| 1. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.522.7) and 16.5 cm (13.319.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 2. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3– 19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8– 144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Zhou, Bin, et al.
(author)
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Worldwide trends in diabetes since 1980: A pooled analysis of 751 population-based studies with 4.4 million participants
- 2016
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In: The Lancet. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 387:10027, s. 1513-1530
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: One of the global targets for non-communicable diseases is to halt, by 2025, the rise in the age standardised adult prevalence of diabetes at its 2010 levels. We aimed to estimate worldwide trends in diabetes, how likely it is for countries to achieve the global target, and how changes in prevalence, together with population growth and ageing, are aff ecting the number of adults with diabetes.Methods: We pooled data from population-based studies that had collected data on diabetes through measurement of its biomarkers. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in diabetes prevalence-defined as fasting plasma glucose of 7.0 mmol/L or higher, or history of diagnosis with diabetes, or use of insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs-in 200 countries and territories in 21 regions, by sex and from 1980 to 2014. We also calculated the posterior probability of meeting the global diabetes target if post-2000 trends continue.Findings: We used data from 751 studies including 4372000 adults from 146 of the 200 countries we make estimates for. Global age-standardised diabetes prevalence increased from 4.3% (95% credible interval 2.4-17.0) in 1980 to 9.0% (7.2-11.1) in 2014 in men, and from 5.0% (2.9-7.9) to 7.9% (6.4-9.7) in women. The number of adults with diabetes in the world increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014 (28.5% due to the rise in prevalence, 39.7% due to population growth and ageing, and 31.8% due to interaction of these two factors). Age-standardised adult diabetes prevalence in 2014 was lowest in northwestern Europe, and highest in Polynesia and Micronesia, at nearly 25%, followed by Melanesia and the Middle East and north Africa. Between 1980 and 2014 there was little change in age-standardised diabetes prevalence in adult women in continental western Europe, although crude prevalence rose because of ageing of the population. By contrast, age-standardised adult prevalence rose by 15 percentage points in men and women in Polynesia and Micronesia. In 2014, American Samoa had the highest national prevalence of diabetes (>30% in both sexes), with age-standardised adult prevalence also higher than 25% in some other islands in Polynesia and Micronesia. If post-2000 trends continue, the probability of meeting the global target of halting the rise in the prevalence of diabetes by 2025 at the 2010 level worldwide is lower than 1% for men and is 1% for women. Only nine countries for men and 29 countries for women, mostly in western Europe, have a 50% or higher probability of meeting the global target.Interpretation: Since 1980, age-standardised diabetes prevalence in adults has increased, or at best remained unchanged, in every country. Together with population growth and ageing, this rise has led to a near quadrupling of the number of adults with diabetes worldwide. The burden of diabetes, both in terms of prevalence and number of adults aff ected, has increased faster in low-income and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
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| 5. |
- Moe, Carl Erik, et al.
(author)
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The public procurement of information systems : dialectics in requirements specification
- 2017
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In: European Journal of Information Systems. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0960-085X .- 1476-9344. ; 26:2, s. 143-163
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When acquiring information systems, public entities face a dilemma. On the one hand, they want to procure the system that best suits their needs, which often requires lengthy dialogues with vendors. At the same time, they are restricted by government regulations that mandate limited dialogue in the interests of transparency and equal opportunities for all vendors. To examine how public entities deal with this, we followed three procurement projects in Norway. We show that this dilemma manifests itself as a dialectic between the thesis of getting the system requirements right and the antithesis of strictly adhering to regulations. Public entities search for a resolution of this dialectic through two syntheses: selecting an appropriate tendering procedure, and learning how to specify requirements through networks of peer public entities. Our findings reveal that the syntheses are possible because the dialectic is actually complimentary, both the thesis and the antithesis are needed to create the joint outcome that satisfies both. The resolution of the dialectic unfolds differently over time. Our study contributes to the relatively neglected stream of IS research on dialectics that explicitly searches for a synthesis while revealing the complementarity of the dialectic. We show how time plays a nuanced role in the resolution of the dialectic situation.
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| 6. |
- Sein, Maung K., et al.
