DOI: 10.3897/rio.12.e174543

Authors: Luciana Chavez Rodriguez, Guilherme Oyarzabal, Bruno Eleres Soares, Alejandra Guzmán Luna, César Marín

Abstract: A brain drain phenomenon, i.e. the migration of highly skilled professionals, has represented and still represents a severe loss of intellectual capital for Global South countries. Factors driving this migration include limited research infrastructure, funding constraints, political instability and the lack of scientific career prospects in the Global South and the consequences are multifaceted. While this can hinder local development in the Global South, it simultaneously enriches research ecosystems in the Global North, exacerbating existing global inequalities in science and technology. Under this scenario, scientific diasporas represent an effort to counterbalance the brain drain scenario through initiatives that aim to increase science and technology development, which are led by self-organised expat professionals and scientists. While we can find some successful examples of international cooperation driven by scientific diasporas, without a proper organisation and full participation of the governments of the countries of origin, scientific diasporas can become dysfunctional and can promote more migration upon training. We, five early-career scientists, discuss our perspectives and personal reflections on scientific diasporas. We describe three migration models of highly skilled professionals, starting with a brain drain model, scientific diaspora and dysfunctional scientific diaspora and provide some ideas to help the implementation of successful scientific diasporas. We believe that migration must be a personal decision seeking scientific growth and professional development and not the only option we should have to pursue a fulfilling career in science.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e176120

Authors: Christos Arvanitidis, Olga Ameixa, Alberto Basset, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Claudia Coman, Berta Companys, Francesco De Leo, Klaas Deneudt, Federico Drago, John Eriksson, Tiziana Ferrari, Teodor Georgiev, Giovanni Giuliano, Stefan Gruber, Jens Habermann, Katharina Heil, Tim Hubbard, Cristina Huertas Olivares, Georgios Kotoulas, Dimitris Koureas, Natalia Manola, Vanessa Marrocco, Nicolas Pade, Ana Portugal Melo, Antonello Provenzale, Fotis Psomopoulos, Niels Raes, Susie Robinson, Patrick Ruch, Dick Schaap, Adrian Stanica, Tassos Stavropoulos, Heliana Teixeira, Peter van Tienderen, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Robert Waterhouse, Giuseppe Aprea, Michel Boër, Ana Casino, Laurent Delauney, Jonathan Ewbank, Ana Lillebø, Michael Mirtl, Jana Pavlic-Zupanc, Lyubomir Penev, Jaume Piera, Paraskevi Pitta, Ingrid Puillat, David Richter, Diana Stepanyan, Anton Ussi, Jan Węsławski, Gabriela Zuquim

Abstract: The interdependence of human, animal, plant and ecosystem health necessitates systemic, cross-domain collaboration to address global challenges, such as emerging diseases, climate change and biodiversity severe change. Through the Crete Declaration, Europe’s (e-)infrastructures, organisations and projects that focus on the functioning of our biosphere commit to jointly advancing the One Health approach. In doing so, the signatories aim to strengthen Europe’s resilience and leadership through the sharing of data and expertise, the development of innovative solutions and the promotion of evidence-based policies.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e137412

Authors: Christine Christian, Gilbert Gwilliam III, Matt von Konrat, June Ahn, Colleen Bailey, Daniel Dodinval, Elizabeth R. Ellwood, Kate Golembiewski, Lila Higgins, Camille Jones, Vanessa Martinez, Miguel Ordeñana, Gregory Pauly

Abstract: Participatory science and "amateur" participation in scientific data collection and work has been common for hundreds of years, but has become a more formalised field of practice in recent decades. The inclusion and reliance on informally trained members of the public in scientific endeavours has especially helped connect natural history collections to the general public. In recent decades, the term used to describe these participants — citizen scientists — was intended to unite formal and informal scientists as global citizens working towards a common goal. However, the term 'citizen' today has negative connotations for many members of the public and can have a polarising effect on certain individuals. Given that the nature of participatory science is to be inclusive and inviting, it is time to change this terminology. The term 'community' science has been suggested as an alternative by some practitioners and programmes. This self-awareness within the scientific community is important, but lacks impact without input from the community members potentially participating in these programmes. We addressed this knowledge gap by posing the question of term preference to groups of volunteers who have attended participatory science activities from the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, Illinois, USA) and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, California, USA) from 2019 to 2023. A majority of respondents showed a clear preference for the term 'community' over 'citizen' science. This was especially true for younger individuals and those who belong to ethnic groups other than White. This information can impact which terms are used for specific programme populations and supports community involvement in selecting terminology and in project design. We advise stopping use of the term 'citizen' in all participatory science programmes and adopting terminology that is most appropriate depending on region, research, audience and activity. Moreover, participant populations should be solicited to hear their voices.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e125192

Authors: Desalegn Chala, Erik Kusch, Claus Weiland, Carrie Andrew, Jonas Grieb, Tuomas Rossi, Tomas Martinovic, Dag Endresen

Abstract: Amidst population growth and climate-driven crop stresses such as drought, extreme weather, fungal and insect pests, as well as various crop diseases, ensuring food security demands innovative strategies. Crop wild relatives (CWR), wild plants in the same genus as the crop as well as wild populations belonging to the same species as the crop, offer novel genetic resources crucial for enhancing crop resilience against these stress factors. Here, we introduce a prototype digital twin (pDT) to aid in searching and utilising CWR genetic resources. Using the MoDGP (Modelling the Germplasm of Interest) tool, the pDT enables mapping geographic areas where stress-tolerant CWR populations can be found. With its graphical user interface, it offers flexibility in selecting genetic resources from CWR tailored to enhance resilience of various crops against diverse stress factors.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e114366

Authors: Edmund Schiller, Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta, Eva Häffner, Jutta Buschbom, Frederik Leliaert, Breda Zimkus, John Dickie, Suzete Gomes, Chris Lyal, Daniel Mulcahy, Alan Paton, Gabi Droege

Abstract: We present two different typologies of legal/contractual information in the context of natural history objects: the Biodiversity Permit/Contract Typology categorises permits and contracts, and the Typology of Legal/Contractual Terms for Biodiversity Specimens categorises the terms within permits and contracts. The Typologies have been developed under the EU-funded SYNTHESYS+ project with the participation of experts from outside the consortium. The document further addresses a possible technical integration of these typologies into the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo). The implementation in the DiSSCo data model is outlined and a concrete use case is presented to show how conditions, e.g. the Typology of Legal/Contractual Terms, can be introduced into the DiSSCo Electronic Loans and Visits System (ElViS). Finally, we give an outlook on the next steps to develop the typologies into a standard that supports compliance with legal and contractual obligations within the wider community of natural science collections.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e106883

Authors: Karen Thompson, Joanne Birch

Abstract: Specimens or objects in natural history collections hold substantial research and cultural value that is enhanced where these items are made digitally available. Benefits of digitisation include increasing open access to collection-based biodiversity data, increasing productivity of scientific research, enabling novel research applications of digitally accessible data, reducing preservation requirements through reduced object handling, and expanding potential for “remote curation” in collections. However, the time available for object and data digitisation is limited for most collections. Well documented digitisation workflows can ensure that curation time is efficiently applied to achieve digitisation outputs, and that digitisation standards are consistently applied within and among projects.While this case study focused on the generation of digitisation workflows in a medium-sized Australian university-based herbarium, the findings of this study are relevant to collections globally. The curation workflows comprise a set of modular steps required for the digitisation of herbarium specimen data and images. Steps are clearly identified as requiring human-mediation versus those that can be automated, those that require on-site versus remote-access, and those that require transfer or transformation of data or files. This clarity enables consideration of the opportunities and challenges for increasing efficiencies for collection-based digitisation, data and file management. The maps provide a contextual framework for herbarium-based digitisation pathways for those who work with specimen-derived biodiversity data, and an insight into these tools for those who are not familiar with herbarium protocols.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e108804

Authors: Daniel Mietchen

Abstract: This proposal outlines an open, transparent and collaborative process to design a Metascience Institute that would apply the scientific method onto itself, with the mission to improve the research landscape systemically in terms of maximizing societal benefit and public documentation thereof. This facility is envisaged to engage in the systematic study of the research ecosystem, initially at a national level in Germany but later on also in other contexts. As such, the Metascience Institute would assess systemic properties, interactions of different components within and beyond the research system and how the roles played by various components are aligned with goals of relevant stakeholder groups and broader societal benefits. Collaborating with any interested stakeholders on an initially narrow yet steadily expanding range of intra- and transdisciplinary use cases and using an appropriate mix of experimental, theoretical, empirical and computational approaches, the Metascience Institute would assess existing and proposed policies and practices in the research ecosystem and engage in public discourse around them, including by assessing the relative costs, benefits and side effects of alternative parametrizations of the system. The project proposed here is to design the organizational structure of such a Metascience Institute in an evidence-based and community-led fashion, to seed it with organizational values, to establish it as an independent legal entity with open and transparent policies and practices, to provide it with an initial technical infrastructure online, to design evidence-based and sustainable mechanisms by which it prioritizes its activities, and to document the entire process in a way that would facilitate reuse and adaptation by other communities or entities aiming at evidence-based systemic improvements to the research ecosystem or selected niches within it.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e105155

