ERCIM News No. 99 Special theme: "Software Quality"

Dear ERCIM News Reader,

ERCIM News No. 99 has just been published at
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en99

Special Theme: "Software Quality"
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en99/special/

And on the occasion of ERCIM’s 25th anniversary, we published a selection of articles on the future challenges of ICST:
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en99/challenges-for-icst

Keynote by Willem Jonker, CEO EIT ICT Labs: "The Future of ICT: Blended Life"
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en99/keynote/the-future-of-ict-blended-life



This issue is also available for download as:
pdf:  http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/images/stories/EN99/EN99-web.pdf
epub: http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/images/stories/EN99/EN99.epub

Next issue: No. 100, January 2015 - Special Theme: "Scientific Data Sharing"

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

Best regards,
Peter Kunz
ERCIM News central editor

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ERCIM News
is published quarterly by ERCIM, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics.
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About ERCIM
ERCIM - the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics - aims to foster collaborative work within the European research community and to increase co-operation with European industry. Leading European research institutes are members of ERCIM. ERCIM is the European host of W3C.
http://www.ercim.eu/

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Excuses found: "premature definition of variables"

Currently reading:

MURPHY E., DINGWALL R., GREATBATCH D., PARKER S., WATSON P. (1999). Qualitative research methods in health technology assessment: a review of the literature. Health Technology Assessment. 2(16), p.84.

http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/64826/FullReport-hta2160.pdf

Marshall (1985) presented the flexibility of qualitative research as one of its strengths. She argued that, in qualitative research, the researcher does not assume that (s)he knows, at the outset, the exact nature of the research question. Rather, qualitative research offers the opportunity of discovery. In fact, researchers vary considerably in the extent to which they formulate the precise nature of the research question in advance of the study. Most seek to avoid what Silverman (1993) referred to as “premature definition of variables”.

<>

Ah, so this is what I've doing!

Yes, but for how long with h2cm, with Drupal...?

1997... 2007...  and counting... :-)

Workshop: Re-imagining Commonly Used Mobile Interfaces for Older Adults

We are delighted to announce that Professor Jutta Trevarinus of the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University, Toronto will deliver a keynote talk at this workshop. We hope you can join us.

Re-imagining Commonly Used Mobile Interfaces for Older Adults

http://www.olderadults.mobi
workshop AT olderadults.mobi

September 23, 2014, Toronto, Canada

Call for Papers

Many countries have an increasingly ageing population. In recent years, mobile technologies have had a massive impact on social and working life. As the older adult population rises, many people will want to continue professional, social and lifestyle usage of mobiles into their 70s and beyond. Mobiles support community involvement and personal independence, but the ageing process can interfere considerably with their usage, e.g. through changes in vision, attention, and motor control. This workshop will bring together researchers who are re-imagining mobile interfaces so that they are more suited for use by older adults.

Position papers are sought related to topics including, but not limited to:

• Multimodal interaction with older adults
• Mobile input and visual interaction with older adults
• Older adults and ubiquitous computing
• Participatory design process for older adults
• Mobile interface evaluation with older adults
• Novel physical interaction for older adults
• The effect and implications for mobile design of the ageing process
• Interdisciplinary perspectives on mobile design for older adults

Position papers should be 4 pages in CHI extended abstract format. Accepted papers will be presented as posters or short talks, with plenty of time for discussion and demos. Authors will be invited to extend for a special issue of the International Journal of Mobile Human Computer Interaction.

Abstract Submission Deadline: July 11th 2014
Notification of Acceptance: 24th July 2014
Workshop: 23rd September 2014

Submissions should be made to: submissions AT olderadults.mobi

Questions or queries may be sent to: workshop AT olderadults.mobi

Organisers:
Emma Nicol (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK)
Mark Dunlop (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK)
Marilyn McGee-Lennon (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK)
Lynne Baillie (Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK)
Lilit Hakobyan (Aston University, Birmingham, UK)
Katie Siek (Indiana University, USA)

Emma Nicol
Research Associate
Room 14.05 Livingstone Tower
Dept of Computer and Information Sciences
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow, G1 1XH
Scotland, UK

emma.nicol@strath.ac.uk
http://www.cis.strath.ac.uk/cis/staff/index.php?uid=emma

My source: Caring Technology Research Announcement List
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/caring-tec-research

The limitations of the healthcare sector

4

many

decades there 

have been recurring 

issues, austerity measures, 

requirements, policy challenges, 

policy initiatives, gaps between theory 

and practice, a crisis in compassionate care, 

rising waiting times and a plethora of other concerns.

