Programming Visuals, Visualising Programs

This article examines the role of visualisations in astrophysics programming work, showing that visualisations are not only outputs for those producing them, but can help those developing them understand how to do their work. Studies of visualization in programming have mainly been of social and cultural factors influencing scientific research. We concentrate on the material aspects of scientific work, as of interest in their own right and on methodological grounds (since capturing the material practices of computer screen-work is an underexplored area). Using a ‘video-aided ethnographic’ method we analyse an episode of computational astrophysics involving the use of the Python programming language. We identify a selection of activities comprising the screen work of an astrophysics researcher to unpack how those activities contribute to the production of scientific knowledge

Have We Even Solved the First 'Big Data Challenge'?: Practical Issues Concerning Data Collection and Visual Representation for Social Media Analytics

Thanks to an influx of data collection and analytic software, harvesting and visualizing ‘big’ social media data1 is becoming increasingly feasible as a method for social science researchers. Yet while there is an emerging body of work utilizing social media as a data resource, there are a number of computational issues affecting data collection. These issues may problematize any conclusions we draw from our research work, yet for the large part, they remain hidden from the researcher’s view. We contribute towards the burgeoning literature which critically addresses various fundamental concerns with big data (see boyd and Crawford, 2012; Murthy, 2013; Rogers, 2013). However, rather than focusing on epistemological, political or theoretical issues — these areas are very ably accounted for by the authors listed above, and others — we engage with a different concern: how technical aspects of computational tools for capturing and handling social media data may impact our readings of it. This chapter outlines and explores two such technical issues as they occur for data taken from Twitter

Evaluation of Collaborative Consumption of Food Delivery Services Through Web Mining Techniques

Online food delivery services rely on urban transportation to alleviate customers' burden of traveling in highly dense cities. As new business models, these services exploit user-generated contents to promote collaborative consumption among its members. This study aims to evaluate the impact of traffic conditions (through the use of Google Maps API) on key performance indicators of online food delivery services (through the use of web scraping techniques to retrieve customer's ratings and the physical location of restaurants as provided by Facebook). From a collection of 19,934 possible routes between the physical location of 787 online providers and 4296 customers in Bogotá city, we found that traffic conditions exerted no practical effects on transactions volume and delivery time fulfillment, even though early deliveries showed a mild association with the number of comments provided by customers after receiving their orders at home.Los servicios de entrega de alimentos en línea dependen del transporte urbano para aliviar la carga de los clientes de viajar en ciudades muy densas. Como nuevos modelos de negocio, estos servicios explotan contenidos generados por los usuarios para promover el consumo colaborativo entre sus miembros. Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar el impacto de las condiciones del tráfico (mediante el uso de la API de Google Maps) en los indicadores clave de rendimiento de los servicios de entrega de alimentos en línea (mediante el uso de técnicas de raspado web para recuperar las calificaciones de los clientes y la ubicación física de los restaurantes según lo proporcionado por Facebook ). A partir de una colección de 19,934 rutas posibles entre la ubicación física de 787 proveedores en línea y 4296 clientes en la ciudad de Bogotá, encontramos que las condiciones del tráfico no ejercieron efectos prácticos sobre el volumen de transacciones y el cumplimiento del tiempo de entrega, aunque las entregas tempranas mostraron una asociación leve con el número. de los comentarios aportados por los clientes tras recibir sus pedidos en casa.Received 26 March 2018, Revised 30 April 2018, Accepted 5 May 2018, Available online 29 May 2018.Faculty of Psychology, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Bogotá, Colombia Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería Julio Garavito, Bogotá, Colombia Department of Sociology, Social Policy, and Criminology at University of Liverpool, UK Department of Computer Applications, Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur, Indi

A new hammer to crack an old nut : interspecific competitive resource capture by plants is regulated by nutrient supply, not climate

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Rethinking Engagement with Online News through Social and Visual Co-Annotation

The emergence of fake news, as well as filter bubbles and echo chambers, has precipitated renewed attention upon the ways in which news is consumed, shared and reflected and commented upon. While online news comments sections offer space for pluralist and critical discussion, studies suggest that this rarely occurs. Motivated by common practices of annotating, defacing and scribbling on physical newspapers, we built a mobile app – Newsr – that supports co-annotation, in the form of graffiti, on online news articles, which we evaluated in-the-wild for one month. We report on how the app encouraged participants to reflect upon the act of choosing news stories, whilst promoting exploration, the critique of content, and the exposure of bias within the writing. Our findings highlight how the re-design of interactive online news experiences can facilitate more directed, “in-the-moment” critique of online news stories as well as encourage readers to expand the range of news content they read

The impact of albendazole treatment on the incidence of viral- and bacterial-induced diarrhea in school children in southern Vietnam: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Anthelmintics are one of the more commonly available classes of drugs to treat infections by parasitic helminths (especially nematodes) in the human intestinal tract. As a result of their cost-effectiveness, mass school-based deworming programs are becoming routine practice in developing countries. However, experimental and clinical evidence suggests that anthelmintic treatments may increase susceptibility to other gastrointestinal infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or protozoa. Hypothesizing that anthelmintics may increase diarrheal infections in treated children, we aim to evaluate the impact of anthelmintics on the incidence of diarrheal disease caused by viral and bacterial pathogens in school children in southern Vietnam.This is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of albendazole treatment versus placebo on the incidence of viral- and bacterial-induced diarrhea in 350 helminth-infected and 350 helminth-uninfected Vietnamese school children aged 6-15 years. Four hundred milligrams of albendazole, or placebo treatment will be administered once every 3 months for 12 months. At the end of 12 months, all participants will receive albendazole treatment. The primary endpoint of this study is the incidence of diarrheal disease assessed by 12 months of weekly active and passive case surveillance. Secondary endpoints include the prevalence and intensities of helminth, viral, and bacterial infections, alterations in host immunity and the gut microbiota with helminth and pathogen clearance, changes in mean z scores of body weight indices over time, and the number and severity of adverse events.In order to reduce helminth burdens, anthelmintics are being routinely administered to children in developing countries. However, the effects of anthelmintic treatment on susceptibility to other diseases, including diarrheal pathogens, remain unknown. It is important to monitor for unintended consequences of drug treatments in co-infected populations. In this trial, we will examine how anthelmintic treatment impacts host susceptibility to diarrheal infections, with the aim of informing deworming programs of any indirect effects of mass anthelmintic administrations on co-infecting enteric pathogens.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02597556 . Registered on 3 November 2015

A Rasch analysis of the Person-Centred Climate Questionnaire – staff version

Background: Person-centred care is the bedrock of modern dementia services, yet the evidence-base to support its implementation is not firmly established. Research is hindered by a need for more robust measurement instruments. The 14-item Person-Centred Climate Questionnaire - Staff version (PCQ-S) is one of the most established scales and has promising measurement properties. However, its construction under classical test theory methods leaves question marks over its rigour and the need for evaluation under more modern testing procedures. Methods: The PCQ-S was self-completed by nurses and other care staff working across nursing homes in 35 Swedish municipalities in 2013/14. A Rasch analysis was undertaken in RUMM2030 using a partial credit model suited to the Likert-type items. Three subscales of the PCQ-S were evaluated against common thresholds for overall fit to the Rasch model; ordering of category thresholds; unidimensionality; local dependency; targeting; and Differential Item Functioning. Three subscales were evaluated separately as unidimensional models and then combined as subtests into a single measure. Due to large number of respondents (n = 4381), two random sub-samples were drawn, with a satisfactory model established in the first ('evaluation') and confirmed in the second ('validation'). Final item locations and a table converting raw scores to Rasch-transformed values were created using the full sample. Results: All three subscales had disordered thresholds for some items, which were resolved by collapsing categories. The three subscales fit the assumptions of the Rasch model after the removal of two items, except for subscale 3, where there was evidence of local dependence between two items. By forming subtests, the 3 subscales were combined into a single Rasch model which had satisfactory fit statistics. The Rasch form of the instrument (PCQ-S-R) had an adequate but modest Person Separation Index (< 0.80) and some evidence of mistargeting due to a low number of `difficult-to-endorse' items. Conclusions: The PCQ-S-R has 12 items and can be used as a unidimensional scale with interval level properties, using the nomogram presented within this paper. The scale is reliable but has some inefficiencies due to too few high-end thresholds inhibiting discrimination amongst populations who already perceive that person-centred care is very good in their environment

Can an Integrated Approach Reduce Child Vulnerability to Anaemia? Evidence from Three African Countries.

Addressing the complex, multi-factorial causes of childhood anaemia is best done through integrated packages of interventions. We hypothesized that due to reduced child vulnerability, a "buffering" of risk associated with known causes of anaemia would be observed among children living in areas benefiting from a community-based health and nutrition program intervention. Cross-sectional data on the nutrition and health status of children 24-59 mo (N = 2405) were obtained in 2000 and 2004 from program evaluation surveys in Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania. Linear regression models estimated the association between haemoglobin and immediate, underlying and basic causes of child anaemia and variation in this association between years. Lower haemoglobin levels were observed in children assessed in 2000 compared to 2004 (difference -3.30 g/L), children from Tanzania (-9.15 g/L) and Malawi (-2.96 g/L) compared to Ghana, and the youngest (24-35 mo) compared to oldest age group (48-59 mo; -5.43 g/L). Children who were stunted, malaria positive and recently ill also had lower haemoglobin, independent of age, sex and other underlying and basic causes of anaemia. Despite ongoing morbidity, risk of lower haemoglobin decreased for children with malaria and recent illness, suggesting decreased vulnerability to their anaemia-producing effects. Stunting remained an independent and unbuffered risk factor. Reducing chronic undernutrition is required in order to further reduce child vulnerability and ensure maximum impact of anaemia control programs. Buffering the impact of child morbidity on haemoglobin levels, including malaria, may be achieved in certain settings