Automatically building research reading lists

All new researchers face the daunting task of familiarizing themselves with the existing body of research literature in their respective fields. Recommender algorithms could aid in preparing these lists, but most current algorithms do not understand how to rate the importance of a paper within the literature, which might limit their effectiveness in this domain. We explore several methods for augmenting exist-ing collaborative and content-based filtering algorithms with measures of the influence of a paper within the web of cita-tions. We measure influence using well-known algorithms, such as HITS and PageRank, for measuring a node’s im-portance in a graph. Among these augmentation methods is a novel method for using importance scores to influence collaborative filtering. We present a task-centered evalua-tion, including both an offline analysis and a user study, of the performance of the algorithms. Results from these stud-ies indicate that collaborative filtering outperforms content-based approaches for generating introductory reading lists

Tag expression: Tagging with feeling

ABSTRACT In this paper we introduce tag expression, a novel form of preference elicitation that combines elements from tagging and rating systems. Tag expression enables users to apply affect to tags to indicate whether the tag describes a reason they like, dislike, or are neutral about a particular item. We present a user interface for applying affect to tags, as well as a technique for visualizing the overall community's affect. By analyzing 27,773 tag expressions from 553 users entered in a 3-month period, we empirically evaluate our design choices. We also present results of a survey of 97 users that explores users' motivations in tagging and measures user satisfaction with tag expression

Optimization of care for patients with hereditary angioedema living in rural areas

BACKGROUND: People living in rural areas of the United States experience greater health inequality than individuals residing in urban or suburban locations and encounter several barriers to obtaining optimal health care. Health disparities are compounded for patients with rare diseases such as hereditary angioedema (HAE), an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by recurrent, severe abdominal pain and life-threatening oropharyngeal or laryngeal swelling. OBJECTIVE: To explore the challenges of managing patients with HAE in rural areas and suggest possible improvements for optimizing care. DATA SOURCES: PubMed was searched for articles on patient care management, treatment challenges, rural health, and HAE. STUDY SELECTIONS: Relevant articles were selected and reviewed. RESULTS: Challenges in managing HAE in the rural setting were identified, including obtaining a diagnosis of HAE, easy access to a physician with expertise in HAE, continuity of care, availability of telemedicine services, access to approved HAE therapies, patient education, and economic barriers to treatment. Ways to improve HAE patient care in rural areas include health care provider recognition of the patient with undiagnosed HAE, development of individualized management plans, expansion of telemedicine, effective care at the local level, appropriate access to HAE medication, and increased awareness of patient support and advocacy groups. CONCLUSION: For patients with HAE living in rural areas, optimal care is complicated by health disparities. Given the scarcity with which these topics have been covered in the literature to date, it is intended that this article will serve as the impetus for a range of further initiatives focused on improving access to care

NICE: Social translucence through UI intervention

ABSTRACT Social production systems such as Wikipedia rely on attracting and motivating volunteer contributions to be successful. One strong demotivating factor can be when an editor's work is discarded, or "reverted", by others. In this paper we demonstrate evidence of this effect and design a novel interface aimed at improving communication between the reverting and reverted editors. We deployed the interface in a controlled experiment on the live Wikipedia site, and report on changes in the behavior of 487 contributors who were reverted by editors using our interface. Our results suggest that simple interface modifications (such as informing Wikipedians that the editor they are reverting is a newcomer) can have substantial positive effects in protecting against contribution loss in newcomers and improving the quality of work done by more experienced contributors