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Messy Talk in Virtual Teams: Achieving Knowledge Synthesis through Shared Visualizations

Dossick, Carrie Sturts; Anderson, Anne; Azari, Rahman; Iorio, Josh; Neff, Gina; Taylor, John E. (2015). Messy Talk in Virtual Teams: Achieving Knowledge Synthesis through Shared Visualizations. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 31(1).

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Abstract

Engineering teams collaborating in virtual environments face many technical, social, and cultural challenges. In this paper we focus on distributed teams making joint unanticipated discoveries in virtual environments. We operationalize a definition of messy talk as a process in which teams mutually discover issues, critically engage in clarifying and finding solutions to the discovered issues, exchange their knowledge, and resolve the issue. Can globally distributed teams use messy talk via virtual communication technology? We analyzed the interactions of four distributed student teams collaborating on a complex design and planning project using building information models (BIMs) and the cyber-enabled global research infrastructure for design (CyberGRID), a virtual world specifically developed for collaborative work. Their interactions exhibited all four elements of messy talk, even though resolution was the least common. Virtual worlds support real-time joint problem solving by (1)providing affordances for talk mediated by shared visualizations, (2)supporting team perceptions of building information models that are mutable, and (3)allowing transformations of those models while people were together in real time. Our findings suggest that distributed team collaboration requires technologies that support messy talkand iterative trial and errorfor complex multidimensional problems. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Keywords

Buildings (structures); Data Visualisation; Design; Grid Computing; Groupware; Knowledge Management; Structural Engineering Computing; Team Working; Virtual Manufacturing; Virtual Reality; Virtual Teams; Knowledge Synthesis; Engineering Teams Collaboration; Virtual Environments; Technical Challenges; Social Challenges; Cultural Challenges; Distributed Teams Making; Messy Talk; Knowledge Exchange; Globally Distributed Teams; Virtual Communication Technology; Distributed Student Teams; Design And Planning Project; Building Information Models; Bim; Cyber-enabled Global Research Infrastructure; Cybergrid; Virtual World; Collaborative Work; Team Perceptions; Iterative Trial And Error; Complex Multidimensional Problems; Visual Representations; Construction; Technology; Implementation; Collaboration; Communication; Teamwork; Digital Techniques; Knowledge-based Systems

Push, Pull, and Spill: A Transdisciplinary Case Study in Municipal Open Government

Whittington, Jan; Calo, Ryan; Simon, Mike; Jesse Woo; Meg Young; Schmiedeskamp, Peter. (2015). Push, Pull, and Spill: A Transdisciplinary Case Study in Municipal Open Government. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 30(3), 1899 – 1966.

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Abstract

Municipal open data raises hopes and concerns. The activities of cities produce a wide array of data, data that is vastly enriched by ubiquitous computing. Municipal data is opened as it is pushed to, pulled by, and spilled to the public through online portals, requests for public records, and releases by cities and their vendors, contractors, and partners. By opening data, cities hope to raise public trust and prompt innovation. Municipal data, however, is often about the people who live, work, and travel in the city. By opening data, cities raise concern for privacy and social justice. This article presents the results of a broad empirical exploration of municipal data release in the City of Seattle. In this research, parties affected by municipal practices expressed their hopes and concerns for open data. City personnel from eight prominent departments described the reasoning, procedures, and controversies that have accompanied their release of data. All of the existing data from the online portal for the city were joined to assess the risk to privacy inherent in open data. Contracts with third parties involving sensitive or confidential data about residents of the city were examined for safeguards against the unauthorized release of data. Results suggest the need for more comprehensive measures to manage the risk latent in opening city data. Cities should maintain inventories of data assets, produce data management plans pertaining to the activities of departments, and develop governance structures to deal with issues as they arise--centrally and amongst the various departments--with ex ante and ex post protocols to govern the push, pull, and spill of data. In addition, cities should consider conditioned access to pushed data, conduct audits and training around public records requests, and develop standardized model contracts to protect against the spill of data by third parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Berkeley Technology Law Journal is the property of University of California School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Keywords

Public Records; Open Data Movement; Acquisition Of Data; Ubiquitous Computing; Data Analysis; Social Justice

Residential Property Values Predict Prevalent Obesity but Do Not Predict 1-year Weight Change

Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Tang, Wesley; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2015). Residential Property Values Predict Prevalent Obesity but Do Not Predict 1-year Weight Change. Obesity, 23(3), 671 – 676.

