PeerJ Computer Science Preprints: Social Computinghttps://peerj.com/preprints/index.atom?journal=cs&subject=11300Social Computing articles published in PeerJ Computer Science PreprintsSkill ranking of researchers via hypergraphhttps://peerj.com/preprints/274802019-01-122019-01-12Xiangjie KongLei LiuShuo YuAndong YangXiaomei BaiBo Xu
Researchers use various skills in their work, such as writing, data analyzing and experiments design. These research skills have greatly influenced quality of their research outputs, as well as their scientific impact. Although there are many indicators having been proposed to quantify the impact of researchers, studies of evaluating their scientific research skills are very rare. In this paper, we analyze the factors affecting researchers' skill ranking and propose a new model based on hypergraph theory to evaluate the scientific research skills. To validate our skill ranking model, we perform experiments on PLoS One dataset and compare the rank of researchers' skills with their papers citation counts and h-index. Finally, we analyze the patterns about how researchers' skill ranking increased over time. Our studies also show the change patterns of researchers between different skills.
Researchers use various skills in their work, such as writing, data analyzing and experiments design. These research skills have greatly influenced quality of their research outputs, as well as their scientific impact. Although there are many indicators having been proposed to quantify the impact of researchers, studies of evaluating their scientific research skills are very rare. In this paper, we analyze the factors affecting researchers' skill ranking and propose a new model based on hypergraph theory to evaluate the scientific research skills. To validate our skill ranking model, we perform experiments on PLoS One dataset and compare the rank of researchers' skills with their papers citation counts and h-index. Finally, we analyze the patterns about how researchers' skill ranking increased over time. Our studies also show the change patterns of researchers between different skills.An automatic seating plan algorithmhttps://peerj.com/preprints/274202018-12-082018-12-08Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
An appropriate seating plan is an important prerequisite for any good party be it a formal wedding or an informal dinner. Yet anyone who has designed a seating plan knows that it can prove frustratingly difficult to find a solution that solves the large number of formal, physical and personal constraints associated. Here I present a flexible algorithm for automating the task. The algorithm matches guests to seats taking into account constraints provided through a dissimilarity matrix calculated, for example, using answers to questions designed to classify personality, as well as other formal or informal constraints.
An appropriate seating plan is an important prerequisite for any good party be it a formal wedding or an informal dinner. Yet anyone who has designed a seating plan knows that it can prove frustratingly difficult to find a solution that solves the large number of formal, physical and personal constraints associated. Here I present a flexible algorithm for automating the task. The algorithm matches guests to seats taking into account constraints provided through a dissimilarity matrix calculated, for example, using answers to questions designed to classify personality, as well as other formal or informal constraints.Towards an open 3D participatory citizen debatehttps://peerj.com/preprints/272072018-09-142018-09-14Thibaud ChassinJens IngensandFlorent Joerin
This paper presents a platform aiming the ease of the debate between citizens. In the early 2010’ies, governments are seeking new ways to be more accountable and transparent towards their citizens; marking a renewal in public participation. In return, citizens are eager to be heard and to use new tools based on information and communication technologies (ICT) like the web 2.0. This public’s empowerment presents some costs for the authorities who are mainly concerned with the loss of decision making power. To face those challenges, several 2D online maps have been developed to help the governments to direct and centralize citizens insights. Those previous collaborating mapping tools helped to identify the characteristics of a reliable platform : user-friendly, simple and accessible (anywhere at any time). In our implementation, we adopted the third dimension which provides numerous benefits : 1. a more effective and effortless visualization, 2. An unbiased representation of the environment, 3. The merge of the participant cognition spaces. From our past experiences, we conceptualized the actors (citizens / facilitator / transcriber) interactions and dynamics in public engagement on-site meeting. From this approach, we evaluated how the utilization of a 3D virtual environment as the support of the participation will reshape and enhance the relation synergies between the actors : 1. Centralization of the interactions within the platform, 2. Automated analysis from the gathered raw information, 3. Reachability of a larger part of the population, 4. Lightening of the participatory processes.
