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Signal processing for tree-trunk investigation using ground penetrating radar
No full textInvasive fungi diseases are considered one the biggest threats for the ash and oak forests in United Kingdom. To that extend, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) can provide a powerful diagnostic tool for assessing the health status of tree trunks based on their internal dielectric distribution. GPR acquisitions in tree-trunks is a unique problem that can not be approached with traditional GPR processing approaches. Typical interpretation tools like hyperbola fitting and migration should be adjusted and fine-tuned in order to be applicable for irregular measurements in a closed curve. The purpose of this paper is to provide GPR practitioners with a set of interpretation tools that can be applied in the field using commercial GPR antennas. In that context, a novel processing framework is presented that is fine-tuned for the current problem. The suggested scheme is successfully tested using both numerical and real data indicating the capabilities of GPR as a diagnostic tool for early detection of tree diseases
Black students in England, 1950-2000: representation, identity and barriers to success
Get PDFSince 1950 Black students have underperformed in English schools. This article draws on the experiences of 22 Black former students to try and understand their experiences from their perspectives
How do adolescents cope with cyberhate? Psychometric properties and socio-demographic differences of a coping with cyberhate scale
Get PDFCyberhate exposure can have seriously negative impacts on adolescents’ development. However, there has been scarce research into adolescents’ coping strategies with cyberhate. Deepen the knowledge on how adolescents deal with cyberhate might help researchers, teachers, and parents to find a way to alleviate negative effects of cyberhate to adolescents. Therefore, the present study investigates adolescents’ coping strategies with cyberhate, while considering differences by adolescents’ sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), and victim status. The sample consists of self-reports of 1480 participants who were aged between 12 and 17 years (Mage = 14.21 years, SD = 1.22) and attended 7th to 10th grade. Results showed that six varying coping strategies could be confirmed, namely Distal advice, Assertiveness, Helplessness/ Self-blame, Close support, Technical coping, and Retaliation. Technical coping was the most frequently used coping strategy followed by Assertiveness, Close support, Helplessness/ Self-blame, Retaliation, and Distal advice. Girls reported more frequently using all coping strategists, except for Retaliation with no sex differences. Younger adolescents reported more often using Technical coping than older adolescents. Distal advice and Technical coping were higher among participants with lower SES, compared with adolescents with higher SES. Distal advice and Close support were higher for non-victims than victims, whereas the mean of Retaliation was higher for victims than non-victims. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Keywords: Cyberhate, Coping Strategies, Cybervictimization, Hate speech, cyber discriminatio
The pioneers get shot: music video, independent production and cultural hierarchy in Britain
Get PDFThis article identifies and summarises the main findings of the AHRC research project ‘Fifty Years of British Music Video, 1966–2016’. It contextualises the history of music video as a film practice within an unspoken cultural hierarchy of screen arts widely shared in universities, policy circles and the British Film Institute. The article documents the main stages in the development of the music video industry and highlights the extent to which the pioneers served as early adopters of new technologies in videotape, telecine and digital film-making. The ACTT consistently lobbied against music video producers, as did the Musicians’ Union, and consequently music video producers emerged from the 1980s with virtually no protection of their rights. The ACTT's issue was new video technology which it opposed. It also opposed offline editing on video tape because it would lead to redundancies of film editors and potentially required fewer post-production crew. The MU's issue was royalty payments to session musicians and lip synch. The music video industry has functioned as a crucial R&D sector and incubator for new talent and new technologies in the British film and television industries as a whole, without experiencing any of the financial rewards, cultural status or copyright protections of the more esteemed ‘screen arts’
Moral technology
No full textSelf-driving cars don’t drink and medical AIs are never overtired. Given our obvious flaws, what can humans still do best
Cognition, emotion and trust: a comparative analysis of Cambodia’s perceived and projected online image
Get PDFA comparative analysis of information on Cambodia as a tourist destination published on official tourism websites and amateur travel blogs suggest that there are substantial differences in the way Cambodia’s destination marketers and commercial enterprises promote the destination and the way travel bloggers perceive it and write about it. Cambodia’s projected online image elicited through the analysis of official tourism websites consists of mainly cognitive image elements (knowledge and beliefs about Cambodia), whereas its’ perceived image obtained from amateur travel blogs contains both cognitive and affective (feelings and attitudes towards Cambodia) image elements. Furthermore, the ‘friend’-style relationship that the reader develops with the travel blogger can be attributed to personal projections and thus induces an element of trust not established between the reader and the websites.
Findings suggest that a lack of perceived trust amongst destination marketers and an increased level of trust amongst authors of user generated content (UGC) and their readers, destination marketers are at a distinct disadvantage compared with their blogging colleagues. The use of affective evaluations of destinations by bloggers alongside their perceived credibility is likely to weigh more heavily in consumer’s decision making process than promotional material presented by the likes of tourist boards and commercial enterprises. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed
"Explain or change": the quality and uses of ethnicity data in universities and healthcare organisation in England
Get PDF“Explain or change” was a key term that came into currency in the UK from 2016 onwards to put the onus on public institutions to account for disparities in outcomes on the basis of class, gender, and ethnicity in the main. One of the most prominent outcomes of this policy initiative was the government Race Disparity Audit. This article aims to go behind the headline figures to understand what it means to either “explain” or “change” figures and policies around race/ethnicity in particular. It outlines the findings of a survey and some interviews with staff working in the NHS in London and in universities in England. The findings point to difficulties with the quality of data generated by these organisations, as well as the uses of data. Practitioners feel that data is incomplete and do not provide the routes to policy measures that will make a clear difference to outcomes. At the same time, there is a feeling there is a lack of will to use data to either explain or change their organisation's response to race inequality. Thus, this article concludes that the use of ethnicity data remains the main concern for many participants in this study
How do L2 listeners perceive the comprehensibility of foreign-accented speech? Roles of L1 profiles, L2 proficiency, age, experience, familiarity and metacognition
Get PDFThe current study examines how second language (L2) users differentially assess the comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding) of foreign-accented speech according to a range of background variables, including first language (L1) profiles, L2 proficiency, age, experience, familiarity and metacognition. A total of 110 L2 listeners first evaluated the global comprehensibility of 50 spontaneous speech samples produced by low, mid and highproficiency Japanese speakers of English. The listeners were categorized into two subgroups according to a cluster analysis of their rating scores: lenient and strict. Results showed that while lenient appeared to rely equally on many linguistic areas of speech during their judgements, the strict listeners were strongly attuned to phonological accuracy. Analysis of the background questionnaire data revealed that the more lenient listeners likely had higher levels of awareness of the importance of comprehensibility for communication (metacognition); regularly used L2 English in professional settings (experience); and had L1s more linguistically close to the target speech samples, Japanese-accented English (L1-L2 distance)
The impact of visitors’ experience intensity on in-situ destination image formation
Get PDFPurpose – This study aims to shed some light on destination image formation by exploring whether image is altered as a result of tourists’ experience intensity with a destination.
Design/methodology/approach – A visitor experience intensity index was developed based on the amount of events and attractions visitors have already attended/visited or were planning to attend/visit during their stay. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and the total sample consisted of 400 tourists in Linz, Austria. Principal Component Analysis, MANOVA and Discriminant Analysis were applied to analyse the data.
Findings – The findings indicate that the higher the experience intensity score, the more favourable the cognitive and affective evaluations of destination image, indicating that tourists’ experiences are central in the formation of the in-situ image.
Research limitations/implications – The ‘level of psychological involvement’ with the destination should be considered by future studies, as this paper focused on level of experience intensity.
Practical implications – This paper supports the effective and innovative solutions for place marketing and branding of tourist destinations such as promoting experiences that further enhance destination image. The study also assists places with bad reputation or negative image, like the selected case study (Linz, Austria), in repositioning themselves as attractive experience providers.
Originality/value – The paper’s originality lies in applying ‘mere exposure theory’ in tourism and using an innovative way of measuring tourists’ experience through an intensity index. The study addresses a significant, but still neglected image determinant, that of experience intensity, contributing to a better understanding of the in situ destination image formation process