21 research outputs found
'Missing, Biased and Unrepresentative: The quantitative analysis of multisource biographical data'
No full textWith the growth in interest in collective biography as a historical technique, many predominantly qualitative historians find themselves faced with large amounts of information. These data, collected from a variety of sources, are often highly irregular, making statistical analysis extremely problematic. Current practice is to ignore these problems and proceed with quantitative analysis suitable only for much more regular data. It is argued that a more satisfactory approach is to ascertain and directly confront the difficulties of analyzing such information. The three central problems are identified as missing data, systematic bias, and the lack of a representative sample. Using a practical example, the author explores the relationship between gender, the family, and political socialization within the Communist Party of Great Britain and shows how each of the issues can be dealt with in turn. The author first distinguishes truly missing data from "negative information," which commonly appears to be missing in historical sources. He then stratifies the data to remove systematic biases relating to the issue at hand. Finally, he divides the sample into different populations, on the basis of the sources from which individuals are known, and compares the results obtained to examine whether his conclusions appear to depend on quirks of populations contained in the sources. These ideas open a new range of sources to quantitative analysis and raise the possibility of allowing new types of evidence to count in historical inquiry
Creating an Activity for Parent-Child Participation through Learning to Play Guitar and Ukulele Together
No full textThe purpose of this study was to create an activity for parent-child participation through learning to play guitar and ukulele together. The participant group initially consisted of two families of one parent (mother) and two of their children. This, at the decision of the parents, was subsequently reduced to only one of their children due to the inability of the younger siblings to participate effectively. The thesis was done under the VKK Metro Project at Laurea AMK. The working life partner was Kielo International Kindergarten. The findings from the thesis could provide the working life partner with the framework to implement this child-parent activity in the future.
The theoretical background of the study was structured around participation, childhood development, relationship development and creative methods. The nature of this study was that of a project and data was collected via video observation and feedback sheets.
The findings from this thesis suggest that learning to play guitar and ukulele together is an activity that encourages child-parent participation and provides the opportunity to enhance relationship development. The findings further showed that this activity worked best with the six and seven year old children rather than with the four year old children. It was also found that significant individual attention to the child was a necessary component for success. Furthermore, it was universally believed by the participants and the author that this activity would be better performed earlier in the day rather than during the late afternoon
Prolonged Use of Ertapenem to Treat Infected Diabetic Foot Ulcers
No full textWe present the case of a diabetic man who was successfully treated with ertapenem for over 4 months for severe infection of his foot ulcers. After initial unsuccessful treatment with empirical intravenous antibiotics, ertapenem was started on microbiology advice and led to a marked improvement in the soft-tissue infection. Ertapenem was continued for a total of 137 days under close clinical and biochemical monitoring and produced a complete resolution of the foot infection. This is the first documented case that we know of in which ertapenem has been safely used for this duration of time
Pre-authorization : a novel decision-making heuristic that may promote autonomy
No full textFirst paragraphs: While the nature of autonomy has been debated for centuries, recent scholarship has been re-examining our conception(s) of autonomy in light of findings from the behavioral, cognitive, and neural sciences (Felsen and Reiner 2011; Blumenthal-Barby 2016). Blumenthal-Barby’s target article provides us with a timely and helpful framework for thinking about this issue in a systematic way, specifically in relation to the wide range of cognitive biases and heuristics that we employ in our decision making. Building on this, we wish to expand the framework beyond the article’s focus on the threat posed by biases and heuristics by suggesting that it is possible for at least some heuristics to promote autonomy. We hope to demonstrate this point by introducing the conceptual framework for a novel heuristic that we call pre-authorization. Blumenthal-Barby argues that biases and