Collection

‘Collective intelligence’ is not necessarily present in virtual groups

Curated on February 6, 2017August 3, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

Jordan B. Barlow and Alan R. Dennis at LSE: “Do groups of smart people perform better than groups of less intelligent people?

Research published in Science magazine in 2010 reported that groups, like individuals, have a certain level of “collective intelligence,” such that some groups perform consistently well across many different types of tasks, while other groups perform consistently poorly. Collective intelligence is similar to individual intelligence, but at the group level.

Interestingly, the Science study found that collective intelligence was not related to the individual intelligence of group members; groups of people with higher intelligence did not perform better than groups with lower intelligence. Instead, the study found that high performing teams had members with higher social sensitivity – the ability to read the emotions of others using visual facial cues.

Social sensitivity is important when we sit across a table from each other. But what about online, when we exchange emails or text messages? Does social sensitivity matter when I can’t see your face?

We examined the collective intelligence in an online environment in which groups used text-based computer-mediated communication. We followed the same procedures as the original Science study, which used the approach typically used to measure individual intelligence. In individual intelligence tests, a person completes several small “tasks” or problems. An analysis of task scores typically demonstrates that task scores are correlated, meaning that if a person does well on one problem, it is likely that they did well on other problems….

The results were not what we expected. The correlations between our groups’ performance scores were either not statistically significant or significantly negative, as shown in Table 1. The average correlation between any two tasks was -0.05, indicating that performance on one task was not correlated with performance on other tasks. In other words, groups who performed well on one of the tasks were unlikely to perform well on the other tasks…

Our findings challenge the conclusion reported in Science that groups have a general collective intelligence analogous to individual intelligence. Our study shows that no collective intelligence factor emerged when groups used a popular commercial text-based online tool. That is, when using tools with limited visual cues, groups that performed well on one task were no more likely to perform well on a different task. Thus the “collective intelligence” factor related to social sensitivity that was reported in Science is not collective intelligence; it is instead a factor associated with the ability to work well using face-to-face communication, and does not transcend media….(More)”

Making the Case for Open Contracting in Healthcare Procurement

Curated on February 6, 2017August 3, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

Transparency International “…new report “Making the Case for Open Contracting in Healthcare Procurement” examines the utility of open contracting in healthcare procurement. The process relies on governments to disclose procurement information to businesses and civil society improves stakeholders’ understanding of procurement processes increasing the integrity, fairness and efficiency of public contracting.

In several countries, including Honduras, Ukraine and Nigeria, corruption was significantly reduced throughout the healthcare procurement process following the implementation of open contracting, according to the report. Click here to download the report”

Governance and the Law

Curated on February 6, 2017August 3, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

World Development Report 2017: “Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform….(More)”.

‘Access Map’

Curated on February 6, 2017October 23, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

Lisa Stiffler at GeekWire: “Waze, HERE, Apple Maps, Google Maps. The list of sites and apps to help you navigate the fastest driving route keeps growing. If you’re hoofing it, however, you’ve largely been on your own to figure out a safe and speedy pedestrian path.

But now walkers are starting to catch up to cars in the realm of mapping apps thanks to the University of Washington’s Taskar Center for Accessible Technology.

The group today is releasing an online tool called Access Map that will allow Seattle pedestrians to enter addresses and generate customized walking directions. Users can request maps that include only routes with sidewalks with sloped “curb cuts” that allow strollers and wheelchairs to easily pass, and that bypass construction sites and exclude the steepest streets.

The UW researchers are additionally creating tools to help other cities and communities build their own maps. They’re also working on a project with Seattle Public Schools to help families crowdsource and discover safer routes for kids walking to school….

In an attempt to make it easier for others to follow in their footsteps, the UW researchers recently launched their OpenSidewalks project, which will create a set of standards for mapping pedestrian routes….(More)”

Social Media and the Internet of Things towards Data-Driven Policymaking in the Arab World: Potential, Limits and Concerns

Curated on February 5, 2017August 3, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Fadi Salem: “The influence of social media has continued to grow globally over the past decade. During 2016 social media played a highly influential role in what has been described as a “post truth” era in policymaking, diplomacy and political communication. For example, social media “bots” arguably played a key role in influencing public opinion globally, whether on the political or public policy levels. Such practices rely heavily on big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, not just in gathering and crunching public views and sentiments, but more so in pro-actively influencing public opinions, decisions and behaviors. Some of these government practices undermined traditional information mediums, triggered foreign policy crises, impacted political communication and disrupted established policy formulation cycles.

