Science and Culture: Readings for Writers

38 page PDF and alternate eBook format.This book was written to accompany WR 122z at the University of Oregon.Science and Culture is a resource intended for college and secondary students to engage with scientific concepts, facts, and history as they relate to society in the United States and globally. The multimodality, diversity of voices, and range of topics should appeal to anyone interested in exploring these particular knowledge debates across natural and social sciences, humanities, and creative arts. The themes in this volume have been cultivated to engage readers not merely as receptors of information but as active participants in this ongoing process of knowledge building. The most up to date and interactive version of this book can be found at https://opentext.uoregon.edu/science-and-culture/ (clickable link above).University of Oregon Librarie

Bibliometric studies on single journals: a review

This paper covers a total of 82 bibliometric studies on single journals (62 studies cover unique titles) published between 1998 and 2008 grouped into the following fields; Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (12 items); Medical and Health Sciences (19 items); Sciences and Technology (30 items) and Library and Information Sciences (21 items). Under each field the studies are described in accordance to their geographical location in the following order, United Kingdom, United States and Americana, Europe, Asia (India, Africa and Malaysia). For each study, elements described are (a) the journal’s publication characteristics and indexation information; (b) the objectives; (c) the sampling and bibliometric measures used; and (d) the results observed. A list of journal titles studied is appended. The results show that (a)bibliometric studies cover journals in various fields; (b) there are several revisits of some journals which are considered important; (c) Asian and African contributions is high (41.4 of total studies; 43.5 covering unique titles), United States (30.4 of total; 31.0 on unique titles), Europe (18.2 of total and 14.5 on unique titles) and the United Kingdom (10 of total and 11 on unique titles); (d) a high number of bibliometrists are Indians and as such coverage of Indian journals is high (28 of total studies; 30.6 of unique titles); and (e) the quality of the journals and their importance either nationally or internationally are inferred from their indexation status

Algorithmic Superactivation of Asymptotic Quantum Capacity of Zero-Capacity Quantum Channels

The superactivation of zero-capacity quantum channels makes it possible to use two zero-capacity quantum channels with a positive joint capacity for their output. Currently, we have no theoretical background to describe all possible combinations of superactive zero-capacity channels; hence, there may be many other possible combinations. In practice, to discover such superactive zero-capacity channel-pairs, we must analyze an extremely large set of possible quantum states, channel models, and channel probabilities. There is still no extremely efficient algorithmic tool for this purpose. This paper shows an efficient algorithmical method of finding such combinations. Our method can be a very valuable tool for improving the results of fault-tolerant quantum computation and possible communication techniques over very noisy quantum channels.Comment: 35 pages, 17 figures, Journal-ref: Information Sciences (Elsevier, 2012), presented in part at Quantum Information Processing 2012 (QIP2012), v2: minor changes, v3: published version; Information Sciences, Elsevier, ISSN: 0020-0255; 201

Can Google Trends search queries contribute to risk diversification?

Portfolio diversification and active risk management are essential parts of financial analysis which became even more crucial (and questioned) during and after the years of the Global Financial Crisis. We propose a novel approach to portfolio diversification using the information of searched items on Google Trends. The diversification is based on an idea that popularity of a stock measured by search queries is correlated with the stock riskiness. We penalize the popular stocks by assigning them lower portfolio weights and we bring forward the less popular, or peripheral, stocks to decrease the total riskiness of the portfolio. Our results indicate that such strategy dominates both the benchmark index and the uniformly weighted portfolio both in-sample and out-of-sample.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Collaboration in sensor network research: an in-depth longitudinal analysis of assortative mixing patterns

Many investigations of scientific collaboration are based on statistical analyses of large networks constructed from bibliographic repositories. These investigations often rely on a wealth of bibliographic data, but very little or no other information about the individuals in the network, and thus, fail to illustrate the broader social and academic landscape in which collaboration takes place. In this article, we perform an in-depth longitudinal analysis of a relatively small network of scientific collaboration (N = 291) constructed from the bibliographic record of a research center involved in the development and application of sensor network and wireless technologies. We perform a preliminary analysis of selected structural properties of the network, computing its range, configuration and topology. We then support our preliminary statistical analysis with an in-depth temporal investigation of the assortative mixing of selected node characteristics, unveiling the researchers' propensity to collaborate preferentially with others with a similar academic profile. Our qualitative analysis of mixing patterns offers clues as to the nature of the scientific community being modeled in relation to its organizational, disciplinary, institutional, and international arrangements of collaboration.Comment: Scientometrics (In press

