommaso Baldo

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  4. SELF-ORGANIZATION AND EMERGENCE PHENOMENA IN WIKIPEDIA AND FREE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT USING MASOES // AUTO-ORGANIZACIÓN Y EMERGENCIA EN WIKIPEDIA Y EL DESARROLLO DEL SOFTWARE LIBRE A TRAVÉS DE MASOES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niriaska Perozo Guédez

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This work models Wikipedia and Free Software Development through a multiagent architecture for self-organizing and emergent systems called MASOES without mathematically representing the system. In that sense, each component, mechanism and process of MASOES is instanced at individual and collective levels by the observed phenomena at the modeled systems. Thus, this paper proposes a methodology to show how to model real systems using MASOES, in order to study their self-organizing and emergent properties and, later on, to facilitate the verification of these properties, mechanisms, components and social interactions for promoting collaborative work and sharing individual and collective knowledge in these systems. // RESUMEN Este trabajo modela el comportamiento de Wikipedia y el desarrollo de Software Libre, a través de una arquitectura multiagente para sistemas emergentes y auto-organizados llamada MASOES, sin especificar matem aticamente el sistema. En ese sentido, cada componente, mecanismo y proceso de MASOES se instancia a nivel individual y colectivo en cada uno de los sistemas modelados. Así, en este trabajo se propone una metodología para mostrar c omo modelar sistemas reales utilizando MASOES, con el fin de estudiar sus propiedades emergentes y auto-organizadas, y posteriormente, facilitar la verificación de estas propiedades, mecanismos, componentes e interacciones sociales para promover el trabajo colaborativo y el intercambio del conocimiento individual y colectivo en estos sistemas.

  5. Accuracy and Completeness of Drug Information in Wikipedia: A Comparison with Standard Textbooks of Pharmacology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutmann, Joanna; Muehlich, Susanne; Zolk, Oliver; Wojnowski, Leszek; Maas, Renke; Engelhardt, Stefan; Sarikas, Antonio

    2014-01-01

    The online resource Wikipedia is increasingly used by students for knowledge acquisition and learning. However, the lack of a formal editorial review and the heterogeneous expertise of contributors often results in skepticism by educators whether Wikipedia should be recommended to students as an information source. In this study we systematically analyzed the accuracy and completeness of drug information in the German and English language versions of Wikipedia in comparison to standard textbooks of pharmacology. In addition, references, revision history and readability were evaluated. Analysis of readability was performed using the Amstad readability index and the Erste Wiener Sachtextformel. The data on indication, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects and contraindications for 100 curricular drugs were retrieved from standard German textbooks of general pharmacology and compared with the corresponding articles in the German language version of Wikipedia. Quantitative analysis revealed that accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia was 99.7%±0.2% when compared to the textbook data. The overall completeness of drug information in Wikipedia was 83.8±1.5% (ptextbook data overlap. Similar results were obtained for the English language version of Wikipedia. Of the drug information missing in Wikipedia, 62.5% was rated as didactically non-relevant in a qualitative re-evaluation study. Drug articles in Wikipedia had an average of 14.6±1.6 references and 262.8±37.4 edits performed by 142.7±17.6 editors. Both Wikipedia and textbooks samples had comparable, low readability. Our study suggests that Wikipedia is an accurate and comprehensive source of drug-related information for undergraduate medical education. PMID:25250889

  6. Power and Peril of Wikipedia: Exercises in Social and Industrial/Organizational Psychology Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernhardt, P. C.

    2012-01-01

    The author examined Wikipedia's use as an instructional tool in two studies. The widespread use of Wikipedia indicates that students need to learn more about its workings and validity. Wikipedia articles relevant to psychology were edited by students in one class and critiqued in another class. Analysis of the subsequent editing of students'…

  7. Gender differences within the German-language Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Almut SICHLER

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The Wikipedia project constitutes the currently most-used and most comprehensive online encyclopedia in the world (Schneider, 2008, p. 35 and is advertising itself as free and open for everyone, and in terms of an encyclopedia as diverse and balanced at all levels. But from a gender perspective there is a huge discrepancy in sex ratio within Wikipedia’s community. In 2005, researchers at University of Würzburg found that women constitute only 10 % of German-language Wikipedia authors (Schroer&Hertel, 2009, p. 104. This fact leads to the presumption, that Wikipedia’s reflection of the world mediates and interprets a mainly male conception of the world and thus displays an inequality with reference to modern society. Proceeding from the assumption that women and men have different communication behaviours as well as different perceptions and interpretations of communication in almost all aspects of social interaction including e.g. conversational strategies, conflict management and negotiation skills, we hypothesize that these different ways of communication significantly affect the motivation of female Wikipedia contributors.

  8. Diskursive Risikokonstruktionen in Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Anne Grethe Julius

    2012-01-01

    This paper investigates discursive constructions of health risks in two Wikipedia articles dealing with parabens, one in German and one in English. The aim of the paper is first to provide insight into the way health risks in connection with the use of parabens in cosmetics, food and other products...

  9. Knowledge from the web. Putting Wikipedia to the test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thieme, Christian

    2011-01-01

    On January 15, 2011 Wikipedia, the star project of the Web 2.0 Community, celebrated its 10th birthday. Wikipedia has made not only friends over this decade. As a source of knowledge Wikipedia soon became popular among users of the Internet. Educational institutions, however, take a more sceptical view of developments, as they have made students unwilling to conduct literature searches and carefully investigate in all directions available. Students rely 100% on knowledge stored in the Internet without critically observing or examining the information found. To the normal Internet user, however, the encyclopedia reflects the Web 2.0 model. A huge community is engaged in updating and extending knowledge in the database. Moreover, there are no restrictions on taking part in the project. Literally anybody may participate. The subject portals in the ''Technology'' section in Wikipedia contain a ''Nuclear Power'' column. This subject portal is outstanding because of its large number of entries. Information can be found about all areas of nuclear technology, although a real absence of bias is difficult to detect. According to reports, this category of information is characterized by regular skirmishes about the correctness and absence of bias in contents. (orig.)

  10. Accuracy and completeness of drug information in Wikipedia: a comparison with standard textbooks of pharmacology.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jona Kräenbring

    Full Text Available The online resource Wikipedia is increasingly used by students for knowledge acquisition and learning. However, the lack of a formal editorial review and the heterogeneous expertise of contributors often results in skepticism by educators whether Wikipedia should be recommended to students as an information source. In this study we systematically analyzed the accuracy and completeness of drug information in the German and English language versions of Wikipedia in comparison to standard textbooks of pharmacology. In addition, references, revision history and readability were evaluated. Analysis of readability was performed using the Amstad readability index and the Erste Wiener Sachtextformel. The data on indication, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects and contraindications for 100 curricular drugs were retrieved from standard German textbooks of general pharmacology and compared with the corresponding articles in the German language version of Wikipedia. Quantitative analysis revealed that accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia was 99.7% ± 0.2% when compared to the textbook data. The overall completeness of drug information in Wikipedia was 83.8 ± 1.5% (p < 0.001. Completeness varied in-between categories, and was lowest in the category "pharmacokinetics" (68.0% ± 4.2%; p < 0.001 and highest in the category "indication" (91.3% ± 2.0% when compared to the textbook data overlap. Similar results were obtained for the English language version of Wikipedia. Of the drug information missing in Wikipedia, 62.5% was rated as didactically non-relevant in a qualitative re-evaluation study. Drug articles in Wikipedia had an average of 14.6 ± 1.6 references and 262.8 ± 37.4 edits performed by 142.7 ± 17.6 editors. Both Wikipedia and textbooks samples had comparable, low readability. Our study suggests that Wikipedia is an accurate and comprehensive source of drug-related information for undergraduate medical education.

  11. Accuracy and completeness of drug information in Wikipedia: a comparison with standard textbooks of pharmacology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kräenbring, Jona; Monzon Penza, Tika; Gutmann, Joanna; Muehlich, Susanne; Zolk, Oliver; Wojnowski, Leszek; Maas, Renke; Engelhardt, Stefan; Sarikas, Antonio

    2014-01-01

    The online resource Wikipedia is increasingly used by students for knowledge acquisition and learning. However, the lack of a formal editorial review and the heterogeneous expertise of contributors often results in skepticism by educators whether Wikipedia should be recommended to students as an information source. In this study we systematically analyzed the accuracy and completeness of drug information in the German and English language versions of Wikipedia in comparison to standard textbooks of pharmacology. In addition, references, revision history and readability were evaluated. Analysis of readability was performed using the Amstad readability index and the Erste Wiener Sachtextformel. The data on indication, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects and contraindications for 100 curricular drugs were retrieved from standard German textbooks of general pharmacology and compared with the corresponding articles in the German language version of Wikipedia. Quantitative analysis revealed that accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia was 99.7% ± 0.2% when compared to the textbook data. The overall completeness of drug information in Wikipedia was 83.8 ± 1.5% (p < 0.001). Completeness varied in-between categories, and was lowest in the category "pharmacokinetics" (68.0% ± 4.2%; p < 0.001) and highest in the category "indication" (91.3% ± 2.0%) when compared to the textbook data overlap. Similar results were obtained for the English language version of Wikipedia. Of the drug information missing in Wikipedia, 62.5% was rated as didactically non-relevant in a qualitative re-evaluation study. Drug articles in Wikipedia had an average of 14.6 ± 1.6 references and 262.8 ± 37.4 edits performed by 142.7 ± 17.6 editors. Both Wikipedia and textbooks samples had comparable, low readability. Our study suggests that Wikipedia is an accurate and comprehensive source of drug-related information for undergraduate medical education.

  12. Knowledge categorization affects popularity and quality of Wikipedia articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lomi, Alessandro

    2018-01-01

    The existence of a shared classification system is essential to knowledge production, transfer, and sharing. Studies of knowledge classification, however, rarely consider the fact that knowledge categories exist within hierarchical information systems designed to facilitate knowledge search and discovery. This neglect is problematic whenever information about categorical membership is itself used to evaluate the quality of the items that the category contains. The main objective of this paper is to show that the effects of category membership depend on the position that a category occupies in the hierarchical knowledge classification system of Wikipedia—an open knowledge production and sharing platform taking the form of a freely accessible on-line encyclopedia. Using data on all English-language Wikipedia articles, we examine how the position that a category occupies in the classification hierarchy affects the attention that articles in that category attract from Wikipedia editors, and their evaluation of quality of the Wikipedia articles. Specifically, we show that Wikipedia articles assigned to coarse-grained categories (i. e., categories that occupy higher positions in the hierarchical knowledge classification system) garner more attention from Wikipedia editors (i. e., attract a higher volume of text editing activity), but receive lower evaluations (i. e., they are considered to be of lower quality). The negative relation between attention and quality implied by this result is consistent with current theories of social categorization, but it also goes beyond available results by showing that the effects of categorization on evaluation depend on the position that a category occupies in a hierarchical knowledge classification system. PMID:29293627

  13. Using the Internet for Gerontology Education: Assessing and Improving Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Infeld, Donna Lind; Adams, William C.

    2013-01-01

    Older adults, students, professionals, and the general public increasingly turn to the Internet and to Wikipedia for information. Wikipedia, the world's sixth most used website, is by far the most widely used open-source information site. Among its nearly four million English-language encyclopedia articles, how thorough is coverage of key…

  14. Classification of Recommender Expertise in the Wikipedia Recommender System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Christian D.; Pilkauskas, Povilas; Lefévre, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    to the quality of articles. The Wikipedia Recommender System (WRS) was developed to help users determine the credibility of articles based on feedback from other Wikipedia users. The WRS implements a collaborative filtering system with trust metrics, i.e., it provides a rating of articles which emphasizes...... an evaluation of four existing knowledge classification schemes with respect to these requirements. This evaluation helped us identify a classification scheme, which we have implemented in the current version of the Wikipedia Recommender System....... feedback from recommenders that the user has agreed with in the past. This exposes the problem that most recommenders are not equally competent in all subject areas. The first WRS prototype did not include an evaluation of the areas of expertise of recommenders, so the trust metric used in the article...

  15. Classification of Recommender Expertise in the Wikipedia Recommender System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Christian D.; Pilkauskas, Povilas; Lefevre, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    to the quality of articles. The Wikipedia Recommender System (WRS) was developed to help users determine the credibility of articles based on feedback from other Wikipedia users. The WRS implements a collaborative filtering system with trust metrics, i.e., it provides a rating of articles "which emphasizes...... an evaluation of four existing knowledge classification schemes with respect to these requirements. This evaluation helped us identify a classification scheme, which we have implemented in the current version of the Wikipedia Recommender System....... feedback from recommenders that the user has agreed with in the past. This exposes the problem that most recommenders are not equally competent in all subject areas. The first WRS prototype did not include an evaluation of the areas of expertise of recommenders, so the trust metric used in the article...

  16. Wikipedia and Medicine: Quantifying Readership, Editors, and the Significance of Natural Language

    OpenAIRE

    Heilman, James M; West, Andrew G

    2015-01-01

    Background Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited encyclopedia. One of the most popular websites on the Internet, it is known to be a frequently used source of health care information by both professionals and the lay public. Objective This paper quantifies the production and consumption of Wikipedia?s medical content along 4 dimensions. First, we measured the amount of medical content in both articles and bytes and, second, the citations that supported that content. Third, we analyzed the med...

  17. The Detection of Emerging Trends Using Wikipedia Traffic Data and Context Networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirko Kämpf

    Full Text Available Can online media predict new and emerging trends, since there is a relationship between trends in society and their representation in online systems? While several recent studies have used Google Trends as the leading online information source to answer corresponding research questions, we focus on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia often used for deeper topical reading. Wikipedia grants open access to all traffic data and provides lots of additional (semantic information in a context network besides single keywords. Specifically, we suggest and study context-normalized and time-dependent measures for a topic's importance based on page-view time series of Wikipedia articles in different languages and articles related to them by internal links. As an example, we present a study of the recently emerging Big Data market with a focus on the Hadoop ecosystem, and compare the capabilities of Wikipedia versus Google in predicting its popularity and life cycles. To support further applications, we have developed an open web platform to share results of Wikipedia analytics, providing context-rich and language-independent relevance measures for emerging trends.

  18. The Detection of Emerging Trends Using Wikipedia Traffic Data and Context Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kämpf, Mirko; Tessenow, Eric; Kenett, Dror Y; Kantelhardt, Jan W

    2015-01-01

    Can online media predict new and emerging trends, since there is a relationship between trends in society and their representation in online systems? While several recent studies have used Google Trends as the leading online information source to answer corresponding research questions, we focus on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia often used for deeper topical reading. Wikipedia grants open access to all traffic data and provides lots of additional (semantic) information in a context network besides single keywords. Specifically, we suggest and study context-normalized and time-dependent measures for a topic's importance based on page-view time series of Wikipedia articles in different languages and articles related to them by internal links. As an example, we present a study of the recently emerging Big Data market with a focus on the Hadoop ecosystem, and compare the capabilities of Wikipedia versus Google in predicting its popularity and life cycles. To support further applications, we have developed an open web platform to share results of Wikipedia analytics, providing context-rich and language-independent relevance measures for emerging trends.

  19. The Detection of Emerging Trends Using Wikipedia Traffic Data and Context Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kämpf, Mirko; Tessenow, Eric; Kenett, Dror Y.; Kantelhardt, Jan W.

    2015-01-01

    Can online media predict new and emerging trends, since there is a relationship between trends in society and their representation in online systems? While several recent studies have used Google Trends as the leading online information source to answer corresponding research questions, we focus on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia often used for deeper topical reading. Wikipedia grants open access to all traffic data and provides lots of additional (semantic) information in a context network besides single keywords. Specifically, we suggest and study context-normalized and time-dependent measures for a topic’s importance based on page-view time series of Wikipedia articles in different languages and articles related to them by internal links. As an example, we present a study of the recently emerging Big Data market with a focus on the Hadoop ecosystem, and compare the capabilities of Wikipedia versus Google in predicting its popularity and life cycles. To support further applications, we have developed an open web platform to share results of Wikipedia analytics, providing context-rich and language-independent relevance measures for emerging trends. PMID:26720074

  20. Motivations for contributing to health-related articles on Wikipedia: an interview study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farič, Nuša; Potts, Henry W W

    2014-12-03

    Wikipedia is one of the most accessed sources of health information online. The current English-language Wikipedia contains more than 28,000 articles pertaining to health. The aim was to characterize individuals' motivations for contributing to health content on the English-language Wikipedia. A set of health-related articles were randomly selected and recent contributors invited to complete an online questionnaire and follow-up interview (by Skype, by email, or face-to-face). Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis and a realist grounded theory approach. A total of 32 Wikipedians (31 men) completed the questionnaire and 17 were interviewed. Those completing the questionnaire had a mean age of 39 (range 12-59) years; 16 had a postgraduate qualification, 10 had or were currently studying for an undergraduate qualification, 3 had no more than secondary education, and 3 were still in secondary education. In all, 15 were currently working in a health-related field (primarily clinicians). The median period for which they have been an active editing Wikipedia was 3-5 years. Of this group, 12 were in the United States, 6 were in the United Kingdom, 4 were in Canada, and the remainder from another 8 countries. Two-thirds spoke more than 1 language and 90% (29/32) were also active contributors in domains other than health. Wikipedians in this study were identified as health professionals, professionals with specific health interests, students, and individuals with health problems. Based on the interviews, their motivations for editing health-related content were summarized in 5 strongly interrelated categories: education (learning about subjects by editing articles), help (wanting to improve and maintain Wikipedia), responsibility (responsibility, often a professional responsibility, to provide good quality health information to readers), fulfillment (editing Wikipedia as a fun, relaxing, engaging, and rewarding activity), and positive attitude to

  1. Robert Cailliau: "Wikipedia ha tradito Internet"

    CERN Multimedia

    Becccaria, Gabrielle

    2007-01-01

    "Wikipedia? It's not what we wanted to have. Now it is presented like the only enciclopedia, that it centralizes acquaintances instead dispersing them, changing the original philosophy of the net." (1 page)

  2. THE REACH AND RICHNESS OF WIKINOMICS: IS THE FREE WEB-BASED ENCYCLOPEDIA WIKIPEDIA ONLY FOR RICH COUNTRIES?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten

    2007-01-01

    In this article, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether the free Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based on data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, the author finds that the cent......In this article, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether the free Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based on data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, the author finds...... that the central structural effect is on the level of human development in the current country. In other words, Wikipedia is in general more for rich countries than for less developed countries. It is suggested that policy makers make investments in increasing the general level of literacy, education, and standard...

  3. 'Anyone can edit', not everyone does: Wikipedia's infrastructure and the gender gap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Heather; Wajcman, Judy

    2017-08-01

    Feminist STS has long established that science's provenance as a male domain continues to define what counts as knowledge and expertise. Wikipedia, arguably one of the most powerful sources of information today, was initially lauded as providing the opportunity to rebuild knowledge institutions by providing greater representation of multiple groups. However, less than ten percent of Wikipedia editors are women. At one level, this imbalance in contributions and therefore content is yet another case of the masculine culture of technoscience. This is an important argument and, in this article, we examine the empirical research that highlights these issues. Our main objective, however, is to extend current accounts by demonstrating that Wikipedia's infrastructure introduces new and less visible sources of gender disparity. In sum, our aim here is to present a consolidated analysis of the gendering of Wikipedia.

  4. Cien arquitectas en Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moisset Inés

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available El artículo relata la experiencia de editar biografías de mujeres arquitectas en Wikipedia, usando como referencia el blog Un día | Una arquitecta. Se detallan los diversos sesgos y problemas específicos que hacen que la labor de ellas sea invisibilizada en uno de los sitios web más visitados de la red.

  5. Volunteered Geographic Information in Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Darren

    2010-01-01

    Volunteered geographic information (VGI) refers to the geographic subset of online user-generated content. Through Geobrowsers and online mapping services, which use geovisualization and Web technologies to share and produce VGI, a global digital commons of geographic information has emerged. A notable example is Wikipedia, an online collaborative…

  6. The Reach and Richness of Wikipedia: Is Wikinomics only for the rich countries?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the impact of technological and economic factors on the global diffusion of Wikinomics among developed and developing countries. Examining different language editions of Wikipedia, this study found significant correlation between a variety of socio-economic factors and involve......This study examined the impact of technological and economic factors on the global diffusion of Wikinomics among developed and developing countries. Examining different language editions of Wikipedia, this study found significant correlation between a variety of socio-economic factors...... and involvement in Wikipedia....

  7. Multi-cultural Wikipedia mining of geopolitics interactions leveraging reduced Google matrix analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frahm, Klaus M.; El Zant, Samer; Jaffrès-Runser, Katia; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2017-09-01

    Geopolitics focuses on political power in relation to geographic space. Interactions among world countries have been widely studied at various scales, observing economic exchanges, world history or international politics among others. This work exhibits the potential of Wikipedia mining for such studies. Indeed, Wikipedia stores valuable fine-grained dependencies among countries by linking webpages together for diverse types of interactions (not only related to economical, political or historical facts). We mine herein the Wikipedia networks of several language editions using the recently proposed method of reduced Google matrix analysis. This approach allows to establish direct and hidden links between a subset of nodes that belong to a much larger directed network. Our study concentrates on 40 major countries chosen worldwide. Our aim is to offer a multicultural perspective on their interactions by comparing networks extracted from five different Wikipedia language editions, emphasizing English, Russian and Arabic ones. We demonstrate that this approach allows to recover meaningful direct and hidden links among the 40 countries of interest.

  8. Is Wikipedia link structure different?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamps, J.; Koolen, M.; Baeza-Yates, R.; Boldi, P.; Ribeiro-Neto, B.; Cambazoglu, B.B.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the difference between Wikipedia and Web link structure with respect to their value as indicators of the relevance of a page for a given topic of request. Our experimental evidence is from two IR test-collections: the .GOV collection used at the TREC Web tracks and the

  9. Wikipedia è poco affidabile? La colpa è anche degli esperti

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian Cenci

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  10. Considerazioni conclusive. Riflessioni sulla narrazione storica nelle voci di Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tommaso Baldo

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  11. Wikipedia : sama täpne kui päris teatmeteos / Aivar Õepa

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Õepa, Aivar, 1967-

    2005-01-01

    2001. aastal asutatud Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) on vabatahtlike tööl põhinev interneti-teatmeteos. Wikipediat ja Encyclopedia Britannicat võrrelnud teadlased leidsid, et veebientsüklopeedia ei jää täpsuses EB-le alla

  12. Digging Wikipedia : The Online Encyclopedia as a Digital Cultural Heritage Gateway and Site

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pentzold, C.; Weltevrede, E.; Mauri, M.; Laniado, D.; Kaltenbrunner, A.; Borra, E.

    The online encyclopedia Wikipedia is both a cultural reference to store, refer to, and organize digitized and digital information, as well as a key contemporary digital heritage endeavor in itself. Capitalizing on this dual nature of the project, this article introduces Wikipedia as a digital

  13. Wisdom of the crowd or technicity of content? Wikipedia as a sociotechnical system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niederer, S.; van Dijck, J.

    2010-01-01

    Wikipedia is often considered as an example of ‘collaborative knowledge’. Researchers have contested the value of Wikipedia content on various accounts. Some have disputed the ability of anonymous amateurs to produce quality information, while others have contested Wikipedia’s claim to accuracy and

  14. Wisdom of the crowd or technicity of content? Wikipedia as a sociotechnical system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niederer, S.; van Dijck, J.; David, M.; Millward, P.

    2014-01-01

    Wikipedia is often considered as an example of ‘collaborative knowledge’. Researchers have contested the value of Wikipedia content on various accounts. Some have disputed the ability of anonymous amateurs to produce quality information, while others have contested Wikipedia’s claim to accuracy and

  15. Opera aperta: Wikipedia e l’oralità secondaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tommaso Venturini

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available In questo articolo si discuterà di Wikipedia, la prima e più importante enciclopedia compilata collaborativamente su Internet. Se ne analizzerà il modello comunicativo e si mostrerà come esso getti nuova luce sulla distinzione oralità/scrittura. Il lettore, tuttavia, dovrà armarsi di pazienza, poiché non prenderemo la via breve. Prima di arrivare a Wikipedia, esamineremo la relazione segno-referente e quella mezzo-messaggio. Contesteremo la semplificazione che riduce la comunicazione a mera trasmissione di messaggi e quella che riduce l’evoluzione sociale allo sviluppo delle tecnologie mediatiche. Criticheremo la nozione di villaggio globale, di oralità secondaria e la loro applicazione al mondo della Rete. Dimostreremo, in particolare, che la comunicazione telematica non conduce a una nuova forma di oralità. Solo a questo punto, al riparo dagli equivoci del determinismo sociale e tecnologico, potremo infine affrontare l’innovazione mediale introdotta dall’invenzione dei wiki. Riflettendo sui processi e sui prodotti della mediazione comunicativa, illustreremo quindi come Wikipedia abbia dato vita a una forma di comunicazione davvero nuova. Un modello comunicativo caratterizzato da un’apertura radicale e totale che non può essere assimilata né all’oralità, né alla scrittura.

  16. Dissoluzioni, parodie o mutamenti? Considerazioni sulla storia nelle pagine di Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateus H. F. Pereira

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  17. Wikipedia Culture Gap: Quantifying Content Imbalances Across 40 Language Editions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Miquel-Ribé

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The online encyclopedia Wikipedia is the largest general information repository created through collaborative efforts from all over the globe. Despite the project's goal being to achieve the sum of human knowledge, there are strong content imbalances across the language editions. In order to quantify and investigate these imbalances, we study the impact of cultural context in 40 language editions. To this purpose, we developed a computational method to identify articles that can be related to the editors' cultural context associated to each Wikipedia language edition. We employed a combination of strategies taking into account geolocated articles, specific keywords and categories, as well as links between articles. We verified the method's quality with manual assessment and found an average precision of 0.92 and an average recall of 0.95. The results show that about a quarter of each Wikipedia language edition is dedicated to represent the corresponding cultural context. Although a considerable part of this content was created during the first years of the project, its creation is sustained over time. An analysis of cross-language coverage of this content shows that most of it is unique in its original language, and reveals special links between cultural contexts; at the same time, it highlights gaps where the encyclopedia could extend its content. The approach and findings presented in this study can help to foster participation and inter-cultural enrichment of Wikipedias. The datasets produced are made available for further research.

  18. Highlighting Entanglement of Cultures via Ranking of Multilingual Wikipedia Articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Young-Ho; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2013-01-01

    How different cultures evaluate a person? Is an important person in one culture is also important in the other culture? We address these questions via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles. With three ranking algorithms based on network structure of Wikipedia, we assign ranking to all articles in 9 multilingual editions of Wikipedia and investigate general ranking structure of PageRank, CheiRank and 2DRank. In particular, we focus on articles related to persons, identify top 30 persons for each rank among different editions and analyze distinctions of their distributions over activity fields such as politics, art, science, religion, sport for each edition. We find that local heroes are dominant but also global heroes exist and create an effective network representing entanglement of cultures. The Google matrix analysis of network of cultures shows signs of the Zipf law distribution. This approach allows to examine diversity and shared characteristics of knowledge organization between cultures. The developed computational, data driven approach highlights cultural interconnections in a new perspective. Dated: June 26, 2013 PMID:24098338

  19. Highlighting entanglement of cultures via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Ho Eom

    Full Text Available How different cultures evaluate a person? Is an important person in one culture is also important in the other culture? We address these questions via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles. With three ranking algorithms based on network structure of Wikipedia, we assign ranking to all articles in 9 multilingual editions of Wikipedia and investigate general ranking structure of PageRank, CheiRank and 2DRank. In particular, we focus on articles related to persons, identify top 30 persons for each rank among different editions and analyze distinctions of their distributions over activity fields such as politics, art, science, religion, sport for each edition. We find that local heroes are dominant but also global heroes exist and create an effective network representing entanglement of cultures. The Google matrix analysis of network of cultures shows signs of the Zipf law distribution. This approach allows to examine diversity and shared characteristics of knowledge organization between cultures. The developed computational, data driven approach highlights cultural interconnections in a new perspective. Dated: June 26, 2013.

  20. Understanding Editing Behaviors in Multilingual Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Suin; Park, Sungjoon; Hale, Scott A; Kim, Sooyoung; Byun, Jeongmin; Oh, Alice H

    2016-01-01

    Multilingualism is common offline, but we have a more limited understanding of the ways multilingualism is displayed online and the roles that multilinguals play in the spread of content between speakers of different languages. We take a computational approach to studying multilingualism using one of the largest user-generated content platforms, Wikipedia. We study multilingualism by collecting and analyzing a large dataset of the content written by multilingual editors of the English, German, and Spanish editions of Wikipedia. This dataset contains over two million paragraphs edited by over 15,000 multilingual users from July 8 to August 9, 2013. We analyze these multilingual editors in terms of their engagement, interests, and language proficiency in their primary and non-primary (secondary) languages and find that the English edition of Wikipedia displays different dynamics from the Spanish and German editions. Users primarily editing the Spanish and German editions make more complex edits than users who edit these editions as a second language. In contrast, users editing the English edition as a second language make edits that are just as complex as the edits by users who primarily edit the English edition. In this way, English serves a special role bringing together content written by multilinguals from many language editions. Nonetheless, language remains a formidable hurdle to the spread of content: we find evidence for a complexity barrier whereby editors are less likely to edit complex content in a second language. In addition, we find that multilinguals are less engaged and show lower levels of language proficiency in their second languages. We also examine the topical interests of multilingual editors and find that there is no significant difference between primary and non-primary editors in each language.

  1. Understanding Editing Behaviors in Multilingual Wikipedia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suin Kim

    Full Text Available Multilingualism is common offline, but we have a more limited understanding of the ways multilingualism is displayed online and the roles that multilinguals play in the spread of content between speakers of different languages. We take a computational approach to studying multilingualism using one of the largest user-generated content platforms, Wikipedia. We study multilingualism by collecting and analyzing a large dataset of the content written by multilingual editors of the English, German, and Spanish editions of Wikipedia. This dataset contains over two million paragraphs edited by over 15,000 multilingual users from July 8 to August 9, 2013. We analyze these multilingual editors in terms of their engagement, interests, and language proficiency in their primary and non-primary (secondary languages and find that the English edition of Wikipedia displays different dynamics from the Spanish and German editions. Users primarily editing the Spanish and German editions make more complex edits than users who edit these editions as a second language. In contrast, users editing the English edition as a second language make edits that are just as complex as the edits by users who primarily edit the English edition. In this way, English serves a special role bringing together content written by multilinguals from many language editions. Nonetheless, language remains a formidable hurdle to the spread of content: we find evidence for a complexity barrier whereby editors are less likely to edit complex content in a second language. In addition, we find that multilinguals are less engaged and show lower levels of language proficiency in their second languages. We also examine the topical interests of multilingual editors and find that there is no significant difference between primary and non-primary editors in each language.

  2. The richness and reach of Wikinomics: Is the free web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia only for the rich countries?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether or not the free web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based upon data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, we find that the central...... structural effect is on the level of human development in the current country. In other words, Wikipedia is in general, more for rich countries than for less developed countries. It is suggested that policy makers make investments in increasing the general level of literacy, education, and standard of living...

  3. Critical point of view: a Wikipedia reader

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lovink, G.; Tkacz, N.

    2011-01-01

    For millions of internet users around the globe, the search for new knowledge begins with Wikipedia. The encyclopedia’s rapid rise, novel organization, and freely offered content have been marveled at and denounced by a host of commentators. Critical Point of View moves beyond unflagging praise,

  4. Improving Information Literacy Skills through Learning to Use and Edit Wikipedia: A Chemistry Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Martin A.; Li, Ye

    2016-01-01

    Our students rely on Wikipedia on their mobile devices or laptops, since it is an extremely rich and broad resource. This article overviews the Chemistry content on Wikipedia and how students can learn to use it effectively as an information resource, critically evaluating content, and learning key information literacy skills. We also discuss how…

  5. El proyecto Wiki Learning: Wikipedia como entorno de aprendizaje abierto

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Los enfoques predominantes en el sistema educativo tradicional circunscriben las posibilidades de aprendizaje a entornos formales y cerrados. Sin embargo, las tecnologías móviles y plataformas digitales están transformando este paradigma, expandiendo las posibilidades de aprendizaje. A partir de esta condición y en el marco de la producción del conocimiento entre pares, sostenemos que Wikipedia puede ser utilizada como un entorno de aprendizaje abierto que cumple varios propósitos: a permite adquirir competencias básicas; b contribuye a la inteligencia colectiva; c acorta la brecha global de conocimiento; y, d facilita la construcción de redes globales de aprendizaje. Este estudio de caso tiene como objetivo presentar el proceso, estrategias y resultados del proyecto Wiki Learning, como modelo de aprendizaje abierto a través del uso de Wikipedia en una universidad mexicana. El proyecto abarcó desde la producción de artículos hasta talleres para el desarrollo de capacidades de profesores y estudiantes. Se realizaron encuestas a 57 docentes y 115 alumnos para identificar la percepción acerca de Wikipedia, su uso y posibilidades como herramienta educativa. Los resultados demostraron que a pesar de que todos son usuarios de Wikipedia, existe un desconocimiento general sobre su funcionamiento, estructura y comunidades, además de cierta desconfianza. Se presenta un desafío para romper el estigma y recuperar el valor de la gestión compartida del conocimiento, el propósito de la enciclopedia y su lugar como producto de la inteligencia colectiva.

  6. Volunteers in Wikipedia: Why the Community Matters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baytiyeh, Hoda; Pfaffman, Jay

    2010-01-01

    Wikipedia is a reliable encyclopedia with over seven million articles in several languages all contributed and maintained by volunteers. To learn more about what drives people to devote their time and expertise to building and maintaining this remarkable resource, surveys with Likert-scaled items measuring different types of motivations were…

  7. The People’s Encyclopedia Under the Gaze of the Sages: A Systematic Review of Scholarly Research on Wikipedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okoli, Chitu; Mehdi, Mohamad; Mesgari, Mostafa

    2012-01-01

    Wikipedia has become one of the ten most visited sites on the Web, and the world’s leading source of Web reference information. Its rapid success has inspired hundreds of scholars from various disciplines to study its content, communication and community dynamics from various perspectives....... This article presents a systematic review of scholarly research on Wikipedia. We describe our detailed, rigorous methodology for identifying over 450 scholarly studies of Wikipedia. We present the WikiLit website (http wikilit dot referata dot com), where most of the papers reviewed here are described...... in detail. In the major section of this article, we then categorize and summarize the studies. An appendix features an extensive list of resources useful for Wikipedia researchers....

  8. Even good bots fight: The case of Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsvetkova, Milena; García-Gavilanes, Ruth; Floridi, Luciano; Yasseri, Taha

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the number of bots online, varying from Web crawlers for search engines, to chatbots for online customer service, spambots on social media, and content-editing bots in online collaboration communities. The online world has turned into an ecosystem of bots. However, our knowledge of how these automated agents are interacting with each other is rather poor. Bots are predictable automatons that do not have the capacity for emotions, meaning-making, creativity, and sociality and it is hence natural to expect interactions between bots to be relatively predictable and uneventful. In this article, we analyze the interactions between bots that edit articles on Wikipedia. We track the extent to which bots undid each other’s edits over the period 2001–2010, model how pairs of bots interact over time, and identify different types of interaction trajectories. We find that, although Wikipedia bots are intended to support the encyclopedia, they often undo each other’s edits and these sterile “fights” may sometimes continue for years. Unlike humans on Wikipedia, bots’ interactions tend to occur over longer periods of time and to be more reciprocated. Yet, just like humans, bots in different cultural environments may behave differently. Our research suggests that even relatively “dumb” bots may give rise to complex interactions, and this carries important implications for Artificial Intelligence research. Understanding what affects bot-bot interactions is crucial for managing social media well, providing adequate cyber-security, and designing well functioning autonomous vehicles. PMID:28231323

  9. Even good bots fight: The case of Wikipedia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milena Tsvetkova

    Full Text Available In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the number of bots online, varying from Web crawlers for search engines, to chatbots for online customer service, spambots on social media, and content-editing bots in online collaboration communities. The online world has turned into an ecosystem of bots. However, our knowledge of how these automated agents are interacting with each other is rather poor. Bots are predictable automatons that do not have the capacity for emotions, meaning-making, creativity, and sociality and it is hence natural to expect interactions between bots to be relatively predictable and uneventful. In this article, we analyze the interactions between bots that edit articles on Wikipedia. We track the extent to which bots undid each other's edits over the period 2001-2010, model how pairs of bots interact over time, and identify different types of interaction trajectories. We find that, although Wikipedia bots are intended to support the encyclopedia, they often undo each other's edits and these sterile "fights" may sometimes continue for years. Unlike humans on Wikipedia, bots' interactions tend to occur over longer periods of time and to be more reciprocated. Yet, just like humans, bots in different cultural environments may behave differently. Our research suggests that even relatively "dumb" bots may give rise to complex interactions, and this carries important implications for Artificial Intelligence research. Understanding what affects bot-bot interactions is crucial for managing social media well, providing adequate cyber-security, and designing well functioning autonomous vehicles.

  10. Even good bots fight: The case of Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsvetkova, Milena; García-Gavilanes, Ruth; Floridi, Luciano; Yasseri, Taha

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the number of bots online, varying from Web crawlers for search engines, to chatbots for online customer service, spambots on social media, and content-editing bots in online collaboration communities. The online world has turned into an ecosystem of bots. However, our knowledge of how these automated agents are interacting with each other is rather poor. Bots are predictable automatons that do not have the capacity for emotions, meaning-making, creativity, and sociality and it is hence natural to expect interactions between bots to be relatively predictable and uneventful. In this article, we analyze the interactions between bots that edit articles on Wikipedia. We track the extent to which bots undid each other's edits over the period 2001-2010, model how pairs of bots interact over time, and identify different types of interaction trajectories. We find that, although Wikipedia bots are intended to support the encyclopedia, they often undo each other's edits and these sterile "fights" may sometimes continue for years. Unlike humans on Wikipedia, bots' interactions tend to occur over longer periods of time and to be more reciprocated. Yet, just like humans, bots in different cultural environments may behave differently. Our research suggests that even relatively "dumb" bots may give rise to complex interactions, and this carries important implications for Artificial Intelligence research. Understanding what affects bot-bot interactions is crucial for managing social media well, providing adequate cyber-security, and designing well functioning autonomous vehicles.

  11. An approach for discovering keywords from Spanish tweets using Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel AYALA

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Most approaches to keywords discovery when analyzing microblogging messages (among them those from Twitter are based on statistical and lexical information about the words that compose the text. The lack of context in the short messages can be problematic due to the low co-occurrence of words. In this paper, we present a new approach for keywords discovering from Spanish tweets based on the addition of context information using Wikipedia as a knowledge base. We present four different ways to use Wikipedia and two ways to rank the new keywords. We have tested these strategies using more than 60000 Spanish tweets, measuring performance and analyzing particularities of each strategy.

  12. Risk factors and control of hospital acquired infections: a comparison between Wikipedia and scientific literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Maggi

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: nowadays Wikipedia is one of the main on-line sources of general information. It contains several items about nosocomial infections and their prevention, together of items on virtually every scientific topic.This study aims to assess whether Wikipedia can be considered a reliable source for professional updating, concerning Healthcare-associated Infections (HAI.Methods: Wikipedia has been searched in order to gather items on HAI. 387 items were found with a search string. The field of research was reduced at those articles (27 items containing exhaustive information in relation to prevention of HAI. The messages contained in those articles were than compared with the recommendations of a selected guideline (NICE 2003, completed by a literature search, with the aim of testing their reliability and exhaustivity.Results: 15 Wiki items were found and 51 messages selected. NICE guidelines contained 119 recommendations and 52 more recommendations has been found in a further literature search. 45.1% of Wikipedia’s messages were even found in the guidelines. On this percentage, 21.6% completely agreed with the messages of the guidelines, 15.7% partially agreed, 3.9% disagreed and 3.9% showed different level of evidence in different articles. Moreover, 54.9% of Wikipedia’s messages were not included in the guidelines and 84.2% of the recommendations contained in the guidelines were not present in Wikipedia.Conclusions: Wikipedia should not be considered as a reliable source for professional updating on HAI.

  13. Wikipedia and Education: Anarchist Perspectives and Virtual Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jandric, Petar

    2010-01-01

    This paper explores the philosophical background of one of the most widespread Web based sources used in contemporary education--Wikipedia. Theoretical part consists of the basic notions of anarchist philosophy of education such as human nature, work and society. Through Chomsky's prism of visions and goals, it provides the frame for further…

  14. Contrasting medium and genre on Wikipedia to open up the dominating definition and classification of geoengineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nils Markusson

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Geoengineering is typically defined as a techno-scientific response to climate change that differs from mitigation and adaptation, and that includes diverse individual technologies, which can be classified as either solar radiation management or carbon dioxide removal. We analyse the representation of geoengineering on Wikipedia as a way of opening up this dominating, if contested, model for further debate. We achieve this by contrasting the dominating model as presented in the encyclopaedic article texts with the patterns of hyper-link associations between the articles. Two datasets were created tracing the geoengineering construct on Wikipedia, shedding light on its boundary with its context, as well as on its internal structure. The analysis shows that the geoengineering category tends to be associated on Wikipedia primarily with atmospheric solar radiation management rather than land-based carbon dioxide removal type technologies. The results support the notion that the dominant model of defining and classifying geoengineering technology has been beneficial for solar radiation management type technologies more than for land-based carbon dioxide removal ones. The article also demonstrates that controversy mapping with Wikipedia data affords analysis that can open up dominating definitions and classifications of technologies, and offer resistance to their frequent naturalising and decontextualising tendencies. This work is in line with recent work on digital sociology, but the article contributes a new methodology and reports on the first empirical application of controversy mapping using Wikipedia data to a technology.

  15. Joining the Global Village: Teaching Globalization with Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konieczny, Piotr

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of my experiences with a teaching activity that engages students in publishing in Wikipedia on issues relating to globalization. It begins with a short overview of some of the current debates revolving around teaching globalization, which lay ground for the assignment. I discuss how this teaching tool fits with a…

  16. Exploring how the tobacco industry presents and promotes itself in social media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yunji; Zheng, Xiaolong; Zeng, Daniel Dajun; Zhou, Xingshe; Leischow, Scott James; Chung, Wingyan

    2015-01-21

    The commercial potential of social media is utilized by tobacco manufacturers and vendors for tobacco promotion online. However, the prevalence and promotional strategies of pro-tobacco content in social media are still not widely understood. The goal of this study was to reveal what is presented by the tobacco industry, and how it promotes itself, on social media sites. The top 70 popular cigarette brands are divided into two groups according to their retail prices: group H (brands with high retail prices) and group L (brands with low retail prices). Three comprehensive searches were conducted on Facebook, Wikipedia, and YouTube respectively using the top 70 popular cigarette brands as keywords. We identified tobacco-related content including history and culture, product features, health warnings, home page of cigarette brands, and Web-based tobacco shops. Furthermore, we examined the promotional strategies utilized in social media. According to the data collected from March 3, 2014 to March 10, 2014, 43 of the 70 representative cigarette brands had created 238 Facebook fan pages, 46 cigarette brands were identified in Wikipedia, and there were over 120,000 pro-tobacco videos on YouTube, associated with 61 cigarette brands. The main content presented on the three social media websites differs significantly. Wikipedia focuses on history and culture (67%, 32/48; Ppromotional strategies used, sales promotions exist extensively in social media. Sales promotion is more prevalent on YouTube than on the other two sites (64%, 39/61 vs 35%, 15/43; P=.004). Generally, the sale promotions of higher-cost brands in social media are more prevalent than those of lower-cost brands (55%, 16/29 vs 7%, 1/14; Ppromotion in social media.

  17. Vandalism Detection in Wikipedia: a Bag-of-Words Classifier Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Belani, Amit

    2010-01-01

    A bag-of-words based probabilistic classifier is trained using regularized logistic regression to detect vandalism in the English Wikipedia. Isotonic regression is used to calibrate the class membership probabilities. Learning curve, reliability, ROC, and cost analysis are performed.

  18. Accuracy and readability of cardiovascular entries on Wikipedia: are they reliable learning resources for medical students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azer, Samy A; AlSwaidan, Nourah M; Alshwairikh, Lama A; AlShammari, Jumana M

    2015-10-06

    To evaluate accuracy of content and readability level of English Wikipedia articles on cardiovascular diseases, using quality and readability tools. Wikipedia was searched on the 6 October 2013 for articles on cardiovascular diseases. Using a modified DISCERN (DISCERN is an instrument widely used in assessing online resources), articles were independently scored by three assessors. The readability was calculated using Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. The inter-rater agreement between evaluators was calculated using the Fleiss κ scale. This study was based on 47 English Wikipedia entries on cardiovascular diseases. The DISCERN scores had a median=33 (IQR=6). Four articles (8.5%) were of good quality (DISCERN score 40-50), 39 (83%) moderate (DISCERN 30-39) and 4 (8.5%) were poor (DISCERN 10-29). Although the entries covered the aetiology and the clinical picture, there were deficiencies in the pathophysiology of diseases, signs and symptoms, diagnostic approaches and treatment. The number of references varied from 1 to 127 references; 25.9±29.4 (mean±SD). Several problems were identified in the list of references and citations made in the articles. The readability of articles was 14.3±1.7 (mean±SD); consistent with the readability level for college students. In comparison, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 18th edition had more tables, less references and no significant difference in number of graphs, images, illustrations or readability level. The overall agreement between the evaluators was good (Fleiss κ 0.718 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.83). The Wikipedia entries are not aimed at a medical audience and should not be used as a substitute to recommended medical resources. Course designers and students should be aware that Wikipedia entries on cardiovascular diseases lack accuracy, predominantly due to errors of omission. Further improvement of the Wikipedia content of cardiovascular entries would be needed before they could be considered a supplementary resource

  19. Detection of Vandalism in Wikipedia using Metadata Features – Implementation in Simple English and Albanian sections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arsim Susuri

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we evaluate a list of classifiers in order to use them in the detection of vandalism by focusing on metadata features. Our work is focused on two low resource data sets (Simple English and Albanian from Wikipedia. The aim of this research is to prove that this form of vandalism detection applied in one data set (language can be extended into another data set (language. Article views data sets in Wikipedia have been used rarely for the purpose of detecting vandalism. We will show the benefits of using article views data set with features from the article revisions data set with the aim of improving the detection of vandalism. The key advantage of using metadata features is that these metadata features are language independent and simple to extract because they require minimal processing. This paper shows that application of vandalism models across low resource languages is possible, and vandalism can be detected through view patterns of articles.

