Reproductive Justice URI

There are over 47,000 women enrolled in collegiate institutions across the state of Rhode Island, including 55% of the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) student body. In order to plan for the future, college women need information on the reproductive resources available to them to have autonomy in their decision-making about when or whether they want children. Under the current federal administration, women’s reproductive rights have been threatened, with legislators consistently calling to defund Planned Parenthood. On the state level, Rhode Island has received an “F” from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). This project seeks to empower college women at URI to access available resources and be aware of their rights and the political threats to them. During an educational event held at URI, students were presented with a comprehensive list of reproductive resources on campus and in the state, informed about federal and state policies being proposed, and viewed a documentary about reproductive justice. The history of reproductive rights in the U.S., the current policies that affect them, and the resources currently available to students at URI were researched. Pre- and post-tests measured the impact of the event on learning about reproductive rights and a policy brief outlining the findings was distributed to Rhode Island legislators

Enhanced Breastfeeding Support Using Video Education to Improve Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates in a Baby-Friendly Acute Care Facility

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) provides health benefits and is recommended by professional health organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, The World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthcare facilities support families to achieve EBF by educating clinicians and patients about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, providing prenatal education and hospital support to patients, and by achieving Baby-Friendly Designation through the Baby-Friendly USA, as endorsed by the World Health Organization/UNICEF. Most pregnant patients desire to exclusively breastfeed yet multiple barriers exist to achieve this goal. Evidence supports the use of video learning as an effective way to achieve learning goals. Encouraging postpartum patients to view breastfeeding educational videos after delivery to provide an extra educational layer of support during the postpartum phase found the videos to be a great resource, a good refresher, and helpful to achieve EBF

The use of microblogging for field-based scientific research

Documenting the context in which data are collected is an integral part of the scientific research lifecycle. In field-based research, contextual information provides a detailed description of scientific practices and thus enables data interpretation and reuse. For field data, losing contextual information often means losing the data altogether. Yet, documenting the context of distributed, collaborative, field-based research can be a significant challenge due to the unpredictable nature of real-world settings and to the high degree of variability in data collection methods and scientific practices of different researchers. In this article, we propose the use of microblogging as a mechanism to support collection, ingestion, and publication of contextual information about the variegated digital artifacts that are produced in field research. We perform interviews with scholars involved in field-based environmental and urban sensing research, to determine the extent of adoption of Twitter and similar microblogging platforms and their potential use for field-specific research applications. Based on the results of these interviews as well as participant observation of field activities, we present the design, development, and pilot evaluation of a microblogging application integrated with an existing data collection platform on a handheld device. We investigate whether microblogging accommodates the variable and unpredictable nature of highly mobile research and whether it represents a suitable mechanism to document the context of field research data early in the scientific information lifecycle.Comment: Proceedings of the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Science (HICSS-45 2012

Improving the Usability of Organizational Data Systems

For research data repositories, web interfaces are usually the primary, if not the only, method that data users have to interact with repository systems. Data users often search, discover, understand, access, and sometimes use data directly through repository web interfaces. Given that sub-par user interfaces can reduce the ability of users to locate, obtain, and use data, it is important to consider how repositories’ web interfaces can be evaluated and improved in order to ensure useful and successful user interactions. This paper discusses how usability assessment techniques are being applied to improve the functioning of data repository interfaces at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). At NCAR, a new suite of data system tools is being developed and collectively called the NCAR Digital Asset Services Hub (DASH). Usability evaluation techniques have been used throughout the NCAR DASH design and implementation cycles in order to ensure that the systems work well together for the intended user base. By applying user study, paper prototype, competitive analysis, journey mapping, and heuristic evaluation, the NCAR DASH Search and Repository experiences provide examples for how data systems can benefit from usability principles and techniques. Integrating usability principles and techniques into repository system design and implementation workflows helps to optimize the systems’ overall user experience

Integrin Signaling Regulates Blastocyst Adhesion to Fibronectin at Implantation: Intracellular Calcium Transients and Vesicle Trafficking in Primary Trophoblast Cells

AbstractAccumulating evidence indicates that the endometrial extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates trophoblast adhesion during mouse blastocyst implantation. In previous studies of adhesion-competent mouse blastocysts, we have demonstrated that integrin-mediated fibronectin (FN)-binding activity on the apical surface of trophoblast cells is initially low, but becomes strengthened after embryos are exposed to FN. In the present study, we have examined whether the ligand-induced upregulation of trophoblast adhesion to FN is mediated by integrin signaling. The strengthening of adhesion to FN required integrin ligation, which rapidly elevated cytoplasmic-free Ca2+. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ using BAPTA-AM, or inhibition of the Ca2+-dependent proteins, protein kinase C or calmodulin, significantly attenuated the effect of FN on binding activity. Furthermore, direct elevation of cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels with ionomycin upregulated FN-binding activity, demonstrating that Ca2+ signaling is required and sufficient for strong adhesion to FN. Ca2+ signaling may induce protein trafficking, a known requirement for ligand-induced upregulation of FN-binding activity. Indeed, intracellular vesicles accumulated in adhesion-competent blastocysts, but were absent after exposure to either FN or ionomycin. These findings suggest that, during implantation, contact between peri-implantation blastocysts and FN elevates intracellular Ca2+, which strengthens trophoblast adhesion to ECM through protein redistribution

Data Science as an Interdiscipline: Historical Parallels from Information Science

Considerable debate exists today on almost every facet of what data science entails. Almost all commentators agree, however, that data science must be characterized as having an interdisciplinary or metadisciplinary nature. There is interest from many stakeholders in formalizing the emerging discipline of data science by defining boundaries and core concepts for the field. This paper presents a comparison between the data science of today and the development and evolution of information science over the past century. Data science and information science present a number of similarities: diverse participants and institutions, contested disciplinary boundaries, and diffuse core concepts. This comparison is used to discuss three questions about data science going forward: (1) What will be the focal points around which data science and its stakeholders coalesce? (2) Can data science stakeholders use the lack of disciplinary clarity as a strength? (3) Can data science feed into an “empowering profession”? The historical comparison to information science suggests that the boundaries of data science will be a source of contestation and debate for the foreseeable future. Stakeholders face many questions as data science evolves with the inevitable societal and technological changes of the next few decades

Formalizing an Attribution Framework for Scientific Data/Software Products and Collections

As scientific research and development become more collaborative, the diversity of skills and expertise involved in producing scientific data are expanding as well. Since recognition of contribution has significant academic and professional impact for participants in scientific projects, it is important to integrate attribution and acknowledgement of scientific contributions into the research and data lifecycle. However, defining and clarifying contributions and the relationship of specific individuals and organizations can be challenging, especially when balancing the needs and interests of diverse partners. Designing an implementation method for attributing scientific contributions within complex projects that can allow ease of use and integration with existing documentation formats is another crucial consideration. To provide a versatile mechanism for organizing, documenting, and storing contributions to different types of scientific projects and their related products, an attribution and acknowledgement matrix and XML schema have been created as part of the Attribution and Acknowledgement Content Framework (AACF). Leveraging the taxonomies of contribution roles and types that have been developed and published previously, the authors consolidated 16 contribution types that could be considered and used when accrediting team member’s contributions. Using these contribution types, specific information regarding the contributing organizations and individuals can be documented using the AACF. This paper provides the background and motivations for creating the current version of the AACF Matrix and Schema, followed by demonstrations of the process and the results of using the Matrix and the Schema to record the contribution information of different sample datasets. The paper concludes by highlighting the key feedback and features to be examined in order to improve the next revisions of the Matrix and the Schema.

Recognizing the Diversity of Contributions: A Case Study for Framing Attribution and Acknowledgement for Scientific Data

As scientific data volumes, format types, and sources increase rapidly with the invention and improvement of scientific capabilities, the resulting datasets are becoming more complex to manage as well. One of the significant management challenges is pulling apart the individual contributions of specific people and organizations within large, complex projects. This is important for two aspects: 1) assigning responsibility and accountability for scientific work, and 2) giving professional credit to individuals (e.g. hiring, promotion, and tenure) who work within such large projects. This paper aims to review the extant practice of data attribution and how it may be improved. Through a case study of creating a detailed attribution record for a climate model dataset, the paper evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the current data attribution method and proposes an alternative attribution framework accordingly. The paper concludes by demonstrating that, analogous to acknowledging the different roles and responsibilities shown in movie credits, the methodology developed in the study could be used in general to identify and map out the relationships among the organizations and individuals who had contributed to a dataset.  As a result, the framework could be applied to create data attribution for other dataset types beyond climate model datasets.