All these then and much more 

affect the

 healthcare

 sector

Clearly, there is no 'magic wand', but there must be a way to address some of the difficulties? 

Within health and social care, locally, nationally and globally we need a tool to help improve interprofessional reflective practice, to support person-centered, holistic care across physical, emotional, social, political and spiritual domains of care. 

The future demands a resource (free, open, easy to learn) that can also facilitate self-care, health literacy and the many carers within families and communities.

 

So, how big is your picture?

Drupal in Education: Richer experiences with Drupal 7 and H5P (HTML5 Package)!

The H5P module is finally available for Drupal 7! Now you can download H5P and H5P content types empowering you to create great rich experiences for your users to enjoy. Content like interactive videos, presentations, drag and drop, fill in the blanks questions and more are available from h5p.org.

We have received many enthusiastic requests for an H5P D7 module and we are proud to present the newly released version. You can find it available on the H5P project page.

You create the content with your web-browser and the content will work just as great on smartphones and tablets, as on you desktop computer.

Below is a summary of the H5P content types that are currently available for Drupal 7 (and all other platforms we support).

Interactive video ( see for additional media: https://groups.drupal.org/node/409763 )
Perhaps the most powerful tool in the H5P toolbox. Upload videos and animations, and make them interactive by adding quizzes, images and text along the way.

Presentation
Create a presentation slideshow with interactions along the way. Add text, images, video and various quiz tasks to your presentation.

Boardgame
A level based board game where the user must complete tasks in various levels to win. Depending on whether the user completes or fails, a video is shown at the end of each level. The game is fully customizable.

Flashcards
An image is displayed and the user has to insert a corresponding text by using the keyboard. The card turns to display the solution. Several cards can be added in a sequence.

Fill in the blanks
Create sentences and leave out words, adjectives, conjugations etc. for the user to complete by typing the missing text on the keyboard.

Question set
Your staple quiz question tool. Add a mix of multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks & drag and drop tasks.

Contact button
A simple widget that allows users of your website to get in touch with you using their preferred channel, such as email, Facebook or Twitter.

For those that are new to H5P, H5P is short for HTML5 Package, and is a simple way to create and share rich and interactive web content. H5P is modular and consists of several content types and applications, perfect for use in e-learning and advertising.

See all the content types in action on H5P.org

With H5P you can:

• Export and import content types and applications between sites, e.g. from a Joomla site to a Drupal site.
• Use existing content types and applications, and build on these to create your own content.
• Create and edit rich web content directly in your browser. No technical skills are needed.
• As a developer, build upon existing content types and applications, or create you own from scratch. Share your work with the rest of the world on the h5p.org!

Source: https://groups.drupal.org/node/409763

Looking forward this next weekend and London for DrupalCamp.

other Drupal posts on W2tQ.

The EQUATOR Network: Support for “Declaration of transparency”

Following publication in the BMJ, in October 2013, of a proposed declaration of transparency a number of journals have now expressed their support for the transparency declaration and now ask lead authors to sign a declaration affirming that:

"this manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained".

The following journals have now expressed their support:

BMJ
BMJ Open
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Canadian Journal of Anesthesia
NIHR Journals Library

Reference: Altman DG, Moher D. Declaration of transparency for each research article. BMJ 2013;347:f4796 [free full text].


My source: equator network - newsletter December 2013

Student engagement survey UK pilot – Year 2: HEA

Forwarded from the HEA

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was designed to measure students’ participation in activities and practices that are known to relate to improvements in learning. It asks about the amount and quality of effort that students invest in their studies, as well as the extent to which their courses and institutions are supportive and encouraging. It was developed and first used in North America in 2000, and has now been adapted and implemented in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.

In early 2013, nine UK institutions piloted a range of survey questions derived from NSSE. The questions were focused on four key areas:

• Critical thinking. Four questions asked students about the emphasis their coursework placed on a range of mental activities such as evaluating and applying information.

• Course challenge. Three questions focused on how their courses have encouraged them to work hard.

