Outlining the way ahead in computational communication science: an introduction to the IJoC special section on „Computational Methods for Communication Science: Toward a Strategic Roadmap“

Over the past two decades, processes of digitalization and mediatization have shaped the communication landscape and have had a strong impact on various facets of communication. The digitalization of communication results in completely new forms of digital traces that make communication processes observable in new and unprecedented ways. Although many scholars in the social sciences acknowledge the chances and requirements of the digital revolution in communication, they are also facing fundamental challenges in implementing successful research programs, strategies, and designs that are based on computational methods and “big data.” This Special Section aims at bringing together seminal perspectives on challenges and chances of computational communication science (CCS). In this introduction, we highlight the impulses provided by the research presented in the Special Section, discuss the most pressing challenges in the context of CCS, and sketch a potential roadmap for future research in this field

Remote work as a universal solution for companies? A qualitative study of German companies' employer branding between demands and challenges of implementing work-family-flexibility measures

This research project examined the role of remote work as part of familyoriented employer branding. The literature review indicates that there is no underlying research connecting the topics of remote work with strategic family-oriented employer branding. To gain insights into this rather unexplored topic, this project conducted 17 semi-structured guided interviews with interviewees from both Communication and Human Resource Departments representing different industries and companies of various sizes. The analysis and evaluation showed that there is no strategic connection between the use of remote work in employer branding and family issues within the companies yet. The usage of family-oriented measures depends on multiple factors and puts companies through a serious stress test. Over the last years, the demand for remote work increased significantly. This trend leads to new challenges and issues companies need to tackle. In summary, remote work can be viewed as an important part in a set of family-oriented employer branding measures. The future direction of this topic is uncertain and requires further research

Media multitasking in adolescence

Media use has been on the rise in adolescents overall, and in particular, the amount of media multitasking—multiple media consumed simultaneously, such as having a text message conversation while watching TV—has been increasing. In adults, heavy media multitasking has been linked with poorer performance on a number of laboratory measures of cognition, but no relationship has yet been established between media-multitasking behavior and real-world outcomes. Examining individual differences across a group of adolescents, we found that more frequent media multitasking in daily life was associated with poorer performance on statewide standardized achievement tests of math and English in the classroom, poorer performance on behavioral measures of executive function (working memory capacity) in the laboratory, and traits of greater impulsivity and lesser growth mindset. Greater media multitasking had a relatively circumscribed set of associations, and was not related to behavioral measures of cognitive processing speed, implicit learning, or manual dexterity, or to traits of grit and conscientiousness. Thus, individual differences in adolescent media multitasking were related to specific differences in executive function and in performance on real-world academic achievement measures: More media multitasking was associated with poorer executive function ability, worse academic achievement, and a reduced growth mindset.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

Do weaner pigs need in-feed antibiotics to ensure good health and welfare?

peer-reviewedThis study was part of the WELPIG project which was funded from internal Teagasc funds. During the writing of this paper JACD’s position was funded by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine under the Research Stimulus Fund (PathSurvPigs 14/S/832) as part of the National Development PlanAntibiotics (AB) are used in intensive pig production systems to control infectious diseases and they are suspected to be a major source of antibiotic resistance. Following the ban on AB use as growth promoters in the EU, their prophylactic use in-feed is now under review. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of removing prophylactic in-feed AB on pig health and welfare indicators. Every Monday for six weeks, a subset of 70 pigs were weaned, tagged and sorted into two groups of 35 pigs according to weight (9.2 ± 0.6 kg). AB were removed from the diet of one group (NO, n=6) and maintained in the other group (AB, n=6) for nine weeks. Ten focal pigs were chosen per group. After c. five weeks each group was split into two pens of c.17 pigs for the following 4 weeks. Data were recorded weekly. Skin, tail, ear, flank and limb lesions of focal pigs were scored according to severity. The number of animals per group affected by health deviations was also recorded. The number of fights and harmful behaviours (ear, tail bites) per group was counted during 3×5min observations once per week. Data were analysed using mixed model equations and binomial logistic regression. At group level, AB pigs were more likely to have tail (OR=1.70; P=0.05) but less likely to have ear lesions than NO pigs (OR=0.46; P<0.05). The number of ear bites (21.4±2.15 vs. 17.3±1.61; P<0.05) and fights (6.91±0.91 vs. 5.58±0.72; P=0.09) was higher in AB than in NO pigs. There was no effect of treatment on health deviations and the frequency of these was low. Removing AB from the feed of weaner pigs had minimal effects on health and welfare indicators

Differential effects of socioeconomic status on working and procedural memory systems

While prior research has shown a strong relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and working memory performance, the relation between SES and procedural (implicit) memory remains unknown. Convergent research in both animals and humans has revealed a fundamental dissociation, both behaviorally and neurally, between a working memory system that depends on medial temporal-lobe structures and the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) vs. a procedural memory system that depends on the basal ganglia. Here, we measured performance in adolescents from lower- and higher-SES backgrounds on tests of working memory capacity (complex working memory span) and procedural memory (probabilistic classification) and their hippocampal, DLPFC, and caudate volumes. Lower-SES adolescents had worse working memory performance and smaller hippocampal and DLPFC volumes than their higher-SES peers, but there was no significant difference between the lower- and higher-SES groups on the procedural memory task or in caudate volumes. These findings suggest that SES may have a selective influence on hippocampal-prefrontal-dependent working memory and little influence on striatal-dependent procedural memory