Authors: Mathilde Bessert-Nettelbeck, Andreas Bischof, Ulrike Sturm, Emilia Nagy, Martina Schraudner, Julia Backhaus, Till Bruckermann, Susanne Hecker, Justus Henke, Karola Köpferl, Sabrina Kirschke, Christin Liedtke, Felix Mahr, Arne Maibaum, Audrey Podann, Wiebke Rössig, Martina Schäfer, Carolin Schröder, Philipp Schrögel, Victoria Shennan, Norbert Steinhaus, Mhairi Stewart, Vanessa van den Bogaert, Silke Voigt-Heucke

Abstract: Citizen science, transdisciplinary research, dialogic forms of science communication or public engagement: these and other research approaches and fields, often subsumed under participatory research, have in common that they enable people outside of academia to actively engage in the production of scientific knowledge. However, each of these fields sets its own goals, uses different formats and has a different scope and impact. The conference 'Opportunities and Limitations of Participation in Academia' held in September 2022 as part of the German Science Year 'Participate!' aimed to connect the various participation communities in Germany and to explore commonalities and success factors. Through intensive discussions in four working groups, a keynote speech and a panel discussion, the conference initiated an exchange of ideas and experiences amongst researchers in a converging field. This report is a summary of the key questions and outcomes of the conference.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e96576

Authors: Osamudiamen Obasuyi

Abstract: The sustainable development goals (SDGs) of providing universal health coverage for all and ending poverty by 2030 aim to make healthcare accessible and available for all, irrespective of status, gender or race. Unfortunately, access to universal healthcare is still hampered by preventable inequalities, especially amongst the Low-Middle income countries (LMICs).Cataracts are the leading cause of preventable blindness globally, affecting over 17 million people; 80% of these people reside in the LMICs and cost-effective cataract surgery is the only way to treat it. However, barriers exist that prevent access to cataract surgery amongst these people. Despite widespread reports of these barriers to cataract surgical access, the complex relationships between the barriers and cataract surgical access have yet to be fully explored by researchers or policy-makers.A randomised control trial involving three groups is proposed and presented in this paper to test the relationship between well-known barriers to cataract surgical access in resource-poor communities and programmes designed to overcome them.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e102047

Authors: Serena Rasconi

Abstract: The fist hybrid meeting and workshop of the COST Action “Applications for zoosporic parasites in aquatic systems” was held from 4th to 7th of July 2022 at the Multifunctional Center for Social Activities and Welfare of the Larnaka Municipality in Larnaca, Cyprus. 22 participants from 11 countries and 15 institutions attended on site, 26 participants from 9 countries and 26 institutions attended online. The activities included presentations, open discussions and collaborative work.This report presents the results of the feedback survey send to participants after the event. The survey was anonymous and included multiple choice responses (checkboxes) and short answers to complete and provide arguments to the checkboxes answers. 16 surveys were collected from the 54 participants, 13 from onsite and 3 from virtual attendees. Based on feedbacks and comments from the participants, the report will also include some considerations on challenges and advantages of mixed events.The report will contribute to set-up an active network and effective communication strategy for ParAqua, by describing advantages and limitations of different settings based on the Action experience and provide tips and hints to foster collaboration and effective work in hybrid mode.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e96476

Authors: Étienne Serbe-Kamp, Jens Bemme, Daniel Pollak, Katja Mayer

Abstract: Citizen Science or community science has been around for a long time. The scope of community involvement in Citizen Science initiatives ranges from short-term data collection to intensive engagement to delve into a research topic together with scientists and/or other volunteers. Although many volunteer researchers have academic training, it is not a prerequisite for participation in research projects. It is important to adhere to scientific standards, which include, above all, transparency with regard to the methodology of data collection and public discussion of the results, and open educational resources (OER). Hereby, Citizen Science is closely linked to Open Science. In our contribution, we will introduce two projects, both developed within the Wikimedia Fellowship Freies Wissen.The top-down approach: ERGo! An Entomology Research Tool to raise awareness of biodiversity protection.Inclusion in academia and pressing social problems such as climate change are fundamentally social justice issues. To facilitate early participation in the scientific process on the part of people holding underrepresented identities in science, we develop a Citizen Science initiative based on a low-cost open-source platform (ERGo!) to perform a technique for electrical recordings from insect eyes known as electroretinograms (ERGs) while presenting visual stimuli. Pasadena Unified School District High School students pilot ERG experiments to test the feasibility of this technique as a large-scale Citizen Science initiative. With ERGo!, future Citizen Scientists contribute data to cutting-edge research that monitors insect biodiversity, adaptation, and health in rapidly changing environments caused by monocultures, pesticides, and climate change.The bottom-up approach: Open cultural data collection. A Citizen Science initiative for regional knowledge curation.We catalogued the 18th century German magazine ‘Die Gartenlaube’ (in Wikisource) with bibliographic metadata in Wikidata in a project called ‘Die Datenlaube’. We develop collaborative approaches for linked open data methods to produce data sets about historical knowledge. The concept of ‘Open Citizen Science’ offers a methodological baseline for Open Science practises in fields of digital humanities. Scanned documents and structured open metadata revealed open access to historic collections. Through the Wikimedia platforms 'Die Datenlaube' creates possibilities to edit entries, to design own investigations, and to contribute to OER.Based on the elaboration of the two rather different projects (natural and social sciences, involvement of pupils vs citizens, top-down vs bottom-up), we will discuss similarities and hence the challenges and lessons learned for using and developing Open Science elements in Citizen Science and mutual learning. Furthermore, we will conclude by focusing on the opportunities resulting from the integration of societal expectations in science and vice versa.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e85860

Authors: Felicitas Kruschick, Kerstin Schoch

Abstract: Knowledge equity is a broad concept. Although it is linked to the goals of Open Science, it is rarely discussed in the scientific community. The term refers to a variety of aspects such as epistemology, research methods, data analysis, inclusive education, equal representation, participation, and science communication. It is reflected on individual, institutional, and structural levels.In this article, we attempt to outline the field theoretically against the background of a power-theoretical perspective and discuss what knowledge is in the first place. In a second step, we explore the question of what is hidden behind the terms equality and equity and to what extent these concepts can be linked to the underlying concept of knowledge. When can we speak of equity, why, and to what extent? Finally, the article links the overall social development of increasing sensitivity to diversity, which is discussed in conjunction with inclusive education and inclusion in general. Herein we refer to concepts of intersectional feminist research, the principles of Open Science, and a critical perspective on the concept of diversity.For illustration, exemplary projects associated with the Open Science Fellow Program, which address the issue of marginalized groups in the research process, are described. Among others, these relate to the following focal points: Data collection of non-binary gender, awareness of adultism, collaborative interpretation with interviewees, queer narratives, diversity in editorial boards, research in the context of North-South relations, participatory science communication using art, and exclusion factors of science communication.The overarching question we ask in this article is the extent to which knowledge equity is relevant to marginalized groups and exclusive dynamics in terms of an inclusive rationale and how those dynamics can be identified by using critical perspectives and self-reflexive considerations.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e89980

Authors: Rima-Maria Rahal, Hanjo Hamann, Hilmar Brohmer, Florian Pethig

Abstract: The open and transparent documentation of scientific processes has been established as a core antecedent of free knowledge. This also holds for generating robust insights in the scope of research projects. To convince academic peers and the public, the research process must be understandable and retraceable (reproducible), and repeatable (replicable) by others, precluding the inclusion of fluke findings into the canon of insights. In this contribution, we outline what reproducibility and replicability (R&R) could mean in the scope of different disciplines and traditions of research and which significance R&R has for generating insights in these fields. We draw on projects conducted in the scope of the Wikimedia "Open Science Fellows Program" (Fellowship Freies Wissen), an interdisciplinary, long-running funding scheme for projects contributing to open research practices. We identify twelve implemented projects from different disciplines which primarily focused on R&R, and multiple additional projects also touching on R&R. From these projects, we identify patterns and synthesize them into a roadmap of how research projects can achieve R&R across different disciplines. We further outline the ground covered by these projects and propose ways forward.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e86384

