Data Innovation for International Development: An overview of natural language processing for qualitative data analysis

Availability, collection and access to quantitative data, as well as its limitations, often make qualitative data the resource upon which development programs heavily rely. Both traditional interview data and social media analysis can provide rich contextual information and are essential for research, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation. These data may be difficult to process and analyze both systematically and at scale. This, in turn, limits the ability of timely data driven decision-making which is essential in fast evolving complex social systems. In this paper, we discuss the potential of using natural language processing to systematize analysis of qualitative data, and to inform quick decision-making in the development context. We illustrate this with interview data generated in a format of micro-narratives for the UNDP Fragments of Impact project

Structured approach to measure performance in construction research and development: performance measurement system development

Purpose of this paper: This study explore Performance Measurement applications within construction research and development (R\&D) to develop a structured approach to measure the performance of collaborative construction R\&D projects during its lifecycle from initiation, conceptualising, development and launch stages and at the project management. Design/methodology/approach: During the exploratory phase of the study, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey were carried out to develop the performance measurement system (PMS). During the explanatory phase, the developed PMS was refined with a series of semi-structured interviews. The data was gathered from principal investigators, researchers and industrial partners involved in collaborative construction R\&D work. Findings: Main finding is the developed PMS to measure the performance of construction R\&D that consists of critical success factors, performance indicators and performance measures during the lifecycle of a R\&D project. Practical implications: The PMS developed through the study provides critical success factors, performance indicators and measures that need to be considered during the construction R\&D projects to measure the performance. Thus, through the implementation of the PMS, this study contributes to practice by assisting the performance improvement within construction R\&D projects. What is original / value of paper?: The developed PMS to measure the performance of construction R\&D project will provide value for those who are engaged in R\&D work (Principle investigators, researcher and industrial partners) to ensure the success of their projects

Food supply chain stakeholders' perspectives on sharing information to detect and prevent food integrity issues

One of the biggest challenges facing the food industry is assuring food integrity. Dealing with complex food integrity issues requires a multi-dimensional approach. Preventive actions and early reactive responses are key for the food supply chain. Information sharing could facilitate the detection and prevention of food integrity issues. This study investigates attitudes towards a food integrity information sharing system (FI-ISS) among stakeholders in the European food supply chain. Insights into stakeholders' interest in participating and their conditions for joining an FI-ISS are assessed. The stakeholder consultation consisted of three rounds. During the first round, a total of 143 food industry stakeholders-covering all major food sectors susceptible to food integrity issues-participated in an online quantitative survey between November 2017 and February 2018. The second round, an online qualitative feedback survey in which the findings were presented, received feedback from 61 stakeholders from the food industry, food safety authorities and the science community. Finally, 37 stakeholders discussed the results in further detail during an interactive workshop in May 2018. Three distinct groups of industry stakeholders were identified based on reported frequency of occurrence and likelihood of detecting food integrity issues. Food industry stakeholders strongly support the concept of an FI-ISS, with an attitude score of 4.49 (standard deviation (S. D.) = 0.57) on a 5-point scale, and their willingness to participate is accordingly high (81%). Consensus exists regarding the advantages an FI-ISS can yield towards detection and prevention. A stakeholder's perception of the advantages was identified as a predictor of their intention to join an FI-ISS, while their perception of the disadvantages and the perceived risk of food integrity issues were not. Medium-sized companies perceive the current detection of food integrity issues as less likely compared to smaller and large companies. Interestingly, medium-sized companies also have lower intentions to join an FI-ISS. Four key success factors for an FI-ISS are defined, more specifically with regards to (1) the actors to be involved in a system, (2) the information to be shared, (3) the third party to manage the FI-ISS and (4) the role of food safety authorities. Reactions diverged concerning the required level of transparency, the type of data that stakeholders might be willing to share in an FI-ISS and the role authorities can have within an FI-ISS

Authoring a Web‐enhanced interface for a new language‐learning environment

This paper presents conceptual considerations underpinning a design process set up to develop an applicable and usable interface as well as defining parameters for a new and versatile Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment. Based on a multidisciplinary expertise combining Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Web‐based Java programming, CALL authoring and language teaching expertise, it strives to generate new CALL‐enhanced curriculum developments in language learning. The originality of the approach rests on its design rationale established on the strength of previously identified student requirements and authoring needs identifying inherent design weaknesses and interactive limitations of existing hypermedia CALL applications (Hémard, 1998). At the student level, the emphasis is placed on three important design decisions related to the design of the interface, student interaction and usability. Thus, particular attention is given to design considerations focusing on the need to (a) develop a readily recognizable, professionally robust and intuitive interface, (b) provide a student‐controlled navigational space based on a mixed learning environment approach, and (c) promote a flexible, network‐based, access mode reconciling classroom with open access exploitations. At the author level, design considerations are essentially orientated towards adaptability and flexibility with the integration of authoring facilities, requiring no specific authoring skills, to cater for and support the need for a flexible approach adaptable to specific language‐learning environments. This paper elaborates on these conceptual considerations within the design process with particular emphasis on the adopted principled methodology and resulting design decisions and solutions