  20. How Readers Shape the Content of an Encyclopedia: A Case Study Comparing the German Meyers Konversationslexikon (1885-1890 with Wikipedia (2002-2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrike Spree

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available How knowledge is negotiated between the makers of encyclopedias and their audiences remains an ongoing question in research on encyclopedias. A comparative content analysis of the published answers of letters to the editor of the German Meyers Konversationslexikon (Korrespondenzblatt from 1885 and the discussion pages of the article potato of the German Wikipedia (2013 reveals continuities as well as changes in the communication between encyclopedia producers and their audiences. The main reasons why readers and editors communicate are the need for updated factual information, an exchange on editorial principles and the intellectual exchange of ideas on ideological and philosophical questions in relation to the encyclopedic content. Editors and readers attach a lot of importance to the process of verifying information through bibliographical references. Whereas, for the editors of Meyers Konversationslexikon the leading role of experts remains undisputed, Wikipedians work in a contradictory situation. They are on the one hand exposing knowledge production to a permanent process of negotiation, thereby challenging the role of experts, on the other hand relying strongly on bibliographical authorities. Whilst the reasons for the communication between readers and editors of Meyers Konversationslexikon and among Wikipedia contributors coincide, the understanding of the roles of readers and editors differ. The editors of the Korrespondenzblatt keep up a lecturing attitude. As opposed to this, administrators in Wikipedia want to encourage participation and strive to develop expertise among the participating contributors. Albeit power relations between administrators, regular authors, occasional authors and readers continue to exist they are comparatively flat and transient. Regardless of these differences, the comparison between Meyers Konversationslexikon and Wikipedia indicates that the sine qua non for activating an upwards spiral of quality

  1. Cognitive and Social Factors Affecting the Use of Wikipedia and Information Seeking / Les facteurs cognitifs et sociaux déterminant l'utilisation de Wikipedia et la recherche d'information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siyoung Chung

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, is the preferred choice among resources used by college students to meet their research needs. However, Wikipedia has been criticized for its low information quality, lack of accountability, inconsistency, and vulnerability to vandalism. Despite the warnings and concerns voiced by academia, online learning tools such as Wikipedia will continue their rise as major learning resource in today's classroom. Using a sample of 184 college students, the study proposed theoretical models to test the effects of internal beliefs, motivations, and social influences on Wikipedia use and information-seeking, and further empirically tested those models. The findings of this study suggested that Wikipedia use is driven by internal belief and peer pressure, whereas information-seeking is influenced by belief, motivation, and subjective norms. The implications of the findings for the research and practice are discussed. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie gratuite en ligne, est le choix préféré des étudiants ayant besoin de faire une recherche. Cependant, Wikipédia a été critiqué pour la faible qualité de ses informations, son manque d’imputabilité, son incohérence et sa vulnérabilité au vandalisme. En dépit des mises en garde et des inquiétudes exprimées par le milieu universitaire, l’importance en salle de classe des outils d'apprentissage en ligne tels que Wikipédia continuera de croître. Sur la base d’un échantillon de 184 étudiants de niveau collégial, l'étude a proposé des modèles théoriques pour tester les effets des croyances personnelles, des motivations et des influences sociales sur l'utilisation de Wikipédia et sur la recherche d'information. Ces modèles ont ensuite été testés empiriquement. Les résultats de cette étude suggèrent que l'utilisation de Wikipédia est motivée par les croyances personnelles et la pression exercée par les camarades, alors que la recherche d

  2. Evaluating Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia as Tools for Influenza Surveillance Using Bayesian Change Point Analysis: A Comparative Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpe, J Danielle; Hopkins, Richard S; Cook, Robert L; Striley, Catherine W

    2016-10-20

    Traditional influenza surveillance relies on influenza-like illness (ILI) syndrome that is reported by health care providers. It primarily captures individuals who seek medical care and misses those who do not. Recently, Web-based data sources have been studied for application to public health surveillance, as there is a growing number of people who search, post, and tweet about their illnesses before seeking medical care. Existing research has shown some promise of using data from Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia to complement traditional surveillance for ILI. However, past studies have evaluated these Web-based sources individually or dually without comparing all 3 of them, and it would be beneficial to know which of the Web-based sources performs best in order to be considered to complement traditional methods. The objective of this study is to comparatively analyze Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia by examining which best corresponds with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ILI data. It was hypothesized that Wikipedia will best correspond with CDC ILI data as previous research found it to be least influenced by high media coverage in comparison with Google and Twitter. Publicly available, deidentified data were collected from the CDC, Google Flu Trends, HealthTweets, and Wikipedia for the 2012-2015 influenza seasons. Bayesian change point analysis was used to detect seasonal changes, or change points, in each of the data sources. Change points in Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia that occurred during the exact week, 1 preceding week, or 1 week after the CDC's change points were compared with the CDC data as the gold standard. All analyses were conducted using the R package "bcp" version 4.0.0 in RStudio version 0.99.484 (RStudio Inc). In addition, sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were calculated for Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia. During the 2012-2015 influenza seasons, a high sensitivity of 92% was found for Google, whereas the PPV for

  3. Wikipedia and the National Cancer Institute Website Appear to Offer Similar Osteosarcoma Information for Patients. A Review of: Leithner, A., Werner, M., Glehr, M., Friesenbichler, J., Keithner, K., & Windhager R. (2010. Wikipedia and osteosarcoma: A trustworthy patients' information? Journal of the Medical Informatics Association, 17(4, 373-374.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Kelly

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To compare the completeness and accuracy of information about osteosarcoma in Wikipedia to information found on the patient and health professional versions of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI website.Design – Comparative study, test against 20 item questionnaire and expert opinion.Setting – n/aSubjects – n/aMethods – The authors developed a 20-item questionnaire to test the completeness and accuracy of information on osteosarcoma in Wikipedia and on the "patient version and the health professional version of the National Cancer Institute's website as 'official' reference websites" (p. 373. Three independent observers, two surgeons specializing in musculoskeletal tumour surgery and a medical student, tested the English language version of Wikipedia and the NCI “websites” on April 3, 2009. Answers to the 20 questions found on the websites were scored from zero to three and were discussed with a member of the "German board for guidelines in musculoskeletal surgery" (p. 373 and verified against international guidelines published by the World Health Organization. Data was analyzed using SPSS and group comparisons were performed using Mann-Whitney U test with p-values of less than 0.05 significance. Main Results – The quality of information about osteosarcoma found in the English language version of Wikipedia was good but inferior to the patient information from NCI. Out of a total of 60 points Wikipedia scored 33, NCI patient information 40 and NCI professional information 50. There was no significant difference between the NCI patient information and Wikipedia but a significant difference (p=0.039 between Wikipedia and NCI professional information.Conclusion – Non-peer reviewed websites providing health information, such as Wikipedia, should include links to sites such as NCI and other more definitive sources such as professional and international organizations. Frequent checks should be used to ensure external

  4. Dynamics of conflicts in Wikipedia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taha Yasseri

    Full Text Available In this work we study the dynamical features of editorial wars in Wikipedia (WP. Based on our previously established algorithm, we build up samples of controversial and peaceful articles and analyze the temporal characteristics of the activity in these samples. On short time scales, we show that there is a clear correspondence between conflict and burstiness of activity patterns, and that memory effects play an important role in controversies. On long time scales, we identify three distinct developmental patterns for the overall behavior of the articles. We are able to distinguish cases eventually leading to consensus from those cases where a compromise is far from achievable. Finally, we analyze discussion networks and conclude that edit wars are mainly fought by few editors only.

  5. Orienteering in Knowledge Spaces: The Hyperbolic Geometry of Wikipedia Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leibon, Gregory; Rockmore, Daniel N.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we show how the coupling of the notion of a network with directions with the adaptation of the four-point probe from materials testing gives rise to a natural geometry on such networks. This four-point probe geometry shares many of the properties of hyperbolic geometry wherein the network directions take the place of the sphere at infinity, enabling a navigation of the network in terms of pairs of directions: the geodesic through a pair of points is oriented from one direction to another direction, the pair of which are uniquely determined. We illustrate this in the interesting example of the pages of Wikipedia devoted to Mathematics, or “The MathWiki.” The applicability of these ideas extends beyond Wikipedia to provide a natural framework for visual search and to prescribe a natural mode of navigation for any kind of “knowledge space” in which higher order concepts aggregate various instances of information. Other examples would include genre or author organization of cultural objects such as books, movies, documents or even merchandise in an online store. PMID:23844017

  6. Orienteering in knowledge spaces: the hyperbolic geometry of Wikipedia Mathematics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory Leibon

    Full Text Available In this paper we show how the coupling of the notion of a network with directions with the adaptation of the four-point probe from materials testing gives rise to a natural geometry on such networks. This four-point probe geometry shares many of the properties of hyperbolic geometry wherein the network directions take the place of the sphere at infinity, enabling a navigation of the network in terms of pairs of directions: the geodesic through a pair of points is oriented from one direction to another direction, the pair of which are uniquely determined. We illustrate this in the interesting example of the pages of Wikipedia devoted to Mathematics, or "The MathWiki." The applicability of these ideas extends beyond Wikipedia to provide a natural framework for visual search and to prescribe a natural mode of navigation for any kind of "knowledge space" in which higher order concepts aggregate various instances of information. Other examples would include genre or author organization of cultural objects such as books, movies, documents or even merchandise in an online store.

  7. Motivating Students to Learn Biology Vocabulary with Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boriana Marintcheva

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Timely learning of specialized science vocabulary is critical for building a solid knowledge base in any scientific discipline. To motivate students to dedicate time and effort mastering biology vocabulary, I have designed a vocabulary exercise utilizing the popular web encyclopedia Wikipedia. The exercise creates an opportunity for students to connect the challenge of vocabulary learning to a prior positive experience of self-guided learning using a content source they are familiar and comfortable with.

  8. WIKIPEDIA AND THE POLITICS OF MASS COLLABORATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathaniel Tkacz

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Working together to produce socio-technological objects, based on emergent platforms of economic production, is of great importance in the task of political transformation and the creation of new subjectivities. Increasingly, “collaboration” has become a veritable buzzword used to describe the human associations that create such new media objects. In the language of “Web 2.0”, “participatory culture”, “user-generated content”, “peer production” and the “produser”, first and foremost we are all collaborators. In this paper I investigate recent literature that stresses the collaborative nature of Web 2.0, and in particular, works that address the nascent processes of peer production. I contend that this material positions such projects as what Chantal Mouffe has described as the “post-political”; a fictitious space far divorced from the clamour of the everyday. I analyse one Wikipedia entry to demonstrate the distance between this post-political discourse of collaboration and the realities it describes, and finish by arguing for a more politicised notion of collaboration.

  9. Evaluation of gastroenterology and hepatology articles on Wikipedia: are they suitable as learning resources for medical students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azer, Samy A

    2014-02-01

    With the changes introduced to medical curricula, medical students use learning resources on the Internet such as Wikipedia. However, the credibility of the medical content of Wikipedia has been questioned and there is no evidence to respond to these concerns. The aim of this paper was to critically evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the gastroenterology and hepatology information that medical students retrieve from Wikipedia. The Wikipedia website was searched for articles on gastroenterology and hepatology on 28 May 2013. Copies of these articles were evaluated by three assessors independently using an appraisal form modified from the DISCERN instrument. The articles were scored for accuracy of content, readability, frequency of updating, and quality of references. A total of 39 articles were evaluated. Although the articles appeared to be well cited and reviewed regularly, several problems were identified with regard to depth of discussion of mechanisms and pathogenesis of diseases, as well as poor elaboration on different investigations. Analysis of the content showed a score ranging from 15.6±0.6 to 43.6±3.2 (mean±SD). The total number of references in all articles was 1233, and the number of references varied from 4 to 144 (mean±SD, 31.6±27.3). The number of citations from peer-reviewed journals published in the last 5 years was 242 (28%); however, several problems were identified in the list of references and citations made. The readability of articles was in the range of -8.0±55.7 to 44.4±1.4; for all articles the readability was 26±9.0 (mean±SD). The concordance between the assessors on applying the criteria had mean κ scores in the range of 0.61 to 0.79. Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information for medical students searching for gastroenterology and hepatology articles. Several limitations, deficiencies, and scientific errors have been identified in the articles examined.

  10. For An Urban Wikipedia. The Challenges of the Urban Project. Maurizio Carta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio Carta

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The city is the pre-eminent encyclopedia of the community, a place where all the components of life, its definition and all its reciprocal relationships are found (Harvey 1989.  In the urban century in which we all are immersed goes from the encyclopedia to the urban Wikipedia: that is a collective, cognitive project in which the inhabitants and the operators, the decision-makers and the participants, the project makers and the actors make up the structure, continually enriching it with the change of practices, with the interpretation of its meanings and intentions. In order to make, understand, represent and transmit the urban Wikipedia, its chronological stratification, its spatial creases, its architectural harmony and often even its social dissonance, we are obliged to create a new epistemology which is capable of evaluating and of utilizing the multiplicity of territorial identities and that knows how to activate new forms of project making.

  11. Jointly they edit: examining the impact of community identification on political interaction in Wikipedia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica J Neff

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In their 2005 study, Adamic and Glance coined the memorable phrase 'divided they blog', referring to a trend of cyberbalkanization in the political blogosphere, with liberal and conservative blogs tending to link to other blogs with a similar political slant, and not to one another. As political discussion and activity increasingly moves online, the power of framing political discourses is shifting from mass media to social media. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Continued examination of political interactions online is critical, and we extend this line of research by examining the activities of political users within the Wikipedia community. First, we examined how users in Wikipedia choose to display their political affiliation. Next, we analyzed the patterns of cross-party interaction and community participation among those users proclaiming a political affiliation. In contrast to previous analyses of other social media, we did not find strong trends indicating a preference to interact with members of the same political party within the Wikipedia community. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that users who proclaim their political affiliation within the community tend to proclaim their identity as a 'Wikipedian' even more loudly. It seems that the shared identity of 'being Wikipedian' may be strong enough to triumph over other potentially divisive facets of personal identity, such as political affiliation.

  12. Jointly They Edit: Examining the Impact of Community Identification on Political Interaction in Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neff, Jessica J.; Laniado, David; Kappler, Karolin E.; Volkovich, Yana; Aragón, Pablo; Kaltenbrunner, Andreas

    2013-01-01

    Background In their 2005 study, Adamic and Glance coined the memorable phrase ‘divided they blog’, referring to a trend of cyberbalkanization in the political blogosphere, with liberal and conservative blogs tending to link to other blogs with a similar political slant, and not to one another. As political discussion and activity increasingly moves online, the power of framing political discourses is shifting from mass media to social media. Methodology/Principal Findings Continued examination of political interactions online is critical, and we extend this line of research by examining the activities of political users within the Wikipedia community. First, we examined how users in Wikipedia choose to display their political affiliation. Next, we analyzed the patterns of cross-party interaction and community participation among those users proclaiming a political affiliation. In contrast to previous analyses of other social media, we did not find strong trends indicating a preference to interact with members of the same political party within the Wikipedia community. Conclusions/Significance Our results indicate that users who proclaim their political affiliation within the community tend to proclaim their identity as a ‘Wikipedian’ even more loudly. It seems that the shared identity of ‘being Wikipedian’ may be strong enough to triumph over other potentially divisive facets of personal identity, such as political affiliation. PMID:23573269

  13. Inquiry, Critique, and Dissemination of Knowledge: Graduate Students Contributing to Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmons, Nicola

    2013-01-01

    Graduate students use existing knowledge and are ultimately expected to add to that knowledge. Students in a Masters of Education entry course were asked to find a Wikipedia page related to the course topics, critique it, and make improvements to it to begin to develop these skills. In this paper, I examine ways in which their perspectives were…

  14. Exploration of Online Culture Through Network Analysis of Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sung Joo; Kim, Jong Woo; Lee, Hong Joo; Park, Hyunjung; Han, Deugcheon; Gloor, Peter

    2015-11-01

    Understanding online culture is becoming crucial in the global and connected world. Contrary to conventional attitudinal surveys used in cultural research, this study uses the approach of directly observing culture-specific behavior that emerges from online collaboration on the Internet. The editing data of Wikipedia were analyzed in 12 languages. Distinctive cultural dimensions were identified, including collectivism, extraversion, boldness, and egalitarianism. Using network analysis, the language-framed cultural factors were extracted as an emergent phenomenon in the virtual world.

  15. Correlation between Similarity Measures for Inter-Language Linked Wikipedia Articles

    OpenAIRE

    Paramita, M.; Clough, P.; Aker, A.; Gaizauskas, R.

    2012-01-01

    Wikipedia articles in different languages have been mined to support various tasks, such as Cross-Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) and Statistical Machine Translation (SMT). Articles on the same topic in different languages are often connected by inter-language links, which can be used to identify similar or comparable content. In this work, we investigate the correlation between similarity measures utilising language-independent and language-dependent features and respective human judgm...

  16. Sinatra, He3nry und andere moderne Enzyklopädisten. Synchron und diachron vergleichende Anmerkungen zur Eigen- und Fremdbenennung von Wikipedia-Autoren

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzega, Joachim

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the formation of authors' pseudonyms in the English, German, French, Italian and Spanish versions of the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia. 694 semi-randomly collected Wikipedia usernames ("nicknames" are checked against traditional classifications of pseudonyms and compared to a semi-randomly collected corpus of 607 pseudonyms of English, German, French, Italian and Spanish writers of the 18th and 19th centuries (who published, at least in part, non-fictional works. The main results of the diachronic comparison are the following: (1 Qualitatively, typical modern phenomena are the replacement of letters by similar-looking special characters (called leetspeak, e. g. Serg!o for Sergio, the use of abstract nouns, the use of non-standard forms, deacronymization (e. g. when a Spanish Wikipedian's initials FG become Efegé, and the formation of nicknames from Wikipedia pseudonyms on users' discussion pages ("nick-nicknames". (2 Qualitatively, typical historical phenomena are the use of symbols not easily representable on modern (Latin keyboards (e. g. musical notes and Greek letters. (3 Quantitatively, there is a clear decrease in the use of Latin elements in pseudonyms. A cross-linguistic comparison of Wikipedia nicknames leads to the following characteristic features of the different Wikipedia communities: (a English Wikipedia nicknames show the highest amount of non-onymic elements and numbers and the lowest amount of nicknames with foreign elements. (b French-speaking Wikipedians use the lowest amount of numbers in their nicknames and are the least informative as regards telling the motivation behind their usernames. (c Italian-speaking Wikipedians are the most open to tell about the motivation behind their usernames, use relatively few non-onymic elements in their nicknames, but are very productive as to forming nicknicknames. (d Spanish-speaking Wikipedians use relatively few appellative lexemes, are the most reserved as to

  17. Bipartite Networks of Wikipediaʼs Articles and Authors: a Meso-level Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jesus, Rut; Hansen-Schwartz, Martin; Jørgensen, Sune Lehmann

    2009-01-01

    This exploratory study investigates the bipartite network of articles linked by common editors in Wikipedia, 'The Free Encyclopedia that Anyone Can Edit'. We use the articles in the categories (to depth three) of Physics and Philosophy and extract and focus on significant editors (at least 7 or 10...

  18. The presence and accuracy of food and nutrition terms in the Spanish and English editions of Wikipedia: in comparison with the Mini Larousse encyclopaedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera-Hernández, Laura María; Wanden-Berghe, Carmina; Curbelo Castro, Celeste; Sanz-Valero, Javier

    2014-10-02

    To determine the presence and appropriateness of the terminology concerning Food/Nutrition Science in the Spanish and English editions of Wikipedia and to compare them with that of an encyclopaedia for general use (Mini Larousse). Méthods: The terms in the study were taken from the LID dictionary on metabolism and nutrition: The existence and appropriateness of the selected terms were checked through random sample estimate with no replacement (n=386), using the Spanish and English editions of Wikipedia. The existence of 261 terms in the Spanish edition and 306 in the English edition was determined from the study sample (n=386). Several differences were found between the two editions (p<0,001). There were differences between the two editions in relation to the appropriateness of definitions, though these were not studied in any depth (p<0,001). During the study of the 261 terms in the Spanish version of Wikipedia,3 entries (1,15%, IC95%: 0,00-2.44) were found to be lacking in appropriate information; 2 of the 306 entries in the English edition failed to give appropriate information (0,52%, IC95%: 0,00-1,23). A comparison between the existing entries of the Mini Larousse Encyclopaedia and the Spanish edition of Wikipedia, showed Wikipedia (p<0,001) as having a larger number of entries. The terminology under study is present to a lesser extent in the Spanish edition of Wikipedia than in the English edition. The appropriateness of content was greater in the English edition. Both the Spanish and English editions have a greater number of entries and more exact ones than the Mini Larousse. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  19. More than Just Wikipedia: Creating a Collaborative Research Library Using a Wiki

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz, Caroline Lego

    2012-01-01

    Increasingly, wiki technology is being used in education and business settings. Although most students are aware of Wikipedia, many do not understand that a wiki is a malleable platform that has a multitude of uses. Wiki technology is one of many social media tools that students need to not only become familiar with but also be able to effectively…

  20. Coercion or empowerment? Moderation of content in Wikipedia as 'essentially contested' bureaucratic rules

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de laat, Paul B.

    In communities of user-generated content, systems for the management of content and/or their contributors are usually accepted without much protest. Not so, however, in the case of Wikipedia, in which the proposal to introduce a system of review for new edits (in order to counter vandalism) led to

  1. Wikipedia en la Universidad: cambios en la percepción de valor con la creación de contenidos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Wikipedia es un recurso muy utilizado por estudiantes universitarios, pero no está necesariamente bien valorado en términos de fiabilidad, ni tampoco es visto como un entorno en el que hacer aportaciones de contenido. Este artículo presenta un proyecto de docencia e investigación que consiste en proponer que los estudiantes editen o creen artículos para la Wikipedia, y en comprobar si la experiencia modifica su valoración de la misma. Se realizó la experiencia en la Universidad Pompeu Fabra (España y la Universidad de Niš (Serbia con un total de 240 alumnos. Editaron artículos y respondieron dos cuestionarios, uno antes y otro después de la experiencia. Se compararon las respuestas mediante una serie de pruebas T para muestras emparejadas, a partir de las cuales pudimos comprobar que los datos mostraban un cambio significativo en su percepción sobre la fiabilidad y la utilidad de la Wikipedia y sobre la probabilidad de encontrar información falsa en ella. También cambió su apreciación de la tarea de editar artículos, que se valoró como interesante y representó un reto. En cambio, su valoración del prestigio social de la Wikipedia, tanto en el contexto universitario como el general, no varió significativamente. Adicionalmente, las preguntas abiertas y el feedback informal permitieron recoger informaciones muy valiosas respecto a la valoración del conjunto de la experiencia

  2. Spectral properties of Google matrix of Wikipedia and other networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ermann, Leonardo; Frahm, Klaus M.; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2013-05-01

    We study the properties of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the Google matrix of the Wikipedia articles hyperlink network and other real networks. With the help of the Arnoldi method, we analyze the distribution of eigenvalues in the complex plane and show that eigenstates with significant eigenvalue modulus are located on well defined network communities. We also show that the correlator between PageRank and CheiRank vectors distinguishes different organizations of information flow on BBC and Le Monde web sites.

  3. From MDMA to Lady Gaga : Expertise and Contribution Behavior of Editing Communities on Wikipedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, L.J.; Krieg, L.J.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we present a methodology for gaining a better understanding of the contribution behavior, interests and expertise of communities of Wikipedia users. Starting from a list of core articles and their main editors, we identify which other articles (outside of the initial list) they

  4. High Tempo Knowledge Collaboration in Wikipedia's Coverage of Breaking News Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keegan, Brian C.

    2012-01-01

    When major news breaks in our hyper-connected society, we increasingly turn to an encyclopedia for the latest information. Wikipedia's coverage of breaking news events attracts unique levels of attention; the articles with the most page views, edits, and contributors in any given month since 2003 are related to current events. Extant…

  5. Comparison of the Impact of Wikipedia, UpToDate, and a Digital Textbook on Short-Term Knowledge Acquisition Among Medical Students: Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Web-Based Resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scaffidi, Michael A; Khan, Rishad; Wang, Christopher; Keren, Daniela; Tsui, Cindy; Garg, Ankit; Brar, Simarjeet; Valoo, Kamesha; Bonert, Michael; de Wolff, Jacob F; Heilman, James; Grover, Samir C

    2017-10-31

    Web-based resources are commonly used by medical students to supplement curricular material. Three commonly used resources are UpToDate (Wolters Kluwer Inc), digital textbooks, and Wikipedia; there are concerns, however, regarding Wikipedia's reliability and accuracy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Wikipedia use on medical students' short-term knowledge acquisition compared with UpToDate and a digital textbook. This was a prospective, nonblinded, three-arm randomized trial. The study was conducted from April 2014 to December 2016. Preclerkship medical students were recruited from four Canadian medical schools. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants through word of mouth, social media, and email. Participants must have been enrolled in their first or second year of medical school at a Canadian medical school. After recruitment, participants were randomized to one of the three Web-based resources: Wikipedia, UpToDate, or a digital textbook. During testing, participants first completed a multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ) of 25 questions emulating a Canadian medical licensing examination. During the MCQ, participants took notes on topics to research. Then, participants researched topics and took written notes using their assigned resource. They completed the same MCQ again while referencing their notes. Participants also rated the importance and availability of five factors pertinent to Web-based resources. The primary outcome measure was knowledge acquisition as measured by posttest scores. The secondary outcome measures were participants' perceptions of importance and availability of each resource factor. A total of 116 medical students were recruited. Analysis of variance of the MCQ scores demonstrated a significant interaction between time and group effects (P<.001, η g 2 =0.03), with the Wikipedia group scoring higher on the MCQ posttest compared with the textbook group (P<.001, d=0.86). Access to hyperlinks, search

  6. How Trust in Wikipedia Evolves: A Survey of Students Aged 11 to 25

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mothe, Josiane; Sahut, Gilles

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Whether Wikipedia is to be considered a trusted source is frequently questioned in France. This paper reports the results of a survey examining the levels of trust shown by young people aged eleven to twenty-five. Method: We analyse the answers given by 841 young people, aged eleven to twenty-five, to a questionnaire. To our…

  7. Walking Across Wikipedia: A Scale-Free Network Model of Semantic Memory Retrieval

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham William Thompson

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Semantic knowledge has been investigated using both online and offline methods. One common online method is category recall, in which members of a semantic category like animals are retrieved in a given period of time. The order, timing, and number of retrievals are used as assays of semantic memory processes. One common offline method is corpus analysis, in which the structure of semantic knowledge is extracted from texts using co-occurrence or encyclopedic methods. Online measures of semantic processing, as well as offline measures of semantic structure, have yielded data resembling inverse power law distributions. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether these patterns in data might be related. A semantic network model of animal knowledge is formulated on the basis of Wikipedia pages and their overlap in word probability distributions. The network is scale-free, in that node degree is related to node frequency as an inverse power law. A random walk over this network is shown to simulate a number of results from a category recall experiment, including power law-like distributions of inter-response intervals. Results are discussed in terms of theories of semantic structure and processing.

  8. WIKIPEDIA ENTRIES AS A SOURCE OF CAR NAVIGATION LANDMARKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Binski

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Car navigation system devices provide today with an easy and simple solution to the basic concept of reaching a destination. Although these systems usually achieve this goal, they still deliver a limited and poor sequence of instructions that do not consider the human nature of using landmarks during wayfinding. This research paper addresses the concept of enriching navigation route instructions by adding supplementary route information in the form of landmarks. We aim at using a contributed source of landmarks information, which is easy to access, available, show high update rate, and have a large scale of information. For this, Wikipedia was chosen, since it represents the world’s largest free encyclopaedia that includes information about many spatial entities. A survey and classification of available landmarks is implemented, coupled with ranking algorithms based on the entries’ categories and attributes. These are aimed at retrieving the most relevant landmark information required that are valuable for the enrichment of a specific navigation route. The paper will present this methodology, together with examples and results, showing the feasibility of using this concept and its potential of enriching navigation processes.

  9. WikiSent : Weakly Supervised Sentiment Analysis Through Extractive Summarization With Wikipedia

    OpenAIRE

    Mukherjee, Subhabrata; Bhattacharyya, Pushpak

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a weakly supervised system for sentiment analysis in the movie review domain. The objective is to classify a movie review into a polarity class, positive or negative, based on those sentences bearing opinion on the movie alone. The irrelevant text, not directly related to the reviewer opinion on the movie, is left out of analysis. Wikipedia incorporates the world knowledge of movie-specific features in the system which is used to obtain an extractive summary of the review...

  10. Content disputes in Wikipedia reflect geopolitical instability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apic, Gordana; Betts, Matthew J; Russell, Robert B

    2011-01-01

    Indicators that rank countries according socioeconomic measurements are important tools for regional development and political reform. Those currently in widespread use are sometimes criticized for a lack of reproducibility or the inability to compare values over time, necessitating simple, fast and systematic measures. Here, we applied the 'guilt by association' principle often used in biological networks to the information network within the online encyclopedia Wikipedia to create an indicator quantifying the degree to which pages linked to a country are disputed by contributors. The indicator correlates with metrics of governance, political or economic stability about as well as they correlate with each other, and though faster and simpler, it is remarkably stable over time despite constant changes in the underlying disputes. For some countries, changes over a four year period appear to correlate with world events related to conflicts or economic problems.

  11. Exploring DBpedia and Wikipedia for Portuguese Semantic Relationship Extraction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Soares Batista

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The identification of semantic relationships, as expressed between named entities in text, is an important step for extracting knowledge from large document collections, such as the Web. Previous works have addressed this task for the English language through supervised learning techniques for automatic classification. The current state of the art involves the use of learning methods based on string kernels. However, such approaches require manually annotated training data for each type of semantic relationship, and have scalability problems when tens or hundreds of different types of relationships have to be extracted. This article discusses an approach for distantly supervised relation extraction over texts written in the Portuguese language, which uses an efficient technique for measuring similarity between relation instances, based on minwise hashing and on locality sensitive hashing. In the proposed method, the training examples are automatically collected from Wikipedia, corresponding to sentences that express semantic relationships between pairs of entities extracted from DBPedia. These examples are represented as sets of character quadgrams and other representative elements. The sets are indexed in a data structure that implements the idea of locality-sensitive hashing. To check which semantic relationship is expressed between a given pair of entities referenced in a sentence, the most similar training examples are searched, based on an approximation to the Jaccard coefficient, obtained through min-hashing. The relation class is assigned with basis on the weighted votes of the most similar examples. Tests with a dataset from Wikipedia validate the suitability of the proposed method, showing, for instance, that the method is able to extract 10 different types of semantic relations, 8 of them corresponding to asymmetric relations, with an average score of 55.6%, measured in terms of F1.

  12. Content disputes in Wikipedia reflect geopolitical instability.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gordana Apic

    Full Text Available Indicators that rank countries according socioeconomic measurements are important tools for regional development and political reform. Those currently in widespread use are sometimes criticized for a lack of reproducibility or the inability to compare values over time, necessitating simple, fast and systematic measures. Here, we applied the 'guilt by association' principle often used in biological networks to the information network within the online encyclopedia Wikipedia to create an indicator quantifying the degree to which pages linked to a country are disputed by contributors. The indicator correlates with metrics of governance, political or economic stability about as well as they correlate with each other, and though faster and simpler, it is remarkably stable over time despite constant changes in the underlying disputes. For some countries, changes over a four year period appear to correlate with world events related to conflicts or economic problems.

  13. Identifying Topics in Microblogs Using Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yıldırım, Ahmet; Üsküdarlı, Suzan; Özgür, Arzucan

    2016-01-01

    Twitter is an extremely high volume platform for user generated contributions regarding any topic. The wealth of content created at real-time in massive quantities calls for automated approaches to identify the topics of the contributions. Such topics can be utilized in numerous ways, such as public opinion mining, marketing, entertainment, and disaster management. Towards this end, approaches to relate single or partial posts to knowledge base items have been proposed. However, in microblogging systems like Twitter, topics emerge from the culmination of a large number of contributions. Therefore, identifying topics based on collections of posts, where individual posts contribute to some aspect of the greater topic is necessary. Models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), propose algorithms for relating collections of posts to sets of keywords that represent underlying topics. In these approaches, figuring out what the specific topic(s) the keyword sets represent remains as a separate task. Another issue in topic detection is the scope, which is often limited to specific domain, such as health. This work proposes an approach for identifying domain-independent specific topics related to sets of posts. In this approach, individual posts are processed and then aggregated to identify key tokens, which are then mapped to specific topics. Wikipedia article titles are selected to represent topics, since they are up to date, user-generated, sophisticated articles that span topics of human interest. This paper describes the proposed approach, a prototype implementation, and a case study based on data gathered during the heavily contributed periods corresponding to the four US election debates in 2012. The manually evaluated results (0.96 precision) and other observations from the study are discussed in detail.

  14. Wikipedia come attività di empowerment personale e sociale di studenti e insegnanti nel progetto “Veneto in Wikipedia”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corrado Petrucco

    2016-11-01

    apprendimento; per gli insegnanti si registra una notevole fiducia in Wikipedia che cresce dopo l’esperienza fatta e contribuisce a considerarla strumento efficace nella didattica, motivante e di empowerment personale e sociale.

  15. Who Writes the Past? Student Perceptions of Wikipedia Knowledge and Credibility in a World History Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calkins, Susanna; Kelley, Matthew R.

    2009-01-01

    The authors describe an inquiry-based learning project that required students in a first-year world history course to reflect on and analyze critically the nature of the knowledge found in Wikipedia--the free, open-content, rapidly evolving, internet encyclopedia. Using a rubric, the authors explored students' perceptions of the collaborative and…

  16. BitCoin meets Google Trends and Wikipedia: Quantifying the relationship between phenomena of the Internet era

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Krištoufek, Ladislav

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 3, č. 3415 (2013) ISSN 2045-2322 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP402/11/0948 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : BitCoin * Google Trends * Wikipedia * time series analysis Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 5.078, year: 2013 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2013/E/kristoufek-0420810.pdf

  17. Efficient chemical-disease identification and relationship extraction using Wikipedia to improve recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowe, Daniel M; O'Boyle, Noel M; Sayle, Roger A

    2016-01-01

    Awareness of the adverse effects of chemicals is important in biomedical research and healthcare. Text mining can allow timely and low-cost extraction of this knowledge from the biomedical literature. We extended our text mining solution, LeadMine, to identify diseases and chemical-induced disease relationships (CIDs). LeadMine is a dictionary/grammar-based entity recognizer and was used to recognize and normalize both chemicals and diseases to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) IDs. The disease lexicon was obtained from three sources: MeSH, the Disease Ontology and Wikipedia. The Wikipedia dictionary was derived from pages with a disease/symptom box, or those where the page title appeared in the lexicon. Composite entities (e.g. heart and lung disease) were detected and mapped to their composite MeSH IDs. For CIDs, we developed a simple pattern-based system to find relationships within the same sentence. Our system was evaluated in the BioCreative V Chemical-Disease Relation task and achieved very good results for both disease concept ID recognition (F1-score: 86.12%) and CIDs (F1-score: 52.20%) on the test set. As our system was over an order of magnitude faster than other solutions evaluated on the task, we were able to apply the same system to the entirety of MEDLINE allowing us to extract a collection of over 250 000 distinct CIDs. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  18. Identifying Topics in Microblogs Using Wikipedia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Yıldırım

    Full Text Available Twitter is an extremely high volume platform for user generated contributions regarding any topic. The wealth of content created at real-time in massive quantities calls for automated approaches to identify the topics of the contributions. Such topics can be utilized in numerous ways, such as public opinion mining, marketing, entertainment, and disaster management. Towards this end, approaches to relate single or partial posts to knowledge base items have been proposed. However, in microblogging systems like Twitter, topics emerge from the culmination of a large number of contributions. Therefore, identifying topics based on collections of posts, where individual posts contribute to some aspect of the greater topic is necessary. Models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA, propose algorithms for relating collections of posts to sets of keywords that represent underlying topics. In these approaches, figuring out what the specific topic(s the keyword sets represent remains as a separate task. Another issue in topic detection is the scope, which is often limited to specific domain, such as health. This work proposes an approach for identifying domain-independent specific topics related to sets of posts. In this approach, individual posts are processed and then aggregated to identify key tokens, which are then mapped to specific topics. Wikipedia article titles are selected to represent topics, since they are up to date, user-generated, sophisticated articles that span topics of human interest. This paper describes the proposed approach, a prototype implementation, and a case study based on data gathered during the heavily contributed periods corresponding to the four US election debates in 2012. The manually evaluated results (0.96 precision and other observations from the study are discussed in detail.

  19. Interactions of Cultures and Top People of Wikipedia from Ranking of 24 Language Editions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Young-Ho; Aragón, Pablo; Laniado, David; Kaltenbrunner, Andreas; Vigna, Sebastiano; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2015-01-01

    Wikipedia is a huge global repository of human knowledge that can be leveraged to investigate interwinements between cultures. With this aim, we apply methods of Markov chains and Google matrix for the analysis of the hyperlink networks of 24 Wikipedia language editions, and rank all their articles by PageRank, 2DRank and CheiRank algorithms. Using automatic extraction of people names, we obtain the top 100 historical figures, for each edition and for each algorithm. We investigate their spatial, temporal, and gender distributions in dependence of their cultural origins. Our study demonstrates not only the existence of skewness with local figures, mainly recognized only in their own cultures, but also the existence of global historical figures appearing in a large number of editions. By determining the birth time and place of these persons, we perform an analysis of the evolution of such figures through 35 centuries of human history for each language, thus recovering interactions and entanglement of cultures over time. We also obtain the distributions of historical figures over world countries, highlighting geographical aspects of cross-cultural links. Considering historical figures who appear in multiple editions as interactions between cultures, we construct a network of cultures and identify the most influential cultures according to this network. PMID:25738291

  20. Interactions of cultures and top people of Wikipedia from ranking of 24 language editions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Ho Eom

    Full Text Available Wikipedia is a huge global repository of human knowledge that can be leveraged to investigate interwinements between cultures. With this aim, we apply methods of Markov chains and Google matrix for the analysis of the hyperlink networks of 24 Wikipedia language editions, and rank all their articles by PageRank, 2DRank and CheiRank algorithms. Using automatic extraction of people names, we obtain the top 100 historical figures, for each edition and for each algorithm. We investigate their spatial, temporal, and gender distributions in dependence of their cultural origins. Our study demonstrates not only the existence of skewness with local figures, mainly recognized only in their own cultures, but also the existence of global historical figures appearing in a large number of editions. By determining the birth time and place of these persons, we perform an analysis of the evolution of such figures through 35 centuries of human history for each language, thus recovering interactions and entanglement of cultures over time. We also obtain the distributions of historical figures over world countries, highlighting geographical aspects of cross-cultural links. Considering historical figures who appear in multiple editions as interactions between cultures, we construct a network of cultures and identify the most influential cultures according to this network.

  1. El paper de la Wikipedia en la gestió de la reputació: una anàlisi de les millors i les pitjors companyies dels Estats Units

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia W. DiStaso

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Ser considerada una de las mejores compañías de Estados Unidos es un gran honor, pero la buena reputación no exime a estas empresas de encontrar aspectos negativos en la Wikipedia, la enciclopedia en línea editada en colaboración. Mediante un análisis de contenido de las compañías que tienen mejor y peor reputación de Estados Unidos, este estudio demuestra que el contenido negativo de los artículos corporativos que se publican en la Wikipedia supera el contenido positivo con independencia de la reputación de la empresa. Se ha comprobado que tanto las mejores como las peores compañías contienen más contenidos negativos que positivos. Es una cuestión importante, puesto que la Wikipedia no es solo uno de los lugares web más populares del mundo, sino que se ha convertido en uno de los primeros lugares para buscar información corporativa. A pesar de que se han encontrado más contenidos relacionados con la responsabilidad social corporativa en las entradas de las diez compañías con mejor reputación, estos quedaban eclipsados por cuestiones vinculadas con escándalos o asuntos legales. La conclusión es que los profesionales de las relaciones públicas tendrían que supervisar y actualizar periódicamente sus artículos corporativos en la Wikipedia con independencia de la compañía para la que trabajen. 

  2. Contrasting medium and genre on Wikipedia to open up the dominating definition and classification of geoengineering

    OpenAIRE

    Markusson , Nils; Venturini , Tommaso; Laniado , David; Kaltenbrunner , Andreas

    2016-01-01

    International audience; Geoengineering is typically defined as a techno-scientific response to climate change that differs from mitigation and adaptation, and that includes diverse individual technologies, which can be classified as either solar radiation management or carbon dioxide removal. We analyse the representation of geoengineering on Wikipedia as a way of opening up this dominating, if contested, model for further debate. We achieve this by contrasting the dominating model as present...

  3. Measuring Global Disease with Wikipedia: Success, Failure, and a Research Agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priedhorsky, Reid; Osthus, Dave; Daughton, Ashlynn R; Moran, Kelly R; Generous, Nicholas; Fairchild, Geoffrey; Deshpande, Alina; Del Valle, Sara Y

    2017-01-01

    Effective disease monitoring provides a foundation for effective public health systems. This has historically been accomplished with patient contact and bureaucratic aggregation, which tends to be slow and expensive. Recent internet-based approaches promise to be real-time and cheap, with few parameters. However, the question of when and how these approaches work remains open. We addressed this question using Wikipedia access logs and category links. Our experiments, replicable and extensible using our open source code and data, test the effect of semantic article filtering, amount of training data, forecast horizon, and model staleness by comparing across 6 diseases and 4 countries using thousands of individual models. We found that our minimal-configuration, language-agnostic article selection process based on semantic relatedness is effective for improving predictions, and that our approach is relatively insensitive to the amount and age of training data. We also found, in contrast to prior work, very little forecasting value, and we argue that this is consistent with theoretical considerations about the nature of forecasting. These mixed results lead us to propose that the currently observational field of internet-based disease surveillance must pivot to include theoretical models of information flow as well as controlled experiments based on simulations of disease.

  4. Poisson statistics of PageRank probabilities of Twitter and Wikipedia networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frahm, Klaus M.; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2014-04-01

    We use the methods of quantum chaos and Random Matrix Theory for analysis of statistical fluctuations of PageRank probabilities in directed networks. In this approach the effective energy levels are given by a logarithm of PageRank probability at a given node. After the standard energy level unfolding procedure we establish that the nearest spacing distribution of PageRank probabilities is described by the Poisson law typical for integrable quantum systems. Our studies are done for the Twitter network and three networks of Wikipedia editions in English, French and German. We argue that due to absence of level repulsion the PageRank order of nearby nodes can be easily interchanged. The obtained Poisson law implies that the nearby PageRank probabilities fluctuate as random independent variables.

  5. A Trivia like Mobile Game with Autonomous Content That Uses Wikipedia Based Ontologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogdan IANCU

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The mobile devices are everywhere and the gaming industry has an important market share on this field. This paper aims to present a new approach of game which generates autonomous its content, without human intervention, by using existing facts from the semantic version of Wikipedia, called DBpedia. At the beginning a short introduction of the studied field and of the used terms and technologies is presented. There are also remembered similar approaches and different struggles from this domain. In the middle part the architecture and the logic of the system are shown. The paper ends with some conclusions and future plans.

  6. "Language Is the Skin of My Thought": Integrating Wikipedia and AI to Support a Guillotine Player

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lops, Pasquale; Basile, Pierpaolo; de Gemmis, Marco; Semeraro, Giovanni

    This paper describes OTTHO (On the Tip of my THOught), a system designed for solving a language game, called Guillotine, which demands knowledge covering a broad range of topics, such as movies, politics, literature, history, proverbs, and popular culture. The rule of the game is simple: the player observes five words, generally unrelated to each other, and in one minute she has to provide a sixth word, semantically connected to the others. The system exploits several knowledge sources, such as a dictionary, a set of proverbs, and Wikipedia to realize a knowledge infusion process. The paper describes the process of modeling these sources and the reasoning mechanism to find the solution of the game. The main motivation for designing an artificial player for Guillotine is the challenge of providing the machine with the cultural and linguistic background knowledge which makes it similar to a human being, with the ability of interpreting natural language documents and reasoning on their content. Experiments carried out showed promising results. Our feeling is that the presented approach has a great potential for other more practical applications besides solving a language game.

  7. Global disease monitoring and forecasting with Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Generous, Nicholas; Fairchild, Geoffrey; Deshpande, Alina; Del Valle, Sara Y; Priedhorsky, Reid

    2014-11-01

    Infectious disease is a leading threat to public health, economic stability, and other key social structures. Efforts to mitigate these impacts depend on accurate and timely monitoring to measure the risk and progress of disease. Traditional, biologically-focused monitoring techniques are accurate but costly and slow; in response, new techniques based on social internet data, such as social media and search queries, are emerging. These efforts are promising, but important challenges in the areas of scientific peer review, breadth of diseases and countries, and forecasting hamper their operational usefulness. We examine a freely available, open data source for this use: access logs from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Using linear models, language as a proxy for location, and a systematic yet simple article selection procedure, we tested 14 location-disease combinations and demonstrate that these data feasibly support an approach that overcomes these challenges. Specifically, our proof-of-concept yields models with r2 up to 0.92, forecasting value up to the 28 days tested, and several pairs of models similar enough to suggest that transferring models from one location to another without re-training is feasible. Based on these preliminary results, we close with a research agenda designed to overcome these challenges and produce a disease monitoring and forecasting system that is significantly more effective, robust, and globally comprehensive than the current state of the art.

  8. Global disease monitoring and forecasting with Wikipedia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas Generous

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Infectious disease is a leading threat to public health, economic stability, and other key social structures. Efforts to mitigate these impacts depend on accurate and timely monitoring to measure the risk and progress of disease. Traditional, biologically-focused monitoring techniques are accurate but costly and slow; in response, new techniques based on social internet data, such as social media and search queries, are emerging. These efforts are promising, but important challenges in the areas of scientific peer review, breadth of diseases and countries, and forecasting hamper their operational usefulness. We examine a freely available, open data source for this use: access logs from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Using linear models, language as a proxy for location, and a systematic yet simple article selection procedure, we tested 14 location-disease combinations and demonstrate that these data feasibly support an approach that overcomes these challenges. Specifically, our proof-of-concept yields models with r2 up to 0.92, forecasting value up to the 28 days tested, and several pairs of models similar enough to suggest that transferring models from one location to another without re-training is feasible. Based on these preliminary results, we close with a research agenda designed to overcome these challenges and produce a disease monitoring and forecasting system that is significantly more effective, robust, and globally comprehensive than the current state of the art.

  9. 75 FR 6089 - Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Referendum Procedures

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-08

    ..., Advertising, Consumer information, Marketing agreements, Processed Raspberries, Promotion, Reporting and...-705-FR] RIN 0581-AC79 Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Referendum... referendum to determine whether the issuance of the proposed Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research, and...

  10. Processes and outcomes in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka

    2012-01-01

    This is the second special issue of Health Education which features research, theory and practice based perspectives on what counts as desirable outcomes of health promotion in schools in terms of health as well as education, and the effective processes in schools which lead to these outcomes....... The focus in the first special issue was on highlighting the argument that the question about the outcomes of the health-promoting schools should not be limited to narrowly defined health outcomes but needs to be closely linked with the core tasks and values of the school. Building further on this argument......, the papers in this issue feature a number of research issues of relevance for the effectiveness of the health-promoting schools approach, as well as a variety of research and evaluation methodologies contributing to the debate about what counts as reliable evidence within the health-promoting schools...

  11. Conflict and Computation on Wikipedia: A Finite-State Machine Analysis of Editor Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon DeDeo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available What is the boundary between a vigorous argument and a breakdown of relations? What drives a group of individuals across it? Taking Wikipedia as a test case, we use a hidden Markov model to approximate the computational structure and social grammar of more than a decade of cooperation and conflict among its editors. Across a wide range of pages, we discover a bursty war/peace structure where the systems can become trapped, sometimes for months, in a computational subspace associated with significantly higher levels of conflict-tracking “revert” actions. Distinct patterns of behavior characterize the lower-conflict subspace, including tit-for-tat reversion. While a fraction of the transitions between these subspaces are associated with top-down actions taken by administrators, the effects are weak. Surprisingly, we find no statistical signal that transitions are associated with the appearance of particularly anti-social users, and only weak association with significant news events outside the system. These findings are consistent with transitions being driven by decentralized processes with no clear locus of control. Models of belief revision in the presence of a common resource for information-sharing predict the existence of two distinct phases: a disordered high-conflict phase, and a frozen phase with spontaneously-broken symmetry. The bistability we observe empirically may be a consequence of editor turn-over, which drives the system to a critical point between them.

  12. The Impact of Culture On Smart Community Technology: The Case of 13 Wikipedia Instances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zinayida Petrushyna

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Smart communities provide technologies for monitoring social behaviors inside communities. The technologies that support knowledge building should consider the cultural background of community members. The studies of the influence of the culture on knowledge building is limited. Just a few works consider digital traces of individuals that they explain using cultural values and beliefs. In this work, we analyze 13 Wikipedia instances where users with different cultural background build knowledge in different ways. We compare edits of users. Using social network analysis we build and analyze co- authorship networks and watch the networks evolution. We explain the differences we have found using Hofstede dimensions and Schwartz cultural values and discuss implications for the design of smart community technologies. Our findings provide insights in requirements for technologies used for smart communities in different cultures.

  13. How structure shapes dynamics: knowledge development in Wikipedia--a network multilevel modeling approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iassen Halatchliyski

    Full Text Available Using a longitudinal network analysis approach, we investigate the structural development of the knowledge base of Wikipedia in order to explain the appearance of new knowledge. The data consists of the articles in two adjacent knowledge domains: psychology and education. We analyze the development of networks of knowledge consisting of interlinked articles at seven snapshots from 2006 to 2012 with an interval of one year between them. Longitudinal data on the topological position of each article in the networks is used to model the appearance of new knowledge over time. Thus, the structural dimension of knowledge is related to its dynamics. Using multilevel modeling as well as eigenvector and betweenness measures, we explain the significance of pivotal articles that are either central within one of the knowledge domains or boundary-crossing between the two domains at a given point in time for the future development of new knowledge in the knowledge base.

  14. What can Google and Wikipedia can tell us about a disease? Big Data trends analysis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciascia, Savino; Radin, Massimo

    2017-11-01

    To investigate trends of Internet search volumes linked to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), on-going clinical trials and research developments associated to the disease, using Big Data monitoring and data mining. We performed a longitudinal analysis based on the large amount of data generated by Google Trends, scientific search tools (SCOPUS, Medline/Pubmed/ClinicalTrails.gov) considering 'SLE', and 'lupus' in a 5-year web-based research. Wikipedia page views were also analysed using WikiTrends and the results were compared with the search volumes generated by Google Trends. We observed an overall higher distribution of search volumes from Google Trends in United States, South America, Canada, South Africa, Australia and Europe (mainly Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany), showing a geographically heterogeneity in insight into health-related behaviour of the different populations towards SLE. By comparing the search volumes analysing the Wikipedia page views of both SLE and belimumab, we found a close peak trend, reflecting the knowledge translation after the approval of belimumab for the treatment of SLE. When focusing on search volumes of Google Trends, we noticed that the highest peaks were related to news headlines that involved celebrities affected by SLE, also when comparing to the peak generated by the approval of belimumab. This new approach, able to investigate health information seeking, might give an estimate of the health-related demand and even of the health-related behaviour of SLE, bringing new light to unanswered questions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. The Impact of a Collaborative Wiki Assignment on Teaching and Learning in a Teacher Education Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa Joy Bravo

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This study explored students’ perceptions and behaviors of public wiki use during a collaborative Wikipedia assignment in a graduate technology and literacy education course. Results confirmed that the majority of students had an overall positive experience posting content on Wikipedia. Students learned how to use Wikipedia through collaborative practice, including, how to adhere to its standards and cite work properly, the importance of critically evaluating online information, and the value of publishing work to an authentic audience. Students (prospective and current teachers reported numerous ways in which collaboration on Wikipedia could be integrated into their K-12 classrooms in order to promote higher order thinking and foster meaningful knowledge construction. Pedagogical practices for the effective integration of public wiki assignments in higher education and K-12 settings are recommended.

  16. Analysis of world terror networks from the reduced Google matrix of Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Zant, Samer; Frahm, Klaus M.; Jaffrès-Runser, Katia; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2018-01-01

    We apply the reduced Google matrix method to analyze interactions between 95 terrorist groups and determine their relationships and influence on 64 world countries. This is done on the basis of the Google matrix of the English Wikipedia (2017) composed of 5 416 537 articles which accumulate a great part of global human knowledge. The reduced Google matrix takes into account the direct and hidden links between a selection of 159 nodes (articles) appearing due to all paths of a random surfer moving over the whole network. As a result we obtain the network structure of terrorist groups and their relations with selected countries including hidden indirect links. Using the sensitivity of PageRank to a weight variation of specific links we determine the geopolitical sensitivity and influence of specific terrorist groups on world countries. The world maps of the sensitivity of various countries to influence of specific terrorist groups are obtained. We argue that this approach can find useful application for more extensive and detailed data bases analysis.

