Jackie Carter

Internet mapping for dissemination of statistical information

Abstract City and regional administrations find increasing interest in providing mapping services to their customers: citizens, businesses, non-governmental organizations, etc. The paper discusses possible architectures of implementing such services on the Internet, and then describes our own system, Descartes, in more detail. Descartes can be used in client–server mode, where the interactive client interface can be downloaded as a Java applet. Descartes is particularly suited for Web-based analysis and publication of geo-referenced statistical data. The functionality and user interface of Descartes is illustrated by some example applications of the cities of Bonn and Tilburg and of the UK Census of Population.

Embedding Quantitative Skills into the Social Science Curriculum: Case studies from Manchester

Those aiming to respond to the recognised shortage in quantitative skills within the UK social sciences have increasingly focused on the content of undergraduate degree programmes. Problems occur when quantitative methods are generally confined to a dedicated module, detached from substantive topics. This model makes it hard for students to understand or engage with the contribution of quantitative research to their discipline and can perpetuate negative perceptions of quantitative training. We suggest a solution to this problem is ‘quantitative embedding’, in which quantitative evidence and methods are incorporated into substantive teaching in the social sciences. We illustrate quantitative embedding with case studies from an ESRC funded project based in The University of Manchester, where teaching partnerships have developed curriculum innovations in Sociology and Politics. The paper then discusses the challenges of disseminating quantitative embedding, highlighting the need to bridge separate communities of practice that can isolate quantitative specialists.

Learning and Teaching Online with the UK Census.

This paper describes the online learning and teaching resources that are currently being developed for the contemporary and historical UK censuses as part of a project that is being funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) to support its ‘Information Environment’. The online resources are intended to support learners and teachers in the UK Higher and Further Education sectors who are interested in UK census data. A variety of resources is available including: interactive online tutorials with practical exercises, textual materials, web pages and PowerPoint slides. The materials have been designed to be as flexible as possible encouraging a ‘pick and mix’ approach to the use of the resources. The resources are also intended to facilitate the use of 2001 census data. Feedback from student piloting and consultation workshops is also considered. All the resources can be accessed at: http://www.chcc.ac.uk.

Developing statistical literacy using real-world data: investigating socioeconomic secondary data resources used in research and teaching

Increasing volumes of statistical data are being made available on the open web, including from the World Bank. This ‘data deluge’ provides both opportunities and challenges. Good use of these data requires statistical literacy. This paper presents results from a project that set out to better understand how socioeconomic secondary data are being used in helping to develop quantitative skills in UK university social sciences and focuses on the World Bank data in support of this. Evidence of real-world data use to develop statistically literate social science students is presented. This underpins capacity-building in UK social sciences, a need recognized by research councils, statistical organizations and other bodies. The work has helped uncover evidence of good practice in teaching and research to inform others who wish to support their students in becoming statistically literate using real-world data. The challenge is to share and replicate this good practice (mainly in economics and econometrics) in other areas of social and educational research which are less well served.

JISC's Learning and Teaching (5/99) Programme: the Data Cluster

Purpose – This short article is an introduction to the Data Cluster of 5/99. Design/methodology/approach – Looks at the three projects in the cluster which dealt with uncovering the obstacles to using numeric data in learning (Datareach), producing teaching materials on time series data and making it easier to access OECD indicators (Timeweb) and encouraging the use of historical and contemporary status data in learning (CHCC).Findings – Reveals that all three projects have met user needs, but there are further areas for improvement. Originality/value – This article provides a useful introduction to the Data Cluster of 5/99.

An investigation into the applicability of geostatistical techniques for estimating contamination levels following an accidental release of radioactivity

In the event of an accidental release of radioactive material into the environment appropriate responses will be aided by the analysis and display of the collected data. This paper considers the suitability of using the geostatistical technique of ordinary kriging to interpolate between environmental measurements. Two factors affecting the accuracy of kriged estimates for unsampled locations are investigated, namely the effects of sample size and of spatial distribution. Sample data were generated by a gaussian atmospheric dispersion model and error estimates were determined by comparison of the kriged estimates at unsampled locations with the gaussian model predictions at these locations. Calculations were made for datasets containing between 20 and 80 points, and it was found that even datasets with low numbers of samples gave encouraging results. For example, 40 data points provided estimates with less than 50% error in 70% of the entire region. Estimation errors were smallest for the region of highest values, and highest on the boundary of the region. These results suggest that ordinary kriging can provide useful information in the assessment of post accident radiation monitoring data.

Creative Teaching in Health and Social Care using the UK Data Service

Abstract The UK has access to a wealth of high-quality social science data and resources, through the UK Data Service. These data have been well used in research, and attention is now increasingly turning to their inclusion in the undergraduate curriculum. This paper describes how the data can be used in the teaching of methods courses, as well as being integrated into substantive courses. The UK Data Service is described in brief, followed by an example firstly of quantitative, then qualitative, data resources in teaching and learning. The data and resources lend themselves to a huge variety of disciplines, including those involved in health and social care education. As the UK embraces the challenge to improve the student experience in the teaching of research methods, the UK Data Service is particularly well positioned to address this. This paper provides examples and pointers to work that is ongoing and being further developed through the UK Data Service. Engagement with teachers is critical to enable further work to be developed in this important area.

Editorial - JIME OER13 special issue: The potential of openness for engaging communities

This special issue is the fourth devoted to Open Educational Resources (OER) and the third to be drawn from papers presented at the main annual UK-based OER conference. For this special issue, the editors selected papers from the OER13 conference, held in Nottingham in March 2013. The main conference themes were Evidence, Experiences and Expectations, and the chosen papers exemplified some of the ways in which OER can link communities both inside and beyond Higher Education.

Enhancing use of JISC data services

This article covers five of the projects that have been funded under the DNER development programme to enhance use of JISC data services in learning and teaching. The data services referred to are provided by EDINA at the University of Edinburgh, MIMAS at Manchester Computing, University of Manchester, the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex and the ILRT at the University of Bristol. The projects reported on are: 1. Use of Numeric Data in Learning and Teaching; 2. TimeWeb; 3. The Virtual Learning Arcade; 4. Developing the Collection of Historical and Contemporary Census Data and Materials into a Learning and Teaching Resource (The CHCC Project); and 5. e‐MapScholar. The outcomes from these projects will feed into the Information Environment that is being developed by JISC to deliver resources to students, teachers and researchers in meaningful ways.