• Collaborative learning. Three questions asked students how often they had interacted with other students in a range of ways.

• Academic integration. Five questions explored students’ interaction with academic staff, participation in class and discussions with others outside class.

8500 students responded, and the report of the first year of the pilot will be published on 6 November 2013 and will be available at www.heacademy.ac.uk/surveys. The report contains analysis of the results, as well as findings from interviews with students about the questions used.

In order to allow more institutions to take part in this project, and to collect more data for research purposes, the project will run again in spring/summer 2014.

Participation in this project allows institutions to ask students about the extent to which they are investing effort in their studies, to identify areas where more encouragement and opportunities to engage may be required. Institutions will be able to benchmark their own results against the aggregate UK results, both at institutional and subject level, to better understand their students’ engagement.

For full information on the pilot and how to be involved, along with all related documentation please see our website at http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/engagement_survey/pilot_call_2014

Kind Regards

Celia

Dr Celia R Brigg

Academic Lead (Business Development)

 celia.brigg at heacademy.ac.uk

The Higher Education Academy, Innovation Way, York Science Park, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR

www.heacademy.ac.uk – Twitter @HEAcademy

Sheffield, UK: Critical Writing Bursary - re. Design4Health Conference

Interface @ a-n The Artists Information Company is pleased to offer a Critical Writing Bursary to visit and write about the Design4Health Conference at Sheffield Hallam University. The bursary includes £150 and a free three-day conference pass (worth £495). It includes lunch on all three days, plus the conference networking dinner on Thursday evening) to enable one writer to visit and review Design4Health Conference at Sheffield Hallam University.

 

Full details at www.a-n.co.uk/interface/article/3389752

 

To apply, please email interface@a-n.co.uk by 5pm on Monday 10 June with a short statement of no more than 200 words outlining your interest in the conference and exhibition. 

 

Apologies for cross posting. Please circulate to students and colleagues.

__________________________

 

Kirsty Christer - Research Publications and Events Officer

Art and Design Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

e: k.a.christer at shu.ac.uk | t: +44 (0) 114 225 6918 | f: +44 (0) 114 225 6702 | www.design4health.org.uk

D4H accommodation page: http://bit.ly/ZqdQff

 

 

Dialectics in therapy, case formulation, h2cm and a tree

Kuyken et al. (2009) propose three dialectics that are useful in an evaluation of their model for case conceptualization, these are:

Released today - 28th Jan 2013

nomothetic – idiopathic; 
simple – complex; 
and subjective – objective.

This act of identifying polarities can be described as a diagrammatic formulation in itself.

These dialectics and many others can be readily incorporated into h2cm: for example;

socio – technical,
macro – micro.
...

Kuyken, W., Padesky, C., Dudley, R. (2009). Collaborative case conceptualization. New York, The Guilford Press.

The Bigger Picture - Hockney: Hodges' model 4 dynamic perspectives

In the decades to follow the patient, the carer, the health and social care professional must all be dynamic. All must be capable of movement - that is taking in several perspectives. As always composition is vital. So is choreography. As Hockney indicates the picture comprises both ordinary perspective and reverse perspective.


If static, found only for a moment: an assessment, plan, evaluation. A snapshot. Then moving a-gain.

Ever seeking the dynamic.
 
Acknowledgement: David Hockney


My source:
'The mass media has lost its perspective'.
David Hockney, The Financial Times, Page 11, October 27-28, 2012 

Image source:
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/a-bigger-picture

Additional post:
http://hodges-model.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/bigger-picture-david-hockney-ra.html

A World Record for Health Care: The 4 minute reflection

Of all the things that can be done within 4 minutes one of the most significant in the history of sport is undoubtedly who would be the first to run a mile in under four minutes:

In health care four minutes is both an age and an instant in someone's health career.

If we took four minutes to reflect upon a person's care across the care domains what difference might that make?

Just one minute per care domain to help deliver - personalised care, self-care, carer support, integration, health promotion and how to stay well. ...

In healthcare we are constantly seeking GOLD.

Wherever you are have an amazing Olympics!

International Nurses Day - Closing the gap: My Project for a Global Conceptual Framework for Nursing

As International Nurses Day is celebrated tomorrow on the 12th May the emphasis and work here at W2tQ lies with Hodges' model. The project is to publicise h2cm's international potential in providing an avenue to help unify nursing theory, practice and assure future research.