  17. Scanning and Deep Processing of Information in Hypertext: An Eye Tracking and Cued Retrospective Think-Aloud Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmerón, L.; Naumann, J.; García, V.; Fajardo, I.

    2017-01-01

    When students solve problems on the Internet, they have to find a balance between quickly scanning large sections of information in web pages and deeply processing those that are relevant for the task. We studied how high school students articulate scanning and deeper processing of information while answering questions using a Wikipedia document,…

  18. BitCoin meets Google Trends and Wikipedia: Quantifying the relationship between phenomena of the Internet era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristoufek, Ladislav

    2013-12-01

    Digital currencies have emerged as a new fascinating phenomenon in the financial markets. Recent events on the most popular of the digital currencies - BitCoin - have risen crucial questions about behavior of its exchange rates and they offer a field to study dynamics of the market which consists practically only of speculative traders with no fundamentalists as there is no fundamental value to the currency. In the paper, we connect two phenomena of the latest years - digital currencies, namely BitCoin, and search queries on Google Trends and Wikipedia - and study their relationship. We show that not only are the search queries and the prices connected but there also exists a pronounced asymmetry between the effect of an increased interest in the currency while being above or below its trend value.

  19. Вікіпедія як інструмент популяризації українського футболу

    OpenAIRE

    Фостяк, Олег; Марковець, Олександр

    2017-01-01

    This article describes the importance of the football promotion. Analyzed popularity of this sport in Ukraine. Given arguments regarding such instrument for promotion as Wikipedia. Also described the alternatives for it and reasons for classic approach.

  20. Promoting information diffusion through interlayer recovery processes in multiplex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin; Li, Weihua; Liu, Longzhao; Pei, Sen; Tang, Shaoting; Zheng, Zhiming

    2017-09-01

    For information diffusion in multiplex networks, the effect of interlayer contagion on spreading dynamics has been explored in different settings. Nevertheless, the impact of interlayer recovery processes, i.e., the transition of nodes to stiflers in all layers after they become stiflers in any layer, still remains unclear. In this paper, we propose a modified ignorant-spreader-stifler model of rumor spreading equipped with an interlayer recovery mechanism. We find that the information diffusion can be effectively promoted for a range of interlayer recovery rates. By combining the mean-field approximation and the Markov chain approach, we derive the evolution equations of the diffusion process in two-layer homogeneous multiplex networks. The optimal interlayer recovery rate that achieves the maximal enhancement can be calculated by solving the equations numerically. In addition, we find that the promoting effect on a certain layer can be strengthened if information spreads more extensively within the counterpart layer. When applying the model to two-layer scale-free multiplex networks, with or without degree correlation, similar promoting effect is also observed in simulations. Our work indicates that the interlayer recovery process is beneficial to information diffusion in multiplex networks, which may have implications for designing efficient spreading strategies.

  1. Búsqueda y selección de información en recursos digitales: Percepciones de alumnos de Física y Química de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato sobre Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Valverde-Crespo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available La investigación presentada analiza las habilidades de búsqueda y selección de información, según lo establecido en la competencia digital, de un grupo de estudiantes de educación secundaria y bachillerato. En este trabajo se busca conocer qué recursos digitales utilizan los estudiantes, cuáles son las razones para utilizarlos y qué uso y fiabilidad le dan a la información obtenida de un sitio web como Wikipedia. Con estos objetivos, y basándonos en resultados previos sobre competencia digital, TICs y Wikipedia, se ha diseñado un cuestionario de cuyas respuestas se puede concluir que el hecho de disponer y manejar diariamente las nuevas tecnologías basadas en recursos online no hace a los alumnos competentes en el tratamiento de la información digital. Además, los alumnos no poseen una actitud crítica sobre cómo buscar y seleccionar información de Internet.

  2. Promotion of Scientific Literacy on Global Warming by Process Drama

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pongsophon, Pongprapan; Yutakom, Naruemon; Boujaoude, Saouma B.

    2010-01-01

    This project aims to investigate how process drama promotes scientific literacy in the context of global warming. Thirty-one lower (n = 24) and upper (n = 7) secondary students of one secondary school in Bangkok, Thailand participated in a seven-day workshop which process drama strategy was implemented. In the workshop, the students were actively…

  3. 77 FR 36983 - Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research and Information Program; Request for Extension and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-20

    ..., consumer information, advertising, sales promotion, producer information, market development, and product... Raspberry Promotion, Research and Information Program; Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently... National Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research, and Information Program. DATES: Comments on this document...

  4. EMPLOYEE PROMOTION PLANNING IN ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS PERSPECTIVE: STUDY ON NATIONAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AGENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayuningtyas A.K.

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The promotion process is part of the career development conducted by Civil State Apparatus Employee (Pegawai Aparatur Sipil Negara which should be implemented by applying merit system. Employee-related strategic decision making has not applied merit system as mandated in applied laws. It occurred due to Public Service Appointment Board (Badan Pertimbangan Jabatan dan Kepangkatan not possessing assessment model and criteria which could be used to support promotion process implementation in the appropriate structural position based on employee competence and performance. This study aims to describe and analyze assessment criteria and subcriteria required to be considered in State Civil Servant Officers promotion planning by applying Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP method in National Public Procurement Agency (Lembaga Kebijakan Pengadaan Barang/Jasa Pemerintah. This study uses the explanative quantitative univariate method. Data collection technique used questionnaire instrument. Analytical tool used was AHP. Research result exhibits that ASN employee promotion planning using assessment model is described as follows: Employee Performance Assessment consist of Employee Work Performance element with three criteria and Employee Work Behavior with twenty-three criteria; and Evaluation of Employee Promotion Implementation with eleven criteria. Through the use of AHP methods employee, promotion planning could be utilized as a tool for Baperjakat to produce employee decisions that will be promoted objectively and effectively.

  5. Promotion of sustainable employability : Occupational health in the meat processing industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Holland, Breunis Johannes

    2016-01-01

    Due to rising retirement age, sustainable employability is gaining interest among employers. Such is the case in the meat processing industry. A strategy to address these challenges is health promotion at work. Therefore, the largest Dutch meat processing company has implemented a Workers’ Health

  6. Organizing the promotion of radiation processing at Multipurpose Irradiation Facility IRASM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponta, C.C.; Moise, I.V.

    1999-01-01

    IRASM will be the first Romanian industrial irradiation facility. International Atomic Energy Agency - Vienna supports the project financing the main equipment and a 100 kCi Co-60 demonstration source. The facility will be commissioned in March 2000. Construction and commissioning of this important nuclear objective are difficult tasks. Promotion of radiation processing in Romanian industry is even more difficult. The Project IRASM is a complex contest for IFIN-HH. The management took into consideration all aspects of the project promotion: technical, legal, R and D. The institute identified the need for an appropriate internal structure. For this reason a Radiation Processing Team (GRIT) was nominated and charged to co-ordinate the internal activity and to co-operate with the external partner. Investment Department and Quality Assurance Department strengthened. The operation team was chosen, instructed and engaged in covering the main directions of the management plans: project correlation, construction supervising, commissioning, promotion of the appropriate legal frame, public acceptance and R and D for the association of the industry to the radiation processing technologies. R and D engaged many researchers from different IFIN-HH departments. This paper presents the management of the project and details the steps already undertaken onto each particular direction. (authors)

  7. Is There a Weekly Pattern for Health Searches on Wikipedia and Is the Pattern Unique to Health Topics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabarron, Elia; Lau, Annie Y S; Wynn, Rolf

    2015-12-22

    Online health information-seeking behaviors have been reported to be more common at the beginning of the workweek. This behavior pattern has been interpreted as a kind of "healthy new start" or "fresh start" due to regrets or attempts to compensate for unhealthy behavior or poor choices made during the weekend. However, the observations regarding the most common health information-seeking day were based only on the analyses of users' behaviors with websites on health or on online health-related searches. We wanted to confirm if this pattern could be found in searches of Wikipedia on health-related topics and also if this search pattern was unique to health-related topics or if it could represent a more general pattern of online information searching--which could be of relevance even beyond the health sector. The aim was to examine the degree to which the search pattern described previously was specific to health-related information seeking or whether similar patterns could be found in other types of information-seeking behavior. We extracted the number of searches performed on Wikipedia in the Norwegian language for 911 days for the most common sexually transmitted diseases (chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], and acquired immune deficiency syndrome [AIDS]), other health-related topics (influenza, diabetes, and menopause), and 2 nonhealth-related topics (footballer Lionel Messi and pop singer Justin Bieber). The search dates were classified according to the day of the week and ANOVA tests were used to compare the average number of hits per day of the week. The ANOVA tests showed that the sexually transmitted disease queries had their highest peaks on Tuesdays (PJustin Bieber had the most hits on Tuesdays. Both these tracked search queries also showed significantly lower numbers on Saturdays (P<.001). Our study supports prior studies finding an increase in health information searching at the beginning of the workweek. However, we also

  8. Framing the Holocaust in popular knowledge: 3 articles about the Holocaust in English, Hebrew and Polish Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Wolniewicz-Slomka

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Framing the Holocaust in popular knowledge: 3 articles about the Holocaust in English, Hebrew and Polish Wikipedia The goal of this article is to examine how different events and phenomena related to the Second World War and the Holocaust are framed via Wikipedia articles written in Polish, Hebrew and English. Departing from the pillars of the theory of framing in mass media, the article conducts a content analysis of three articles, in three different languages. The articles under analysis are the following: “Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp”, “The Pogrom in Jedwabne”, and “Righteous Among the Nations”. The analysis will use the four roles of frames as categories, determined by Entman: definition of the problem/phenomenon, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation. Analyzing how the articles fulfill each of the roles in the different languages, the research hypothesis is that the framing of the phenomena will differ between the versions, and each version will follow pillars of the collective memory of the Holocaust in its respective country. Findings, however, are not in complete compliance with this hypothesis.   Kształtowanie popularnej wiedzy o Holocauście na przykładzie trzech artykułów z polskiej, hebrajskiej i angielskiej Wikipedii Celem artykułu jest zbadanie, jak przedstawiane są wybrane wydarzenia i zjawiska, związane z historią II wojny światowej oraz Holokaustem, w internetowej encyklopedii „Wikipedia” w różnych językach. Prezentowana analiza treści opiera się na teorii framingu w mass mediach i obejmuje trzy artykuły: „Auschwitz-Birkenau”, „Pogrom w Jedwabnem” oraz „Sprawiedliwy wśród Narodów Świata”, opublikowane w językach polskim, angielskim oraz hebrajskim. W analizie wykorzystano cztery role „ram” (frames, sformułowane przez Entmana: definicja problemu/zjawiska, interpretacja przyczyn, ewaluacja moralna oraz propozycja rozwiązań. Autor, badając to, jak

  9. Decision support for energy conservation promotion: an analytic hierarchy process approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kablan, M.M.

    2004-01-01

    An effective energy conservation program in any country should encourage the different enterprises, utilities and individuals to employ energy efficient processes, technologies, equipment, and materials. Governments use different mechanisms or policy instruments such as pricing policy (PP), regulation and legislation (RL), training and education, fiscal and financial incentives (FFI), and R and D to promote energy conservation. Effective implementation of energy conservation policies requires prioritization of the different available policy instruments. This paper presents an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based modeling framework for the prioritization of energy conservation policy instruments. The use of AHP to support management in the prioritization process of policy instruments for promoting energy conservation is illustrated in this research using the case study of Jordan. The research provided a comprehensive framework for performing the prioritization in a scientific and systematic manner. The four most promising policy instruments for promoting energy conservation in Jordan are RL (37.4%), followed by FFI (22.2%), PP (18.0%), and Training, education and qualification (14.5%). One of the major advantages of the use of the AHP approach is that it breaks a large problem into smaller problems which enables the decision-maker (DM) to have a better concentration and to make more sound decisions. In addition, AHP employs a consistency test that can screen out inconsistent judgements. The presented methodology of the research might be beneficial to DMs in other countries

  10. Traducción y tecnología. Análisis del uso y percepción de wikipedia por parte de los profesionales de la traducción

    OpenAIRE

    Alonso Jiménez, Elisa

    2014-01-01

    Esta tesis doctoral representa una aproximación inter y transdisciplnar al análisis del binomio traducción y tecnología, tanto desde un punto de vista teórico como práctico, y está centrado en el uso y percepción de Wikipedia en el contexto de la traducción profesional. Los principales resultados y conclusiones de este trabajo se presentan siguiendo una estructura de tres niveles que deriva de los objetivos específicos de la tesis: Objetivo de la primera parte (A): Revisar las propuest...

  11. The Faculty Promotion Process. An Empirical Analysis of the Administration of Large State Universities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luthans, Fred

    One phase of academic management, the faculty promotion process, is systematically described and analyzed. The study encompasses three parts: (l) the justification of the use of management concepts in the analysis of academic administration; (2) a descriptive presentation of promotion policies and practices in 46 large state universities; and (3)…

  12. Wikipedia Edit-a-thons: Thinking Beyond the Warm Fuzzies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Robichaud

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Wikipedia edit-a-thons represent a unique and fruitful avenue for galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs to engage with new and existing segments of their user communities. Encompassing information and technical literacy skills development, the success of edit-a-thon campaigns, such the annual art+feminism events, demonstrate their utility and value as outreach initiatives. What is less clear are the logistical, ethical and professional development implications of hosting these events. Centering first-hand experience and concrete examples, this paper explores GLAM-based edit-a-thons through a practical and actionable lens. Topics covered include: what is required to successfully host an edit-a-thon; the importance of leading by example in a volunteer-reliant economy; and the transferable work skills gained by hosting and participating in edit-a-thons. Des « édit-a-thons » (marathon d’édition de texte sur Wikipédia offrent aux galeries, bibliothèques, archives et musées une façon unique et efficace d’interagir avec de nouveaux ou d’existants segments de leur communauté. En incorporant le développement de compétences techniques et informationnelles, le succès des édit-a-thons, tel que l’événement annuel art+feminism, démontre leur utilité et leur valeur comme initiative de sensibilisation. Toutefois, les implications liées à la logistique, l’éthique et au développement professionnel en tant qu’hôte de tels événements demeurent ambiguës. En s’inspirant d’une expérience unique et d’exemples concrets, cet article utilise une approche pratique et appliquée pour explorer des édit-a-thons au sein des galeries, bibliothèques, archives et musées. Les sujets abordés comprennent les éléments requis pour que les édit-a-thons connaissent un succès, l’importance d’être un exemple à suivre au sein d’une économie basée sur des bénévoles et les habiletés transférables acquises en

  13. Trait liabilities and specific promotive processes in psychopathology: The example of suicidal behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchman-Schmitt, Jennifer M; Brislin, Sarah J; Venables, Noah C; Joiner, Thomas E; Patrick, Christopher J

    2017-07-01

    The RDoC matrix framework calls for investigation of mental health problems through analysis of core biobehavioral processes quantified and studied across multiple domains of measurement. Critics have raised concerns about RDoC, including overemphasis on biological concepts/measures and disregard for the principle of multifinality, which holds that identical biological predispositions can give rise to differing behavioral outcomes. The current work illustrates an ontogenetic process approach to addressing these concerns, focusing on biobehavioral traits corresponding to RDoC constructs as predictors, and suicidal behavior as the outcome variable. Data were collected from a young adult sample (N=105), preselected to enhance rates of suicidality. Participants completed self-report measures of traits (threat sensitivity, response inhibition) and suicide-specific processes. We show that previously reported associations for traits of threat sensitivity and weak inhibitory control with suicidal behavior are mediated by more specific suicide-promoting processes-namely, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and capability for suicide. The sample was relatively small and the data were cross-sectional, limiting conclusions that can be drawn from the mediation analyses. Given prior research documenting neurophysiological as well as psychological bases to these trait dispositions, the current work sets the stage for an intensive RDoC-oriented investigation of suicidal tendencies in which both traits and suicide-promoting processes are quantified using indicators from different domains of measurement. More broadly, this work illustrates how an RDoC research approach can contribute to a nuanced understanding of specific clinical problems, through consideration of how general biobehavioral liabilities interface with distinct problem-promoting processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Understanding the decision-making process for health promotion programming at small to midsized businesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, M Courtney; Patrick, Donald L; Hannon, Peggy A; Harris, Jeffrey R; Ghosh, Donetta L

    2011-07-01

    This study explores the decision-making process for implementing and continuing health promotion programs at small to midsized businesses to inform health promotion practitioners and researchers as they market their services to these businesses. Qualitative interviews are conducted with 24 employers located in the Pacific Northwest ranging in size from 75 to 800 employees, with the majority having between 100 and 200 employees. Small to midsized employers depend most on company success-related factors rather than on humanitarian motives when deciding whether to adopt workplace health promotion programs. They rely heavily on health insurers for health promotion and desire more information about the actual costs and cost-benefits of programs. To increase health promotion adoption at small to midsized businesses, health promotion practitioners should appeal to overall company success-related factors, use the insurance channel, and target their information to both human resource personnel and senior management.

  15. [Processes in the construction of the Brazilian National Health Promotion Policy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira Neto, João Leite; Kind, Luciana; Resende, Maria Carolina Costa; Colen, Natália Silva

    2013-10-01

    We investigated the processes involved in the construction of the Brazilian National Health Promotion Policy (PNPS) through the analysis of three documents produced by the Ministry of Health from 2002 to 2005 and the final text of the National Health Promotion Policy, approved in 2006. We interviewed five subjects who participated in drafting the PNPS, three of whom were Ministry of Health administrators, plus two researchers. The documents were explored with discourse analysis. The article contributes to the debate on the development of the PNPS. Health promotion showed various points of disagreement, which led to the delay in the document's final approval. International induction via funding proved to be a crucial element for defining the final wording of the PNPS, reestablishing the emphasis (subject to criticism) on lifestyle changes in its "Actions". The article highlights the negotiated consensus that led to the creation of the PNPS Management Committee, with participation by various sub-sectors, an innovative structure within the Ministry of Health.

  16. Resource depletion promotes automatic processing: implications for distribution of practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheel, Matthew H

    2010-12-01

    Recent models of cognition include two processing systems: an automatic system that relies on associative learning, intuition, and heuristics, and a controlled system that relies on deliberate consideration. Automatic processing requires fewer resources and is more likely when resources are depleted. This study showed that prolonged practice on a resource-depleting mental arithmetic task promoted automatic processing on a subsequent problem-solving task, as evidenced by faster responding and more errors. Distribution of practice effects (0, 60, 120, or 180 sec. between problems) on rigidity also disappeared when groups had equal time on resource-depleting tasks. These results suggest that distribution of practice effects is reducible to resource availability. The discussion includes implications for interpreting discrepancies in the traditional distribution of practice effect.

  17. Streamlining Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Procedures to Promote Early-Career Faculty Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Shannon B; Hollerbach, Ann; Donato, Annemarie Sipkes; Edlund, Barbara J; Atz, Teresa; Kelechi, Teresa J

    2016-01-01

    A critical component of the progression of a successful academic career is being promoted in rank. Early-career faculty are required to have an understanding of appointment, promotion, and tenure (APT) guidelines, but many factors often impede this understanding, thwarting a smooth and planned promotion pathway for professional advancement. This article outlines the steps taken by an APT committee to improve the promotion process from instructor to assistant professor. Six sigma's DMAIC improvement model was selected as the guiding operational framework to remove variation in the promotion process. After faculty handbook revisions were made, several checklists developed, and a process review rubric was implemented; recently promoted faculty were surveyed on satisfaction with the process. Faculty opinions captured in the survey suggest increased transparency in the process and perceived support offered by the APT committee. Positive outcomes include a strengthened faculty support framework, streamlined promotion processes, and improved faculty satisfaction. Changes to the APT processes resulted in an unambiguous and standardized pathway for successful promotion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Wikipédia As A Learning Tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.D. Büttenbender et al

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: It is common to use websites as references for research in schoolsettings. Wikipedia emerged in the mid-2000s promoting a big change compared to otherencyclopedias, mainly because it is in digital form and allow its users to create and editinformation contained therein. Due to its easiness of use and readiness, it gainedprominence as a research resource and tool. By doing research on biochemistry usingWikipedia, we can see a vast amount of content that assists in learning, however givingspace for questions recurring about its reliability. OBJECTIVES: The research aims toverify if the information about Biochemistry found on Wikipedia are consistent to thosefound in the book "Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry" and present its references.MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to evaluate selected topics in the biochemistry suchas proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids; the rates of Wikipedia and the bookwere compared and also the concepts presented in each subject in order to analyze theapproach and content of information that the Wiki uses. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:Considering only the indices, it is possible to say that the contents found in the Wiki listthe same issues that the book addresses, but organization is different. It also featuresseveral references from books of Biochemistry. When comparing the informationcontained in Wikipedia, we realize that they are in accordance with those found in thebook, but in a superficial way, making new sources of knowledge necessary to delve intothe content. CONCLUSIONS: Wikipedia can and should be used as an introductory toolfor acquiring knowledge about biochemistry. However, like any source of consultation, theWiki is not able to replace all other sources of reference since its approaches are brief,making the studies easily conducted and reaching only superficial levels.

  19. Promoting environmental sustainability via an expert elicitation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swor, Tom; Canter, Larry

    2011-01-01

    Environmental sustainability (ES) planning was applied to the 981-mile, commercially navigable Ohio River. Navigation improvement needs were identified within the broad study along with actions to restore aquatic and riparian ecological resources to a higher state of sustainability. The actions were identified via an Expert Elicitation Process (EEP) involving aquatic and riparian/terrestrial experts knowledgeable of Ohio River resources. The received information was synthesized into goals for the selected resources (Valued Ecosystem Components - or VECs), actions or measures to attain the goals, and monitoring to evaluate conditions. Finally, 26 types of ES actions were identified and classified into three ES alternatives. These alternatives were then evaluated relative to key decision criteria, and such evaluations, based on pertinent decision criteria, were also conducted for four navigation improvement alternatives. Finally, the best combination of ES and navigation alternatives was identified. The key lessons derived from this use of EEP were that: (1) EEP can support the preliminary identification of ES measures; however, more detailed study of specific designs and cost evaluations will be necessary; (2) the method promotes collaboration between key scientists and policymakers from governmental agencies and private sectors, and such collaboration will ultimately provide the foundation for implementation of sustainability actions; and (3) an effective EEP does not occur by accident, it requires careful planning, implementation, and documentation. - Research Highlights: → Use of an Expert Elicitation Process (EEP) is demonstrated in this study. → EEP was used to identify Environmental Sustainability (ES) needs for the Ohio River. → EEP helped develop consensus among resource experts on ES needs. → EEP promotes collaboration to identify and contribute to common resource goals. → EEP may be used in assessing cumulative effects and formulating restoration

  20. Evaluation of empowerment processes in a workplace health promotion intervention based on learning in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arneson, Hanna; Ekberg, Kerstin

    2005-12-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate a theory-based method for workplace health promotion (WHP) with regard to possible facilitation of empowerment processes. The intervention tool was the pedagogic method known as problem-based learning (PBL). The aim of the intervention was to promote empowerment and health among the employees. The intervention was implemented in three organizations within the public sector in Sweden, in a bottom-up approach. All employees, including management, in each organization, were offered the opportunity to participate (n = 113) and 87% (n = 97) participated. The intervention was implemented in 13 groups of six to eight participants who met once a week over a period of 4 months. The predetermined overall goal of the intervention was to promote employee health within the organizational setting. A facilitator in each group and a group-specific mutual agreement guided the intervention, as did the problem solving process. The participants set goals and developed strategies to reach their goals between the meetings. Thirty informants were interviewed in seven focus groups after the intervention about the intervention method and the process, following a semi-structured theme guide. The phenomenographic analysis resulted in six descriptive categories: reflection, awareness and insight, self-direction and self-management, group coherence, social support and actions. The results correspond to established theories of components of empowerment processes. The method initiated processes of change at organizational, workplace and individual levels as the participants examined their work situation, determined problems and initiated solutions. Social support and group coherence were expressed as essential in order to transform challenging strategies into action and goal realization. The findings indicate that systematic improvements of social support and group coherence among employees ought to be facilitated by the organization as a health-promoting

  1. Process evaluation of health fairs promoting cancer screenings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escoffery, Cam; Liang, Shuting; Rodgers, Kirsten; Haardoerfer, Regine; Hennessy, Grace; Gilbertson, Kendra; Heredia, Natalia I; Gatus, Leticia A; Fernandez, Maria E

    2017-12-18

    Low income and uninsured individuals often have lower adherence to cancer screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer. Health fairs are a common community outreach strategy used to provide cancer-related health education and services. This study was a process evaluation of seven health fairs focused on cancer screening across the U.S. We conducted key-informant interviews with the fair coordinator and conducted baseline and follow-up surveys with fair participants to describe characteristics of participants as well as their experiences. We collected baseline data with participants at the health fairs and telephone follow-up surveys 6 months following the fair. Attendance across the seven health fairs ranged from 41 to 212 participants. Most fairs provided group or individual education, print materials and cancer screening during the event. Overall, participants rated health fairs as very good and participants reported that the staff was knowledgeable and that they liked the materials distributed. After the fairs, about 60% of participants, who were reached at follow-up, had read the materials provided and had conversations with others about cancer screening, and 41% talked to their doctors about screening. Based on findings from evaluation including participant data and coordinator interviews, we describe 6 areas in planning for health fairs that may increase their effectiveness. These include: 1) use of a theoretical framework for health promotion to guide educational content and activities provided, 2) considering the community characteristics, 3) choosing a relevant setting, 4) promotion of the event, 5) considerations of the types of services to deliver, and 6) evaluation of the health fair. The events reported varied in reach and the participants represented diverse races and lower income populations overall. Most health fairs offered education, print materials and onsite cancer screening. Participants reported general satisfaction with these events

  2. A VIEWPOINT ON ECONOMY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS REGARDING THE PROMOTION PROCESS OF TOURISM PRODUCTS USING ONLINE MARKETING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia, MUHCINA

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Among the tools that are used in promotional activity in tourism, the online marketing opens the possibility to promptly create offers, meet buyers' demands, and strengthen customer relationships. The online marketers consider that the Internet is a modern technology that allows firms to connect business partners, to identify more rapidly the consumers' needs, to understand and answer on individual demand. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of online marketing in the process of promotion and distribution of tourism products, starting from an empirical research conducted among economic sciences faculty students. The results of this work may provide a partial image of the young people's opinion about online marketing as a tool of marketing communication, and may be approached as a modest guide for tourism marketers in the process of creating, promoting and distributing tourism offers.

  3. Mass media in health promotion: an analysis using an extended information-processing model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flay, B R; DiTecco, D; Schlegel, R P

    1980-01-01

    The information-processing model of the attitude and behavior change process was critically examined and extended from six to 12 levels for a better analysis of change due to mass media campaigns. Findings from social psychology and communications research, and from evaluations of mass media health promotion programs, were reviewed to determine how source, message, channel, receiver, and destination variables affect each of the levels of change of major interest (knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, intentions and behavior). Factors found to most likely induce permanent attitude and behavior change (most important in health promotion) were: presentation and repetition over long time periods, via multiple sources, at different times (including "prime" or high-exposure times), by multiple sources, in novel and involving ways, with appeals to multiple motives, development of social support, and provisions of appropriate behavioral skills, alternatives, and reinforcement (preferably in ways that get the active participation of the audience). Suggestions for evaluation of mass media programs that take account of this complexity were advanced.

  4. "Putting in Your Time": Faculty Experiences in the Process of Promotion to Professor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Susan K.; Blackstone, Amy

    2013-01-01

    The rank of professor or "full" professor represents the highest status possible for faculty members, and it is generally gained by attaining professional expertise and a national or international reputation. Beyond this, however, little is known about these individuals or the promotion process at this level. In this qualitative study of…

  5. Appropriate criteria set for personnel promotion across organizational levels using analytic hierarchy process (AHP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Noven Castillo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently, there has been limited established specific set of criteria for personnel promotion to each level of the organization. This study is conducted in order to develop a personnel promotion strategy by identifying specific sets of criteria for each level of the organization. The complexity of identifying the criteria set along with the subjectivity of these criteria require the use of multi-criteria decision-making approach particularly the analytic hierarchy process (AHP. Results show different sets of criteria for each management level which are consistent with several frameworks in literature. These criteria sets would help avoid mismatch of employee skills and competencies and their job, and at the same time eliminate the issues in personnel promotion such as favouritism, glass ceiling, and gender and physical attractiveness preference. This work also shows that personality and traits, job satisfaction and experience and skills are more critical rather than social capital across different organizational levels. The contribution of this work is in identifying relevant criteria in developing a personnel promotion strategy across organizational levels.

  6. Measuring Down: Evaluating Digital Storytelling as a Process for Narrative Health Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gubrium, Aline C; Fiddian-Green, Alice; Lowe, Sarah; DiFulvio, Gloria; Del Toro-Mejías, Lizbeth

    2016-05-15

    Digital storytelling (DST) engages participants in a group-based process to create and share narrative accounts of life events. We present key evaluation findings of a 2-year, mixed-methods study that focused on effects of participating in the DST process on young Puerto Rican Latina's self-esteem, social support, empowerment, and sexual attitudes and behaviors. Quantitative results did not show significant changes in the expected outcomes. However, in our qualitative findings we identified several ways in which the DST made positive, health-bearing effects. We argue for the importance of "measuring down" to reflect the locally grounded, felt experiences of participants who engage in the process, as current quantitative scales do not "measure up" to accurately capture these effects. We end by suggesting the need to develop mixed-methods, culturally relevant, and sensitive evaluation tools that prioritize process effects as they inform intervention and health promotion. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. Barriers and Facilitators in the Maturity Process for Web Promotion of Italian Tourist Destinations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Fabi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite the growing importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs in the tourism domain, the opportunities offered by the web to promote tourist destinations seem to be not yet fully exploited by destination marketing organizations. This study seeks to extend the eTourism Communication Maturity Model (eTcoMM, which is based on stage models of online communication in tourism. The model focuses on identifying processes involved in tourism web marketing activities, from awareness by tourism boards to implementation. The study aims to contribute to the definition of maturity in online promotion by Italian tourism boards, identifying and discussing factors that aid and limit the transition, from awareness to implementation of strategic web marketing.

  8. (Re)framing school as a setting for promoting health and wellbeing: a double translation process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordin, Lone Lindegard; Jourdan, Didier; Simovska, Venka

    2018-01-01

    , but entangled, processes of translation. At the national level, despite resistance by a number of actors with differing priorities, the translation resulted in the integration of selected key principles of the setting approach to health promotion in the national curriculum for health education. At the municipal......The aim of this article is to discuss the ways in which the setting approach to health promotion in schools, as part of knowledge-based international policies and guidelines, is embedded in the Danish policy landscape and enacted at the local governance level. The study draws on the sociology...... level, however, the principles seem to be ‘lost in translation’, as the treatment of schools as settings for promoting health and wellbeing remains largely subordinate to the discourses of disease prevention and individual behaviour regulation, dominated by the agenda of actors in the health sector....

  9. An overview of health-promoting compounds of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) and the effect of processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahn, Andrea; Reyes, Alejandro

    2012-12-01

    Broccoli offers many heath-promoting properties owing to its content of antioxidant and anticarcinogenic compounds. The concentration and bioavailability of polyphenols, glucosinolates, sulforaphane and selenium depend on plant biochemistry, cultivation strategy and type of processing. In this article, the main biochemical properties of broccoli are reviewed regarding their health-promoting effects. Additionally, the way these properties are affected by processing is discussed. Steaming and drying result in an apparent increment of sulforaphane content as well as antioxidant activity, most likely due to an increase of the extractability of antioxidants and sulforaphane. Freezing and boiling diminish polyphenols concentration, mainly due to volatilization and leaching into the cooking water. In view of these results, the optimization of broccoli processing in order to maximize the content of bioactive compounds should be possible. The effect of processing on selenium compounds has been poorly studied so far, and therefore this topic should be investigated in the future. Finally, the effect of operating conditions in different drying processes on the content of bioactive compounds in broccoli should be investigated in a greater depth.

  10. Meat processing and colon carcinogenesis: cooked, nitrite-treated, and oxidized high-heme cured meat promotes mucin-depleted foci in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santarelli, Raphaëlle L; Vendeuvre, Jean-Luc; Naud, Nathalie; Taché, Sylviane; Guéraud, Françoise; Viau, Michelle; Genot, Claude; Corpet, Denis E; Pierre, Fabrice H F

    2010-07-01

    Processed meat intake is associated with colorectal cancer risk, but no experimental study supports the epidemiologic evidence. To study the effect of meat processing on carcinogenesis promotion, we first did a 14-day study with 16 models of cured meat. Studied factors, in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 design, were muscle color (a proxy for heme level), processing temperature, added nitrite, and packaging. Fischer 344 rats were fed these 16 diets, and we evaluated fecal and urinary fat oxidation and cytotoxicity, three biomarkers of heme-induced carcinogenesis promotion. A principal component analysis allowed for selection of four cured meats for inclusion into a promotion study. These selected diets were given for 100 days to rats pretreated with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine. Colons were scored for preneoplastic lesions: aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and mucin-depleted foci (MDF). Cured meat diets significantly increased the number of ACF/colon compared with a no-meat control diet (P = 0.002). Only the cooked nitrite-treated and oxidized high-heme meat significantly increased the fecal level of apparent total N-nitroso compounds (ATNC) and the number of MDF per colon compared with the no-meat control diet (P nitrite-treated and oxidized cured meat specifically increased the MDF number compared with similar nonnitrite-treated meat (P = 0.03) and with similar nonoxidized meat (P = 0.004). Thus, a model cured meat, similar to ham stored aerobically, increased the number of preneoplastic lesions, which suggests colon carcinogenesis promotion. Nitrite treatment and oxidation increased this promoting effect, which was linked with increased fecal ATNC level. This study could lead to process modifications to make nonpromoting processed meat. 2010 AACR.

  11. Engineering Encounters: The Cat in the Hat Builds Satellites. A Unit Promoting Scientific Literacy and the Engineering Design Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehmat, Abeera P.; Owens, Marissa C.

    2016-01-01

    This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue shares information about a unit promoting scientific literacy and the engineering design process. The integration of engineering with scientific practices in K-12 education can promote creativity, hands-on learning, and an improvement in students'…

  12. Enhancing Indigenous Health Promotion Research Through Two-Eyed Seeing: A Hermeneutic Relational Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovey, Richard B; Delormier, Treena; McComber, Alex M; Lévesque, Lucie; Martin, Debbie

    2017-07-01

    The intention of this article is to demonstrate how Indigenous and allied health promotion researchers learned to work together through a process of Two-Eyed Seeing. This process was first introduced as a philosophical hermeneutic research project on diabetes prevention within an Indigenous community in Quebec Canada. We, as a research team, became aware that hermeneutics and the principles of Haudenosaunee decision making were characteristic of Two-Eyed Seeing. This article describes our experiences while working with each other. Our learning from these interactions emphasized the relational aspects needed to ensure that we became a highly functional research team while working together and becoming Two-Eyed Seeing partners.

  13. What do health-promoting schools promote?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka

    2012-01-01

    -promotion interventions. Directly or indirectly the articles reiterate the idea that health promotion in schools needs to be linked with the core task of the school – education, and to the values inherent to education, such as inclusion, democracy, participation and influence, critical literacy and action competence......Purpose – The editorial aims to provide a brief overview of the individual contributions to the special issue, and a commentary positioning the contributions within research relating to the health-promoting schools initiative in Europe. Design/methodology/approach – The members of the Schools...... for Health in Europe Research Group were invited to submit their work addressing processes and outcomes in school health promotion to this special issue of Health Education. Additionally, an open call for papers was published on the Health Education web site. Following the traditional double blind peer...

  14. People Create Health: Effective Health Promotion is a Creative Process

    OpenAIRE

    Cloninger, C. Robert; Cloninger, Kevin M.

    2013-01-01

    Effective health promotion involves the creative cultivation of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Efforts at health promotion produce weak and inconsistent benefits when it does not engage people to express their own goals and values. Likewise, health promotion has been ineffective when it relies only on instruction about facts regarding a healthy lifestyle, or focuses on reduction of disease rather than the cultivation of well-being. Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies an...

  15. Failure of single electron descriptions of molecular orbital collision processes. [Electron promotion mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elston, S.B.

    1978-01-01

    Inner-shell excitation occurring in low and moderate (keV range) energy collisions between light atomic and ionic systems is frequently describable in terms of molecular promotion mechanisms, which were extensively explored both theoretically and experimentally. The bulk of such studies have concentrated on processes understandable through the use of single- and independent-electron models. Nonetheless, it is possible to find cases of inner-shell excitation in relatively simple collision systems which involve nearly simultaneous multiple-electron transitions and transitions induced by inherently two-electron interactions. Evidence for these many- and nonindependent-electron phenomena in inner-shell excitation processes and the importance of considering such effects in the interpretation of collisionally induced excitation spectra is discussed. 13 references.

  16. Towards improved policy processes for promoting innovation in renewable electricity technologies in the UK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foxon, T.J.; Pearson, P.J.G.

    2007-01-01

    This paper analyses recent, current and potential future relations between policy processes and substantive outcomes in UK low carbon innovation policy, focussing on policies relating to renewable electricity generation technologies. It examines the development of policy processes relating to the adoption and implementation of the Renewables Obligation and how these may affect the current and likely future success of the Obligation in promoting low carbon innovation. It examines the new policy and institutional processes put in place in the 2003 Energy White Paper and argues that these are unlikely to provide the strategic long-term framework needed to realise the ambitious goals for UK energy policy set out in the White Paper. Finally, it outlines some suggestions for further development of policy processes to facilitate improved delivery of these goals, based on guiding principles for sustainable innovation policy processes, developed by the authors and their colleagues

  17. Supporting decision-making processes for evidence-based mental health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jané-Llopis, Eva; Katschnig, Heinz; McDaid, David; Wahlbeck, Kristian

    2011-12-01

    The use of evidence is critical in guiding decision-making, but evidence from effect studies will be only one of a number of factors that will need to be taken into account in the decision-making processes. Equally important for policymakers will be the use of different types of evidence including implementation essentials and other decision-making principles such as social justice, political, ethical, equity issues, reflecting public attitudes and the level of resources available, rather than be based on health outcomes alone. This paper, aimed to support decision-makers, highlights the importance of commissioning high-quality evaluations, the key aspects to assess levels of evidence, the importance of supporting evidence-based implementation and what to look out for before, during and after implementation of mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention programmes.

  18. Positive emotions: A psychological tool for promoting resilience process in childhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolina Greco

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this theoretical work is to assess the relation between the capacity to experiment positive emotions and the process of resilience throughout childhood. Our interest arises from two research works being carried out in the province of Mendoza, in Argentina (INCIHUSA-CRICYT-CONICET, directed by Dr Mirta Ison. One the so called “Assessment of resilience in childhood maltreatment”, and the other “ Positive emotions as psycological tools for fostering mental health throughout childhood within vulnerable social contexts”. Resilience is always associated to risky or vulnerable social situations. Positive emotions constitute a resource favorable to the development of resilience. This working hypothesis is based on previous studies which hold that positive emotions favor creative thinking for the solution of interpersonal problems, promote cognitive flexibility, reduce risks at decision making, promote replies to generosity and altruism, increase intelectual resources and counteract depressive tendencies among others. Other authors support the fact that the features a resilient child holds are closely connected to cognitive flexibility, to creative capacity, to the capacity for solving interpersonal problems, to self esteem and attachment links among others. Thus, positive emotions are believed to be one of the psycological resources and tools needed for the development of resilience throughout childhood. 

  19. Why it is important to promote communication in the decision-making process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viktorsson, C.

    2001-01-01

    Opportunity, nightmare, integrity and public confidence are all well-known words for us working in the nuclear area. Dealing with the outside world involves all those elements. However, having an active communication component in the decision making process can reduce the risk of getting into a nightmare situation and at the same time it contributes to gaining public confidence. The nuclear regulatory authority needs confidence to achieve effectiveness. Investing in trust is, therefore, necessary but requires a well-defined strategy and working methods. Moreover, it requires patience, and a culture of openness and relaxed attitude towards media. Finally, my experience tells me that it requires training of staff and motivators that constantly remind us of the importance of promoting communication in the decision-making process. In this paper I am presenting some insights into how SKI (Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate) works when preparing decision and why we are doing it. (author)

  20. Roadmap Towards Registration and Technology Transfer of Radiation Processed Plant Growth Promoters/Elicitors: The Philippine Experience. Chapter 15

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abad, L. V.; Aranilla, C. T. [Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines); Magsino, G. L. [National Crop Protection Center, UP Los Baños College, Laguna (Philippines); Asis, C. A. [Philippine Rice Research Institute, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija (Philippines)

    2014-07-15

    Pot experiments to test the effectivity of radiation-processed oligocarrageenans as a plant growth promoter/elicitor have been done on rice, soybean, tomatoes, and corn. Though many data from IAEA RCA and CRP participating countries have proven the efficacy of radiation modified oligomers as bio-stimulants and elicitor, certain R & D gaps need to be addressed in order that these products can reach the commercialization stage. A more integrated and systematic study of each crop with the following components need to be conducted: a) timing of application (plant growth stages such as seedling, active, vegetative, and reproductive stages); b) dosage (concentration of oligomers and volume of spray); c) effect in different seasons of the year (dry or wet); d) efficacy in photosynthetic activities (greening of leaves); and e) induction of resistance to pests and diseases (sturdiness, color of leaves, plant height, enzyme systems etc.). Some R & D work on the effect of radiation processed oligocarrageenans as plant growth promoter/elicitor are discussed. It also discusses R & D gaps that need to be addressed to make these oligomers reach the market. The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority of the Philippines categorizes plant growth promoters and elicitors as fertilizers, requiring very stringent regulations for its registration. The paper proposes a roadmap towards the commercialization of plant growth promoter/elicitors. (author)

  1. Implementation Process and Acceptance of a Setting Based Prevention Programme to Promote Healthy Lifestyle in Preschool Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, Birgit; Strauss, Angelika; Mayer, Andrea; Duvinage, Kristin; Mitschek, Christine; Koletzko, Berthold

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Evaluation of the implementation process of a kindergarten-based intervention ("TigerKids") to promote a healthy lifestyle. Design: Questionnaire survey among kindergarten teachers about programme implementation and acceptance. Setting: Kindergartens in Bavaria, Germany. Methods: Two hundred and fifteen kindergartens were…

  2. Dynamics of Disagreement: Large-Scale Temporal Network Analysis Reveals Negative Interactions in Online Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsvetkova, Milena; García-Gavilanes, Ruth; Yasseri, Taha

    2016-11-01

    Disagreement and conflict are a fact of social life. However, negative interactions are rarely explicitly declared and recorded and this makes them hard for scientists to study. In an attempt to understand the structural and temporal features of negative interactions in the community, we use complex network methods to analyze patterns in the timing and configuration of reverts of article edits to Wikipedia. We investigate how often and how fast pairs of reverts occur compared to a null model in order to control for patterns that are natural to the content production or are due to the internal rules of Wikipedia. Our results suggest that Wikipedia editors systematically revert the same person, revert back their reverter, and come to defend a reverted editor. We further relate these interactions to the status of the involved editors. Even though the individual reverts might not necessarily be negative social interactions, our analysis points to the existence of certain patterns of negative social dynamics within the community of editors. Some of these patterns have not been previously explored and carry implications for the knowledge collection practice conducted on Wikipedia. Our method can be applied to other large-scale temporal collaboration networks to identify the existence of negative social interactions and other social processes.

  3. Oral Health Promotion and Homelessness: A Theory-Based Approach to Understanding Processes of Implementation and Adoption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaton, Laura; Freeman, Ruth

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To use the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations as a framework to explore the qualitative data gleaned from a process evaluation of the Smile4life intervention across Scottish National Health Service (NHS) Boards and to inform future oral health promotion and homelessness. Design: A qualitative exploration. Setting: In 2012, the…

  4. The Impact of Harvesting, Storage and Processing Factors on Health-Promoting Phytochemicals in Berries and Fruits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Kårlund

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Increasing epidemiological and experimental data now emphasize that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits confers many health benefits. Functional products containing elevated levels of bioactive compounds are attracting considerable attention due to their potential to lower the risk of chronic diseases and their associated huge healthcare costs. On a global scale, there is an increasing demand for berries and fruits, since they are natural polyphenol-rich raw material to be incorporated into functional foods, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. This is a major challenge for both industry and horticultural experts, because the content of health-promoting compounds in plants varies widely not only in different plant species, but also between cultivars. The content is also significantly affected by harvesting, storage and processing factors. This review summarizes the recent data and clarifies the main contributors of harvesting time, various storage conditions and post-harvest procedures, such as temperature management, controlled atmosphere, 1-MCP, calcium and plant activators, as ways to influence health-promoting compounds in fruits. Furthermore, the ways processing factors, e.g., enzymatic treatment, pressing, clarification, temperature, pressure and fermentation, can influence the levels of polyphenols and vitamins in berries and soft fruits will be discussed. Finally, strategies for preventing the decline of health-promoting compounds in fruits during long-term storage will be assessed in light of recent scientific progress and modern methods, which preserve the levels of polyphenols, will be highlighted.

  5. Polyelectrolytes-promoted Forward Osmosis Processes

    KAUST Repository

    Ge, Q.C.; Ling, M.M.; Amy, Gary L.; Chung, T.S.

    2012-01-01

    The development of the forward osmosis (FO) process has been constrained by the slow development of appropriate draw solutions. Two significant concerns related to draw solutions are the draw solute leakage and intensive-energy requirement in recycling draw solutes after the FO process. FO would be much attractive if there is no draw solute leakage and the recycle of draw solutes is easy and economic.In this study, polyelectrolytes of a series of polyacrylic acid sodium salts (PAA-Na), were explored as draw solutes in the FO process. The characteristics of high solubility in water and flexibility in structural configuration ensure the suitability of PAA-Na as draw solutes and their relative ease in recycle through pressure-driven ultrafiltration (UF) membrane processes. The high water flux with insignificant salt leakage in the FO process and the high salt rejection in UF recycle processes reveal the superiority of PAA-Na to conventional ionic salts, such as NaCl, when comparing their FO performance via the same membranes. The repeatable performance of PAA-Na after recycle indicates the absence of any aggregation problems. The overall performance demonstrates that polyelectrolytes of PAA-Na series are promising as draw solutes, and the new concept of using polyelectrolytes as draw solutes in FO processes is applicable. The magnetic nanoparticle draw solutes can generate reasonably high osmotic pressure in FO system due to the functional groups on the nanoparticles surface and they can be regenerated through magnetic field and reused as draw solutes. Thermo-responsive magnetic nanoparticles are able to be regenerated with high efficiency as the thermo-responsive property can assist the regeneration in a low-strength magnetic field.

  6. Polyelectrolytes-promoted Forward Osmosis Processes

    KAUST Repository

    Ge, Q.C.

    2012-11-07

    The development of the forward osmosis (FO) process has been constrained by the slow development of appropriate draw solutions. Two significant concerns related to draw solutions are the draw solute leakage and intensive-energy requirement in recycling draw solutes after the FO process. FO would be much attractive if there is no draw solute leakage and the recycle of draw solutes is easy and economic.In this study, polyelectrolytes of a series of polyacrylic acid sodium salts (PAA-Na), were explored as draw solutes in the FO process. The characteristics of high solubility in water and flexibility in structural configuration ensure the suitability of PAA-Na as draw solutes and their relative ease in recycle through pressure-driven ultrafiltration (UF) membrane processes. The high water flux with insignificant salt leakage in the FO process and the high salt rejection in UF recycle processes reveal the superiority of PAA-Na to conventional ionic salts, such as NaCl, when comparing their FO performance via the same membranes. The repeatable performance of PAA-Na after recycle indicates the absence of any aggregation problems. The overall performance demonstrates that polyelectrolytes of PAA-Na series are promising as draw solutes, and the new concept of using polyelectrolytes as draw solutes in FO processes is applicable. The magnetic nanoparticle draw solutes can generate reasonably high osmotic pressure in FO system due to the functional groups on the nanoparticles surface and they can be regenerated through magnetic field and reused as draw solutes. Thermo-responsive magnetic nanoparticles are able to be regenerated with high efficiency as the thermo-responsive property can assist the regeneration in a low-strength magnetic field.

  7. Long-term Impact of Prevention Programs to Promote Effective Parenting: Lasting Effects but Uncertain Processes

    OpenAIRE

    Sandler, Irwin; Schoenfelder, Erin; Wolchik, Sharlene; MacKinnon, David

    2011-01-01

    This chapter reviews findings from 46 randomized experimental trials of preventive parenting interventions. The findings of these trials provide evidence of effects to prevent a wide range of problem outcomes and to promote competencies from one to twenty years later. However, there is a paucity of evidence concerning the processes that account for program effects. Three alternative pathways are proposed as a framework for future research on the long-term effects of preventive parenting progr...

