Forecasting in the light of Big Data

Predicting the future state of a system has always been a natural motivation for science and practical applications. Such a topic, beyond its obvious technical and societal relevance, is also interesting from a conceptual point of view. This owes to the fact that forecasting lends itself to two equally radical, yet opposite methodologies. A reductionist one, based on the first principles, and the naive inductivist one, based only on data. This latter view has recently gained some attention in response to the availability of unprecedented amounts of data and increasingly sophisticated algorithmic analytic techniques. The purpose of this note is to assess critically the role of big data in reshaping the key aspects of forecasting and in particular the claim that bigger data leads to better predictions. Drawing on the representative example of weather forecasts we argue that this is not generally the case. We conclude by suggesting that a clever and context-dependent compromise between modelling and quantitative analysis stands out as the best forecasting strategy, as anticipated nearly a century ago by Richardson and von Neumann

Hospitality employers’ perceptions of technology for sustainable development: The implications for graduate employability

This paper investigates hospitality employers’ perspectives of two key inter-disciplinary subjects, i.e. sustainable development (SD) and information technology in the context of hospitality education, particularly graduate employability. A qualitative approach is deployed at this stage of the research with semi-structured interviews conducted with employers of hospitality graduates that represent diverse stakeholders in the industry. Respondents had varying interpretations of the meaning of sustainable development and the role of technology in their businesses. Sustainability is not currently prioritised as a critical employability skill however employers clearly appreciate the value of sustainability for their business and recognise how technology might support SD. This is the first effort to investigate employers’ perspectives of the interdisciplinary subjects of technology and sustainable development in hospitality management undergraduate education

Roadmaps to Utopia: Tales of the Smart City

Notions of the Smart City are pervasive in urban development discourses. Various frameworks for the development of smart cities, often conceptualized as roadmaps, make a number of implicit claims about how smart city projects proceed but the legitimacy of those claims is unclear. This paper begins to address this gap in knowledge. We explore the development of a smart transport application, MotionMap, in the context of a £16M smart city programme taking place in Milton Keynes, UK. We examine how the idealized smart city narrative was locally inflected, and discuss the differences between the narrative and the processes and outcomes observed in Milton Keynes. The research shows that the vision of data-driven efficiency outlined in the roadmaps is not universally compelling, and that different approaches to the sensing and optimization of urban flows have potential for empowering or disempowering different actors. Roadmaps tend to emphasize the importance of delivering quick practical results. However, the benefits observed in Milton Keynes did not come from quick technical fixes but from a smart city narrative that reinforced existing city branding, mobilizing a growing network of actors towards the development of a smart region. Further research is needed to investigate this and other smart city developments, the significance of different smart city narratives, and how power relationships are reinforced and constructed through them

Citizenship, Justice and the Right to the Smart City

This paper provides an introduction to the smart city and engages with its idea and ideals from a critical social science perspective. After setting out in brief the emergence of smart cities and current key debates, we note a number of practical, political and normative questions relating to citizenship, justice, and the public good that warrant examination. The remainder of the paper provides an initial framing for engaging with these questions. The first section details the dominant neoliberal conception and enactment of smart cities and how this works to promote the interests of capital and state power and reshape governmentality. We then detail some of the ethical issues associated with smart city technologies and initiatives. Having set out some of the more troubling aspects of how social relations are produced within smart cities, we then examine how citizens and citizenship have been conceived and operationalised in the smart city to date. We then follow this with a discussion of social justice and the smart city. In the final section, we explore the notion of the ‘right to the smart city’ and how this might be used to recast the smart city in emancipatory and empowering ways

