Localising and tailoring research evidence helps public health decision making

Background

Published research evidence is typically not readily applicable to practice but needs to be actively mobilised.

Objectives

This paper explores the mechanisms used by information professionals with a specific knowledge mobilisation role to make evidence useful for local decision making and planning of public health interventions.

Methods

Data are drawn from a NIHR project that studied how, when, where and by whom published research evidence is used in commissioning and planning across two sites (one in England and one in Scotland). Data included 11 in‐depth interviews with information professionals, observations at meetings and documentary analysis.

Results

Published research evidence is made fit for local commissioning and planning purposes by information professionals through two mechanisms. They localise evidence (relate evidence to local context and needs) and tailor it (present actionable messages).

Discussion

Knowledge mobilisation roles of information professionals are not recognised and researched. Information professionals contribute to the ‘inform’ and ‘relational’ functions of knowledge mobilisation; however, they are less involved in improving the institutional environment for sustainable knowledge sharing.

Conclusion

Information professionals are instrumental in shaping what evidence enters local decision making processes. Identifying and supporting knowledge mobilisation roles within health libraries should be the focus of future research and training.

     

Preparation for ethical decision-making: An analysis of research in professional education

The current societal and professional context presents a variety of ethical challenges to decision makers. The importance of educational preparation for ethical decision-making and ethical leadership has been addressed in the literature of library and information science (LIS), among other professions. However, it can be quite difficult to measure the impact of professional ethics education on students. This article is based on an evaluation of published original research related to ethics education in disciplines supported by professional education, including education, nursing, allied health, journalism, social work, public health, engineering, and LIS. The study considers data related to research design, methodologies used, populations studied, approaches to measuring impact, levels of impact, and publication in the journal literature. Results indicate more extensive research in education and nursing as compared with other fields, a lack of baseline data gathering for comparison, a reliance on a limited number of data-gathering techniques, and a tendency toward studying alumni over current students     

Leadership competencies and the importance of research methods and statistical analysis in decision making and research and publication: A study of citation patterns

The roles of academic librarians and administrators include the use of statistical analysis and general analytical abilities in their decision-making processes, as well as in their roles as researchers, in developing research collections, and in providing instruction and reference assistance for students and other researchers. The research presented in this article addresses the original research published in frequently cited library and information science (LIS) journals to consider the extent to which academic librarians and administrators conduct and publish original research and to evaluate the range of research methodologies used and the level of collaboration among academic librarians, LIS faculty members, and others. The research results extend the prior self-report research in this area and indicate that academic librarians, administrators, and LIS faculty are authors of most of the published research in highly ranked journals. The level of collaboration among those in different types of roles is limited, however. In addition, most of the research articles have been authored or coauthored by those in research university libraries.     

Editorial decision making: Risk and reward

The most critical decisions—whether or not to invest in a publishing project—are made with inadequate analytical infrastructure. Much time is consumed in obtaining the view of generalists within the company in second-guessing the decisions of those who really know the market—the editor and the author. Decisions are made on the basis of “title P&Ls” when individual titles do not make a profit or a loss—only businesses do. Little attempt is made to assess relative risk and the most crucial element for most businesses, cash, is hardly considered. Editors and publishers need new tools to support their decision making process. Mike Shatzkin is co-chairman of the VISTA Editorial Board. His Idea Logical company produces content for Sportsline USA web sites. Address for correspondence     

撤稿引出的出版伦理问题与处理

介绍处理3篇论文撤稿的具体做法: 1)编辑部主动对“内容不真”的论文撤稿;2)因重复发表作者主动申请撤稿而编辑部决定不撤稿时,刊登重复发表声明。分析国内学术期刊处理撤稿面临的伦理问题:1)怎么合理表述撤稿原因？2)首发期刊根据什么来决定是否撤稿？3)首发期刊决定不撤稿,重复发表期刊也不撤稿,首发期刊怎么办？4)重复发表论文还存在其他学术不端行为的怎么办？针对上述问题提出了相应的处理建议。     

The basal as an aid to decision making: A senior author’s view

Basal readers must serve as a resource for teachers in making decisions about curricular goals, community expectations, and student needs. If readers are to be used as resources, teachers must decide what to include, what to exclude, and how to combine their options with personal, school, and community resources. Carl B. Smith is director of the ERIC Center on Reading and Communication Skills, professor of education at Indiana University, and senior author for the Macmillan Reading Program.     

A data quality approach to the identification of discrimination risk in automated decision making systems

Automated decision-making (ADM) systems may affect multiple aspects of our lives. In particular, they can result in systematic discrimination of specific population groups, in violation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. One of the potential causes of discriminative behavior, i.e., unfairness, lies in the quality of the data used to train such ADM systems.Using a data quality measurement approach combined with risk management, both defined in ISO standards, we focus on balance characteristics and we aim to understand how balance indexes (Gini, Simpson, Shannon, Imbalance Ratio) identify discrimination risk in six large datasets containing the classification output of ADM systems.The best result is achieved using the Imbalance Ratio index. Gini and Shannon indexes tend to assume high values and for this reason they have modest results in both aspects: further experimentation with different thresholds is needed.In terms of policies, the risk-based approach is a core element of the EU approach to regulate algorithmic systems: in this context, balance measures can be easily assumed as risk indicators of propagation – or even amplification – of bias in the input data of ADM systems.     

