scholarly journals Supporting emerging forms of citizen science: a plea for diversity, creativity and social innovation

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (02) ◽  
pp. Y02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Schäfer ◽  
Barbara Kieslinger
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Grassroots Initiatives ◽  
Inclusive Society

In recent years, citizen science has gained popularity not only in the scientific community but also with the general public. The potential it projects in fostering an open and participatory approach to science, decreasing the distance between science and society, and contributing to the wider goal of an inclusive society is being explored by scientists, science communicators, educators, policy makers and related stakeholders. The public's participation in citizen science projects is still often reduced to data gathering and data manipulation such as classification of data. However, the citizen science landscape is much broader and diverse, inter alia due to the participation opportunities offered by latest ICT. The emergence of new forms of collaboration and grassroots initiatives is currently being experienced. In an open consultation process that led to the "White Paper on Citizen Science for Europe", the support of a wide range of project types and innovative forms of participation in science was requested. In this paper we argue for mechanisms that encourage a variety of approaches, promote emerging and creative concepts and widen the perspectives for social innovation.

scholarly journals Increasing understanding of alien species through citizen science (Alien-CSI)

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Roy ◽  
Quentin Groom ◽  
Tim Adriaens ◽  
Gaia Agnello ◽  
Marina Antic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Educational Value ◽  
Rate Of Spread ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Eu

There is no sign of saturation in accumulation of alien species (AS) introductions worldwide, additionally the rate of spread for some species has also been shown to be increasing. However, the challenges of gathering information on AS are recognized. Recent developments in citizen science (CS) provide an opportunity to improve data flow and knowledge on AS while ensuring effective and high quality societal engagement with the issue of IAS (Invasive Alien Species). Advances in technology, particularly on-line recording and smartphone apps, along with the development of social media, have revolutionized CS and increased connectivity while new and innovative analysis techniques are emerging to ensure appropriate management, visualization, interpretation and use and sharing of the data. In early July 2018 we launched a European CO-operation in Science and Technology (COST) Action to address multidisciplinary research questions in relation to developing and implementing CS, advancing scientific understanding of AS dynamics while informing decision-making specifically implementation of technical requirements of relevant legislation such as the EU Regulation 1143/2014 on IAS. It will also support the EU biodiversity goals and embedding science within society. The Action will explore and document approaches to establishing a European-wide CS AS network. It will embrace relevant innovations for data gathering and reporting to support the implementation of monitoring and surveillance measures, while ensuring benefits for society and citizens, through an AS CS European network. The Action will, therefore, increase levels of participation and quality of engagement with current CS initiatives, ensuring and evaluating educational value, and improve the value outcomes for potential users including citizens, scientists, alien species managers, policy-makers, local authorities, industry and other stakeholders.

Towards a unified model of human development

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rex Haigh ◽  
Nick Benefield
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Relational Work ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Contextual Framework ◽  
Health Justice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to collaborate across disciplines to agree a better map of human development. Design/methodology/approach This paper used an iterative process of consultation with professionals and specialists in relevant disciplines, and service users, continually refining the diagram and text until a “good enough” consensus was reached to produce a diagrammatic form and explanatory text. Findings The process revealed a strong commitment across many disciplines to find a common contextual framework within which specialist understandings could be accommodated. The consultation process and iterative development of the diagram and text was marked by widespread interest and many detailed discussions. The substance of this paper is the result of that process. Research limitations/implications The model places research in different specialist fields onto a single “map of the territory”. It can encourage collaboration across disciplines when they are studying similar areas from different perspectives. It indicates the value of collaborative rather than competitive research enterprises. Practical implications Too often, professionals involved in fields concerning human development become focussed within narrow frameworks of specialisation. The model supports better understanding of how different elements relating to developmental life interrelate. This can facilitate the basis upon which a wide range of training, education and research programmes can be formulated. Social implications The model proposes greater use of a “whole-person/whole-life” perspective, which should allow greater integration between disparate approaches, and less experience of fragmentation. For a wide range of public sector activities, the quality of relational activity should be central to effective organisational and human outcomes. Without a unifying context, the understanding required to support relational work is weak: this model ad-dresses that deficit. Originality/value This work is entirely original. It should be of value to all those interested in working in holistic ways; to policy makers wishing to avoid duplication, waste and ineffective interventions; and to researchers interested in working across disciplinary boundaries. Most importantly, it is for staff involved in health, justice, social care and education services at all levels. Their effectiveness relies on relational, as well as procedural working, and this model will support confidence in the primacy of these activities.

scholarly journals Classification of E-Service in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Irna Yuniar ◽  
Anak Agung Gde Agung
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Complete Classification ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Trading Activities ◽  
Business Segmentation

E-service consists of various actors. Today, there is a wide range of actors involved. Public, private, and government connected in such complex way to create the e-service world we know today. However, the broad and complexity of the environment raises challenges for policy makers and regulators, such as tax. Until now, there is no tax regulation that specifically regulates trading activities using information technology, also known as an e-service. It operates globally without physical boundaries of a nation. However, rules can be different among nations. The initial step to make these rules is the classification of types of services using information technology, based on the business actors involved. Lack of classification raises problems, such as overlapping business segmentation, which may lead to inaccurate classification of the treatment. That is why a complete classification of e-service is needed. This study proposes a classification of e-service based on provider of the service, origin of goods and service, and the destination of goods and services in Indonesia. Research data obtained through literature studies and surveys of information technology-based service provider sites. We propose 27 categories of e-business classification, which can be used further, such as to cluster business and as a basis for regulation.

scholarly journals SOCIENTIZE participatory experiments, dissemination and networking activities in perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cândida Silva
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Grassroots Groups ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Wide Range

Citizen science includes a wide range of activities in which citizens are involved in research projects, either by collecting or analyzing massive data sets, or by developing small-scale activities, such as grassroots groups taking part in local policy debates. In parallel, the concept of digital society is emerging and triggering a social and information revolution. Here, large scientific infrastructures and high performance communication technologies have resulted in e-science and allow addressing problems that were unsolvable until a few decades ago. Similarly, the millions of people around the world that are permanently interconnected can be considered as a citizen-based infrastructure (c-infrastructure) which can be used for distributed computing, collective talent or ubiquitous data gathering. As a result, we have a complex entity with intelligence and collective knowledge.Funded by the European Commission, SOCIENTIZE is a FP7 project, which aims to set the basis of citizen science in Europe for Horizon2020. For the last two years, SOCIENTIZE has been promoting Citizen Science in order to 1) raise awareness about the importance and impact of citizen science, 2) to foster interaction and coordination between all citizen-science actors, 3) to promote the capabilities of c-infrastructures among researchers and citizens for an enhanced science, 4) to coordinate and promote citizen science projects and finally (5) to collect and share the best practices and recommendations for the implementation of citizen science projects in Europe. To achieve these goals, SOCIENTIZE has developed and implemented several activities that are described in this paper. 

scholarly journals Can you make morphometrics work when you know the right answer? Pick and mix approaches for apple identification

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. Christodoulou ◽  
Nicholas H. Battey ◽  
Alastair Culham
Keyword(s):  
Data Gathering ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Living Things ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Apple Cultivars ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level ◽  
Post Hoc

AbstractMorphological classification of living things has challenged science for several centuries and has led to a wide range of objective morphometric approaches in data gathering and analysis. In this paper we explore those methods using apple cultivars, a model biological system in which discrete groups are pre-defined but in which there is a high level of overall morphological similarity. The effectiveness of morphometric techniques in discovering the groups is evaluated using statistical learning tools. No one technique proved optimal in classification on every occasion, linear morphometric techniques slightly out-performing geometric (72.6% accuracy on test set versus 66.7%). The combined use of these techniques with post-hoc knowledge of their individual successes with particular cultivars achieves a notably higher classification accuracy (77.8%). From this we conclude that even with pre-determined discrete categories, a range of approaches is needed where those categories are intrinsically similar to each other, and we raise the question of whether in studies where potentially continuous natural variation is being categorised the level of match between categories is routinely set too high.

Can Bitcoin be the Future of Digital Payments?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-500
Author(s):  
Andrea Valente ◽  
◽  
David Atkinson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Price Volatility ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Future ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Digital Payments ◽  
Robust Regulation ◽  
Stakeholder Acceptance

This study aimed to investigate the conditions in which Bitcoin has developed as a leading cryptocurrency and, according to Nakamoto (2008), could become an instrument for everyday payments around the world. In comparison to other digital payment solutions, Bitcoin is based on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system using “the blockchain”. This innovative technology allows for decentralised storage and movement of currency in a fully anonymous way, introducing advantageous methods for encrypted security and faster transactions (Hagiu & Beach, 2014). Scepticism regards Bitcoin’s foundation, energy consumption and price volatility, however, did not take long to arise (Holthaus, 2017). Ten years from its white paper release, Bitcoin is further supported by the same drivers which could sustain its growth as the future of digital payments (Russo, 2018). In order to investigate the key drivers and feasibility of acceptance, a London based survey was used to understand the desirability of Bitcoin as a day-to-day tool for digital payments. Additionally, this research analysed Bitcoin’s stakeholders and forecast drivers of sustainability for its application to become the future of the payment industry. A space which relies on policies that involve multiple layers of society, governments, regulators and tech-firms, all on a global scale. The findings confirmed how the increasing lack of trust of political and financial institutions, coupled with the increasing cases of data-breaches by tech-firms, encouraged over 70% of respondents to consider more decentralised and anonymous methods for their day-to-day actions; like payments. Policy makers need to cope with societies increasingly separating politically but gathering together digitally (LBS, 2017). For Bitcoin to truly establish itself as a global digital payment solution, key stakeholder acceptance must converge alongside the introduction of more robust regulation.

Anti-corruption in History

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Legitimate Power ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Over Time

Anticorruption in History is the first major collection of case studies on how past societies and polities, in and beyond Europe, defined legitimate power in terms of fighting corruption and designed specific mechanisms to pursue that agenda. It is a timely book: corruption is widely seen today as a major problem, undermining trust in government, financial institutions, economic efficiency, the principle of equality before the law and human wellbeing in general. Corruption, in short, is a major hurdle on the “path to Denmark”—a feted blueprint for stable and successful statebuilding. The resonance of this view explains why efforts to promote anticorruption policies have proliferated in recent years. But while the subjects of corruption and anticorruption have captured the attention of politicians, scholars, NGOs and the global media, scant attention has been paid to the link between corruption and the change of anticorruption policies over time and place. Such a historical approach could help explain major moments of change in the past as well as reasons for the success and failure of specific anticorruption policies and their relation to a country’s image (of itself or as construed from outside) as being more or less corrupt. It is precisely this scholarly lacuna that the present volume intends to begin to fill. A wide range of historical contexts are addressed, ranging from the ancient to the modern period, with specific insights for policy makers offered throughout.

scholarly journals Experimental Economics in Agriculture: A Review of Worldwide Research

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1566
Author(s):  
Ernesto Mesa-Vázquez ◽  
Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz ◽  
José A. Aznar-Sánchez ◽  
Belén López-Felices
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Experimental Economics ◽  
Scientific Production ◽  
Bibliometric Study ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Wide Range

Over the last two decades, experimental economics has been gaining relevance in the research of a wide range of issues related to agriculture. In turn, the agricultural activity provides an excellent field of study within which to validate the use of instruments employed by experimental economics. The aim of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the research on the application of experimental economics in agriculture on a global level. Thus, a literature review has been carried out for the period between the years 2000 and 2020 based on a bibliometric study. The main results show that there has been a growing use of experimental economics methods in the research on agriculture, particularly over the last five years. This evolution is evident in the different indicators analyzed and is reflected in the greater scientific production and number of actors involved. The most relevant topics within the research on experimental economics in agriculture focus on the farmer, the markets, the consumer, environmental policy, and public goods. These results can be useful for policy makers and researchers interested in this line of research.

scholarly journals Modes of Interaction in Naturally Occurring Medical Encounters With General Practitioners: The “One in a Million” Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232199379
Author(s):  
Olaug S. Lian ◽  
Sarah Nettleton ◽  
Åge Wifstad ◽  
Christopher Dowrick
Keyword(s):  
General Practitioners ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Mode Competition ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The One ◽  
Narrative Mode ◽  
Modes Of Interaction

In this article, we qualitatively explore the manner and style in which medical encounters between patients and general practitioners (GPs) are mutually conducted, as exhibited in situ in 10 consultations sourced from the One in a Million: Primary Care Consultations Archive in England. Our main objectives are to identify interactional modes, to develop a classification of these modes, and to uncover how modes emerge and shift both within and between consultations. Deploying an interactional perspective and a thematic and narrative analysis of consultation transcripts, we identified five distinctive interactional modes: question and answer (Q&A) mode, lecture mode, probabilistic mode, competition mode, and narrative mode. Most modes are GP-led. Mode shifts within consultations generally map on to the chronology of the medical encounter. Patient-led narrative modes are initiated by patients themselves, which demonstrates agency. Our classification of modes derives from complete naturally occurring consultations, covering a wide range of symptoms, and may have general applicability.

scholarly journals Uncertainty-Aware Deep Learning-Based Cardiac Arrhythmias Classification Model of Electrocardiogram Signals

Computers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Ahmad O. Aseeri
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Cardiac Arrhythmias ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Probabilistic Approach ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Gating Mechanism ◽  
Uncertainty Estimates ◽  
Wide Range

Deep Learning-based methods have emerged to be one of the most effective and practical solutions in a wide range of medical problems, including the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias. A critical step to a precocious diagnosis in many heart dysfunctions diseases starts with the accurate detection and classification of cardiac arrhythmias, which can be achieved via electrocardiograms (ECGs). Motivated by the desire to enhance conventional clinical methods in diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias, we introduce an uncertainty-aware deep learning-based predictive model design for accurate large-scale classification of cardiac arrhythmias successfully trained and evaluated using three benchmark medical datasets. In addition, considering that the quantification of uncertainty estimates is vital for clinical decision-making, our method incorporates a probabilistic approach to capture the model’s uncertainty using a Bayesian-based approximation method without introducing additional parameters or significant changes to the network’s architecture. Although many arrhythmias classification solutions with various ECG feature engineering techniques have been reported in the literature, the introduced AI-based probabilistic-enabled method in this paper outperforms the results of existing methods in outstanding multiclass classification results that manifest F1 scores of 98.62% and 96.73% with (MIT-BIH) dataset of 20 annotations, and 99.23% and 96.94% with (INCART) dataset of eight annotations, and 97.25% and 96.73% with (BIDMC) dataset of six annotations, for the deep ensemble and probabilistic mode, respectively. We demonstrate our method’s high-performing and statistical reliability results in numerical experiments on the language modeling using the gating mechanism of Recurrent Neural Networks.

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