Authors: Caroline Fischer, Simon David Hirsbrunner, Vanessa Teckentrup

Abstract: Open data offer the opportunity to economically combine data into large-scale datasets, fostering collaboration and re-use in the interest of treating researchers’ resources as well as study participants with care. Whereas advantages of utilising open data might be self-evident, the production of open datasets also challenges individual researchers. This is especially true for open data that include personal data, for which higher requirements have been legislated. Mainly building on our own experience as scholars from different research traditions (life sciences, social sciences and humanities), we describe best-practice approaches for opening up research data. We reflect on common barriers and strategies to overcome them, condensed into a step-by-step guide focused on actionable advice in order to mitigate the costs and promote the benefit of open data on three levels at once: society, the disciplines and individual researchers. Our contribution may prevent researchers and research units from re-inventing the wheel when opening data and enable them to learn from our experience.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e86387

Authors: Isabel Steinhardt, Felicitas Kruschick

Abstract: How can Knowledge In/Equity be addressed in qualitative research by taking the idea of Open Science into account? Two projects from the Open Science Fellows Programme by Wikimedia Deutschland will be used to illustrate how Open Science practices can succeed in qualitative research, thereby reducing In/Equity. In this context, In/Equity is considered as a fair and equal representation of people, their knowledge and insights and comprehends questions about how epistemic, structural, institutional and personal biases generate and shape knowledge as guidance. Three questions guide this approach: firstly, what do we understand by In/Equity in the context of knowledge production in these projects? Secondly, who will be involved in knowledge generation and to what extent will they be valued or unvalued? Thirdly, how can data be made accessible for re-use to enable true participation and sharing?

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e96082

Authors: Carlos Utrilla Guerrero, Maria Vivas Romero

Abstract: Arguments for the FAIR (Findable, Accesible, Inter-operable and Reusable) principles of science have mostly been based on appeals to values. However, the work of onboarding diverse researchers to make efficient and effective implementations of FAIR requires different appeals. In our recent effort to transform the institution into a FAIR University by 2025, here we report on the experiences of the Community of Data Driven Insights (CDDI), a interfaculty initiative where all university-wide research data service providers are joined together to support researchers and research groups (e.g. see research showcase example here) with all aspects concerning research data management. CDDI aims to turn all digital objects within Maastricht University (UM) into FAIR Digital Objects (FDO) and by disclosing the progress and challenges of implementing FDOs (e.g. see CDDI OSF repo: https://osf.io/398cz/), we hope to shed light on the process in a way that might be useful for other institutions in Europe and elsewhere. We initially identified 5 challenges for FDO implementation. These challenges were first a matter of reshaping the culture of science making practices to fit the FAIR principles. Additionally, it required an educational awareness within the scientific communities, and finally financial and technical tools to actually facilitate the transition to FAIR practices of science making. These perspectives show the complex dimensions of FAIR principles and FDO implementation to researchers across disciplines in a single university.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e95953

Authors: Ronit Purian, Natan Katz, Batya Feldman

Abstract: In this paper we aim to provide an implementation of the FAIR Data Points (FDP) spec, that will apply our bias detection algorithm and automatically calculate a FAIRness score (FNS). FAIR metrics would be themselves represented as FDOs, and could be presented via a visual dashboard, and be machine accessible (Mons 2020, Wilkinson et al. 2016). This will enable dataset owners to monitor the level of FAIRness of their data. This is a step forward in making data FAIR, i.e., Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable; or simply, Fully AI Ready data.First we may discuss the context of this topic with respect to Deep Learning (DL) problems. Why are Bayesian Networks (BN, explained below) beneficial for such issues?Explainability – Obtaining a directed acyclic graph (DAG) from a BN training provides coherent information about independence variables in the data base. In a generic DL problem, features are functions of these variables. Thus, one can derive which variables are dominant in our system. When customers or business units are interested in the cause of a neural net outcome, this DAG structure can be both a source to provide importance and clarify the model.Dimension Reduction — BN provides the joint distribution of our variables and their associations. The latter may play a role in reducing the features that we induce to the DL engine: If we know that for random variables X,Y the conditional entropy of X in Y are low, we may omit X since Y provides its nearly entire information. We have, therefore, a tool that can statistically exclude redundant variablesTagging Behavior – This section can be less evident for those who work in domains such as vision or voice. In some frameworks, labeling can be an obscure task (to illustrate, consider a sentiment problem with many categories that may overlap). When we tag the data, we may rely on some features within the datasets and generate conditional probability. Training BN, when we initialize an empty DAG, may provide outcomes in which the target is a parent of other nodes. Observing several tested examples, these outcomes reflect these “taggers’ manners”. We can therefore use DAGs not merely for the purpose of model development in machine learning but mainly learning taggers policy and improve it if needed.The conjunction of DL and Casual inference — Causal Inference is a highly developed domain in data analytics. It offers tools to resolve questions that on the one hand, DL models commonly do not and, on the other hand, the real-world raises. There is a need to find a framework in which these tools will work in conjunction. Indeed, such frameworks already exist (e.g., GNN). But a mechanism that merges typical DL problems causality is less common. We believe that the flow, as described in this paper, is a good step in the direction of achieving benefits from this conjunction.Fairness and Bias – Bayesian networks, in their essence, are not a tool for bias detection but they reveal which of the columns (or which of the data items) is dominant and modify other variables. When we discuss noise and bias, we address these faults to the column and not to the model or to the entire data base. However, assume we have a set of tools to measure bias (Purian et al. 2022). Bayesian networks can provide information about the prominence of these columns (as they are “cause” or “effect” in the data), thus allow us to assess the overall bias in the database.What are Bayesian Networks?The motivation for using Bayesian Networks (BN) is to learn the dependencies within a set of random variables. The networks themselves are directed acyclic graphs (DAG), which mimic the joint distribution of the random variables (e.g., Perrier et al. (2008)). The graph structure follows the probabilistic dependencies factorization of the joint distribution: a node V depends only on its parents (a r.v X independent of the other nodes will be presented as a parent free node).Real-World ExampleIn this paper we present a way of using the DL engine tabular data, with the python package bnlearn. Since this project is commercial, the variable names were masked; thus, they will have meaningless names.Constructing Our DAGWe begin by finding our optimal DAG.import bnlearn as bnDAG = bn.structure_learning.fit(dataframe) We now have a DAG. It has a set of nodes and an adjacency matrix that can be found as follow:print(DAG['adjmat']) The outcome has this form Fig. 1a.Where rows are sources (namely the direction of the arc is from the left column to the elements in the row) and columns are targets (i.e., the header of the column receives the arcs). When we begin drawing the obtained DAG, we get for one set of variables the following image: Fig. 1b.We can see that the target node in the rectangle is a source for many nodes. We can see that it still points arrows itself to two nodes. We will discuss this in the discussion (i.e., Rauber 2021). We have more variables, therefore I increased the number of nodes. Adding the information provided a new source for the target (i.e., its entire row is “False”). The obtained graph is the following: Fig. 1c.So, we know how to construct a DAG. Now we need to train its parameters. Code-wise we perform this as follows:model_mle = bn.parameter_learning.fit(DAG, dataframe, methodtype='maximumlikelihood')We can change ‘maximulikelihood’ with ‘bayes’ as described beyond. The outcome of this training is a set of factorized conditional distributions that reflect the DAG’s structure. It has this form for a given variable: Fig. 1d. The code to create DAG presentation is provided in Fig. 2. DiscussionIn this paper we have presented some of the theoretical concepts of Bayesian Networks and the usage they provide in constructing an approximated DAG for a set of variables. In addition, we presented a real-world example of end to end DAG learning: Constructing it using BN, training its parameters using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) methods, and performing and inference.FAIR metrics, represented as FDOs, can also be visualised and monitored, taking care of data FAIRness.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e81568

Authors: Pia Hollenbach, Monika Goetzoe, Malith de Silva

Abstract: The SARS-COV-2 pandemic created a serious shock and surprise to the disaster governance mechanisms in existence. Even the most advanced disaster governance systems in the world struggled to govern, respond, communicate risk and build resilience against the pandemic. The overall management – locally and globally- showed that relevant stakeholders such as social workers that work frontline but also within disaster management relevant fields, were not heart nor taken their potentials and knowledge into consideration to sustainably set up a disaster management and responds strategy. Applying a comparative multi-sited ethnographic approach, the study aims to highlight the potential agency of social work as a bridging agent to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of existing disaster governance and communication architecture and improve the resilience of communities to cope with the socio-ecological complexity of future disasters, similar to SARS-COV-2. Impact will be created in four main areas: (1) Actors in disaster governance will be educated using the new knowledge produced on contextualized disaster governance and communication strategies and impacts on community resilience; (2) Enhanced capacity and awareness of professional social work practitioners on their role/s as bridging agents within the disaster governance architecture to enhance disaster risk communication and community resilience; (3) Improved capacity for decision and policy-making and strengthened agency of social work in the field of disaster governance through the introduction of professional development training and the ToolKit SW2BRIDGE; and (4) Improved social work education at the university level through the introduction of a post-graduate programme on the application of social work in disasters.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e89446