Zika Virus: Infectious Process and Public Health Response

The Zika virus has become a growing concern as a global pandemic. Since being identified in Uganda in 1947, the virus has spread around the world, recently emerging in South America with a great impact on Brazil. As of 2016, Zika has made its appearance in the United States and is now actively being transmitted in Florida. The virus is a mosquito-vectored flavivirus primarily transmitted by the Aedes mosquito which infects a human through biting. Transmission through sexual intercourse is also possible as well as transmission from a pregnant woman to her fetus. This latter form of transmission presents the primary problem with the Zika virus; transmission to the fetus can cause microcephaly as well as other brain and developmental problems. Proper precautions should be taken based on these identified modes of transmission. Symptoms of Zika are similar to flu-like symptoms, such as low-grade fever, muscle pain and headache. About 20 percent of patients that come in contact with the Zika virus will originally present as asymptomatic and will not display symptoms until almost two weeks after initial contact with the virus. Zika virus can remain in the blood for about a week, but can remain in the semen for months. There are a number of methods used to detect the Zika virus—urine, blood or semen samples may be used to assess if a patient is infected

Ear, tail and skin lesions vary according to different production flows in a farrow-to-finish pig farm

peer-reviewedBackground Pig performance and risk of disease are associated with production flow. Given the link between health and welfare, it is likely that animal welfare indicators are also associated with production flow. This study investigated the association between production flow and tail, ear and skin lesions on a farm with a purported ‘all-in/all-out’ policy. This was an observational study whereby pigs were managed according to routine farm practice. A total of 1,016 pigs born within 1 week from the same batch were followed through the production stages and the presence or absence of welfare indicators was recorded at 4, 7, 9, 12, 16 and 24 weeks of age. Three production flows were retrospectively identified: flow 1 = ‘normal’ pigs that advanced through the production stages together ‘on time’, flow 2 = pigs delayed from advancing from the 1st to the 2nd nursery stage by 1 week and flow 3 = pigs delayed from advancing through the production stages by > 1 week. A nested case control design was applied by matching pigs by sow parity, number of born alive and birth weight. Results The presence of ear lesions was 4.5 less likely in pigs in flow 2 and 2.9 times less likely in pigs in flow 3 (P < 0.001) compared to pigs in flow 1. Pigs in flow 3 were 2.2 more likely to have tail and 1.6 times more likely to have ear lesions (P < 0.001) compared to pigs in flow 2. Pigs in flow 2 were less likely to have tail lesions compared with pigs in flow 1 (P < 0.05). Differences between production flows for the risk of skin lesions varied according to age (P < 0.05). Conclusion All production flows were associated with a high risk of lesions which raises concerns for pig welfare. However, risks for ear, tail and skin lesions varied according to each production flow likely due to the specific management practices inherent to each flow. Results from this study could be used to modify existing management practices, thus leading to improvements in animal welfare and possibly performance in intensive pig systems

Evaluierung im Radverkehr: Praxishandbuch

Die Bedeutung des Radverkehrs in Deutschland nimmt rasant zu. Immer mehr Menschen nutzen das Fahrrad für ihre Alltags- und Freizeitwege. Auch die Radverkehrsplanung erfährt einen stetig wachsenden Stellenwert mit dem Ziel, zusammenhängende Radverkehrsnetze zu schaffen. Den Kommunen und öffentlich-rechtlichen Körperschaften bieten sich neue Förder- und Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten für Infrastrukturmaßnahmen, aber auch für Kommunikations- und Marketingaktivitäten. Mit der zunehmenden Bedeutung des Radverkehrs und den damit verbundenen Aktivitäten der Radverkehrsförderung vor Ort stellt sich gleichzeitig die Frage nach dem Erfolg der Maßnahmen. Evaluationen können einen wichtigen Beitrag leisten, Stärken und Schwächen der Radverkehrsförderung zu erkennen und liefern Verwaltung und Politik eine wichtige Grundlage für zukünftige Entscheidungen. Gleichzeitig fördern sie die Transparenz und bieten Fakten und Argumente für die Kommunikationvon radverkehrsbezogenen Projekten. Evaluationen tragen somit effektiv zur Realisierung von fahrradfreundlichen Städten und Kommunen mit nachhaltigen Verkehrsstrukturen bei. Das vorliegende Praxishandbuch soll kommunalen Planerinnen und Planern sowie der interessierten Öffentlichkeit eine anwendungsfreundliche und niedrigschwellige Hilfestellung in der Evaluation von Radverkehrsprojekten liefern. Neben einer Anleitung zur Erstellung eines Evaluationskonzepts werden u.a. Erhebungsmethoden im Radverkehr vorgestellt und die Anwendung an Beispielen veranschaulicht. Das Praxishandbuch ist im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts RADeval an der Technischen Universität Dresden entstanden und wurde aus Mitteln zur Umsetzung des Nationalen Radverkehrsplans vom Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur gefördert.:0. Einleitung 0.1. Warum gibt es diesen Leitfaden? 0.2. Aufbau des Leitfadens 1. Evaluierung: grundlegende Begriffe und Abgrenzungen 1.1. Was steckt hinter dem Begriff „Evaluierung“? 1.2. Fokus der Evaluierung 1.3. Welchen Nutzen haben Evaluierungen? 2. Was ist eine Wirkungsevaluierung? 2.1. Was bedeutet „Wirkung“? 2.2. Einbindung einer Evaluierung in die Planung 3. Schritt für Schritt zum Evaluierungskonzept 3.1. Schritt 1: Analyse der Ausgangssituation 3.2. Schritt 2: Festlegung der Projektziele 3.3. Schritt 3: Beschreibung der Wirklogik eines Projekts 3.4. Schritt 4: Erarbeitung der Wirkungsindikatoren 3.5. Schritt 5: Auswahl des Erhebungsdesigns 3.6. Schritt 6: Planung der Erhebung 4. Erhebungsmethoden im Radverkehr 4.1. Zählungen zur Erhebung des Radverkehrsaufkommens 4.2. Messung von Geschwindigkeiten 4.3. Erhebung von Wartezeiten 4.4. Befragung von Radfahrenden 4.5. Methoden zur Erhebung und Bewertung der Verkehrssicherheit 4.6. Abschätzung der Wirkungen auf den Klimaschutz 4.7. Abschätzung der mit dem Radfahren verbundenen Gesundheitswirkungen 5. Evaluierung konkret – Praxisbeispiele 5.1. Beispiel für die Evaluierung von Strategien und Förderprogrammen 5.2. Beispiele für die Evaluierung von Baumaßnahmen 5.3. Beispiele für die Evaluierung von Service- und regulativen Maßnahmen 6. Weitere Ressourcen 6.1. Typische Ziele der Radverkehrsförderung 6.2. Prototypische Wirklogiken 6.3. Typische Kenngrößen von Erhebungen im Radverkehr 7. Literaturverzeichni

Stochastic Choice of Allelic Expression in Human Neural Stem Cells

Abstract Monoallelic gene expression, such as genomic imprinting, is well described. Less well-characterized are genes undergoing stochastic monoallelic expression (MA), where specific clones of cells express just one allele at a given locus. We performed genome-wide allelic expression assessment of human clonal neural stem cells derived from cerebral cortex, striatum, and spinal cord, each with differing genotypes. We assayed three separate clonal lines from each donor, distinguishing stochastic MA from genotypic effects. Roughly 2% of genes showed evidence for autosomal MA, and in about half of these, allelic expression was stochastic between different clones. Many of these loci were known neurodevelopmental genes, such as OTX2 and OLIG2. Monoallelic genes also showed increased levels of DNA methylation compared to hypomethylated biallelic loci. Identified monoallelic gene loci showed altered chromatin signatures in fetal brain, suggesting an in vivo correlate of this phenomenon. We conclude that stochastic allelic expression is prevalent in neural stem cells, providing clonal diversity to developing tissues such as the human brain.</jats:p

Delaying pigs from the normal production flow is associated with health problems and poorer performance

peer-reviewedBackground Delaying pigs from advancing through the production stages could have a negative impact on their health and performance. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible implications of delaying pigs from the normal production flow on pig health and performance in a farrow-to-finish commercial farm with a self-declared All-In/All-Out (AIAO) management. Results Three flows of pigs were defined, flow 1 (i.e. pigs that followed the normal production flow; 8 weeks in the nursery stage, 4 weeks in the growing stage and 8 weeks in the finisher stage), flow 2 (i.e. pigs delayed 1 week from advancing to the next production stage) and flow 3 (i.e. pigs delayed >1 week from advancing to the next production stage). Flow 3 included higher proportions of pigs from first parity sows and of lighter birth weights. When the 3 flows were matched by parity and birth weight, pigs in flow 2 were 3.8 times more likely to be lame prior to slaughter compared with pigs in flow 1. Similarly, pigs in flow 3 were more likely to be lame prior to slaughter, 4.5 times more likely to present pleurisy, 3.3 times more like to present pericarditis and 4.3 times more likely to have their heart condemned at slaughter compared with pigs in flow 1. Additionally, carcasses from pigs in flow 3 were 10 kg lighter compared with carcasses from pigs in flow 1. Conclusion Delayed pigs were more affected by disease and were lighter at slaughter. Besides animal welfare issues, these findings could represent considerable economic loses for pig producers. In practice, delaying pigs from the normal production flow translates into higher feeding costs, increase number of days to slaughter and increased labour requirements reducing production efficiency for the pig operation. In farrow-to-finish farms an ‘all-forward’ policy (i.e. no pig is left behind from stage to stage and a split marketing approach is applied when sending pigs to slaughter) might be more easily adhered to.This project was supported by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) grant 14/S/832. Alessia Diana was supported by the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Fund