From data to knowledge: Tableau dashboards as boundary objects in the knowledge ecology of a university

Information dashboards are increasingly important tools for organisations, helping them exploit data as an asset and make informed decisions. Existing visualisation design research stemming from the cognitive and perception sciences has tended to focus on the cognitive augmenting benefits of information visualizations for the individual in trying to accomplish a task, and make recommendations for design based on perceptual and cognitive principles. However, understanding the use to which information visualisations (in this case dashboards) are put in the management and operations of a large hierarchical bureaucracy that typify the modern organisation responding to complex and dynamic environments, is important for gaining insights that will guide their design, adoption and adaption in these organisations. An ethnographic inspired study was performed at a University who were in the process of adopting Tableau as a management reporting tool, during a period in which there were significant changes to HE environment. The study reports on the evolution of the dashboards, as mediating artefacts, in which the social process of designing takes place. Significantly, allowing communities of knowing to be intimately involved in the building of their own dashboards (through the concept of self-service) allows the dashboards to support the social sense-making roles of “perspective making and perspective taking”. The extent to which the dashboards are able to achieve this is the extent to which they are deemed useful in transforming data into effective actionable knowledge

Taking up the Slack: Lessons from a Cap-and-Trade Program in Chicago

The Emissions Reduction Market System (ERMS), an emissions-trading program for volatile organic materials (VOMs) in Chicago, Illinois, has been characterized by emissions significantly below the annual allocation of emission allowances, allowance prices much lower than predicted, limited trading, and emission allowances that expire unused. Essentially, it appears that a fundamental prerequisite for a tradable allowance program is missing—there is no scarcity of allowances. We evaluate a variety of hypotheses that may explain why the ERMS cap does not appear to be affecting abatement behavior and identify three that contributed to the lack of scarcity in the ERMS program: (1) a baseline process that inflated the cap; (2) hazardous air pollutant regulations that contributed to VOM reductions at some sources; and (3) numerous facility shutdowns. We conclude that the ERMS experience illustrates the inherent unpredictability of economic, regulatory, and other factors when setting an emissions target; a conclusion that resonates with the recent experience of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. This argues for gathering reliable emissions data, developing sophisticated emissions projections, and making transparent assumptions about the impacts of other policies and regulations during the program planning and design phase. However, even with all these attributes, it is still difficult to anticipate every possible outcome. Thus, it is desirable to have robust mechanisms to address the uncertainties of emissions-trading markets and to make midcourse corrections if necessary. Finally, we offer some comments on how to think about the results of ERMS versus a hypothetical command and control program that might have been designed to reach the same environmental outcome.emissions-trading, ERMS, European Union, climate change

The Goldfish as a Model for Studying Neuroestrogen Synthesis, Localization, and Action in the Brain and Visual System

Organizational and activational effects of estrogen (E) in the central nervous system (CNS) are exerted directly by circulating E and indirectly after aromatization of circulating androgen to E in the brain itself. Understanding an environmental chemical's ability to disrupt E-dependent neural processes, therefore, requires attention to both pathways. Because aromatase (Aro) is highly expressed in teleost brain, when compared to mammals and other vertebrates, fish are technically advantageous for localization and regulation studies and may also provide a model in which the functional consequences of brain-derived (neuro-)E synthesis are exaggerated. Recently, Aro was immunolocalized in cell bodies and fiber projections of second- and third-order neurons of the goldfish retina and in central visual processing areas. Authentic Aro enzyme activity was verified biochemically, suggesting a heretofore unrecognized role of sex steroids in the visual system. Initial studies show that in vivo treatment with aromatizable androgen or E increases calmodulin synthesis and calmodulin protein in retina and also affects retinal protein and DNA. Whether there are related changes in the processing of visual information that is essential for seasonal reproduction or in the generative and regenerative capacity of the goldfish visual system requires further investigation. IMAGES.National Science Foundation (DCB8916809

Cut-off values of distal forearm bone density for the diagnosis of central osteoporosis in black postmenopausal South African women

