If you build it, will they come? How researchers perceive and use web 2.0

Over the past 15 years, the web has transformed the way we seek and use information. In the last 5 years in particular a set of innovative techniques – collectively termed ‘web 2.0’ – have enabled people to become producers as well as consumers of information. It has been suggested that these relatively easy-to-use tools, and the behaviours which underpin their use, have enormous potential for scholarly researchers, enabling them to communicate their research and its findings more rapidly, broadly and effectively than ever before. This report is based on a study commissioned by the Research Information Network to investigate whether such aspirations are being realised. It seeks to improve our currently limited understanding of whether, and if so how, researchers are making use of various web 2.0 tools in the course of their work, the factors that encourage or inhibit adoption, and researchers’ attitudes towards web 2.0 and other forms of communication. Context: How researchers communicate their work and their findings varies in different subjects or disciplines, and in different institutional settings. Such differences have a strong influence on how researchers approach the adoption – or not – of new information and communications technologies. It is also important to stress that ‘web 2.0’ encompasses a wide range of interactions between technologies and social practices which allow web users to generate, repurpose and share content with each other. We focus in this study on a range of generic tools – wikis, blogs and some social networking systems – as well as those designed specifically by and for people within the scholarly community. Method: Our study was designed not only to capture current attitudes and patterns of adoption but also to identify researchers’ needs and aspirations, and problems that they encounter. We began with an online survey, which collected information about researchers’ information gathering and dissemination habits and their attitudes towards web 2.0. This was followed by in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a stratified sample of survey respondents to explore in more depth their experience of web 2.0, including perceived barriers as well as drivers to adoption. Finally, we undertook five case studies of web 2.0 services to investigate their development and adoption across different communities and business models. Key findings: Our study indicates that a majority of researchers are making at least occasional use of one or more web 2.0 tools or services for purposes related to their research: for communicating their work; for developing and sustaining networks and collaborations; or for finding out about what others are doing. But frequent or intensive use is rare, and some researchers regard blogs, wikis and other novel forms of communication as a waste of time or even dangerous. In deciding if they will make web 2.0 tools and services part of their everyday practice, the key questions for researchers are the benefits they may secure from doing so, and how it fits with their use of established services. Researchers who use web 2.0 tools and services do not see them as comparable to or substitutes for other channels and means of communication, but as having their own distinctive role for specific purposes and at particular stages of research. And frequent use of one kind of tool does not imply frequent use of others as well

Standardisation and innovation

The paper discusses the relations that exist between standards on the one hand, and innovation and implementation on the other. We will argue that these activities must not be considered separately, especially since standards-based components are going to play an increasingly important role in implementation processes

Pick-n-mix approaches to technology supply : XML as a standard “glue” linking universalised locals

We report on our experiences in a participatory design project to develop ICTs in a hospital ward working with deliberate self-harm patients. This project involves the creation and constant re-creation of sociotechnical ensembles in which XML-related technologies may come to play vital roles. The importance of these technologies arises from the aim underlying the project of creating systems that are shaped in locally meaningful ways but reach beyond their immediate context to gain wider importance. We argue that XML is well placed to play the role of "glue" that binds multiple such systems together. We analyse the implications of localised systems development for technology supply and argue that inscriptions that are evident in XML-related standards are and will be very important for the uptake of XML technologies

Salafism, Wahhabism, and the Definition of Sunni Islam

My capstone deals with the historical definition of Sunni Islam, and how it has changed in approximately the past 200 years. Around 1800, Sunni Islam was pretty clearly defined by an adherence to one of four maddhabs, or schools of law: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools and are all based in nearly a millennium of legal scholarship. Since 1800, however, numerous reform movements have sprung up which disavow previous scholarship and interpret Islamic law their own way. However, certain reformist groups, such as Traditionalist Salafis and Wahhabis, claim that their version of Islam is the only “pure” form of Islam. Since Sunni Muslims lack consensus on what it means to be Sunni, Europeans are unable to receive a definition from Muslims themselves, leading Europeans to create stereotypes to fill in the blanks. I am making the claim that Salafis and Wahhabis owe their prominence to favorable geopolitical and historical circumstance, as opposed to being “true Sunni Islam”. This matters because some of the more intolerant impulses of these reform groups feed Western stereotypes about Islam. I refute both Salafi-Wahhabi claims to Islamic “purity” as well as Orientalist ideas of Islam present in the West

Response of the Sea Louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis Infestation Levels on Juvenile Wild Pink, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, and Chum, O. keta, Salmon to Arrival of Parasitized Wild Adult Pink Salmon