Authors: Ulrike Sturm, Elisabeth Heyne, Elisa Herrmann, Bergit Arends, Anna-Lisa Dieter, Eric Dorfman, Frank Drauschke, Nicole Heller, Rebecca Kahn, Katja Kaiser, Gerda Koch, Nicolas Kramar, Alicia Mansilla Sánchez, Franz Mauelshagen, Tahani Nadim, Richard Pell, Mareike Petersen, Katharina Schmidt-Loske, Henning Scholz, Colin Sterling, Helmuth Trischler, Sarah Wagner

Abstract: The knowledge needed to tackle future environmental and societal challenges can only be generated through exchange between science and society. The conventional distinction made between natural and cultural heritage in museums and other institutions is no longer appropriate in the Anthropocene. Museums must rethink the social and cultural dimensions of existing museum collections and reinvent the organization of knowledge production for our present. In three workshops at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, practitioners and interdisciplinary theorists discussed the concept of “Anthropocenic objects” and considered how they create opportunities for the emergence of new collecting practices involving participatory research and open exchange between research, society, and conservation institutions.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.7.e71553

Authors: M.V. Eitzel

Abstract: In the face of the "crisis of reproducibility" and the rise of "big data" with its associated issues, modeling needs to be practiced more critically and less automatically. Many modelers are discussing better modeling practices, but to address questions about the transparency, equity, and relevance of modeling, we also need the theoretical grounding of social science and the tools of critical theory. I have therefore synthesized recent work by modelers on better practices for modeling with social science literature (especially feminist science and technology studies) to offer a "modeler’s manifesto": a set of applied practices and framings for critical modeling approaches. Broadly, these practices involve 1) giving greater context to scientific modeling through extended methods sections, appendices, and companion articles, clarifying quantitative and qualitative reasoning and process; 2) greater collaboration in scientific modeling via triangulation with different data sources, gaining feedback from interdisciplinary teams, and viewing uncertainty as openness and invitation for dialogue; and 3) directly engaging with justice and ethics by watching for and mitigating unequal power dynamics in projects, facing the impacts and implications of the work throughout the process rather than only afterwards, and seeking opportunities to collaborate directly with people impacted by the modeling.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.7.e68595

Authors: Daniel Mietchen, Lyubomir Penev, Teodor Georgiev, Boriana Ovcharova, Iva Kostadinova

Abstract: Since Research Ideas and Outcomes was launched in late 2015, it has stimulated experimentation around the publication of and engagement with research processes, especially those with a strong open science component. Here, we zoom in on the first 300 RIO articles that have been published and elucidate how they relate to the different stages and variants of the research cycle, how they help address societal challenges and what forms of engagement have evolved around these resources, most of which have a nature and scope that would prevent them from entering the scholarly record via more traditional journals. Building on these observations, we describe some changes we recently introduced in the policies and peer review process at RIO to further facilitate engagement with the research process, including the establishment of an article collections feature that allows us to bring together research ideas and outcomes from within one research cycle or across multiple ones, irrespective of where they have been published.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.7.e66490

Authors: Lane Rasberry, Daniel Mietchen

Abstract: This project seeks to conduct language translation on metadata labels for research publications, attribution data, and clinical trials information to make data about medical research queriable in underserved languages through Wikidata and the Linked Open Web. This project has the benefit of distributing content through Wikipedia and Wikidata, which already have an annual userbase of a billion users and which already have established actionable standards to practice diversity, inclusion, openness, FAIRness, and transparency about program development. The impact will be localized access to basic research information in various Global South languages to integrate with existing community efforts for establishing the same. Although Wikidata development in this direction seems inevitable, the cultural and social exchange required to establish global multilingual research partnerships could begin now with support rather than later as a second phase effort for including the developing world. Wikipedia and Wikidata are established forums with an existing active userbase for multilingual research collaboration, but the research practices there still are immature. By applying metadata expertise through this project, we will elevate the current amateur development with more stable Linked Open Data compatibility to English language databases. Using the wiki distribution and discussion platform to develop the global conversation about data sharing will set good precedents for the trend of global research collaboration.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.6.e60477

Authors: Laurel Haak, Sarah Greene, Kristen Ratan

Abstract: Journal articles have been the gold standard for research and scholarly communication. Specifically, measurements of publication and citation, particularly in high-impact journals, have long been the key means of accruing credit for researchers. In turn, these credits become the currency through which researchers acquire funding and achieve professional success. But, like global trade, tying in to a fixed standard limits wealth distribution and innovation.  It is time for the research community to attribute credit for contributions that reflect and drive collaborative innovation, rewarding behaviors that produce better research outcomes.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.6.e55852

Authors: Christoph Steinbeck, Oliver Koepler, Felix Bach, Sonja Herres-Pawlis, Nicole Jung, Johannes Liermann, Steffen Neumann, Matthias Razum, Carsten Baldauf, Frank Biedermann, Thomas Bocklitz, Franziska Boehm, Frank Broda, Paul Czodrowski, Thomas Engel, Martin Hicks, Stefan Kast, Carsten Kettner, Wolfram Koch, Giacomo Lanza, Andreas Link, Ricardo Mata, Wolfgang Nagel, Andrea Porzel, Nils Schlörer, Tobias Schulze, Hans-Georg Weinig, Wolfgang Wenzel, Ludger Wessjohann, Stefan Wulle

Abstract: The vision of NFDI4Chem is the digitalisation of all key steps in chemical research to support scientists in their efforts to collect, store, process, analyse, disclose and re-use research data. Measures to promote Open Science and Research Data Management (RDM) in agreement with the FAIR data principles are fundamental aims of NFDI4Chem to serve the chemistry community with a holistic concept for access to research data. To this end, the overarching objective is the development and maintenance of a national research data infrastructure for the research domain of chemistry in Germany, and to enable innovative and easy to use services and novel scientific approaches based on re-use of research data. NFDI4Chem intends to represent all disciplines of chemistry in academia. We aim to collaborate closely with thematically related consortia. In the initial phase, NFDI4Chem focuses on data related to molecules and reactions including data for their experimental and theoretical characterisation.This overarching goal is achieved by working towards a number of key objectives:Key Objective 1: Establish a virtual environment of federated repositories for storing, disclosing, searching and re-using research data across distributed data sources. Connect existing data repositories and, based on a requirements analysis, establish domain-specific research data repositories for the national research community, and link them to international repositories.Key Objective 2: Initiate international community processes to establish minimum information (MI) standards for data and machine-readable metadata as well as open data standards in key areas of chemistry. Identify and recommend open data standards in key areas of chemistry, in order to support the FAIR principles for research data. Finally, develop standards, if there is a lack.Key Objective 3: Foster cultural and digital change towards Smart Laboratory Environments by promoting the use of digital tools in all stages of research and promote subsequent Research Data Management (RDM) at all levels of academia, beginning in undergraduate studies curricula.Key Objective 4: Engage with the chemistry community in Germany through a wide range of measures to create awareness for and foster the adoption of FAIR data management. Initiate processes to integrate RDM and data science into curricula. Offer a wide range of training opportunities for researchers.Key Objective 5: Explore synergies with other consortia and promote cross-cutting development within the NFDI.Key Objective 6: Provide a legally reliable framework of policies and guidelines for FAIR and open RDM.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.6.e55141

Authors: Mareike Petersen, Bianca Pramann, Ralf Toepfer, Janna Neumann, Harry Enke, Jana Hoffmann, Reiner Mauer

Abstract: This report describes the results of a workshop on research data management (RDM) that took place in June 2019. More than 50 experts from 46 different non-university institutes covering all Leibniz Sections participated. The aim of the workshop was the intra- and transdisciplinary exchange among RDM experts of different institutions and sections within the Leibniz Association on current questions and challenges but also on experiences and activities with respect to RDM. The event was structured in inspiring talks, a World Café to discuss ideas and solutions related to RDM and an exchange of experts following their affiliation to the different Leibniz sections. The workshop revealed that most institutions, independent of scientific fields, face similar overarching problems with respect to RDM, e.g. missing incentives and no awareness of the benefits that would arise from a proper RDM and data sharing. The event also endorsed that the Research Data Working Group of the Leibniz Association (AK Forschungsdaten) is a place for the exchange of all topics around RDM and enables discussions on how to refine RDM at all institutions and in all scientific fields.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.6.e54770

Authors: Daniel Mietchen, Jundong Li

Abstract: In this project, we will explore the range of data-related decisions made during public health emergencies like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and analyze the flow of information, data, and metadata within networks of such decisions.Data sharing is now considered a key component of addressing present, future, and even past public health emergencies, from local to global levels. Researchers, research institutions, journals and others have taken steps towards increasing the sharing of data around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for future pandemics.We will quantify the effects of data flow modifications to identify parameter sets under which specific modes of sharing or withholding information have the largest effects on outbreak dynamics. For these high-impact parameter sets, we will then assess the current and past availability of corresponding data, metadata, and misinformation, and estimate the effects on outbreak mitigation and preparedness efforts.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.6.e50675

