Application Development in The Social Computing Non-Profit Sector: Motivating and Managing Volunteer Developers

This paper examines the volunteer developers contributing to the on-line microfinance site, Kiva, to provide understanding of issues related to motivating and managing volunteer developers in social computing non-profits

Target Framework for Sustainable Deployment of Welfare Technology in Eldercare

Building on existing research and experiences regarding the use of supportive and assistive technology -- called welfare technology -- in elderly care, we have developed a framework to represent a holistic view of the complex tangle of factors contributing to the sustainable integration of these technologies into the elder care context. The framework is described here for the purpose of initiating a conversation regarding the framework with interested researchers. We will also conduct discussions with managers, caregivers, and other stakeholders involved in welfare technology deployment in eldercare in Sweden to obtain their feedback on the framework. Our ultimate goal with the framework is to provide general guidelines that municipalities and care organizations can use to improve the quality of life for elderly citizens through the successful selection, rollout and use of welfare technology that meets the needs not only of the elderly citizens needing support but also of the care providers and organizations

Technology to Support Children\u27s Social Care: Opportunities and Challenges

The potential for information and communication technology (ICT) to support the delivery of social services, and the possible benefits afforded, have been acknowledged in numerous studies. The many obstacles to the adoption and integration of ICT into social services have also been documented. This paper provides a summary of those issues as the backdrop to the description of a study conducted to understand the adoption of a specific technology (OmMej) in the context of children’s social care in Sweden. This study looks at the perceived benefits provided through the use of OmMej, particularly in terms of the opportunity for children to have a voice in their care and the impact on this technology on social work practice. The study also identifies barriers to the successful deployment of the tool, and some lessons learned that can inform other implementation efforts. drawing to explore international student experience in Scotland. Historically rich pictures are difficult to interpret and are often used to gain a holistic understanding of a system of concern and thus are disregarded in terms of providing in-depth qualitative data. We will explore the use of inter-coder content analysis to gain a deep understanding of group thinking. In the context of this study, using content analysis, our findings revealed a detailed understanding of Scottish culture and traditions from the perspective of international students. We determine that visuals have a vast capacity to communicate, irrespective of possible language, culture and education barriers, and thus offer unique insight into a complex system of stakeholder understanding

Increasing the Participation of Women in the Engineering and Technical Services Industries

© ASEE 2008Services have surpassed agriculture and manufacturing as the leading contributor to gross domestic product in the world today. As the global economy has become more integrated, and the demand for a workforce required to run service-focused organizations in an efficient manner grows, the level and variety of skills needed in this new service economy have also changed and grown. In particular, the growth rate of technology-driven service industries is significantly outpacing the growth in other serviceoriented sectors. It has been argued that women in general possess many characteristics that make them optimal candidates to fulfill this workforce gap. However, the percentage of women enrolled in engineering, technology and related programs have been dropping. This paper attempts to create an awareness of the skills and job roles required for future labor workforce demands in the engineering and technology services industry and argues that these current and future roles makes them more appealing to women

Rotational Variation of Daughter Species Production Rates in Comet 103P/Hartley: Implications for the Progeny of Daughter Species and the Degree of Chemical Heterogeneity

We present analysis of high spectral resolution optical spectra of Comet 103P/Hartley taken during its Fall 2010 apparition. These spectra include transitions belonging to CN, C2, CH, NH2, and OI. We measure production rates and mixing ratios from these spectra. We find evidence for large changes in production rates (factors of a few) over the course of a nucleus rotation, in agreement with other measurements. We also measure variability with rotational phase in the CN/H2O and C2/CN ratios, which has not been previously reported for any comet. There may also be variability in the NH2/H2O ratio with rotational phase, but this trend is not as clear as for CN/H2O. We interpret the changing mixing ratios as due to H2O and C2 being released primarily from the icy grain halo, while the CN parent molecule comes directly from the nucleus. There is evidence that the CH/CN ratio is higher pre-perihelion than post-perihelion. We conclude that the observed CN and NH2 abundances are consistent with HCN and NH3 being the dominant parent molecules for these species. The C2 and CH abundances are higher than those of candidate parent molecules (C2H2 and CH4 respectively), so there must be another source for these molecules in 103P's coma. Carbonaceous dust grains could serve as this source

