Data curation standards and social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources - data about the characteristics of different occupational positions - are widely used in the social sciences, across a range of disciplines and international contexts. They are available in many formats, most often constituting small electronic files that are made freely downloadable from academic web-pages. However there are several challenges associated with how occupational information resources are distributed to, and exploited by, social researchers. In this paper we describe features of occupational information resources, and indicate the role digital curation can play in exploiting them. We report upon the strategies used in the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http://www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardized framework-based electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data indexing service, based on e-Science middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

Data curation standards and the messy world of social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources – data about the characteristics of different occupational positions – play a unique role in social science research. They are of relevance across diverse research disciplines and in numerous disparate contexts. They are also very widely available, typically freely downloadable from research-oriented academic web-pages. But they are also one of the most uncoordinated types of information resource that social scientists routinely come across. In this paper we describe issues in curating occupational information resources during the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http:/www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardised framework electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data-indexing service, premised upon eScience middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

Scottish social survey data, past, present and future – does Scotland need its own data strategy?

This is the final version of the article. The article was first published in Radical Statistics by the Radical Statistics Group and is available online via the link in this recordThe UK now has a National Data Strategy. In this paper we explore whether or not in addition Scotland needs its own specific data strategy. This paper is intended to be a ‘think piece’ or critical essay, the motivation being to encourage debate about Scottish social survey data. Post-devolution, with the emergence of new forms of governance and new institutional arrangements, the political desire to research Scotland in the 21st Century has been brought into sharper resolution. Social and economic life in Scotland shares both similarities and differences with life south of the border. It is important that these characteristics are correctly identified with empirical data rather than simply being assumed. Scotland is a small territory with a good social science tradition and a healthy research sector. There is an increasing amount of survey data collecting measures relating to social and economic life in Scotland. These include both United Kingdom or Great Britain based surveys with a Scottish component, and Scotland focussed surveys. In this paper we outline a number of key issues relating to Scottish social science data resources. We provide a number of critical recommendations for social science data collection in Scotland. Finally, we examine the potential benefits of a comprehensive data strategy

The role of contrast sensitivity in global motion processing deficits in the elderly

This study compared the effects of age on the perception of translational, radial, and rotational global motion patterns. Motion coherence thresholds were measured for judging the direction of each motion type as a function of contrast (visibility) and temporal sampling rate in young and elderly participants. Coherence thresholds decreased as dot contrast increased asymptoting at high dot contrasts but were higher in elderly compared to young participants. This equated to global motion impairment in the elderly of a factor of around 2, characterized by a shift of the threshold vs. contrast function along the horizontal axes (dot contrast). The effect of contrast interacted with the temporal sampling rate. Old participants were deleteriously affected by reduced temporal sampling particularly at low contrasts. The findings suggest that age- related changes in global motion perception may be driven principally by deficits in contrast encoding, rather than by deficits in motion integration and suggest a role for increased internal noise in the older visual system

The concealed middle? An exploration of ordinary young people and school GCSE subject area attainment

PublishedJournal ArticleThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.© 2015 Taylor & Francis.The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is the standard qualification undertaken by pupils in England and Wales at the end of year 11 (age 15–16). GCSEs continue to play an important and central role in young people's educational and employment pathways. Within the sociology of youth, there has been recent interest in documenting the lives and educational experiences of ‘ordinary’ young people. In this paper, we analyse school GCSE attainment at the subject area level. This is an innovative approach and our motivation is to explore substantively interesting patterns of attainment that might be concealed in analyses of overall attainment or attainment within individual subjects. We analyse data from the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales using a latent variable approach. The modelling process uncovered four distinctive latent educational groups. One latent group is characterised by high levels of overall attainment, whereas another latent group is characterised by poor GCSE performance. There are two latent groups with moderate or ‘middle’ levels of GCSE attainment. These two latent groups have similar levels of agglomerate attainment, but one group performs better in science and the other performs better in arts GCSEs

Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Studies on Poly(Hydroxybutyrate-co-Hydroxyhexanoate) / Titanium Dioxide Composites

Bacteria and viruses causes food poisoning outbreaks. To prevent this, antimicrobial films can be used as packaging material or coatings on food processing surfaces. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) irradiated with ultraviolet light produces free radicals that can destroy organic contaminants and bacteria. U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Pharmacopeia approves TiO2 as a colorant. Polyhydroxybutyrate is a bio-based polymer. Blends of this polymer are being studied for implants and drug delivery. TiO2 immobilized to blends of this polymer may be suitable in food processing. Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyhexanoate) and titanium oxide (PHB-HH/TiO2) composite films were irradiated under fluorescent and blacklight lamps. The results show that they can be activated by both lamps. However, the photocatalytic activity is higher in blacklight. The films were irradiated in the presence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Both had a 0 log count when a 3% PHB-HH/TiO2 composite film was exposed to blacklight for 5 h. Exposure to fluorescent light showed some antibacterial activity. The photocatalytic activity of the films was enough to inhibit bacterial growth when exposed to fluorescent lamps. PHB-HH/TiO2 composite films have photocatalytic and antibacterial properties when exposed to fluorescent and blacklight lamps. The films can be used in the food industry

Social class inequalities in Scottish school qualifications

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordThe qualifications that British children gain at school are strong determinants of their futures in both education and the labour market. Studies of the relationship between parental social class and children’s outcomes in school qualifications report the general finding that pupils from families in less advantaged social classes on average have poorer outcomes. This paper investigates social class inequalities in Scottish school qualifications. Scottish data provide an interesting case study because Scotland has its own set of school qualifications and has a widespread system of comprehensive secondary schools that do not select children through academic testing. This paper is innovative because it analyses new linked administrative data on individual pupils from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) with parental information from the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS). Standard Grades were the main qualifications undertaken by Scottish pupils at the end of compulsory schooling. We present multivariate analysis of pupils’ overall school Standard Grade scores. We find an overall negative relationship between parental social class and children’s outcomes in Scottish school qualifications. Pupils from families in less advantaged social classes, on average, have lower overall Standard Grade scores. A more nuanced finding that emerges from the analyses is that there is a cleft between the Standard Grade scores of children from families in the white and the blue collar classes. We conjecture that the complexity of parents jobs, especially in the more advantaged social classes, fosters forms of family and home life that are conducive to children having more favorable outcomes in school qualifications. Standard Grades have been replaced by the ‘National’ qualifications framework. Changes in the structure and content of the curriculum and assessment could affect the pattern of parental social class inequalities. Further detailed empirical analyses of social class inequalities in outcomes in Scottish school qualifications is therefore imperative.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Shared Care, Elder and Family Member Skills Used to Manage Burden

Aim. The aim of this paper is to further develop the construct of Shared Care by comparing and contrasting it to related research, and to show how the construct can be used to guide research and practice. Background. While researchers have identified negative outcomes for family caregivers caused by providing care, less is known about positive aspects of family care for both members of a family dyad. Understanding family care relationships is important to nurses because family participation in the care of chronically ill elders is necessary to achieve optimal outcomes from nursing interventions. A previous naturalistic inquiry identified a new construct, Shared Care, which was used to describe a family care interaction that contributed to positive care outcomes. Methods. A literature review was carried out using the databases Medline, CINAHL, and Psych-info and the keywords home care, care receiver, disability, family, communication, decision-making and reciprocity. The results of the review were integrated to suggest how Shared Care could be used to study care difficulties and guide interventions. Results. The literature confirmed the importance of dyad relationships in family care. Shared Care extended previous conceptualizations of family care by capturing three critical components: communication, decision-making, and reciprocity. Shared Care provides a structure to expand the conceptualization of family care to include both members of a care dyad and account for positive and negative aspects of care. Conclusions. The extended view provided by the construct of Shared Care offers practitioners and scholars tools to use in the context of our ageing population to improve the effectiveness of family care relationships