  8. Distinct Prion Domain Sequences Ensure Efficient Amyloid Propagation by Promoting Chaperone Binding or Processing In Vivo.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine R Langlois

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Prions are a group of proteins that can adopt a spectrum of metastable conformations in vivo. These alternative states change protein function and are self-replicating and transmissible, creating protein-based elements of inheritance and infectivity. Prion conformational flexibility is encoded in the amino acid composition and sequence of the protein, which dictate its ability not only to form an ordered aggregate known as amyloid but also to maintain and transmit this structure in vivo. But, while we can effectively predict amyloid propensity in vitro, the mechanism by which sequence elements promote prion propagation in vivo remains unclear. In yeast, propagation of the [PSI+] prion, the amyloid form of the Sup35 protein, has been linked to an oligopeptide repeat region of the protein. Here, we demonstrate that this region is composed of separable functional elements, the repeats themselves and a repeat proximal region, which are both required for efficient prion propagation. Changes in the numbers of these elements do not alter the physical properties of Sup35 amyloid, but their presence promotes amyloid fragmentation, and therefore maintenance, by molecular chaperones. Rather than acting redundantly, our observations suggest that these sequence elements make complementary contributions to prion propagation, with the repeat proximal region promoting chaperone binding to and the repeats promoting chaperone processing of Sup35 amyloid.

  9. [The intervention mapping protocol: A structured process to develop, implement and evaluate health promotion programs].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fassier, J-B; Lamort-Bouché, M; Sarnin, P; Durif-Bruckert, C; Péron, J; Letrilliart, L; Durand, M-J

    2016-02-01

    Health promotion programs are expected to improve population health and reduce social inequalities in health. However, their theoretical foundations are frequently ill-defined, and their implementation faces many obstacles. The aim of this article is to describe the intervention mapping protocol in health promotion programs planning, used recently in several countries. The challenges of planning health promotion programs are presented, and the six steps of the intervention mapping protocol are described with an example. Based on a literature review, the use of this protocol, its requirements and potential limitations are discussed. The intervention mapping protocol has four essential characteristics: an ecological perspective (person-environment), a participative approach, the use of theoretical models in human and social sciences and the use of scientific evidence. It comprises six steps: conduct a health needs assessment, define change objectives, select theory-based change techniques and practical applications, organize techniques and applications into an intervention program (logic model), plan for program adoption, implementation, and sustainability, and generate an evaluation plan. This protocol was used in different countries and domains such as obesity, tobacco, physical activity, cancer and occupational health. Although its utilization requires resources and a critical stance, this protocol was used to develop interventions which efficacy was demonstrated. The intervention mapping protocol is an integrated process that fits the scientific and practical challenges of health promotion. It could be tested in France as it was used in other countries, in particular to reduce social inequalities in health. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  10. Promoting cross-sector partnerships in child welfare: qualitative results from a five-state strategic planning process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins-Camargo, Crystal; Armstrong, Mary I; McBeath, Bowen; Chuang, Emmeline

    2013-01-01

    Little is known about effective strategic planning for public and private child welfare agencies working together to serve families. During a professionally facilitated, strategic planning event, public and private child welfare administrators from five states explored partnership challenges and strengths with a goal of improving collaborative interactions in order to improve outcomes for children and families. Summarizing thematic results of session notes from the planning event, this article describes effective strategies for facilitation of such processes as well as factors that challenge or promote group processes. Implications for conducting strategic planning in jurisdictions seeking to improve public/private partnerships are discussed.

  11. When a promotion is denied: the effects of decision stage on perceptions of promotion and price fairness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Kukar-Kinney

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Marketers frequently use promotions to enhance sales and increase consumers’ perceptions of value. However, most promotions usually come with restrictions, such as time expiration, quantity or product model restriction, etc. In the present research, the effect of the stage in the purchase process when the consumer finds out about the restriction is investigated. The findings indicate that the later in the purchase process the consumer discovers the restriction, the greater is the perception that the effort invested into the purchase is wasted, consequently resulting in lower promotion and price fairness. This effect is mediated through the feeling of entitlement to the promotional price and the inferred negative retailer’s motive for the promotion. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

  12. Feminist Organizing in Rural Nicaragua: Assessing a Psychosocial Process to Promote Empowered Solidarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutt, Anjali

    2018-04-19

    This study examines a psychosocial process linking women's involvement in a grassroots women's organization with skills and experiences to promote empowered solidarity. Empowered solidarity is described as a process of increasing the sense of connection and capacity to create social transformation among a group of people united by interest in addressing a social issue. Data collected and analyzed for this research were 298 quantitative surveys conducted with two groups of women living in rural Nicaragua. One group of women were members of a grassroots feminist organization, and the other group lived in nearby communities where the organization did not offer programs. Findings document higher levels of leadership skills and sense of community, and lower levels of powerlessness among members of the organization. Additionally, tests of a process model using structural equation modeling provides support for a model that links involvement in the organization to women's increased interest in, capacity and experience in working to support women, broadly. Overall findings from this research are valuable to both community psychologists and groups seeking to enhance social justice and uphold feminist values of equity and community well-being. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.

  13. Mashup the OODA Loop

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Heier, Jeffrey E

    2008-01-01

    ...) processes via the Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) Loop concept. As defined by Wikipedia, a mashup is a Website or application that combines the content from more than one source into an integrated presentation...

  14. Years of Service and Probability of Promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Katharine G. Abraham; James L. Medoff

    1983-01-01

    This study provides evidence which we believe challenges some conventional assumptions about the promotion process. Based on survey information collected from a large random sample of U.S. private sector firms, we reach two main conclusions. First,seniority independent of productivity appears to play a significant role even in nonunion promotion decisions. Second, the differences between union and nonunion promotion processes, at least with regard to the weight assigned to seniority per se, a...

  15. Inducing a health-promoting change process within an organization: the effectiveness of a large-scale intervention on social capital, openness, and autonomous motivation toward health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Scheppingen, Arjella R; de Vroome, Ernest M M; Ten Have, Kristin C J M; Bos, Ellen H; Zwetsloot, Gerard I J M; van Mechelen, W

    2014-11-01

    To examine the effectiveness of an organizational large-scale intervention applied to induce a health-promoting organizational change process. A quasi-experimental, "as-treated" design was used. Regression analyses on data of employees of a Dutch dairy company (n = 324) were used to examine the effects on bonding social capital, openness, and autonomous motivation toward health and on employees' lifestyle, health, vitality, and sustainable employability. Also, the sensitivity of the intervention components was examined. Intervention effects were found for bonding social capital, openness toward health, smoking, healthy eating, and sustainable employability. The effects were primarily attributable to the intervention's dialogue component. The change process initiated by the large-scale intervention contributed to a social climate in the workplace that promoted health and ownership toward health. The study confirms the relevance of collective change processes for health promotion.

  16. Feasibility of an implementation strategy for the integration of health promotion in routine primary care: a quantitative process evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, Alvaro; Grandes, Gonzalo; Cortada, Josep M; Pombo, Haizea; Martinez, Catalina; Corrales, Mary Helen; de la Peña, Enrique; Mugica, Justo; Gorostiza, Esther

    2017-02-17

    Process evaluation is recommended to improve the understanding of underlying mechanisms related to clinicians, patients, context and intervention delivery that may impact on trial or program results, feasibility and transferability to practice. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of the Prescribe Healthy Life (PVS from the Spanish "Prescribe Vida Saludable") implementation strategy for enhancing the adoption and implementation of an evidence-based health promotion intervention in primary health care. A descriptive study of 2-year implementation indicators for the PVS clinical intervention was conducted in four primary health care centers. A multifaceted collaborative modeling implementation strategy was developed to enhance the integration of a clinical intervention to promote healthy lifestyles into clinical practice. Process indicators were assessed for intervention reach, adoption, implementation, sustainability and their variability at center, practice, and patient levels. Mean rates of adoption by means of active collaboration among the three main professional categories (family physicians, nurses and administrative personnel) were 75% in all centers. Just over half of the patients that attended (n = 11650; 51.9%) were reached in terms of having their lifestyle habits assessed, while more than a third (33.7%; n = 7433) and almost 10% (n = 2175) received advice or a printed prescription for at least one lifestyle change, respectively. Only 3.7% of the target population received a repeat prescription. These process indicators significantly (p implementation period within centers. The implementation strategy used showed moderate-to-good performance on process indicators related to adoption, reach, and implementation of the evidence-based healthy lifestyle promotion intervention in the context of routine primary care. Sources of heterogeneity and instability in these indicators may improve our understanding of factors required to

  17. Principles and processes behind promoting awareness of rights for quality maternal care services: a synthesis of stakeholder experiences and implementation factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Asha S; Branchini, Casey

    2017-08-31

    Promoting awareness of rights is a value-based process that entails a different way of thinking and acting, which is at times misunderstood or deemed as aspirational. Guided by the SURE framework, we undertook a secondary analysis of 26 documents identified by an earlier systematic review on promoting awareness of rights to increase use of maternity care services. We thematically analysed stakeholder experiences and implementation factors across the diverse initiatives to derive common elements to guide future efforts. Interventions that promote awareness of rights for maternal health varied in nature, methodological orientation, depth and quality. Materials included booklets, posters, pamphlets/ briefs and service standards/charters. Target populations included women, family members, communities, community structures, community-based and non governmental organizations, health providers and administrators, as well as elected representatives. While one initiative only focused on raising awareness, most were embedded within larger efforts to improve the accountability and responsiveness of service delivery through community monitoring and advocacy, with a few aiming to change policies and contest elections. Underlying these action oriented forms of promoting awareness of rights, was a critical consciousness and attitudinal change gained through iterative capacity-building for all stakeholders; materials and processes that supported group discussion and interaction; the formation or strengthening of community groups; situational analysis to ensure adaptation to local context; facilitation to ensure common ground and language across stakeholders; and strategic networking and alliance building across health system levels. While many positive experiences are discussed, few challenges or barriers to implementation are documented. The limited documentation and poor quality of information found indicate that while various examples of promoting awareness of rights for

  18. Libre Knowledge and another world is possible

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Tucker, KC

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available  and Equality Kim Tucker (managed by the CISR in South Africa) presented at Open Education 2007 Localizing and Learning September 26­28, 2007     2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LocationSouthernAfrica.png http://en.wikipedia.org.../wiki/Image:LocationAfrica.png Perspectives Towards collective understanding     3 South Africa a “developing” country / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LocationSouthAfrica.svg http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/92     4 a world in one country http://en.wikipedia.org...

  19. New Methodology for Measuring Semantic Functional Similarity Based on Bidirectional Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Jong Cheol

    2013-01-01

    1.2 billion users in Facebook, 17 million articles in Wikipedia, and 190 million tweets per day have demanded significant increase of information processing through Internet in recent years. Similarly life sciences and bioinformatics also have faced issues of processing Big data due to the explosion of publicly available genomic information…

  20. Meat processing and colon carcinogenesis: cooked, nitrite-treated, and oxidized high-heme cured meat promotes mucin-depleted foci in rats

    OpenAIRE

    Santarelli, Raphaëlle L; Vendeuvre, Jean-Luc; Naud, Nathalie; Taché, Sylviane; Guéraud, Françoise; Viau, Michelle; Genot, Claude; Corpet, Denis E; Pierre, Fabrice H F

    2010-01-01

    International audience; Processed meat intake is associated with colorectal cancer risk, but no experimental study supports the epidemiologic evidence. To study the effect of meat processing on carcinogenesis promotion, we first did a 14-day study with 16 models of cured meat. Studied factors, in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 design, were muscle color (a proxy for heme level), processing temperature, added nitrite, and packaging. Fischer 344 rats were fed these 16 diets, and we evaluated fecal and urinary ...

  1. Becoming a health promoting school: evaluating the process of effective implementation in Scotland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inchley, Jo; Muldoon, Janine; Currie, Candace

    2007-03-01

    Increasingly, researchers are exploring alternative ways of assessing the impact of 'Health Promoting School' (HPS) initiatives, in recognition of the model's emphasis on achieving change that is both enduring and far-reaching. However, it is still assumed that initiatives will lead to immediate change at the individual level. This paper challenges that view and argues that potential markers of success associated with process need to be identified earlier as a means of supporting schools and teachers. Notwithstanding differences in the way the HPS is conceptualized and implemented, four themes are highlighted that have relevance beyond any one school or country. These were drawn from a process evaluation of a European Network of HPSs Project in Scotland. They highlight the ways in which schools were able to successfully adopt HPS principles and the conditions that need to be in place for the HPS concept to flourish. Such indicators need to be given greater recognition as HPS outcomes if schools are to progress beyond the early stages of project implementation.

  2. A VIEWPOINT ON ECONOMY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS REGARDING THE PROMOTION PROCESS OF TOURISM PRODUCTS USING ONLINE MARKETING

    OpenAIRE

    Silvia, MUHCINA; Andreea-Daniela, MORARU

    2014-01-01

    Among the tools that are used in promotional activity in tourism, the online marketing opens the possibility to promptly create offers, meet buyers' demands, and strengthen customer relationships. The online marketers consider that the Internet is a modern technology that allows firms to connect business partners, to identify more rapidly the consumers' needs, to understand and answer on individual demand. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of online marketing in the process...

  3. Selective catalytic reduction system and process for treating NOx emissions using a zinc or titanium promoted palladium-zirconium catalyst

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobolevskiy, Anatoly [Orlando, FL; Rossin, Joseph A [Columbus, OH; Knapke, Michael J [Columbus, OH

    2011-08-02

    A process and system (18) for reducing NO.sub.x in a gas using hydrogen as a reducing agent is provided. The process comprises contacting the gas stream (29) with a catalyst system (38) comprising sulfated zirconia washcoat particles (41), palladium, a pre-sulfated zirconia binder (44), and a promoter (45) comprising at least one of titanium, zinc, or a mixture thereof. The presence of zinc or titanium increases the resistance of the catalyst system to a sulfur and water-containing gas stream.

  4. Developing and applying metamodels of high resolution process-based simulations for high throughput exposure assessment of organic chemicals in riverine ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig Barber, M; Isaacs, Kristin K; Tebes-Stevens, Caroline

    2017-12-15

    As defined by Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamodeling), "(a) metamodel or surrogate model is a model of a model, and metamodeling is the process of generating such metamodels." The goals of metamodeling include, but are not limited to (1) developing functional or statistical relationships between a model's input and output variables for model analysis, interpretation, or information consumption by users' clients; (2) quantifying a model's sensitivity to alternative or uncertain forcing functions, initial conditions, or parameters; and (3) characterizing the model's response or state space. Using five models developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, we generate a metamodeling database of the expected environmental and biological concentrations of 644 organic chemicals released into nine US rivers from wastewater treatment works (WTWs) assuming multiple loading rates and sizes of populations serviced. The chemicals of interest have log n-octanol/water partition coefficients (logK OW ) ranging from 3 to 14, and the rivers of concern have mean annual discharges ranging from 1.09 to 3240m 3 /s. Log-linear regression models are derived to predict mean annual dissolved and total water concentrations and total sediment concentrations of chemicals of concern based on their logK OW, Henry's Law Constant, and WTW loading rate and on the mean annual discharges of the receiving rivers. Metamodels are also derived to predict mean annual chemical concentrations in fish, invertebrates, and periphyton. We corroborate a subset of these metamodels using field studies focused on brominated flame retardants and discuss their application for high throughput screening of exposures to human and ecological populations and for analysis and interpretation of field data. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Request for retraction of published statement on EIA : to the editor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Maja

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available The second reference supplied by the author uses Wikipedia as a source. The statement in Wikipedia was added by and anonymous author without any scientific proof or peer-reviewed reference.

  6. Refining the Relationships among Historical Figures by Implementing Inference Rules in SWRL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fajrin Ariyani, Nurul; Saralita, Madis; Sarwosri; Sarno, Riyanarto

    2018-03-01

    The biography of historical figures is often fascinating to be known. Everything about their character, work, invention, and personal life sometimes are presented in their biography. The social and family relationships among historical figures also put into concern, especially for political figures, heroes, kings or persons who have ever been ruled a monarchy in their past. Some biographies can be found in Wikipedia as articles. Most of the social and family relationship contents of these figures are not completely depicted due to a various article’s contributors and sources. Fortunately, the missing relatives of a person might reside in the other figures’ biography in different pages. Each Wikipedia article has metadata which represents its essential information of content. By processing the metadata obtained from DBpedia and composing the inferencing rules (in the form of ontology) to identify the relationships content, it can generate several new inferred facts that complement the existing relationships. This work proposes a methodology for finding missing relationships among historical figures using inference rules in an ontology. As a result, our method can present new facts about the relationships that absent in the existing Wikipedia articles.

  7. Development of the promoting teacher attribution model for promoting science teachers' moral and ethical characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanprathak, Anusorn; Worakham, Paisan; Suikraduang, Arun

    2018-01-01

    The promotion science teacher attribution model to develop the moral and ethical characteristics was to analyze, synthesis, and develop the guidelines of the scoping study into concepts, theories and research related about the moral and ethics of characteristically teachers from the resources, including research papers, research articles related research, and interviews with luminaries of 9 members. Using interviews and document analysis, data analysis, content analysis, and present an essay was built. The promoting attributes a teacher, moral principles, concepts and theories involved and guidance of a qualified were developed. The Multiple-Attribute Consensus Reaching (MACR) from 12 educational experts were checked the suitability and feasibility of the model, the possibility of the manual with the research instruments consisted of the promotion model attributes the moral and ethics teacher's characteristics were evaluated, to guide the promotion attributes' model forms were assessed, the first edition of the manual data analysis, information obtained from the evaluation of the suitability and feasibility analysis model and guide for the average were administered. The results have found that; the promoting moral teacher attribute data to their moral and ethical characteristics was divided into two groups, priests and scholars. In both groups, the promotion attributes, focusing on teacher's groups is moral in nature to modify the idea to a change of attitude within the organism. Students got down to real experience; an analysis and synthesis face learning environments that cause cognitive skills to act as a self-realization possibly. The promotion model, moral principles, including the importance of the activities, objectives and evaluation methods were attributed. These core concepts learning theory and social cognitive theory, and integrated learning experience were comprised in five stages and four processes, namely; the intended, memory storage process, the

  8. CAUSE AND EFFECT IN PROMOTING A PROJECT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SEVERIAN-VLĂDUȚ IACOB

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available For a project to be considered successful it is necessary, besides a proper coordination, to be also done a good and wide promotion. In view of communication, promotion and maintenance ensures the organization's image. Disturbances occurring in any type of project, as a result of poor promotion, affect the image of the team and highlight the weaknesses in its management. Therefore, the promotion should be permanently monitored and evaluated. Cause-effect analysis is one of the ways we can identify some of nonconformities of the promotion process within a project.

  9. Meanings of care in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcón, Gladys Carmela Santos; Erdmann, Alacoque Lorenzini; Backes, Dirce Stein

    2008-01-01

    The objective of the study is to understand the meaning built by students and professors on health promotion in the teaching and learning process of health care in Nursing. It is a qualitative study using ground theory as a methodological reference. Data was collected through interviews, with three samples groups, 13 students and four professors, by classroom observation, and through meetings with nursing professors. The central subject resulting from this analysis was: constructing teaching and learning in order, disorder and self organization for a new way of caring promoting health. The teaching/learning process directed at health promotion develops in a stage of crisis, going from a state of order to a state of disorder that is uncertain and contradictory regarding what society understands about health.

  10. Reconstructing Dynamic Promoter Activity Profiles from Reporter Gene Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kannan, Soumya; Sams, Thomas; Maury, Jérôme

    2018-01-01

    activity despite the fact that the observed output may be dynamic and is a number of steps away from the transcription process. In fact, some promoters that are often thought of as constitutive can show changes in activity when growth conditions change. For these reasons, we have developed a system......Accurate characterization of promoter activity is important when designing expression systems for systems biology and metabolic engineering applications. Promoters that respond to changes in the environment enable the dynamic control of gene expression without the necessity of inducer compounds......, for example. However, the dynamic nature of these processes poses challenges for estimating promoter activity. Most experimental approaches utilize reporter gene expression to estimate promoter activity. Typically the reporter gene encodes a fluorescent protein that is used to infer a constant promoter...

  11. Ex Situ and Operando Studies on the Role of Copper in Cu-Promoted SiO2-MgO Catalysts for the Lebedev Ethanol-to-Butadiene Process

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Angelici, Carlo|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/345731506; Meirer, Florian; van der Eerden, Ad M. J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304840483; Schaink, Herrick L.; Goryachev, Andrey; Hofmann, Jan P.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/355351110; Hensen, Emiel J. M.; Weckhuysen, Bert M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/285484397; Bruijnincx, Pieter C. A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/33799529X

    2015-01-01

    Dehydrogenation promoters greatly enhance the performance of SiO2-MgO catalysts in the Lebedev process. Here, the effect of preparation method and order of addition of Cu on the structure and performance of Cu-promoted SiO2-MgO materials is detailed. Addition of Cu to MgO via incipient wetness

  12. Implementing health promotion tools in Australian Indigenous primary health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percival, Nikki A; McCalman, Janya; Armit, Christine; O'Donoghue, Lynette; Bainbridge, Roxanne; Rowley, Kevin; Doyle, Joyce; Tsey, Komla

    2018-02-01

    In Australia, significant resources have been invested in producing health promotion best practice guidelines, frameworks and tools (herein referred to as health promotion tools) as a strategy to improve Indigenous health promotion programmes. Yet, there has been very little rigorous implementation research about whether or how health promotion tools are implemented. This paper theorizes the complex processes of health promotion tool implementation in Indigenous comprehensive primary healthcare services. Data were derived from published and grey literature about the development and the implementation of four Indigenous health promotion tools. Tools were theoretically sampled to account for the key implementation types described in the literature. Data were analysed using the grounded-theory methods of coding and constant comparison with construct a theoretical implementation model. An Indigenous Health Promotion Tool Implementation Model was developed. Implementation is a social process, whereby researchers, practitioners and community members collectively interacted in creating culturally responsive health promotion to the common purpose of facilitating empowerment. The implementation of health promotion tools was influenced by the presence of change agents; a commitment to reciprocity and organizational governance and resourcing. The Indigenous Health Promotion Tool Implementation Model assists in explaining how health promotion tools are implemented and the conditions that influence these actions. Rather than simply developing more health promotion tools, our study suggests that continuous investment in developing conditions that support empowering implementation processes are required to maximize the beneficial impacts and effectiveness of health promotion tools. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  13. Products Based on Bio-Resourced Materials for Agriculture. Radiation Processed Biodegradable Polymers, Plant Growth Promoters and Superabsorbent Polymers. Chapter 9

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dubey, K. A.; Bhardwaj, Y. K.; Chaudhari, C. V.; Varshney, L. [Radiation Technology Development Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (India)

    2014-07-15

    Radiation-processed natural polymers and their derivatives, namely starch, alginate, chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were explored for different agricultural applications such as biodegradable mulch films, super adsorbent polymers (SAPs), and plant growth promoters (PGPs). It was observed that gamma radiation-processed starch can lead to a better processability of starch/synthetic polymer alloys, and can offer tuneable biodegradability (as low as one month) with acceptable physico-mechanical properties. Acrylic acid/CMC-based SAP was prepared using {sup 60}Co gamma radiation, for soil conditioning. The equilibrium degree of swelling (EDS) of the acrylic acid/CMC SAP was found to be 460 g/g. The field trial of the SAP was conducted on sorghum. It was found that, with the use of 20 kg/ha of SAP, the crop yield can be increased by almost 18.5% whereas the increase in plant height was 8.5%. A new super adsorbent polymer with a much higher water uptake capacity was also developed by adding a small fraction of carrageenan to neutralized acrylic acid (AA). This SAP had EDS of 800 g/g, with the addition of only 1% carrageenan. Experiments to check the soil conditioning efficacy of AA/carrageenan SAP are in progress. Oligomers of chitosan and alginates were prepared by gamma irradiation and were tried as plant growth promoters in wheat (Triticum aestivum), mung bean (Vigna radiata), linseed (Linum usitatissimum), mentha (Mentha arvensis), and lemon grass. The results suggest that these oligomers have a significant impact on the grain and oil yield. Large scale field trials on Mentha arvensis in collaboration with an industry are in progress, and efforts are going on to formulate a policy framework for the use of oligosaccharides as plant growth promoters. (author)

  14. Promoting Practices: How Activists Employ Online Tactics to Promote Energy Efficiency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Renkema, Maarten; van den Broek, Tijs Adriaan

    2014-01-01

    This research combines institutional and social movement theory to explore and describe how social movement organizations use online tactics to promote new institutional norms. The research setting for the current research is the Dutch environmental movement. The process of an online campaign of the

  15. Reconstructing Dynamic Promoter Activity Profiles from Reporter Gene Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kannan, Soumya; Sams, Thomas; Maury, Jérôme; Workman, Christopher T

    2018-03-16

    Accurate characterization of promoter activity is important when designing expression systems for systems biology and metabolic engineering applications. Promoters that respond to changes in the environment enable the dynamic control of gene expression without the necessity of inducer compounds, for example. However, the dynamic nature of these processes poses challenges for estimating promoter activity. Most experimental approaches utilize reporter gene expression to estimate promoter activity. Typically the reporter gene encodes a fluorescent protein that is used to infer a constant promoter activity despite the fact that the observed output may be dynamic and is a number of steps away from the transcription process. In fact, some promoters that are often thought of as constitutive can show changes in activity when growth conditions change. For these reasons, we have developed a system of ordinary differential equations for estimating dynamic promoter activity for promoters that change their activity in response to the environment that is robust to noise and changes in growth rate. Our approach, inference of dynamic promoter activity (PromAct), improves on existing methods by more accurately inferring known promoter activity profiles. This method is also capable of estimating the correct scale of promoter activity and can be applied to quantitative data sets to estimate quantitative rates.

  16. What makes health promotion research distinct?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodall, James; Warwick-Booth, Louise; South, Jane; Cross, Ruth

    2018-02-01

    There have been concerns about the decline of health promotion as a practice and discipline and, alongside this, calls for a clearer articulation of health promotion research and what, if anything, makes it distinct. This discussion paper, based on a review of the literature, the authors' own experiences in the field, and a workshop delivered by two of the authors at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Conference, seeks to state the reasons why health promotion research is distinctive. While by no means exhaustive, the paper suggests four distinctive features. The paper hopes to be a catalyst to enable health promotion researchers to be explicit in their practice and to begin the process of developing an agreed set of research principles.

  17. Oxytocin promotes bone formation during the alveolar healing process in old acyclic female rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colli, Vilma Clemi; Okamoto, Roberta; Spritzer, Poli Mara; Dornelles, Rita Cássia Menegati

    2012-09-01

    OT was reported to be a direct regulator of bone mass in young rodents, and this anabolic effect on bone is a peripheral action of OT. The goal of this study was to investigate the peripheral action of oxytocin (OT) in the alveolar healing process in old female rats. Females Wistar rats (24-month-old) in permanent diestrus phase, received two ip (12h apart) injections of saline (NaCl 0.15M - control group) or OT (45μg/rat - treated group). Seven days later, the right maxillary incisor was extracted and analyses were performed up to 28 days of the alveolar healing process (35 days after saline or OT administration). Calcium and phosphorus plasma concentrations did not differ between the groups. The plasma biochemical bone formations markers, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin were significantly higher in the treated group. Histomorphometric analyses confirmed bone formation as the treated group presented the highest mean value of post-extraction bone formation. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) was significantly reduced in the treated group indicating an anti-resorptive effect of OT. Immunohistochemistry reactions performed in order to identify the presence of osteocalcin and TRAP in the bone cells of the dental socket confirmed these outcomes. OT was found to promote bone formation and to inhibit bone resorption in old acyclic female rats during the alveolar healing process. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Stimulating innovative research in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larouche, Annie; Potvin, Louise

    2013-06-01

    The Global Working Group on Health Promotion Research (GWG HPR) of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) presents a collection of four articles illustrating innovative avenues for health promotion research. This commentary synthesizes the contributions of these articles while attempting to define the contours of research in health promotion. We propose that innovation in research involves the adoption of a reflexive approach wherein consideration of context plays different roles. The reflexive process consists of questioning what is taken for granted in the conceptualization and operationalization of research. It involves linking research findings and its theoretical foundations to characteristics and goals of the field and observed realities, while orienting reflection on specific objects. The reflexive nature of the research activity is of paramount importance for innovation in health promotion. With the publication of this series, the GWG HPR wishes to strengthen health promotion research capacity at the global level and reaffirm health promotion as a specific research domain.

  19. Adenoviral protein V promotes a process of viral assembly through nucleophosmin 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ugai, Hideyo; Dobbins, George C.; Wang, Minghui [Division of Human Gene Therapy, Departments of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, and Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Le, Long P. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Pathology Service, 55 Fruit St.-GRJ 249, Boston, MA 02114 (United States); Matthews, David A. [School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Medical Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD (United Kingdom); Curiel, David T., E-mail: dcuriel@radonc.wustl.edu [Division of Human Gene Therapy, Departments of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, and Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); The Gene Therapy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States)

    2012-10-25

    Adenoviral infection induces nucleoplasmic redistribution of a nucleolar nucleophosmin 1/NPM1/B23.1. NPM1 is preferentially localized in the nucleoli of normal cells, whereas it is also present at the nuclear matrix in cancer cells. However, the biological roles of NPM1 during infection are unknown. Here, by analyzing a pV-deletion mutant, Ad5-dV/TSB, we demonstrate that pV promotes the NPM1 translocation from the nucleoli to the nucleoplasm in normal cells, and the NPM1 translocation is correlated with adenoviral replication. Lack of pV causes a dramatic reduction of adenoviral replication in normal cells, but not cancer cells, and Ad5-dV/TSB was defective in viral assembly in normal cells. NPM1 knockdown inhibits adenoviral replication, suggesting an involvement of NPM1 in adenoviral biology. Further, we show that NPM1 interacts with empty adenovirus particles which are an intermediate during virion maturation by immunoelectron microscopy. Collectively, these data implicate that pV participates in a process of viral assembly through NPM1.

  20. A Model of and for Virtual Projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Garud, R.; Kumaraswamy, A.; Tuertscher, P.R.; Cattani, G.; Ferriani, S.; Frederiksen, L.; Täube, F.

    2011-01-01

    We examine how digital technologies enable distributed actors to collaborate asynchronously on virtual projects. We use Wikipedia and associated wiki digital technology as the research site for our exploration. Our probe of the emergence of Wikipedia articles highlights a distinctive property of

  1. Faculty Agency in Applying for Promotion to Professor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan K. Gardner

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Aim/Purpose: In the United States, faculty who wish to pursue promotion to the rank of professor do so without clear guidance or structure. Even the timing of such a process is nebulous. As such, an individual engages in agentic action to pursue the rank. Background: This study examined the experiences of faculty members who chose to pursue the application process to be promoted to professor but were rejected or dissuaded. Methodology: Utilizing a case study of one institutional setting, we conducted 10 in-depth qualitative interviews. Contribution: Very little is known about the process of promotion to full professor in the U.S. and even less empirical research exists. This study advances knowledge of the process and the experiences of those undertaking it. Findings: We learned that cues from the social context greatly influenced these faculty members’ sense of agency.

  2. A future task for health-promotion research: Integration of health promotion and sustainable development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jelsøe, Erling; Thualagant, Nicole; Holm, Jesper; Kjærgård, Bente; Andersen, Heidi Myglegård; From, Ditte-Marie; Land, Birgit; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm

    2018-02-01

    Based on previous studies and reflections collected from participants in a workshop at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Research Network conference, we reveal current tendencies and discuss future challenges for health-promotion research regarding integration of sustainable development principles. Despite obvious interfaces and interactions between the two, our contention is that strategies for health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development and that policies aimed at solving health or sustainability problems may therefore cause new, undesired and unforeseen environmental and health problems. As illustrated in previous research and as deliberated in the above-mentioned workshop, a number of barriers are identified. These are believed to be related to historical segregation, the conceptual understandings of health promotion and sustainable development, as well as the politics and implementation of policy goals in both areas. Three focal points are proposed as important challenges to address in future research: (a) the duality of health promotion and sustainability and how it can be handled in order to enhance mutually supportive processes between them; (b) the social dimension of sustainability and how it can be strengthened in the development of strategies for health promotion and sustainable development; and (c) exploring and identifying policy approaches and strategies for integrating health promotion and sustainable development.

  3. Beyond opening up the black box: Investigating the role of algorithmic systems in Wikipedian organizational culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Stuart Geiger

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Scholars and practitioners across domains are increasingly concerned with algorithmic transparency and opacity, interrogating the values and assumptions embedded in automated, black-boxed systems, particularly in user-generated content platforms. I report from an ethnography of infrastructure in Wikipedia to discuss an often understudied aspect of this topic: the local, contextual, learned expertise involved in participating in a highly automated social–technical environment. Today, the organizational culture of Wikipedia is deeply intertwined with various data-driven algorithmic systems, which Wikipedians rely on to help manage and govern the “anyone can edit” encyclopedia at a massive scale. These bots, scripts, tools, plugins, and dashboards make Wikipedia more efficient for those who know how to work with them, but like all organizational culture, newcomers must learn them if they want to fully participate. I illustrate how cultural and organizational expertise is enacted around algorithmic agents by discussing two autoethnographic vignettes, which relate my personal experience as a veteran in Wikipedia. I present thick descriptions of how governance and gatekeeping practices are articulated through and in alignment with these automated infrastructures. Over the past 15 years, Wikipedian veterans and administrators have made specific decisions to support administrative and editorial workflows with automation in particular ways and not others. I use these cases of Wikipedia’s bot-supported bureaucracy to discuss several issues in the fields of critical algorithms studies; critical data studies; and fairness, accountability, and transparency in machine learning—most principally arguing that scholarship and practice must go beyond trying to “open up the black box” of such systems and also examine sociocultural processes like newcomer socialization.

  4. Local wisdom and health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demaio, Alessandro Rhyll

    2011-01-01

    The respectful, appropriate use of local wisdom (LW) in health promotion increases penetration and longevity of positive behavior change. Collaborations based on mutual respect, flexibility and trust between health program organizers, traditional and local practitioners, and the communities being...... served are the goal for public health physicians in our modern, globalized world. This meta-analysis reviewed literature from the past 18 years drawn from a wide range of sources. This investigations proposes a grassroots, material shift toward regarding health promotion interventions as partnerships...... when planning, executing, and evaluating health promotion projects. This holistic approach would be based on the premise that LW is equal to expert opinion. This article endorses the integration of LW at every stage of the health promotion process concluding that it is through empowerment...

  5. Un dono per Wikisource

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Chiara Pievatolo

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Si è conclusa la prima parte dell’esperimento Scholars, don’t disregard Wikipedia: become Wikipedia. La traduzione dell’articolo di Fichte Prova dell’illegittimità della ristampa dei libri. Un ragionamento e una parabola è stata sottoposta a revisione paritaria aperta..., e,

  6. Emotions under discussion: gender, status and communication in online collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iosub, Daniela; Laniado, David; Castillo, Carlos; Fuster Morell, Mayo; Kaltenbrunner, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Despite the undisputed role of emotions in teamwork, not much is known about the make-up of emotions in online collaboration. Publicly available repositories of collaboration data, such as Wikipedia editor discussions, now enable the large-scale study of affect and dialogue in peer production. We investigate the established Wikipedia community and focus on how emotion and dialogue differ depending on the status, gender, and the communication network of the [Formula: see text] editors who have written at least 100 comments on the English Wikipedia's article talk pages. Emotions are quantified using a word-based approach comparing the results of two predefined lexicon-based methods: LIWC and SentiStrength. We find that administrators maintain a rather neutral, impersonal tone, while regular editors are more emotional and relationship-oriented, that is, they use language to form and maintain connections to other editors. A persistent gender difference is that female contributors communicate in a manner that promotes social affiliation and emotional connection more than male editors, irrespective of their status in the community. Female regular editors are the most relationship-oriented, whereas male administrators are the least relationship-focused. Finally, emotional and linguistic homophily is prevalent: editors tend to interact with other editors having similar emotional styles (e.g., editors expressing more anger connect more with one another). Emotional expression and linguistic style in online collaboration differ substantially depending on the contributors' gender and status, and on the communication network. This should be taken into account when analyzing collaborative success, and may prove insightful to communities facing gender gap and stagnation in contributor acquisition and participation levels.

  7. Measuring the diffusion of innovative health promotion programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckler, A; Goodman, R M; McLeroy, K R; Davis, S; Koch, G

    1992-01-01

    Once a health promotion program has proven to be effective in one or two initial settings, attempts may be made to transfer the program to new settings. One way to conceptualize the transference of health promotion programs from one locale to another is by considering the programs to be innovations that are being diffused. In this way, diffusion of innovation theory can be applied to guide the process of program transference. This article reports on the development of six questionnaires to measure the extent to which health promotion programs are successfully disseminated: Organizational Climate, Awareness-Concern, Rogers's Adoption Variables, Level of Use, Level of Success, and Level of Institutionalization. The instruments are being successfully used in a study of the diffusion of health promotion/tobacco prevention curricula to junior high schools in North Carolina. The instruments, which measure the four steps of the diffusion process, have construct validity since they were developed within existing theories and are derived from the work of previous researchers. No previous research has attempted to use instruments like these to measure sequentially the stages of the diffusion process.

  8. [Five paradoxes in health promotion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Dicastillo, Olga; Canga-Armayor, Navidad; Mujika, Agurtzane; Pardavila-Belio, Miren Idoia; Belintxon, Maider; Serrano-Monzó, Inmaculada; Pumar-Méndez, María J

    The World Health Organization states that health promotion is a key strategy to improve health, and it is conceived as a global process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. Health promotion does not focus solely on empowering individuals dealing with their knowledge, attitudes and skills, but it also takes political, social, economic and environmental aspects influencing health and wellbeing into account. The complexity of applying these concepts is reflected in the five paradoxes in health promotion; these arise in between the rhetoric in health promotion and implementation. The detected paradoxes which are described herein involve the patient versus the person, the individual versus the group, disease professionals versus health professionals, disease indicators versus health indicators, and health as an expense versus health as an investment. Making these contradictions explicit can help determine why it is so complex to put the concepts related to health promotion into practice. It can also help to put forward aspects that need further work if health promotion is to put into practice. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  9. Public reaction to Chikungunya outbreaks in Italy-Insights from an extensive novel data streams-based structural equation modeling analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naim Mahroum

    Full Text Available The recent outbreak of Chikungunya virus in Italy represents a serious public health concern, which is attracting media coverage and generating public interest in terms of Internet searches and social media interactions. Here, we sought to assess the Chikungunya-related digital behavior and the interplay between epidemiological figures and novel data streams traffic. Reaction to the recent outbreak was analyzed in terms of Google Trends, Google News and Twitter traffic, Wikipedia visits and edits, and PubMed articles, exploiting structural modelling equations. A total of 233,678 page-views and 150 edits on the Italian Wikipedia page, 3,702 tweets, 149 scholarly articles, and 3,073 news articles were retrieved. The relationship between overall Chikungunya cases, as well as autochthonous cases, and tweets production was found to be fully mediated by Chikungunya-related web searches. However, in the allochthonous/imported cases model, tweet production was not found to be significantly mediated by epidemiological figures, with web searches still significantly mediating tweet production. Inconsistent relationships were detected in mediation models involving Wikipedia usage as a mediator variable. Similarly, the effect between news consumption and tweets production was suppressed by the Wikipedia usage. A further inconsistent mediation was found in the case of the effect between Wikipedia usage and tweets production, with web searches as a mediator variable. When adjusting for the Internet penetration index, similar findings could be obtained, with the important exception that in the adjusted model the relationship between GN and Twitter was found to be partially mediated by Wikipedia usage. Furthermore, the link between Wikipedia usage and PubMed/MEDLINE was fully mediated by GN, differently from what was found in the unadjusted model. In conclusion-a significant public reaction to the current Chikungunya outbreak was documented. Health authorities

  10. Public reaction to Chikungunya outbreaks in Italy-Insights from an extensive novel data streams-based structural equation modeling analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahroum, Naim; Adawi, Mohammad; Sharif, Kassem; Waknin, Roy; Mahagna, Hussein; Bisharat, Bishara; Mahamid, Mahmud; Abu-Much, Arsalan; Amital, Howard; Luigi Bragazzi, Nicola; Watad, Abdulla

    2018-01-01

    The recent outbreak of Chikungunya virus in Italy represents a serious public health concern, which is attracting media coverage and generating public interest in terms of Internet searches and social media interactions. Here, we sought to assess the Chikungunya-related digital behavior and the interplay between epidemiological figures and novel data streams traffic. Reaction to the recent outbreak was analyzed in terms of Google Trends, Google News and Twitter traffic, Wikipedia visits and edits, and PubMed articles, exploiting structural modelling equations. A total of 233,678 page-views and 150 edits on the Italian Wikipedia page, 3,702 tweets, 149 scholarly articles, and 3,073 news articles were retrieved. The relationship between overall Chikungunya cases, as well as autochthonous cases, and tweets production was found to be fully mediated by Chikungunya-related web searches. However, in the allochthonous/imported cases model, tweet production was not found to be significantly mediated by epidemiological figures, with web searches still significantly mediating tweet production. Inconsistent relationships were detected in mediation models involving Wikipedia usage as a mediator variable. Similarly, the effect between news consumption and tweets production was suppressed by the Wikipedia usage. A further inconsistent mediation was found in the case of the effect between Wikipedia usage and tweets production, with web searches as a mediator variable. When adjusting for the Internet penetration index, similar findings could be obtained, with the important exception that in the adjusted model the relationship between GN and Twitter was found to be partially mediated by Wikipedia usage. Furthermore, the link between Wikipedia usage and PubMed/MEDLINE was fully mediated by GN, differently from what was found in the unadjusted model. In conclusion-a significant public reaction to the current Chikungunya outbreak was documented. Health authorities should be aware of

  11. Elaborating on systems thinking in health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naaldenberg, Jenneken; Vaandrager, Lenneke; Koelen, Maria; Wagemakers, Anne-Marie; Saan, Hans; de Hoog, Kees

    2009-03-01

    Health and well-being are the result of a series of complex processes in which an individual interacts with other people and the environment. A systematic approach ensures incorporation of individual, ecological, social and political factors. However, interactions between these factors can be overlooked within a systematical approach. A systemic approach can provide additional information by incorporating interactions and communication. The opportunities of a systems thinking perspective for health promotion were investigated for this paper. Although others have also made attempts to explore systems thinking in the field of health promotion, the implications of systems thinking in practice need attention. Other fields such as agricultural extension studies, organizational studies and development studies provide useful experiences with the use of a systems thinking perspective in practice. Building on experiences from these fields, we give a theoretical background in which processes of social learning and innovation play an important role. From this background, we derive an overview of important concepts for the practical application of a systems thinking perspective. These concepts are the structure of the system, meanings attached to actions, and power relations between actors. To make these concepts more explicit and reduce the theoretical character of systems thinking, we use an illustration to elaborate on these concepts in practice. For this purpose, we describe a health promotion partnership in The Netherlands using the concepts structure, meaning and power relations. We show how a systems perspective increases insight in the functioning of a partnership and how this can facilitate processes of social learning and innovation. This article concludes by identifying future opportunities and challenges in adopting systems thinking for health promotion practice. A systems perspective towards health promotion can help projects reaching a more integral and

  12. 20 Years Health Promotion Research in and on settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heiko Waller

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available In 2006 we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Ottawa Charta for Health Promotion. During these 20 years health promotion became a very influential public health strategy. Let us - with reference to the WHO Health Promotion Glossary - recall some of the core elements of health promotion: “Health promotion represents a comprehensive social and political process, it not only embraces actions directed at strengthening skills and capabilities of individuals, but also actions directed towards changing social, environmental and economic conditions so as to alleviate their impact on public and individual health.Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health. Participation is essential to sustain health promotion action.” The Ottawa Charter identifies three basic strategies for health promotion. These are (1 advocacy for health to create the essential conditions for health indicated above; (2 enabling all people to achieve their full health potential; and (3 mediating between different interests in society in the pursuit of health. The Ottawa Charter identifies three basic strategies for health promotion. These are (1 advocacy for health to create the essential conditions for health indicated above; (2 enabling all people to achieve their full health potential; and (3 mediating between different interests in society in the pursuit of health.

  13. Professional development programs in health promotion: tools and processes to favor new practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Sara; Richard, Lucie; Guichard, Anne; Chiocchio, François; Litvak, Eric; Beaudet, Nicole

    2017-06-01

    Developing innovative interventions that are in sync with a health promotion paradigm often represents a challenge for professionals working in local public health organizations. Thus, it is critical to have both professional development programs that favor new practices and tools to examine these practices. In this case study, we analyze the health promotion approach used in a pilot intervention addressing children's vulnerability that was developed and carried out by participants enrolled in a public health professional development program. More specifically, we use a modified version of Guichard and Ridde's (Une grille d'analyse des actions pour lutter contre les inégalités sociales de santé. In Potvin, L., Moquet, M.-J. and Jones, C. M. (eds), Réduire les Inégalités Sociales en Santé. INPES, Saint-Denis Cedex, pp. 297-312, 2010) analytical grid to assess deductively the program participants' use of health promotion practices in the analysis and planning, implementation, evaluation, sustainability and empowerment phases of the pilot intervention. We also seek evidence of practices involving (empowerment, participation, equity, holism, an ecological approach, intersectorality and sustainability) in the intervention. The results are mixed: our findings reveal evidence of the application of several dimensions of health promotion (equity, holism, an ecological approach, intersectorality and sustainability), but also a lack of integration of two key dimensions; that is, empowerment and participation, during various phases of the pilot intervention. These results show that the professional development program is associated with the adoption of a pilot intervention integrating multiple but not all dimensions of health promotion. We make recommendations to facilitate a more complete integration. This research also shows that the Guichard and Ridde grid proves to be a thorough instrument to document the practices of participants. © The Author 2015. Published by

  14. Stimulating utilities to promote energy efficiency: Process evaluation of Madison Gas and Electric's Competition Pilot Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vine, E.; De Buen, O.; Goldfman, C.

    1990-12-01

    This report describes the process evaluation of the design and implementation of the Energy Conservation Competition Pilot (hereafter referred to as the Competition), ordered by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) with a conceptual framework defined by PSCW staff for the Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) Company. This process evaluation documents the history of the Competition, describing the marketing strategies adopted by MGE and its competitors, customer service and satisfaction, administrative issues, the distribution of installed measures, free riders, and the impact of the Competition on MGE, its competitors, and other Wisconsin utilities. We also suggest recommendations for a future Competition, compare the Competition with other approaches that public utility commissions (PUCs) have used to motivate utilities to promote energy efficiency, and discuss its transferability to other utilities. 48 refs., 8 figs., 40 tabs.

  15. Health Promotion Education Politics and Schooling: The Greek Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ifanti, Amalia A.; Argyriou, Andreas A.; Kalofonos, Haralabos P.

    2011-01-01

    This paper seeks to explore the politics of health promotion as a continual process of public health globally and locally. Our main objective in this study is to present the health promotion education initiatives taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) at an international level and also to examine the politics of health promotion in Greece,…

  16. Use of the innovation-decision process teaching strategy to promote evidence-based practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Nola A; Brown, Janet M

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe the innovation-decision process teaching strategy (I-DPTS) based on the model of diffusion of innovations [Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press]. A goal of baccalaureate nursing education is to develop competencies required for evidence-based practice. Such practice merges clinician expertise, patient preferences, and critical evaluation of the literature to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs [Melnyk, B. M. (2005). A primer on evidence-based practice. Paper presented at the Purdue School of Nursing Seventh Annual Helen R. Johnson Leadership Conference, West Lafayette, IN]. Several strategies to promote evidence-based practice have appeared in the literature. However, when they are examined in light of the innovation-decision process (Rogers, 2003), they do not address all the essential steps for adoption to occur. The I-DPTS allows students to achieve competencies necessary to overcome barriers associated with implementing best practices. This strategy was successfully implemented in a senior-level introductory nursing research class. Community representatives identified practice issues that could be addressed by student groups. After conducting a search of the literature, students analyzed the evidence, determined best practice based on the evidence, and developed a policy for implementation in clinical settings. At course end, representatives were invited to attend oral and poster presentations. Use of the I-DPTS better prepares students to implement best practice as they embark on their professional careers.

  17. Health promotion, occupational therapy and multiculturalism: lessons from research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyck, I

    1993-08-01

    Principles of occupational therapy practice make the profession an important potential partner in health promotion initiatives for immigrant groups. Health promotion embodies the principles of self-definition of health needs by target groups, and working with a community in initiating and supporting programmes. This paper discusses the implications of an exploratory study of the daily activities of immigrant Indo-Canadian mothers for translating health promotion principles into practice. The research process and an analysis of interviews conducted with the women suggest factors to consider in using a health promotion framework with immigrants who have experienced social and economic dislocation through the immigration process. Discussion of household structure, divisions of labour, childcare strategies, and parenting concerns raises issues requiring particular attention in sharing occupational therapy skills and knowledge with ethnocultural communities.

  18. Promoter Motifs in NCLDVs: An Evolutionary Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graziele Pereira Oliveira

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available For many years, gene expression in the three cellular domains has been studied in an attempt to discover sequences associated with the regulation of the transcription process. Some specific transcriptional features were described in viruses, although few studies have been devoted to understanding the evolutionary aspects related to the spread of promoter motifs through related viral families. The discovery of giant viruses and the proposition of the new viral order Megavirales that comprise a monophyletic group, named nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV, raised new questions in the field. Some putative promoter sequences have already been described for some NCLDV members, bringing new insights into the evolutionary history of these complex microorganisms. In this review, we summarize the main aspects of the transcription regulation process in the three domains of life, followed by a systematic description of what is currently known about promoter regions in several NCLDVs. We also discuss how the analysis of the promoter sequences could bring new ideas about the giant viruses’ evolution. Finally, considering a possible common ancestor for the NCLDV group, we discussed possible promoters’ evolutionary scenarios and propose the term “MEGA-box” to designate an ancestor promoter motif (‘TATATAAAATTGA’ that could be evolved gradually by nucleotides’ gain and loss and point mutations.

