Jennifer A Heath

What role for libraries in learning analytics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the development of an institution wide approach to learning analytics at the University of Wollongong (UOW) and the inclusion of library data drawn from the Library Cube. Design/methodology/approach – The Student Support and Education Analytics team at UOW is tasked with creating policy, frameworks and infrastructure for the systematic capture, mapping and analysis of data from the across the university. The initial data set includes: log file data from Moodle sites, Library Cube, student administration data, tutorials and student support service usage data. Using the learning analytics data warehouse UOW is developing new models for analysis and visualisation with a focus on the provision of near real-time data to academic staff and students to optimise learning opportunities. Findings – The distinct advantage of the learning analytics model is that the selected data sets are updated weekly, enabling near real-time monitoring and interventi...

Emerging consumers view of secondary uses of medical data

Results of a pilot public opinion survey regarding privacy and secondary uses of medical data are presented. Data was gathered using a self administered household survey. The setting for the survey was regional New South Wales and Darwin, Australia. 482 surveys were distributed in randomly chosen residential blocks. The main outcome measures included respondent views regarding concern for personal privacy and support for secondary uses of medical data for utilitarian purposes. 165 surveys were returned giving a 34.2% response rate. Aspects of the Restricted Access Limited Control theory of privacy were explored via the survey. Results indicate the value of further research to give insight into operationalising RALC to support secondary uses of medical data for health research.

A privacy framework for secondary use of medical data

Secondary uses of medical data are not directly related to the delivery of healthcare to an individual and the provision of privacy within this context is increasingly challenging. This paper integrates theoretical and empirical research regarding privacy and proposes a privacy framework to support secondary use of medical data. Theoretical aspects consider two contemporary privacy theories and empirical aspects incorporate consumer survey results to propose a privacy framework for secondary use of medical data. This research is part of a larger study undertaken within the post-positivist and interpretive paradigms utilizing mixed methods. The proposed privacy framework engages healthcare consumers in decision making regarding the secondary use of their data.