The Importance of the Study of the Hemodynamics of the Uterine Tumors by the Method of Dopplerometry in the Two- and Three-dimensional Echography Modes for Differential Diagnostics of Simple, Proliferating Leiomyomas and Uterine Sarcomas (Review of Litera

The article analyzes modern literature data on the importance of studying the hemodynamics of uterine tumors with dopplerometry in two - and three - dimensional regimens of echography for differential diagnosis of simple proliferating leiomyomas and sarcomas of the uterus. It is shown that the differential diagnosis of benign and Malignant tumors using the dopplerometry is based on various features of the blood supply of these tumors. On the basis of the analysis of literature data, it was concluded that in the dopplerometry evaluation of benign, borderline and Malignant tumors of myometrium in the two-dimensional regime, there were differences in the localization of the detected vessels in the CDM regimen, in the rates of vascular blood flow and vascular resistance in pulse dopplerometry. For a simple leiomyoma, the absence of a central intra-node localization of blood vessels in the CDM regimen, a low rate of arterial and venous blood flow, as well as an average resistance of arterial blood flow in the regime of impulsive dopplerometry are most typical; in a leiomyoma with eating disorders, the absence of a central intra-node localization of blood vessels, a low rate of arterial and venous blood flow in combination with high arterial resistance were more often observed. For the proliferating leiomyoma, the central intra-node localization of the vessels and the average blood flow velocities with low and medium resistance are characteristic. For sarcoma of the uterus, there is abundant vascularization both around the periphery and in the center, high blood flow rates and low resistance. The authors emphasize that there is information about the low specificity of this gradation, since the detection of a central type of vascularization and low resistance values can be in simple myomatous nodes with edema, eating disorders and destruction, and leads to diagnostic errors and suspicion of Malignancy. In the three-dimensional dopplerometry mode for simple leiomyomas, low indices of volume perfusion indices were characteristic, and for proliferating leiomyomas and sarcomas of the uterus – high indices of volume perfusion indices exceeding those in the uterus as a whole.Based on the review of the literature, the authors concluded that the presently available echographic and dopplerometric two- and three-dimensional markers are characterized by high sensitivity, but very low specificity. The low specificity of the known ultrasonic and dopplerometric criteria combined with the rarity of cases of sarcoma in the uterus against the background of a large number of similar echographically and dopplerometrically leiomyomas lead to low diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound diagnostics. This situation requires a further continuation of the scientific search for differential diagnostic ultrasound criteria by leiomyomas and sarcomas of the uterus using modern technologies, including three-dimensional echography

User involvement in healthcare technology development and assessment: Structured literature review

Purpose – Medical device users are one of the principal stakeholders of medical device technologies. User involvement in medical device technology development and assessment is central to meet their needs. Design/methodology/approach – A structured review of literature, published from 1980 to 2005 in peer-reviewed journals, was carried out from social science perspective to investigate the practice of user involvement in the development and assessment of medical device technologies. This was followed by qualitative thematic analysis. Findings – It is found that users of medical devices include clinicians, patients, carers and others. Different kinds of medical devices are developed and assessed by user involvement. The user involvement occurs at different stages of the medical device technology lifecycle and the degree of user involvement is in the order of design stage > testing and trials stage > deployment stage > concept stage. Methods most commonly used for capturing users’ perspectives are usability tests, interviews and questionnaire surveys. Research limitations/implications – We did not review the relevant literature published in engineering, medical and nursing fields, which might have been useful. Practical implications – Consideration of the users’ characteristics and the context of medical device use is critical for developing and assessing medical device technologies from users’ perspectives. Originality/value – This study shows that users of medical device technologies are not homogeneous but heterogeneous, in several aspects, and their needs, skills and working environments vary. This is important consideration for incorporating users’ perspectives in medical device technologies. Paper type: Literature review

Using Noninvasive Brain Measurement to Explore the Psychological Effects of Computer Malfunctions on Users during Human-Computer Interactions

In today’s technologically driven world, there is a need to better understand the ways that common computer malfunctions affect computer users. These malfunctions may have measurable influences on computer user’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. An experiment was conducted where participants conducted a series of web search tasks while wearing functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and galvanic skin response sensors. Two computer malfunctions were introduced during the sessions which had the potential to influence correlates of user trust and suspicion. Surveys were given after each session to measure user’s perceived emotional state, cognitive load, and perceived trust. Results suggest that fNIRS can be used to measure the different cognitive and emotional responses associated with computer malfunctions. These cognitive and emotional changes were correlated with users’ self-report levels of suspicion and trust, and they in turn suggest future work that further explores the capability of fNIRS for the measurement of user experience during human-computer interactions