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Abstract

ObjectiveLower socio economic status (SES) has been linked with higher obesity rates but not with weight gain. This study examined whether SES can predict short-term weight change. MethodsThe Seattle Obesity Study II was based on an observational cohort of 440 adults. Weights and heights were measured at baseline and at 1 year. Self-reported education and incomes were obtained by questionnaire. Home addresses were linked to tax parcel property values from the King County, Washington, tax assessor. Associations among SES variables, prevalent obesity, and 1-year weight change were examined using multivariable linear regressions. ResultsLow residential property values at the tax parcel level predicted prevalent obesity at baseline and at 1 year. Living in the top quartile of house prices reduced obesity risk by 80% at both time points. At 1 year, about 38% of the sample lost >1 kg body weight; 32% maintained ( 1 kg); and 30% gained >1 kg. In adjusted models, none of the baseline SES measures had any impact on 1-year weight change. ConclusionsSES variables, including tax parcel property values, predicted prevalent obesity but did not predict short-term weight change. These findings, based on longitudinal cohort data, suggest other mechanisms are involved in short-term weight change.

Keywords

Body-mass-index; Socioeconomic-status; United-states; Physical-activity; King County; Association; Health; Trends; Gain; Income

Health Impact Assessment: Considering Health in Transportation Decision Making in the United States

Wier, Megan L.; Schwartz, Michael; Dannenberg, Andrew L. (2015). Health Impact Assessment: Considering Health in Transportation Decision Making in the United States. TR News (0738-6826), 299, 11 – 16.

Abstract

The article talks about Health Impact Assessment (HIA) when it comes to transportation decision making in the U.S. and discusses the Collaboration between public health professionals and transportation in order to execute HIA.

Keywords

Health Impact Assessment; Public Health -- United States

Ecological Design For Urban Waterfronts

Dyson, Karen; Yocom, Ken. (2015). Ecological Design For Urban Waterfronts. Urban Ecosystems, 18(1), 189 – 208.

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Abstract

Urban waterfronts are rarely designed to support biodiversity and other ecosystem services, yet have the potential to provide these services. New approaches that integrate ecological research into the design of docks and seawalls provide opportunities to mitigate the environmental impacts of urbanization and recover ecosystem function in urban waterfronts. A review of current examples of ecological design in temperate cities informs suggestions for future action. Conventional infrastructures have significant and diverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The impacts of conventional infrastructure are reduced where ecological designs have been implemented, particularly by projects adding microhabitat, creating more shallow water habitat, and reconstructing missing or altered rocky benthic habitats. Opportunities for future research include expanding current research into additional ecosystems, examining ecological processes and emergent properties to better address ecosystem function in ecological design, and addressing the impact of and best practices for continuing maintenance. Planned ecological infrastructure to replace aging and obsolete structures will benefit from design feedback derived from carefully executed in situ pilot studies.

Keywords

Coastal Defense Structures; Fixed Artificial Habitats; Marine Habitats; Intertidal Seawalls; Benthic Communities; Reconciliation Ecology; Subtidal Epibiota; Rocky Shores; Reef; Biodiversity; Ecological Design; Seawalls; Habitat; Waterfront; Urban Infrastructure; Aquatic Ecology

Rethinking Marine Infrastructure Policy and Practice: Insights from Three Large-Scale Marina Developments in Seattle

Wilson, A. Meriwether W.; Mugerauer, Robert; Klinger, Terrie. (2015). Rethinking Marine Infrastructure Policy and Practice: Insights from Three Large-Scale Marina Developments in Seattle. Marine Policy, 53, 67 – 82.

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Abstract

The global transformation of the marine nearshore is generating profound losses of ecological and geomorphological functions and ecosystem services, as natural environments are replaced with built. With conservation a diminishing option and restoration often unrealistic, there is a need to rethink development and the potential for marine infrastructure to contribute to net environmental gain. Through analysis of 150 years of change associated with the development of three large-scale marinas in the Seattle area, this research identifies the ways in which evolving policy frameworks and ecological understanding determine the nature, efficiency and environmental outcomes of coastal marine developments. Decisions on infrastructure design, mitigation strategies and policy interpretations directly determined the ecological fate of marine biota inhabiting these structures as well as surrounding ecosystems. In spite of increasing evidence of environmental legislation driving mitigation and innovative engineering, the net ecological trajectories remained negative. There were no tested demonstrations of marine mitigation to confirm which measures would succeed. Where scientific understanding existed, the uptake into planning and legislation was slow. More broadly, this research highlights a need and opportunity to consider marine infrastructure as living laboratories to inform a policy shift from a no-net-loss paradigm to net-environmental-gain. This evolution is timely, with sea level rise requiring new approaches to coastal defenses and with marine energy infrastructure increasingly being located offshore, where there is little knowledge of the ecological changes occurring in both time and space. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Coastal; Restoration; Landscape; Habitats; Science; Driver; Areas; Act; Marine Coastal Infrastructure; Ecological Mitigation; Novel Marine Habitats; Environmental Governance; Pacific Northwest

Phasic Metropolitan Settlers: A Phase-Based Model for the Distribution of Households in US Metropolitan Regions

Estiri, Hossein; Krause, Andy; Heris, Mehdi P. (2015). Phasic Metropolitan Settlers: A Phase-Based Model for the Distribution of Households in US Metropolitan Regions. Urban Geography, 36(5), 777 – 794.

