scholarly journals Envisioning data sharing for the biocomputing community

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 20190005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Riccardi ◽  
Sergio Pantano ◽  
Raffaello Potestio

The scientific community is facing a revolution in several aspects of its modus operandi , ranging from the way science is done—data production, collection, analysis—to the way it is communicated and made available to the public, be that an academic audience or a general one. These changes have been largely determined by two key players: the big data revolution or, less triumphantly, the impressive increase in computational power and data storage capacity; and the accelerating paradigm switch in science publication, with people and policies increasingly pushing towards open access frameworks. All these factors prompt the undertaking of initiatives oriented to maximize the effectiveness of the computational efforts carried out worldwide. Taking the moves from these observations, we here propose a coordinated initiative, focusing on the computational biophysics and biochemistry community but general and flexible in its defining characteristics, which aims at addressing the growing necessity of collecting, rationalizing, sharing and exploiting the data produced in this scientific environment.

Author(s):  
Yukiko Inoue ◽  
Suzanne Bell

Digital computers have been around for some 50 years. Their influence has been felt in fits and starts. Early significant applications were in science, engineering and mathematics. In the last 20 years, we have seen computing become relatively universal with stand-alone PCs and workstations commonplace in homes, offices and factories. Both computational power and data storage capacity have become relatively cheap. Powerful application packages for word-processing, numerical processing and graphical work are readily available. Data of all kinds can now be represented and manipulated digitally, including photographs, video and audio tracks. Increasingly all of this is possible not just on stand-alone computers but also over networks and in particular the Internet. (Ryan, Scott, Freeman, & Patel, 2001, p. 9)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Egeland

AbstractConsiderations of scientific evidence are often thought to provide externalism with the dialectical upper hand in the internalism–externalism debate. How so? A couple of reasons are forthcoming in the literature. (1) Williamson (2000) argues that the E = K thesis (in contrast to internalism) provides the best explanation for the fact that scientists appear to argue from premises about true propositions (or facts) that are common knowledge among the members of the scientific community. (2) Kelly (Philosophy Compass, 3 (5), 933–955, 2008; 2016) argues that only externalism is suited to account for the public character of scientific evidence. In this article, I respond to Williamson and Kelly’s arguments. First, I show that the E = K thesis isn’t supported by the way in which we talk about scientific evidence, and that it is unable to account for facts about what has been regarded as scientific evidence and as justified scientific belief in the history of science. Second, I argue that there are internalist views that can account for the publicity of scientific evidence, and that those views indeed do better in that regard than the (externalist) view proposed by Kelly. The upshot is that considerations of scientific evidence do not favor externalism over internalism.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Kendall ◽  
Angelina Yee ◽  
Steven Hardy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to support the use of unique identifiers for the authors of scientific publications. This, the authors believe, aligns with the views of many others, as it would solve the problem of author disambiguation. If every researcher had a unique identifier, there would be significant opportunities to provide even more services. These extensions are proposed in this paper. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss the bibliographic services that are currently available. This leads to a discussion of how these services could be developed and extended. Findings The authors suggest a number of ways that a unique identifier for scientific authors could support many other areas of importance to the scientific community. This will provide a much more robust system that provides a much richer and more easily maintained, scientific environment. Originality/value The scientific community lags behind most other communities with regard to the way it identifies individuals. Even if the current vision for a unique identifier for authors was to become more widespread, there would still be many areas where the community could improve its operations. This viewpoint paper suggests some of these, along with a financial model that could underpin the functionality.


Author(s):  
Omar Shaikh ◽  
Stefano Bonino

The Colourful Heritage Project (CHP) is the first community heritage focused charitable initiative in Scotland aiming to preserve and to celebrate the contributions of early South Asian and Muslim migrants to Scotland. It has successfully collated a considerable number of oral stories to create an online video archive, providing first-hand accounts of the personal journeys and emotions of the arrival of the earliest generation of these migrants in Scotland and highlighting the inspiring lessons that can be learnt from them. The CHP’s aims are first to capture these stories, second to celebrate the community’s achievements, and third to inspire present and future South Asian, Muslim and Scottish generations. It is a community-led charitable project that has been actively documenting a collection of inspirational stories and personal accounts, uniquely told by the protagonists themselves, describing at first hand their stories and adventures. These range all the way from the time of partition itself to resettling in Pakistan, and then to their final accounts of arriving in Scotland. The video footage enables the public to see their facial expressions, feel their emotions and hear their voices, creating poignant memories of these great men and women, and helping to gain a better understanding of the South Asian and Muslim community’s earliest days in Scotland.


2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Carson

Abstract Are historic sites and house museums destined to go the way of Oldsmobiles and floppy disks?? Visitation has trended downwards for thirty years. Theories abound, but no one really knows why. To launch a discussion of the problem in the pages of The Public Historian, Cary Carson cautions against the pessimistic view that the past is simply passéé. Instead he offers a ““Plan B”” that takes account of the new way that learners today organize information to make history meaningful.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 203-231
Author(s):  
Antonio Terrone
Keyword(s):  

The study of Buddhist texts can inform us of the way scriptures were composed, as well as illuminate the reasons behind their production. This study examines the phenomenon of borrowing and reusing portions of texts without attributing them to their ‘legitimate authors’ within the Buddhist world of contemporary Tibet. It shows that not only is such a practice not at all infrequent and is often socially accepted, but that it is used in this case as a platform to advance specific claims and promote an explicit agenda. Therefore, rather than considering these as instances of plagiarism, this essay looks at the practice of copying and borrowing as an exercise in intertextuality, intended as the faithful retransmission of ancient truths, and as an indication of the public domain of texts in Tibet.