Authors: Thomas Borsch, Albert-Dieter Stevens, Eva Häffner, Anton Güntsch, Walter G. Berendsohn, Marc Appelhans, Christina Barilaro, Bánk Beszteri, Frank Blattner, Oliver Bossdorf, Helmut Dalitz, Stefan Dressler, Rhinaixa Duque-Thüs, Hans-Joachim Esser, Andreas Franzke, Dethardt Goetze, Michaela Grein, Uta Grünert, Frank Hellwig, Jörn Hentschel, Elvira Hörandl, Thomas Janßen, Norbert Jürgens, Gudrun Kadereit, Timm Karisch, Marcus Koch, Frank Müller, Jochen Müller, Dietrich Ober, Stefan Porembski, Peter Poschlod, Christian Printzen, Martin Röser, Peter Sack, Philipp Schlüter, Marco Schmidt, Martin Schnittler, Markus Scholler, Matthias Schultz, Elke Seeber, Josef Simmel, Michael Stiller, Mike Thiv, Holger Thüs, Natalia Tkach, Dagmar Triebel, Ursula Warnke, Tanja Weibulat, Karsten Wesche, Andrey Yurkov, Georg Zizka

Abstract: Plants, fungi and algae are important components of global biodiversity and are fundamental to all ecosystems. They are the basis for human well-being, providing food, materials and medicines. Specimens of all three groups of organisms are accommodated in herbaria, where they are commonly referred to as botanical specimens.The large number of specimens in herbaria provides an ample, permanent and continuously improving knowledge base on these organisms and an indispensable source for the analysis of the distribution of species in space and time critical for current and future research relating to global biodiversity. In order to make full use of this resource, a research infrastructure has to be built that grants comprehensive and free access to the information in herbaria and botanical collections in general. This can be achieved through digitization of the botanical objects and associated data.The botanical research community can count on a long-standing tradition of collaboration among institutions and individuals. It agreed on data standards and standard services even before the advent of computerization and information networking, an example being the Index Herbariorum as a global registry of herbaria helping towards the unique identification of specimens cited in the literature.In the spirit of this collaborative history, 51 representatives from 30 institutions advocate to start the digitization of botanical collections with the overall wall-to-wall digitization of the flat objects stored in German herbaria. Germany has 70 herbaria holding almost 23 million specimens according to a national survey carried out in 2019. 87% of these specimens are not yet digitized. Experiences from other countries like France, the Netherlands, Finland, the US and Australia show that herbaria can be comprehensively and cost-efficiently digitized in a relatively short time due to established workflows and protocols for the high-throughput digitization of flat objects.Most of the herbaria are part of a university (34), fewer belong to municipal museums (10) or state museums (8), six herbaria belong to institutions also supported by federal funds such as Leibniz institutes, and four belong to non-governmental organizations. A common data infrastructure must therefore integrate different kinds of institutions.Making full use of the data gained by digitization requires the set-up of a digital infrastructure for storage, archiving, content indexing and networking as well as standardized access for the scientific use of digital objects. A standards-based portfolio of technical components has already been developed and successfully tested by the Biodiversity Informatics Community over the last two decades, comprising among others access protocols, collection databases, portals, tools for semantic enrichment and annotation, international networking, storage and archiving in accordance with international standards. This was achieved through the funding by national and international programs and initiatives, which also paved the road for the German contribution to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).Herbaria constitute a large part of the German botanical collections that also comprise living collections in botanical gardens and seed banks, DNA- and tissue samples, specimens preserved in fluids or on microscope slides and more. Once the herbaria are digitized, these resources can be integrated, adding to the value of the overall research infrastructure. The community has agreed on tasks that are shared between the herbaria, as the German GBIF model already successfully demonstrates.We have compiled nine scientific use cases of immediate societal relevance for an integrated infrastructure of botanical collections. They address accelerated biodiversity discovery and research, biomonitoring and conservation planning, biodiversity modelling, the generation of trait information, automated image recognition by artificial intelligence, automated pathogen detection, contextualization by interlinking objects, enabling provenance research, as well as education, outreach and citizen science.We propose to start this initiative now in order to valorize German botanical collections as a vital part of a worldwide biodiversity data pool.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.5.e49755

Authors: Lisa Häberlein, Paula-Manuela Cengiz, Iliyana Demirova, Agnieszka Dwojak-Matras, Mette Jacobsen, Agnieszka Koterwas, Belén Lopez, Teodor Metodiev, Maria Palianopoulou

Abstract: This document is an up-to-date map on curricula in which research integrity (RI) or research ethics (RE) is currently included. It contains a collection of curricula in which RI/RE or associated fields are mentioned from the Path2Integrity partner countries Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Spain. Moving forward, the Path2Integrity training programme for educators will develop research integrity courses for trainers using this map as a reference. In this way, the project aims to support educators in closing possible gaps. At a broader level, Path2Integrity is involved in discourse with various stakeholders to establish a board of educational policymakers and stakeholders comprised of members from at least eight different countries to foster RI and parts of RI in European curricula.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.5.e35820

Authors: Lane Rasberry, Egon Willighagen, Finn Nielsen, Daniel Mietchen

Abstract: Knowledge workers like researchers, students, journalists, research evaluators or funders need tools to explore what is known, how it was discovered, who made which contributions, and where the scholarly record has gaps. Existing tools and services of this kind are not available as Linked Open Data, but Wikidata is. It has the technology, active contributor base, and content to build a large-scale knowledge graph for scholarship, also known as WikiCite. Scholia visualizes this graph in an exploratory interface with profiles and links to the literature. However, it is just a working prototype. This project aims to "robustify Scholia" with back-end development and testing based on pilot corpora. The main objective at this stage is to attain stability in challenging cases such as server throttling and handling of large or incomplete datasets. Further goals include integrating Scholia with data curation and manuscript writing workflows, serving more languages, generating usage stats, and documentation.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e31701

Authors: Simone Monachino, Eric James McDermott, Andre Maia Chagas

Abstract: The first edition of the Aspects of Neuroscience Brainhack took place at the Department of Physics at University of Warsaw, Poland between November 17th and 19th 2017. This hackathon was one of the satellite events of the Aspects of Neuroscience conference, it was organized by the Brainhack organization to promote interaction between researchers, encouraging open (neuro)science and collaborations on projects related to the study of the nervous system. The event had a total of nine projects on many different topics including functional connectivity research, white matter tractography, classification of brain-ageing biomarkers through machine learning, presentation of a portable one channel EEG registration device and a do it yourself 3D-printed neurobiology lab. The latter is highlighted in this paper.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e31827

Authors: Johanna Seibt, Christina Vestergaard

Abstract: This article introduces a new communicational format called Fair Proxy Communication. Fair Proxy Communication is a specific communicational setting in which a teleoperated robot is used to remove perceptual cues of implicit biases in order to increase the perceived fairness of decision-related communications. The envisaged practical applications of Fair Proxy Communication range from assessment communication (e.g. job interviews at Affirmative Action Employers) to conflict mediation, negotiation and other communication scenarios that require direct dialogue but where decision-making maybe negatively affected by implicit social biases. The theoretical significance of Fair Proxy Communication pertains primarily to the investigation of 'mechanisms' of implicit social cognition in neuropsychology, but this new communicational format also raises many research questions for the fields of organisational psychology, negotiation and conflict research and business ethics. Fair Proxy Communication is currently investigated by an interdisciplinary research team at Aarhus University, Denmark.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e26370

Authors: Pradeep Joseph

Abstract: The state of health disparities in the United States has remained relatively stable over a number of years. Although overall outcomes for all patients have improved, a difference persists in how different racial, ethnic, and gender groups have fared in our health care system. Many programs that have sought to combat this problem have been predicated on the belief that only a small number of providers in the medical community are aware of their own biases. Accordingly, it was believed that bias awareness is the direct conduit for this particular change in the health system. However, the results of such programs have been unsatisfactory. The reason for such ineffectiveness is that many programs have not taken into account the presence of implicit bias within the patient-provider relationship. This complex form of bias operates in specific ways, and must be dealt with appropriately. The use of digital checklists to aid in clinical decision making has proved to be both a way that patients can receive equitable care, and a way to improve overall patient outcomes. Secondly, in order to reach the most at-risk populations, health care must expand beyond the hospital walls, and out into the community. Nurse navigator programs have been shown to accomplish this with great success. Together, checklists and nurse navigators are the necessary next-step in the battle against health care disparities. What’s more, this two-pronged approach is relatively simple to implement. By making use of current electronic medical records, digital checklists can be quickly installed. Likewise, nurse navigator programs, a comparatively inexpensive option, can be rolled out quickly because of their simple design. A focus on the patient-provider relationship and community outreach is critical for progress in eliminating health care disparities.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21773

