Research data management challenges in citizen science projects and recommendations for library support services. A scoping review and case study.

Citizen science (CS) projects are part of a new era of data aggregation and harmonisation that facilitates interconnections between different datasets. Increasing the value and reuse of CS data has received growing attention with the appearance of the FAIR principles and systematic research data management (RDM) practises, which are often promoted by university libraries. However, RDM initiatives in CS appear diversified and if CS have special needs in terms of RDM is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this article is firstly to identify RDM challenges for CS projects and secondly, to discuss how university libraries may support any such challenges. A scoping review and a case study of Danish CS projects were performed to identify RDM challenges. 48 articles were selected for data extraction. Four academic project leaders were interviewed about RDM practices in their CS projects. Challenges and recommendations identified in the review and case study are often not specific for CS. However, finding CS data, engaging specific populations, attributing volunteers and handling sensitive data including health data are some of the challenges requiring special attention by CS project managers. Scientific requirements or national practices do not always encompass the nature of CS projects. Based on the identified challenges, it is recommended that university libraries focus their services on 1) identifying legal and ethical issues that the project managers should be aware of in their projects, 2) elaborating these issues in a Terms of Participation that also specifies data handling and sharing to the citizen scientist, and 3) motivating the project manager to good data handling practises. Adhering to the FAIR principles and good RDM practices in CS projects will continuously secure contextualisation and data quality. High data quality increases the value and reuse of the data and, therefore, the empowerment of the citizen scientists

Student engagement is key to broadening participation in CS

© 2019 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM. The Mobile CS Principles (Mobile CSP) course is one of the NSF-supported, College Board-endorsed curricula for the new Computer Science Principles AP course. Since 2013, the Mobile CSP project has trained more than 700 teachers, and the course has been offered to more than 20,000 students throughout the United States. The organizing philosophy behind the Mobile CSP course is that student engagement in the classroom is the key to getting students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in CS, interested in pursuing further study and careers in CS. The main strategies used to engage Mobile CSP students are: (1) a focus on mobile computing throughout the course, taking advantage of current student interest in smartphones; (2) an emphasis on getting students building mobile apps from day one, by utilizing the highly accessible App Inventor programming language; and (3) an emphasis on building creative,\u27socially useful\u27 apps to get students thinking about ways that computing can help their communities. In this paper we present and summarize two years of data of various types (i.e., student surveys, teacher surveys, objective assessments, and anecdotal reports from students and teachers) to support the hypothesis that engagement of the sort practiced in the Mobile CSP course not only helps broaden participation in CS among hard-to-reach demographics, but also provides them with a solid grounding in computer science principles and practices

Updating an introductory class on a Computer Aided Design course as this software pertains to fashion

Project Scope: Updating an introductory class on a Computer Aided Design course as this software pertains to fashion Project Scope: To identify OER materials for FTT faculty to use in their courses and locate materials specifically for use in the introduction to Fashion technology class. Use these resources to update a beginning fashion class in computer technology. Project goals: Source Open Educational Resources for the faculty to use in their classes. Which allows students to work on independently – Microsoft Word, Excel and PPT. Also Adobe CS. Investigate Lynda.com - https://rite.buffalostate.edu/nypl-benefits.html Using the objectives of the course FTT 208, implement one new lesson on the use of Adobe CS, specific to fashion, which will be delivered in fall 2017. Differentiate consumer target markets including cultural aspects and how each market influences the design process and merchandising strategies. Demonstrate an introductory understanding and hands on experience with how the elements and principles of design can affect the aesthetic and marketability of an end product. Demonstrate introductory raster digital skills via standard off the shelf software to create and illustrate custom fabric patterns

Bank Syariah sebagai Alternatif

The principle of not allowing interest practices (riba) has saved the Syariah Bank and their customers from the effects of monetary crisis. In view of Islamic Principles, interest is forbidden. Therefore, all transactions of syariah banking are based on sale-purchase pattern. Besides, all good banking aspects as applied in conventional banking such as, 5 Cs (capital, collateral, capacity, character, and condition) are also applied properly in the line of ukhrawi aspects in managing fund of syariah banking. The practice of “mark-up” in project funded by syariah bank seems to be very difficult

Computational Thinking Integration into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies for Meeting the Challenges

This paper reports findings from the efforts of a university-based research team as they worked with middle school educators within formal school structures to infuse computer science principles and computational thinking practices. Despite the need to integrate these skills within regular classroom practices to allow all students the opportunity to learn these essential 21st Century skills, prior practice has been to offer these learning experiences outside of mainstream curricula where only a subset of students have access. We have sought to leverage elements of the research-practice partnership framework to achieve our project objectives of integrating computer science and computational thinking within middle science classrooms. Utilizing a qualitative approach to inquiry, we present narratives from three case schools, report on themes across work sites, and share recommendations to guide other practitioners and researchers who are looking to engage in technology-related initiatives to impact the lives of middle grades students

Ethical Issues in Empirical Studies of Software Engineering

The popularity of empirical methods in software engineering research is on the rise. Surveys, experiments, metrics, case studies, and field studies are examples of empirical methods used to investigate both software engineering processes and products. The increased application of empirical methods has also brought about an increase in discussions about adapting these methods to the peculiarities of software engineering. In contrast, the ethical issues raised by empirical methods have received little, if any, attention in the software engineering literature. This article is intended to introduce the ethical issues raised by empirical research to the software engineering research community, and to stimulate discussion of how best to deal with these ethical issues. Through a review of the ethical codes of several fields that commonly employ humans and artifacts as research subjects, we have identified major ethical issues relevant to empirical studies of software engineering. These issues are illustrated with real empirical studies of software engineering

The medium became the message: the MEDAL project as learning space

Our contribution offers a retrospective glimpse into some perspectives on the MEDAL (Making a difference: educational development to enhance academic literacy) project, a three-year initiative that created a pedagogic network for childhood studies (CS), a new, complex and rapidly evolving area of research and undergraduate study. It aims to capture the sense of community that evolved throughout the project, because this underpinned our sense of the conceptual change and professional development that MEDAL brought about for the individuals working within it. Our narrative incorporates the core team’s perspectives and explores the ways that this group worked with others in a community that came to encompass members with a range of experiences, disciplines and backgrounds. In particular we will focus on the ways that MEDAL co-collaborators included students and emerging pedagogic writers, and highlight some of the common issues and ideas that emerged across the various electronic, physical and metaphorical spaces that the project developed. We draw on our own reflections and on data gathered by an independent researcher in interviews with staff and students, illuminating the ways in which MEDAL offered us what Savin-Baden (2007) calls “learning space”

Cancer Awareness in Alternative Settings: Lessons Learned and Evaluation of the Barbershop Men’s Health Project

Prostate and colorectal cancer are two of the leading causes of cancer deaths among African American men. This study describes lessons learned from the development, implementation and evaluation of a culturally appropriate, barbershop-based intervention to improve prostate and colorectal cancer screening awareness among African American men. Working with an Advisory Panel of shop owners, barbers, and cancer survivors, local barbers were recruited and trained as Community Health Advisors to educate, motivate, and assist their clients in becoming more knowledgeable about prostate and colorectal cancer. Survey results reveal increases in prostate and colorectal cancer knowledge and self-reported screening among participants. Lessons learned include the need for adequate project staffing and the appropriate role of the barber as a Community Health Advisor. Findings from this study suggest that barbershops are a promising setting for reaching African American men and could be used to target additional conditions that disproportionately impact this community