Author(s):  
Jia Hua-Ping ◽  
Zhao Jun-Long ◽  
Liu Jun

Cardiovascular disease is one of the major diseases that threaten the human health. But the existing electrocardiograph (ECG) monitoring system has many limitations in practical application. In order to monitor ECG in real time, a portable ECG monitoring system based on the Android platform is developed to meet the needs of the public. The system uses BMD101 ECG chip to collect and process ECG signals in the Android system, where data storage and waveform display of ECG data can be realized. The Bluetooth HC-07 module is used for ECG data transmission. The abnormal ECG can be judged by P wave, QRS bandwidth, and RR interval. If abnormal ECG is found, an early warning mechanism will be activated to locate the user’s location in real time and send preset short messages, so that the user can get timely treatment, avoiding dangerous occurrence. The monitoring system is convenient and portable, which brings great convenie to the life of ordinary cardiovascular users.


2017 ◽  
pp. 226-291
Author(s):  
O.V. Liubimova

On the basis of The Deeds of Divine Augustus or Res Gestae Divi Augusti (RGDA), the author analyses the significance of the legacy of populares, one of the main political movements in the Late Republic, in the politics of Emperor Augustus. The main features of this political movement, in the opinion of modern researchers, were their demagogic political style, their assertion of the sovereignty of Roman people and their protection of economic interests of the lower classes. In the RGDA there is no mention of the odious political methods of the populares that entailed conflicts and unrest but the text significantly dwells on the tribunician power granted to Augustus. In the Late Republic the tribunician power served as the basis of the populares political method. The ideology reflected in the RGDA entrusts the Roman people with an important role in the public administration and describes the Roman people as a fullfledged partner of the Senate, however it lacks the populares contraposition of the Roman people to the Senate (or to the oligarchy controlling the Senate). The populares legacy is particularly apparent in the RGDA chapters describing Augustus expenses in favor of the Roman people such as the organisation of various social measures, shows and public building. Augustus inherited from the populares of the Late Republic the idea of Roman plebs as a source of political power and of satisfaction of its interest as a mechanism of maintaining political stability, but discarded those of populares slogans and methods that had a conflict potential.На материале Деяний Божественного Августа (Res Gestae Divi Augusti) рассматривается вопрос о том, какое место занимало в политике Августа наследие популяров одного из двух основных политических течений Поздней республики. В качестве характерных черт этого движения исследователи выделяют демагогический политический стиль приверженность идеологии народного суверенитета защиту экономических интересов неимущих слоёв. В RGDA не упоминаются одиозные политические методы популяров, которые влекли за собой конфликты и беспорядки, но важное место занимает предоставленная Августу трибунская власть, которая в Республике служила основой популярского Modus Operandi. Идеология, выраженная в RGDA, отводит римскому народу важное место в управлении государством и представляет его равноправным партнёром сената однако в ней отсутствует характерное для популяров противопоставление народа сенату (или олигархии, контролирующей сенат). Наиболее очевидно наследие популяров в тех главах RGDA, где описываются расходы Августа в пользу римского народа: социальные мероприятия, организация зрелищ и строительство. Август заимствовал у позднереспубликанских популяров представление о том, что римский плебс может служить источником политической силы, и удовлетворение его интересов необходимо для поддержания политической стабильности, однако исключил из своего арсенала те политические лозунги и методы популяров, которые имели конфликтный потенциал.


Author(s):  
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín ◽  
Kristen Intemann

Current debates about climate change or vaccine safety provide an alarming illustration of the potential impacts of dissent about scientific claims. False beliefs about evidence and the conclusions that can be drawn from it are commonplace, as is corrosive doubt about the existence of widespread scientific consensus. Deployed aggressively and to political ends, ill-founded dissent can intimidate scientists, stymie research, and lead both the public and policymakers to oppose important policies firmly rooted in science. To criticize dissent is, however, a fraught exercise. Skepticism and fearless debate are key to the scientific process, making it both vital and incredibly difficult to characterize and identify dissent that is problematic in its approach and consequences. Indeed, as de Melo-Martín and Intemann show, the criteria commonly proposed as means of identifying inappropriate dissent are flawed, and the strategies generally recommended to tackle such dissent are not only ineffective but could even make the situation worse. The Fight against Doubt proposes that progress on this front can best be achieved by enhancing the trustworthiness of the scientific community and being more realistic about the limits of science when it comes to policymaking. It shows that a richer understanding is needed of the context in which science operates so as to disarm problematic dissent and those who deploy it in the pursuit of their goals.


1974 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice A. Wright

Several cognitive factors are singled out because of their strong influence on the way in which the abilities of blind people are perceived, namely: the spread phenomenon, position of the observer, expectation discrepancy, restricting environmental opportunities in accord with expectations, attribution to person versus environment. In the affective area, negative emotional factors (pity, fear, uneasiness, guilt) and positive emotional factors (genuine sympathy, respect, appreciation, warm interpersonal relationships) are discussed. Ambivalence (the presence of both positive and negative components) is seen as contributing to the variability of behavior toward blind people. Finally, guidelines for the improvement of attitudes and environmental opportunities are outlined. Of special significance for the education of the public is the approach based on the coping framework as opposed to the succumbing framework. Integrating blind persons with sighted persons into as many activities as possible is supported. The vigorous engagement and leadership in programs for the blind by blind people working collaboratively with sighted people are also stressed.


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