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: A pilot project worked with seven existing projects funded by the International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC) to investigate the implementation of data management and sharing requirements within development research projects. The seven projects, which were selected to achieve a diversity of project types, locations, host institutions and subject areas, demonstrated a broad range of existing capacities to work with data and access to technical expertise and infrastructures. The pilot project provided an introduction to data management and sharing concepts, helped projects develop a Data Management Plan, and then observed the implementation of that plan. In examining the uptake of Data Management and Sharing practice amongst these seven groups the project came to question the underlying goals of funders in introducing data management and sharing requirements. It was established that the ultimate goal was a change in culture amongst grantees. The project therefore looked for evidence of how funder interventions might promote or hinder such cultural change. The project had two core findings. First that the shift from an aim of changing behaviour, to changing culture, has both subtle and profound implications for policy design and implementation. A particular finding is that the single point of contact that many data management and sharing policies create where a Data Management Plan is required at grant submission but then not further utilised is at best neutral and likely counter productive in supporting change in researcher culture. As expected, there are significant bottlenecks within research institutions and for grantees in effectively sharing data including a lack of resources and expertise. However, a core finding is that many of the bottlenecks for change relate to structural issues at the funder level. Specifically, the expectation that policy initiatives are implemented, monitored, and evaluated by Program Officers who are the main point of contact for projects. The single most productive act to enhance policy implementation may be to empower and support Program Officers. This could be achieved through training and support of individual POs, through the creation of a group of internal experts who can support others, or via provision of external support, for instance by expanding the services provided by the pilot project into an ongoing support mechanism for both internal staff and grantees. Other significant findings include: the importance of language barriers and the way in which assumptions of English language in materials, resources, services and systems permeate the entire system; that data infrastructures are poorly served by current funding arrangements and tools, particularly where they are obliged to seek continuing funding through project grants. There are also fundamental questions raised by the status of digital objects as "data". The concept of data is part of a western scientific discourse which may be both incompatible with other cultures, particularly indigenous knowledge systems. More importantly that discourse may be incompatible with values-based approaches that seek to respect indigenous knowledge through a commitment to retaining context. With the possible exception of the last finding, none of these issues are exclusive to development research. The Development Research context surfaces them more strongly through its greater diversity of goals and contexts. In many ways this project illustrates not that Development Research has particular special needs, but that it is a site that surfaces issues in policy design and implementation deserving of more consideration across the research enterprise.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21700

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: The project “Problemes négligés du système de santé au Niger” focusses on a core set of often-neglected issues that nevertheless have an overall negative impact on health system effectiveness in Niger. For example, poor quality maternal health services result from challenges related to the midwifery profession and from pressures from addressing the effects of illegal termination of pregnancy. Overall health system governance is undermined by weak management of human resources and health information systems as well as problems related to decentralisation of health care provision and dependence on external funding for health projects. LASDEL applies a rapid assessment and qualitative research approach to working with patients and health care professionals to identify the scale and characteristics of these problems. The project goal is to develop an evidence base to support tackling these neglected issues. Développer des recherches sur les « problèmes négligés » dans la gouvernance de la santé, et sur cette base contribuer à des réformes des systèmes de santé permettant une meilleure qualité des soins pour les populations vulnérables. "Develop research on "neglected problems" in the provision of health systems, and through this work, contribute to health system reforms, that provide better quality of care for vulnerable populations." As can be seen above, many of these issues relate to reproductive health and more generally to health issues of disadvantaged groups. Some issues are neglected for political or social reasons meaning that they are not recognised or acknowledged and in some cases are criminalised. Therefore there are profound issues of participant privacy, protection and even safety for this project. Data sharing therefore requires thoughtful anonymisation and selection. The project group is Francophone with limited English language knowledge and the researchers and the context is largely in French. In common with much of Francophone Africa there has been limited development of Open Access to research outputs or Open Research Data agendas at governmental or funder levels. Outside of Canada and France there has been limited development of infrastructure, systems or policy relating to data sharing in the global francophonie specifically.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21702

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: HarassMap is an NGO based in Cairo that collects and maps crowdsourced data on sexual harassment in Egypt. Alongside this crowd-sourced data gathering it also offers training, workshops and advocacy programs, working with relevant parties to reduce the acceptability of all forms of sexual harassment. The project has been running since 2010 based on the Ushaidi platform. Over this time it has collected a very large number of mapped events reported largely by anonymous members of the public. The data has value both in terms of its richness; mapping data, category of harassment and descriptions are all recorded; and also as a longitudinal dataset that can inform on the success of interventions as well as the development of new forms of harassment. The project has been approached in the past by a number of researchers interested in using the data it has collected. The interest from HarassMap in Pilot Project participation was originally to obtain technical support to address how best to share data. While some technical advice was offered the focus on practice and planning was still useful. Identifying what data resources the project had, and in what form, allowed them to develop an online portal through which data can be made available to researchers on request.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21704

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: The IDRC-funded project 'Empowering Indigenous Peoples and Knowledge Systems Related to Climate Change and Intellectual Property Rights' is part of the Open and Collaborative Science in Development Network (OCSDNet). The project “examiners processes of open and collaborative science related to indigenous peoples’ knowledge, climate change and intellectual property rights”. Natural Justice, the lead organisation has a strong ethical stance on the agency and control over knowledge being vested with the contributing project participants, communities of the Nama and Griqua peoples of the Western Cape of South Africa. The project focuses on questions of how climate change is affecting these communities, how do they produce and maintain knowledge relating to climate change, how that knowledge is characterised and shared (or not) with wider publics, and how legal frameworks promote or hinder the agenda of these indigenous communities and their choices to communicate and collaborate with wider publics. Indigenous Knowledge is an area where ethical issues of informed consent, historical injustice, non-compatible epistemologies and political, legal, and economic issues all collide in ways that challenge western and Anglo-American assumptions about data sharing. The group seeks to strongly model and internally critique their own ethical stance in the process of their research, through for instance, using community contracts and questioning institutional informed consent systems.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21705

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: There is a wide and growing interest in promoting Research Data Management (RDM) and Research Data Sharing (RDS) from many stakeholders in the research enterprise. Funders are under pressure from activists, from government, and from the wider public agenda towards greater transparency and access to encourage, require, and deliver improved data practices from the researchers they fund. Funders are responding to this, and to their own interest in improved practice, by developing and implementing policies on RDM and RDS. In this review we examine the state of funder policies, the process of implementation and available guidance to identify the challenges and opportunities for funders in developing policy and delivering on the aspirations for improved community practice, greater transparency and engagement, and enhanced impact. The review is divided into three parts. The first two components are based on desk research: a survey of existing policy statements drawing in part on existing surveys and a brief review of available guidance on policy development for funders. The third part addresses the experience of policy implementation through interviews with funders, policy developers, and infrastructure providers. In our review we identify, in common with other surveys, that RDM and RDS policies are increasingly common. The most developed are found amongst funders in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and European Union. However many other funders and nations have aspirational statements or are developing policy. There is a broad pattern of policy development moving from aspiration, to recommendations, to requirements, and finally reporting and auditing of data management practice. There are strong similarities across policies: a requirement for data management planning, often in grant submissions, expectations that data supporting published articles will be made available, and in many cases requirements for data archiving and availability over extended periods beyond grants. However there are also important differences in implementation. There is essentially no information available on the uptake and success of different policies in terms of compliance rates, or degrees of data availability. Many policies require a Data Management Plan as part of grant submission. This requirement can be enforced but there is disagreement on the value of this. One view is that requirements such as DMPs are the only way to force researchers to pay attention to these issues. The other is that such requirements lead to a culture of compliance in which the minimal effort is made and planning is seen as a “tick-box” exercise that has no further value. In this view requirements such as DMPs may actually be damaging the effort to effect culture change towards improved community practice. One way to bring these two views together is to see DMPs as living documents that form the basis of collaboration between researchers, funders, and data managers throughout the life of a research project. This approach is reflected in guidance on policy development that emphasises the importance of clarifying responsibilities of various stakeholders and ensuring that researchers are both recognised for good practice and see tangible benefits. More broadly this points to the need for the program of improving RDM and RDS to be shared project with the incentives for funders and researchers aligned as far as is possible. In the interviews successful policy implementation was often seen to be dependent on funders providing the required support, both in the form of infrastructure and resourcing, and via the provision of internal expertise amongst program managers. Where resources are limited, leveraging other support, especially from institutional sources, was seen as important as was ensuring the scope of policy requirements were commensurate with the support available and readiness of research communities. Throughout the desk research and the interviews a consistent theme is the desire for cultural change, where data management and sharing practices are embedded within the norms of behaviour for research communities. There is general agreement that progress from aspirational policies to achieving compliance is challenging and that broad cultural change, with the exception of specific communities, is a long way off. It is interesting to note that discussion of cultural change is largely externalised. There is little engagement with the concept of culture as an issue to consider or work with and very little engagement with models of how cultural change could be enabled. The disagreement over the value of DMPs is one example of how a lack of active engagement with culture and how it changes is leading to problems. Key Findings Policies on RDM and RDS are being developed by a number of agencies, primarily in the Global North. These policies are broadly consistent in aspiration and outlines but differ significantly in details of implementation. Policies generally develop along a path starting with aspirational statements, followed by recommendations, then requirements, and finally auditing and compliance measures. Measurement of policy adoption and compliance in terms of the over goals of increased availability and re-use of data is not tracked and is likely unmeasurable currently. Data Management Plans are a central requirement for many policies, in part because they can be made compulsory and act as a general focus for raising awareness. There are significant differences in the views of stakeholders on the value of Data Management Planning in its current form. Some stakeholders regard them as successful in raising awareness albeit with some limitations. Some regard them as actively damaging progress towards real change in practice by making RDM appear as one administrative activity among the many required for grant submission Successful policy implementation is coupled with funder support for infrastructure and training. Seeing RDM as an area for collaboration between funders and researchers may be valuable Internal expertise and support within a funder is often a gap which becomes a problem with monitoring and implementation DMPs can be a helpful part of process but it will be important to make them useful documents throughout and beyond the project If the object of RDM and RDS policy is cultural change in research communities then direct engagement with understanding the various cultures of researcher and other stakeholder communities, alongside frameworks of how they change is an important area for future focus.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21280