A hybrid partitioning algorithm based on natural mechanisms of decision making

New technologies are proposed for the solution of the partition problem using mathematical methods, including the principles of natural mechanisms for decision making. The partition problem is represented as an adaptive system based on the integration of evolutionary and ant colony approaches to finding solutions. The structures of decision-making procedures are described, as well as ways of leaving down pheromone trails and pheromone evaporation. The obtained results were better than those from the existing algorithms.     

Parliamentary procedure in a community group: Communication and vigilant decision making

Parliamentary procedure is pervasive in most decision‐making groups of a dozen or more persons, but it is has been understudied as an important influence on the group communication process. It is not well understood by members of groups who claim to have adopted it, and procedures are seldom invoked in ways that suggest a very sophisticated model. However, parliamentary procedure need not be considered as simply a rigid set of laws. This multi‐phase research project provides insight into how parliamentary procedure is selectively used in community groups and functions as a set of rules that influences the vigilance of the communication process.     

中国知识管理的元分析

本文从中国大陆17种管理类核心期刊中筛选出381篇知识管理方面论文,利用元分析方法,从研究主题、研究方法、参考学科和研究层次4个角度对这些论文进行统计分析,发现①研究热点主要集中在知识管理的管理、过程、组织与社会和理论4个方面,在知识管理应用方面存在空白领域;②多数论文使用非实证研究方法,实证研究很少;③参考学科多样化,被借鉴最多的学科是管理学;④论文的研究层次集中在组织层,缺少对行业/组织间层、个体层和团队层的研究.最后针对发现的问题进行了讨论,指出了中国大陆知识管理研究的特点以及将来的研究方向.     

Ethical perspectives on data and software sharing in the sciences: A research agenda

Data and software are critical components of scientific work. Increased data and software sharing promises many benefits for science. Many stakeholders are building infrastructure and implementing policies to promote sharing. However, sharing remains rare in practice. Attention must be paid to researchers' ethical perspectives on sharing to fully realize the promise of sharing and promote greater circulation of data and software and better uptake of infrastructure for data and software curation. This research presents an agenda for researching these perspectives, including characterizing and accounting for researchers' perspectives; examining how these perspectives shape decisions related to data and software sharing; and understanding how and why differences in perspectives arise and are contested, negotiated, and resolved in multidisciplinary scientific collaboration. This agenda will enable stakeholders to identify and resolve differences in ethical perspectives, and develop policies, infrastructures, and education that support existing ethical perspectives, and cultivate better ethical practices.     

Establishing a research agenda communication education: A symposium

Organizations charged with wrongdoing often face social legitimacy crises and subsequently issue apologiae. Whether the charge is rooted in incompetence, as was Exxon's after the Alaskan oil spill, or a policy choice viewed to be irresponsible, as in the case of Domino's Pizza after a series of fatal automobile accidents, corporate apologists seek to purify their damaged images through a negative strategy of dissociation and a positive strategy of corrective action and reaffirmation of public values. This generic analysis suggests that corporate apologia warrants a distinct line of research due to the significant'differences that distinguish itffbm individualist conceptions of apologia.     

The FDNY on 9/11: Information and decision making in crisis

This article reviews and analyzes the essential lessons in the New York City Fire Department's use of information on 9/11/01. It draws heavily on an oral history archive compiled by the Department after the event but withheld until 2005 and released then only under court order. Analysis of the interviews shows that coordination and communication were serious problems; securing information early in the emergency was difficult; commanders lacked solid information to direct efforts; information was contradictory and difficult to interpret; the collapse of the WTC towers was difficult to conceptualize; improvisation was common; and false information compounded confusion. The oral history archive also offers insight into the information-processing and decision-making processes of commanders and front-line responders. The oral histories were useful in FDNY analysis of performance on that critical day but they do not provide definitive answers to critical questions such as the timeliness of the order to evacuate the towers. The use of information on 9/11 also provides other insights into the optimal use of information by emergency service departments.     

医药学术论文伦理审查要点及经验分享

伦理学渗透在医药学科研究的全过程,因研究对象的特殊性,期刊编辑需要在初审、修稿阶段对医药学术论文进行伦理审查,最大限度减少因伦理问题处理不当造成论文刊发后撤稿情况的发生。本文从稿约中明确要求作者说明和建议作者/研究者充分注意的伦理要求2方面,总结对医药学术论文的伦理审查要点,并提供案例分享经验,为医药学术期刊编辑伦理审查提供参考。     

Mass communication research on China from 2000 to 2010: a meta-analysis

This study presents a meta-analysis of mass communication research on China from 2000 to 2010. It reveals patterns in authorship, methodological and theoretical approaches, medium, and area of focus, through a content analysis of 159 articles published in 20 major communication journals. Eight frameworks frequently used by communication scholars to study China are identified in a follow-up analytical review. The paper concludes with discussion on the implications of the findings and suggestions for future work.     

The scholar's anthology: A research agenda for communication education

These five papers summarize and provide a focus for concerns about research in communication education, and identify critical areas for additional research. The authors also specify areas where educators and scholars should he implementing existing research findings in speech communication instruction.