On the other hand, the digital revolution has expanded the horizon of possibilities for development, governance and policymaking. A new disruptive transformation is characterized by a fusion of inter-connected technologies where the digital, physical and biological worlds converge. This inter-connectivity is generating — and consuming — an enormous amount of data that is changing the ways policies are conducted, decisions are taken and day-to-day operations are carried out. Within this context, ‘big data’ applications are increasingly becoming critical elements of policymaking. Coupled with the rise of a critical mass of social media users globally, this ubiquitous connectivity and data revolution is promising major transformations in modes of governance, policymaking and citizen-government interaction.

In the Arab region, observations from public sector and decision-making organization suggest that there is limited understanding of the real potential, the limitations, and the public concerns surrounding these big data sources in the Arab region. This report contextualizes the findings in light of the socio-technical transformations taking place in the Arab region, by exploring the growth of social media and building on past editions in the series. The objective is to explore and assess multiple aspects of the ongoing digital transformation in the Arab world and highlight some of the policy implications on a regional level. More specifically, the report aims to better inform our understanding of the convergence of social media and IoT data as sources of big data and their potential impact on policymaking and governance in the region. Ultimately, in light of the availability of massive amount of data from physical objects and people, the questions tackled in the research are: What is the potential for data-driven policymaking and governance in the region? What are the limitations? And most importantly, what are the public concerns that need to be addressed by policymakers while they embark on next phase of the digital governance transformation in the region?

In the Arab region, there are already numerous experiments and applications where data from social media and the “Internet of Things” (IoT) are informing and influencing government practices as sources of big data, effectively changing how societies and governments interact. The report has two main parts. In the first part, we explore the questions discussed in the previous paragraphs through a regional survey spanning the 22 Arab countries. In the second part, it explores growth and usage trends of influential social media platforms across the region, including Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and, for the first time, Instagram. The findings highlight important changes — and some stagnation — in the ways social media is infiltrating demographic layers in Arab societies, be it gender, age and language. Together, the findings provide important insights for guiding policymakers, business leaders and development efforts. More specifically, these findings can contribute to shaping directions and informing decisions on the future of governance and development in the Arab region….(More)”

Crowdsourcing to Be the Future for Medical Research

Curated on February 4, 2017August 3, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

PCORI: “Crowdsourcing isn’t just a quick way to get things done on the Internet. When used right, it can accelerate medical research and improve global cardiovascular health, according to a new best-practices “playbook” released by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

“The benefits of crowdsourcing are substantial,” said Rose Marie Robertson, MD, Chief Science Officer of the AHA, who took part in writing the guide. “You can get information from new perspectives and highly innovative ideas that might well not have occurred to you.”

Crowdsourcing Medical Research Priorities: A Guide for Funding Agencies is the work of Precision Medicine Advances using Nationally Crowdsourced Comparative Effectiveness Research (PRANCCER), a joint initiative launched in 2015 by the AHA and PCORI.

“Acknowledging the power of open, multidisciplinary research to drive medical progress, AHA and PCORI turned to the rapidly evolving methodology of crowdsourcing to find out what patients, clinicians, and researchers consider the most urgent priorities in cardiovascular medicine and to shape the direction and design of research targeting those priorities,” according to the guide.

“Engaging patients and other healthcare decision makers in identifying research needs and guiding studies is a hallmark of our patient-centered approach to research, and crowdsourcing offers great potential to catalyze such engagement,” said PCORI Executive Director Joe V. Selby, MD. “We hope the input we’ve received will help us develop new research funding opportunities that will lead to improved care for people with cardiovascular conditions.”

The playbook offers more than a dozen recommendations on the ins and outs of medical crowdsourcing. It stresses the need to have crystal clear objectives and questions, whether you’re dealing with patients, researchers, or clinicians. … (More)”

The tiny digital camera on every smartphone has had real impact on African lives

Curated on February 3, 2017August 20, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

Calestous Juma at Quartz: “…The first major impact of the technology on African users was to expand global connectivity by making it possible for the youth to access information that was collected using the technology via the Internet.

African engineers have been able use such information to design their own technologies suited to local condition. In 2016 Arthur Zhang, a young Cameroonian medical engineering was awarded the $37,000 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering. Zhang invented the Cardiopad, a tablet computer takes heart readings and sends them to a heart specialist using the Internet.

Zhang was trained in electronic engineering but gained much of the relevant medical knowledge by watching video online, many which had been posted using digital camera. Many more young Africans are following in Zhang footprints in using such material to acquire knowledge that is available through their regular university courses….

