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 offers fellowships for PhD holders from all over the world.
Next application deadline: 30 September 2014 http://fellowship.ercim.eu/
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ERCIM News
is published quarterly by ERCIM, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics.
The printed edition will reach about 6000 readers.
This email alert reaches over 7300 subscribers.
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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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why - { Ctrl Alt Del } ?

individual
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

group

Alt	Del
Why?	Ctrl

Ctrl provides the power to decide what/who is 'Alt' and What/Who is 'Del' -eted.
The masses are left to ask why?

My source: Peter Kurilecz - RECORDS-MANAGEMENT-UK at JISCMAIL.AC.UK

A Fresh Start: Ctrl + Alt + Delete - Neatorama

One of the programmers’ pet peeves was that whenever the computer encountered a coding glitch, they had to manually restart the entire system. Turning the machine back on automatically initiated a series of memory tests, which stole valuable time. “Some days, you’d be rebooting every five minutes as you searched for the problem,” Bradley says. The tedious tests made the coders want to pull their hair out.

So Bradley created a keyboard shortcut that triggered a system reset without the memory tests. He never dreamed that the simple fix would make him a programming hero, someone who’d someday be hounded to autograph keyboards at conferences. And he didn’t foresee the command becoming such an integral part of the user experience.

http://m.neatorama.com/2014/08/01/A-Fresh-Start-Ctrl-Alt-Delete/#!buNWwY


Additional link: The Holographic Principle
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090913.html

NW England: Greater Manchester AHSN Hackathon 'Young Carers'

Date: Thursday 31st July

Time: 8.30 – 17.00

Lunch and refreshments will be provided


On the 31st July GM AHSN invite you to an all-day hackathon focussed on developing solutions that can make a difference to the lives of young carers.

There are currently over 700,000 carers in the UK. In the addition to the difficulties of caring for a sick relative, many are placed at a disadvantage in terms of their academic and social lives. The hackathon is your opportunity to make an impact, test your skills and work collaboratively to help develop solutions to this often overlooked social problem. The event is open to everybody, regardless of experience, though we’re particularly looking for:

• Carers and anybody with experience of the challenges faced
• Software developers
• Web developers
• Designers/ UX experts
• Health and social care professionals
• Marketers
• Project managers
• Researcher
• Coders

The GM AHSN has worked with young carers to identify key challenge areas in:

• Support for epilepsy
• Alert systems for schools and offices
• Time management for young carers
• Social Networking for young carers

(Click here for more info on challenges)
The hackathon will bring together all the right people to help develop your idea in super quick time: You can meet and work with people with skills and experience from the healthcare and technology industries, all with the common goal of wanting to make a difference. The event will be attended by a group of young carers from the Manchester based charity Family Action, who will be acting as mentors and contributing to the development of your concepts.

Prizes

As a prize, the winning team will be rewarded with a day of free consultancy from Inventya, to help develop and commercialise your idea. Inventya is a science and technology commercialisation consultancy with an 80% success rate in helping early stage companies win funding for R&D and technology product development.


If you’d like more information, please contact sarah.dougan AT gmahsn.org

My source: @Stefan
 
[ I can't make it :( ]

Drupal 8 An Introduction

Books: The Geometry of Meaning, Gärdenfors & Geometry and Meaning, Widdows

There are two additions to my library. They are technical in parts and beyond my math and technical abilities, but as background this is essential reading. The module 1 study, still to be marked provided a prompt to install R and obtain some summary statistics. Widdow's Geometry and Meaning includes details of the software used in the text. See the companion website below. While Gärdenfors' book The Geometry of Meaning is new, Widdow's text is a decade old and so demands some checking of software. I notice there are broken links on the companion site. The book, both in fact are great resources even as they increase the permanence of the geometry upon my furrowed brow...

Dominic Widdows, Geometry and Meaning - Companion website

Related posts:
http://hodges-model.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/conceptual%20spaces

[Itforum] Unique Technology / Assessment Request

The ITForum featured the following post with ongoing discussion and resources related to TEL - technology enhanced learning:

Hello Michael,

When I read your post my thought was that this was a classic example for an adaptive learning module/set of modules. This was a significant concept in the 1970s/1980s when elearning was peaking.