  19. Promoter Motifs in NCLDVs: An Evolutionary Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Graziele Pereira; Andrade, Ana Cláudia dos Santos Pereira; Rodrigues, Rodrigo Araújo Lima; Arantes, Thalita Souza; Boratto, Paulo Victor Miranda; Silva, Ludmila Karen dos Santos; Dornas, Fábio Pio; Trindade, Giliane de Souza; Drumond, Betânia Paiva; La Scola, Bernard; Kroon, Erna Geessien; Abrahão, Jônatas Santos

    2017-01-01

    For many years, gene expression in the three cellular domains has been studied in an attempt to discover sequences associated with the regulation of the transcription process. Some specific transcriptional features were described in viruses, although few studies have been devoted to understanding the evolutionary aspects related to the spread of promoter motifs through related viral families. The discovery of giant viruses and the proposition of the new viral order Megavirales that comprise a monophyletic group, named nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV), raised new questions in the field. Some putative promoter sequences have already been described for some NCLDV members, bringing new insights into the evolutionary history of these complex microorganisms. In this review, we summarize the main aspects of the transcription regulation process in the three domains of life, followed by a systematic description of what is currently known about promoter regions in several NCLDVs. We also discuss how the analysis of the promoter sequences could bring new ideas about the giant viruses’ evolution. Finally, considering a possible common ancestor for the NCLDV group, we discussed possible promoters’ evolutionary scenarios and propose the term “MEGA-box” to designate an ancestor promoter motif (‘TATATAAAATTGA’) that could be evolved gradually by nucleotides’ gain and loss and point mutations. PMID:28117683

  20. Using Normalisation Process Theory to investigate the implementation of school-based oral health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olajide, O J; Shucksmith, J; Maguire, A; Zohoori, F V

    2017-09-01

    Despite the considerable improvement in oral health of children in the UK over the last forty years, a significant burden of dental caries remains prevalent in some groups of children, indicating the need for more effective oral health promotion intervention (OHPI) strategies in this population. To explore the implementation process of a community-based OHPI, in the North East of England, using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) to provide insights on how effectiveness could be maximised. Utilising a generic qualitative research approach, 19 participants were recruited into the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with relevant National Health Service (NHS) staff and primary school teachers while focus group discussions were conducted with reception teachers and teaching assistants. Analyses were conducted using thematic analysis with emergent themes mapped onto NPT constructs. Participants highlighted the benefits of OHPI and the need for evidence in practice. However, implementation of 'best evidence' was hampered by lack of adequate synthesis of evidence from available clinical studies on effectiveness of OHPI as these generally have insufficient information on the dynamics of implementation and how effectiveness obtained in clinical studies could be achieved in 'real life'. This impacted on the decision-making process, levels of commitment, collaboration among OHP teams, resource allocation and evaluation of OHPI. A large gap exists between available research evidence and translation of evidence in OHPI in community settings. Effectiveness of OHPI requires not only an awareness of evidence of clinical effectiveness but also synthesised information about change mechanisms and implementation protocols. Copyright© 2017 Dennis Barber Ltd.

  1. Iconic cuisines, marketing and place promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Everett, Sally

    2015-01-01

    This chapter looks at how food and drink narratives are utilised to promote and create place identities. By exploring the concepts of heritage branding and constructed historical narratives, it illustrates how iconic cuisines are being employed to promote place and attract consumers. It argues that the marketing process is more than utilising established aspects of heritage cuisines and historical truths, as it is often about creating narratives to meet the evolving needs of destinations and ...

  2. Nutritional Recommendation Should Promote Sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reber, Robert J.

    1991-01-01

    Any process or event that disrupts the flow of nutrients and energy becomes a nutrition problem. Nutritionists should promote practices that protect the integrity, stability, and beauty of the land community (soil, water, air, all biological species). (Author)

  3. The pathology informatics curriculum wiki: Harnessing the power of user-generated content.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ji Yeon; Gudewicz, Thomas M; Dighe, Anand S; Gilbertson, John R

    2010-07-13

    The need for informatics training as part of pathology training has never been so critical, but pathology informatics is a wide and complex field and very few programs currently have the resources to provide comprehensive educational pathology informatics experiences to their residents. In this article, we present the "pathology informatics curriculum wiki", an open, on-line wiki that indexes the pathology informatics content in a larger public wiki, Wikipedia, (and other online content) and organizes it into educational modules based on the 2003 standard curriculum approved by the Association for Pathology Informatics (API). In addition to implementing the curriculum wiki at http://pathinformatics.wikispaces.com, we have evaluated pathology informatics content in Wikipedia. Of the 199 non-duplicate terms in the API curriculum, 90% have at least one associated Wikipedia article. Furthermore, evaluation of articles on a five-point Likert scale showed high scores for comprehensiveness (4.05), quality (4.08), currency (4.18), and utility for the beginner (3.85) and advanced (3.93) learners. These results are compelling and support the thesis that Wikipedia articles can be used as the foundation for a basic curriculum in pathology informatics. The pathology informatics community now has the infrastructure needed to collaboratively and openly create, maintain and distribute the pathology informatics content worldwide (Wikipedia) and also the environment (the curriculum wiki) to draw upon its own resources to index and organize this content as a sustainable basic pathology informatics educational resource. The remaining challenges are numerous, but largest by far will be to convince the pathologists to take the time and effort required to build pathology informatics content in Wikipedia and to index and organize this content for education in the curriculum wiki.

  4. Heterogeneous nucleation promotes carrier transport in solution-processed organic field-effect transistors

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Ruipeng

    2012-09-04

    A new way to investigate and control the growth of solution-cast thin films is presented. The combination of in situ quartz crystal microbalance measurements with dissipation capabilities (QCM-D) and in situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) in an environmental chamber provides unique quantitative insights into the time-evolution of the concentration of the solution, the onset of nucleation, and the mode of growth of the organic semiconductor under varied drying conditions. It is demonstrated that careful control over the kinetics of solution drying enhances carrier transport significantly by promoting phase transformation predominantly via heterogeneous nucleation and sustained surface growth of a highly lamellar structure at the solid-liquid interface at the expense of homogeneous nucleation. A new way to investigate and control the growth of drop-cast thin films is presented. The solution-processing of small-molecule thin films of TIPS-pentacene is investigated using time-resolved techniques to reveal the mechanisms of nucleation and growth leading to solid film formation. By tuning the drying speed of the solution, the balance between surface and bulk growth modes is altered, thereby controlling the lamellar formation and tuning the carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Operationalising and piloting the IUHPE European accreditation system for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battel-Kirk, Barbara; Barry, Margaret M; van der Zanden, Gerard; Contu, Paolo; Gallardo, Carmen; Martinez, Ana; Speller, Viv; Debenedetti, Sara

    2015-09-01

    The International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) European Accreditation System for Health Promotion aims to promote quality assurance in health promotion practice, education and training. The System is designed to be flexible and sensitive to the different contexts for health promotion practice, education and training in Europe, while maintaining robust criteria. These competency-based criteria were developed in the CompHP Project (2009-2012) that developed core competencies, professional standards and an accreditation framework for health promotion practice, education and training in the context of workforce capacity development in Europe.This paper describes how consultations undertaken with the health promotion community informed the structure and processes of the IUHPE Accreditation System. An overview of its development, key functions and the piloting of its implementation, which was co-funded by the European Union in the context of the EU Health Programme, is presented.Feedback from consultations with key health promotion stakeholders in Europe indicated overall support for the development of an accreditation system for health promotion. However, a number of potential barriers to its implementation were noted including: absence of dedicated practitioners and professional bodies in some countries; lack of clarity about professional boundaries; lack of financial resources required to facilitate capacity building; and concerns about the costs, objectivity and transparency of the system. Feedback from the consultations shaped and informed the process of designing an operational accreditation system to ensure that it would be responsive to potential users' needs and concerns.Based on the agreed structures and processes, a web-based application system was developed and managed at IUHPE headquarters. A governance structure was established together with agreed policies and procedures for the System. During the pilot period, applications from 20

  6. Drug promotion practices: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Nilan T

    2018-01-18

    Over the years, the pharmaceutical industry has been at the forefront of research and innovation in drug discovery and development. The process of drug discovery extending from preclinical studies to multicentric clinical trials and postmarketing phase is a costly affair running into billions of dollars. On the flip side, not all investigational molecules clear the trial phases and get approved, which puts pressure on the manufacturers to maximize the profit from approved drugs. It is in this key area that the practice of drug promotion plays its role. The World Health Organization defines drug promotion as "all informational and persuasive activities by manufacturers and distributors, the effect of which is to influence the prescription, supply, purchase or use of medicinal drugs". With its humble intent of creating awareness among healthcare professionals and updating their knowledge on recent advances in treatment options, drug promotion has been an important tool, but gradually it has evolved to embrace aggressive marketing strategies and sometimes unethical business and scientific practices where the need for profit-making eclipses commitment to patient care and scientific exploration. In this review, we discuss the evolution of drug promotion practices, the various types, its merits and demerits, the influence of drug promotion on physician prescribing behaviour, the role of regulatory bodies, unethical promotional practices and finally summarize with future directions. © 2018 The British Pharmacological Society.

  7. Health promotion: an ethical analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Stacy M

    2014-04-01

    Thinking and practising ethically requires reasoning systematically about the right thing to do. Health promotion ethics - a form of applied ethics - includes analysis of health promotion practice and how this can be ethically justified. Existing frameworks can assist in such evaluation. These acknowledge the moral value of delivering benefits. But benefits need to be weighed against burdens, harms or wrongs, and these should be minimised: they include invading privacy, breaking confidentiality, restraining liberty, undermining self-determination or people's own values, or perpetuating injustice. Thinking about the ethics of health promotion also means recognising health promotion as a normative ideal: a vision of the good society. This ideal society values health, sees citizens as active and includes them in decisions that affect them, and makes the state responsible for providing all of its citizens, no matter how advantaged or disadvantaged, with the conditions and resources they need to be healthy. Ethicists writing about health promotion have focused on this relationship between the citizen and the state. Comparing existing frameworks, theories and the expressed values of practitioners themselves, we can see common patterns. All oppose pursuing an instrumental, individualistic, health-at-all-costs vision of health promotion. And all defend the moral significance of just processes: those that engage with citizens in a transparent, inclusive and open way. In recent years, some Australian governments have sought to delegitimise health promotion, defining it as extraneous to the role of the state. Good evidence is not enough to counter this trend, because it is founded in competing visions of a good society. For this reason, the most pressing agenda for health promotion ethics is to engage with communities, in a procedurally just way, about the role and responsibilities of the citizen and the state in promoting and maintaining good health.

  8. Promoters for radiation induced cross-linking in polymer substances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pearson, D.S.; Shurpik, A.J.

    1975-01-01

    Process for the production of vulcanizates of diolefin rubbers by irradiation of compositions containing such rubbers utilizing polyhydrosulfides such as 1,10-di-mercapto-decane as direct promoters. Indirect promoters may also be used to lower the total dose requirements. (Patent Office Record)

  9. Editorial Bias in Crowd-Sourced Political Information.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua L Kalla

    Full Text Available The Internet has dramatically expanded citizens' access to and ability to engage with political information. On many websites, any user can contribute and edit "crowd-sourced" information about important political figures. One of the most prominent examples of crowd-sourced information on the Internet is Wikipedia, a free and open encyclopedia created and edited entirely by users, and one of the world's most accessed websites. While previous studies of crowd-sourced information platforms have found them to be accurate, few have considered biases in what kinds of information are included. We report the results of four randomized field experiments that sought to explore what biases exist in the political articles of this collaborative website. By randomly assigning factually true but either positive or negative and cited or uncited information to the Wikipedia pages of U.S. senators, we uncover substantial evidence of an editorial bias toward positivity on Wikipedia: Negative facts are 36% more likely to be removed by Wikipedia editors than positive facts within 12 hours and 29% more likely within 3 days. Although citations substantially increase an edit's survival time, the editorial bias toward positivity is not eliminated by inclusion of a citation. We replicate this study on the Wikipedia pages of deceased as well as recently retired but living senators and find no evidence of an editorial bias in either. Our results demonstrate that crowd-sourced information is subject to an editorial bias that favors the politically active.

  10. Editorial Bias in Crowd-Sourced Political Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalla, Joshua L; Aronow, Peter M

    2015-01-01

    The Internet has dramatically expanded citizens' access to and ability to engage with political information. On many websites, any user can contribute and edit "crowd-sourced" information about important political figures. One of the most prominent examples of crowd-sourced information on the Internet is Wikipedia, a free and open encyclopedia created and edited entirely by users, and one of the world's most accessed websites. While previous studies of crowd-sourced information platforms have found them to be accurate, few have considered biases in what kinds of information are included. We report the results of four randomized field experiments that sought to explore what biases exist in the political articles of this collaborative website. By randomly assigning factually true but either positive or negative and cited or uncited information to the Wikipedia pages of U.S. senators, we uncover substantial evidence of an editorial bias toward positivity on Wikipedia: Negative facts are 36% more likely to be removed by Wikipedia editors than positive facts within 12 hours and 29% more likely within 3 days. Although citations substantially increase an edit's survival time, the editorial bias toward positivity is not eliminated by inclusion of a citation. We replicate this study on the Wikipedia pages of deceased as well as recently retired but living senators and find no evidence of an editorial bias in either. Our results demonstrate that crowd-sourced information is subject to an editorial bias that favors the politically active.

  11. Learning how scientists work: experiential research projects to promote cell biology learning and scientific process skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DebBurman, Shubhik K

    2002-01-01

    Facilitating not only the mastery of sophisticated subject matter, but also the development of process skills is an ongoing challenge in teaching any introductory undergraduate course. To accomplish this goal in a sophomore-level introductory cell biology course, I require students to work in groups and complete several mock experiential research projects that imitate the professional activities of the scientific community. I designed these projects as a way to promote process skill development within content-rich pedagogy and to connect text-based and laboratory-based learning with the world of contemporary research. First, students become familiar with one primary article from a leading peer-reviewed journal, which they discuss by means of PowerPoint-based journal clubs and journalism reports highlighting public relevance. Second, relying mostly on primary articles, they investigate the molecular basis of a disease, compose reviews for an in-house journal, and present seminars in a public symposium. Last, students author primary articles detailing investigative experiments conducted in the lab. This curriculum has been successful in both quarter-based and semester-based institutions. Student attitudes toward their learning were assessed quantitatively with course surveys. Students consistently reported that these projects significantly lowered barriers to primary literature, improved research-associated skills, strengthened traditional pedagogy, and helped accomplish course objectives. Such approaches are widely suited for instructors seeking to integrate process with content in their courses.

  12. Effect of Ultrasonic Frequency on Lactic Acid Fermentation Promotion by Ultrasonic Irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimada, Tadayuki; Ohdaira, Etsuzo; Masuzawa, Nobuyoshi

    2004-05-01

    The authors have been researching the promotion of lactic acid fermentation by ultrasonic irradiation. In the past research, it was proven that ultrasonic irradiation is effective in the process of fermentation, and the production of yoghurt and kefir was promoted. In this study, the effect of the ultrasonic frequency in this fermentation process was examined. In the frequency range of this study, it was found that the action of fermentation promotion was exponentially proportionate to the irradiated ultrasonic frequency.

  13. The Role of Promotion in Milling and Bakery Products Sales

    OpenAIRE

    Sergiu-Bogdan Constantin

    2009-01-01

    Irrespective of the avenue chosen for the retail of milling and bakery products, a key role in sales growth is the one played by promotion, information of the future customers as to the characteristics of the products, the execution and sale conditions. Such information process takes place by means of the promotional mix, consisting of a blend of advertising, sales promotion, public relations tools, trademarks, promotional events, and sales forces. The milling and baking industry uses, to cer...

  14. Long-term impact of prevention programs to promote effective parenting: lasting effects but uncertain processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandler, Irwin N; Schoenfelder, Erin N; Wolchik, Sharlene A; MacKinnon, David P

    2011-01-01

    This article reviews findings from 46 randomized experimental trials of preventive parenting interventions. The findings of these trials provide evidence of effects to prevent a wide range of problem outcomes and to promote competencies from one to 20 years later. However, there is a paucity of evidence concerning the processes that account for program effects. Three alternative pathways are proposed as a framework for future research on the long-term effects of preventive parenting programs: (a) through program effects on parenting skills, perceptions of parental efficacy, and reduction in barriers to effective parenting; (b) through program-induced reductions in short-term problems of youth that persist over time, improvements in youth adaptation to stress, and improvements in youth belief systems concerning the self and their relationships with others; and (c) through effects on contexts in which youth become involved and on youth-environment transactions.

  15. Cognitive diffusion model with user-oriented context-to-text recognition for learning to promote high level cognitive processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu-Yuin Hwang

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available There is a large number of studies on how to promote students’ cognitive processes and learning achievements through various learning activities supported by advanced learning technologies. However, not many of them focus on applying the knowledge that students learn in school to solve authentic daily life problems. This study aims to propose a cognitive diffusion model called User-oriented Context-to-Text Recognition for Learning (U-CTRL to facilitate and improve students’ learning and cognitive processes from lower levels (i.e., Remember and Understand to higher levels (i.e., Apply and above through an innovative approach, called User-Oriented Context-to-Text Recognition for Learning (U-CTRL. With U-CTRL, students participate in learning activities in which they capture the learning context that can be scanned and recognized by a computer application as text. Furthermore, this study proposes the use of an innovative model, called Cognitive Diffusion Model, to investigate the diffusion and transition of students’ cognitive processes in different learning stages including pre-schooling, after-schooling, crossing the chasm, and higher cognitive processing. Finally, two cases are presented to demonstrate how the U-CTRL approach can be used to facilitate student cognition in their learning of English and Natural science.

  16. PROMOTION OF MONTENEGRO THROUGH SPORTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dervis Selhanovic

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Modern social structures of Montenegro exist in a hypercomplex and very dynamic environment. The complexity and dynamism are, in part, a consequence of the general characteristics of the modern age, and in part, of the transition processes which have affected the Montenegrin society. The transition processes are taking place at all levels and subsystems of the community, and its sociological milieu is facing inevitability of adaptation and immersion in such processes and trends. There is no more positive promotion for a country than a sports promotion. There is no expert team, public relations agency or a lawyer than can win Montenegro a front page. We can talk about the importance of sports for the promotion of Montenegro from another point of view. If we compare the number of occurrences of names of the selected Montenegrin athletes with that of politicians, scientists or artists in different internet search engines, we will realize how great is the capacity of marketing potential that lies in Montenegrin sports and top athletes as representatives of the products and services with the label - Made in Montenegro. In addition to the success of the Montenegrin athletes globally, the promotion of Montenegro through sports is directly contributed by the major sporting events and contests, on account of which Montenegro presented itself not only as an excellent host and organizer, but also demonstrated the remarkable state and marketing capabilities and competencies. Reputation (image is not achieved overnight. Its semiological and symbolic charge includes all (visual, vocal, environmental, personal, active inputs, which need to be channelled and created. Indeed, continual work in creating and maintaining the image of Montenegro is a public relations function. With efficiently and professionally developed media and PR strategy, the modern state of Montenegro may expect to favourably position its image at the international scene, and to present its

  17. Reciprocity Outperforms Conformity to Promote Cooperation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romano, Angelo; Balliet, Daniel

    2017-10-01

    Evolutionary psychologists have proposed two processes that could give rise to the pervasiveness of human cooperation observed among individuals who are not genetically related: reciprocity and conformity. We tested whether reciprocity outperformed conformity in promoting cooperation, especially when these psychological processes would promote a different cooperative or noncooperative response. To do so, across three studies, we observed participants' cooperation with a partner after learning (a) that their partner had behaved cooperatively (or not) on several previous trials and (b) that their group members had behaved cooperatively (or not) on several previous trials with that same partner. Although we found that people both reciprocate and conform, reciprocity has a stronger influence on cooperation. Moreover, we found that conformity can be partly explained by a concern about one's reputation-a finding that supports a reciprocity framework.

  18. The CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, Margaret M.; Battel-Kirk, Barbara; Dempsey, Colette

    2012-01-01

    Background: The CompHP Project on Developing Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion in Europe was developed in response to the need for new and changing health promotion competencies to address health challenges. This article presents the process of developing the CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion across…

  19. PROMOTING TOURISTIC BRAND ”BUCOVINA”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana HÎNCU

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The concept of tourism product appears as a part of the travel agencies and the tourist areas such as: Bucovina and Maramures, Danube Delta, Dobrogea etc. Tourist areas have become real brands along the sights of Romania. Associations promote tourism, tourist information centers and tourist promotion offices of Romania, together with ANAT should devise strategies to promote tourism brands representing Romania. Regarding tourism brand, it is a picture element, which identifies the products or services of a tourist zone. Customers are the ones who decide if that brand live up to their expectations or not. Travel Branding is a process of creating and maintaining a brand in the hospitality industry. Travel Branding refers to identifying and exploiting competitive advantages in our case about the strengths of your product or Bucovina tourist area. Bucovina ,,Neverland” promoting a full of beauty. I think it can awaken from the numbness Romanian tourism. Just as red Bordeaux promote France among others, as well as Voronet blue is a Romanian brand, internationally recognized, and I think that is the most important national tourism brand. After many this area is considered a wonderland of Romania, a pearl of the country that can make the most to promote the culture and traditions of this part of Europe, so-called Switzerland of Romania. It's an area where natural beauty is complemented by monasteries and hospitality of the people of the lands.

  20. A Study on the Korea Database Industry Promotion Act Legislation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bae, Seoung-Hun

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The Database Industry Promotion Act was proposed at the National Assembly plenary session on July 26, 2012 and since then it has been in the process of enactment in consultation with all the governmental departments concerned. The recent trend of economic globalization and smart device innovation suggests a new opportunity and challenges for all industries. The database industry is also facing a new phase in an era of smart innovation. Korea is in a moment of opportunity to take an innovative approach to promoting the database industry. Korea should set up a national policy to promote the database industry for citizens, government, and research institutions, as well as enterprises. Above all, the Database Industry Promotion Act could play a great role in promoting the social infrastructure to enhance the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises. This article discusses the background of the development of the Database Industry Promotion Act and its legislative processes in order to clarify its legal characteristics, including the meaning of the act. In addition, this article explains individual items related to the overall structure of the Database Industry Promotion Act. Finally, this article reviews the economic effects of the database industry for now and the future.

  1. Health promotion competencies: providing a road map for health promotion to assume a prominent role in global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shilton, Trevor

    2009-06-01

    Understanding of health and its determinants is rapidly expanding and changing. The emergence of chronic diseases as the leading cause of global disease burden and improved understanding of social determinants of health has brought greater focus to the role of prevention in health. The IUHPE has shown outstanding leadership through the Galway Consensus Statement. Its three recommendations appropriately focus on stimulating dialogue, developing global consensus and communicating the results to key stakeholders. The IUHPE can further enhance progress of the statement by developing participative processes to ensure engagement and ownership by its members. The Galway Consensus Statement can be used to advance professional standards in global health promotion by: (1) providing a common language by which health promotion and its meaning can be communicated to others; (2) providing a framework for building capacity in the health promotion workforce and in the health workforce in general; (3) providing international consensus for consistency in university health promotion courses; (4) providing a framework for credentialing in health promotion; (5) better informing health promotion engagement with other significant workforce sectors and advancing partnership as a key way of working. A vital further application of the Galway Consensus Statement is to inform advocacy. Advocacy is vital to ensure health promotion is better resourced and prioritized by policy makers. Advocacy and communication are vital tools to highlight the evidence, establish the policy fit and infrastructure requirements of health promotion, and present health promotion solutions based on evidence of effectiveness.

  2. Inducing a health-promoting change process within an organization the Effectiveness of a Large-Scale Intervention on Social Capital, Openness, and Autonomous Motivation Toward Health

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scheppingen, A.R. van; Vroome, E.M.M. de; Have, K.C.J.M. ten; Bos, E.H.; Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M.; Mechelen, W. van

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To examine the effectiveness of an organizational large-scale intervention applied to induce a health-promoting organizational change process. Design and Methods: A quasi-experimental, "as-treated" design was used. Regression analyses on data of employees of a Dutch dairy company (n =324)

  3. Iron promotion of the TiO2 photosensitization process towards the photocatalytic oxidation of azo dyes under solar-simulated light irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, Camilo A.; Centeno, Aristobulo; Giraldo, Sonia A.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Azo dye photooxidation occurs under strict combination of ultraviolet and visible irradiation of Fe-TiO 2 . → Fe 3+ enhances the TiO 2 photooxidation of azo dyes while decreases that of phenol. → UV irradiation leads to a decrease in photooxidation activity of Fe-TiO 2 photocatalysts. - Abstract: The photocatalytic oxidation of the azo dye Orange-II (Or-II) using Fe loaded TiO 2 (Fe-TiO 2 ) was studied under ultraviolet (UV), visible (vis) and simultaneous UV-vis irradiations using a solar light simulator. Photocatalysts were characterized by means of XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR and DRS. Fe 3+ species, identified in XPS analyses, were responsible of the increased absorption of visible light. Moreover, DRS analyses showed a decrease in the bandgap due to Fe 3+ loading. Photocatalystic tests proved that Fe modification enhanced the TiO 2 photocatalytic activity towards Or-II photodegradation under simultaneous UV-vis irradiation. Even so, the performance of the Fe-TiO 2 samples towards the photodegradation of phenol, under UV irradiation, was lower than TiO 2 suggesting the recombination of the UV photogenerated electron-hole pair. Therefore, results evidence a Fe 3+ promotion of the electron caption in the photosensitization process of TiO 2 by Or-II acting as a sensitizer. Such process leads to the Or-II photooxidation under UV-vis irradiation by losing energy in electron transferring processes to sensitize TiO 2 , and, the formation of reactive oxygen species promoted by the injected electron to the TiO 2 conduction band.

  4. Use of marketing to disseminate brief alcohol intervention to general practitioners: promoting health care interventions to health promoters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lock, C A; Kaner, E F

    2000-11-01

    Health research findings are of little benefit to patients or society if they do not reach the audience they are intended to influence. Thus, a dissemination strategy is needed to target new findings at its user group and encourage a process of consideration and adoption or rejection. Social marketing techniques can be utilized to aid successful dissemination of research findings and to speed the process by which new information reaches practice. Principles of social marketing include manipulating the marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion. This paper describes the development of a marketing approach and the outcomes from a trial evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of manipulating promotional strategies to disseminate actively a screening and brief alcohol intervention (SBI) programme to general practitioners (GPs). The promotional strategies consisted of postal marketing, telemarketing and personal marketing. The study took place in general practices across the Northern and Yorkshire Regional Health Authority. Of the 614 GPs eligible for the study, one per practice, 321 (52%) took the programme and of those available to use it for 3 months (315), 128 (41%) actively considered doing so, 73 (23%) actually went on to use it. Analysis of the specific impact of the three different promotional strategies revealed that while personal marketing was the most effective overall dissemination and implementation strategy, telemarketing was more cost-effective. The findings of our work show that using a marketing approach is promising for conveying research findings to GPs and in particular a focus on promotional strategies can facilitate high levels of uptake and consideration in this target group.

  5. An exploration of decision aid effectiveness: the impact of promoting affective vs. deliberative processing on a health-related decision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Esther L; McCaffery, Kirsten; Mullan, Barbara; Juraskova, Ilona

    2015-12-01

    Decision aids (DAs) are non-directive communication tools that help patients make value-consistent health-care decisions. However, most DAs have been developed without an explicit theoretical framework, resulting in a lack of understanding of how DAs achieve outcomes. To investigate the effect of promoting affective vs. deliberative processing on DA effectiveness based on dual-process theory. One hundred and forty-eight female university students participated in a randomized controlled experiment with three conditions: emotion-focused, information-focused and control. Preference-value consistency, knowledge, decisional conflict and satisfaction were compared across the conditions using planned contrast analyses. The intervention comprised two different DAs and instructional manipulations. The emotion-focused condition received a modified DA with affective content and instructions to induce an affective reaction. The information-focused and control conditions received the same DA without the affective content. The information-focused condition received additional instructions to induce deliberative processing. Controlling for the experiment-wise error rate at P processing may hinder value-consistent decision making, while deliberative processing may enhance decisional satisfaction. This investigation of the effect of affective and deliberative processes in DA-supported decision making has implications for the design and use of DAs. DA effectiveness may be enhanced by incorporating a simple instruction to focus on the details of the information. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. The Role of Promotion in Milling and Bakery Products Sales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergiu-Bogdan Constantin

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Irrespective of the avenue chosen for the retail of milling and bakery products, a key role in sales growth is the one played by promotion, information of the future customers as to the characteristics of the products, the execution and sale conditions. Such information process takes place by means of the promotional mix, consisting of a blend of advertising, sales promotion, public relations tools, trademarks, promotional events, and sales forces. The milling and baking industry uses, to certain extent, all the components of the promotional mix. Product promotion is central both to sales growth, as well as to educating, advising and informing consumers as to how they can select quality milling and bakery products.

  7. Integrating relationship- and research-based approaches in Australian health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinner, Christiane; Carter, Stacy M; Rychetnik, Lucie; Li, Vincy; Daley, Michelle; Zask, Avigdor; Lloyd, Beverly

    2015-12-01

    We examine the perspectives of health promotion practitioners on their approaches to determining health promotion practice, in particular on the role of research and relationships in this process. Using Grounded Theory methods, we analysed 58 semi-structured interviews with 54 health promotion practitioners in New South Wales, Australia. Practitioners differentiated between relationship-based and research-based approaches as two sources of knowledge to guide health promotion practice. We identify several tensions in seeking to combine these approaches in practice and describe the strategies that participants adopted to manage these tensions. The strategies included working in an evidence-informed rather than evidence-based way, creating new evidence about relationship-based processes and outcomes, adopting 'relationship-based' research and evaluation methods, making research and evaluation useful for communities, building research and evaluation skills and improving collaboration between research and evaluation and programme implementation staff. We conclude by highlighting three systemic factors which could further support the integration of research-based and relationship-based health promotion practices: (i) expanding conceptions of health promotion evidence, (ii) developing 'relationship-based' research methods that enable practitioners to measure complex social processes and outcomes and to facilitate community participation and benefit, and (iii) developing organizational capacity. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Health promotion viewed as processes of subjectification in the education of Danish Social and Healthcare Workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehn-Christiansen, Sine

    2011-01-01

    problems of both a social and moral character. It is shown how health promotion has a thorough impact on the students' possibilities of coming into being as ( professional) subjects. The article points to the conclusion that in this particular educational setting, health promotion constitutes...

  9. Advancing Engaged Scholarship in Promotion and Tenure: A Roadmap and Call for Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Meara, KerryAnn; Eatman, Timothy; Petersen, Saul

    2015-01-01

    Despite the precipitous increase in nontenure-track faculty appointments, the promotion and tenure process continues to operate as a central "motivational and cultural force in the academic lives" of many faculty members. As a part of larger reward systems, the promotion and tenure process reflects institutional values, aspirations,…

  10. Identification of a novel temperature sensitive promoter in cho cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hesse Friedemann

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Chinese hamster ovary (CHO expression system is the leading production platform for manufacturing biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of numerous human diseases. Efforts to optimize the production process also include the genetic construct encoding the therapeutic gene. Here we report about the successful identification of an endogenous highly active gene promoter obtained from CHO cells which shows conditionally inducible gene expression at reduced temperature. Results Based on CHO microarray expression data abundantly transcribed genes were selected as potential promoter candidates. The S100a6 (calcyclin and its flanking regions were identified from a genomic CHO-K1 lambda-phage library. Computational analyses showed a predicted TSS, a TATA-box and several TFBSs within the 1.5 kb region upstream the ATG start signal. Various constructs were investigated for promoter activity at 37°C and 33°C in transient luciferase reporter gene assays. Most constructs showed expression levels even higher than the SV40 control and on average a more than two-fold increase at lower temperature. We identified the core promoter sequence (222 bp comprising two SP1 sites and could show a further increase in activity by duplication of this minimal sequence. Conclusions This novel CHO promoter permits conditionally high-level gene expression. Upon a shift to 33°C, a two to three-fold increase of basal productivity (already higher than SV40 promoter is achieved. This property is of particular advantage for a process with reduced expression during initial cell growth followed by the production phase at low temperature with a boost in expression. Additionally, production of toxic proteins becomes feasible, since cell metabolism and gene expression do not directly interfere. The CHO S100a6 promoter can be characterized as cold-shock responsive with the potential for improving process performance of mammalian expression systems.

  11. Imagining roles for epigenetics in health promotion research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBride, Colleen M; Koehly, Laura M

    2017-04-01

    Discoveries from the Human Genome Project have invigorated discussions of epigenetic effects-modifiable chemical processes that influence DNA's ability to give instructions to turn gene expression on or off-on health outcomes. We suggest three domains in which new understandings of epigenetics could inform innovations in health promotion research: (1) increase the motivational potency of health communications (e.g., explaining individual differences in health outcomes to interrupt optimistic biases about health exposures); (2) illuminate new approaches to targeted and tailored health promotion interventions (e.g., relapse prevention targeted to epigenetic responses to intervention participation); and (3) inform more sensitive measures of intervention impact, (e.g., replace or augment self-reported adherence). We suggest a three-step process for using epigenetics in health promotion research that emphasizes integrating epigenetic mechanisms into conceptual model development that then informs selection of intervention approaches and outcomes. Lastly, we pose examples of relevant scientific questions worth exploring.

  12. Health promotion in connection to the health care students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Kyuchukova

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The activities of health promotion for the students in health care specialties is organized and managed by the teacher process. During the training communication skills are acquired. It is the time for preparing students for work in counseling and patient education, collecting and providing health information - promotive function in the process of care (1. We assumed that these opportunities could be used in our work with children deprived of parental care. We set a goal to explore experiences, attitudes and ideas about students’ participation in health care in health promotion in the community of children and individuals. The study found that students are aware of the social importance of the knowledge acquired during the training and are convinced of the need to support adolescents to develop a responsible attitude towards their own health.

  13. Applications of Process Synthesis: Moving from Conventional Chemical Processes towards Biorefinery Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yuan, Zhihong; Chen, Bingzhen; Gani, Rafiqul

    2013-01-01

    Concerns about diminishing petroleum reserves, enhanced worldwide demand for fuels and fluctuations in the global oil market, together with climate change and national security have promoted many initiatives for exploring alternative, non-petroleum based processes. Among these initiatives......, biorefinery processes for converting biomass-derived carbohydrates into transportation fuels and chemicals are now gaining more and more attention from both academia and industry. Process synthesis, which has played a vital role for the development, design and operation of (petro) chemical processes, can...

  14. 75 FR 13238 - Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Delay of Referendum

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-19

    ... Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Delay of Referendum AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service... further modifications to its proposal. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Coy, Marketing Specialist... Part 1208 Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Consumer information, Marketing...

  15. A Guide for Understanding Health Education and Promotion Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Richard W; Nahar, Vinayak K

    2018-03-01

    Planning, Implementing & Evaluating Health Promotion Programs: A Primer is a versatile and comprehensive resource on the theoretical and practical underpinnings of successful health promotion programs. The requirements for effective health promotion program development are presented with frequent use of practical planning examples, pedagogical devices, and expert rationale. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate students in health education, promotion, and planning courses, this 15-chapter textbook is organized in a manner that specifically addresses the responsibilities and competencies required of health education specialists as published in the Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis of 2015. The authors of this textbook are leaders in the field and provide readers with the skills necessary to carry out the full process of health promotion program execution, while also offering direct preparation for CHES and MCHES licensing exams.

  16. Community health promotion approaches within institutions for disabled

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Jesper

    From a two years study of 3 special educational institutions for disabled in Zealand, Denmark, we have done qualitative studies of the focus-areas that the institutions have pointed out as their Best Practices of Health Promotion in everyday life. We have in general followed research questions......: What practices do special institutions for people with developmental disabilities believe to be health promoting, and will a research based reconstruction of these practices with health promotion concepts have anything to offer for professionals in this area? How will the involved parties experience...... each other practices and is possible to establish a mutual institutional learning process, as a surplus to normal quality control (NPM)? What understandings of psyche, individual, mind-body-spirit, health promotion etc. are involved in these practices, and how do they relate to the institutional...

  17. Analysis and Modeling of Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Air Force Military Personnel

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-09-01

    go to Annette R. Robb, the Director of the International Student Office at AFIT, and to my host family in the United States. I should not forget...and units as well as X-ray departments, rehabilitation and 57 physiotherapy services. (WHO, 2004: 48-49) Regrettably, the physical and emotional... Students /alcoholEffects/index.htm Wikipedia/Automobile Safety, 18 August 2008. 19 August 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_safety

  18. American Grand Strategy and the Future of U.S. Landpower

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-01

    constraints, opportuni- ties, and worldviews are their own; they cannot be translated immediately into American English . It is nevertheless worthwhile...Maritime Forces,” Wikipedia, available from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Maritime_Forces#Combined_ Maritime_Forces. 15. The Economist: Pocket World in...meet one’s day-to-day needs.” See Merriam-Webster Dictionary . 6. “Prevent” is a descriptive that encompasses a combination of force generation (i.e

  19. Motivating factors for small and midsized businesses to implement worksite health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witt, Laurel B; Olsen, Delane; Ablah, Elizabeth

    2013-11-01

    This study explores the decision-making process, including motivating factors, for small and midsized businesses in the Midwest to implement health promotion initiatives. This a replication of a study conducted in the Pacific Northwest. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with key informants from 12 Midwestern metropolitan employers with fewer than 1,000 employees. Informants were interviewed regarding their companies' policies and practices around workplace health promotion programming adoption and valuation. Workplace health promotion adoption at these small and midsized businesses was motivated by three goals: to lower health care costs, to address human relations objectives, and to improve productivity. Low upfront cost was the most frequently considered criterion in choosing which workplace health promotion program to offer. Barriers to implementation included lack of employee buy-in, prohibitive costs, and personnel or time constraints. Aids to implementation included employee buy-in and affordability. This study suggests that cost considerations predominate in the workplace health promotion decision-making process at small to midsized businesses. Furthermore, employee buy-in cannot be underestimated as a factor in successful program implementation or longevity. Employees, along with executives and human resources management, must be appropriately targeted by health promotion practitioners in workplace health promotion efforts.

  20. Whole-school mental health promotion in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip T. Slee

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Although there is increasing recognition internationally of the significance of social and emotional health and wellbeing for the healthy development of young people, the levels of support that governments provide for mental health policy and programme initiatives vary widely. In this paper, consideration is given to Australia's approach to mental health promotion from early years to secondary school, including specific reference to the KidsMatter Primary mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative. Although it is now well established that schools provide important settings for the promotion of mental health initiatives, there are significant challenges faced in effectively implementing and maintaining the delivery of evidence-based practice in school settings, including concerns about quality assurance in processes of implementation, translation, dissemination and evaluation.

  1. Nurses' perceptions, understanding and experiences of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Dympna

    2007-06-01

    This paper presents an account of nurses' perceptions and understanding of health promotion in an acute setting. Health promotion is considered the remit of every nurse. To engage in health-promoting practice, however, nurses need to understand the term 'health promotion' clearly. A single qualitative embedded case study was used. Purposive sampling of eight nurses was employed. Initially, theses nurses were observed in practice and, following this, a semi-structured one-to-one interview was conducted with each observed nurse. Qualitative data analysis guided by work of Miles and Huberman was employed. The data revealed one main theme: health-promoting nursing practice and this consisted of six categories and five subcategories. The findings indicated that nurses struggled to describe their understanding of health promotion, their understanding was limited and the strategies described to conduct health promotion were narrow and focused on the individual. Their perceptions and descriptions of health promotion were more in keeping with the traditional health education approach. Overall health promotion was reported to occur infrequently, being added on if the nurse had time. Factors relating to education, organizational and management issues were identified as key barriers prohibiting health-promoting nursing practice. Nurses must recognize that health promotion is a broad concept that does not exclusively focus on the individual or lifestyle factors. Nurses must be educated to recognize health-promoting opportunities in the acute setting, as well as how to plan for and conduct health promotion so that it becomes integral to practice. A review of the methods of organizing and delivering nursing care is also advocated. Ward managers have an important role in supporting nurses, creating a culture for health promotion and sharing power in decision-making processes, so that nurses feel valued and empowered.

  2. Influencing organizations to promote health: applying stakeholder theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kok, Gerjo; Gurabardhi, Zamira; Gottlieb, Nell H; Zijlstra, Fred R H

    2015-04-01

    Stakeholder theory may help health promoters to make changes at the organizational and policy level to promote health. A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can influence an organization. The organization that is the focus for influence attempts is called the focal organization. The more salient a stakeholder is and the more central in the network, the stronger the influence. As stakeholders, health promoters may use communicative, compromise, deinstitutionalization, or coercive methods through an ally or a coalition. A hypothetical case study, involving adolescent use of harmful legal products, illustrates the process of applying stakeholder theory to strategic decision making. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  3. Food processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teodorowicz, Malgorzata; Neerven, Van Joost; Savelkoul, Huub

    2017-01-01

    The majority of foods that are consumed in our developed society have been processed. Processing promotes a non-enzymatic reaction between proteins and sugars, the Maillard reaction (MR). Maillard reaction products (MRPs) contribute to the taste, smell and color of many food products, and thus

  4. Gender differences in promotion into top-management jobs

    OpenAIRE

    Bell, Linda; Smith, Nina; Smith, Valdemar; Verner, Mette

    2008-01-01

    In this paper the promotion process of top executive officers (CEOs) in Danish private firms is analysed. The main research question to be analysed is whether the lower chances for women to become promoted into top management jobs are mainly attributable to individual background characteristics and special focus is given to the effects of family related variables. The descriptive statistics suggest that the family background (marital status, number of children, spouse labour force participati...

  5. Modelling the results of health promotion activities in Switzerland: development of the Swiss Model for Outcome Classification in Health Promotion and Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Brenda; Broesskamp-Stone, Ursel; Ruckstuhl, Brigitte; Ackermann, Günter; Spoerri, Adrian; Cloetta, Bernhard

    2008-03-01

    This paper describes the Model for Outcome Classification in Health Promotion and Prevention adopted by Health Promotion Switzerland (SMOC, Swiss Model for Outcome Classification) and the process of its development. The context and method of model development, and the aim and objectives of the model are outlined. Preliminary experience with application of the model in evaluation planning and situation analysis is reported. On the basis of an extensive literature search, the model is situated within the wider international context of similar efforts to meet the challenge of developing tools to assess systematically the activities of health promotion and prevention.

  6. 78 FR 78325 - National Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Programs; Request for Extension and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-26

    ... carry out projects relating to research, consumer information, advertising, sales, promotion, producer... Service [Doc.No. AMS-LPS-13-0088] National Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Programs; Request... of Softwood Lumber and National Processed Raspberry Promotion, Research, and Information Programs...

  7. In-store promotional mix and the effects on female consumer buying decisions in relation to cosmetic products

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Dong-Jenn; Lee, C. W.

    2016-01-01

    This study was conducted to ascertain the relationship between the females' in-store purchasing decision process and the promotional mix. Two cosmetic salesmen groups were interviewed by using focus group interview technique to understand females' buying decision process with in-store promotional mix. The results indicated that females with buying intention will improve the effectiveness of in-store promotional strategies. The purchase behavior stimulated by in-store promotions was related to...

  8. The Relevant Factors in Promoting Reading Activities in Elementary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Han-Chen; Tsai, Yao-Hsu; Huang, Shih-Hsiang

    2015-01-01

    In order to help students absorb knowledge, schools often conduct reading activities. Thorough planning and strategies, however, are needed to insure the effect of reading promotions, and make them a deeply-rooted part of life. This study adopted the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to discuss the relevant factors in promoting reading activities…

  9. An unlikely suitor: Industrial Engineering in health promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hattingh, T. S.

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Primary healthcare forms the foundation for transforming healthcare in South Africa. The primary healthcare system is based on five pillars, one of them being health promotion. The principles of health promotion advocate that promoting health and wellness within communities will reduce the burden of disease at both primary and higher levels of the healthcare system. The challenge in South Africa, is that the factors affecting communities often inhibit their ability to control their health. In addition, the health promotion function within clinics is underresourced: each health promoter serves impoverished communities of up to 50,000 people. This study aims to identify how industrial engineering principles can be applied to assess and improve the impact of health promotion on communities, and ultimately on the health care system as a whole. An industrial engineering approach has analysed five clinics within the Ekurhuleni Municipality in Gauteng. The results show a distinct lack of consistency between clinics. Common issues include a lack of standard processes, structures, measures, resources, and training to support health promotion. The problems identified are commonly analysed and addressed by industrial engineering in organisations, and industrial engineering could be a useful method for evaluating and improving the impact of health promotion on communities. Recommendations for improvement and further work were made based on the findings.

  10. Health-promoting changes with children as agents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka; Carlsson, Monica Susanne

    2012-01-01

    Purpose – With the aim of contributing to the evidence base on school-based health promotion, the authors discuss the outcomes and processes of a European intervention project aiming to prevent obesity among children (4-16 years) and promote their health and well-being, titled Shape Up: a school...... for healthier diet and regular physical activity. The study identified three forms of participation, each with a different level of pupil involvement and agency. Research limitations/implications – The study is qualitative, based on five single cases and cross-case analysis; this research design implies caution...

  11. Risposta a “Riflessioni sulla narrazione storica nelle voci di Wikipedia”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iolanda Pensa

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  12. MASLOW: The First Step in Coin

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-06

    Being. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. Maslow , Abraham H. "/Maslow’s hierarchy of needs." wikipedia. Nov 12, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org...the psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943, may provide a more intuitive means of addressing the needs of the population in the near term and create a...the Link Between Education, Poverty and Terrorism Among Palestinians. Paper, Princeton University, 2006. Maslow , Abraham H. Toward a Psychology of

  13. Verso il sapere unico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Strizzolo

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  14. Store Norske Leksikon: Defining a New Role for an Edited Encyclopaedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georg Kjøll

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Store norske leksikon (SNL [Great Norwegian Encyclopaedia] is an edited, online encyclopaedia that strives towards radical transparency. Our aim is for as many parts of text production as possible to be visible to everyone, much like in the model that Wikipedia has pioneered. Unlike Wikipedia, however, contributors to SNL are required to use their full name, and encouraged to supply biographies that explain their background and qualifications within a field or topic.

  15. Wikipedians’ Knowledge and Moral Duties

    OpenAIRE

    Mai, Jens-Erik

    2016-01-01

    The paper analyzes the epistemological and ethical commitments made in Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View (NPOV) policy. The analyses reveal cracks in the conceptual foundation of the NPOV policy's rela- tion to concepts such as opinion, facts, knowledge, certainty, doubt, and cognitive authority. The paper further discusses the NPOV policy's ethical position and argues that it assumes ethical absolutism at the center and ethical relativism at the edges. The paper concludes that Wikipedia ough...

  16. Danzica e le guerre wikipediane. Qualche osservazione sulle edit wars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacopo Bassi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available What kind of relationship do the historical sciences have with Wikipedia? How should a reader approach Wikipedia articles dealing with history? What role will the upcoming “free encyclopedia” play in the study and teaching of history? Starting from an analysis on some Wikipedia’s article performed by the “Nicoletta Bourbaki” working group, six authors animate a panel discussion on the relationship between the free encyclopedia and history.

  17. RNA-processing proteins regulate Mec1/ATR activation by promoting generation of RPA-coated ssDNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manfrini, Nicola; Trovesi, Camilla; Wery, Maxime; Martina, Marina; Cesena, Daniele; Descrimes, Marc; Morillon, Antonin; d'Adda di Fagagna, Fabrizio; Longhese, Maria Pia

    2015-02-01

    Eukaryotic cells respond to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by activating a checkpoint that depends on the protein kinases Tel1/ATM and Mec1/ATR. Mec1/ATR is activated by RPA-coated single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), which arises upon nucleolytic degradation (resection) of the DSB. Emerging evidences indicate that RNA-processing factors play critical, yet poorly understood, roles in genomic stability. Here, we provide evidence that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA decay factors Xrn1, Rrp6 and Trf4 regulate Mec1/ATR activation by promoting generation of RPA-coated ssDNA. The lack of Xrn1 inhibits ssDNA generation at the DSB by preventing the loading of the MRX complex. By contrast, DSB resection is not affected in the absence of Rrp6 or Trf4, but their lack impairs the recruitment of RPA, and therefore of Mec1, to the DSB. Rrp6 and Trf4 inactivation affects neither Rad51/Rad52 association nor DSB repair by homologous recombination (HR), suggesting that full Mec1 activation requires higher amount of RPA-coated ssDNA than HR-mediated repair. Noteworthy, deep transcriptome analyses do not identify common misregulated gene expression that could explain the observed phenotypes. Our results provide a novel link between RNA processing and genome stability. © 2014 The Authors.