In agriculture, farmers can how take diseased images of the leaves of their crops and share them with scientists around the world for identification and advice. Such digital imaging research is an important addition to other agricultural used of mobile phones that constitute low-cost agricultural extension approaches.

Young African engineers are making extensive use of mobile phones for disease diagnosis. Ugandan researchers developed a jacket that diagnoses pneumonia faster than the standard methods used by doctors. Imaging technologies offer additional ways to expand the range of diagnosis for a wide range of diseases.

In low-cost eye are, for example, EyeNetra uses smartphones as a platform to capture the refractive power of the lenses in eyeglasses. EyeNetra is planning to deploy its technology in Nigeria. It has distributed units to be piloted in Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

There have been concerns that the emerging era of personalized medicine will create a “health divide” between the industrialized and emerging worlds. This is mainly because of human genetic diversity influences the choice of treatment options. Smartphones are becoming as a low-cost way to pre-empt the emergence such a divide.

Climate change is going to force African scientists to study afresh alternations in the microscopic world. With as little as $15 Micro Phone Lens it will soon be possible to turn a regular smartphone into a microscope that capture images and videos at a magnification range of 15-60 times using the phone’s digital zoom feature. The add-on will inspire a new generation of explorers and scientists….(More)”

Participatory budgeting in Indonesia: past, present and future

Curated on February 1, 2017August 3, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

IDS Practice Paper by Francesca Feruglio and Ahmad Rifai: “In 2015, Yayasan Kota Kita (Our City Foundation), an Indonesian civil society organisation, applied to Making All Voices Count for a practitioner research and learning grant.

Kota Kita is an organisation of governance practitioners who focus on urban planning and citizen participation in the design and development of cities. Following several years of experience with participatory budgeting in Solo city, their research set out to examine participatory budgeting processes in six Indonesian cities, to inform their work – and the work of others – strengthening citizen participation in urban governance.

Their research looked at:

the current status of participatory budgeting in six Indonesian cities
the barriers and enablers to implementing participatory budgeting
how government and CSOs can help make participatory budgeting more transparent, inclusive and impactful.This practice paper describes Kota Kita and its work in more detail, and reflects on the history and evolution of participatory budgeting in Indonesia. In doing so, it contextualises some of the findings of the research, and discusses their implications.
Key Themes in this Paper

What are the risks and opportunities of institutionalising participation?
How do access to information and use of new technologies have an impact onparticipation in budget planning processes?
What does it take for participatory budgeting to be an empowering process for citizens?
How can participatory budgeting include hard-to-reach citizens and accommodate different citizens’ needs? …(More)”.

It takes more than social media to make a social movement

Curated on February 1, 2017August 20, 2018 by Stefaan Verhulst

Hayley Tsukayama in the Washington Post: “President Trump may have used the power of social media to make his way into the White House, but now social media networks are showing that muscle can work for his opposition, too. Last week, more than 1 million marchers went to Washington and cities around the country — sparked by a Facebook post from one woman with no history of activism. This weekend, the Internet exploded again in discussion about Trump’s travel suspension order, and many used social media to get together and protest the decision.

Twitter said that more than 25 million tweets were sent about the order — as compared with 12 million about Trump’s inauguration. Facebook said that its users generated 151 million “likes, posts, comments and shares” related to the ban, less than the 208 million interactions generated about the inauguration. The companies didn’t reveal how many of those were aimed at organizing, but the social media calls to get people to protest are a testament to the power of these platforms to move people.

The real question, however, is whether this burgeoning new movement can avoid the fate of many so others kick-started by the power of social networks — only to find that it’s much harder to make political change than to make a popular hashtag….

Zeynep Tufekci, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has written a forthcoming book on the power and fragility of movements borne of social media, found in her research that the very ability for these movements to scale quickly is, in part, why they also can fall apart so quickly compared with traditional grass-roots campaigns….

Now, organizers can bypass the time it takes to build up the infrastructure for a massive march and all the publicity that comes with it. But that also means their high-profile movements skip some crucial organizing steps.

“Digitally networked movements look like the old movements. But by the time the civil rights movement had such a large march, they’d been working on [the issues] for 10 years — if not more,” Tufekci said. The months or even years spent discussing logistics, leafleting and building a coalition, she said, were crucial to the success of the civil rights movements. Other successful efforts, such as the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy against allowing gay people to serve openly in the military were also rooted in organization structures that had been developing and refining their demands for years to present a unified front. Movements organized over social networks often have more trouble jelling, she said, particularly if different factions air their differences on Facebook and Twitter, drawing attention to fractures in a movement….(More).”