It seems unfortunate that the proliferation of the LMS has all but reduced the learning environment to subject-matter presentation and quizzes.

The recent proclamation of the eLearning Manifesto (http://elearningmanifesto.org) as well as ideas expressed by OULDI (http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/OULDI/) and my own ideas of Design Alchemy (Sims, 2014) provide alternative ways of thinking about elearning. These may assist in re-thinking strategies to achieve your goals.

Roderick Sims, PhD

design alchemist
 
ITFORUM mailing list
http://listserv.lt.unt.edu/mailman/listinfo/
This is a listserv of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. The focus of this list is instructional and educational technology topics ranging from technology integration through cognitive systems thinking and beyond.

Thanks to R Sims and Ack. ITForum. I have added the link to Sims, 2014 above.

The original question concerned - core competencies required for nursing programs....

ERCIM News No. 97 Special theme: "Cyber-Physical Systems"

Dear ERCIM News Reader,

ERCIM News No. 97 has just been published at http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en97

Special theme: "Cyber-Physical Systems"
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en97/special/

Guest editors:
- Maria Domenica Di Benedetto, University of L’Aquila, Center of Excellence DEWS
- Françoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue, CNRS, Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes
- Erwin Schoitsch, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/AARIT.

Keynote: "The Importance of Cyber-Physical Systems for Industry" by Clas Jacobson, Chief Scientist for United Technologies Systems & Controls Engineering, USA

This issue is also available for download as:
pdf:  http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/images/stories/EN97/EN97-web.pdf
epub: http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/images/stories/EN97/EN97.epub

Next issue: No. 98, July 2014 - Special Theme: "Smart Cities"
(the call will be published shortly at http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/call)

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

Includes:
Optogenetics to Unravel the Mechanisms of Parkinsonian Symptoms
Big Data in Healthcare: Intensive Care Units as a Case Study
SEMEOTICONS: Face Reading to Help People stay Healthy

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Cor Baayen Award 2014: Nominate a promising young researcher. Deadline: 30 April
http://www.ercim.eu/activity/cor-baayen-award
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ERCIM "Alain Bensoussan" Fellowship Programme
ERCIM offers fellowships for PhD holders from all over the world. The next round is open. Application deadline: 30 April 2014 http://fellowship.ercim.eu/

Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/ercim_news
and join the open ERCIM LinkedIn Group http://www.linkedin.com/groups/ERCIM-81390

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.

ICN and IHTSDO partner to provide a new Informatics Resources for nurses

International Council of Nurses (ICN) and International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO)
partner to provide a new Informatics Resources for nurses

Geneva, Switzerland, Copenhagen, Denmark, 20 January 2014 - The International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) are pleased to announce an equivalency table between the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) concepts and SNOMED CT concepts. The table contains ICNP Diagnosis and Outcomes Statements that have semantic equivalencies with SNOMED CT concepts.

ICNP is an international standard that facilitates the description and comparison of nursing practice locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The ICNP terminology serves a critical role for ICN in facilitating representation of the domain of nursing practice worldwide to promote evidenced based quality care. ICNP provides nurses with content solutions for electronic health records (EHRs) at all levels to support data-based information for use in practice, administration, education and research. SNOMED CT, a multidisciplinary international healthcare terminology, is designed to support the entry and retrieval of clinical concepts in electronic record systems and the safe, accurate, and effective exchange of health information.

“This equivalency table between ICNP and SNOMED CT is a tangible demonstration of how collaboration among standards development organisations can contribute to improved and standardized documentation of healthcare delivery,” noted ICN CEO David Benton. “Greater standardization supports the larger goal of interoperability of systems as well as better understanding of the contributions that each discipline makes to health outcomes and the effective and efficient use of health resources.“

“The IHTSDO is pleased to see this work being made available to users internationally and hopes that there will be feedback on its usage over time in supporting the care of individuals on a multidisciplinary basis. Continued collaboration with ICN is important to the IHTSDO going forward, providing a key link to the nursing profession internationally” said Jane Millar, Head of Collaboration at IHTSDO.

