Choosing a suitable data-analytics software for a company’s operations

Abstract. In this research, the purpose was to study the different factors that contribute to a company’s consideration around choosing a suitable data-analytics software to be adopted into their operations. The research was based around the notion that there currently exists a gap between the information technology and the companies, where valuable data is being wasted by the companies at the cost of their competitiveness due to their limited capabilities in data analytics. Data-analytics software were noted to be potentially valuable for the companies by being able to help bridging the gap between them and the information technology by allowing them to make more use out of data in their operations, but this was not to be taken for granted at any situation due to the overall complexity and extent of the phenomenon. The research was conducted by performing a literature review on the existing scientific literature around the phenomenon and a case study, which provided a concrete example from a real-world setting. The combined results from these research methods were then analyzed together in a further analysis to identify relevant factors and describe their possible effects as opportunities and challenges for every company to consider, which may eventually steer their choice of a suitable data-analytics software into one direction or another. This research tries to provide better understanding around this process, which is supposed to lead to a specific choice and uncover the reasoning behind it. This can essentially present useful guidelines for the companies interested in adopting data-analytics software into their operations. The results of the research pointed out that there are plenty of different options for a company to choose from, which can prove out to be suitable for their operations. The choice itself is eventually based on the company’s own characteristics and requirements, which may require different forms of evaluations depending on their nature. In addition, it was emphasized that users should be given a central role in the consideration, because they are eventually responsible for the creation of value through data-analytics software and they are significantly being affected by the quality of the software. The opportunities and challenges also presented important points to consider, because their potential effects can easily be overlooked by many companies. The results emphasized that companies should approach the choice with careful consideration from a unique perspective, where the presented issues can essentially be utilized as useful guidelines to increase their chances of finding a suitable data-analytics software for their operations and eventually gaining value from it. However, it can be argued that data-analytics software are still surrounded with a fair amount of uncertainty relating to the companies’ return of investment, which suggests that there is still a lot of work to be done in this field

Payments for Environmental Services: Some Nuts and Bolts

Payments for environmental services (PES) are part of a new and more direct conservation paradigm, explicitly recognizing the need to bridge the interests of landowners and outsiders. Eloquent theoretical assessments have praised the absolute advantages of PES over traditional conservation approaches. Some pilot PES exist in the tropics, but many fi eld practitioners and prospective service buyers and sellers remain skeptical about the concept. This paper aims to help demystify PES for non-economists, starting with a simple and coherent defi nition of the term. It then provides practical 'how-to' hints for PES design. It considers the likely niche for PES in the portfolio of conservation approaches. This assessment is based on a literature review, combined with fi eld observations from research in Latin America and Asia. It concludes that service users will continue to drive PES, but their willingness to pay will only rise if schemes can demonstrate clear additionality vis-à-vis carefully established baselines, if trust-building processes with service providers are sustained, and PES recipients' livelihood dynamics is better understood. PES best suits intermediate and/or projected threat scenarios, often in marginal lands with moderate conservation opportunity costs. People facing credible but medium-sized environmental degradation are more likely to become PES recipients than those living in relative harmony with Nature. The choice between PES cash and in-kind payments is highly context-dependent. Poor PES recipients are likely to gain from participation, though their access might be constrained and non-participating landless poor could lose out. PES is a highly promising conservation approach that can benefi t buyers, sellers and improv

DATUM in Action

This collaborative research data management planning project (hereafter the RDMP project) sought to help a collaborative group of researchers working on an EU FP7 staff exchange project (hereafter the EU project) to define and implement good research data management practice by developing an appropriate DMP and supporting systems and evaluating their initial implementation. The aim was to "improve practice on the ground" through more effective and appropriate systems, tools/solutions and guidance in managing research data. The EU project (MATSIQEL - (Models for Ageing and Technological Solutions For Improving and Enhancing the Quality of Life), funded under the Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme, is accumulating expertise for the mathematical and computer modelling of ageing processes with the aim of developing models which can be implemented in technological solutions (e.g. monitors, telecare, recreational games) for improving and enhancing quality of life.1 Marie Curie projects do not fund research per se, so the EU project has no resources to fund commercial tools for research data management. Lead by Professor Maia Angelova, School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences (SCEIS) at Northumbria University, it comprises six work packages involving researchers at Northumbria and in Australia, Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico and South Africa. The RDMP project focused on one of its work packages (WP4 Technological Solutions and Implementation) with some reference to another work package lead by the same person at Northumbria University (WP5 Quality of Life). The RDMP project‟s innovation was less about the choice of platform/system, as it began with existing standard office technology, and more about how this can be effectively deployed in a collaborative scenario to provide a fit-for-purpose solution with useful and usable support and guidance. It built on the success of the Datum for Health project by taking it a stage further, moving from a solely health discipline to an interdisciplinary context of health, social care and mathematical/computer modelling, and from a Postgraduate Research Student context to an academic researcher context, with potential to reach beyond the University boundaries. In addition, since the EU project is re-using data from elsewhere as well as creating its own data; a wide range of RDM issues were addressed. The RDMP project assessed the transferability of the DATUM materials and the tailored DATUM DMP

What Exactly is an Insight? A Literature Review

Insights are often considered the ideal outcome of visual analysis sessions. However, there is no single definition of what an insight is. Some scholars define insights as correlations, while others define them as hypotheses or aha moments. This lack of a clear definition can make it difficult to build visualization tools that effectively support insight discovery. In this paper, we contribute a comprehensive literature review that maps the landscape of existing insight definitions. We summarize key themes regarding how insight is defined, with the goal of helping readers identify which definitions of insight align closely with their research and tool development goals. Based on our review, we also suggest interesting research directions, such as synthesizing a unified formalism for insight and connecting theories of insight to other critical concepts in visualization research.Comment: Technical report. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2206.0476

Using pattern languages in participatory design

In this paper, we examine the contribution that pattern languages could make to user participation in the design of interactive systems, and we report on our experiences of using pattern languages in this way. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of patterns and pattern languages in the design of interactive systems. Pattern languages were originally developed by the architect, Christopher Alexander, both as a way of understanding the nature of building designs that promote a ‘humane’ or living built environment; and as a practical tool to aid in participatory design of buildings. Our experience suggests that pattern languages do have considerable potential to support participatory design in HCI, but that many pragmatic issues remain to be resolved.</p