Authors: E'lexis Brewer

Abstract: This paper proposes whether teacher-child attachment bonds have an effect on adolescent disobedience and whether adolescents with low self-esteem moderate the effect. In this study, the definition of disobedience is deviance and delinquency. The literature states that the teacher-child relationship demonstrates positive and negative outcomes in academic performance however it does not account for self-esteem or disobedience outside the school. I hypothesize attachment bonds to show a negative relationship with students who demonstrate low self-esteem and a positive trend in disobedience. To test my hypotheses, I use various coded questionnaires from Wave I and II of the ADD Health Survey that code for academics/education, delinquency, fighting and violence, drug use, and other deviant or disobedient behavior. In order to test, I would use cross tabulation to compare students’ attachment, self-esteem levels, and disobedience. All three variables require no specific order, as nominal variables, so they can compare against each other without regard for sequence. In summary, if implemented my study will add to the current research literature on the teacher-child relationship and potential evidence-based intervention programs for students.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e15133

Authors: Reem Wael

Abstract: HarassMap is an Egyptian organisation that works to create an environment where sexual harassment is not tolerated, and where individuals and institutions take action against it. For the purpose of this project, the project team cleaned up, organised, and made openly available for the public to access and use through a web portal, three main types of data: Crowdsourced reports of sexual harassment incidents (reports on HarassMap’s online reporting and mapping system) - CSV and XLS Field data from HarassMap’s research on sexual harassment using traditional qualitative and quantitative research methods - DOCX, PDF, SAV, MP3 Social media conversations (comment threads and messages related to sexual harassment on harassMap’s Facebook page) - XLS The social media data was collected retrospectively from our Facebook page during the project period and covers the period 2010-2016. The crowdsourced data and the research data was cleaned and organised to make sure it is usable for the public but still kept in its raw format. During the collection and organisation period, we also made sure to clear out all personal identifiers from the data to ensure anonymity and confidentiality, and prepared descriptions of each dataset that will help the public understand how the data was collected and how it can and cannot be used. The data is stored online on a web portal that we built together with a web developer during the project period. On the web portal, the data is available for the public to view, search and download for research or other purposes. The data is also backed up on a hard drive and the cloud. The web portal and HarassMap open data will be advertised on our website, and the direct link shared with our contacts and others who approach us with interest in our data.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14672

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: This is the Data Management Plan for the project "Exploring the opportunities and challenges of implementing open research strategies within development institutions" the proposal for which was published as https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.2.e8880. The research proposal calls for support for a pilot project to conduct open data pilot case studies with eight (8) IDRC grantees to develop and implement open data management and sharing plans. The results of the case studies will serve to refine guidelines for the implementation of development research funders’ open research data policies.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14673

Authors: Cameron Neylon

Abstract: There is a wide and growing interest in promoting Research Data Management (RDM) and Research Data Sharing (RDS) from many stakeholders in the research enterprise. Funders are under pressure from activists, from government, and from the wider public agenda towards greater transparency and access to encourage, require, and deliver improved data practices from the researchers they fund. Funders are responding to this, and to their own interest in improved practice, by developing and implementing policies on RDM and RDS. In this review we examine the state of funder policies, the process of implementation and available guidance to identify the challenges and opportunities for funders in developing policy and delivering on the aspirations for improved community practice, greater transparency and engagement, and enhanced impact. The review is divided into three parts. The first two components are based on desk research: a survey of existing policy statements drawing in part on existing surveys and a brief review of available guidance on policy development for funders. The third part addresses the experience of policy implementation through interviews with funders, policy developers, and infrastructure providers. In our review we identify, in common with other surveys, that RDM and RDS policies are increasingly common. The most developed are found amongst funders in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and European Union. However many other funders and nations have aspirational statements or are developing policy. There is a broad pattern of policy development moving from aspiration, to recommendations, to requirements, and finally reporting and auditing of data management practice. There are strong similarities across policies: a requirement for data management planning, often in grant submissions, expectations that data supporting published articles will be made available, and in many cases requirements for data archiving and availability over extended periods beyond grants. However there are also important differences in implementation. There is essentially no information available on the uptake and success of different policies in terms of compliance rates, or degrees of data availability. Many policies require a Data Management Plan as part of grant submission. This requirement can be enforced but there is disagreement on the value of this. One view is that requirements such as DMPs are the only way to force researchers to pay attention to these issues. The other is that such requirements lead to a culture of compliance in which the minimal effort is made and planning is seen as a “tick-box” exercise that has no further value. In this view requirements such as DMPs may actually be damaging the effort to effect culture change towards improved community practice. One way to bring these two views together is to see DMPs as living documents that form the basis of collaboration between researchers, funders, and data managers throughout the life of a research project. This approach is reflected in guidance on policy development that emphasises the importance of clarifying responsibilities of various stakeholders and ensuring that researchers are both recognised for good practice and see tangible benefits. More broadly this points to the need for the program of improving RDM and RDS to be shared project with the incentives for funders and researchers aligned as far as is possible. In the interviews successful policy implementation was often seen to be dependent on funders providing the required support, both in the form of infrastructure and resourcing, and via the provision of internal expertise amongst program managers. Where resources are limited, leveraging other support, especially from institutional sources, was seen as important as was ensuring the scope of policy requirements were commensurate with the support available and readiness of research communities. Throughout the desk research and the interviews a consistent theme is the desire for cultural change, where data management and sharing practices are embedded within the norms of behaviour for research communities. There is general agreement that progress from aspirational policies to achieving compliance is challenging and that broad cultural change, with the exception of specific communities, is a long way off. It is interesting to note that discussion of cultural change is largely externalised. There is little engagement with the concept of culture as an issue to consider or work with and very little engagement with models of how cultural change could be enabled. The disagreement over the value of DMPs is one example of how a lack of active engagement with culture and how it changes is leading to problems. Key Findings Policies on RDM and RDS are being developed by a number of agencies, primarily in the Global North. These policies are broadly consistent in aspiration and outlines but differ significantly in details of implementation. Policies generally develop along a path starting with aspirational statements, followed by recommendations, then requirements, and finally auditing and compliance measures. Measurement of policy adoption and compliance in terms of the over goals of increased availability and re-use of data is not tracked and is likely unmeasurable currently. Data Management Plans are a central requirement for many policies, in part because they can be made compulsory and act as a general focus for raising awareness. There are significant differences in the views of stakeholders on the value of Data Management Planning in its current form. Some stakeholders regard them as successful in raising awareness albeit with some limitations. Some regard them as actively damaging progress towards real change in practice by making RDM appear as one administrative activity among the many required for grant submission Successful policy implementation is coupled with funder support for infrastructure and training. Seeing RDM as an area for collaboration between funders and researchers may be valuable Internal expertise and support within a funder is often a gap which becomes a problem with monitoring and implementation DMPs can be a helpful part of process but it will be important to make them useful documents throughout and beyond the project If the object of RDM and RDS policy is cultural change in research communities then direct engagement with understanding the various cultures of researcher and other stakeholder communities, alongside frameworks of how they change is an important area for future focus.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e13239