Fawcett wrote of the metaparadigm of nursing - namely the inclusion of the concepts of person; environment; health; and nursing.

These concepts are incorporated into Fawcett's criteria on model validation which are listed in bold-italic below.

I have also ventured some reflections on the current status of h2cm when compared against these criteria.

Assumptions underlying the conceptual model are made explicit.

It is not sufficient, but the structure of Hodges' model renders the assumptions within the model explicit. The structure identifies eight initial key concepts:

INDIVIDUAL, GROUP (population); HUMANISTIC, MECHANISTIC; SCIENCES, POLITICS, SOCIOLOGY, INTERPERSONAL

A complete description of all four concepts of nursing's metaparadigm are presented.

Reflection soon reveals that several environments are suggested:

PHYSICAL, ORGANISATION, COMMUNITY, HOME, RESIDENCES, DWELLINGS, COGNITIVE (conceptual), SYMBOLIC, ABSTRACT, VIRTUAL, FORUMS, COLLEGES

Propositions of the conceptual model completely link the four meta-paradigm concepts. 

This is feasible, reasoning from the foundation of the model's structure.

The internal structure of the conceptual model is logically congruent.

This does need to be demonstrated. Initial recognition of logical congruence might be found through the conjoining of disciplines, that is frequently taken for granted: PSYCHO-SOCIAL; SOCIO-TECHNICAL; SOCIO-ECONOMIC.

The conceptual model is socially congruent, socially significant, and socially useful.

I have claimed on numerous occasions that the model is agnostic, universal, accessible, and has educational potential. These and other qualities need to be critically examined.

Empirical evidence in support of the model has accumulated from many derived theories.

The two final criteria are the most challenging. Empirical evidence supporting Hodges' model is available, but again must be tested through research. If someone has time - could you please compare the frequency of a set of political concepts in the nursing literature since 1985?* The emergence of health literacy and self-efficacy, threshold concepts, conceptual spaces, the rise of the semantic web and developments in software can all potentially support h2cm. Producing a roll-call of some of the latest trends in contemporary education, research and culture is not good enough, specific studies are needed.

The total contribution of the conceptual model to nursing knowledge. 

There is a long, long way to go, but the contribution has begun ... every journey ...

Of course, it is almost 20 years since publication of Fawcett's criteria. Has the concept of congruence changed in that time? What is socially significant and useful now? What should the social and political weighting of evaluative criteria be in 2012...? There is a body of critique upon Fawcett's and other evaluative tools within nurse education.

Perhaps a new set of criteria could be defined using h2cm itself? For a model of nursing (health and social care) to be fit for purpose, acceptable and viable across the globe, there are new concepts to be represented. While that would certainly close a gap, it does not seem a rigorous or valid way to proceed. I will seek out other more recent criteria and present them here at some point.

Fawcett J. Analysis and Evaluation of Conceptual Models of Nursing, 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: FA Davis; 1995.

*Many thanks - if someone should pick this up, which ever axes, concept or issue.

Call for chapters - Human centric visualization: Theories, methodologies and case studies

[Shortened for length from original post to ubicomp.org]

*** CALL FOR CHAPTERS  ***
Proposal due: Feb 24, 2012
Notification due: March 09, 2012
Full chapter due: June 15, 2012

A book edited by Tony Huang (CSIRO ICT Centre, Australia), to be published by Springer: www.springer.com
Web: http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/servlet/event.showcfp?eventid=19780%A9ownerid=14065

1. Introduction

Visualizations (diagrams) are produced for people to make sense or interact with them. Rapid advances in display technology and computer power have enabled researchers to produce visually appealing pictures or compelling visual environments to end users. However, the effectiveness of those pictures in conveying embedded information to the users and impact of visual environments on humans have not been fully understood.
This book addresses issues related to design, evaluation and application of visualizations from a human centric perspective. This cutting-edge book is an edited volume whose contributors include experts worldwide, from diverse disciplines including psychologist, artists, engineers and scientists.
Academics, students, engineers and consultants will find this book useful for both research and engineering purposes.

2. Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Part I: Introduction and overview

Current status and future challenges of visualization methods
Current status and future challenges of human centric visualizations research
Survey of evaluation methods in visualization
Survey of theories, frameworks, models, heuristics and design principles for visualization

Part II: Theories, models, frameworks, heuristics and design principles for human centric visualization

Theories of visual thinking, diagram perception, cognition and reasoning and their applications
Latest developments toward theories of visualization
Latest development of frameworks, models, heuristics and design principles for visualization
Applications of the theories, frameworks, models, heuristics and design principles
Adaptations and applications of theories from other domains in visualization

Part III: Methodologies for design, development and evaluation of human centric visualization

Approaches and practices of visualization design
Evaluation methods
Measurement metrics
Taxonomies of tasks
Design and evaluation frameworks
Development and validation of methodologies
Application of methodologies
Lessons learned and experience obtained in developing and applying methodologies

Part IV: Case studies of human centric visualization

Human factors (e.g., memory, cognitive ability, gender, individual differences)
Visual perception and cognition
Visual analytics
Social, cultural aspects of visualization
Implications of new technologies (e.g., displays, new media) on humans
User experience
Implications of interactive methods on humans
Implications of new visualizations on humans
Roles of human in collaborative visualization
Use of visualizations for decision making, learning, business, software engineering, science, security, biology, design, construction, cartography, etc.
Visualization in virtual reality/mixed reality/augmented reality
Case studies and evaluations of interfaces, systems and prototypes of visualizations
Lessons learned and experience obtained in evaluating and designing visualizations
....

4. Important dates

Proposal due:  February 24, 2012  (Proposal has no length limits, usually should include motivations, method, contributions and a brief outline of the full chapter)
Notification: March 09, 2012
Full chapter due: June 15, 2012
Full manuscript due to publisher: August 1, 2012
Book publication: October 1, 2012

5. Contact

All submissions and inquiries should be sent to:
Tony Huang
CSIRO ICT Center, Australia
Email: whua5569 AT gmail.com

Job Position: one Research Assistant in Semantic Web and Healthcare areas

This presents a great opportunity:

The Unit for Health Care and Life Sciences (HCLS) at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI: http://www.deri.ie/) of the National University of Ireland, Galway invites applications for a Research Assistant (RA) position.

 

Research Assistant (RA) Position: Semantic Web in HealthCare and Life Sciences

DERI – National University of Ireland, Galway

 

DERI is a leading research institute in semantic technologies that offers a stimulating, dynamic and multi-cultural research environment, excellent ties to research-groups worldwide, close collaboration with industrial partners and up-to-date infrastructure and resources.

 

The DERI HCLS group (http://hcls.deri.ie/) has a focus on applied research in the use of semantics in solving some key healthcare problems and dealing with: 

• Interoperability of Electronic Healthcare Records (EHRs).
• Interoperability of distributed healthcare policies.
• Infrastructure which will scale to the thousands, and, in some environments millions, of patients who will avail of telehealth in the future.
• Secure infrastructure which accounts for the ownership of patient data, the privacy and dignity of the patient, and which allows the patient play a part in managing his/her chronic illness.

This will involve research into HCLS ontologies and standards (e.g., HL7, openEHR) within the area of healthcare messaging, patient modelling and distributed personal health records. Research in the DERI HCLS research group is carried out in close collaboration with other collaborating institutions and industrial partners. Candidates should have:

 

• A graduate degree in Computer Science/ Software Engineering or related fields.
• Knowledge of Semantic Web Technologies (RDF, SPARQL, OWL).
• Knowledge of healthcare standards (e.g., HL7, openEHR) is a plus but not a mandatory requirement.

Successful candidates are expected to have the willingness to combine formal scientific work with hands-on evaluation with healthcare providers.

 

Please send your application (CV, two letters of reference) in PDF format to the email address below – by Friday, February 3^rd, 2012

 

Ronan Fox/Ratnesh Sahay

Domain for Health Care and Life Sciences

DERI - National University of Ireland, Galway

IDA Business Park,

Lower Dangan,

Galway, Ireland

 

E-mails: ronan dot fox at deri dot org, ratnesh dot sahay at deri dot org

For more information about Galway, NUIG, and DERI, visit the following websites:

www.deri.ie, www.nuigalway.ie, and http://www.galway-ieland.ie/. 

My source: Post by Ratnesh Sahay to several lists.