Taxonomy Of Indicators Research Articles

Mapping research activities and societal impact by taxonomy of indicators: uniformity and diversity across academic fields

PurposeSeveral frameworks have been developed to map and document scientific societal interaction and impact, each reflecting the specific forms of impact and interaction that characterize different academic fields. The ReAct taxonomy was developed to register data about “productive interactions” and provide an overview of research activities within the social sciences and humanities (SSH). The purpose of the present research is to examine whether the SSH-oriented taxonomy is relevant to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines when clarifying societal interactions and impact, and whether the taxonomy adds value to the traditional STEM impact indicators such as citation scores and H-index.Design/methodology/approachThe research question was investigated through qualitative interviews with nine STEM researchers. During the interviews, the ReAct taxonomy and visual research profiles based on the ReAct categories were used to encourage and ensure in-depth discussions. The visual research profiles were based on publicly available material on the research activities of the interviewees.FindingsThe study provided an insight into how STEM researchers assessed the importance of mapping societal interactions as a background for describing research impact, including which indicators are useful for expressing societal relevance and impact. With regard to the differences between STEM and SSH, the study identified a high degree of cohesion and uniformity in the importance of indicators. Differences were more closely related to the purpose of mapping and impact assessment than between scientific fields. The importance of amalgamation and synergy between academic and societal activities was also emphasised and clarified.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the importance of mapping societal activities and impact, and that societal indicators should be seen as inspiring guidelines depending on purpose and use. A significant contribution is the identification of both uniformity and diversity between the main fields of SSH and STEM, as well as the connection between the choice of indicators and the purpose of mapping, e.g. for impact measurement, profiling, or career development.Originality/valueThe work sheds light on STEM researchers' views on research mapping, visualisation and impact assessment, including similarities and differences between STEM and SSH research.

Measuring knowledge exploration and exploitation in universities and the relationship with global ranking indicators

This study examines the primary external control mechanism of universities (i.e. international rankings) to assess their knowledge exploration and exploitation performance. A taxonomy of indicators from the perspective of ambidexterity is presented. The most prestigious global university rankings are assessed within this theoretical framework. Exploration and exploitation indicators in the rankings are analysed in relation to the input, output and outcomes of universities. The results indicate a predominance of exploitation indicators in rankings. The potential managerial implications of this imbalance in indicators are discussed.

The LITIS conceptual framework: measuring eHealth readiness and adoption dynamics across the Healthcare Organizations

The Italian Federation of Healthcare Trusts and Municipalities promoted a national initiative, named LITIS, on the levels of technological innovation in healthcare, to assist its members in the governance of the eHealth phenomenon. The result is a toolkit (i) to compare the policies among HealthCare Organizations (HCOs) within a jurisdiction; (ii) to help negotiate and monitor the balanced evolution of eHealth solutions within and across the HCOs, and (iii) to facilitate the collaboration among HCOs to face common topics. The primary achievement is a Conceptual Framework, spanning over the complete spectrum of the support to care and administrative processes, assuming two perspectives: the Functions F (services for citizens, social/healthcare professionals, managers, administrative staff) and the Enabling Components C (prerequisites to deploy the Functions and handle the change). The framework entails a taxonomy of indicators to assess the eHealth readiness and adoption in the HCOs: at first the raw data – from a survey that involved nearly two thirds of the Italian HCOs—were transformed to yield a lower layer of 145 micro-indicators, then the micro-indicators were aggregated at an intermediate layer for two different purposes, either as 36 topics or as 12 sectors; the upmost layer was made of 3 macro-area indexes and a global index, named “ICLI”. The ontological structure behind the framework allows to adapt the set of micro-indicators to the context of any particular jurisdiction. The global index was used to classify each HCO into one out of five “Classes of Innovation” of increasing functional completeness. The lessons learned on presentation and interpretation of results are described.

Taming Honey Birds? The Regulation of Global Indicators

Indicators are today critical to governance, national and global, because they consolidate power in the hands of those with a particular kind of “knowledge”. Furthermore, indicators have been considered “per se” regulatory devices, intentional or unintentional. As a consequence, some commentators argue that legitimacy of global indicators can be enhanced only by developing a robust regulatory framework to oversee the production and use of these devices. This paper addresses these issues by analyzing the process of regulating global indicators. In particular, we claim that indicators can display an intrinsic “regulatory” nature, but that not all indicators require insertion into regulatory frameworks to ensure legitimacy and accountability: the determination as to whether or not a framework is needed depends on several factors, such as the type of indicator at issue, characteristics of the indicator-producing entity, and the kinds of users involved. Thus this paper purports to set out a taxonomy of different types of indicators, in order to distinguish cases in which indicators serve as tools for holding governments accountable from those in which indicators, as accountability-enhancers, themselves require oversight by a legitimate authority. Section 2 will provide some general observations about the spread of global indicators, taking into account both “good” and “bad” indicators. Section 3 will focus on the regulatory implications of global indicators, and it will propose a taxonomy of indicators according to their geneses and uses. Lastly, section 4 will examine different approaches to regulating indicators and controlling their creation and use.

Drawing conclusions: An investigation into the influence of drawing upon other art practice

ABSTRACTThe article introduces a Taxonomy of Indicators that makes it possible to identify formal qualities in work other than drawings, which are the result of the artist's prior practice of drawing. A photographic collage by David Hockney is analysed to illustrate the Taxonomy at work.

Urban Economic Indicators for Green Development in Cities

This paper is part of the European Union project on the Development of Urban Green Spaces to Improve the Quality of Life in Cities and Urban Regions (URGE). † The paper aims to describe urban economic indicators for the evaluation of existing urban green structures and green spaces by using a taxonomy of indicators and to develop an economic framework for the development and management of green spaces in cities. A functional typology of urban green spaces based on a set of indicators of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is described as pressure–state–response (PSR) indicators, is used for the determination of the relevant economic dimensions, criteria and indicators of urban green space. From an economic perspective, there are four relevant dimensions of urban green spaces that refer to the functions that have an impact (directly or indirectly) on environmental sources, welfare and quality of urban life, financing and management of urban green. This economic framework provides an opportunity to discuss the complex relationships of the multi-dimensional structure of urban green spaces. It provides also a useful framework for the social, ecological and planning perspectives, policies and management issues. ● Urban green

Indicators of Women's Alcohol Problems: What Women Themselves Report

In-depth interviews with 65 women in treatment contributed to a taxonomy of indicators of women's alcohol problems, with five major categories and numerous subcategories. The largest number of client indicators appeared in the Individual (psychological and behavioral) category. The Physiological category included unique indicators regarding physical appearance. Within the Social category, family/partner relationships were emphasized. The taxonomy can be useful in therapeutic assessments, to develop survey items, in comparative research, or in alcohol program development.