Toward a Standardized Strategy of Clinical Metabolomics for the Advancement of Precision Medicine

Despite the tremendous success, pitfalls have been observed in every step of a clinical metabolomics workflow, which impedes the internal validity of the study. Furthermore, the demand for logistics, instrumentations, and computational resources for metabolic phenotyping studies has far exceeded our expectations. In this conceptual review, we will cover inclusive barriers of a metabolomics-based clinical study and suggest potential solutions in the hope of enhancing study robustness, usability, and transferability. The importance of quality assurance and quality control procedures is discussed, followed by a practical rule containing five phases, including two additional "pre-pre-" and "post-post-" analytical steps. Besides, we will elucidate the potential involvement of machine learning and demonstrate that the need for automated data mining algorithms to improve the quality of future research is undeniable. Consequently, we propose a comprehensive metabolomics framework, along with an appropriate checklist refined from current guidelines and our previously published assessment, in the attempt to accurately translate achievements in metabolomics into clinical and epidemiological research. Furthermore, the integration of multifaceted multi-omics approaches with metabolomics as the pillar member is in urgent need. When combining with other social or nutritional factors, we can gather complete omics profiles for a particular disease. Our discussion reflects the current obstacles and potential solutions toward the progressing trend of utilizing metabolomics in clinical research to create the next-generation healthcare system.11Ysciescopu

The development of service provider's BPO-IT framework

Purpose The decision to operate BPO-IT organisational model by a business process outsourcing (BPO) service provider has far reaching benefits. The purpose of this paper is to develop a service provider’s BPO-IT framework that provides in-house IT function (software) required to process client services. Design/methodology/approach The multi-case study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed method research approach. In the first instance, seven BPO service provider organisations were investigated in the qualitative phase and 156 in the quantitative phase, respectively. Findings The adoption of the developed framework indicates that it could reduce failures in BPO relationships through reduced turnaround time in processing client services, improved quality of service, reduced cost, improved client and provider’s competitiveness, and confidentiality of client operations. Outsourcing clients could lay the foundation for a successful relationship by adopting a selection process that could choose the right provider. Originality/value The paper reveals BPO-IT organisation’s operation towards in-house provision of software required to process client services. A research exploring BPO service providers from a top outsourcing destination like India could provide offshore outsourcing clients the information to move towards onshore outsourcing. </jats:sec

Knowledge Resources, Exploration, and Exploitation: A New Perspective on the Interplay Between Innovation and Application

Knowledge resources are the fundamental ingredients used in exploration and exploitation and an overlooked source of distinction and tension between these two processes. In this paper we use a strategic lens to differentiate evidence-based knowledge resources from tinkerable knowledge resources. This conceptualization provides the basis for a bridge between the literature on the resource-based view of the firm and research into exploration and exploitation. We suggest that an examination of knowledge resources offers a new perspective for understanding exploration and exploitation, and suggests new opportunities for achieving organizational ambidexterity. A proposed model indicates the application consequences of match and mismatch across knowledge resources and knowledge flow activities in terms of exploration and exploitation. An agenda for future research is proposed along with steps that managers can take to develop exploration and exploitation capabilities in their firms by managing their knowledge resources more precisely and effectively.knowledge resources, exploration, exploitation, knowledge management

Essential guidelines for computational method benchmarking

In computational biology and other sciences, researchers are frequently faced with a choice between several computational methods for performing data analyses. Benchmarking studies aim to rigorously compare the performance of different methods using well-characterized benchmark datasets, to determine the strengths of each method or to provide recommendations regarding suitable choices of methods for an analysis. However, benchmarking studies must be carefully designed and implemented to provide accurate, unbiased, and informative results. Here, we summarize key practical guidelines and recommendations for performing high-quality benchmarking analyses, based on our experiences in computational biology.Comment: Minor update

Overlapping neural systems represent cognitive effort and reward anticipation

Anticipating a potential benefit and how difficult it will be to obtain it are valuable skills in a constantly changing environment. In the human brain, the anticipation of reward is encoded by the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and Striatum. Naturally, potential rewards have an incentive quality, resulting in a motivational effect improving performance. Recently it has been proposed that an upcoming task requiring effort induces a similar anticipation mechanism as reward, relying on the same cortico-limbic network. However, this overlapping anticipatory activity for reward and effort has only been investigated in a perceptual task. Whether this generalizes to high-level cognitive tasks remains to be investigated. To this end, an fMRI experiment was designed to investigate anticipation of reward and effort in cognitive tasks. A mental arithmetic task was implemented, manipulating effort (difficulty), reward, and delay in reward delivery to control for temporal confounds. The goal was to test for the motivational effect induced by the expectation of bigger reward and higher effort. The results showed that the activation elicited by an upcoming difficult task overlapped with higher reward prospect in the ACC and in the striatum, thus highlighting a pivotal role of this circuit in sustaining motivated behavior