  18. Interleukin-3 plays dual roles in osteoclastogenesis by promoting the development of osteoclast progenitors but inhibiting the osteoclastogenic process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Huixian [Department of Hematology, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510180 (China); Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Shi, Zhenqi [Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Qiao, Ping [Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Department of Pharmacology, Norman Bethune Medical College, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021 (China); Li, Hui [Department of Dermatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); McCoy, Erin M. [Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Mao, Ping [Department of Hematology, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510180 (China); Xu, Hui [Department of Dermatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Feng, Xu [Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Wang, Shunqing, E-mail: shqwang_cn@yahoo.com [Department of Hematology, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510180 (China)

    2013-11-01

    Highlights: •IL-3 treatment of bone marrow cells generates a population of hematopoietic cells. •IL-3-dependent hematopoietic cells are capable of differentiating into osteoclasts. •Osteoclasts derived from IL-3-dependent hematopoietic cells are functional. •IL-3 promotes the development of osteoclast progenitors. •IL-3 inhibits the osteoclastogenic process. -- Abstract: Interleukin (IL)-3, a multilineage hematopoietic growth factor, is implicated in the regulation of osteoclastogenesis. However, the role of IL-3 in osteoclastogenesis remains controversial; whereas early studies showed that IL-3 stimulates osteoclastogenesis, recent investigations demonstrated that IL-3 inhibits osteoclast formation. The objective of this work is to further address the role of IL-3 in osteoclastogenesis. We found that IL-3 treatment of bone marrow cells generated a population of cells capable of differentiating into osteoclasts in tissue culture dishes in response to the stimulation of the monocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL). The IL-3-dependent hematopoietic cells were able to further proliferate and differentiate in response to M-CSF stimulation and the resulting cells were also capable of forming osteoclasts with M-CSF and RANKL treatment. Interestingly, IL-3 inhibits M-CSF-/RANKL-induced differentiation of the IL-3-dependent hematopoietic cells into osteoclasts. The flow cytometry analysis indicates that while IL-3 treatment of bone marrow cells slightly affected the percentage of osteoclast precursors in the surviving populations, it considerably increased the percentage of osteoclast precursors in the populations after subsequent M-CSF treatment. Moreover, osteoclasts derived from IL-3-dependent hematopoietic cells were fully functional. Thus, we conclude that IL-3 plays dual roles in osteoclastogenesis by promoting the development of osteoclast progenitors but inhibiting the

  19. Integration of eHealth Tools in the Process of Workplace Health Promotion: Proposal for Design and Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    Background Electronic health (eHealth) and mobile health (mHealth) tools can support and improve the whole process of workplace health promotion (WHP) projects. However, several challenges and opportunities have to be considered while integrating these tools in WHP projects. Currently, a large number of eHealth tools are developed for changing health behavior, but these tools can support the whole WHP process, including group administration, information flow, assessment, intervention development process, or evaluation. Objective To support a successful implementation of eHealth tools in the whole WHP processes, we introduce a concept of WHP (life cycle model of WHP) with 7 steps and present critical and success factors for the implementation of eHealth tools in each step. Methods We developed a life cycle model of WHP based on the World Health Organization (WHO) model of healthy workplace continual improvement process. We suggest adaptations to the WHO model to demonstrate the large number of possibilities to implement eHealth tools in WHP as well as possible critical points in the implementation process. Results eHealth tools can enhance the efficiency of WHP in each of the 7 steps of the presented life cycle model of WHP. Specifically, eHealth tools can support by offering easier administration, providing an information and communication platform, supporting assessments, presenting and discussing assessment results in a dashboard, and offering interventions to change individual health behavior. Important success factors include the possibility to give automatic feedback about health parameters, create incentive systems, or bring together a large number of health experts in one place. Critical factors such as data security, anonymity, or lack of management involvement have to be addressed carefully to prevent nonparticipation and dropouts. Conclusions Using eHealth tools can support WHP, but clear regulations for the usage and implementation of these tools at the

  20. Design cocoa processing towards healthy cocoa products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Quiroz-Reyes, Cinthya Nathaly; Fogliano, Vincenzo

    2018-01-01

    Roasting and fermentation are key steps in cocoa processing that can be modulated to optimize the presence of health-promoting compounds in the final product. Roasting promote melanoidins formation and polyphenols depolymerization. Results of Forastero and Criollo cocoa beans were processed in

  1. Health promotion viewed as processes of subjectification in the education of Danish social and health care workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehn-Christiansen, Sine

    2011-01-01

    problems of both a social and moral character. It is shown how health promotion has a thorough impact on the students’ possibilities of coming into being as (professional) subjects. The article points to the conclusion that in this particular educational setting, health promotion constitutes...

  2. Strategy changing penalty promotes cooperation in spatial prisoner’s dilemma game

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Qing; Wang Zhen; Wang Zhen; Wang Yiling

    2012-01-01

    Many classical studies suggest that punishment is a useful way to promote cooperation in the well-mixed public goods game, whereas relative evidence in the research of spatial prisoner’s dilemma game is absent. To address this issue, we introduce a mechanism of strategy changing penalty, combining memory and penalty during the update process, into spatial prisoner’s dilemma game. We find that increasing penalty rate or memory length is able to promote the evolution of cooperation monotonously. Compared with traditional version, recorded penalty could facilitate cooperation better. Moreover, through examining the process of evolution, we provide an interpretation for this promotion phenomenon, namely, the effect of promotion can be warranted by an evolution resonance of standard deviation of fitness coefficient. Finally, we validate our results by studying the impact of uncertainty within strategy adoptions on the evolution of cooperation. We hope that our work may shed light on the understanding of the cooperative behavior in the society.

  3. Efforts to promote lifestyle change and better health: whither symbolic interactionism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pezza, P E

    1989-01-01

    Symbolic interactionism is a body of thought which attends to how the meaning of a message may be mutually defined in the process of social interaction. As interactionism and its qualitative methodologies have been increasingly recognized as useful and appropriate complements to other approaches, health education has been slow to respond. Proposed here is the application of an interactionist perspective to the study of contemporary efforts made to promote lifestyle change and better health. A specific case is made for examining the interaction which takes place when employers strive to promote employee health. Particular attention is paid to the following questions: 1. How may employer communication of corporate goals for employee lifestyle change best be studied?; 2. Are the messages transmitted by employers and those received by employees the same?; 3. What may be some unanticipated consequences of the health promotion effort and its messages?; and 4. Can the interactionist perspective be used to enlighten the planning process for health promotion programs?

  4. Developing Partnerships to Promote Local Innovation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters-Bayer, Ann; van Veldhuizen, Laurens; Wettasinha, Chesha; Wongtschowski, Mariana

    2004-01-01

    Local innovation in agriculture and natural resource management is the process through which individuals or groups discover or develop new and better ways of managing resources, building on and expanding the boundaries of their existing knowledge. Prolinnova (Promoting Local Innovation) is a NGO-led global partnership programme that is being built…

  5. Systematic procedures to promote U.S. HIV medication adherence via Photovoice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teti, Michelle; Shaffer, Victoria; Majee, Wilson; Farnan, Rose; Gerkovich, Mary

    2017-06-21

    Medication adherence is essential to promote the health of people living with HIV (PL-HIV) and prevent HIV transmission in the U.S. Novel medication health promotion interventions are needed that address patient-centeredness, understandability, and communication with providers. The aims of this article are to define the systematic stages we used to develop an effective health promotion intervention via the products (e.g. images and stories) of Photovoice. We designed an intervention to improve HIV adherence knowledge, attitudes, and communication with providers through Photovoice. 16 PL-HIV used Photovoice strategies to describe their experiences with medication via images and captions and create an intervention (10 adherence promotion posters) that integrated photo-stories of their adherence motivators, journeys from sickness to health, and how they manage and counter HIV stigma. We outline the systematic process we used to adapt Photovoice to create the effective intervention for replication. The process included six stages: (i) identify scope of the project; (ii) create collaborative project team; (iii) design project materials; (iv) review and revise materials with team members; (v) disseminate materials; and (vi) evaluate materials. Photovoice is used traditionally as a social action research method. In this project, it was adapted to create patient-driven images and stories for health promotion posters. Poster viewers experienced improved self-efficacy for HIV medication adherence. Describing the adaptation of the Photovoice process in a deliberate and transparent way can support fidelity to the essence of the participant-driven method, while also allowing researchers and practitioners to replicate Photovoice as a successful health promotion intervention. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Sexual health promotion on social networking sites: a process evaluation of The FaceSpace Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Phuong; Gold, Judy; Pedrana, Alisa; Chang, Shanton; Howard, Steve; Ilic, Olivia; Hellard, Margaret; Stoove, Mark

    2013-07-01

    This article reports findings from an evaluation of reach and engagement of The FaceSpace Project, a novel sexual health promotion project delivered through social networking sites that targeted young people aged 16-29 years. Multiple methods were used to evaluate project reach and engagement. The evaluation focussed on quantitative data (online usage statistics, online surveys), complemented by available qualitative data (project team meeting notes). The project reached 900 fans who were mostly between 18 and 34 years of age. The most successful ways of increasing audience reach were via Facebook advertisements and tagging photos of young people attending a music festival on the project Facebook page. Peaks in Facebook page interactions (comments and "likes") coincided with recruitment peaks and when videos were posted. However, video views varied greatly between postings. Feedback from the project team for increasing engagement in future social networking site interventions included having one centralized Facebook page and using episodic videos. This evaluation is among the first to assess the use of social networking sites for sexual health promotion and provides information to inform the implementation and evaluation of future projects using new media. Social networking sites offer great potential to reach and engage young people for sexual health promotion. However, further work is required to improve implementation and promote audience reach and engagement as well as to determine effectiveness of social networking sites in changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. [Attitudes of occupational medicine nurses towards workers' health promotion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puchalski, Krzysztof; Korzeniowska, Elzbieta; Iwanowicz, Eliza

    2007-01-01

    The paper outlines the outcomes of a survey aimed at identifying the attitudes of occupational medicine nurses towards health promotion. The survey was carried out on a random sample of 277 nurses. Almost all respondents think that their occupational group should undertake health promotion activities. However, half of them is convinced that health promotion is only a new name for health education and medical prophylaxis. The vast majority of nurses think that under health promotion programs they should mostly deal with individual health education of patients and encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles, and they usually undertake this kind of activities. A large number of respondents are not willing to be involved in the organization, marketing, and evaluation of health promotion projects. There is a great need to intensify measures to motivate nurses to play the roles that are neglected by them, such as looking for new professional groups to undertake activities stimulating health promotion in companies, and developing new institutional and systemic support conducive to making progress in such processes.

  8. Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBIE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-06-01

    Swalley U.S. Department of State, Overseas Buildings Operations Toby Wilson U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineer R&D Center Jeff Wix AEC3 The...exchanged in COBIE. To map those information exchanges to the IFC model, the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) process [ Wix 2007] was also used. The...Folksonomy. Wikimedia Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy/, accessed 3 August 2007. Wix , Jeffrey. 2007. Information Delivery Manual

  9. Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBIE): Requirements Definition and Pilot Implementation Standard

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-06-01

    Swalley U.S. Department of State, Overseas Buildings Operations Toby Wilson U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineer R&D Center Jeff Wix AEC3 The...exchanged in COBIE. To map those information exchanges to the IFC model, the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) process [ Wix 2007] was also used. The...Folksonomy. Wikimedia Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy/, accessed 3 August 2007. Wix , Jeffrey. 2007. Information Delivery Manual

  10. Tenure and Promotion Experiences of Academic Librarians of Color

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damasco, Ione T.; Hodges, Dracine

    2012-01-01

    This study broadly examines factors impacting work-life experiences of library faculty of color within the framework of tenure policies and processes. An online survey was sent out to academic librarians of color to gauge perceptions of tenure and promotion policies and processes, professional activities and productivity, organizational climate…

  11. Promoting industrialisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayfield, F.

    1986-04-01

    When the first nuclear power programme is decided upon, automatically the country has to initiate in parallel a programme to modify or add to its current industrial structure and resources. The extent of this new industrialisation depends upon many factors which both, the Government and the Industries have to consider. The Government has a vital role which includes the setting up of the background against which the industrial promotion should take place and in many cases may have also to play an active role all along this programme. Equally, the existing industries have an important role so as to achieve the most efficient participation in the nuclear programme. Invariably the industrial promotional programme will incur a certain degree of transfer of technology, the extent depending on the policies adopted. For this technology transfer to take place efficiently, both the donor and the receiver have to recognise each other's legitimate ambitions and fears. The transfer of technology is a process having a high human content and both donor and receiver have to take this into account. This can be further complicated when there is a difference in culture between them. Technology transfer is carried out within a contractual and organisational framework which will identify the donor (licensor) and the receiver (licensee). This framework may take various forms from a simple cooperative agreement, through a joint-venture organisation right to a standard contract between two separate entities. Each arrangement has its advantages and drawbacks and requires investment of different degrees. One of the keys to a successful industrial promotion is having it carried out in a timely fashion which will be parallel with the nuclear power programme. Experience in some countries has shown the problems when the industrialisation is out of phase with the programme whilst in other cases this industrialisation was at a level and scale unjustified. (author)

  12. Quarrelsome Committees in U.S. Defense Acquisition: The KC-X Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-30

    Chair: Jeff Ronka, Managing Partner, Renaissance Strategic Advisors Quarrelsome Committees in U.S. Defense Acquisition: The KC-X Case Raymond...aircraft; “ Italian Air Force,” n.d.; “Japan Air Self-Defense Force,” n.d.). Since the A330 can carry (and offload) more fuel (Fulghum, 2010), it would be...Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com Italian Air Force. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Air_Force (last

  13. Accelerating Inspire

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2266999

    2017-01-01

    CERN has been involved in the dissemination of scientific results since its early days and has continuously updated the distribution channels. Currently, Inspire hosts catalogues of articles, authors, institutions, conferences, jobs, experiments, journals and more. Successful orientation among this amount of data requires comprehensive linking between the content. Inspire has lacked a system for linking experiments and articles together based on which accelerator they were conducted at. The purpose of this project has been to create such a system. Records for 156 accelerators were created and all 2913 experiments on Inspire were given corresponding MARC tags. Records of 18404 accelerator physics related bibliographic entries were also tagged with corresponding accelerator tags. Finally, as a part of the endeavour to broaden CERN's presence on Wikipedia, existing Wikipedia articles of accelerators were updated with short descriptions and links to Inspire. In total, 86 Wikipedia articles were updated. This repo...

  14. Wikidata as a semantic framework for the Gene Wiki initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgstaller-Muehlbacher, Sebastian; Waagmeester, Andra; Mitraka, Elvira; Turner, Julia; Putman, Tim; Leong, Justin; Naik, Chinmay; Pavlidis, Paul; Schriml, Lynn; Good, Benjamin M; Su, Andrew I

    2016-01-01

    Open biological data are distributed over many resources making them challenging to integrate, to update and to disseminate quickly. Wikidata is a growing, open community database which can serve this purpose and also provides tight integration with Wikipedia. In order to improve the state of biological data, facilitate data management and dissemination, we imported all human and mouse genes, and all human and mouse proteins into Wikidata. In total, 59,721 human genes and 73,355 mouse genes have been imported from NCBI and 27,306 human proteins and 16,728 mouse proteins have been imported from the Swissprot subset of UniProt. As Wikidata is open and can be edited by anybody, our corpus of imported data serves as the starting point for integration of further data by scientists, the Wikidata community and citizen scientists alike. The first use case for these data is to populate Wikipedia Gene Wiki infoboxes directly from Wikidata with the data integrated above. This enables immediate updates of the Gene Wiki infoboxes as soon as the data in Wikidata are modified. Although Gene Wiki pages are currently only on the English language version of Wikipedia, the multilingual nature of Wikidata allows for usage of the data we imported in all 280 different language Wikipedias. Apart from the Gene Wiki infobox use case, a SPARQL endpoint and exporting functionality to several standard formats (e.g. JSON, XML) enable use of the data by scientists. In summary, we created a fully open and extensible data resource for human and mouse molecular biology and biochemistry data. This resource enriches all the Wikipedias with structured information and serves as a new linking hub for the biological semantic web. Database URL: https://www.wikidata.org/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  15. Coverage of Russian psychological contributions in American psychology textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleksandrova-Howell, Maria; Abramson, Charles I; Craig, David Philip Arthur

    2012-01-01

    Internationalizing psychology is an important component of current globalization trends. American textbooks on the history of psychology and introductory psychology were surveyed for the presence of historical and contemporary important Russian psychologists to assess the current status of Russian-American crossfertilization. Of a list of 97 important Russian psychologists, as determined by the editors of the Russian journal Methodology and History in Psychology, less than 22% are mentioned in the reviewed texts. The most common names were Pavlov, Luria, and Vygotsky. As the internet is arguably the single most important factor affecting the increase of international communication and dissemination of knowledge, we also searched for these 97 names on various websites, most notably Wikipedia and Google. Forty-one internet sites contained some amount of biographical information about Russian psychologists. On Wikipedia, 14 Russian psychologists had articles documenting biographical information. We also developed a rubric to determine the amount of information available on the internet for these psychologists and compared Wikipedia's mean score with various other websites. Wikipedia pages on average had a significantly higher score than the rest of the internet. Recommendations to improve Russian coverage in America are provided and include: (1) developing pages on Wikipedia and other virtual venues highlighting Russian contributions, (2) soliciting articles for US journals from Russian psychologists, and (3) incorporating Russian contributions in introductory and historical textbooks. We provide a partial bibliography of Russian contributions that can be used by authors of such textbooks. We would like to thank Dr Viktor Fedorovich Petrenko and Dr Igor Nikolaevich Karitsky from the journal Methodology and History of Psychology for supplying the names of the Russian psychologists. We would also like to express our appreciation to Robert García for reviewing and

  16. Solubility and viscosity for CO_2 capture process using MEA promoted DEAE aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, Dong; Wang, LeMeng; Zhang, Pan; Mi, ChenLu

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Solubility of CO_2 in MEA promoted DEAE aqueous solution was measured. • Mass fraction and temperature dependences of solubility were illustrated. • Viscosities of carbonated MEA–DEAE solutions were measured and calculated. • Temperature, mass fraction and CO_2 loading dependences of viscosity were illustrated. - Abstract: The saturated solubility of CO_2 in monoethanolamine (MEA) promoted 2-diethylaminoethanol (DEAE) aqueous solution was investigated at temperatures ranging from (303.2 to 323.2) K. The mass fraction and temperature dependences of the saturated solubility and CO_2 loading are illustrated. The viscosities of both CO_2-unloaded and CO_2-loaded DEAE–MEA aqueous solutions were measured and then calculated by using the Weiland equation. The effects of temperature, mass fraction and CO_2 loading on viscosities are demonstrated.

  17. Hydrogen generation by aluminum corrosion in aqueous alkaline solutions of inorganic promoters: The AlHidrox process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macanas, Jorge; Soler, Lluis; Candela, Angelica Maria; Munoz, Maria; Casado, Juan

    2011-01-01

    The research of alternative processes to obtain clean fuels has become a main issue because of the concerns related to the current energy system, both from economical and environmental points of view. Hydrogen storage and production methods are being investigated for stationary and portable applications. Up to now, a significant part of H 2 production on demand was thought to be fulfilled by using chemical hydrides, but recent studies have proved the limitations of this approach. Conversely, H 2 production based in the corrosion of light metals in water solutions is an interesting alternative. Among all of them, Al is probably the most adequate metal for energetic purposes due to its high electron density and oxidation potential. But concerning H 2 production from Al corrosion in water, a major issue remains unsolved: metal passivation due to the formation of Al(OH) 3 inhibits H 2 evolution. In this work we show the last results obtained for the generation of H 2 from water using Al powder using diverse alkaline solutions. It is confirmed that corrosion is not affected solely by the solution pH but also by the nature of the ionic species found in the aqueous medium. Moreover, we describe the AlHidrox process, which minimizes Al passivation under mild conditions by the addition of different inorganic salts as corrosion promoters, allowing 100% yields and flow rates up to 2.9 L/min per gram of Al. The feasibility of the process has been regarded in terms of stability (by conducting several successive runs) and self-initiation without an external heating. -- Highlights: → The AlHidrox process minimizes Al passivation by the addition of inorganic salts. → Al corrosion to produce H 2 greatly depends on the nature of the dissolved species. → The maximum flow achieved was 2.9 dm 3 H 2 min -1 .per gram of Al using Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3 . → We found conditions to start up H 2 generation without external energy input.

  18. Precise regulation of gene expression dynamics favors complex promoter architectures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dirk Müller

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Promoters process signals through recruitment of transcription factors and RNA polymerase, and dynamic changes in promoter activity constitute a major noise source in gene expression. However, it is barely understood how complex promoter architectures determine key features of promoter dynamics. Here, we employ prototypical promoters of yeast ribosomal protein genes as well as simplified versions thereof to analyze the relations among promoter design, complexity, and function. These promoters combine the action of a general regulatory factor with that of specific transcription factors, a common motif of many eukaryotic promoters. By comprehensively analyzing stationary and dynamic promoter properties, this model-based approach enables us to pinpoint the structural characteristics underlying the observed behavior. Functional tradeoffs impose constraints on the promoter architecture of ribosomal protein genes. We find that a stable scaffold in the natural design results in low transcriptional noise and strong co-regulation of target genes in the presence of gene silencing. This configuration also exhibits superior shut-off properties, and it can serve as a tunable switch in living cells. Model validation with independent experimental data suggests that the models are sufficiently realistic. When combined, our results offer a mechanistic explanation for why specific factors are associated with low protein noise in vivo. Many of these findings hold for a broad range of model parameters and likely apply to other eukaryotic promoters of similar structure.

  19. Fuzzy Rule-based Analysis of Promotional Efficiency in Vietnam’s Tourism Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen Quang VINH; Dam Van KHANH; Nguyen Viet ANH

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to determine an effective method of measuring the efficiency of promotional strategies for tourist destinations. Complicating factors that influence promotional efficiency (PE), such as promotional activities (PA), destination attribute (DA), and destination image (DI), make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of PE. This study develops a rule-based decision support mechanism using fuzzy set theory and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate the effectiveness o...

  20. Tumor Suppression and Promotion by Autophagy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yenniffer Ávalos

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Autophagy is a highly regulated catabolic process that involves lysosomal degradation of proteins and organelles, mostly mitochondria, for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and reduction of metabolic stress. Problems in the execution of this process are linked to different pathological conditions, such as neurodegeneration, aging, and cancer. Many of the proteins that regulate autophagy are either oncogenes or tumor suppressor proteins. Specifically, tumor suppressor genes that negatively regulate mTOR, such as PTEN, AMPK, LKB1, and TSC1/2 stimulate autophagy while, conversely, oncogenes that activate mTOR, such as class I PI3K, Ras, Rheb, and AKT, inhibit autophagy, suggesting that autophagy is a tumor suppressor mechanism. Consistent with this hypothesis, the inhibition of autophagy promotes oxidative stress, genomic instability, and tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, autophagy also functions as a cytoprotective mechanism under stress conditions, including hypoxia and nutrient starvation, that promotes tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy in established tumors. Here, in this brief review, we will focus the discussion on this ambiguous role of autophagy in the development and progression of cancer.

  1. Tumor suppression and promotion by autophagy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ávalos, Yenniffer; Canales, Jimena; Bravo-Sagua, Roberto; Criollo, Alfredo; Lavandero, Sergio; Quest, Andrew F G

    2014-01-01

    Autophagy is a highly regulated catabolic process that involves lysosomal degradation of proteins and organelles, mostly mitochondria, for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and reduction of metabolic stress. Problems in the execution of this process are linked to different pathological conditions, such as neurodegeneration, aging, and cancer. Many of the proteins that regulate autophagy are either oncogenes or tumor suppressor proteins. Specifically, tumor suppressor genes that negatively regulate mTOR, such as PTEN, AMPK, LKB1, and TSC1/2 stimulate autophagy while, conversely, oncogenes that activate mTOR, such as class I PI3K, Ras, Rheb, and AKT, inhibit autophagy, suggesting that autophagy is a tumor suppressor mechanism. Consistent with this hypothesis, the inhibition of autophagy promotes oxidative stress, genomic instability, and tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, autophagy also functions as a cytoprotective mechanism under stress conditions, including hypoxia and nutrient starvation, that promotes tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy in established tumors. Here, in this brief review, we will focus the discussion on this ambiguous role of autophagy in the development and progression of cancer.

  2. Health Promotion Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehn-Christiansen, Sine

    The paper discusses the implications of health promotion in education. The paper is based on my PhD project entitled “Health promotion education seen through a power/knowledge and subjectification perspective” (in prep). The PhD project explores how professional health promotion skills are concei......The paper discusses the implications of health promotion in education. The paper is based on my PhD project entitled “Health promotion education seen through a power/knowledge and subjectification perspective” (in prep). The PhD project explores how professional health promotion skills...

  3. Latino sexual and gender identity minorities promoting sexual health within their social networks: Process evaluation findings from a lay health advisor intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Christina J.; García, Manuel; Mann, Lilli; Alonzo, Jorge; Eng, Eugenia; Rhodes, Scott D.

    2015-01-01

    The HOLA intervention was a lay health advisor intervention designed to reduce the disproportionate HIV burden borne by Latino sexual and gender identity minorities (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and transgender persons) living in the United States. Process evaluation data were collected for over a year of intervention implementation from 11 trained Latino male and transgender lay health advisors (Navegantes) to document the activities each Navegante conducted to promote condom use and HIV testing among his or her 8 social network members enrolled in the study. Over 13 months, the Navegantes reported conducting 1,820 activities. The most common activity was condom distribution. Navegantes had extensive reach beyond their enrolled social network members, and they engaged in health promotion activities beyond social network members enrolled in the study. There were significant differences between the types of activities conducted by Navegantes depending on who was present. Results suggest that lay health advisor interventions reach large number of at-risk community members and may benefit populations disproportionately impacted by HIV. PMID:25416309

  4. Automatic theory generation from analyst text files using coherence networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Steven C.

    2014-05-01

    This paper describes a three-phase process of extracting knowledge from analyst textual reports. Phase 1 involves performing natural language processing on the source text to extract subject-predicate-object triples. In phase 2, these triples are then fed into a coherence network analysis process, using a genetic algorithm optimization. Finally, the highest-value sub networks are processed into a semantic network graph for display. Initial work on a well- known data set (a Wikipedia article on Abraham Lincoln) has shown excellent results without any specific tuning. Next, we ran the process on the SYNthetic Counter-INsurgency (SYNCOIN) data set, developed at Penn State, yielding interesting and potentially useful results.

  5. 中文維基百科管理員參與動機與工作型態之研究 The Participation Motivation and Work Styles of the Administrators for Chinese Wikipedia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-Yun Liang

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available 本研究以兩岸三地中文維基百科的管理員為對象,探討其參與動機與工作型態。研究群依據研究目的,進行相關文獻探討並編製調查問卷,該問卷共分為四個部分:第一部分為改編之參與動機量表;第二部分為擔任中文維基百科管理員情況;第三部分是日常工作型態;第四部分為受調者基本資料。研究結果顯示:(一)兩岸三地中文維基百科管理員之參與動機主要為「自我成長」、「使命感」、「相近性」,且不因居住地區不同而有差異;(二)在「工作時數」及「僱用合約的型態」兩方面,有部分管理員符合非典型工作型態的特徵;另三地管理員日常工作型態在「全職學生的比例」、「工作時段是否彈性」、「工作合約明訂僱用期限」三方面有顯著的差異。(三)擁有較多自主時間者、人際歸屬較弱者,以及使用網路時間較長者,其參與動機均顯較高。研究群最後根據研究結果,提出對中文維基百科及其管理員制度之系列建議。The purpose of this study is to explore the participation motivations and work styles of administrators of Chinese Wikipedia among Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. A questionnaire was designed based on literature reviews and expert consultations from related fields. The questionnaire for administrators is divided into three sections: revised scale of participation motivation; daily works and performance; and work styles. The findings of this study include: 1. The major motivations of the administrators to participate in Chinese Wikipedia are: self-growth, sense of mission, and similarity. 2. For work style, in the aspects of working hours and employment type, some of the administrators have atypical work styles. On the other hand, all of them showed a major difference in the following aspects: ratio of full-time student, flexibility of working

  6. Dilemmas in health promotion in Brazil: the National Policy under consideration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha A. Traverso-Yépez

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite being a recurrent theme in day-to-day life, health promotion is a complex and multifaceted concept. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the dilemmas and problematic aspects of institutional ideas about health promotion. It also emphasizes the difficulty of thinking about health promotion, without also considering how to eradicate the deep social iniquities of the Brazilian context. The article develops this line of thinking in depth by analysing the National Health Promotion Policy instituted in 2006, and demonstrates the relevance of deconstructing politically correct discourses and developing processes of reflection in our health-related practices.

  7. CNN-PROMOTER, NEW CONSENSUS PROMOTER PREDICTION PROGRAM BASED ON NEURAL NETWORKS CNN-PROMOTER, NUEVO PROGRAMA PARA LA PREDICCIÓN DE PROMOTORES BASADO EN REDES NEURONALES CNN-PROMOTER, NOVO PROGRAMA PARA A PREDIÇÃO DE PROMOTORES BASEADO EM REDES NEURONAIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Óscar Bedoya

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available A new promoter prediction program called CNN-Promoter is presented. CNN-Promoter allows DNA sequences to be submitted and predicts them as promoter or non-promoter. Several methods have been developed to predict the promoter regions of genomes in eukaryotic organisms including algorithms based on Markov's models, decision trees, and statistical methods. Although there are plenty of programs proposed, there is still a need to improve the sensitivity and specificity values. In this paper, a new program is proposed; it is based on the consensus strategy of using experts to make a better prediction. The consensus strategy is developed by using neural networks. During the training process, the sensitivity and specificity were 100 % and during the test process the model reaches a sensitivity of 74.5 % and a specificity of 82.7 %.En este artículo se presenta un programa nuevo para la predicción de promotores llamado CNN-Promoter, que toma como entrada secuencias de ADN y las clasifica como promotor o no promotor. Se han desarrollado diversos métodos para predecir las regiones promotoras en organismos eucariotas, muchos de los cuales se basan en modelos de Markov, árboles de decisión y métodos estadísticos. A pesar de la variedad de programas existentes para la predicción de promotores, se necesita aún mejorar los valores de sensibilidad y especificidad. Se propone un nuevo programa que se basa en la estrategia de mezcla de expertos usando redes neuronales. Los resultados obtenidos en las pruebas alcanzan valores de sensibilidad y especificidad de 100 % en el entrenamiento y de 74,5 % de sensibilidad y 82,7 % de especificidad en los conjuntos de validación y prueba.Neste artigo a presenta-se um novo programa para a predição de promotores chamado CNN-Promoter, que toma como entrada sequências de DNA e as classifica como promotor ou não promotor. Desenvolveramse diversos métodos para predizer as regiões promotoras em organismos eucariotas

  8. Entity-Linking via Graph-Distance Minimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roi Blanco

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Entity-linking is a natural-language–processing task that consists in identifying the entities mentioned in a piece of text, linking each to an appropriate item in some knowledge base; when the knowledge base is Wikipedia, the problem comes to be known as wikification (in this case, items are wikipedia articles. One instance of entity-linking can be formalized as an optimization problem on the underlying concept graph, where the quantity to be optimized is the average distance between chosen items. Inspired by this application, we define a new graph problem which is a natural variant of the Maximum Capacity Representative Set. We prove that our problem is NP-hard for general graphs; nonetheless, under some restrictive assumptions, it turns out to be solvable in linear time. For the general case, we propose two heuristics: one tries to enforce the above assumptions and another one is based on the notion of hitting distance; we show experimentally how these approaches perform with respect to some baselines on a real-world dataset.

  9. Public health awareness of autoimmune diseases after the death of a celebrity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Watad, Abdulla; Brigo, Francesco; Adawi, Mohammad; Amital, Howard; Shoenfeld, Yehuda

    2017-08-01

    Autoimmune disorders impose a high burden, in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vasculitis is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation and destruction of blood vessels. Harold Allen Ramis, a famous American actor, director, writer, and comedian, died on the February 24, 2014, of complications of an autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis. To investigate the relation between interests and awareness of an autoimmune disease after a relevant event such as the death of a celebrity, we systematically mined Google Trends, Wikitrends, Google News, YouTube, and Twitter, in any language, from their inception until October 31, 2016. Twenty-eight thousand eight hundred fifty-two tweets; 4,133,615 accesses to Wikipedia; 6780 news; and 11,400 YouTube videos were retrieved, processed, and analyzed. The Harold Ramis death of vasculitis resulted into an increase in vasculitis-related Google searches, Wikipedia page accesses, and tweet production, documenting a peak in February 2014. No trend could be detected concerning uploading YouTube videos. The usage of Big Data is promising in the fields of immunology and rheumatology. Clinical practitioners should be aware of this emerging phenomenon.

  10. The Visible Hand and the Crowd

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kornberger, Martin

    2017-01-01

    The effectiveness and creativity of Linux, Wikipedia, and a plethora of other distributed innovation systems have attracted the attention of scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. The hallmark of these distributed innovation systems is that value creation transcends the boundaries of hierarc......The effectiveness and creativity of Linux, Wikipedia, and a plethora of other distributed innovation systems have attracted the attention of scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. The hallmark of these distributed innovation systems is that value creation transcends the boundaries...

  11. Promotions, dismissals, and employee selection: Theory and evidence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frederiksen, Anders; Takáts, Elód

    2011-01-01

    Firms offer highly complex contracts to their employees. These contracts contain a mix of incentives, such as fixed wages, bonus payments, promotion options, and dismissals or threats of dismissal. In this article, we show that firms having a production process that is sensitive to employee quality...... may find it optimal to combine cost-efficient incentives such as bonuses and promotions with dismissals. Based on this result, we derive a hierarchy of incentives. Furthermore, we demonstrate the close link between the optimal contract and the employee sorting and selection and use this to analyse...

  12. Capture of microtubule plus-ends at the actin cortex promotes axophilic neuronal migration by enhancing microtubule tension in the leading process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchins, B Ian; Wray, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Microtubules are a critical part of neuronal polarity and leading process extension, thus microtubule movement plays an important role in neuronal migration. However, the dynamics of microtubules during the forward movement of the nucleus into the leading process (nucleokinesis) is unclear and may be dependent on the cell type and mode of migration used. In particular, little is known about cytoskeletal changes during axophilic migration, commonly used in anteroposterior neuronal migration. We recently showed that leading process actin flow in migrating GnRH neurons is controlled by a signaling cascade involving IP3 receptors, CaMKK, AMPK, and RhoA. In the present study, microtubule dynamics were examined in GnRH neurons. Failure of the migration of these cells leads to the neuroendocrine disorder Kallmann Syndrome. Microtubules translocated forward along the leading process shaft during migration, but reversed direction and moved toward the nucleus when migration stalled. Blocking calcium release through IP3 receptors halted migration and induced the same reversal of microtubule translocation, while blocking cortical actin flow prevented microtubules from translocating toward the distal leading process. Super-resolution imaging revealed that microtubule plus-end tips are captured at the actin cortex through calcium-dependent mechanisms. This work shows that cortical actin flow draws the microtubule network forward through calcium-dependent capture in order to promote nucleokinesis, revealing a novel mechanism engaged by migrating neurons to facilitate movement.

  13. Perceptions of health promoters about health promotion ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2013-02-11

    Feb 11, 2013 ... regarding a health promotion programme for families with ... to contribute to high rates of not going to school (ibid. ... sector in order, amongst other objectives, to prevent health ... exercise and mental health promotion must be incorporated ..... (2009:141) identified ignorance and misconception about the.

  14. PROMOTING BULELENG TOURISM THROUGH LOVINA FESTIVAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Putu Ratna Juwita Sari

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Tourism in the district of Buleleng, North Bali, is in a process of development so that it is expected to be able produce products of tourism as rapidly developing as the South Bali. The government of Buleleng district has launched an intensive campaign with an aim to develop object of tourism and also holding festivals expected to be able to attract tourist to come. One of the festival is the Lovina Festival which aims to promote the tourism of Buleleng District to improve the economy of Buleleng citizen and increasing the locally-generated revenue. The objective of this research is to learn the precise and effective promotion to implement to attract the interest of tourist to spend their vacation in Buleleng regency especially on the Lovina region. The research method which will be used in this research is the method of qualitative using data gathering technique, observation, interviews and documentation. The result of this research shows the inadequacy of promotional media in use, which resulted in less enthusiasm from visiting tourists.

  15. Phytotherapy natural products: Promotional mix features

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dugalić Sretenka L.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Development of products takes into account organized and controlled planning of changes of inner self and toward the environment. That means the creation of an active force, which should bring changes in other words, it should change the person who participates in the process of creation or in the consumption of the product. It tried to induce customers to purchase through methodologies and promotion strategies which stand to our sen'ice by the change in the way of thinking of the medical and pharmaceutical profession and users of helpful means. The input of marketing within the control of the outcomes, leaders techniques and promotion strategies by the production of helpful healthy means has a very big meaning.

  16. Libre knowledge and opportunity

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Tucker, K

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available  for countries worldwide. It is a standard  means of measuring well­being, especially child  welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the  country is a developed, developing, or an under  developed country, and also to measure the  impact of economic policies on quality of life. http://en.wikipedia.org.../wiki/Human_Development_Index     39 Human Development Index ● poverty ● literacy ● education ● life expectancy ● childbirth ● and other factors for countries worldwide. ●         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index      40 Poverty % < $1/day http://en.wikipedia.org...

  17. LINGO-1 promotes lysosomal degradation of amyloid-β protein precursor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rian de Laat

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Sequential proteolytic cleavages of amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP by β-secretase and γ-secretase generate amyloid β (Aβ peptides, which are thought to contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD. Much of this processing occurs in endosomes following endocytosis of AβPP from the plasma membrane. However, this pathogenic mode of processing AβPP may occur in competition with lysosomal degradation of AβPP, a common fate of membrane proteins trafficking through the endosomal system. Following up on published reports that LINGO-1 binds and promotes the amyloidogenic processing of AβPP we have examined the consequences of LINGO-1/AβPP interactions. We report that LINGO-1 and its paralogs, LINGO-2 and LINGO-3, decrease processing of AβPP in the amyloidogenic pathway by promoting lysosomal degradation of AβPP. We also report that LINGO-1 levels are reduced in AD brain, representing a possible pathogenic mechanism stimulating the generation of Aβ peptides in AD.

  18. Self-Efficacy and the Stages and Processes of Change Associated with Adopting and Maintaining Muscular Fitness-Promoting Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardinal, Bradley J.; Kosma, Maria

    2004-01-01

    The majority of physical activity initiatives have been directed toward promoting cardiorespiratory fitness and general health. Far less attention has been devoted to encouraging or understanding muscular fitness-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine if constructs from the Transtheoretical Model, a contemporary behavior…

  19. Processivity and coupling in messenger RNA transcription.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stuart Aitken

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The complexity of messenger RNA processing is now being uncovered by experimental techniques that are capable of detecting individual copies of mRNA in cells, and by quantitative real-time observations that reveal the kinetics. This processing is commonly modelled by permitting mRNA to be transcribed only when the promoter is in the on state. In this simple on/off model, the many processes involved in active transcription are represented by a single reaction. These processes include elongation, which has a minimum time for completion and processing that is not captured in the model.In this paper, we explore the impact on the mRNA distribution of representing the elongation process in more detail. Consideration of the mechanisms of elongation leads to two alternative models of the coupling between the elongating polymerase and the state of the promoter: Processivity allows polymerases to complete elongation irrespective of the promoter state, whereas coupling requires the promoter to be active to produce a full-length transcript. We demonstrate that these alternatives have a significant impact on the predicted distributions. Models are simulated by the Gillespie algorithm, and the third and fourth moments of the resulting distribution are computed in order to characterise the length of the tail, and sharpness of the peak. By this methodology, we show that the moments provide a concise summary of the distribution, showing statistically-significant differences across much of the feasible parameter range.We conclude that processivity is not fully consistent with the on/off model unless the probability of successfully completing elongation is low--as has been observed. The results also suggest that some form of coupling between the promoter and a rate-limiting step in transcription may explain the cell's inability to maintain high mRNA levels at low noise--a prediction of the on/off model that has no supporting evidence.

  20. Health Promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Povlsen, Lene; Borup, I.

    2015-01-01

    and Adolescent Health Promotion', Salutogenesis - from theory to practice' and Health, Stress and Coping'. More than half of all doctoral theses undertaken at NHV during these years had health promotion as their theme. As a derivative, the Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN) was established in 2007......In 1953 when the Nordic School of Public Health was founded, the aim of public health programmes was disease prevention more than health promotion. This was not unusual, since at this time health usually was seen as the opposite of disease and illness. However, with the Ottawa Charter of 1986......, the World Health Organization made a crucial change to view health not as a goal in itself but as the means to a full life. In this way, health promotion became a first priority and fundamental action for the modern society. This insight eventually reached NHV and in 2002 - 50 years after the foundation...

  1. A unified approach for description of gas hydrate formation kinetics in the presence of kinetic promoters in gas hydrate converters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ZareNezhad, Bahman; Varaminian, Farshad

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • A unified kinetic model for description of promoted and non-promoted gas hydrate formation processes is presented. • Effects of impeller speed, promoter concentration and different kinetic promoters are investigated. • A unique region of gas hydrate formation is identified regarding gas hydrate formation processes. • The proposed model is useful for understanding the behavior of gas hydrate formation processes and design of GTH converters. - Abstract: The kinetic promoters have found wide applications in enhancing the rate of energy conversion and storage via gas hydrate formation processes. Effects of different kinetic promoters such as anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA), and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS); cationic surfactants, Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) and non-ionic surfactants, alkylpolyglucoside (APG), dodecyl polysaccharide glycoside (DPG), TritonX-100 (TX100) on methane (CH 4 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ) and propane (C 3 H 8 ) gas hydrate formation processes are investigated in this work. A macroscopic kinetic model based on the time variations of reaction chemical potential is also presented for global description of gas hydrate formation processes. Experimental gas hydrate formation data are employed to validate the proposed kinetic model. Effects of promoter’s concentrations and agitation intensities on the gas consumption profiles are also investigated. A universal correlation and a unified kinetic map have been proposed for macroscopic description of gas hydrate formation kinetics in the presence or absence of kinetic promoters. According to the presented unified kinetic map, a unique region of gas hydrate formation is identified for the first time. For negligible amounts of kinetic promoters, the presented region disappears and approaches to a unique path at high agitation intensities. The presented unified approach is

  2. Identification of Leaf Promoters for Use in Transgenic Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saqer S. Alotaibi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Wheat yields have plateaued in recent years and given the growing global population there is a pressing need to develop higher yielding varieties to meet future demand. Genetic manipulation of photosynthesis in elite wheat varieties offers the opportunity to significantly increase yields. However, the absence of a well-defined molecular tool-box of promoters to manipulate leaf processes in wheat hinders advancements in this area. Two promoters, one driving the expression of sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase and the other fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBPA from Brachypodium distachyon were identified and cloned into a vector in front of the GUS reporter gene. Both promoters were shown to be functionally active in wheat in both transient assays and in stably transformed wheat plants. Analysis of the stable transformants of wheat (cv. Cadenza showed that both promoters controlled gus expression throughout leaf development as well as in other green tissues. The availability of these promoters provides new tools for the expression of genes in transgenic wheat leaves and also paves the way for multigene manipulation of photosynthesis to improve yields.

  3. Using fear appeals in warning labels to promote responsible gambling among VLT players: the key role of depth of information processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz, Yaromir; Chebat, Jean-Charles; Suissa, Jacob Amnon

    2010-12-01

    Video lottery terminals (VLT) are a highly lucrative gambling format, but at the same time they are among the most hazardous. Previous research has shown that threatening warnings may be an appropriate approach for promoting protective behavior. The present study explores the potential benefits of threatening warnings in the fight against compulsive gambling. A 4 × 2 factorial design experiment was used to test our model based on both Elaboration Likelihood Model and Protection Motivation Theory. 258 VLT adult players (58% males, 42% females) with various degrees of problem gambling were exposed to three threat levels (plus a control condition) from two different sources (i.e., either a medical source or a source related to the provider of VLT's). Our results show that both higher threat warnings and the medical source of warnings enhance Depth of Information Processing. It was also found that Depth of Information Processing affects positively attitude change and compliance intentions. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

  4. Promoting Self-Questioning through Picture Book Illustrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohfink, Gayla

    2013-01-01

    This teaching tip manuscript demonstrates how picture book illustrations can be used as an inquiry tool that facilitates one's connecting of visual investigations in a picture to the process of generating self-questions. Techniques suggested to promote self-questioning are (1) introducing young readers to an interactive picture book read aloud…

  5. Promoting health workers' ownership of infection prevention and control: using Normalization Process Theory as an interpretive framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, D J; Hale, R; Waters, E; Allen, D

    2016-12-01

    All health workers should take responsibility for infection prevention and control (IPC). Recent reduction in key reported healthcare-associated infections in the UK is impressive, but the determinants of success are unknown. It is imperative to understand how IPC strategies operate as new challenges arise and threats of antimicrobial resistance increase. The authors undertook a retrospective, independent evaluation of an action plan to enhance IPC and 'ownership' (individual accountability) for IPC introduced throughout a healthcare organization. Twenty purposively selected informants were interviewed. Data were analysed inductively. Normalization Process Theory (NPT) was applied to interpret the findings and explain how the action plan was operating. Six themes emerged through inductive analysis. Theme 1: 'Ability to make sense of ownership' provided evidence of the first element of NPT (coherence). Regardless of occupational group or seniority, informants understood the importance of IPC ownership and described what it entailed. They identified three prerequisites: 'Always being vigilant' (Theme 2), 'Importance of access to information' (Theme 3) and 'Being able to learn together in a no-blame culture' (Theme 4). Data relating to each theme provided evidence of the other elements of NPT that are required to embed change: planning implementation (cognitive participation), undertaking the work necessary to achieve change (collective action), and reflection on what else is needed to promote change as part of continuous quality improvement (reflexive monitoring). Informants identified barriers (e.g. workload) and facilitators (clear lines of communication and expectations for IPC). Eighteen months after implementing the action plan incorporating IPC ownership, there was evidence of continuous service improvement and significant reduction in infection rates. Applying a theory that identifies factors that promote/inhibit routine incorporation ('normalization') of IPC

  6. Family-Based Approaches to Cardiovascular Health Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vedanthan, Rajesh; Bansilal, Sameer; Soto, Ana Victoria; Kovacic, Jason C; Latina, Jacqueline; Jaslow, Risa; Santana, Maribel; Gorga, Elio; Kasarskis, Andrew; Hajjar, Roger; Schadt, Eric E; Björkegren, Johan L; Fayad, Zahi A; Fuster, Valentin

    2016-04-12

    Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the world, and the increasing burden is largely a consequence of modifiable behavioral risk factors that interact with genomics and the environment. Continuous cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention throughout the lifespan is critical, and the family is a central entity in this process. In this review, we describe the potential rationale and mechanisms that contribute to the importance of family for cardiovascular health promotion, focusing on: 1) mutual interdependence of the family system; 2) shared environment; 3) parenting style; 4) caregiver perceptions; and 5) genomics. We conclude that family-based approaches that target both caregivers and children, encourage communication among the family unit, and address the structural and environmental conditions in which families live and operate are likely to be the most effective approach to promote cardiovascular health. We describe lessons learned, future implications, and applications to ongoing and planned studies. Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. 78 FR 27220 - EPA Activities To Promote Environmental Justice in the Permit Application Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-09

    ... investors in the applicant's company, to lead to creative solutions that promote the achievement of mutual... Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons (69 FR 35602... outreach leads to a feasible solution to an issue of interest to a community, all stakeholders benefit...

  8. Mental health promotion in comprehensive schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onnela, A M; Vuokila-Oikkonen, P; Hurtig, T; Ebeling, H

    2014-09-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe a participatory action research process on the development of a professional practice model of mental health nurses in mental health promotion in a comprehensive school environment in the city of Oulu, Finland. The developed model is a new method of mental health promotion for mental health nurses working in comprehensive schools. The professional practice model has been developed in workshops together with school staff, interest groups, parents and students. Information gathered from the workshops was analysed using action research methods. Mental health promotion interventions are delivered at three levels: universal, which is an intervention that affects the whole school or community; selective, which is an intervention focusing on a certain group of students; and indicated, which is an individually focused intervention. All interventions are delivered within the school setting, which is a universal setting for all school-aged children. The interventions share the goal of promoting mental health. The purposes of the interventions are enhancing protective factors, reducing risk factors relating to mental health problems and early identification of mental health problems as well as rapid delivery of support or referral to specialized services. The common effect of the interventions on all levels is the increase in the experience of positive mental health. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. MobilED – an accessible mobile learning platform for Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ford, M

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available -wikipedia, using SMS and text-to- speech technologies. A scenario-based approach was taken to develop potential uses of the tool in formal learning environments and various small video clips were created to simulate these. The mobile audio-wikipedia works... shared in the group, the use of shared phones with speakers supported collaboration towards the shared task and video data shows that peer learning and support took place. 2. The boys tended to “dominate” the technology usage. 3. Learners were...

  10. Bollywood Movie Corpus for Text, Images and Videos

    OpenAIRE

    Madaan, Nishtha; Mehta, Sameep; Saxena, Mayank; Aggarwal, Aditi; Agrawaal, Taneea S; Malhotra, Vrinda

    2017-01-01

    In past few years, several data-sets have been released for text and images. We present an approach to create the data-set for use in detecting and removing gender bias from text. We also include a set of challenges we have faced while creating this corpora. In this work, we have worked with movie data from Wikipedia plots and movie trailers from YouTube. Our Bollywood Movie corpus contains 4000 movies extracted from Wikipedia and 880 trailers extracted from YouTube which were released from 1...

  11. Wikipedians’ Knowledge and Moral Duties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mai, Jens-Erik

    2016-01-01

    Artiklen analyserer erkendelsesteoretiske og etiske forpligtelser i Wikipedias Neutral Point of View (NPOV) politik. Analyserne afslører revner i NPOV politikkens konceptuelle fundament i forhold til begreber som mening, fakta, viden, sikkerhed, tvivl, og kognitiv autoritet. Ydermere diskuterer...... artiklen NPOV politikkens etiske position som antagende en absolutistisk kerne og etisk relativisme ved kanterne. Artiklen konkluderer, at Wikipedia burde genkonceptualisere og omskrive NPOV politikken og erkende, at videns lokalitet er væsentligt, at de sprogspil Wikipedianere er en del af er væsentlige...