Designing comparative effectiveness trials of surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation: Experience of the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network

ObjectiveSince the introduction of the cut-and-sew Cox maze procedure for atrial fibrillation, there has been substantial innovation in techniques for ablation. Use of alternative energy sources for ablation simplified the procedure and has resulted in dramatic increase in the number of patients with atrial fibrillation treated by surgical ablation. Despite its increasingly widespread adoption, there is lack of rigorous clinical evidence to establish this procedure as an effective clinical therapy.MethodsThis article describes a comparative effectiveness randomized trial, supported by the Cardiothoracic Surgical Clinical Trials Network, of surgical ablation with left atrial appendage closure versus left atrial appendage closure alone in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation undergoing mitral valve surgery. Nested within this trial is a further randomized comparison of 2 different lesions sets: pulmonary vein isolation and the full maze lesion set.ResultsThis article addresses trial design challenges, including how best to characterize the target population, operationalize freedom from atrial fibrillation as a primary end point, account for the impact of antiarrhythmic drugs, and measure and analyze secondary end points, such as postoperative atrial fibrillation load.ConclusionsThis article concludes by discussing how insights that emerge from this trial may affect surgical practice and guide future research in this area

Identification of PKD1L1 Gene Variants in Children with the Biliary Atresia Splenic Malformation Syndrome

Biliary atresia (BA) is the most common cause of end‐stage liver disease in children and the primary indication for pediatric liver transplantation, yet underlying etiologies remain unknown. Approximately 10% of infants affected by BA exhibit various laterality defects (heterotaxy) including splenic abnormalities and complex cardiac malformations — a distinctive subgroup commonly referred to as the biliary atresia splenic malformation (BASM) syndrome. We hypothesized that genetic factors linking laterality features with the etiopathogenesis of BA in BASM patients could be identified through whole exome sequencing (WES) of an affected cohort. DNA specimens from 67 BASM subjects, including 58 patient‐parent trios, from the NIDDK‐supported Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN) underwent WES. Candidate gene variants derived from a pre‐specified set of 2,016 genes associated with ciliary dysgenesis and/or dysfunction or cholestasis were prioritized according to pathogenicity, population frequency, and mode of inheritance. Five BASM subjects harbored rare and potentially deleterious bi‐allelic variants in polycystin 1‐like 1, PKD1L1, a gene associated with ciliary calcium signaling and embryonic laterality determination in fish, mice and humans. Heterozygous PKD1L1 variants were found in 3 additional subjects. Immunohistochemical analysis of liver from the one BASM subject available revealed decreased PKD1L1 expression in bile duct epithelium when compared to normal livers and livers affected by other non‐cholestatic diseases. Conclusion WES identified bi‐allelic and heterozygous PKD1L1 variants of interest in 8 BASM subjects from the ChiLDReN dataset. The dual roles for PKD1L1 in laterality determination and ciliary function suggest that PKD1L1 is a new, biologically plausible, cholangiocyte‐expressed candidate gene for the BASM syndrome

Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study in NMOSD.

Objective: To develop a resource of systematically collected, longitudinal clinical data and biospecimens for assisting in the investigation into neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Methods: To illustrate its research-enabling purpose, epidemiologic patterns and disease phenotypes were assessed among enrolled subjects, including age at disease onset, annualized relapse rate (ARR), and time between the first and second attacks. Results: As of December 2017, the Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study (CIRCLES) had enrolled more than 1,000 participants, of whom 77.5% of the NMOSD cases and 71.7% of the controls continue in active follow-up. Consanguineous relatives of patients with NMOSD represented 43.6% of the control cohort. Of the 599 active cases with complete data, 84% were female, and 76% were anti-AQP4 seropositive. The majority were white/Caucasian (52.6%), whereas blacks/African Americans accounted for 23.5%, Hispanics/Latinos 12.4%, and Asians accounted for 9.0%. The median age at disease onset was 38.4 years, with a median ARR of 0.5. Seropositive cases were older at disease onset, more likely to be black/African American or Hispanic/Latino, and more likely to be female. Conclusions: Collectively, the CIRCLES experience to date demonstrates this study to be a useful and readily accessible resource to facilitate accelerating solutions for patients with NMOSD