(author)
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A holistic perspective on the theoretical foundations for ICT4D research
- 2019
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In: Information Technology for Development. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0268-1102 .- 1554-0170. ; 25:1, s. 7-25
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While many theories have guided research Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), we are yet to construct a clear and coherent narrative that would help us answer the question of how ICT fosters development in underdeveloped communities. In this paper, we argue that one of the main reasons for this is that our holistic understanding of ICT4D is seldom grounded in theories to understand the core areas that define the field, namely, ICT, Development, and, ‘4’ which are the transformative processes that link the two. Through a brief literature review, we list theories that have informed ICT4D research in each of these areas. We present examples of theories, namely, Capability Approach, Affordances, and Actor-Network Theory together with Social Capital and illustrate how we have used them in our research. Building on this holistic perspective on theoretical foundation, we propose five agendas for ICT4D research.
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| 7. |
- Thapa, Devinder, et al.
(author)
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Trajectory of Affordances : Insights from a case of telemedicine in Nepal
- 2018
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In: Information Systems Journal. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1350-1917 .- 1365-2575. ; 28:5, s. 796-817
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although Affordance Theory has become increasingly influential in the Information Systems (IS) literature, the exact process through which the affordances of IT are actualised is less studied. In this paper, we build on a realist ontology of affordance and an interpretive epistemology of how affordances are perceived and actualised to trace the process of actualisation. On the basis of insights drawn from a case study of a telemedicine project in a remote mountainous region of Nepal, we develop a concept, which we call the “Trajectory of Affordances.” Trajectory of Affordances captures the complex relations between affordances of IT and the role of goal-oriented actors who perceive and then play a vital role in actualising them, using capabilities that are enabled by facilitating conditions to take the necessary action. Trajectory of Affordances shows that the affordances of IT can travel from perception to actualisation through multiple paths, sometimes clustering together, and in the process, often lead to the emergence of new affordances.
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| 8. |
- Viborg Andersen, Kim, et al.
(author)
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E-government in Scandinavia
- 2005
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems. - 0905-0167 .- 1901-0990. ; 17:2, s. 3-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 9. |
- Westin, Soffi, et al.
(author)
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Improving Data Quality in Construction Engineering Projects: An Action Design Research Approach
- 2014
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In: Journal of Management in Engineering. - 0742-597X .- 1943-5479. ; 30:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The topic of data and information quality (DQ/IQ) is a longstanding issue of interest in both academia and practice in the construction engineering field. Poor DQ/IQ has led to poor engineering drawings that, in turn, have led to delays and eventuality to cost overruns. In this paper, we report a study that took an Action Design Research (ADR) approach to develop and evaluate a DQ/IQ assessment tool, which we call Information Quality System (IQS), in a large global engineering and construction company. The evaluation was performed by comparing the level of DQ/IQ in a project that used IQS with two projects that did not use the tool. The result is encouraging: the DQ/IQ in the project using IQS was significantly higher overall than in the two other projects. The implication is that a tool based on the design principles on which IQS was built is likely to help improve DQ/IQ in engineering systems and, hence, in engineering drawings. Consequently, it will decrease project delays and cost overruns. More generally, our paper adds to the discourse in the literature on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the construction context. Our paper illustrates another successful application of action-oriented research that can solve practical problems while generating academic knowledge. In taking a design approach, we augment the literature on the use of action research in construction engineering and management.
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| 10. |
- Westin, Soffi, et al.
(author)
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The Design and Emergence of a Data/Information Quality System
- 2015
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems. - 0905-0167 .- 1901-0990. ; 27:1, s. 3-26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Poor data and information quality (DQ/IQ) has remained a consistent problem plaguing both the practitioner and academic communities in Information Systems (IS). The consequences of poor DQ/IQ is particularly severe in Construction Engineering, and the field lacks sufficient DQ/IQ assessment frameworks and tools. To address this shortcoming, we applied an action design research (ADR) approach to develop and implement a DQ/IQ assessment tool called Information Quality System (IQS). The multi-year research project took place in a European construction engineering company, and lasted from 2007 to 2012. We drew upon insights from the literature on DQ/IQ assessment and related challenges in construction engineering, as well as practical lessons learned from managing DQ/IQ in the target organization. Through our research, we develop a set of design principles for meeting DQ/IQ challenges.
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