Collaborative Mapping of London Using Google Maps: The LondonProfiler

This paper begins by reviewing the ways in which the innovation of Google Maps has transformed our ability to reference and view geographically referenced data. We describe the ways in which the GMap Creator tool developed under the ESRC National Centre for E Social Science programme enables users to ‘mashup’ thematic choropleth maps using the Google API. We illustrate the application of GMap Creator using the example of www.londonprofiler.org, which makes it possible to view a range of health, education and other socioeconomic datasets against a backcloth of Google Maps data. Our conclusions address the ways in which Google Map mashups developed using GMap Creator facilitate online exploratory cartographic visualisation in a range of areas of policy concern

An Investigation of the Utility of Microblogging in a Virtual Organisation

Virtualisation is one possible business strategy of an organisation. The nature of virtual organisations is that individuals or teams are distributed over different work sites. This leads to barriers in communication,coordination and collaboration between these entities due to dispersed expertise, time zones, languages, cultures, etc. To address these issues, virtual organisations have invested in ICT for supporting collaboration between cross-site colleagues. One very new collaborative technology is microblogging. Microblogging supports asynchronous communication between multiple persons. Microblogging is based upon transmission of short messages that can be sent from Web-based microblogging systems, instant messaging tools, email or mobile phones. Microblogging has some relevant features like simplicity, immediacy, accessibility and presence. This paper describes our investigation of the utility of microblogging, particularly the Twitter tool, for collaboration support in a virtual organisation. Since microblogging is very new and was introduced only recently, no work has been done on this exact topic. The investigation involved conducting an online survey to collect participants’ opinions about the utility of Twitter in the workplace after using Twitter over a three-week period. The study yielded quantitative and qualitative results regarding participants’ experience of Twitter. It was found that microblogging could be adapted to virtual organisations quickly due to ease of use in terms of taking less time and effort for creating microblogs. Twitter could be used in virtual organisations for collaboration support because it is believed that the use of Twitter could somewhat improve communication between cross-site co-workers. However, to be well accepted by virtual organisations, Twitter needs improvement and addition to its existing functionality

Library Resources: Procurement, Innovation and Exploitation in a Digital World

The possibilities of the digital future require new models for procurement, innovation and exploitation. Emma Crowley and Chris Spencer describe the skills staff need to deliver resources in hybrid and digital environments. The chapter demonstrates the innovative ways that librarians use to procure and exploit the wealth of resources available in a digital world. They also describe the technological developments that can be adopted to improve workflow processes and they highlight the challenges faced on this fascinating journey

The Signal Data Explorer: A high performance Grid based signal search tool for use in distributed diagnostic applications

We describe a high performance Grid based signal search tool for distributed diagnostic applications developed in conjunction with Rolls-Royce plc for civil aero engine condition monitoring applications. With the introduction of advanced monitoring technology into engineering systems, healthcare, etc., the associated diagnostic processes are increasingly required to handle and consider vast amounts of data. An exemplar of such a diagnosis process was developed during the DAME project, which built a proof of concept demonstrator to assist in the enhanced diagnosis and prognosis of aero-engine conditions. In particular it has shown the utility of an interactive viewing and high performance distributed search tool (the Signal Data Explorer) in the aero-engine diagnostic process. The viewing and search techniques are equally applicable to other domains. The Signal Data Explorer and search services have been demonstrated on the Worldwide Universities Network to search distributed databases of electrocardiograph data

Shaping the future for primary care education and training project. Education and training provision to deliver integrated health & social care: course finder

Within the Shaping the Future for Primary Care Education and Training Project, the literature review concerning integrated health and social care identified a number of implications or recommendations for service and education. For education, these recommendations may be categorised under a number of headings or themes: Team working, Communication, Role Awareness, Practice Development and Leadership,Partnership Working. It would follow that if agencies in the North West are to deliver truly integrated health and social care services, educational curricula across the region should cover these themes. Prior to the Shaping the Future Project there was no simple way of looking across the entire region to gain insights into current education and training provision. One of the core objectives of the Shaping the Future Project was to develop a webbased Course Finder tool and to map existing regional provision of education and training which can support the delivery of integrated health and social care service

OCIS Public Goods Tool Development

There has recently been an increase in interest amongst policy-makers in the question of whether farming provides a “public good” beyond the simple production of food, which justifies support from, for instance, EU agricultural policy. Benefits such as an improved environment or better water quality can be perceived to be public goods. It is the provision of these sorts of benefits which may be used in the future to justify continued support of the agricultural sector through subsidies. Given the current level of interest in this topic Natural England, with the approval of Defra, through OCIS (Organic Conversion Information Service), wished to create a tool which could be used by an advisor or an informed land owner to assess the public good provided by a/their farm. Thus, the OCIS Public Good Tool was developed

The relative clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three contrasting approaches to partner notification for curable sexually transmitted infections: a cluster randomised trial in primary care

Since 1998 there has been a substantial increase in reported cases of sexually transmitted infection (STI), most strikingly in the 16–24 years age group.1 Across genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in the UK in 2007, young people accounted for 65% of chlamydia cases, 50% of cases of genital warts and 50% of gonorrhoea infections.1 Chlamydia is the most common STI in under-25s. Since 1998, the rate of diagnosed chlamydia has more than doubled in the 16–24 years age group (from 447 per 100,000 in 1998 to 1102 per 100,000 in 2007). This may be because of a combination of a higher proportion of young people testing, improved diagnostic methods and increased risk behaviour.1 Chlamydia infection can frequently go undetected, particularly in women, as it is often asymptomatic.1 If left untreated, chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women. This highlights the importance of testing this higher-risk age group to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment. It is estimated that 11–12% of 16- to 19-year-olds presenting at a GUM clinic with an acute STI will become reinfected within a year.2 In order to minimise reinfection, preventative measures are required, including effective methods of notifying partners to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment and reduce the likelihood of index patients being reinfected from the same source