Authors: Andrey Vyshedskiy, Rita Dunn, Irene Piryatinsky

Abstract: Traditionally, the neurological correlates of IQ test questions are characterized qualitatively in terms of ‘control of attention’ and ‘working memory.’ In this report we attempt to characterize each IQ test question quantitatively by two factors: a) the number of disparate objects that have to be imagined in concert in order to solve the problem and, b) the amount of recruited posterior cortex territory. With such a classification, an IQ test can be understood on a neuronal level and a subject’s IQ score could be interpreted in terms of specific neurological mechanisms available to the subject.Here we present the results of an analysis of the three most popular nonverbal IQ tests: Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-4), Standard Raven's Progressive Matrices, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V). Our analysis shows that approximately half of all questions (52±0.02%) are limited to mental computations involving only a single object; these easier questions are found towards the beginning of each test. More difficult questions located towards the end of each test rely on mental synthesis of several disparate objects and the number of objects involved in computations gradually increases with question difficulty. These more challenging questions require the organization of wider posterior cortex networks by the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). This conclusion is in line with neuroimaging studies showing that activation level of the lateral PFC and the posterior cortex positively correlates with task difficulty. This analysis has direct implications for brain pathophysiology and, specifically, for therapeutic interventions for children with language impairment, most notably for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disorders.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e11321

Authors: Florian Leese, Florian Altermatt, Agnès Bouchez, Torbjørn Ekrem, Daniel Hering, Kristian Meissner, Patricia Mergen, Jan Pawlowski, Jeremy Piggott, Frédéric Rimet, Dirk Steinke, Pierre Taberlet, Alexander Weigand, Kessy Abarenkov, Pedro Beja, Lieven Bervoets, Snaedís Björnsdóttir, Pieter Boets, Angela Boggero, Atle Bones, Ángel Borja, Kat Bruce, Vojislava Bursić, Jens Carlsson, Fedor Čiampor, Zuzana Čiamporová-Zatovičová, Eric Coissac, Filipe Costa, Marieta Costache, Simon Creer, Zoltán Csabai, Kristy Deiner, Ángel DelValls, Stina Drakare, Sofia Duarte, Tina Eleršek, Stefano Fazi, Cene Fišer, Jean-François Flot, Vera Fonseca, Diego Fontaneto, Michael Grabowski, Wolfram Graf, Jóhannes Guðbrandsson, Micaela Hellström, Yaron Hershkovitz, Peter Hollingsworth, Bella Japoshvili, John Jones, Maria Kahlert, Belma Kalamujic Stroil, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Martyn Kelly, Mary Kelly-Quinn, Emre Keskin, Urmas Kõljalg, Zrinka Ljubešić, Irena Maček, Elvira Mächler, Andrew Mahon, Marketa Marečková, Maja Mejdandzic, Georgina Mircheva, Matteo Montagna, Christian Moritz, Vallo Mulk, Andreja Naumoski, Ion Navodaru, Judit Padisák, Snæbjörn Pálsson, Kristel Panksep, Lyubomir Penev, Adam Petrusek, Martin Pfannkuchen, Craig Primmer, Baruch Rinkevich, Ana Rotter, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber, Pedro Segurado, Arjen Speksnijder, Pavel Stoev, Malin Strand, Sigitas Šulčius, Per Sundberg, Michael Traugott, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Xavier Turon, Alice Valentini, Berry van der Hoorn, Gábor Várbíró, Marlen Vasquez Hadjilyra, Javier Viguri, Irma Vitonytė, Alfried Vogler, Trude Vrålstad, Wolfgang Wägele, Roman Wenne, Anne Winding, Guy Woodward, Bojana Zegura, Jonas Zimmermann

Abstract: The protection, preservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and their functions are of global importance. For European states it became legally binding mainly through the EU-Water Framework Directive (WFD). In order to assess the ecological status of a given water body, aquatic biodiversity data are obtained and compared to a reference water body. The quantified mismatch obtained determines the extent of potential management actions. The current approach to biodiversity assessment is based on morpho-taxonomy. This approach has many drawbacks such as being time consuming, limited in temporal and spatial resolution, and error-prone due to the varying individual taxonomic expertise of the analysts. Novel genomic tools can overcome many of the aforementioned problems and could complement or even replace traditional bioassessment. Yet, a plethora of approaches are independently developed in different institutions, thereby hampering any concerted routine application. The goal of this Action is to nucleate a group of researchers across disciplines with the task to identify gold-standard genomic tools and novel eco-genomic indices for routine application in biodiversity assessments of European fresh- and marine water bodies. Furthermore, DNAqua-Net will provide a platform for training of the next generation of European researchers preparing them for the new technologies. Jointly with water managers, politicians, and other stakeholders, the group will develop a conceptual framework for the standard application of eco-genomic tools as part of legally binding assessments.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e9115

Authors: Chad Hammond

Abstract: Cancer incidence is growing within First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNIM) communities, yet research and supportive care is slow to respond to their unique needs and experiences. The proposed project will engage important stakeholders involved in FNIM cancer care within Ontario, including health care professionals, health administrators, and FNIM community leaders. This study builds upon a national study on FNIM cancer survivors. Three objectives drive this research: 1) To identify strengths and needs within FNIM cancer care in Ontario from multiple perspectives; 2) To exchange knowledge of FNIM cancer experiences between stakeholders through arts-based methods, especially photography; 3) To work collaboratively with stakeholders to establish recommendations for improving FNIM cancer care. The project involves early consultations with stakeholders on the most pressing questions and issues in the area. Then, 20 participants (10 health care professionals, 5 health administrators, and 5 FNIM community leaders) will be recruited to use and discuss photos that capture experiences of FNIM cancer care. A report will be generated and dispensed to participants, bringing together various experiences, themes, perspectives, and recommendations for improving the state of care.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e9113

Authors: Katja Heuer, Satrajit Ghosh, Amy Robinson Sterling, Roberto Toro

Abstract:

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8861

Authors: János Tóth

Abstract: Small grant proposal for the period between August 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015 of the Kelemen Mikes Program; for collecting the legacy of the Hungarian diaspora from documents of libraries and archives, and for the historical study of these communities.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8720

Authors: Josh Fisher, Alex Nading

Abstract:

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8649

Authors: Stephanie Simms, Sarah Jones, Kevin Ashley, Marta Ribeiro, John Chodacki, Stephen Abrams, Marisa Strong

Abstract: The DMPTool and DMPonline were developed to meet an emerging need arising from the advent of open data policies and each is now well established as the resource for researchers seeking guidance in creating data management plans (DMPs) in the US and UK respectively. Both services, and their sponsoring organizations, the California Digital Library (CDL) and the Digital Curation Centre (DCC), have succeeded in enabling researchers to comply with funder requirements in producing DMPs. However, this is just one step along the road to advancing open science. We see an opportunity to further leverage DMPs to support open science by integrating them into the broader ecosystem of data management infrastructure. In order to achieve this goal, we must redefine success to include not just adoption of our services by institutions but also widespread adoption by individual researchers, disciplinary communities, and funders. Working together with all stakeholders to make DMPs an essential, open part of the research lifecycle, and not just a matter of compliance, is the next step toward effectively managing and sharing research data. We propose to join forces and build a new, global data management advisory platform that links DMPs to other components of the research lifecycle. The biomedical research community provides an opportunity to adapt the infrastructure and associated educational resources to one specific disciplinary community and plug into new initiatives. We will reposition DMPs as living documents useful for structuring the course of biomedical research activities and integrating with related data management systems to lower the barriers for implementation and promote culture change. Consolidating around a single platform for DMPs extends our reach, keeps costs down, and moves best practices forward, allowing us to participate in a truly global open science ecosystem.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8615

Authors: Chad Hammond

Abstract: Cancer incidence is growing within First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNIM) communities, yet research and supportive care is slow to respond to their unique needs and experiences. The proposed project will engage important stakeholders involved in FNIM cancer care within Ontario, including health care professionals, health administrators, and FNIM community leaders. This study builds upon a national study on FNIM cancer survivors. Three objectives drive this research: 1) To identify strengths and needs within FNIM cancer care in Ontario from multiple perspectives; 2) To exchange knowledge of FNIM cancer experiences between stakeholders through arts-based methods, especially photography; 3) To work collaboratively with stakeholders to establish recommendations for improving FNIM cancer care. The project involves early consultations with stakeholders on the most pressing questions and issues in the area. Then, 20 participants (10 health care professionals, 5 health administrators, and 5 FNIM community leaders) will be recruited to use and discuss photos that capture experiences of FNIM cancer care. A report will be generated and dispensed to participants, bringing together various experiences, themes, perspectives, and recommendations for improving the state of care.

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