Background: The objective of this study was to establish a triage cut-off point or threshold for peripheral bone mineral density (BMD), applicable to black postmenopausal women, and that could be used as a screening method to differentiate between women with normal BMD, and those with possible central osteoporosis. This was a cross-sectional study design conducted in the North West province. Central and peripheral BMD was measured in 184 black, urban postmenopausal women.Method: Receiver operating curves (ROC) analysis was used to establish cut-off points. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, odds ratios and likelihood ratios were determined.Results: The results showed a prevalence rate of 41.3% for central osteoporosis. The area under the curve (AUC) for osteoporosis at the hip was 0.818, and for the spine, it was 0.771. Using the optimum cut-off point (0.371 g/cm2), our results showed a misclassification rate of ≈ 49% for spine osteoporosis, and a negative predictive value of 0.825. Women who had a forearm BMD below this threshold were ~10 times more likely to have osteoporosis of the spine.Conclusion: We recommend using 0.371 g/cm2 as a cut-off point to differentiate between women who have normal BMD, and those with possible osteoporosis of the spine

Corpus-based translation research: its development and implications for general, literary and Bible translation

Corpus-based translation research emerged in the late 1990s as a new area of research in the discipline of translation studies. It is informed by a specific area of linguistics known as corpus linguistics which involves the analysis of large corpora of authentic running text by means of computer software. Within linguistics, this methodology has revolutionised lexicographic practices and methods of language teaching. In translation studies this kind of research involves using computerised corpora to study translated text, not in terms of its equivalence to source texts, but as a valid object of study in its own right. Corpus-based research in translation is concerned with revealing both the universal and the specific features of translation, through the interplay of theoretical constructs and hypotheses, variety of data, novel descriptive categories and a rigorous, flexible methodology, which can be applied to inductive and deductive research, as well as product- and process-oriented studies. In this article an overview is given of the research that has led to the formation of a new subdiscipline in translation studies, called Corpus-based Translation Studies or CTS. I also demonstrate how CTS tools and techniques can be used for the analysis of general and literary translations and therefore also for Bible translations. (Acta Theologica, Supplementum 2, 2002: 70-106

Understanding the Role of Attorneys in Plea Bargaining

Plea bargaining is the primary case resolution tool in the United States court system, but most plea bargaining occurs outside the courtroom and off the record. As a result, researchers have limited knowledge of how the process occurs. Given the centrality of their roles to plea bargaining, criminal defense and prosecuting attorneys likely are influential in determining plea outcomes. My colleagues and I conducted four studies across three articles to examine the role of attorneys in plea bargaining. In the first article (Chapter 2), we interviewed 23 attorneys about plea bargaining to lay foundational knowledge about the charging, negotiation, communication, and acceptance or rejection procedures. In the second article (Chapter 3), we conducted two experiments of mock defendant plea decision-making. In Experiment 1, undergraduate participants (N = 188) were assigned a condition in a 2 (Guilt status: Innocent vs. Guilty) × 2 (Crime: Robbery vs. Furnishing drugs) design to examine the effects of guilt status on adopted frame, subjective estimates of conviction probability, and plea decisions. In Experiment 2, undergraduate participants (N = 335) were assigned a condition in a 2 (Guilt status: Innocent vs. Guilty) × 2 (Frame: Gain vs. Loss) × 2 (Crime: Robbery vs. Furnishing drugs) design, in which we directly manipulated the framing of the plea offer. In both experiments, probability of conviction estimates partially mediated the relationship between guilt and plea decisions, and frame directly predicted plea decisions. In the third article (Chapter 4), we studied the effects of anchoring and presumed defendant guilt status on defense attorney plea recommendations. Defense attorneys recruited from CloudResearch (N = 183) and a snowball sample (N = 352) completed an experimental survey. The findings showed no effect of anchor on attorneys’ plea sentence recommendations, but higher defendant guiltiness ratings predicted longer sentencing recommendations. Overall, the findings demonstrate the importance of guilt and legal and extralegal factors in both understanding how attorneys make plea bargaining decisions and in improving decision-making models

Spoorweë en hawens in Afrika met spesiale verwysing na Suid-Afrika

Die mens en alle aardse goedere is uiteraard gebonde aan ruimte en tyd. Hierdie gebondenheid beperk die maatskaplike, kulturele en ekonomiese ontwikkeling van die mens en dit is die taak en funksie van vervoer om hierdie gebondenheid te oorbrug deur mense en goedere van een plek na ’n ander te verskuif in die mins moontlike tyd. Uit die drang van die mens tot verbetering van homself en sy omgewing het dan ook die moderne vervoerstelsels van die wêreld ontstaan