Recent recurring infestations of Sea Lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, on juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and subsequent annual declines of these stocks have made it imperative to identify the source of Sea Lice. While several studies now identify farm salmon populations as sources of Sea Louse larvae, it is unclear to what extent wild salmonid hosts also contribute Sea Lice. We measured Sea Louse numbers on adult Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) migrating inshore. We also measured Sea Louse numbers on wild juvenile Pink and Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) migrating to sea before the adults returned, and as the two age cohorts mingled. Adult Pink Salmon carried an average of 9.89 (SE 0.90) gravid lice per fish, and thus were capable of infecting the adjacent juveniles. Salinity and temperature remained favourable to Sea Louse reproduction throughout the study. However, all accepted measures of Sea Louse infestation failed to show significant increase on the juvenile salmon, either in overall abundance of Sea Lice or of the initial infective-stage juvenile lice, while the adult wild salmon were present in the study area. This study suggests that even during periods of peak interaction, wild adult salmon are not the primary source of the recent and unprecedented infestations of Sea Lice on juvenile Pacific Pink and Chum salmon in the inshore waters of British Columbia

First Report of a Sea Louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, Infestation on Juvenile Pink Salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, in Nearshore Habitat

High infestation rates of the Sea Louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) have been reported on juvenile salmonids in Europe since 1989; however, this species has not been reported on juvenile Pacific salmonids until now. Magnitude of Sea Lice infestation was examined in 2001 on juvenile Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) migrating through a British Columbia archipelago. On average, the 751 juvenile Pink Salmon sampled weighed 2.25 g (± 0.039 SE), were infected with 11.3 (± 0.41 SE) Sea Lice per fish and 6.1 (± 0.24SE) Sea Lice per gram host weight. Fully 75.0% of fish were infected at loads equivalent to or higher than the lethal limit reported for much larger Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) post-smolts. Abundance (Kruskal-Wallis statistic = 100.95, p<0.0001) and intensity (KW= 70.05, p<0.0001) of lice, and mean number of lice/g host weight (K-W= 112.23, p<0.0001) were significantly higher in juvenile Pink Salmon in close proximity to salmon farms, than in Pink Salmon distant from salmon farms

The use of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) within the homeless population: Motivations, harms and the implications for developing an appropriate response

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) have become increasingly associated with a range of physical, mental health and societal harms. In response, several countries have introduced legislation aimed at restricting the supply and use of SCRAs. While these legislative changes have led to a decrease in SCRA use within the general population, SCRAs remain popular within vulnerable populations, in particular the homeless. Drawing on 84 face-to-face interviews (with 53 homeless users of SCRAs, and 31 key stakeholders), this article presents the first in-depth qualitative study of SCRA use within the homeless population. It highlights the distinct set of motivations for SCRA use within this population, along with the specific harms associated with their use. In doing so, this article makes an important and timely contribution to the current evidence base and discourse on how governments and service providers should respond to SCRA use within the homeless population. The article concludes by arguing that the most appropriate way to address the continued use of SCRAs within the homeless population is through the development of a more appropriate service response rather than further legislative change

The Geography of Secession

Secessionist conflicts often begin in places abundant with resources and located far from the centers of state power. These factors make it easier for rebels to form a functional state within the borders of their territory following independence. Many regions that meet the necessary conditions for sovereign governance in the world, but there are few secessionist conflicts. This relative paucity of secessionist violence is the result of government preemption of potential separatist movements. The secessionist conflicts we do observe are the result of government failure to adapt to changes in outlying territories sufficiently quickly, allowing dissident groups to gain a foothold and initiate a secessionist campaign. In extreme cases, governments may relocate large populations of the dominant social group to minority territories to deter secession by diluting the minority's power locally. I test these arguments using cross-national geospatial data, and find that governments develop higher levels of state capacity in more governable, and thus more secession prone, regions. I derive empirical implications for government informational capability and conflict onset using an agent-based model. Qualitative case studies show that governments engage in demographic engineering when they fear secessionist ambitions, but highlight the risk of backlash sparking a low-level conflict. Taken together, these dynamics suggest a pattern where the rebel groups that do emerge are not the most capable of potential rebel groups as minorities that live in territories suited to secession are carefully surveilled and managed by governments. Information plays a central role in both explanations of how governments work to preempt conflict, and when these efforts fail. By focusing on the role of information, this dissertation deepens our understanding of conflict onset, while suggesting ways to improve our knowledge of conflict evolution and outcome. Improving information flows from minority group territories may reduce the risk of violent secessionist conflict.Doctor of Philosoph