This paper presents a platform aiming the ease of the debate between citizens. In the early 2010’ies, governments are seeking new ways to be more accountable and transparent towards their citizens; marking a renewal in public participation. In return, citizens are eager to be heard and to use new tools based on information and communication technologies (ICT) like the web 2.0. This public’s empowerment presents some costs for the authorities who are mainly concerned with the loss of decision making power. To face those challenges, several 2D online maps have been developed to help the governments to direct and centralize citizens insights. Those previous collaborating mapping tools helped to identify the characteristics of a reliable platform : user-friendly, simple and accessible (anywhere at any time). In our implementation, we adopted the third dimension which provides numerous benefits : 1. a more effective and effortless visualization, 2. An unbiased representation of the environment, 3. The merge of the participant cognition spaces. From our past experiences, we conceptualized the actors (citizens / facilitator / transcriber) interactions and dynamics in public engagement on-site meeting. From this approach, we evaluated how the utilization of a 3D virtual environment as the support of the participation will reshape and enhance the relation synergies between the actors : 1. Centralization of the interactions within the platform, 2. Automated analysis from the gathered raw information, 3. Reachability of a larger part of the population, 4. Lightening of the participatory processes.Participants’ motivations to contribute to biodiversity citizen science projectshttps://peerj.com/preprints/271982018-09-132018-09-13Maryam LotfianJens IngensandOlivier ErtzSarah CompostoMathias ObersonSimon OulevayDavid CampisiFlorent Joerin
The public participation in scientific projects (citizen science) is significantly increasing specially with technology developments in recent years. Volunteers play an essential role in citizen science projects, therefore understanding their motivations, and understanding how to sustain them to keep contributing to the project are of utmost importance. This paper presents the analysis of volunteers’ characteristics and their motivations to contribute to a citizen science project, which aims at encouraging citizens to take action for biodiversity. The results from the online survey illustrate that people are more motivated by intrinsic nature-related motives rather than extrinsic motivations.
The public participation in scientific projects (citizen science) is significantly increasing specially with technology developments in recent years. Volunteers play an essential role in citizen science projects, therefore understanding their motivations, and understanding how to sustain them to keep contributing to the project are of utmost importance. This paper presents the analysis of volunteers’ characteristics and their motivations to contribute to a citizen science project, which aims at encouraging citizens to take action for biodiversity. The results from the online survey illustrate that people are more motivated by intrinsic nature-related motives rather than extrinsic motivations.Open data from the Brazilian government: Understanding the perspectives of data suppliers and developers of applications to the citizenshttps://peerj.com/preprints/270732018-07-312018-07-31Narallynne AraújoFernando Figueira FilhoLeandro Melo
Open Government Data (OGD) is seen as a way to promote transparency, as well as to provide information to the population by opening data related to various government sectors and processes. By using applications developed with this type of data, citizens gain knowledge about a certain public sphere; governments, in turn, are able to promote transparency and improvements through the interaction with citizens who use such applications. To create these applications, developers need to extract, process and analyze OGD available by data suppliers. This research was conducted in two phases: the first sought to investigate the perspective of developers who use Brazilian OGD; in the second phase, we investigated the perspectives of data suppliers. Through semi-structured interviews with twenty-four developers and data suppliers, this work reports what motivates them to work with OGD, as well as the barriers they face in this process. Our findings indicate that both participants seek to promote transparency for the population, but they run up against poor data quality, cultural barriers, among other issues. We present and qualitatively characterize these issues, providing recommendations for the improvement of the Brazilian OGD ecosystem.
Open Government Data (OGD) is seen as a way to promote transparency, as well as to provide information to the population by opening data related to various government sectors and processes. By using applications developed with this type of data, citizens gain knowledge about a certain public sphere; governments, in turn, are able to promote transparency and improvements through the interaction with citizens who use such applications. To create these applications, developers need to extract, process and analyze OGD available by data suppliers. This research was conducted in two phases: the first sought to investigate the perspective of developers who use Brazilian OGD; in the second phase, we investigated the perspectives of data suppliers. Through semi-structured interviews with twenty-four developers and data suppliers, this work reports what motivates them to work with OGD, as well as the barriers they face in this process. Our findings indicate that both participants seek to promote transparency for the population, but they run up against poor data quality, cultural barriers, among other issues. We present and qualitatively characterize these issues, providing recommendations for the improvement of the Brazilian OGD ecosystem.Are funder Open Access platforms a good idea?https://peerj.com/preprints/269542018-05-232018-05-23Tony Ross-HellauerBirgit SchmidtBianca Kramer
As open access to publications continues to gather momentum we should continuously question whether it is moving in the right direction. A novel intervention in this space is the creation of open access publishing platforms commissioned by funding organisations. Examples include those of the Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation, as well as recently announced initiatives from public funders like the European Commission and the Irish Health Research Board. As the number of such platforms increases, it becomes urgently necessary to assess in which ways, for better or worse, this emergent phenomenon complements or disrupts the scholarly communications landscape. This article examines ethical, organisational and economic strengths and weaknesses of such platforms, as well as usage and uptake to date, to scope the opportunities and threats presented by funder open access platforms in the ongoing transition to open access. The article is broadly supportive of the aims and current implementations of such platforms, finding them a novel intervention which stand to help increase OA uptake, control costs of OA, lower administrative burden on researchers, and demonstrate funders’ commitment to fostering open practices. However, the article identifies key areas of concern about the potential for unintended consequences, including the appearance of conflicts of interest, difficulties of scale, potential lock-in and issues of the branding of research. The article ends with key recommendations for future consideration which include a focus on open scholarly infrastructure.
As open access to publications continues to gather momentum we should continuously question whether it is moving in the right direction. A novel intervention in this space is the creation of open access publishing platforms commissioned by funding organisations. Examples include those of the Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation, as well as recently announced initiatives from public funders like the European Commission and the Irish Health Research Board. As the number of such platforms increases, it becomes urgently necessary to assess in which ways, for better or worse, this emergent phenomenon complements or disrupts the scholarly communications landscape. This article examines ethical, organisational and economic strengths and weaknesses of such platforms, as well as usage and uptake to date, to scope the opportunities and threats presented by funder open access platforms in the ongoing transition to open access. The article is broadly supportive of the aims and current implementations of such platforms, finding them a novel intervention which stand to help increase OA uptake, control costs of OA, lower administrative burden on researchers, and demonstrate funders’ commitment to fostering open practices. However, the article identifies key areas of concern about the potential for unintended consequences, including the appearance of conflicts of interest, difficulties of scale, potential lock-in and issues of the branding of research. The article ends with key recommendations for future consideration which include a focus on open scholarly infrastructure.What an entangled Web we weave: An information-centric approach to time-evolving socio-technical systemshttps://peerj.com/preprints/27892018-04-152018-04-15Markus Luczak-RoeschKieron O'HaraJesse David DinneenRamine Tinati
A new layer of complexity, constituted of networks of information token recurrence, has been identified in socio-technical systems such as the Wikipedia online community and the Zooniverse citizen science platform. The identification of this complexity reveals that our current understanding of the actual structure of those systems, and consequently the structure of the entire World Wide Web, is incomplete. Here we establish the principled foundations and practical advantages of analyzing information diffusion within and across Web systems with Transcendental Information Cascades, and outline resulting directions for future study in the area of socio-technical systems. We also suggest that Transcendental Information Cascades may be applicable to any kind of time-evolving system that can be observed using digital technologies, and that the structures found in such systems consist of properties common to all naturally occurring complex systems.
A new layer of complexity, constituted of networks of information token recurrence, has been identified in socio-technical systems such as the Wikipedia online community and the Zooniverse citizen science platform. The identification of this complexity reveals that our current understanding of the actual structure of those systems, and consequently the structure of the entire World Wide Web, is incomplete. Here we establish the principled foundations and practical advantages of analyzing information diffusion within and across Web systems with Transcendental Information Cascades, and outline resulting directions for future study in the area of socio-technical systems. We also suggest that Transcendental Information Cascades may be applicable to any kind of time-evolving system that can be observed using digital technologies, and that the structures found in such systems consist of properties common to all naturally occurring complex systems.Raising the status of software in research: A survey-based evaluation of the Software Sustainability Institute Fellowship Programmehttps://peerj.com/preprints/268492018-04-122018-04-12Shoaib A SufiCaroline Jay
This paper reports the results of an evaluation of the Software Sustainability Institute’s Fellowship Programme, which focused on understanding the benefits that the fellowship has afforded its recipients. The evaluation took the form of a survey open to people awarded fellowships between 2012 and 2016, which asked people to report the effect that the programme had had on them, their institutions, their research domains and their careers. The results show that the fellowship plays a wide-ranging role in supporting communities of best practice and skills transfer, and that a significant benefit is the way it has raised the profile of software in research, and those people who develop and advocate for it.
