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Bioinformatics--the so-called shotgun marriage between biology and computer science--is an interdiscipline. Despite interdisciplinarity being seen as a virtue, for having the capacity to solve complex problems and foster innovation, it has the potential to place projects and people in anomalous categories. For example, valorised "outputs" in academia are often defined and rewarded by discipline. Bioinformatics, as an interdisciplinary bricolage, incorporates experts from various disciplinary cultures with their own distinct ways of working. Perceived problems of interdisciplinarity include difficulties of making explicit knowledge that is practical, theoretical, or cognitive. But successful interdisciplinary research also depends on an understanding of disciplinary cultures and value systems, often only tacitly understood by members of the communities in question. In bioinformatics, the "parent" disciplines have different value systems; for example, what is considered worthwhile research by computer scientists can be thought of as trivial by biologists, and "vice versa." This paper concentrates on the problems of reward and recognition described by scientists working in academic bioinformatics in the United Kingdom. We highlight problems that are a consequence of its cross-cultural make-up, recognising that the mismatches in knowledge in this borderland take place not just at the level of the practical, theoretical, or epistemological, but also at the cultural level, too. The trend in big, interdisciplinary science is towards multiple authors on a single paper; in bioinformatics this has created "hybrid" or "fractional" scientists who find they are being positioned not just in-between established disciplines but also in-between as middle authors or, worse still, left off papers altogether.

A brief communication appearing in this journal ranked UK-based LIS and (some) IR academics by their h-index using data derived from the Thomson ISI Web of Science™ (WoS). In this brief communication, the same academics were re-ranked, using other popular citation databases. It was found that for academics who publish more in computer science forums, their h was significantly different due to highly cited papers missed by WoS; consequently, their rank changed substantially. The study was widened to a broader set of UK-based LIS and IR academics in which results showed similar statistically significant differences. A variant of h, hmx, was introduced that allowed a ranking of the academics using all citation databases together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on research in progress that reviews the skills used by library and information science (LIS) professionals and how to record them in a manner that encourages continuing professional and personal development. A portfolio was developed by the learning and teaching support network for information and computer sciences (LTSN-ICS) in conjunction with the Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and academic departments in the United Kingdom (UK). The portfolio was evaluated at pilot sites in UK LIS schools by surveying the progress of those students who took part. Evaluation of the participants indicates that the portfolio is a useful tool in the personal and professional development of LIS students. The general consensus among students themselves is that the portfolio provides a tool to help them plan their future professional development. Further evaluation is planned in 2003/2004 with LIS professionals to enable both the professional body and the LTSN-ICS to determine the appropriateness of the portfolio as a tool for continuing personal and professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This practice analysis considers the extent to which mental health occupational therapists utilize standardized assessments and other tools within local electronic clinical records. There is further analysis of a clinical dataset from a single service that highlights limitations in its use to inform cost effectiveness evaluation. The paper highlights the opportunity for the profession to promote greater consistency across clinical datasets at a time when many electronic record systems are being updated. This will require a collaborative approach to allow cross-organizational benchmarking and to adopt a set of variables and other outcome measures in order to successfully undertake economic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research activities related to social informatics (SI) are expanding, even as community fragmentation, topical dispersion, and methodological diversity continue to increase. Specifically, the different understandings of SI in regional communities have strong impacts, and each has a different history, methodological grounding, and often a different thematic focus. The aim of this article is to connect three selected perspectives on SI—intellectual (regional schools of thought), methodological, and thematic—and introduce a comparative framework for understanding SI that includes all known approaches. Thus, the article draws from a thematic and methodological grounding of research across schools of thought, along with definitions that rely on the extension and intension of the notion of SI. The article is built on a paralogy of views and pluralism typical of postmodern science. Because SI is forced to continually reform its research focus, due to the rapid development of information and communication technology, social changes and ideologies that surround computerization and informatization, the presented perspective maintains a high degree of flexibility, without the need to constantly redefine the boundaries, as is typical in modern science. This approach may support further developments in promoting and understanding SI worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-health is concerned with promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities, and improving professional practice through the use of information management and information and communication technology. In autumn 2010 the RCN, supported by an information technology consultancy, carried out a survey of members' views on e-health to assess their involvement in, and readiness for, e-health developments and their knowledge of its benefits. A total of 1,313 nurses, midwives, healthcare support workers and pre-registration students from across the UK responded. This article describes ways in which nurse managers can influence the successful implementation of the survey recommendations. INSET: UK programmes for IT and e-health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the exposure and effectiveness of the Leg Club model in the healthcare system in Great Britain. Topics discussed include an overview of the Leg Club model, the significance of informatics, the wound care of the National Health Service, and the plan of Finland to set its first Leg Club.

Background: An association between mumps-measles-rubella (MMR) vaccination and the onset of symptoms typical of autism has recently been suggested. This has led to considerable concern about the safety of the vaccine.Methods: A matched case-control study using data derived form the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database. Children with a possible diagnosis of autism will be identified from their electronic health records. All diagnoses will be validated by a detailed review of hospital letters and by using information derived from a parental questionnaire. Ten controls per case will be selected from the database. Conditional logistic regression will be used to assess the association between MMR vaccination and autism. In addition case series analyses will be undertaken to estimate the relative incidence of onset of autism in defined time intervals after vaccination. The study is funded by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council.Discussion: Electronic health databases offer tremendous opportunities for evaluating the adverse effects of vaccines. However there is much scope for bias and confounding. The rigorous validation of all diagnoses and the collection of additional information by parental questionnaire in this study are essential to minimise the possibility of misleading results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]