This new product advances the collaboration on terminology development agreed between ICN and IHTSDO in their 2010 harmonization agreement by allowing ICN to make the equivalency table available through its website at the ICNP Download page ( http://www.icn.ch/pillarsprograms/icnp-download/ ). Although this table is not formally endorsed by IHTSDO, persons interested in using it should review the terms of the SNOMED CT Affiliate License before downloading ( www.ihtsdo.org/licence.pdf ).

The product can be a useful resource to nurses and healthcare facilities interested in using SNOMED CT for documentation in EHRs and using ICNP to help identify clinically relevant content for use in documentation of nursing care.

An additional product from ICN, the ICNP Technical Implementation Guide, was also recently released with the intent of supporting ICNP users, from vendors to nurses in care delivery settings. When used alongside documentation available on the IHTSDO website ( http://ihtsdo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/doc/ ), the Implementation Guide will be of particular use to those who choose to access and use the ICNP-SNOMED CT Equivalency Table in that it gives details about applications that use ICNP, approaches to implementation, structure and content of ICNP, and technical overview. The ICNP Implementation Guide is available on the ICN website ( www.icn.ch/pillarsprograms/implementing-icnpr/ ).

My source: Amy L Amherdt, icn-ehealth

Box (-es) [ 1 ] [ 0 ] [ 1 ] [ 0 ]

Surveys, Nursing Education, Drupal and Webform

Just before heading to Drupalcon Prague I learned of a new paper by Gill et al.:

Using a web-based survey tool to undertake a Delphi study: Application for nurse education research

Background: The Internet is increasingly being used as a data collection medium to access research participants. This paper reports on the experience and value of using web-survey software to conduct an eDelphi study to develop Australian critical care course graduate practice standards.
Methods: The eDelphi technique used involved the iterative process of administering three rounds of surveys to a national expert panel. The survey was developed online using SurveyMonkey. Panel members responded to statements using one rating scale for round one and two scales for rounds two and three. Text boxes for panel comments were provided.
Collecting data and providing feedback: For each round, the SurveyMonkey's email tool was used to distribute an individualized email invitation containing the survey web link. The distribution of panel responses, individual responses and a summary of comments were emailed to panel members. Stacked bar charts representing the distribution of responses were generated using the SurveyMonkey software. Panel response rates remained greater than 85% over all rounds.
(in press)

The paper is interesting in combining surveys and an e-variant of the Delphi research method. Conclusions highlight the improved accessibility to experts and how ethics needs to keep pace with technical change and affordances.

Yesterday at Drupalcon there was a presentation on Webform:

Webform 4.0: Surveys in Drupal Improved

I've mocked up a enquiry form using Webform, but this session pointed to how the module can be extended for polls and contact forms. Based on Gill et al. and the eDelphi technique they explain this could be a really powerful combination.


Gill, F.J., et al., Using a web-based survey tool to undertake a Delphi study: Application for nurse education research, Nurse Education Today (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2013.02.016

Study on attitudes to epistemic uncertainty in safety - Call for participants

From: Eugenio Alberdi, e.alberdi AT CSR.CITY.AC.UK
To: SOCIOTECH AT JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Sent: Tuesday, 17 September 2013, 19:57
Subject: Study on attitudes to epistemic uncertainty in safety - Call for participants

The Centre of Software Reliability and the Department of Psychology at City University London are running a study on reactions to epistemic uncertainty in decision problems about safety.

Perceived errors in such decisions are often debated hotly after the fact, but there is still a need to study how the input to the decision maker can help or hinder correct decisions.

If you are involved in any capacity with probabilistic reasoning about safety and risk, we would be grateful if you take the survey at:

http://www.csr.city.ac.uk/people/eugenio/probabilities_survey.html

This study arises from research project UnCoDe -
(UNcertainty and COnfidence in safety arguments: effect on expert DEcision makers):

http://www.city.ac.uk/informatics/school-organisation/centre-for-software-reliability/research/research-projects/uncode

All participants will have the opportunity to read the final report from the study and the other project outputs.

Regards,

_eugenio

Dr. Eugenio Alberdi

Research Fellow, Centre for Software Reliability,

City University, London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB

Email: e.alberdi AT city.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 7040 8424  Fax: +44 (0)20 7040 8585

http://www.city.ac.uk/informatics/school-organisation/centre-for-software-reliability/staff/dr-eugenio-alberdi

Modeling Outside the Box (MOTB) Workshop

(co-located with MODELS'13 in Miami, Florida, USA, September 30, 2013)

http://cserg0.site.uottawa.ca/modelingoutsidethebox2013

WHAT IS IT?
-----------
Through a series of creativity, lateral thinking, and brainstorming activities, the Modeling Outside the Box (MOTB) workshop will ask participants to think outside the box and imagine different, radical, innovative forms of model-driven engineering (MDE). Participants will be asked to leave behind all their preconceived notions of MDE and to approach the issue of MDE from a different angle. This will be a highly interactive workshop in which facilitators will use tried-and-tested methods for fostering creativity to generate fresh new ideas for MDE. The aim is to avoid the blinkered thinking and tunnel vision that is a natural consequence of any mature discipline. The outcomes will be new connections between people and, hopefully, new ideas that may lead to future research collaborations.

SOUNDS FUN. BUT IS IT FOR ME?
-----------------------------
We are looking for people who are willing to step outside their particular areas of expertise or interest and join with other positive-thinking individuals to imagine alternative futures for MDE. If you have been frustrated with the current state of MDE practice and want to change, then we want you!

SOUNDS LIKE ME. WHERE DO I SIGN UP?
-----------------------------------
We are asking all potential participants to fill in a short 2 page application form
  http://cserg0.site.uottawa.ca/motb13/MOTB13application.doc
and submit it in pdf format via EasyChair
https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=motb2013.
The application form is just meant to ensure a diverse mix of people with a range of experiences are represented as creativity works best when there is diversity. In particular, we are aiming for a mix of senior people and junior people, including students. We encourage both academics and practitioners to join us. We will try our best to accept all applications.

SOUNDS INTERESTING. BUT WILL IT REALLY CHANGE ANYTHING?
-------------------------------------------------------
We cannot promise that the world will change if you come to this workshop.
We can promise that you will meet like-minded individuals, that you will get a chance to have proper conversations with them rather than just listening to presentations, and that your way of thinking will be challenged.

WHO IS BEHIND THIS?
-------------------
Your friendly organizers are Jon Whittle, Nelly Bencomo, and Gunter Mussbacher.
Feel free to contact them at modelingoutsidethebox2013-info@site.uottawa.ca
if you have any questions or just want more information.

PUBLICATION AND COMMITMENT
--------------------------
There will be no presentations or papers in workshop proceedings.
Furthermore, while MODELS’13 allows participants to move between workshops, this is not conducive to creative thinking. We therefore ask applicants to commit to spending the whole day with MOTB.

IMPORTANT DATES
---------------
Deadline for Application: Sunday, August 4, 2013, 23:59:59, Pago Pago, American Samoa time
Notification Sent to Participants: Monday, August 12, 2013
Workshop: Monday, September 30, 2013


I realise this is not models of nursing, and it is a workshop with a specific focus - MDE - it is also rather short notice. The appeal for me is the aims of the workshops and how it encourages a socio-technical approach. I'm sure that h2cm could inform proceedings. Thinking outside the box means you first must identify them.

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fines Glasgow City Council £150,000

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has fined Glasgow City Council £150,000 for the loss of two unencrypted laptops, one of which contained personal details about more than 20,000 people.

...

An ICO investigation discovered that - despite previous warnings - Glasgow City Council had provided staff with unencrypted laptops after there had been problems with encryption software. At least 74 of these laptops remain unaccounted for, with at least six of them known to have been stolen.

By Danny Palmer

Read more: http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2273525/ico-fines-glasgow-city-council-gbp150-000-for-laptop-loss#ixzz2VYdnVNtU
Computing - Insight for IT leaders Claim your free subscription today.

ERCIM News No. 93 Special theme: "Mobile Computing"

Dear ERCIM News Reader,

ERCIM News No. 93 has just been published at
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en93

Special Theme: "Mobile Computing"
Guest editors: Edgar Weippl (SBA Research, AARIT, Austria) and Pietro Manzoni (Universitat Politècnica de Valéncia, SpaRCIM)
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en93/special


Keynote:  "Strategies of the European ICST Public Research Organisations towards Horizon 2020" by Domenico Laforenza
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en93/keynote

This issue for download in pdf:
http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/images/stories/EN93/EN93-web.pdf

Next issue: No. 94, July 2013 - Special Theme: "Intelligent Cars"

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

Peter Kunz
ERCIM News central editor

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERCIM "Alain Bensoussan" Fellowship Programme
ERCIM offers fellowships for PhD holders from all over the world. The next round is open!
Next deadline 30 April 2013
http://fellowship.ercim.eu/

BBC Horizon II: Processes - step this way ... safely

Following the BBC TV Horizon programme last night "How to Avoid Mistakes in Surgery" I came across the following list concerned with processes:

Sequential steps. Where one step follows another.

Alternative steps. Where conditional logic specifies which of several paths should be traversed.

Iterative steps. Where a single step is repeated multiple times.

Composite steps. Where steps are nested within other steps.

Optional steps. Where any one of a set of steps may be traversed, depending on the results of a boolean operation.

Checklist. Where all of a number of steps must be traversed, but in any order. p.126.

The list is related to software development and manufacturing as per the reference source below. Within informatics and project management I've noticed and written here about the emphasis placed on processes. Process, process and yet more - in one form or other. As A&E doctor Kevin Fong revealed people can get lost in a process (intubation), especially experts within organisational hierarchies - complex teams in urgent circumstances. In information system projects the need for a socio-technical perspective is essential, and is synonymous with due consideration of human factors. Processes are an essential ingredient to understanding the world and there's a huge literature on events, co-ordination, timing, logistics, value ... but as the Horizon programme pointed out there's also a need for reflection, stepping back, taking in or trying to grasp the big picture. Maintaining situation awareness is vital to assure safety and as the program showed in a crisis hindsight makes a blind spot visible. This is why process is one of four P's in Hodges model (the others - purpose, practice and policy). Processes count, but they are only part of the bigger picture.

The steps above are intended for software developers, but the descriptions throw up some points when subject to a more literal - human - interpretation (which might be a problem?).

The 'alternative' steps: could that mean skipping one in turn as in 'alternate'?

And crucially for the checklist are there any risks associated with its being completed in any order?

There is a world of difference between programming methods and logic on the one hand; and human language and dialogue on the other.

Fayad, M.E., Johnson, R.E. (Editors). (2000). Domain-Specific Application Frameworks: Frameworks Experience by Industry. Wiley. p.126.

Development Informatics (IS/ICT) Masters Scholarship from Manchester University

I last posted a news item on this in 2010 my source - ciresearchers AT vancouvercommunity.net:

The 2013 Development Leaders Scholarship - worth £15,200 - is available for developing country applicants to the one-year MSc ICT4D programme; creating ICT4D champions.

It is also tenable on the MSc Management and Information Systems programme; which develops “hybrid” information systems professionals.

Applicants apply first for the programme. On receipt of an offer, send a scholarship application statement by June 2013. Scholarship covers all tuition fees. Details at: http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/postgraduate/taught/funding/

If you know someone interested in studying either ICT4D or M&IS at MSc level, could you please let them know about this?

They are welcome to contact me with questions.

Thanks
Richard
---------
Prof. Richard Heeks
Director
Centre for Development Informatics
IDPM, SED, University of Manchester
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester M13 9PL  U.K.

Phone: +44-161-275-2870
Fax: +44-161-275-2898
Email: richard.heeks AT manchester.ac.uk
Web: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/richard.heeks/

Centre Web: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/cdi

Our new one-year Masters in ICTs for Development:
http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/06237/index.asp

Blog: http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CDIManchester
Publications list on Google Scholar

Advances in Nursing Science [Journal] app for the iPad

My source: Peggy L Chinn

I am pleased to announce that the Advances in Nursing Science app for the iPad is now available! The app is free, and for a limited time, all of the content of the current issue of ANS is free as well.

Our dynamic app optimizes the best in digital technology to create a print-like reading experience with article-sharing features, multi-media links, and more.