  12. SPORT PROMOTION STRATEGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru Lucian MIHAI

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In sport marketing, the word promotion covers a range of interrelated activities. All of these activities are designed to attract attention, stimulate the interest and awareness of consumers, and of course, encourage them to purchase a sport product. Promotion is about communicating with and educating consumers. The purpose of a sport promotional strategy is to build brand loyalty and product credibility, develop image, and position the brand. A promotional strategy is similar to a marketing strategy, but the promotional strategy seeks short-term objectives, both direct and indirect. Promotional objectives usually include increased sales, stimulate impulse buying, raise customer traffic, and present and reinforce image. It also provides information about products and services, publicizes new stores or websites, and creates and enhances customer satisfaction.

  13. Effect of promoting self-esteem by participatory learning process on emotional intelligence among early adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munsawaengsub, Chokchai; Yimklib, Somkid; Nanthamongkolchai, Sutham; Apinanthavech, Suporn

    2009-12-01

    To study the effect of promoting self-esteem by participatory learning program on emotional intelligence among early adolescents. The quasi-experimental study was conducted in grade 9 students from two schools in Bangbuathong district, Nonthaburi province. Each experimental and comparative group consisted of 34 students with the lowest score of emotional intelligence. The instruments were questionnaires, Program to Develop Emotional Intelligence and Handbook of Emotional Intelligence Development. The experimental group attended 8 participatory learning activities in 4 weeks to Develop Emotional Intelligence while the comparative group received the handbook for self study. Assessment the effectiveness of program was done by pre-test and post-test immediately and 4 weeks apart concerning the emotional intelligence. Implementation and evaluation was done during May 24-August 12, 2005. Data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square, independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test. Before program implementation, both groups had no statistical difference in mean score of emotional intelligence. After intervention, the experimental group had higher mean score of emotional intelligence both immediately and 4 weeks later with statistical significant (p = 0.001 and self-esteem by participatory learning process could enhance the emotional intelligence in early-adolescent. This program could be modified and implemented for early adolescent in the community.

  14. Implementation of healthy lifestyle promotion in primary care: patients as coproducers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kristin; Bendtsen, Preben; Krevers, Barbro

    2014-11-01

    To explore and theorize how patients perceive, interpret, and reactin healthy lifestyle promotion situations in primary care and to investigate patients' role in implementation of lifestyle promotion illustrated by typologies. Grounded theory was used to assess qualitative interview data from 22 patients with varied experience of healthy lifestyle promotion. Data were analyzed by constant comparative analysis. A substantive theory of being healthy emerged from the data. The theory highlights the processes that are important for implementation before, during, and after lifestyle promotion. Three interconnected categories emerged from the data: conditions for being healthy, managing being healthy, and interactions about being healthy; these formed the core category: being healthy. A typology proposed four patient trajectories on being healthy: resigned, receivers, coworkers, and leaders. Patients coproduced the implementation of lifestyle promotion through the degree of transparency, which was a result of patients' expectations and situation appraisals. Different approaches are needed during lifestyle promotion depending on a variety of patient-related factors. The typology could guide practitioners in their lifestyle promotion practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. How yogurt is processed

    Science.gov (United States)

    This month’s Processing column on the theme of “How Is It Processed?” focuses on yogurt. Yogurt is known for its health-promoting properties. This column will provide a brief overview of the history of yogurt and the current market. It will also unveil both traditional and modern yogurt processing t...

  16. The study on Egr-1 promoter which is radioactive promoter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Chunzhi; Guo Yang; Lv Zhonghong

    2006-01-01

    Radiogenetic therapy is a heated reaseach on oncotherapy. Early growth response gene-1 (Egr-1) gene promoter is a probably means in radiogenetic therapy. The article review studying on Egr-1 gene promoter and constructing regulating gene expressing system by radiation-inducible Egr-1 gene promoter. (authors)

  17. Narrative review: the promotion of gabapentin: an analysis of internal industry documents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinman, Michael A; Bero, Lisa A; Chren, Mary-Margaret; Landefeld, C Seth

    2006-08-15

    Internal documents from the pharmaceutical industry provide a unique window for understanding the structure and methods of pharmaceutical promotion. Such documents have become available through litigation concerning the promotion of gabapentin (Neurontin, Pfizer, Inc., New York, New York) for off-label uses. To describe how gabapentin was promoted, focusing on the use of medical education, research, and publication. Court documents available to the public from United States ex. rel David Franklin vs. Pfizer, Inc., and Parke-Davis, Division of Warner-Lambert Company, mostly from 1994-1998. All documents were reviewed by 1 author, with selected review by coauthors. Marketing strategies and tactics were identified by using an iterative process of review, discussion, and re-review of selected documents. The promotion of gabapentin was a comprehensive and multifaceted process. Advisory boards, consultants meetings, and accredited continuing medical education events organized by third-party vendors were used to deliver promotional messages. These tactics were augmented by the recruitment of local champions and engagement of thought leaders, who could be used to communicate favorable messages about gabapentin to their physician colleagues. Research and scholarship were also used for marketing by encouraging "key customers" to participate in research, using a large study to advance promotional themes and build market share, paying medical communication companies to develop and publish articles about gabapentin for the medical literature, and planning to suppress unfavorable study results. Most available documents were submitted by the plaintiff and may not represent a complete picture of marketing practices. Activities traditionally considered independent of promotional intent, including continuing medical education and research, were extensively used to promote gabapentin. New strategies are needed to ensure a clear separation between scientific and commercial activity.

  18. Radiation promotive concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shebaita, M.K.

    1975-01-01

    The concept of radiation promotion was proposed in this study. The proposal of this concept was dependent upon stimulation in growth weight of survived chicks when fertile eggs were exposed to 60 Co gamma radiation. It was found that female chick (Promotive Sex) responded to this proposal concept rather than the male. Moreover, the dose level of 640 rads was found to be the Promotive Dose. It is important before applying ionizing radiation as a growth promotive to take into consideration whether you want increasing egg or meat production, as meat promotion in layers breed is bound to decrease egg production. (orig.) [de

  19. 7 CFR 1218.15 - Processed blueberries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Processed blueberries. 1218.15 Section 1218.15... AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.15...

  20. Promoting Health in Early Childhood Environments: A Health-Promotion Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minniss, Fiona Rowe; Wardrope, Cheryl; Johnston, Donni; Kendall, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the mechanisms by which a health-promotion intervention might influence the health-promoting behaviours of staff members working in early childhood centres. The intervention was an ecological health-promotion initiative that was implemented within four early childhood centres in South-East Queensland, Australia. In-depth,…

  1. Reason and reaction: the utility of a dual-focus, dual-processing perspective on promotion and prevention of adolescent health risk behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbons, Frederick X; Houlihan, Amy E; Gerrard, Meg

    2009-05-01

    A brief overview of theories of health behaviour that are based on the expectancy-value perspective is presented. This approach maintains that health behaviours are the result of a deliberative decision-making process that involves consideration of behavioural options along with anticipated outcomes associated with those options. It is argued that this perspective is effective at explaining and predicting many types of health behaviour, including health-promoting actions (e.g. UV protection, condom use, smoking cessation), but less effective at predicting risky health behaviours, such as unprotected, casual sex, drunk driving or binge drinking. These are behaviours that are less reasoned or premeditated - especially among adolescents. An argument is made for incorporating elements of dual-processing theories in an effort to improve the 'utility' of these models. Specifically, it is suggested that adolescent health behaviour involves both analytic and heuristic processing. Both types of processing are incorporated in the prototype-willingness (prototype) model, which is described in some detail. Studies of health behaviour based on the expectancy-value perspective (e.g. theory of reasoned action) are reviewed, along with studies based on the prototype model. These two sets of studies together suggest that the dual-processing perspective, in general, and the prototype model, in particular, add to the predictive validity of expectancy-value models for predicting adolescent health behaviour. Research and interventions that incorporate elements of dual-processing and elements of expectancy-value are more effective at explaining and changing adolescent health behaviour than are those based on expectancy-value theories alone.

  2. A decision support system for the promotion of Employee in Plaza Asia Method Using Weighted Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Egi Badar Sambani

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Decision-making in a company is important because decisions taken by managers is the result of a final thought to be carried out by employees. Asia is the largest mall Plaza sepriangan east, where the assessment process includes the promotion employee attendance, productivity (work, integrity (nature, skill (ability and loyalty (faithfulness. Method Using Weighted Product (WP can help in decision-making to determine the promotion of employees in the company, as well as the appraisal process more efficient so the store manager can determine employee promotions quickly. By using decision support system that has a database, employee data can be stored in the database. So that in case of errors in inputting can be corrected without having to re-enter the data. With the Decision Support System will address the issues raised in the Plaza Asia, so the promotion process will be faster.

  3. CHE COSA RESTA DI CHERUBINI OGGI? DUE CASI DI STUDIO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuele Miola

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available A partire dagli anni Duemila, il fenomeno delle cosiddette risorgenze dialettali si è manifestato, nel panorama linguistico italiano, anche attraverso l’emergenza dei dialetti negli ambiti propri della Comunicazione Mediata dal Computer e, specialmente, sui siti internet creati ‘dal basso’, come l’enciclopedia libera e multilingue online Wikipedia. In questo articolo, si esaminerà il lascito di Cherubini e del suo Vocabolario milanese-italiano sull’edizione regionale lombarda della Wikipedia: gli articoli di quest’ultima saranno passati in rassegna, sia dal punto di vista ortografico, comparando le scelte del lessicografo milanese con quelle più in voga online, sia dal punto di vista morfo-sintattico, discutendo in questo secondo caso la presenza e la produttività di alcuni verbi sintagmatici. What remains of Cherubini today? Two case studies Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the phenomenon of dialect resurgence has manifested in Italy through the emergence of dialects in Computer Mediated Communication, especially, on bottom-up created Web sites, like the free, multilingual, online encyclopedia Wikipedia. In this article, we will examine the legacy of Cherubini and his Milanese-Italian dictionary on the regional Lombard version of Wikipedia. We will review the articles both in terms of spelling, comparing the choices of Milanese lexicographer with those most utilized currently online, and from a morpho-syntactic point of view, discussing the presence and the productivity of some phrasal verbs.

  4. Entrepreneurship in health education and health promotion: five cardinal rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy, James M; Stellefson, Michael L

    2009-07-01

    The nature of health education and health promotion (HE/HP) offers a fertile ground for entrepreneurial activity. As primary prevention of chronic diseases becomes a more central component of the health and/ or medical care continuum, entrepreneurial opportunities for health educators will continue to expand. The process used to design, implement, and evaluate health promotion and disease prevention has clear articulation with entrepreneurial, marketing management, and other business processes. Thus, entrepreneurs in HE/HP must be able to utilize business process to facilitate creative, new HE/HP business ideas. The purpose of this article is to weave theory and practical application into a primer on entrepreneurial applications in HE/HP. More specifically, the authors meld their prospective experiences and expertise to provide background thoughts on entrepreneurship in HE/HP and develop a framework for establishing an entrepreneurial venture in HE/HP. Five Cardinal Rules for Entrepreneurs in HE/HP are proposed.

  5. Organizational change theory: implications for health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batras, Dimitri; Duff, Cameron; Smith, Ben J

    2016-03-01

    Sophisticated understandings of organizational dynamics and processes of organizational change are crucial for the development and success of health promotion initiatives. Theory has a valuable contribution to make in understanding organizational change, for identifying influential factors that should be the focus of change efforts and for selecting the strategies that can be applied to promote change. This article reviews select organizational change models to identify the most pertinent insights for health promotion practitioners. Theoretically derived considerations for practitioners who seek to foster organizational change include the extent to which the initiative is modifiable to fit with the internal context; the amount of time that is allocated to truly institutionalize change; the ability of the agents of change to build short-term success deliberately into their implementation plan; whether or not the shared group experience of action for change is positive or negative and the degree to which agencies that are the intended recipients of change are resourced to focus on internal factors. In reviewing theories of organizational change, the article also addresses strategies for facilitating the adoption of key theoretical insights into the design and implementation of health promotion initiatives in diverse organizational settings. If nothing else, aligning health promotion with organizational change theory promises insights into what it is that health promoters do and the time that it can take to do it effectively. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Promoting preschool reading

    OpenAIRE

    Istenič, Vesna

    2013-01-01

    The thesis titled Promoting preschool reading consists of a theoretiral and an empirical part. In the theoretical part I wrote about reading, the importance of reading, types of reading, about reading motivation, promoting reading motivation, internal and external motivation, influence of reading motivation on the child's reading activity, reading and familial literacy, the role of adults in promotion reading literacy, reading to a child and promoting reading in pre-school years, where I ...

  7. Health Promotion Education in India: Present Landscape and Future Vistas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pati, Sanghamitra; Sharma, Kavya; Zodpey, Sanjay; Chauhan, Kavita; Dobe, Madhumita

    2012-01-01

    ‘Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health’. This stream of public health is emerging as a critical domain within the realm of disease prevention. Over the last two decades, the curative model of health care has begun a subtle shift towards a participatory model of health promotion emphasizing upon practice of healthy lifestyles and creating healthy communities. Health promotion encompasses five key strategies with health communication and education as its cornerstones. Present study is an attempt to explore the current situation of health promotion education in India with an aim to provide a background for capacity building in health promotion. A systematic predefined method was adopted to collect and compile information on existing academic programs pertaining to health promotion and health education/communication. Results of the study reveal that currently health promotion education in India is fragmented and not uniform across institutes. It is yet to be recognized as a critical domain of public health education. Mostly teaching of health promotion is limited to health education and communication. There is a need for designing programmes for short-term and long-term capacity building, with focus on innovative methods and approaches. Public health institutes and associations could play a proactive role in designing and imparting academic programs on health promotion. Enhancing alliances with various institutes involved in health promotion activities and networking among public health and medical institutes as well as health services delivery systems would be more productive. PMID:22980352

  8. Health promotion practice and its implementation in Swedish health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brobeck, E; Odencrants, S; Bergh, H; Hildingh, C

    2013-09-01

    Health promotion practice is an important work assignment within the entire health and medical care sector. Nurses are important for the development and implementation of health promotion in clinical practice. The aim was to describe how district nurses view health promotion practice and how it was implemented in clinical practice following a training initiative. The study has a descriptive design and a qualitative method. The sample consisted of three focus groups with 16 participants. The interviews were conducted as a conversation with focus on the district nurses view of health promotion and its implementation in clinical practice. The data have been processed using manifest qualitative content analysis. Three categories, titled Training as motivation, Lack of grounding and Lack of scope were identified. The result demonstrated that training provides motivation, but also the importance of grounding in the organization and the need for scope in performing health promotion practice. Our results show that the training initiative has contributed positively to the district nurses' view of health promotion practice, but that they also feel that there are obstacles. The district nurses in our study suggest that health promotion practice should be more visible, and not something that is done when time permits. The district nurses feel motivated and have an enthusiasm for health promotion practice but more time and resources are required to design successful health-promoting initiatives. Before implementing a major training initiative for healthcare personnel in health promotion, it is essential to examine whether the conditions for this exist in the organization. © 2013 International Council of Nurses.

  9. The impact of using the internet in promoting Romanian industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen Adina PASTIU

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Central element of the marketing mix, advertising can differentiate the companies in Romanian industry through the strategy used by each company. The present paper summarises the results of a qualitative research conducted in 15 companies acting in food, mechanical processing, textile, leather, and footwear industries. Throughout this study the benefits of using online promotion were highlighted and a diagnosis regarding the use of the Internet for promoting products in Romanian industry was performed.

  10. Evaluation of an Information Source Illustrated by a Case Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjørland, Birger

    2011-01-01

    It is argued that to evaluate an information source (e.g., a Wikipedia article), it is necessary to relate the content of that source to an interpretation of the state of knowledge at the research front (which is typically developing dynamically). In the research literature, there is a controversy...... about the effect of screening programs for breast cancer. This controversy is used to compare the value of Wikipedia with Encyclopedia Britannica and two Danish encyclopedias as information sources. It is argued that this method of examining information sources is preferable to other methods which have...

  11. Writing Irataba

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pharao Hansen, Magnus

    2016-01-01

    Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is simultaneously an experiment in anarchic knowledge production and a realization of the long dream of modernity: storing all human knowledge. It is also a battleground for the politics of representation and for creating and circulating...... and anthropological knowledge and Wikipedia's policies establishing how to authorize and re-represent narratives. These dilemmas point out to us, as 21st-century anthropologists, that we have a responsibility for being the stewards of the knowledge created by anthropologists past as well as for correcting...

  12. SCHOOL AS A HEALTH PROMOTING PLACE FOR ITS STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andre Guirland Vieira

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The school has a strong commitment with the surrounding community as a space for the development of health promoting actions. However, for this space to be truly potentiating the quality of life, people should feel they are accepted and to participate in the process of building this healthy environment. So the aim of this study is to reflect upon the school as a health production space, and the importance of the health promoting school proposal.  For this purpose we conducted a theoretical research on school environment, social inclusion and health promotion in school facilities. Results point to the necessity for school to contribute for the development of healthy life abilities, reflecting upon life styles and promoting a healthy atmosphere for learning, which is appropriate for the student. That includes appraising individualities and establishing an atmosphere that potentiates healthy relations, with communication quality and with reflection upon diversities. It is specially found that teacher´s critical, creative and reflexive attitude plays an important role for healthy promoting school establishment, developing a pleasant, joyful and solidary environment, and stimulating joint search for doubts and questions.

  13. Promotion through Marketing Channels : The Case of Kosovo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MSc. Hidajet Karaxha

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In order for a product to be put in the hands of the customer, requires a mechanism which is called distribution channel and which enables the connection between the consumer and producer. One of the many strategies applied by Kosovar companies for the involvement of the members of the channel is also the promotion through distribution channels. Therefore, the strategies which involve the members of the channel have a higher probability to be positively accepted by the members of the channel, when they are part of a general program of supporting the needs of the producers. The process of realizing a marketing strategy of a company does not concise only of achieving specific goals of production during the realization of the promotion phase, but it also requires identifying the target market and achieving it. The purpose of this paper is to review the promotion strategy of distribution channels, which emphasize the support by the members of the channel, initiated by the producers through cooperative advertisements, promotional salaries, slotting taxes, incentives, promotions in markets and also special promotional agreements. The theoretical and practical side of the study are very important, especially regarding to new theoretical and practical views in the study context. Besides the theoretical contribution that will be offered by this paper, there will also be interesting findings in the practical aspect where through this paper, the owners, managers, firms will be able to understand the role and importance of promotion through distribution channels. Knowing that there are only few studies offered in this field, this paper offers help for everyone interested in this field. This paper contains empirical data collected by questionnaires and interviews.

  14. [Subtainable health promotion via organisational development--a model project for teachers in professional training schools].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schumacher, L; Nieskens, B; Bräuer, H; Sieland, B

    2005-02-01

    The goal of this project is the development, implementation and evaluation of a concept designed for sustainable health promotion among occupational and trade school teachers. We assume that for sustainable health promotion -- along with a behavioral prevention program -- a change is necessary in the structure, as well as, the working and communication processes within schools. The realization of early teacher participation and self regulated cooperative groups initiates comprehensive and goal-oriented developmental processes in the project schools. The organizational development process was accomplished in the following way: At the beginning we conducted a diagnosis of school-specific and individual health risks and the resources available to the project schools. The results were reported for both the individual and for the teacher group. This was intended to clarify the potential for improvement and, thus, strengthen the teachers' motivation toward processes of change. Following the diagnosis, the teachers chose areas of stress-related strain and then worked in groups to develop and implement behaviour and working condition-oriented intervention strategies for health promotion. The diagnosis results confirm the necessity of school-specific health promotion: the schools demonstrate very different demand and resource profiles. Furthermore, is has become evident that the central success factor for health promotion in schools is the teachers' willingness for change. The individual and group reports of the diagnosis results seem to have made clear how essential individual and organisational changes are.

  15. Constituting the healthy employee? : Governing gendered subjects in workplace health promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Björklund, Erika

    2008-01-01

    With a post-structural approach and an analytical focus on processes of governmentality and biopower, this study is concerned with how discourses of health are contextualized in educational practice and interaction between educators and participants in workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions. Of concern are issues of the discursive production, regulation and representation of power, knowledge and subjects as gendered beings in workplace health promotion interventions. The methods for g...

  16. Nano-copper-bearing stainless steel promotes fracture healing by accelerating the callus evolution process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang L

    2017-11-01

    superior for 317L-Cu SS. Histological staining displayed large amounts of fibrous tissues at 3 weeks, and cartilage and new bone at 6 weeks. Further, histomorphometric analysis indicated that the callus possessed higher osteogenic efficiency at 6 weeks, and a high Cu2+ content and increased Runx2 expression were observed in the callus for 317L-Cu SS. Besides, the mechanical strength of the fracture site was much better than that of the control group. Overall, we conclude that 317L-Cu SS possesses the ability to increase Cu2+ content and promote osteogenesis in the callus, which could accelerate the callus evolution process and bone formation to provide faster and better fracture healing. Keywords: nano-sized copper, lysyl oxidase, osteogenesis, fracture healing, callus evolution 

  17. Implementing a Mentally Healthy Schools Framework Based on the Population Wide Act-Belong-Commit Mental Health Promotion Campaign: A Process Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anwar-McHenry, Julia; Donovan, Robert John; Nicholas, Amberlee; Kerrigan, Simone; Francas, Stephanie; Phan, Tina

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Mentally Healthy WA developed and implemented the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework in 2010 in response to demand from schools wanting to promote the community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion message within a school setting. Schools are an important setting for mental health promotion, therefore, the Framework encourages…

  18. Health-promoting educational settings in Taiwan: development and evaluation of the Health-Promoting School Accreditation System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fu-Li; Lee, Albert

    2016-03-01

    The Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Education launched the Health-Promoting School (HPS) program in 2002. One of the most significant barriers to evaluating HPS is the absence of adequate instruments. The main aim of this study is to develop the Taiwan Health-Promoting School Accreditation System (HPSAS) framework and then evaluate its accreditation effectiveness. The HPSAS accreditation standards were derived mainly from the World Health Organization (WHO) publication, WHO Health Promoting Schools: A Framework for Action in 2008 and the Taiwan School Health Act. Delphi technique and pilot test were used to confirm the availability and acceptability of the standards and procedures for HPSAS in 2011. After that, two rounds of school evaluations were completed in 2012 (214 participant schools) and 2014 (182 participant schools). The accreditation operation process included documentary reviews, national and international accredited commissioners conducted on-site visits. Descriptive analyses were used to indicate HPS award level distribution. The study established six key HPSAS standards. Each standard had at least two components; overall, there were 21 components and 47 scoring elements. Of the participating schools evaluated in 2012, four were at the gold, 14 silver, and 120 bronze levels, compared with five, 20, and 31, respectively, of schools evaluated in 2014. The study showed that schools at different award levels had different full-score rates in six standards. The schools at the gold level performed exceptionally well. The worst performance among the six standards at each award level was in the skill-based health curriculum. The HPSAS is an objective instrument used to evaluate the process and outcomes of the HPS program. In the future, combinations of different types of data (e.g. students' health behaviors, school climate, or teachers' health-teaching innovations) will enable further validation of the HPS effectiveness. © The Author

  19. Src Induces Podoplanin Expression to Promote Cell Migration*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Yongquan; Chen, Chen-Shan; Ichikawa, Hitoshi; Goldberg, Gary S.

    2010-01-01

    Nontransformed cells can force tumor cells to assume a normal morphology and phenotype by the process of contact normalization. Transformed cells must escape this process to become invasive and malignant. However, mechanisms underlying contact normalization have not been elucidated. Here, we have identified genes that are affected by contact normalization of Src-transformed cells. Tumor cells must migrate to become invasive and malignant. Src must phosphorylate the adaptor protein Cas (Crk-associated substrate) to promote tumor cell motility. We report here that Src utilizes Cas to induce podoplanin (Pdpn) expression to promote tumor cell migration. Pdpn is a membrane-bound extracellular glycoprotein that associates with endogenous ligands to promote tumor cell migration leading to cancer invasion and metastasis. In fact, Pdpn expression accounted for a major part of the increased migration seen in Src-transformed cells. Moreover, nontransformed cells suppressed Pdpn expression in adjacent Src-transformed cells. Of >39,000 genes, Pdpn was one of only 23 genes found to be induced by transforming Src activity and suppressed by contact normalization of Src-transformed cells. In addition, we found 16 genes suppressed by Src and induced by contact normalization. These genes encode growth factor receptors, adaptor proteins, and products that have not yet been annotated and may play important roles in tumor cell growth and migration. PMID:20123990

  20. Reduced Zeta potential through use of cationic adhesion promoter for improved resist process performance and minimizing material consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodgson, Lorna; Thompson, Andrew

    2012-03-01

    This paper presents the results of a non-HMDS (non-silane) adhesion promoter that was used to reduce the zeta potential for very thin (proprietary) polymer on silicon. By reducing the zeta potential, as measured by the minimum sample required to fully coat a wafer, the amount of polymer required to coat silicon substrates was significantly reduced in the manufacture of X-ray windows used for high transmission of low-energy X-rays. Moreover, this approach used aqueous based adhesion promoter described as a cationic surface active agent that has been shown to improve adhesion of photoresists (positive, negative, epoxy [SU8], e-beam and dry film). As well as reducing the amount of polymer required to coat substrates, this aqueous adhesion promoter is nonhazardous, and contains non-volatile solvents.

  1. Prediction by promoter logic in bacterial quorum sensing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Navneet Rai

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Quorum-sensing systems mediate chemical communication between bacterial cells, coordinating cell-density-dependent processes like biofilm formation and virulence-factor expression. In the proteobacterial LuxI/LuxR quorum sensing paradigm, a signaling molecule generated by an enzyme (LuxI diffuses between cells and allosterically stimulates a transcriptional regulator (LuxR to activate its cognate promoter (pR. By expressing either LuxI or LuxR in positive feedback from pR, these versatile systems can generate smooth (monostable or abrupt (bistable density-dependent responses to suit the ecological context. Here we combine theory and experiment to demonstrate that the promoter logic of pR - its measured activity as a function of LuxI and LuxR levels - contains all the biochemical information required to quantitatively predict the responses of such feedback loops. The interplay of promoter logic with feedback topology underlies the versatility of the LuxI/LuxR paradigm: LuxR and LuxI positive-feedback systems show dramatically different responses, while a dual positive/negative-feedback system displays synchronized oscillations. These results highlight the dual utility of promoter logic: to probe microscopic parameters and predict macroscopic phenotype.

  2. Targeting Epigenetics to Prevent Obesity Promoted Cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Nathan A; Scacheri, Peter C

    2018-03-01

    Epigenetic changes in DNA and associated chromatin proteins are increasingly being considered as important mediators of the linkage between obesity and cancer. Although multiple agents, targeted at epigenetic changes, are being tested for therapy of established cancers, this issue of Cancer Prevention Research carries two articles demonstrating that the bromodomain inhibitor I-BET-762 can attenuate adipose tissue-promoted cancers. Although I-BET-762 significantly delayed, rather than completely prevented, the onset of adiposity-promoted transformation and malignancy, these experiments provide important proof of principle for the strategies of targeting epigenetic changes to disrupt the obesity-cancer linkage. Because bromodomain proteins represent only one of multiple epigenetic mediators, it is probable that targeting other epigenetic processes, alone or in combination, may serve to even more effectively disrupt the obesity promotion of cancer. Given the magnitude of the current obesity pandemic and its impact on cancer, preventive measures to disrupt this linkage are critically important. Cancer Prev Res; 11(3); 125-8. ©2018 AACR See related article by Chakraborty et al., p. 129 . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  3. Health promotion in supplementary health care: outsourcing, microregulation and implications for care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Kênia Lara; Sena, Roseni Rosângela; Rodrigues, Andreza Trevenzoli; Araújo, Fernanda Lopes; Belga, Stephanie Marques Moura Franco; Duarte, Elysângela Dittz

    2015-01-01

    to analyze health promotion programs in the supplementary health care. This was a multiple case study with a qualitative approach whose data were obtained from interviews with coordinators of providers contracted by the corporations of health insurance plans in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The data were submitted to Critical Discourse Analysis. Home care has been described as the main action in the field of health promotion transferred to the providers, followed by management of patients and cases, and the health education.groups. The existence of health promotion principles is questionable in all programs. Outsourcing is marked by a process with a division between cost and care management. Implications of this process occur within admission and interventions on the needs of the beneficiaries. Statements revealed rationalization of cost, restructuring of work, and reproduction of the dominant logic of capital accumulation by the health insurance companies.

  4. Health Promotion & Counselling in Context of Mixedness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singla, Rashmi

    and ‘homogeneity’ on one hand and increasing, polarisation between us & the others and increasing ethnic diversity on the other. Despite increase in number, intermarried couples are still almost invisible as a statistical category and in psychosocial services. Both increased risk for married life disruption...... on subjectively experienced feelings and expressive behaviour, such as responses of others, ‘gaze’ to couples’ ‘visible differences’ and the societal attitudes - the external aspects are significant. Practices such as focus on the ‘fun part’ involving negotiation of gender positions, cultural and social capital....../exclusion processes in the society should be taken in consideration for health promotion, and counselling of the intermarried couples. Key words: Ethnic intermarriages, increased risks, opportunities, good practices, health promotion, integrative counselling...

  5. GenoCAD Plant Grammar to Design Plant Expression Vectors for Promoter Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coll, Anna; Wilson, Mandy L; Gruden, Kristina; Peccoud, Jean

    2016-01-01

    With the rapid advances in prediction tools for discovery of new promoters and their cis-elements, there is a need to improve plant expression methodologies in order to facilitate a high-throughput functional validation of these promoters in planta. The promoter-reporter analysis is an indispensible approach for characterization of plant promoters. It requires the design of complex plant expression vectors, which can be challenging. Here, we describe the use of a plant grammar implemented in GenoCAD that will allow the users to quickly design constructs for promoter analysis experiments but also for other in planta functional studies. The GenoCAD plant grammar includes a library of plant biological parts organized in structural categories to facilitate their use and management and a set of rules that guides the process of assembling these biological parts into large constructs.

  6. Retailer branding of consumer sales promotions. A major development in food marketing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamlin, Robert P; Lindsay, Sophie; Insch, Andrea

    2012-02-01

    This article examines retailer branding of consumer price promotions. It discusses the mechanics of price promotions, consumers' reactions to them and the benefits that accrue to those that use them. It describes how large food retailers can now deploy branded price promotion systems that are fundamentally different to 'traditional' price promotions in both their mechanics and their effects on consumer decision processes. The article describes a field experiment that compared the performance of a food retailer's branded price promotion system with that of a generic (manufacturer) price promotion. The research involved three experiments that covered two food categories (sliced bread and margarine) and two levels of discount (10% and 20%). The results indicate that food retailers are able to attach powerful brands to their price promotion systems, and these brand heuristics can significantly increase consumer purchase intent relative to an equivalent generic/manufacturer promotion. This incremental heuristic effect was stable in both categories and for both levels of price discount studied. These results are consistent with the predictions of alternative, non-cognitive and heuristic based models of food consumer choice that have been published recently in 'Appetite'. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Promoter2.0: for the recognition of PolII promoter sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Steen; Knudsen, Steen

    1999-01-01

    transcription start sites. On standardized test setsconsisting of human genomic DNA, the performance of Promoter2.0 compares well with other softwaredeveloped for the same purpose. Availability : Promoter2.0 is available as a Web server at http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/promoter/ Contact : steen@cbs.dtu.dk...

  8. Health-promoting schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kwan, Stella Y L; Petersen, Poul Erik; Pine, Cynthia M

    2005-01-01

    Schools provide an important setting for promoting health, as they reach over 1 billion children worldwide and, through them, the school staff, families and the community as a whole. Health promotion messages can be reinforced throughout the most influential stages of children's lives, enabling...... them to develop lifelong sustainable attitudes and skills. Poor oral health can have a detrimental effect on children's quality of life, their performance at school and their success in later life. This paper examines the global need for promoting oral health through schools. The WHO Global School...... Health Initiative and the potential for setting up oral health programmes in schools using the health-promoting school framework are discussed. The challenges faced in promoting oral health in schools in both developed and developing countries are highlighted. The importance of using a validated...

  9. Gene activation regresses atherosclerosis, promotes health, and enhances longevity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luoma Pauli V

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lifestyle factors and pharmacological compounds activate genetic mechanisms that influence the development of atherosclerotic and other diseases. This article reviews studies on natural and pharmacological gene activation that promotes health and enhances longevity. Results Living habits including healthy diet and regular physical activity, and pharmacotherapy, upregulate genes encoding enzymes and apolipoprotein and ATP-binding cassette transporters, acting in metabolic processes that promote health and increase survival. Cytochrome P450-enzymes, physiological factors in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis, generate oxysterols for the elimination of surplus cholesterol. Hepatic CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase-α is an important regulator of plasma HDL-C level. Gene-activators produce plasma lipoprotein profile, high HDL-C, HDL2-C and HDL-C/cholesterol ratio, which is typical of low risk of atherosclerotic disease, and also of exceptional longevity together with reduced prevalence of cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases. High HDL contributes to protection against inflammation, oxidation and thrombosis, and associates with good cognitive function in very old people. Avoiding unhealthy stress and managing it properly promotes health and increases life expectancy. Conclusions Healthy living habits and gene-activating xenobiotics upregulate mechanisms that produce lipoprotein pattern typical of very old people and enhance longevity. Lipoprotein metabolism and large HDL2 associate with the process of living a very long life. Major future goals for health promotion are the improving of commitment to both wise lifestyle choices and drug therapy, and further the developing of new and more effective and well tolerated drugs and treatments.

  10. HOX Gene Promoter Prediction and Inter-genomic Comparison: An Evo-Devo Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marla A. Endriga

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Homeobox genes direct the anterior-posterior axis of the body plan in eukaryotic organisms. Promoter regions upstream of the Hox genes jumpstart the transcription process. CpG islands found within the promoter regions can cause silencing of these promoters. The locations of the promoter regions and the CpG islands of Homeo sapiens sapiens (human, Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee, Mus musculus (mouse, and Rattus norvegicus (brown rat are compared and related to the possible influence on the specification of the mammalian body plan. The sequence of each gene in Hox clusters A-D of the mammals considered were retrieved from Ensembl and locations of promoter regions and CpG islands predicted using Exon Finder. The predicted promoter sequences were confirmed via BLAST and verified against the Eukaryotic Promoter Database. The significance of the locations was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Among the four clusters, only promoter locations in cluster B showed significant difference. HOX B genes have been linked with the control of genes that direct the development of axial morphology, particularly of the vertebral column bones. The magnitude of variation among the body plans of closely-related species can thus be partially attributed to the promoter kind, location and number, and gene inactivation via CpG methylation.

  11. Empowerment: a goal or a means for health promotion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tengland, Per-Anders

    2007-06-01

    Empowerment is a concept that has been much used and discussed for a number of years. However, it is not always explicitly clarified what its central meaning is. The present paper intends to clarify what empowerment means, and relate it to the goals of health promotion. The paper starts with the claim that health-related quality of life is the ultimate general goal for health promotion, and continues by briefly presenting definitions of some central concepts: "welfare", "health" and "quality of life". Several suggestions as to what empowerment is are then discussed: autonomy, freedom, knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence, and control over health or life. One conclusion of this discussion is that empowerment can be seen as a complex goal which includes aspects of the three central concepts welfare, health and quality of life. To the extent that the empowerment goals aimed at are health-related, it is concluded that empowerment is a legitimate goal for health promotion. But empowerment is not only a goal, it can also be described as a process or as an approach. This process, or approach, in a fundamental way involves the participants in problem formulation, decision making and action, which means that the experts have to relinquish some of their control and power.

  12. PROMOTING TRADITIONAL FOOD PRODUCTS AS HEALTHY DIET PRODUCTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela Teodora TARCZA

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to propose a brief introspection in the literature review in an attempt to highlight the peculiarities of traditional foodstuffs that enable them to be promoted as the primary food for a healthy diet. The trend of healthy eating is gaining ground not only for experts and researchers, but also for consumers on a daily basis. Traditional foodstuffs are brought back into the consumers’ attention in a market full of highly-processed foodstuffs. Marketing specialists noticed the link between the two concepts and they elaborated promotional strategies for traditional foodstuffs, having the ‘healthy diet’ as insight. Throughout the paper we will present theoretical considerations such as the concept of ‘traditional food product’, ‘promotion’, and ‘healthy diet’ from a marketing perspective followed by several examples of traditional food products perceived as healthy, and lastly, we will highlight the benefits of promoting a healthy diet by consuming traditional food products.

  13. Reorienting health services in the Northern Territory of Australia: a conceptual model for building health promotion capacity in the workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judd, Jenni; Keleher, Helen

    2013-06-01

    Reorienting work practices to include health promotion and prevention is complex and requires specific strategies and interventions. This paper presents original research that used 'real-world' practice to demonstrate that knowledge gathered from practice is relevant for the development of practice-based evidence. The paper shows how practitioners can inform and influence improvements in health promotion practice. Practitioner-informed evidence necessarily incorporates qualitative research to capture the richness of their reflective experiences. Using a participatory action research (PAR) approach, the research question asked 'what are the core dimensions of building health promotion capacity in a primary health care workforce in a real-world setting?' PAR is a method in which the researcher operates in full collaboration with members of the organisation being studied for the purposes of achieving some kind of change, in this case to increase the amount of health promotion and prevention practice within this community health setting. The PAR process involved six reflection and action cycles over two years. Data collection processes included: survey; in-depth interviews; a training intervention; observations of practice; workplace diaries; and two nominal groups. The listen/reflect/act process enabled lessons from practice to inform future capacity-building processes. This research strengthened and supported the development of health promotion to inform 'better health' practices through respectful change processes based on research, practitioner-informed evidence, and capacity-building strategies. A conceptual model for building health promotion capacity in the primary health care workforce was informed by the PAR processes and recognised the importance of the determinants approach. Practitioner-informed evidence is the missing link in the evidence debate and provides the links between evidence and its translation to practice. New models of health promotion service

  14. Role of BRIT in promoting radiation processing technology in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandi, L.N.

    2014-01-01

    Some of the major applications of radiation processing include: the sterilization of products such as medical devices to kill bacteria or in the case of food, hygienize the product; the treatment of export bulk commodities such as tropical fruits to extend shelf life by slowing the ripening process and inhibiting sprouting and to kill quarantine pests such as fruit flies. Radiation processing is a value addition process. Taking note of these benefits, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India constituted Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) in March 1989 by carving it out from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. The mandate given to BRIT was to extend commercial applications of radioisotopes and radiation in the areas of Health, Agriculture, Industry and Research without losing sight of societal obligations. So far Department of Atomic Energy has set up three demonstration plants, namely, Isomed, RPP, Vashi and Krushak for high, medium and low dose applications of radiation respectively. The safe and business like operation of these facilities amply demonstrated the embedded safety and commercial viability of this technology

  15. What Is a Promotion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pergamit, Michael R.; Veum, Jonathan R.

    1999-01-01

    For a sample of young workers, "promotion" involved no change in position or duties; promotion was more likely for males than females and Whites than Blacks or Hispanics. Company training and prior promotions were important predictors. Promotion did not appear to have a direct impact on job satisfaction. (SK)

  16. Promoter2.0: for the recognition of PolII promoter sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Steen; Knudsen, Steen

    1999-01-01

    Motivation : A new approach to the prediction of eukaryotic PolII promoters from DNA sequence takesadvantage of a combination of elements similar to neural networks and genetic algorithms to recognize a set ofdiscrete subpatterns with variable separation as one pattern: a promoter. The neural...... of optimization, the algorithm was able todiscriminate between vertebrate promoter and non-promoter sequences in a test set with a correlationcoefficient of 0.63. In addition, all five known transcription start sites on the plus strand of the completeadenovirus genome were within 161 bp of 35 predicted...

  17. Configurable multi-perspective business process models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    La Rosa, M.; Dumas, M.; Hofstede, ter A.H.M.; Mendling, J.

    2011-01-01

    A configurable process model provides a consolidated view of a family of business processes. It promotes the reuse of proven practices by providing analysts with a generic modeling artifact from which to derive individual process models. Unfortunately, the scope of existing notations for

  18. Moving health promotion communities online: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunderland, Naomi; Beekhuyzen, Jenine; Kendall, Elizabeth; Wolski, Malcom

    There is a need to enhance the effectiveness and reach of complex health promotion initiatives by providing opportunities for diverse health promotion practitioners and others to interact in online settings. This paper reviews the existing literature on how to take health promotion communities and networks into online settings. A scoping review of relevant bodies of literature and empirical evidence was undertaken to provide an interpretive synthesis of existing knowledge on the topic. Sixteen studies were identified between 1986 and 2007. Relatively little research has been conducted on the process of taking existing offline communities and networks into online settings. However, more research has focused on offline (i.e. not mediated via computer networks); 'virtual' (purely online with no offline interpersonal contact); and 'multiplex' communities (i.e. those that interact across both online and offline settings). Results are summarised under three themes: characteristics of communities in online and offline settings; issues in moving offline communities online, and designing online communities to match community needs. Existing health promotion initiatives can benefit from online platforms that promote community building and knowledge sharing. Online e-health promotion settings and communities can successfully integrate with existing offline settings and communities to form 'multiplex' communities (i.e. communities that operate fluently across both online and offline settings).

  19. Interest Matters: The Importance of Promoting Interest in Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harackiewicz, Judith M; Smith, Jessi L; Priniski, Stacy J

    2016-10-01

    Interest is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career trajectories, and is essential to academic success. Interest is both a psychological state of attention and affect toward a particular object or topic, and an enduring predisposition to reengage over time. Integrating these two definitions, the four-phase model of interest development guides interventions that promote interest and capitalize on existing interests. Four interest-enhancing interventions seem useful: attention-getting settings, contexts evoking prior individual interest, problem-based learning, and enhancing utility value. Promoting interest can contribute to a more engaged, motivated, learning experience for students.

  20. The food processing contaminant glyoxal promotes tumour growth in the multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svendsen, Camilla; Høie, Anja Hortemo; Alexander, Jan; Murkovic, Michael; Husøy, Trine

    2016-08-01

    Glyoxal is formed endogenously and at a higher rate in the case of hyperglycemia. Glyoxal is also a food processing contaminant and has been shown to be mutagenic and genotoxic in vitro. The tumourigenic potential of glyoxal was investigated using the multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mouse model, which spontaneously develops intestinal tumours and is susceptible to intestinal carcinogens. C57BL/6J females were mated with Min males. Four days after mating and throughout gestation and lactation, the pregnant dams were exposed to glyoxal through drinking water (0.0125%, 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.1%) or regular tap water. Female and male offspring were housed separately from PND21 and continued with the same treatment. One group were only exposed to 0.1% glyoxal from postnatal day (PND) 21. There was no difference in the number of intestinal tumours between control and treatment groups. However, exposure to 0.1% glyoxal starting in utero and at PND21 caused a significant increase in tumour size in the small intestine for male and female mice in comparison with respective control groups. This study suggests that glyoxal has tumour growth promoting properties in the small intestine in Min mice. Copyright © 2016 Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  1. Promoter DNA hypermethylation and gene repression in undifferentiated Arabidopsis cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Berdasco

    Full Text Available Maintaining and acquiring the pluripotent cell state in plants is critical to tissue regeneration and vegetative multiplication. Histone-based epigenetic mechanisms are important for regulating this undifferentiated state. Here we report the use of genetic and pharmacological experimental approaches to show that Arabidopsis cell suspensions and calluses specifically repress some genes as a result of promoter DNA hypermethylation. We found that promoters of the MAPK12, GSTU10 and BXL1 genes become hypermethylated in callus cells and that hypermethylation also affects the TTG1, GSTF5, SUVH8, fimbrin and CCD7 genes in cell suspensions. Promoter hypermethylation in undifferentiated cells was associated with histone hypoacetylation and primarily occurred at CpG sites. Accordingly, we found that the process specifically depends on MET1 and DRM2 methyltransferases, as demonstrated with DNA methyltransferase mutants. Our results suggest that promoter DNA methylation may be another important epigenetic mechanism for the establishment and/or maintenance of the undifferentiated state in plant cells.

  2. A STUDY ON RANKING METHOD IN RETRIEVING WEB PAGES BASED ON CONTENT AND LINK ANALYSIS: COMBINATION OF FOURIER DOMAIN SCORING AND PAGERANK SCORING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Purwitasari

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Ranking module is an important component of search process which sorts through relevant pages. Since collection of Web pages has additional information inherent in the hyperlink structure of the Web, it can be represented as link score and then combined with the usual information retrieval techniques of content score. In this paper we report our studies about ranking score of Web pages combined from link analysis, PageRank Scoring, and content analysis, Fourier Domain Scoring. Our experiments use collection of Web pages relate to Statistic subject from Wikipedia with objectives to check correctness and performance evaluation of combination ranking method. Evaluation of PageRank Scoring show that the highest score does not always relate to Statistic. Since the links within Wikipedia articles exists so that users are always one click away from more information on any point that has a link attached, it it possible that unrelated topics to Statistic are most likely frequently mentioned in the collection. While the combination method show link score which is given proportional weight to content score of Web pages does effect the retrieval results.

  3. Digital Museum Collections and Social Media: Ethical Considerations of Ownership and Use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalliopi Fouseki

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the role of digital collections and digital information in the democratisation process of museums. The paper focuses on ethical and ownership issues regarding Wikipedia’s online encyclopaedia initiative to widen access to digital images and knowledge through digital media, for the wider public. The paper draws on three cases of national museums in the UK, namely the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. The paper argues that notions of governmentality, power, authority, and control - which traditionally characterise national museums - are still dominant in digital collections. This occasionally results in tensions that revolve around the issue of ownership of digital images and digital museum objects as well as their commercial and non-commercial uses. The paper shows that recent disputes and discourse related to the use of digital images by Wikipedians (active users of Wikipedia have raised issues of authority and control not only of physical objects but also of the information and knowledge related to these objects. The paper demonstrates that the level of collaboration with Wikipedia reflects to some extent the participatory nature, philosophy, and ideology of each museum institution.

  4. Understanding the physical activity promotion behaviours of podiatrists: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crisford, Paul; Winzenberg, Tania; Venn, Alison; Cleland, Verity

    2013-09-09

    Health professionals are encouraged to play a part in reducing the health risks of physical inactivity. Little is known of the physical activity promotion practice behaviours of podiatrists. We performed 20 semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected podiatrists to explore their physical activity promotion attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and practice. Transcribed interviews were coded using an iterative thematic approach to identify major themes and salient beliefs. Overall, the participants had a positive attitude to physical activity promotion, considering it a normal part of their role. They saw their role as giving information, encouraging activity and making recommendations, however in practice they were less inclined to follow up on recommendations, monitor activity levels or document the process. Their approach was generally opportunistic, informal and unstructured and the content of assessment and promotion dependent upon the presenting patient's condition. Advice tended to be tailored to the patient's capabilities and interests. They considered there are opportunities to promote physical activity during regular consultations, however, were more likely to do so in patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Main barriers to physical activity promotion included unreceptive and unmotivated patients as well as a lack of time, skills and resources. Physical activity promotion appears feasible in podiatry practice in terms of opportunity and acceptability to practitioners, but there is scope for improvement. Strategies to improve promotion need to consider the major issues, barriers and opportunities as well as provide a more structured approach to physical activity promotion by podiatrists.

  5. The sources and popularity of online drug information: an analysis of top search engine results and web page views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Michael R; Mintzes, Barbara; Morgan, Steven G

    2011-03-01

    The Internet has become a popular source of health information. However, there is little information on what drug information and which Web sites are being searched. To investigate the sources of online information about prescription drugs by assessing the most common Web sites returned in online drug searches and to assess the comparative popularity of Web pages for particular drugs. This was a cross-sectional study of search results for the most commonly dispensed drugs in the US (n=278 active ingredients) on 4 popular search engines: Bing, Google (both US and Canada), and Yahoo. We determined the number of times a Web site appeared as the first result. A linked retrospective analysis counted Wikipedia page hits for each of these drugs in 2008 and 2009. About three quarters of the first result on Google USA for both brand and generic names linked to the National Library of Medicine. In contrast, Wikipedia was the first result for approximately 80% of generic name searches on the other 3 sites. On these other sites, over two thirds of brand name searches led to industry-sponsored sites. The Wikipedia pages with the highest number of hits were mainly for opiates, benzodiazepines, antibiotics, and antidepressants. Wikipedia and the National Library of Medicine rank highly in online drug searches. Further, our results suggest that patients most often seek information on drugs with the potential for dependence, for stigmatized conditions, that have received media attention, and for episodic treatments. Quality improvement efforts should focus on these drugs.

  6. Promoting mental health as an essential aspect of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturgeon, Shona

    2006-12-01

    This paper advocates that mental health promotion receive appropriate attention within health promotion. It is of great concern that, in practice, mental health promotion is frequently overlooked in health promotion programmes although the WHO definitions of health and the Ottawa Charter describe mental health as an integral part of health. It is suggested that more attention be given to addressing the determinants of mental health in terms of protective and risk factors for both physical and mental conditions, particularly in developing countries. Examples of evidence-based mental health programmes operating in widely diverse settings are presented to demonstrate that well designed interventions can contribute to the well-being of populations. It is advocated that particular attention be given to the intersectorial cooperation needed for this work.