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Abstract

In this article, we develop a model for explaining spatial patterns in the distribution of households across metropolitan regions in the United States. First, we use housing consumption and residential mobility theories to construct a hypothetical probability distribution function for the consumption of housing services across three phases of household life span. We then hypothesize a second probability distribution function for the offering of housing services based on the distance from city center(s) at the metropolitan scale. Intersecting the two hypothetical probability functions, we develop a phase-based model for the distribution of households in US metropolitan regions. We argue that phase one households (young adults) are more likely to reside in central city locations, whereas phase two and three households are more likely to select suburban locations, due to their respective housing consumption behaviors. We provide empirical validation of our theoretical model with the data from the 2010 US Census for 35 large metropolitan regions.

Keywords

Residential-mobility; Life-course; Housing Consumption; Family; Satisfaction; Migration; Geography; Context; Age; Distribution Patterns; Us Metropolitan Regions; Household

The Spatial Clustering of Obesity: Does the Built Environment Matter?

Huang, R.; Moudon, A. V.; Cook, A. J.; Drewnowski, A. (2015). The Spatial Clustering of Obesity: Does the Built Environment Matter? Journal Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 28(6), 604 – 612.

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Abstract

BackgroundObesity rates in the USA show distinct geographical patterns. The present study used spatial cluster detection methods and individual-level data to locate obesity clusters and to analyse them in relation to the neighbourhood built environment. MethodsThe 2008-2009 Seattle Obesity Study provided data on the self-reported height, weight, and sociodemographic characteristics of 1602 King County adults. Home addresses were geocoded. Clusters of high or low body mass index were identified using Anselin's Local Moran's I and a spatial scan statistic with regression models that searched for unmeasured neighbourhood-level factors from residuals, adjusting for measured individual-level covariates. Spatially continuous values of objectively measured features of the local neighbourhood built environment (SmartMaps) were constructed for seven variables obtained from tax rolls and commercial databases. ResultsBoth the Local Moran's I and a spatial scan statistic identified similar spatial concentrations of obesity. High and low obesity clusters were attenuated after adjusting for age, gender, race, education and income, and they disappeared once neighbourhood residential property values and residential density were included in the model. ConclusionsUsing individual-level data to detect obesity clusters with two cluster detection methods, the present study showed that the spatial concentration of obesity was wholly explained by neighbourhood composition and socioeconomic characteristics. These characteristics may serve to more precisely locate obesity prevention and intervention programmes.

Keywords

Real Property; Ecology; Age Distribution; Anthropometry; Black People; Cluster Analysis (statistics); Communities; Computer Software; Epidemiological Research; Geographic Information Systems; Hispanic Americans; Mathematics; Obesity; Population Geography; Probability Theory; Race; Regression Analysis; Research Funding; Restaurants; Statistical Sampling; Self-evaluation; Sex Distribution; Shopping; Surveys; Telephones; Transportation; White People; Socioeconomic Factors; Body Mass Index; Data Analysis Software; Medical Coding; Statistical Models; Descriptive Statistics; Odds Ratio; Economics; Washington (state); Built Environment; Local Moran's I; Spatial Scan Statistic; Body-mass Index; Physical-activity; United-states; Risk-factors; Neighborhood; Association; Density; Disease; Disparities; Prevalence

Health Implications of Adults’ Eating at and Living Near Fast Food or Quick Service Restaurants

Jiao, J.; Moudon, A. V.; Kim, S. Y.; Hurvitz, P. M.; Drewnowski, A. (2015). Health Implications of Adults’ Eating at and Living Near Fast Food or Quick Service Restaurants. Nutrition & Diabetes, 5.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: This paper examined whether the reported health impacts of frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant on health were related to having such a restaurant near home. METHODS: Logistic regressions estimated associations between frequent fast food or quick service restaurant use and health status, being overweight or obese, having a cardiovascular disease or diabetes, as binary health outcomes. In all, 2001 participants in the 2008-2009 Seattle Obesity Study survey were included in the analyses. RESULTS: Results showed eating >= 2 times a week at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status, overweight and obese. However, living close to such restaurants was not related to negative health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status and higher body mass index, but living close to such facilities was not.

Keywords

Body-mass Index; Socioeconomic-status; Built Environment; Obesity; Association; Consumption; Weight; Proximity; Outlets; Establishments