heuristics “pose a serious threat to autonomous decision-making and human agency” and that, consequently, efforts should be made to remove, mitigate, or counter them. While recognizing the autonomy-threatening potential of these ‘fast thinking’ mechanisms, as well as agreeing with the author about the types of cases in which this potential is likely to be actualized, we suggest that it does not capture the full range of interactions that are relevant to a balanced assessment of their impact on autonomy. If, as is widely acknowledged, at least some heuristics are adaptive responses to particular real-world decision-making situations (Gigerenzer 2008), the issue at hand becomes elucidating whether, and under what conditions, the cognitive influence of any particular heuristic is autonomy-threatening, autonomy-preserving, or even autonomy-promoting. Blumenthal-Barby focuses on the first of these categories; and, with respect to the component of absence of controlling or alienating influence, she contends that if the person’s attitude towards the influence is one of feeling controlled or alienated from her decision on account of the workings of a cognitive bias or heuristic, her autonomy is diminishe
Out-patient flexible cystoscopy causes psychological distress to a significant number of patients being investigated for bladder cancer
No full textClitic left dislocation in French as a foreign language
No full textCette thèse s’intéresse à la description didactique de la variation linguistique dans une approche à contraintes. En nous appuyant sur la Troisième Vague de l’étude de la variation (Eckert, 2012) et les Social Meaning Games (Burnett, 2017 ; sous presse), nous postulons que les contraintes stylistiques sont un sous-ensemble de contraintes pragmatiques. Cette approche nous permet d’envisager la variation dans une perspective fonctionnelle plutôt que normative et de décrire les variantes « non-standard » comme plus ou moins appropriées à une tâche plutôt que comme des déviations de la norme. Pour illustrer notre approche, nous l’appliquons à la description de la dislocation clitique à gauche en français. Nous proposons que la variation de la dislocation clitique à gauche avec les clivées et les constructions canoniques est contraintes par la structure informationnelle (Lambrecht, 1994), les relation d’ensembles partiellement ordonnés (Ward & Birner, 1991) et une stigmatisation stylistique dans les contextes formels (Zribi-Hertz, 1994). Nous suggérons que ces contraintes sont toutes de nature pragmatique et que leur interaction influe sur l’emploi de la dislocation clitique à gauche en français. Ces hypothèses sont testées empiriquement via une étude de corpus, une série de test de jugements d’acceptabilité et un test de Matched Guise. De plus, nous postulons que l’apprentissage des contraintes pragmatiques en langue étrangère dépend de leur enseignement explicite et l’exposition répétée à la construction dans des contextes acceptables. Suivant l’hypothèse de l’interface dynamique (Ellis, 2005), nous suggérons que l’apprentissage explicite des contraintes de la dislocation clitique à gauche dans le contexte de la classe de langue facilite leur apprentissage implicite lorsque les apprenant se retrouve dans une situation de communication avec des locuteurs natifs du français. Le rôle de l’exposition est exploré empiriquement en répliquant un test de jugements d’acceptabilité et le test de Matched Guise avec des participants non-natifs. Enfin, nos observations sont implémentées dans le discours didactique à l’aide de notions et d’une terminologie déjà employés dans les grammaires pédagogiques (Germain & Séguin, 1998). Les contraintes discursives de la dislocation clitique à gauche sont décrites via la distinction entre informations familières et nouvelles (Capelle & Gidon, 1999 ; Watorek, 1998). Les contraintes stylistiques sont décrites via la compétence de savoir-être et les registres sociolinguistiques (CECR, 2001).The present dissertation deals with didactic description of linguistic variation in a constraint-based approach. In line with the Third Wave movement of variation studies (Eckert, 2012) and Social Meaning Games (Burnett, 2017; accepted), we argue that stylistic constraints are a subset of pragmatic constraints. This approach allows us to consider variation in a functional perspective rather than in a normative perspective and to describe “non-standard” variants as more or less appropriate to certain tasks rather than deviations from the norm. To illustrate our approach, we are applying it to the description of clitic left dislocation in French. We propose that the variation of clitic left dislocation with clefts and canonical construction is constrained by information structure (Lambrecht, 1994), Partially Ordered Set relations (Ward & Prince, 1991) and stylistic stigmatization in formal context (Zribi-Hertz, 1994). We claim that these constraints are all pragmatic in nature and that their interaction weight on the use of clitic left dislocation in French. These claims are tested empirically via a corpus studies, a series of acceptability judgment tests and a matched guise test. Furthermore, we argue that the learning of pragmatic constraints in foreign language is dependent of their explicit teaching and repeated expositions to the construction in felicitous contexts. Following the dynamic interface hypothesis (Ellis, 2005), we suggest that explicit learning of the constraints of clitic left dislocation in the context of the classroom facilitates their implicit learning when the learners find themselves in a situation of communication with French native speakers. The role of exposition is explored empirically by replicating an acceptability judgment test and the matched guise test with non-native participants. Finally, all of our observations are tentatively implemented to didactic discourse with the help of notions and a terminology already used in pedagogical grammars (Germain & Séguin, 1998). Discursive constraints of clitic left dislocation are described using the distinction between old and new information (Capelle & Gidon, 1999; Watorek, 1998). Stylistics constraints are described using existential competencies and sociolinguistics registers (European Framework, 2001)
Erwin Schulhoff (1894 - 1942): Life, Work, and Analysis of String Quartet No. 2 (WV 77)
No full textABSTRACTErwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer and pianist of Jewish heritage whose life came to an untimely end in the Holocaust. His work incorporated elements of several avant-garde and popular styles of his day, and he advocated for popular styles, such as jazz and folk music, to be included on the classical stage. His career was hindered by the Nazis through the last decade of his life until he was captured and sent to the Wlzburg concentration camp, where he died at the age of 48. After his death, his work did not receive much attention for about forty years. In the late 1980s, a recording of some of his works featuring the famous violinist Gidon Kremer was praised by a review in the Neue Muzikzeitung publication of 1988. A few years later, the author Josef Bek wrote a detailed biography titled Erwin Schulhoff: Leben und Werk, which was published in 1994. The work of pioneers such as these has led to more research and discovery on the life of Erwin Schulhoff. This dissertation is a small part of an ongoing effort to revive an awareness of Schulhoff and his work. This document opens up with a historical background which illustrates how Schulhoffs life was effected by the environment in which he lived. It then gives a biography followed by a study on his compositional style during his polystylistic period (1923 1932), during which he wrote his String Quartet No. 2 (WV 77). Chapters 4 7 give an in-depth movement-by-movement analysis of the quartet. The body of the dissertation ends with reflective thoughts on how the quartet fits into the context of his other works, including critical thoughts on how his stylistic choices and aesthetics, from all periods of his life, are reflective of his environment, character, and his political beliefs. This document does not cover every aspect of Schulhoffs life, but it will discuss Schulhoffs most creative period in his compositional career and hopefully shed light on his String Quartet No. 2, a rare gem in the string quartet repertoire that deserves to be recognized and enjoyed by performers and audiences worldwide
Future scientific directions : predictability
No full textAuthor Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2005. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 86 (2005): 1733-1737, doi:10.1175/BAMS-86-12-1733.A group of junior faculty members and UCAR junior scientists convened in Boulder, CO
on June 16-18, 2003 for discussion on future scientific directions. This report summarizes the
goals and products of one of the three foci selected for special consideration: predictability.
About 15 people, representing physical, mathematical, and biological sciences, were present
for round-table discussions. The discussion sought common interpretation of the predictability
problem, points of generalization, identification of major hurdles, and potential approaches to
their solution. The diverse background of the participants generated a wide-ranging discussion.
The participants addressed predictability generally, while supplying specific examples
from their own areas of expertise. Recurring themes included the relationship between models
and initial conditions, the importance of definitions and the choice of a norm for evaluation,
and generalization across systems and disciplines. The group explored potential avenues for
generalization through interdisciplinary networking. Short- and long-range challenges were
identified related to probabilistic state estimation, verifying predictions and understanding error,
and dealing with nonlinearity. In this essay we expand on these themes and challenges,
and describe possible future research objectives