Interactivity Improves Usability of Geographic Maps for Visually Impaired People

International audienceTactile relief maps are used by visually impaired people to acquire mental representation of space, but they retain important limitations (limited amount of information, braille text, etc.). Interactive maps may overcome these limitations. However, usability of these two types of maps had never been compared. It is then unknown whether interactive maps are equivalent or even better solutions than traditional raised-line maps. This study presents a comparison of usability of a classical raised-line map vs. an interactive map composed by a multi-touch screen, a raised-line overlay and audio output. Both maps were tested by 24 blind participants. We measured usability as efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction. Our results show that replacing braille with simple audio-tactile interaction significantly improved efficiency and user satisfaction. Effectiveness was not related to the map type but depended on users' characteristics as well as the category of assessed spatial knowledge. Long-term evaluation of acquired spatial information revealed that maps, whether interactive or not, are useful to build robust survey-type mental representations in blind users. Altogether, these results are encouraging as they show that interactive maps are a good solution for improving map exploration and cognitive mapping in visually impaired people

Sustainable development and hospitality education : employers’ perspectives on the relevance for graduate employability

This paper examines hospitality employers’ perspectives of sustainable development and the implications for hospitality education, particularly graduate employability. An exploratory approach is used in this research where semi-structured interviews were conducted with employers of hospitality graduates. The results established that respondents had mixed understandings of the meaning and relevance of sustainable development. These employers are, however, gradually recognising the value of sustainability for their business. Though it is not currently a priority in terms of a critical employability skill specifically for the hotel sector, related industries seem more mindful of the implications of sustainability credentials. Thus, hospitality educators need to take appropriate actions in subject specific areas where sustainable development is critical to employment opportunities, creating more industry ready graduates who are also globally aware citizens

A virtual reality extended neuropsychological assessment for topographical disorientation: a feasibility study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Topographical disorientation represents one of the main consequences of brain injury. Up to now several methodological approaches have been used in the assessment of the brain injured patient's navigational abilities showing a moderate correlation with the impairments observed in everyday contexts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We propose a combination of standardized neuropsychological tests and a more situated virtual reality-based assessment for the evaluation of spatial orientation in brain injured patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When tested with this virtual reality integrated procedure patients showed performance and execution times congruent with their neuropsychological evaluation. When compared to a control group, patients revealed significantly slower times and greater errors in solving virtual reality based spatial tasks.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The use of virtual reality, when combined with classical neuropsychological tests, can provide an effective tool for the study of topographical disorientation.</p

The diagnosis of asthma in children: An evidence-based approach to a common clinical dilemma

Background. Asthma is a heterogeneous condition characterised by chronic inflammation and variable expiratory airflow limitation, as well as airway reversibility. The diagnosis of asthma in young children is limited by the inability to perform objective lung function testing in this group of patients and the wide variety of conditions that can phenotypically present with asthma-like symptoms.Objectives. To provide an evidence-based approach for clinicians to accurately diagnose asthma in young children and to assess the level of control to guide therapeutic decisions.Methods. The South African Childhood Asthma Working Group (SACAWG) convened in January 2017 with task groups, each headed by a section leader, constituting the editorial committee on assessment of asthma epidemiology, diagnosis, control, treatments, novel treatments and self-management plans. The asthma diagnosis and control task groups reviewed the available scientific literature and assigned evidence according to the Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system, providing recommendations based on current evidence.Conclusions. Asthma in young children should only be diagnosed if all other causes of wheezing have been considered and excluded, and if there is a response to a therapeutic trial and worsening with withdrawal of asthma medication. Asthma control should be assessed at each visit to guide therapeutic decisions.

Mining Big Data for Tourist Hot Spots: Geographical Patterns of Online Footprints

Understanding the complex, and often unequal, spatiality of tourist demand in urban contexts requires other methodologies, among which the information base available online and in social networks has gained prominence. Innovation supported by Information and Communication Technologies in terms of data access and data exchange has emerged as a complementary supporting tool for the more traditional data collection techniques currently in use, particularly, in urban destinations where there is the need to more (near)real-time monitoring. The capacity to collect and analise massive amounts of data on individual and group behaviour is leading to new data-rich research approaches. This chapter addresses the potential for discovering geographical insights regarding tourists’ spatial patterns within a destination, based on the analysis of geotagged data available from two social networks. ·info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio