“An Experimental Study of Homophily in the Adoption of Health Behavior” is an article by Dr. Damon Centola published in this month’s issue of Science. I was privileged to collaborate with Dr. Centola and his team on the project. The article describes a carefully controlled experiment in social networks and how the network’s structure and the perceived similarities and differences of people in those networks influence their behavior. So far the only “‘layperson’s” description I can find on it in the Boston Globe. It glosses over nearly all the nerdy bits…
My small contribution was to quickly implement a compelling “diet diary” website that people participating in the study would use to track their calorie intake on a day by day basis. As participants used the site and interacted with their “buddies” the data was feed into a database to be later analysed by others on the team.
I’ve known Dr. Centola for many years and we have spent many late nights talking about the details of his work on in informal basis. While it was a only a quick project for us it was great to contribute “officially” in some way to Dr. Centola’s work.
This is one of the things I love about working at GreenRiver. Nearly all of our project involve working on some interesting tidbit (or sometimes terabyte) of data with people who can help us to understand what questions need answering. Then it’s up to use to figure how best to extract and present the answers.
Dr Centola’s earlier Science article is also interesting.
amichal
TimeSlips.org is a storytelling tool designed for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, their loved ones, and their caregivers. The app uses improvisational storytelling “to replace the pressure to remember with the freedom to imagine.” In 1996, founder Anne Basting began researching the use of creative drama techniques to facilitate communication by people with cognitive challenges. Since that time the TimeSlips project has trained 2000+ facilitators and embedded the method in 30+ facilities/organizations.
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jstrothman
GreenRiver.org begins its work with the Open Society Institute, a nonprofit founded by George Soros whose mission involves protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities. We will be working with NY Design shop Sway Design to build an application showcasing OSI’s meta-analysis of thousands of studies of HIV interventions. These are studies of projects meeting the needs of women and girls in developing countries facing the AIDS pandemic. The analysis also highlights the gaps in knowledge or programming remaining to be addressed.
michaelknapp
bentucker