This paper reports the results of an evaluation of the Software Sustainability Institute’s Fellowship Programme, which focused on understanding the benefits that the fellowship has afforded its recipients. The evaluation took the form of a survey open to people awarded fellowships between 2012 and 2016, which asked people to report the effect that the programme had had on them, their institutions, their research domains and their careers. The results show that the fellowship plays a wide-ranging role in supporting communities of best practice and skills transfer, and that a significant benefit is the way it has raised the profile of software in research, and those people who develop and advocate for it.Duplicate Question Detection in Stack Overflow: A Reproducibility Studyhttps://peerj.com/preprints/265552018-02-212018-02-21Rodrigo F G SilvaKlerisson V PaixaoMarcelo de A. Maia
Stack Overflow has become a fundamental element of developer toolset. Such influence increase has been accompanied by an effort from Stack Overflow community to keep the quality of its content. One of the problems which jeopardizes that quality is the continuous growth of duplicated questions. To solve this problem, prior works focused on automatically detecting duplicated questions. Two important solutions are DupPredictor and Dupe. Despite reporting significant results, both works do not provide their implementations publicly available, hindering subsequent works in scientific literature which rely on them. We executed an empirical study as a reproduction of DupPredictor and Dupe. Our results, not robust when attempted with different set of tools and data sets, show that the barriers to reproduce these approaches are high. Furthermore, when applied to more recent data, we observe a performance decay of our both reproductions in terms of recall-rate over time, as the number of questions increases. Our findings suggest that the subsequent works concerning detection of duplicated questions in Question and Answer communities require more investigation to assert their findings.
Stack Overflow has become a fundamental element of developer toolset. Such influence increase has been accompanied by an effort from Stack Overflow community to keep the quality of its content. One of the problems which jeopardizes that quality is the continuous growth of duplicated questions. To solve this problem, prior works focused on automatically detecting duplicated questions. Two important solutions are DupPredictor and Dupe. Despite reporting significant results, both works do not provide their implementations publicly available, hindering subsequent works in scientific literature which rely on them. We executed an empirical study as a reproduction of DupPredictor and Dupe. Our results, not robust when attempted with different set of tools and data sets, show that the barriers to reproduce these approaches are high. Furthermore, when applied to more recent data, we observe a performance decay of our both reproductions in terms of recall-rate over time, as the number of questions increases. Our findings suggest that the subsequent works concerning detection of duplicated questions in Question and Answer communities require more investigation to assert their findings.Evaluating the complementarity of communication tools for learning platformshttps://peerj.com/preprints/31142017-12-262017-12-26Leonardo CarvalhoEduardo BezerraGustavo GuedesLaura AssisLeonardo LimaArtur ZivianiFabio PortoRafael BarbastefanoEduardo Ogasawara
Due to the constant innovations in communications tools, several educational institutions are continually evaluating the adoption of new communication tools (NCT) for their adopted learning platforms (LP). Notably, many educational institutions are interested in checking if NCT is bringing benefits in their teaching and learning process. We can state an important problem that tackles this interest as for how to identify when NCT is providing a significantly different complementary communication flow concerning the current communication tools (CCT) provided at LP. This paper presents the Mixed Graph Framework (MGF) to address the problem of measuring the complementarity of an NCT in the scenario where some CCT is already established. Since we are interested in the methodological process, we evaluated MGF using synthetic data. Our experiments observed that the MGF was able to identify whether an NCT produces significant changes in the overall communications of an LP according to some centrality measures.
Due to the constant innovations in communications tools, several educational institutions are continually evaluating the adoption of new communication tools (NCT) for their adopted learning platforms (LP). Notably, many educational institutions are interested in checking if NCT is bringing benefits in their teaching and learning process. We can state an important problem that tackles this interest as for how to identify when NCT is providing a significantly different complementary communication flow concerning the current communication tools (CCT) provided at LP. This paper presents the Mixed Graph Framework (MGF) to address the problem of measuring the complementarity of an NCT in the scenario where some CCT is already established. Since we are interested in the methodological process, we evaluated MGF using synthetic data. Our experiments observed that the MGF was able to identify whether an NCT produces significant changes in the overall communications of an LP according to some centrality measures.