* Easy-to-read full-text articles that you can share via email
* Text and image resizing with "pinch and zoom"
* Store or delete downloaded issues
* Speedy issue-browsing capability
* Notification when a new issue is available
* Links to Advances in Nursing Science online to view supplemental content and browse the archives.
Also visit our ANS blogwhere we feature current articles with messages from the authors, as well as hints for writing and publishing, discussions of current issues in nursing journal publishing, and information about ANS.

We look forward to seeing you online!  Visit us at www.advancesinnursingscience.com to quickly access all of our online resources!

Peggy L. Chinn, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor
Advances in Nursing Science

'Semantic Reefs' - All at Sea, on Land and in Mind

In reviewing some literature recently I came across the phrase 'semantic reef'. In forwarding a copy of the paper Dr Trina Myers described the semantic reef as: an architecture created to automatically infer phenomenon or alerts about coral reefs using Semantic technologies (aka. Linked Data).

The coinage of semantic reef in the paper by Myers and Atkinson really captured my imagination. While the semantic web is of interest to me and the environment is the oxygen to the human ecosystem, to our very existence and well-being; Myers and Atkinson's semantic reef is very specific:

The Semantic Reef Knowledge Representation system is an eco-informatics application designed to assist in the integration of remotely sensed data streams and historic data sets supporting flexible hypothesis design and knowledge extraction. The system is an ontology-based architecture built to allow researchers to combine disjoint data sets into a single Knowledge Base for modelling the impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems. p.16.

I've written previously of the conceptual role that the axes of Hodges' model can play. How they act as a distinct, idealised boundary between the disciplines. Most evident is the MECHANISTIC-HUMANISTIC divide between the hard sciences and the humanities. Academics, researchers, health practitioners can become trapped in a disciplinary silo. Reefs are often a Great Barrier. Mariners have to find navigable waters to find a way through. Safe passage is recorded.

The last thing anyone wants is a shipwreck; whether in the ecosphere, designing software or health care.
Maybe this is another (long-winded-yes) way of recognising the collapse of holistic bandwidth at the point of a medical emergency, a crisis. The situation IS a shipwreck. A disaster of a very personal kind. What lies beyond the information required in that specific instant, what lies outside that atoll is suddenly not important.


More positively though a reef also represents an opportunity. It is a sign, a measure of global health. As such it IS a community. It is community. Harmony. Balance. It is the community around which others revolve. And we need to recognise; nOt that, but this and nOw. ...:

Trina Myers, Ian Atkinson (2013). Eco-informatics modelling via semantic inference. Information Systems. 38, 1, March 2013, 16–32.

Thanks to Dr Trina Myers.

Image sources:
Australian National Maritime Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atafutrim.jpg

A model, HTML5, games, the normal and the pathological

In the UK the powers that be finally recognise the need to introduce children to computer programming. Our future economic viability depends on no less. So many children are too locked into playing games to consider how games are created. New developments including the Raspberry Pi should help change this.

Here's a possible book intro....

While this book is considered an introduction to building HTML5 care applications with Hodges' model a conceptual framework, it is also intended to be a companion guide to help get you started making, and more importantly, finishing your care applications.

Now I'm not seriously proposing that a care application could be written in HTML5 (am I?). In trying to encourage a teen game player to try game programming, I came across a sentence in Jesse Freeman's short book Introducing HTML5 Game Development which I've revamped above.

The book is about Impact (not open source), a javascript framework. Skimming through the text's potential as a present, you appreciate the potential of games and simulations in health care.

In health care we talk about levels of care. In Impact there is Weltmeister a level editor.

The reader is also encouraged:

"Think of the canvas as an image, that we can bitmap data into." p.8.

There are maps: background and collision. There are Classes, Person is an inevitable example. Admittedly there is also a zombie, but then one of the domains of Hodges' model is frequently described as being populated by zombies (well, look at their movement and the fact that they are non-living).

There's talk of a GDD - a game design document. There is a need for a high concept, plus an asset pipeline, and if the design includes complex levels the likely need for a background, middle ground and foreground. If Life is about sprites running ragged around levels of game play, Death is in there too.

Additional link: Normal and Pathological