  7. PENGEMBANGAN MODEL SEKOLAH SEHAT (HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOL DI DAERAH MISKIN PERKOTAAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andryansyah Arifin

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available It is known that there was strong relation between health status of primary school students and school records. A health­ promoting school was, whether all members of school community work together to provide students with an integrated positive experiences and structures which promote and protect their health.These include both formal and informal curriculum in health, creation of a safe and healthy school environment, provision of appropriate health services and involvement of family and wider commmunities was in efforts to promote health. The objectives of, this study is to develop a model of health promoting school at poor urban areas which included to measure student knowledge and attitude, nutrition intake, and role of school teacher in health promotion. A stratified mulitistage randomized pre-post test control groups design was used in this study. Duration of this study was 3 years (2001-2003 and the location at 9 primary schools (6 intervention schools and 3 control schools in Semarang, Surakarta, Denpasar municipalities and Kendal district. Results of this study showed that students knowledge and atitude toward health were improved significantly as well as nutrition intake at intervention groups. This improvement was caused by the role of school teachers in health promotion which was integrated in daily learning process. Based on this results a model of health promoting school has been developed. It recommends to implement this health promoting school model at wider areas and to provide school teachers completed with health promotion manuals.   Keywords: model, health promoting school

  8. Association of health professional leadership behaviors on health promotion practice beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Jacqueline D; Belcher, Harolyn M E; Attoh, Prince; D'Abundo, Michelle; Gong, Tao

    2017-04-01

    Leadership is a process by which an individual influences a group or individual to achieve a common goal, in this case health promotion for individuals with disabilities. (1) To examine the association between the transformational leadership behaviors of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) network professionals and their practice beliefs about health promotion activities, specifically cardiovascular fitness and healthy weight, for people with disabilities. (2) To determine if discipline and/or years of practice moderate the association between transformational leadership behaviors and practice beliefs regarding health promotion. There is a positive association between transformational leadership behaviors and health professionals practice beliefs regarding health promotion activities for persons with disabilities. A quantitative cross-sectional web-based survey design was used to determine the association between leadership behaviors and practices beliefs regarding health promotion for people with disabilities. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and an adapted version of the Role of Health Promotion in Physical Therapy Survey were used to measure leadership and practice beliefs, respectively. Multiple regression analysis was applied to determine the association of leadership behaviors with health promotion practice beliefs variables. Transformational leadership behaviors of the AUCD network professionals were positively associated with health promotion practice beliefs about cardiovascular fitness for people with disabilities. Years post licensure and discipline did not moderate the association between transformational leadership and practice beliefs regarding health promotion. Transformational leadership may facilitate health professionals' health promotion practices for people with disabilities. Further research and training in leadership is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The Role of Formative Feedback in Promoting Higher Order ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DrNneka

    An International Multi-disciplinary Journal, Ethiopia. AFRREV ... make contribution to this research gap by proposing a theoretical feedback model that can promote higher order thinking skills in the classroom. The proposed ..... process; students provided with tasks that are novel, complex, creative, and non- algorithmic ...

  10. Analysis of the promoters involved in enterocin AS-48 expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cebrián, Rubén; Rodríguez-Ruano, Sonia; Martínez-Bueno, Manuel; Valdivia, Eva; Maqueda, Mercedes; Montalbán-López, Manuel

    2014-01-01

    The enterocin AS-48 is the best characterized antibacterial circular protein in prokaryotes. It is a hydrophobic and cationic bacteriocin, which is ribosomally synthesized by enterococcal cells and post-translationally cyclized by a head-to-tail peptide bond. The production of and immunity towards AS-48 depend upon the coordinated expression of ten genes organized in two operons, as-48ABC (where genes encoding enzymes with processing, secretion, and immunity functions are adjacent to the structural as-48A gene) and as-48C1DD1EFGH. The current study describes the identification of the promoters involved in AS-48 expression. Seven putative promoters have been here amplified, and separately inserted into the promoter-probe vector pTLR1, to create transcriptional fusions with the mCherry gene used as a reporter. The activity of these promoter regions was assessed measuring the expression of the fluorescent mCherry protein using the constitutive pneumococcal promoter PX as a reference. Our results revealed that only three promoters PA, P2(2) and PD1 were recognized in Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis and Escherichia coli, in the conditions tested. The maximal fluorescence was obtained with PX in all the strains, followed by the P2(2) promoter, which level of fluorescence was 2-fold compared to PA and 4-fold compared to PD1. Analysis of putative factors influencing the promoter activity in single and double transformants in E. faecalis JH2-2 demonstrated that, in general, a better expression was achieved in presence of pAM401-81. In addition, the P2(2) promoter could be regulated in a negative fashion by genes existing in the native pMB-2 plasmid other than those of the as-48 cluster, while the pH seems to affect differently the as-48 promoter expression.

  11. Analysis of the promoters involved in enterocin AS-48 expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rubén Cebrián

    Full Text Available The enterocin AS-48 is the best characterized antibacterial circular protein in prokaryotes. It is a hydrophobic and cationic bacteriocin, which is ribosomally synthesized by enterococcal cells and post-translationally cyclized by a head-to-tail peptide bond. The production of and immunity towards AS-48 depend upon the coordinated expression of ten genes organized in two operons, as-48ABC (where genes encoding enzymes with processing, secretion, and immunity functions are adjacent to the structural as-48A gene and as-48C1DD1EFGH. The current study describes the identification of the promoters involved in AS-48 expression. Seven putative promoters have been here amplified, and separately inserted into the promoter-probe vector pTLR1, to create transcriptional fusions with the mCherry gene used as a reporter. The activity of these promoter regions was assessed measuring the expression of the fluorescent mCherry protein using the constitutive pneumococcal promoter PX as a reference. Our results revealed that only three promoters PA, P2(2 and PD1 were recognized in Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis and Escherichia coli, in the conditions tested. The maximal fluorescence was obtained with PX in all the strains, followed by the P2(2 promoter, which level of fluorescence was 2-fold compared to PA and 4-fold compared to PD1. Analysis of putative factors influencing the promoter activity in single and double transformants in E. faecalis JH2-2 demonstrated that, in general, a better expression was achieved in presence of pAM401-81. In addition, the P2(2 promoter could be regulated in a negative fashion by genes existing in the native pMB-2 plasmid other than those of the as-48 cluster, while the pH seems to affect differently the as-48 promoter expression.

  12. Data describing the effect of DRD4 promoter polymorphisms on promoter activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoin Tei

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This data article tested whether polymorphisms within the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4 gene promoter can lead to differences in the promoter activity. The variants, a 120-bp variable number tandem repeat (VNTR, −906 T/C, −809 G/A, −616G/C, and −521C/T, were introduced into the DRD4 promoter and the promoter activity was measured in a neural cell line using the luciferase assay. However, no differences were detected among the haplotypes investigated, and the in vitro data obtained from our protocol could not support the involvement of DRD4 promoter polymorphisms in heritable human traits.

  13. Does alignment of constructivist teaching, curriculum, and assessment strategies promote meaningful learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimarez, Teresa

    Despite our national efforts to attract more students to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, the number of students continues to be small. Empirical studies have suggested that in order to actively engage students in the science learning processes, lessons need to be designed which consider student prior experiences and provide a sound curriculum, within an environment promoting social interaction---that is, allowing for sharing and negotiation of those ideas which promote reflective thinking. These premises require an embedded assessment system that continuously provides feedback to both student and teacher. This technique allows adaptation and modification of lessons to better facilitate conceptual understanding. This study focused on the use of constructivist strategies that, when aligned, promoted conceptual understanding while facilitating development of science process skills. Skill development leads to meaningful learning, known to promote a change of attitude toward science. A mixed research design embedded in a case study approach was used to understand the complexity of the variables examined in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used to strengthen the validity and interpretation of the findings. Students from one of three ninth-grade physical science classes were selected for this study. The students numbered 29, 13 boys and 16 girls; the majority of these students were of Hispanic background. The analysis of data suggested that the use of constructivist strategies promotes conceptual understanding of science concepts and development of science process skills and a change of attitude towards science. This study concluded that selecting teaching and multiple assessment strategies is vital to engage students in science careers. Due to the limited nature of this case study, the researcher recommends a replication or followup with a different teacher and school, including a control

  14. Social media marketing as a tool of enterprise’s product promotion

    OpenAIRE

    O.F. Gryshсhenko; A.D. Niesheva

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this article. The aim of this article is to analyze the connection and relation between social media marketing and enterprise’s products promotion, to show the importance of using social media in marketing and the role of marketers in this process. The results of the analysis. This article is based on the investigation of specialized literature regarding new promotional techniques used at the global market nowadays. Authors analyze the definition to the social media marketing...

  15. Uranium processing and properties

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Covers a broad spectrum of topics and applications that deal with uranium processing and the properties of uranium Offers extensive coverage of both new and established practices for dealing with uranium supplies in nuclear engineering Promotes the documentation of the state-of-the-art processing techniques utilized for uranium and other specialty metals

  16. Promotion primer. Foerderfibel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1981-01-01

    This revised edition of the promotion primer is to serve as a topical orientation aid for industrial firms, unions, boards and other bodies interested where the actions of governmental R and D and innovation policy are compiled and clearly arranged. It is important for the success of governmental aids that the institutions concerned are informed about all possibilities of the promotion, financing and advisory programme. Beyond the presentation of the research promotion sectors, the fiscal measures and the contractual as well as the joint research this revised edition focussess on the fields of consultative services for innovation and information. For many firms the access to qualified information and guidance is of particular importance. That is why this brochure points out the ways towards governmental research promotion. The BMFT has provided a remarkable contribution to research promotion by establishing information and consultative services for trade and industry.

  17. Dynamic nucleosome organization at hox promoters during zebrafish embryogenesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven E Weicksel

    Full Text Available Nucleosome organization at promoter regions plays an important role in regulating gene activity. Genome-wide studies in yeast, flies, worms, mammalian embryonic stem cells and transformed cell lines have found well-positioned nucleosomes flanking a nucleosome depleted region (NDR at transcription start sites. This nucleosome arrangement depends on DNA sequence (cis-elements as well as DNA binding factors and ATP-dependent chromatin modifiers (trans-factors. However, little is understood about how the nascent embryonic genome positions nucleosomes during development. This is particularly intriguing since the embryonic genome must undergo a broad reprogramming event upon fusion of sperm and oocyte. Using four stages of early embryonic zebrafish development, we map nucleosome positions at the promoter region of 37 zebrafish hox genes. We find that nucleosome arrangement at the hox promoters is a progressive process that takes place over several stages. At stages immediately after fertilization, nucleosomes appear to be largely disordered at hox promoter regions. At stages after activation of the embryonic genome, nucleosomes are detectable at hox promoters, with positions becoming more uniform and more highly occupied. Since the genomic sequence is invariant during embryogenesis, this progressive change in nucleosome arrangement suggests that trans-factors play an important role in organizing nucleosomes during embryogenesis. Separating hox genes into expressed and non-expressed groups shows that expressed promoters have better positioned and occupied nucleosomes, as well as distinct NDRs, than non-expressed promoters. Finally, by blocking the retinoic acid-signaling pathway, we disrupt early hox gene transcription, but observe no effect on nucleosome positions, suggesting that active hox transcription is not a driving force behind the arrangement of nucleosomes at the promoters of hox genes during early development.

  18. Functional model of the system promotion affiliate program in partner networks

    OpenAIRE

    Дмитро Сергійович Міроненко

    2017-01-01

    Structural analysis of business processes in promoting affiliate programs in the advertisement network has been done. Processes are considered according to the IDEF0 methodology. The viewpoints of advertisers, webmasters and marketers greatly experienced in affiliate marketing have been taken into account. A virtual company and the business process in it (affiliate program publication and selection, comparative analysis of the affiliate program, advertisement program start, summing up and eff...

  19. Framework for Evaluating Efficacy in Health Promoting Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Albert; Keung, Vera Mei-wan; Lo, Amelia Siu-chee; Kwong, Amy Chi-ming; Armstrong, Erin Sophie

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Successful implementation of Health Promoting Schools (HPS) depends on putting the model in the schools' context for both health improvement and school improvement. HPS can only be effective if the change can be sustained over an extended duration. The purpose of this paper is to discuss development of the HPS process by University…

  20. 7 CFR 1210.312 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1210.312 Section 1210.312 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WATERMELON RESEARCH AND PROMOTION PLAN Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan Definitions § 1210.312 Promotion. Promotion means any...

  1. 7 CFR 1216.23 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1216.23 Section 1216.23 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PEANUT PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Peanut Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1216.23 Promotion. Promotion...

  2. Health-Promoting Changes with Children as Agents: Findings from a Multiple Case Study Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simovska, Venka; Carlsson, Monica

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: With the aim of contributing to the evidence base on school-based health promotion, the authors discuss the outcomes and processes of a European intervention project aiming to prevent obesity among children (4-16 years) and promote their health and well-being, titled "Shape Up: a school-community approach to influencing determinants…

  3. Seminar for Master's Thesis Projects: Promoting Students' Self-Regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miedijensky, Shirley; Lichtinger, Einat

    2016-01-01

    This study presents a thesis seminar model aimed at promoting students' self-regulation. Students' perceptions regarding the contribution of the seminar to their learning process were characterized and the seminar's effect upon their self-regulation expressions was examined. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed thematically. The…

  4. A mixed methods process evaluation of the implementation of JUMP-in, a multilevel school-based intervention aimed at physical activity promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Meij, Judith S B; van der Wal, Marcel F; van Mechelen, Willem; Chinapaw, Mai J M

    2013-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate factors influencing the adoption, implementation, and institutionalization process of JUMP-in-a multilevel school-based physical activity promotion program-to optimize the dissemination of the intervention and improve its effectiveness. The process evaluation concerned the constraints and success and failure factors at sociopolitical, organizational, user, and intervention levels. A mixed methods approach including qualitative and quantitative data was conducted during two school years (2006-2008). JUMP-in was successfully embedded in the Amsterdam municipal policy and in the organizational structure and daily practices of the sectors involved. A general impeding factor was the complexity of the multilevel programme requiring multidisciplinary collaboration between organizations. In addition, there was a discrepancy between the recommendation to standardize and simplify the innovation and the need to tailor the strategies to local environmental, social, and cultural aspects. This process evaluation provides challenges and remedies for managing discrepancies between prerequisites for an effective innovation and demands of daily implementation practice. The main recommendations are (a) standardized, simplified guidelines; (b) stepwise implementation; (c) formalized coalitions, integration of policy, and synchronization of tasks and protocols; and (d) smart planning and control by clear communication and feedback instruments. If these recommendations are incorporated into the JUMP-in intervention and organization, increased effectiveness and long-term effects can be expected.

  5. 7 CFR 1250.310 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1250.310 Section 1250.310 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG RESEARCH AND PROMOTION Egg Research and Promotion Order Definitions § 1250.310 Promotion. Promotion means any action, including paid...

  6. 7 CFR 1260.122 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1260.122 Section 1260.122 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BEEF PROMOTION AND RESEARCH Beef Promotion and Research Order Definitions § 1260.122 Promotion. Promotion means any action, including paid...

  7. 7 CFR 1150.114 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... and Orders; Milk), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DAIRY PROMOTION PROGRAM Dairy Promotion and Research Order Definitions § 1150.114 Promotion. Promotion means actions such as paid advertising, sales... 7 Agriculture 9 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Promotion. 1150.114 Section 1150.114 Agriculture...

  8. Repeated thinking promotes cooperation in spatial prisoner's dilemma game

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jun; Cai Kaiquan; Du Wenbo; Cao Xianbin

    2012-01-01

    Inspired by the realistic process of taking decisions in social life, we have proposed a repeated thinking mechanism in the evolutionary spatial prisoner's dilemma game where players are denoted by the vertices and play games with their direct neighbors. Under our mechanism, a player i will randomly select a neighbor j and then deliberate for M times before strategy updating. It will remain unchanged if not all M considerations suggest it to learn the strategy of j. We mainly focus on the evolution of cooperation in the systems. Interestingly, we find that the cooperation level f C is remarkably promoted and f C has a monotonic dependence on the caution parameter M, indicating that being cautious facilitates the emergence and persistence of cooperation. We give a simple but clear explanation for this cooperation promotion via detecting the cooperator-defector transition process. Moreover, the robustness of this mechanism is also examined on different noise levels and game models. (paper)

  9. Application of Radiation Degraded Chitosan as Plant Growth Promoter. A Pilot Scale Production and Field Trial Study of Radiation Processed Chitosan as Plant Growth Promoter for Rice Crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahlan, Khairul Zaman Hj Mohd; Hashim, Kamaruddin; Bahari, Kamarudin

    2010-01-01

    The application of radiation processed chitosan as plant growth promoter has been carried out in the 24 hectares of rice crops. For the field trial, a pilot scale production of oligochitosan was established using gamma irradiation for partial degradation of chitosan powder of DDA 90% and followed by gamma irradiation of aqueous solution of 3% irradiated chitosan powder in 2% lactic acids (3CL2). Radiation dose of 50 kGy was selected for initial degradation of chitosan powder and followed by 12 kGy irradiation of 3CL2. A viscosity average molecular weight of ~10,000 of oligochitosan was obtained and subsequently used in the field trial of MR219 type of rice seeds on 24 hectares of rice plots. The seedlings were carried out after the rice seeds were soaked 24hrs in water and 30 minutes in 200ppm oligochitosan. The rice plots that were sprayed with oligochitosan were found to have higher resistant towards blast diseases. Oligochitosan of 40ppm was found to be effective as fungicides and resulted in the increase of yield of rice seeds of about 5%. (author)

  10. Applying the Ottawa Charter to inform health promotion programme design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fry, Denise; Zask, Avigdor

    2017-10-01

    There is evidence of a correlation between adoption of the Ottawa Charter's framework of five action areas and health promotion programme effectiveness, but the Charter's framework has not been as fully implemented as hoped, nor is generally used by formal programme design models. In response, we aimed to translate the Charter's framework into a method to inform programme design. Our resulting design process uses detailed definitions of the Charter's action areas and evidence of predicted effectiveness to prompt greater consideration and use of the Charter's framework. We piloted the process by applying it to the design of four programmes of the Healthy Children's Initiative in New South Wales, Australia; refined the criteria via consensus; and made consensus decisions on the extent to which programme designs reflected the Charter's framework. The design process has broad potential applicability to health promotion programmes; facilitating greater use of the Ottawa Charter framework, which evidence indicates can increase programme effectiveness. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Deletion analysis of susy-sl promoter for the identification of optimal promoter sequence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacha, S.; Khatoon, A.; Asif, M.; Bshir, A.

    2015-01-01

    The promoter region of sucrose synthase (susy-Sl) was identified and isolated from tomato. The 5? deletion analysis was carried out for the identification of minimum optimal promoter. Transgenic lines of Arabidopsis thaliana were developed by floral dip method incorporating various promoter deletion cassettes controlling GUS reporter gene. GUS assay of transgenic tissues indicated that full length susy-Sl promoter and its deletion mutants were constitutively expressed in vegetative and floral tissues of A. thaliana. The expression was observed in roots, shoots and flowers of A. thaliana. Analysis of 5? deletion series of susy-Sl promoter showed that a minimum of 679 bp fragment of the promoter was sufficient to drive expression of GUS reporter gene in the major tissues of transgenic A. thaliana. (author)

  12. Chemical analysis and base-promoted hydrolysis of locally ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract. The study was on the chemical analysis and base- promoted hydrolysis of extracted shea nut fat. The local method of extraction of the shea nut oil was employed in comparison with literature report. A simple cold-process alkali hydrolysis of the shea nut oil was used in producing the soap. The chemical analysis of ...

  13. Convergence of a strengths perspective and youth development: Toward youth promotion practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeong Woong Cheon

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, increased attention has been paid to the development and application of the strengths perspective and positive youth development. This paper develops youth promotion practice as a convergence of a strengths perspective and youth development principles. Historical and contemporary contexts of a problem-focused perspective in social work with adolescents are reviewed and a critique developed with emphasis on the evolution of strengths-focused practices. The importance and possibility of combining the strengths perspective and youth development toward youth promotion practice are addressed. Youth promotion is defined as a process of enhancing youth strengths and resources to promote positive outcomes and help young people be healthy adults. Complementary aspects of the two perspectives are expected to support and supplement the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective in synergistic ways. Several advantages of youth promotion practice are discussed as well as its implications for improved social work practices with adolescents.

  14. Embedded promotions in online services: how goal-relevance ambiguity shapes response and affect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brasel, S Adam

    2010-09-01

    Adding promotions to online services is increasingly commonplace, yet consumers may have difficulty determining whether service-embedded promotions are goal-relevant, due to the linear and transactional nature of online services. This contextual effect of goal-relevance ambiguity on promotions is explored across three studies. An exploratory study utilizing actual service websites and a broad range of consumers as participants showed promotional elements in online services generated considerable confusion, and instructions labeling promotions as optional did little to relieve goal-relevance ambiguity. A second study using student participants inserted promotions into an online airline ticket service, a shopping site, a local news blog, and a news headline aggregator, to explore how linear and transactional sites such as online services compared to more exploratory or informational online environments. Results showed that service-embedded promotions enjoyed initial compliance far beyond promotions in traditional websites but also generated increased confusion, frustration, and anger. A third study utilizing student participants explored how varying levels of online service experience created differing responses to promotions in services; novices were less able to judge promotional goal-relevance and experienced more confusion, whereas experienced searchers were more likely to respond with frustration and anger. Many participants complied with promotional offers at the time of the service transaction, but stated intentions to use the promotion postservice were very low. The overall results spotlight goal-relevance ambiguity as an important driver of consumer response to online promotions, and highlight the role website context can play in the processing of online promotional elements. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  15. Opposite Smad and chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor inputs in the regulation of the collagen VII gene promoter by transforming growth factor-beta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calonge, María Julia; Seoane, Joan; Massagué, Joan

    2004-05-28

    A critical component of the epidermal basement membrane, collagen type VII, is produced by keratinocytes and fibroblasts, and its production is stimulated by the cytokine transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). The gene, COL7A1, is activated by TGF-beta via Smad transcription factors in cooperation with AP1. Here we report a previously unsuspected level of complexity in this regulatory process. We provide evidence that TGF-beta may activate the COL7A1 promoter by two distinct inputs operating through a common region of the promoter. One input is provided by TGF-beta-induced Smad complexes via two Smad binding elements that function redundantly depending on the cell type. The second input is provided by relieving the COL7A1 promoter from chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor (COUP-TF)-mediated transcriptional repression. We identified COUP-TFI and -TFII as factors that bind to the TGF-beta-responsive region of the COL7A1 promoter in an expression library screening. COUP-TFs bind to a site between the two Smad binding elements independently of Smad or AP1 and repress the basal and TGF-beta-stimulated activities of this promoter. We provide evidence that endogenous COUP-TF activity represses the COL7A1 promoter. Furthermore, we show that TGF-beta addition causes a rapid and profound down-regulation of COUP-TF expression in keratinocytes and fibroblasts. The results suggest that TGF-beta signaling may exert tight control over COL7A1 by offsetting the balance between opposing Smad and COUP-TFs.

  16. STAT3-regulated exosomal miR-21 promotes angiogenesis and is involved in neoplastic processes of transformed human bronchial epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yi; Luo, Fei; Wang, Bairu; Li, Huiqiao; Xu, Yuan; Liu, Xinlu; Shi, Le; Lu, Xiaolin; Xu, Wenchao; Lu, Lu; Qin, Yu; Xiang, Quanyong; Liu, Qizhan

    2016-01-01

    Although microRNA (miRNA) enclosed in exosomes can mediate intercellular communication, the roles of exosomal miRNA and angiogenesis in lung cancer remain unclear. We investigated functions of STAT3-regulated exosomal miR-21 derived from cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-transformed human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells in the angiogenesis of CSE-induced carcinogenesis. miR-21 levels in serum were higher in smokers than those in non-smokers. The medium from transformed HBE cells promoted miR-21 levels in normal HBE cells and angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Transformed cells transferred miR-21 into normal HBE cells via exosomes. Knockdown of STAT3 reduced miR-21 levels in exosomes derived from transformed HBE cells, which blocked the angiogenesis. Exosomes derived from transformed HBE cells elevated levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in HBE cells and thereby promoted angiogenesis in HUVEC cells. Inhibition of exosomal miR-21, however, decreased VEGF levels in recipient cells, which blocked exosome-induced angiogenesis. Thus, miR-21 in exosomes leads to STAT3 activation, which increases VEGF levels in recipient cells, a process involved in angiogenesis and malignant transformation of HBE cells. These results, demonstrating the function of exosomal miR-21 from transformed HBE cells, provide a new perspective for intervention strategies to prevent carcinogenesis of lung cancer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Choice architectural nudge interventions to promote vegetable consumption based on automatic processes decision-making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Laurits Rohden; Friis Rasmussen, Rasmus; Møller Andersen, Pernille

    2014-01-01

    that had a default portion size of vegetable had he intended impact of increasing vegetable consumption. This emphasises the importance of portion sizes in out of home eating as well as underlines the effect of the one-unit bias. The remaining two nudges were not successful in increasing vegetable intake......, but promoted health by decreasing total energy intake which suggests that visual variety of fruit and greens prompts a healthy-eater subconscious behaviour....

  18. Improving Health Promotion Using Quality Improvement Techniques in Australian Indigenous Primary Health Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percival, Nikki; O’Donoghue, Lynette; Lin, Vivian; Tsey, Komla; Bailie, Ross Stewart

    2016-01-01

    Although some areas of clinical health care are becoming adept at implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects, there has been limited experimentation of CQI in health promotion. In this study, we examined the impact of a CQI intervention on health promotion in four Australian Indigenous primary health care centers. Our study objectives were to (a) describe the scope and quality of health promotion activities, (b) describe the status of health center system support for health promotion activities, and (c) introduce a CQI intervention and examine the impact on health promotion activities and health centers systems over 2 years. Baseline assessments showed suboptimal health center systems support for health promotion and significant evidence-practice gaps. After two annual CQI cycles, there were improvements in staff understanding of health promotion and systems for planning and documenting health promotion activities had been introduced. Actions to improve best practice health promotion, such as community engagement and intersectoral partnerships, were inhibited by the way health center systems were organized, predominately to support clinical and curative services. These findings suggest that CQI can improve the delivery of evidence-based health promotion by engaging front line health practitioners in decision-making processes about the design/redesign of health center systems to support the delivery of best practice health promotion. However, further and sustained improvements in health promotion will require broader engagement of management, senior staff, and members of the local community to address organizational and policy level barriers. PMID:27066470

  19. Improving health promotion using quality improvement techniques in Australian Indigenous primary health care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikki ePercival

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available While some areas of clinical health care are becoming adept at implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI projects, there has been limited experimentation of CQI in health promotion. In this study, we examined the impact of a CQI intervention on health promotion in four Australian Indigenous primary health care centres. Our study objectives were to: (a describe the scope and quality of health promotion activities; (b describe the status of health centre system support for health promotion activities; and (c introduce a CQI intervention and examine the impact on health promotion activities and health centres systems over two years. Baseline assessments showed sub-optimal health centre systems support for health promotion and significant evidence-practice gaps. After two annual CQI cycles, there were improvements in staff understanding of health promotion and systems for planning and documenting health promotion activities had been introduced. Actions to improve best practice health promotion, such as community engagement and intersectoral partnerships, were inhibited by the way health centre systems were organized, predominately to support clinical and curative services. These findings suggest that CQI can improve the delivery of evidence based health promotion by engaging front line health practitioners in decision making processes about the design/redesign of health centre systems to support the delivery of best practice health promotion. However, further and sustained improvements in health promotion will require broader engagement of management, senior staff and members of the local community to address organisational and policy level barriers.

  20. Improving Health Promotion Using Quality Improvement Techniques in Australian Indigenous Primary Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percival, Nikki; O'Donoghue, Lynette; Lin, Vivian; Tsey, Komla; Bailie, Ross Stewart

    2016-01-01

    Although some areas of clinical health care are becoming adept at implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects, there has been limited experimentation of CQI in health promotion. In this study, we examined the impact of a CQI intervention on health promotion in four Australian Indigenous primary health care centers. Our study objectives were to (a) describe the scope and quality of health promotion activities, (b) describe the status of health center system support for health promotion activities, and (c) introduce a CQI intervention and examine the impact on health promotion activities and health centers systems over 2 years. Baseline assessments showed suboptimal health center systems support for health promotion and significant evidence-practice gaps. After two annual CQI cycles, there were improvements in staff understanding of health promotion and systems for planning and documenting health promotion activities had been introduced. Actions to improve best practice health promotion, such as community engagement and intersectoral partnerships, were inhibited by the way health center systems were organized, predominately to support clinical and curative services. These findings suggest that CQI can improve the delivery of evidence-based health promotion by engaging front line health practitioners in decision-making processes about the design/redesign of health center systems to support the delivery of best practice health promotion. However, further and sustained improvements in health promotion will require broader engagement of management, senior staff, and members of the local community to address organizational and policy level barriers.

  1. Promoters of Escherichia coli versus promoter islands: function and structure comparison.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeriy V Panyukov

    Full Text Available Expression of bacterial genes takes place under the control of RNA polymerase with exchangeable σ-subunits and multiple transcription factors. A typical promoter region contains one or several overlapping promoters. In the latter case promoters have the same or different σ-specificity and are often subjected to different regulatory stimuli. Genes, transcribed from multiple promoters, have on average higher expression levels. However, recently in the genome of Escherichia coli we found 78 regions with an extremely large number of potential transcription start points (promoter islands, PIs. It was shown that all PIs interact with RNA polymerase in vivo and are able to form transcriptionally competent open complexes both in vitro and in vivo but their transcriptional activity measured by oligonucleotide microarrays was very low, if any. Here we confirmed transcriptional defectiveness of PIs by analyzing the 5'-end specific RNA-seq data, but showed their ability to produce short oligos (9-14 bases. This combination of functional properties indicated a deliberate suppression of transcriptional activity within PIs. According to our data this suppression may be due to a specific conformation of the DNA double helix, which provides an ideal platform for interaction with both RNA polymerase and the histone-like nucleoid protein H-NS. The genomic DNA of E.coli contains therefore several dozen sites optimized by evolution for staying in a heterochromatin-like state. Since almost all promoter islands are associated with horizontally acquired genes, we offer them as specific components of bacterial evolution involved in acquisition of foreign genetic material by turning off the expression of toxic or useless aliens or by providing optimal promoter for beneficial genes. The putative molecular mechanism underlying the appearance of promoter islands within recipient genomes is discussed.

  2. Health promotion in globalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álvaro Franco-Giraldo

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to unravel some theoretical and factual elements required to implement more effective health promotion strategies and practices in the field of health services whilst following the great challenges that globalization has imposed on the health systems, which are inevitably expressed in the local context (glocalization. Methodology: a narrative review taking into account the concepts of globalization and health promotion in relation to health determinants. The authors approach some courses of action and strategies for health promotion based on the social principles and universal values that guide health promotion, health service reorientation and primary healthcare, empowerment, social participation, and inter-sectoral and social mobilization. Discussion: the discussion focuses on the redirection of health promotion services in relation to the wave of health reforms that has spread throughout the world under the neoliberal rule. The author also discusses health promotion, its ineffectiveness, and the quest for renewal. Likewise, the author sets priorities for health promotion in relation to social determinants. Conclusion: the current global order, in terms of international relations, is not consistent with the ethical principles of health promotion. In this paper, the author advocates for the implementation of actions to change the social and physical life conditions of people based on changes in the use of power in society and the appropriate practice of politics in the context of globalization in order to achieve the effectiveness of the actions of health promotion.

  3. Health promotion as multi-professional and multi-disciplinary work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chrisanthy Sotiriadou

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: A health promoter is the name given to all those experts who are intended to prevent disease andill health and to increase well-being at the community level. That seems to be a very good and useful idea ingeneral, but can it be achieved by individuals alone?Objective: Review to what extend team work and the concept of team development are a pre-requisite foreffective health promotion. That is the central objective of this article and the answer will be explored through ananalysis of the international literature.Discussion: The first part will set out to define the notions of both health promotion and health promotionspecialists, in order to provide a framework for the multi-professional and multi-disciplinary nature of healthpromotion. The second part will try to establish the meaning of collaboration for health promotion, starting withdefinitions of the concepts: group, team and teamwork. The benefits of collaborative work in health promotionwill be discussed alongside the common barriers that can arise during the process.Conclusions: The article will conclude by proposing the characteristics of a successful team-working healthpromotion group.

  4. The Promotion Strategy of Green Construction Materials: A Path Analysis Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung-Fah Huang

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available As one of the major materials used in construction, cement can be very resource-consuming and polluting to produce and use. Compared with traditional cement processing methods, dry-mix mortar is more environmentally friendly by reducing waste production or carbon emissions. Despite the continuous development and promotion of green construction materials, only a few of them are accepted or widely used in the market. In addition, the majority of existing research on green construction materials focuses more on their physical or chemical characteristics than on their promotion. Without effective promotion, their benefits cannot be fully appreciated and realized. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore the promotion of dry-mix mortars, one of the green materials. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, through a case study, the potential of reducing carbon emission is verified. Then a path analysis is conducted to verify the validity and predictability of the samples based on the technology acceptance model (TAM in this study. According to the findings of this research, to ensure better promotion results and wider application of dry-mix mortar, it is suggested that more systematic efforts be invested in promoting the usefulness and benefits of dry-mix mortar. The model developed in this study can provide helpful references for future research and promotion of other green materials.

  5. The Promotion Strategy of Green Construction Materials: A Path Analysis Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chung-Fah; Chen, Jung-Lu

    2015-10-14

    As one of the major materials used in construction, cement can be very resource-consuming and polluting to produce and use. Compared with traditional cement processing methods, dry-mix mortar is more environmentally friendly by reducing waste production or carbon emissions. Despite the continuous development and promotion of green construction materials, only a few of them are accepted or widely used in the market. In addition, the majority of existing research on green construction materials focuses more on their physical or chemical characteristics than on their promotion. Without effective promotion, their benefits cannot be fully appreciated and realized. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore the promotion of dry-mix mortars, one of the green materials. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, through a case study, the potential of reducing carbon emission is verified. Then a path analysis is conducted to verify the validity and predictability of the samples based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) in this study. According to the findings of this research, to ensure better promotion results and wider application of dry-mix mortar, it is suggested that more systematic efforts be invested in promoting the usefulness and benefits of dry-mix mortar. The model developed in this study can provide helpful references for future research and promotion of other green materials.

  6. The use of Goal Attainment Scaling in a community health promotion initiative with seniors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kloseck, Marita

    2007-07-03

    Evaluating collaborative community health promotion initiatives presents unique challenges, including engaging community members and other stakeholders in the evaluation process, and measuring the attainment of goals at the collective community level. Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) is a versatile, under-utilized evaluation tool adaptable to a wide range of situations. GAS actively involves all partners in the evaluation process and has many benefits when used in community health settings. The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of GAS as a potential means of measuring progress and outcomes in community health promotion and community development projects. GAS methodology was used in a local community of seniors (n = 2500; mean age = 76 +/- 8.06 SD; 77% female, 23% male) to a) collaboratively set health promotion and community partnership goals and b) objectively measure the degree of achievement, over- or under-achievement of the established health promotion goals. Goal attainment was measured in a variety of areas including operationalizing a health promotion centre in a local mall, developing a sustainable mechanism for recruiting and training volunteers to operate the health promotion centre, and developing and implementing community health education programs. Goal attainment was evaluated at 3 monthly intervals for one year, then re-evaluated again at year 2. GAS was found to be a feasible and responsive method of measuring community health promotion and community development progress. All project goals were achieved at one year or sooner. The overall GAS score for the total health promotion project increased from 16.02 at baseline (sum of scale scores = -30, average scale score = -2) to 54.53 at one year (sum of scale scores = +4, average scale score = +0.27) showing project goals were achieved above the expected level. With GAS methodology an amalgamated score of 50 represents the achievement of goals at the expected level. GAS provides a

  7. The use of Goal Attainment Scaling in a community health promotion initiative with seniors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kloseck Marita

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evaluating collaborative community health promotion initiatives presents unique challenges, including engaging community members and other stakeholders in the evaluation process, and measuring the attainment of goals at the collective community level. Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS is a versatile, under-utilized evaluation tool adaptable to a wide range of situations. GAS actively involves all partners in the evaluation process and has many benefits when used in community health settings. Methods The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of GAS as a potential means of measuring progress and outcomes in community health promotion and community development projects. GAS methodology was used in a local community of seniors (n = 2500; mean age = 76 ± 8.06 SD; 77% female, 23% male to a collaboratively set health promotion and community partnership goals and b objectively measure the degree of achievement, over- or under-achievement of the established health promotion goals. Goal attainment was measured in a variety of areas including operationalizing a health promotion centre in a local mall, developing a sustainable mechanism for recruiting and training volunteers to operate the health promotion centre, and developing and implementing community health education programs. Goal attainment was evaluated at 3 monthly intervals for one year, then re-evaluated again at year 2. Results GAS was found to be a feasible and responsive method of measuring community health promotion and community development progress. All project goals were achieved at one year or sooner. The overall GAS score for the total health promotion project increased from 16.02 at baseline (sum of scale scores = -30, average scale score = -2 to 54.53 at one year (sum of scale scores = +4, average scale score = +0.27 showing project goals were achieved above the expected level. With GAS methodology an amalgamated score of 50 represents the achievement of goals at

  8. Harmonization of European neurology education: the junior doctor's perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macerollo, Antonella; Struhal, Walter; Sellner, Johann

    2013-10-29

    The objective of this article, written by executives of the European Association of Young Neurologists and Trainees (EAYNT), is to illustrate the status quo of neurology training in Europe and give an outlook on ongoing efforts and prospects for junior neurologists. The European Union is an economic and political union that currently encompasses 27 member states with more than 500 million inhabitants (or 7.3% of the world population) (interested readers are referred to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union). Countries of the European Union act as a single market with free movement of citizens, goods, services, and finances. As a consequence, a diploma and postgraduate training obtained in one EU country will be automatically recognized by all other EU member states. At the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, the Heads of State or Government signed a treaty that expresses their ambition of making Europe "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon_Strategy). More than 1.6 million physicians in all the different medical specialties are represented by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). The UEMS was founded in 1958 and the objectives include the study, promotion, and harmonization of the highest level of training of medical specialists, medical practice, and health care within the European Union. The European Board of Neurology (UEMS-EBN; www.uems-neuroboard.org) is in charge of the implementation of the UEMS policy regarding neurology.

  9. Ferulic Acid, But Not All Hydroxycinnamic Acids, Is a Novel T3SS Inducer of Ralstonia solanacearum and Promotes Its Infection Process in Host Plants under Hydroponic Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Zhang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs are typical monocyclic phenylpropanoids, including cinnamic acid (Cin, coumaric acid (Cou, caffeic acid (Caf, ferulic acid (FA and their isomers, and involved in the interactions between pathogens and host plants. Here, we focused on the impact of HCAs on expression of type III secretion system (T3SS in Ralstonia solanacearum. FA significantly induced the expression of the T3SS and some type III effectors (T3Es genes in hrp-inducing medium, while did not the other HCAs. However, exogenously supplemented FA did not affect the T3SS expression in planta and the elicitation of the hypersensitive response (HR in tobacco leaves. Consistent with its central roles in pathogenicity, the FA-induced expression of the T3SS led to significant promotion on infection process of R. solanacearum in tomato plants under hydroponics cultivation. Moreover, the FA-induced expression of the T3SS was specifically mediated by the well-characterized signaling cascade PrhA-prhI/R-PrhJ-HrpG-HrpB, independent of the other known regulatory pathways. In summary, our results demonstrated that FA, a novel inducer of the T3SS in R. solanacearum, was able to promote its infection process in host plants under hydroponics condition.

  10. The frequent evolutionary birth and death of functional promoters in mouse and human

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Young, Robert S.; Hayashizaki, Yosihide; Andersson, Robin

    2015-01-01

    Promoters are central to the regulation of gene expression. Changes in gene regulation are thought to underlie much of the adaptive diversification between species and phenotypic variation within populations. In contrast to earlier work emphasizing the importance of enhancer evolution and subtle...... diverged. Tissue-restricted promoters are the most evolutionarily volatile where retrotransposition is an important, but not the sole source of innovation. There is considerable heterogeneity of turnover rates between promoters in different tissues, but the consistency of these in both lineages suggests...... decaying with weak transcriptional output and relaxed selective constraint. Our results suggest that promoter gain and loss is an important process in the evolutionary rewiring of gene regulation and may be a significant source of phenotypic diversification....

  11. Exploring drivers and challenges in implementation of health promotion in community mental health services: a qualitative multi-site case study using Normalization Process Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burau, Viola; Carstensen, Kathrine; Fredens, Mia; Kousgaard, Marius Brostrøm

    2018-01-24

    There is an increased interest in improving the physical health of people with mental illness. Little is known about implementing health promotion interventions in adult mental health organisations where many users also have physical health problems. The literature suggests that contextual factors are important for implementation in community settings. This study focused on the change process and analysed the implementation of a structural health promotion intervention in community mental health organisations in different contexts in Denmark. The study was based on a qualitative multiple-case design and included two municipal and two regional provider organisations. Data were various written sources and 13 semi-structured interviews with 22 key managers and frontline staff. The analysis was organised around the four main constructs of Normalization Process Theory: Coherence, Cognitive Participation, Collective Action, and Reflexive Monitoring. Coherence: Most respondents found the intervention to be meaningful in that the intervention fitted well into existing goals, practices and treatment approaches. Cognitive Participation: Management engagement varied across providers and low engagement impeded implementation. Engaging all staff was a general problem although some of the initial resistance was apparently overcome. Collective Action: Daily enactment depended on staff being attentive and flexible enough to manage the complex needs and varying capacities of users. Reflexive Monitoring: During implementation, staff evaluations of the progress and impact of the intervention were mostly informal and ad hoc and staff used these to make on-going adjustments to activities. Overall, characteristics of context common to all providers (work force and user groups) seemed to be more important for implementation than differences in the external political-administrative context. In terms of research, future studies should adopt a more bottom-up, grounded description of context

  12. Social capital and health--implications for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Malin

    2011-02-08

    This article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled 'Social capital, health and community action - implications for health promotion.' The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated) health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels. Social capital, conceptualized as an individual characteristic, can contribute to the field of health promotion by adding new knowledge on how social network interventions may best be designed to meet the needs of the target group. The distinction of different forms of social capital, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, can be useful in mapping the kinds of networks that are available and health-enhancing (or damaging) and for whom. Further, social capital can advance social network interventions by acknowledging the risk for unequal distribution of investments and returns from social network involvement. Social capital, conceptualized as characterizing whole communities, provides a useful framework for what constitutes health-supporting environments and guidance on how to achieve them. Mapping and mobilization of social capital in local communities may be one way of achieving community action for health promotion. Social capital is context-bound by necessity. Thus, from a global perspective, it cannot be used as a 'cookbook' on how to achieve supportive environments and community action smoothly. However, social capital can provide new ideas on the processes that influence human interactions, cooperation, and community action for health promotion in various contexts. © 2011 Malin Eriksson.

  13. Injury-activated glial cells promote wound healing of the adult skin in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parfejevs, Vadims; Debbache, Julien; Shakhova, Olga; Schaefer, Simon M; Glausch, Mareen; Wegner, Michael; Suter, Ueli; Riekstina, Una; Werner, Sabine; Sommer, Lukas

    2018-01-16

    Cutaneous wound healing is a complex process that aims to re-establish the original structure of the skin and its functions. Among other disorders, peripheral neuropathies are known to severely impair wound healing capabilities of the skin, revealing the importance of skin innervation for proper repair. Here, we report that peripheral glia are crucially involved in this process. Using a mouse model of wound healing, combined with in vivo fate mapping, we show that injury activates peripheral glia by promoting de-differentiation, cell-cycle re-entry and dissemination of the cells into the wound bed. Moreover, injury-activated glia upregulate the expression of many secreted factors previously associated with wound healing and promote myofibroblast differentiation by paracrine modulation of TGF-β signalling. Accordingly, depletion of these cells impairs epithelial proliferation and wound closure through contraction, while their expansion promotes myofibroblast formation. Thus, injury-activated glia and/or their secretome might have therapeutic potential in human wound healing disorders.

  14. Training of adolescent multipliers from the perspective of health promotion core competencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kely Vanessa Leite Gomes da Silva

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: Recognize the domains of health promotion core competencies in the training process of adolescents carried out by nursing students. Method: Qualitative and descriptive study, which used the theoretical methodological contribution Developing Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion Capacity Building in Europe (CompHP, carried out with 14 nursing students. Results: There were four domains: Enable Change; Mediate through Partnership; Communication; and Leadership. These domains came from the interest and commitment of adolescents in intersectoral partnership, the use of communication techniques, and the role of facilitator to catalyze learning and empowerment. Conclusion: There were some domains of core competency in the training of adolescents, suggesting that nursing students act as health promoters. Challenges for Nursing are the implementation of a theoretical contribution of CompHP in undergraduate and ongoing training to carry out health promotion action.

  15. Kinetic study of carbon dioxide absorption into glycine promoted diethanolamine (DEA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pudjiastuti, Lily; Susianto, Altway, Ali; IC, Maria Hestia; Arsi, Kartika

    2015-12-01

    In industry, especially petrochemical, oil and natural gas industry, required separation process of CO2 gas which is a corrosive gas (acid gas). This characteristic can damage the plant utility and piping systems as well as reducing the caloric value of natural gas. Corrosive characteristic of CO2 will appear in areas where there is a decrease in temperature and pressure, such as at the elbow pipe, tubing, cooler and injector turbine. From disadvantages as described above, then it is important to do separation process in the CO2 gas stream, one of the method for remove CO2 from the gas stream is reactive absorption using alkanolamine based solution with promotor. Therefore, this study is done to determine the kinetics constant of CO2 absorption in diethanolamine (DEA) solution using a glycine promoter. Glycine is chosen as a promoter because glycine is a primary amine compound which is reactive, moreover, glycine has resistance to high temperatures so it will not easy to degradable and suitable for application in industry. The method used in this study is absorption using laboratory scale wetted wall column equipment at atmospheric of pressure. This study will to provide the reaction kinetics data information in order to optimize the separation process of CO2 in the industrialized world. The experimental results show that rising temperatures from 303,15 - 328,15 K and the increase of concentration of glycine from 1% - 3% weight will increase the absorption rate of carbon dioxide in DEA promoted with glycine by 24,2% and 59,764% respectively, also the reaction kinetic constant is 1.419 × 1012 exp (-3634/T) (m3/kmol.s). This result show that the addition of glycine as a promoter can increase absorption rate of carbon dioxide in diethanolamine solution and cover the weaknesses of diethanolamine solution.

  16. SUSTAINABLE AND DESIGN BUILDING PROCESSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvio F. R. MOTTA

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a historical revision of the sustainable development and the sustainable in the constructed environment. It describes the main concepts and practices for implantation of the sustainable in the civil construction. These concepts and practices are reviewed from the perspective of the dialectic method, the general theory of systems and the theories of creative processes. These concepts are also analyzed from the perspective of quality management. The article proposes a model based on the dialectic, in which sustainability is considered an open system and a search inventive. The implantation of the sustainable in projects, companies and design processes are considered as main strategy. A vertical insertion of the sustainable in the process is proposal. In this vertical insertion, the sustainable is presents in all the phases and activities of the process. The model is organized to promote the external creative solutions to the process, through the promotion of research centers. Tools of selection of possibilities and practical are suggested, considering the characteristic dialectics proposals. The article concludes that sustainable is a cultural change in the processes, practical and management current.

  17. 7 CFR 1218.17 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1218.17 Section 1218.17 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.17 Promotion...

  18. 7 CFR 1219.22 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... in the United States, including paid advertising, sales promotion, and publicity. Promotion... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1219.22 Section 1219.22 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HASS AVOCADO PROMOTION, RESEARCH...

  19. Clearly written, easily comprehended? The readability of websites providing information on epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brigo, Francesco; Otte, Willem M; Igwe, Stanley C; Tezzon, Frediano; Nardone, Raffaele

    2015-03-01

    There is a general need for high-quality, easily accessible, and comprehensive health-care information on epilepsy to better inform the general population about this highly stigmatized neurological disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health literacy level of eight popular English-written websites that provide information on epilepsy in quantitative terms of readability. Educational epilepsy material on these websites, including 41 Wikipedia articles, were analyzed for their overall level of readability and the corresponding academic grade level needed to comprehend the published texts on the first reading. The Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) was used to assess ease of comprehension while the Gunning Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Automated Readability Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook scales estimated the corresponding academic grade level needed for comprehension. The average readability of websites yielded results indicative of a difficult-to-fairly-difficult readability level (FRE results: 44.0±8.2), with text readability corresponding to an 11th academic grade level (11.3±1.9). The average FRE score of the Wikipedia articles was indicative of a difficult readability level (25.6±9.5), with the other readability scales yielding results corresponding to a 14th grade level (14.3±1.7). Popular websites providing information on epilepsy, including Wikipedia, often demonstrate a low level of readability. This can be ameliorated by increasing access to clear and concise online information on epilepsy and health in general. Short "basic" summaries targeted to patients and nonmedical users should be added to articles published in specialist websites and Wikipedia to ease readability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. 7 CFR 1215.16 - Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Promotion. Promotion means any action, including paid advertising, to enhance the image or desirability of... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion. 1215.16 Section 1215.16 Agriculture... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE POPCORN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND...