Outlook: Summer 2000

Alumni publication of the Boston University School of Dental Medicine

Encourage. Empowering People. Annual Report 2012

Peter Löscher, President of the Siemens Stiftung Board of Trustees, on behalf of the Board: Siemens Stiftung aims to contribute to positive changes in society with technical solutions, concrete concepts, and platforms for knowledge transfer. Cooperating with various stakeholders is a fundamental requirement for increasing the impact of its projects and anchoring them for the long term. For that reason, Siemens Stiftung seeks to cooperate with other foundations and non-governmental organizations as well as with government institutions, businesses, and the scientific community. Partnerships allow complementary approaches, skills, and resources to be bundled and sustainable programs to be developed. The previous fiscal year, in particular, delivers impressive examples of how such partnership models can increase the effectiveness of project work

Information Outlook, January 2007

Volume 11, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2007/1000/thumbnail.jp

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

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.Comment: 14 pages, typo fixed in v

From the pixels up : processes and procedures in the construction of a neural-site geographic information system

This study examines the question, is it possible to develop a neutral-site Geographic Information System (GIS) that addresses information needs useful for the training of emergency management personnel? To answer this question a subordinate question requiring an answer is what specific steps are required to accomplish this goal? As a base for the data provided here, the history of cities as an initial root of civilization and the concept of emergency management are discussed. Direct intersections, where the specific applications of emergency management technology provide real benefits to local governmental organizations, such as those at the city level are also considered. One of these potential technologies is a Geographic Information System, or GIS. Using a qualitative method, with thick description, the process and procedures of creating a neutralsite GIS for use in training by organizations who do not currently have access to the technology is then described. The potential benefit for jurisdictions lacking a current GIS is clearly demonstrated. The study concludes with a summation of the research, development and construction of a neutral-site GIS. Specific lessons learned during the entire process are discussed. Finally, areas of further study the process brought to my attention are considered

ARD News June 2004

CONTENTS: Comments from the Dean ARD Advisory Council Report The GMO Food Debate Richard Ferguson Selected for Leadership Development Course Nominations Sought for Junior Faculty Excellence in Research Award Channing B. and Katherine W. Baker Fund Undergraduate Honors Research Program ARD Interdisciplinary Research Grants Program Proposals Submitted For Federal Grants New or Revised Projects Grants and Contracts Received April and May, 200

Information Outlook, April 2001

Volume 5, Issue 4https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2001/1003/thumbnail.jp