Object-relational data modelling for informetric databases

Informetric researchers have long chafed at the limitations of bibliographic databases for their analyses, without being able to visualize or develop real solutions to the problem. This paper describes a solution developed to provide for the specialist needs of informetric researchers. In a collaborative exercise between the fields of computer science and informetrics, data modelling was used in order to address the requirements of complex and dynamic informetric data. This paper reports on this modelling experience with its aim of building an object-relational database (ORDB) for informetric research purposes. The paper argues that ORM (object-relational model) is particularly suitable because it allows for the modelling of complex data and accommodates the various data source formats and standards used by a variety of bibliographic databases. Further, ORM captures the dynamic nature of informetric data by allowing user-defined data types and by embedding basic statistical calculating tools as object functions in these user-defined data types. The main ideas of the paper are implemented in an Oracle database management system.     

The strange case of reproducibility versus representativeness in contextual suggestion test collections

The most common approach to measuring the effectiveness of Information Retrieval systems is by using test collections. The Contextual Suggestion (CS) TREC track provides an evaluation framework for systems that recommend items to users given their geographical context. The specific nature of this track allows the participating teams to identify candidate documents either from the Open Web or from the ClueWeb12 collection, a static version of the web. In the judging pool, the documents from the Open Web and ClueWeb12 collection are distinguished. Hence, each system submission should be based only on one resource, either Open Web (identified by URLs) or ClueWeb12 (identified by ids). To achieve reproducibility, ranking web pages from ClueWeb12 should be the preferred method for scientific evaluation of CS systems, but it has been found that the systems that build their suggestion algorithms on top of input taken from the Open Web achieve consistently a higher effectiveness. Because most of the systems take a rather similar approach to making CSs, this raises the question whether systems built by researchers on top of ClueWeb12 are still representative of those that would work directly on industry-strength web search engines. Do we need to sacrifice reproducibility for the sake of representativeness? We study the difference in effectiveness between Open Web systems and ClueWeb12 systems through analyzing the relevance assessments of documents identified from both the Open Web and ClueWeb12. Then, we identify documents that overlap between the relevance assessments of the Open Web and ClueWeb12, observing a dependency between relevance assessments and the source of the document being taken from the Open Web or from ClueWeb12. After that, we identify documents from the relevance assessments of the Open Web which exist in the ClueWeb12 collection but do not exist in the ClueWeb12 relevance assessments. We use these documents to expand the ClueWeb12 relevance assessments. Our main findings are twofold. First, our empirical analysis of the relevance assessments of 2  years of CS track shows that Open Web documents receive better ratings than ClueWeb12 documents, especially if we look at the documents in the overlap. Second, our approach for selecting candidate documents from ClueWeb12 collection based on information obtained from the Open Web makes an improvement step towards partially bridging the gap in effectiveness between Open Web and ClueWeb12 systems, while at the same time we achieve reproducible results on well-known representative sample of the web.     

How Do They Research? An Ethnographic Study of Final Year Undergraduate Research Behavior in an Irish University

The objectives of this study were to identify how, when, and where students research; the impact of learning environments on research productivity, and to recommend improved supports to facilitate research. An ethnographic approach that entailed following five students in the final six weeks of their program enabled deep level analysis. The study examined the practice of undergraduate research inside and outside the library walls and found that the research process can be influenced by a number of factors including age, experience, work commitments, family, peer, academic, and library support. Mobile research is continuing to grow among undergraduate students, particularly those juggling family and work commitments. The research suggests a correlation between intercultural issues such as ethnicity and language with library anxiety. Until they had immersed themselves in the research process, most of the students in this study believed that research was a linear process.     

Do faster swimmers spend longer underwater than slower swimmers at World Championships?

The main objectives of the present research were (1) to examine the relationships between the distances travelled underwater during the start and turn segments with swimming race performance at the elite level and (2) to determine if the individualised-distance start and turn parameters affect the overall race performance. The race parameters of the 100 and 200?m events during 2013 World Championships were measured by an innovative image-processing system (InThePool^® 2.0). Overall, 100?m race times were largely related to faster start velocities in men's breaststroke and freestyle events. Conversely, overall, 200?m race times were largely related to longer starting distances in the women's butterfly events, to longer turn distances in men's and women's backstroke and women's butterfly events and to shorter turn distances in women's freestyle events. Changes on the start or turn velocities could represent moderate time improvements in most of the 100?m events, whereas modifications on the start or turn distances (especially in the last turn) could provide elite swimmers with time improvements of practical importance on the 200?m events. The evaluation of races by individualised-distance parameters should be provided to elite swimmers in order to decide the most appropriate race segment configuration for each event.     

Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Predict Reading Performance Throughout the School Years

It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education (EduYears) to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample of 5,825 unrelated individuals. EduYears GPS accounts for up to 5% of the variance in reading performance at age 14. GPS predictions remained significant after accounting for general cognitive ability and family socioeconomic status. Reading performance of children in the lowest and highest 12.5% of the EduYears GPS distribution differed by a mean growth in reading ability of approximately two school years. It seems certain that polygenic scores will be used to predict strengths and weaknesses in education.     

Putting the U in carbon capture and storage: rhetorical boundary negotiation within the CCS/CCUS scientific community

This paper examines responses to a framing shift from carbon capture and storage (CCS) to carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) within science and engineering professionals’ communication. We argue that the framing shift is a breach in the rhetorical boundaries of the CCS professional community that calls forth negotiation through responses that proactively support, resist, or acquiesce. This study offers a heuristic for examining scientific framing in expert-to-expert internal scientific rhetoric. It also contributes to contemporary research on the intersection of rhetoric of science and science, technology, and society; the social dimensions of CCS; energy communication; and applied communicative practices in scientific communities.     

The Influence of Media Type on the Perceived Influence of Media Contents and on the Support to Restrict Controversial Messages

The aim of this study was to explore the intersection between Medium Theory (MT) and Third-Person Effect (TPE) and evaluate how the research on MT can further our knowledge of the TPE. The study has proven that the perceptual hypothesis of the TPE is confirmed in different media contents and across media types (TV and the Internet) and that media type has an impact on the magnitude of the TPE. In addition, media type can also be a requisite for TPE to occur. On the other hand, the study shows that media type can have an influence on people’s support to restrict controversial content, in particular, pornography.     

Utility and Reliability of an App for the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (iSOPARC®)

The app for the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (iSOPARC®) was developed to enhance System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities data collection and management. The study aim was to examine the usability and inter-rater reliability of iSOPARC®. Trained observers collected data in 16 park areas in two Latin America cities (Curitiba, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia) using both the original System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (mechanical counter) and new iSOPARC® (electronic counter) methods. A total of 8,707 park users (3,958 females and 4,749 males) were observed. Reliabilities among observers were determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient and relative overall agreement (%) in three ways: (a) mechanical versus mechanical, (b) mechanical versus electronic, and (c) electronic versus electronic. When both used mechanical counters comparisons overall agreement was over 78% (intraclass correlation coefficient = .982; p < .001) for variables in all analysis. When one used a mechanical counter and the other used electronic (iSOPARC®) comparisons overall agreement was higher for age (84%; p < .001) than for physical activity (83%; p < .001) variables and average intraclass correlation coefficient was .965. Using both used iSOPARC® comparisons overall agreement was 81% to physical activity and 83% to age group. Results suggest iSOPARC® can be used reliably for examining variables previously validated in System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities.