1,313 research outputs found
Corneille, Molière et les autres. Stilometrische Analysen zu Autorschaft und Gattungszugehörigkeit im französischen Theater der Klassik
No full textThe digital age, by making large amounts of text available to us, prompts us to develop new and additional reading strategies supported by the use of computers and enabling us to deal with such amounts of text. One such "distant reading" strategy is stylometry, a method of quantitative text analysis which relies on the frequencies of certain linguistic features such as words, letters or grammatical units to statistically assess the relative similarity of texts to each other and to classify texts on this basis. This method is applied here to French drama of the seventeenth century, more precisely to the now famous "Corneille / Molière- controversy". In this controversy, some researchers claim that Pierre Corneille wrote several of the plays traditionally attributed to Molière. The methodological challenge, it is shown here, lies in the fact that categories such as authorship, genre (comedy vs. tragedy) and literary form (prose vs. verse) all have an influence on stylometric distance measures and classification. Cross-genre and cross-form authorship attribution needs to distinguish such competing signals if it is to produce reliable attribution results. This contribution describes two attempts to accomplish this, parameter optimization and feature-range selection. The contribution concludes with some more general remarks about the use of quantitative methods in a hermeneutic discipline such as literary studies
On the Neuronal Activity in the Human Brain During Visual Recognition, Imagery and Binocular Rivalry
No full textHow does the neuronal activity in our brains give rise to our perceptions? We recorded the electrophysiological activity of over one thousand individual neurons in the human brain during object recognition, binocular rivalry, visual imagery and sleep. Subjects were patients with intractable epilepsy implanted with depth electrodes in targets including the amygdala, entorhinal cortex and hippocampus to localize the seizure focus for potential surgical resection. This has allowed us to explore the neuronal responses during visual processing in humans at an unprecedented level of spatial and temporal resolution. We observed a high degree of selectivity in the responses to complex visual stimuli. Some units were selective to categories of pictures including faces, houses, objects, famous people and animals while others responded only to one or a few stimuli, suggesting a sparse representation of visual information in the medial temporal lobe. Most of the selective neurons modulated their responses depending on the subject's percept during flash suppression. To further explore the correlation between perception and neuronal activity we investigated the vivid images that can be voluntarily generated in our minds in the absence of concomitant visual input. Our study revealed neuronal correlates of visual imagery and supports a common substrate for the processing of visual input and recall. Since visual memory is also prominent during dreams, we investigated the neuronal responses during different stages of the sleep-wake cycle. We observed an increase in synchrony during slow wave sleep compared to the wake and rapid-eye-movement sleep states. Our results suggest that neuronal activity in the human medial temporal lobe correlates with perception, shows a strong degree of invariance to changes in the input and could be involved in processing, storing and recalling visual information
A Life Interrupted: Essays in honour of the lives and legacies of Christof Heyns
No full textThis volume of essays, A life interrupted: essays in honour of the lives and legacies of Christof Heyns, honours Christof Heyns, renowned human rights lawyer, advocate, activist and educator, but also down-to-earth family man, friend and colleague. Christof’s sudden and most untimely passing on 28 March 2021 deeply saddened those close to him but also evinced an outpouring of grief from the national and international human rights community. His passing brought a deep sense of loss, in part because, at age 62, he was fully engaged in contributing to the betterment of society and still had so much more to give. His is a life interrupted. But at the same time, looking back over the varied lives he lived, he had already left his mark in so many ways. His influences and impacts are manifold and magical. This collection not only testifies to the legacy that he has left us, but also to the ongoing efforts of many to continue building on his legacy.
This collection contains two sets of essays by family members, friends, colleagues, collaborators and students. Part A contains essays of a more reflective and personal nature, while the contributions in Part B link to the scholarly or academic themes Christof had worked on and explored, including international human rights systems, international law, the right to life, freedom of association, international humanitarian law, the impact of human rights treaties, constitutionalism and legal philosophy. However, a neat distinction between the personal and professional is not possible in respect of such a warm, generous and enthusiastic person as Christof. Most of the essays in Part A integrate some of Christof’s professional and academic achievements, while many of the essays in Part B also reflect on Christof as a person.
The editors, all based at the Faculty of Law, UP, are colleagues and friends who worked closely with Christof. Frans Viljoen succeeded Christof as Director of the Centre for Human Rights. Christof was his doctoral supervisor, mentor and research collaborator. Charles Fombad worked with Christof at ICLA, and took over as ICLA Director after Christof’s passing. Dire Tladi, an ICLA fellow, had his office just across from Christof in ICLA. As member of the International Law Commission, he shared with Christof high level engagement with the UN. While Christof served on the Human Rights Committee, his colleague Ann Skelton serves on the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Magnus Killander worked closely with Christof as co-author and co-editor. Christof was also his doctoral supervisor.
The publication date of this book is 10 January 2022, which is the date marking 63 years since Christof’s birth. The publisher is the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), of which Christof was also a founder.PublishedThis volume of essays, A life interrupted: essays in honour of the lives and legacies of Christof Heyns, honours Christof Heyns, renowned human rights lawyer, advocate, activist and educator, but also down-to-earth family man, friend and colleague. Christof’s sudden and most untimely passing on 28 March 2021 deeply saddened those close to him but also evinced an outpouring of grief from the national and international human rights community. His passing brought a deep sense of loss, in part because, at age 62, he was fully engaged in contributing to the betterment of society and still had so much more to give. His is a life interrupted. But at the same time, looking back over the varied lives he lived, he had already left his mark in so many ways. His influences and impacts are manifold and magical. This collection not only testifies to the legacy that he has left us, but also to the ongoing efforts of many to continue building on his legacy.
This collection contains two sets of essays by family members, friends, colleagues, collaborators and students. Part A contains essays of a more reflective and personal nature, while the contributions in Part B link to the scholarly or academic themes Christof had worked on and explored, including international human rights systems, international law, the right to life, freedom of association, international humanitarian law, the impact of human rights treaties, constitutionalism and legal philosophy. However, a neat distinction between the personal and professional is not possible in respect of such a warm, generous and enthusiastic person as Christof. Most of the essays in Part A integrate some of Christof’s professional and academic achievements, while many of the essays in Part B also reflect on Christof as a person.
The editors, all based at the Faculty of Law, UP, are colleagues and friends who worked closely with Christof. Frans Viljoen succeeded Christof as Director of the Centre for Human Rights. Christof was his doctoral supervisor, mentor and research collaborator. Charles Fombad worked with Christof at ICLA, and took over as ICLA Director after Christof’s passing. Dire Tladi, an ICLA fellow, had his office just across from Christof in ICLA. As member of the International Law Commission, he shared with Christof high level engagement with the UN. While Christof served on the Human Rights Committee, his colleague Ann Skelton serves on the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Magnus Killander worked closely with Christof as co-author and co-editor. Christof was also his doctoral supervisor.
The publication date of this book is 10 January 2022, which is the date marking 63 years since Christof’s birth. The publisher is the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), of which Christof was also a founder
Für eine computergestützte literarische Gattungsstilistik
No full textDer vorliegende Beitrag plädiert für eine computergestützte literarische Gattungsstilistik, verstanden als eine Forschungsagenda für die Literaturwissenschaften, welche
hermeneutische und quantitative Methoden verbindet. Diese Agenda wird im Zusammenhang mit einem in Vorbereitung befindlichen Forschungsprojekt zum gleichen Thema formuliert,
das in der romanistischen Literaturwissenschaft angesiedelt ist. Aus diesem Forschungsprojekt werden zwei Zwischenergebnisse berichtet: das erste betrifft die konzeptuelle Verknüpfung von Gattungstheorie und computergestützter Stilistik; das zweite
betrifft die methodische Erweiterung der Principal Component Analysis (PCA) für literaturwissenschaftliche Fragestellungen
Timbre-invariant Audio Features for Style Analysis of Classical Music
No full textCopyright: (c) 2014 Christof Weiß et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
The 10 Essential Tools to Become an International Business Lawyer
No full textPRESS RELEASE 10/14/2010 Writer: Curry Andrews, 706/542-5172, [email protected] Contact: André Barbic, 706/542-5141, [email protected] Athens, Ga. - The University of Georgia School of Law\u27s Dean Rusk Center presents The 10 Essential Tools to Become an International Business Lawyer, featuring alumnus and international business law expert Christof Siefarth. The talk will take place Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of Dean Rusk Hall. It is being held in memory of long-time Georgia Law faculty member Gabriel M. Wilner, who passed away in May of this year, and is sponsored by the law school\u27s LL.M. Alumni Association. We are honored to be holding this lecture in memory of a well-respected colleague and missed friend, Dean Rusk Center Director C. Donald Johnson said. It is quite fitting to have Christof Siefarth, a distinguished international lawyer and former student of Gabe\u27s, serve as the speaker for this lecture held in Gabe\u27s honor. With more than 20 years of experience handling international business matters, Siefarth will address the audience from both a legal and cross-cultural point of view. Recommendations given will apply not only to students, but also to those in private practice interested in becoming more active globally as well as those already experienced in this field. Siefarth is a partner at the business law firm GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten and currently works out of the firm\u27s Cologne, Germany, office. He is a member of the German, New York, American and International bar associations, and he is a frequent speaker on international business matters. Siefarth served as the president of the UGA LL.M. Alumni Association from 1997 to 2010, and he was the chair of various international conferences for the Center for International Legal Studies. Wilner was a Georgia Law faculty member from 1973 until his passing in 2010. While at Georgia Law he played many roles: associate dean for graduate legal studies, executive director of the Dean Rusk Center, director of the school\u27s study abroad program in Brussels and faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. He also taught courses on international law, international legal transactions, European Union law, international commercial arbitration and transactional investment
Promoting Peace and Democracy through Party Regulation? Ethnic Party Bans in Africa
No full textSince the sweeping (re)introduction of multiparty systems in the early 1990s almost all sub-Saharan countries have introduced bans on ethnic or – in more general terms – particularistic parties. Such party bans have been neglected in research, and this paper engages in a preliminary analysis of their effects on democracy and peace. Theoretically, particularistic party bans can block particularisms from entering politics but also run the risk of forcing groups to resort to extra-legal or violent means. Neutral or context-dependent effects are also possible. Applying macro-qualitative comparison and bivariate statistics on the basis of a unique inventory of party bans and readily available indicators for the dependent variables, no simple connection can be detected. Rather, context conditions seem to be of superior explanatory power. We also find a systematic connection between party bans and variables that could be conceptualized as the causes of their implementation.Sub-Saharan Africa, party bans, ethnicity, conflict, democracy
Neural Coding and Feature Extraction of Time-Varying Signals
No full textWhat are the neuronal codes that the brain uses to represent information? This constitutes one of the most fascinating and challenging questions in Neuroscience. Here we report the results of our investigations about the mechanisms of stimulus encoding and feature extraction using the weakly electric fish Eigenmannia as a model. In many circumstances, sensory systems are subject to natural stimuli that are constantly changing. Therefore we decided to study the representation of time varying signals. Eigenmannia constitutes an ideal system to combine neurophysiological and computational techniques to study neural coding. We have characterized the variability of neuronal responses with a new approach by using parameterized distances between spike trains defined by Victor and Purpura. This measure of variability is widely applicable to neuronal responses, irrespective of the type of stimuli used (deterministic versus random) or the reliability of the recorded spike trains. We also quantitatively defined and evaluated the robustness of the neural code to spike time jittering, spike failures and spontaneous spikes. Our data show that the intrinsic variability of single spike trains lies outside of the range where it might degrade the information conveyed, yet still allows for improvement in coding by averaging across multiple afferent fibers. We also built a phenomenological model of P-receptor afferents incorporating both their linear transfer properties and the variability of their spike trains. We then studied the extraction of features from the time varying signal by bursts of spikes of multiple pyramidal cells, the next stage of information processing. To address the question of whether correlated responses of nearby neurons within topographic sensory maps are merely a sign ofredundancy or carry additional information we recorded simultaneously from pairs of electrosensory pyramidal cells with overlapping receptive fields in the hindbrain of weakly electric fish. We found that nearby pyramidal cells exhibit strong stimulus-induced correlations. The detailed stimulus encoding by pairs of pyramidal cells was inferior to that from single primary afferents. However, the detection of coincident bursts of activity could significantly enhance the extraction of upstrokes and downstrokes in the stimulus amplitude. Our investigations reveal mechanisms by which the nervous system can accurately and robustly transduce a time-varying signal into a digital spike train and then extract behaviorally relevant features
Spitzer on Racine, digitally revisited
No full textThis paper revisits, with today's digital corpora and computational methods of text analysis, Léo Spitzer's famous stylistic reading of the tragedies of French seventeenth-century author Jean Racine [1]. Spitzer's analysis was first published in 1928 and richly illustrates the manifestations of a "dampening effect" ("effet de sourdine") which Spitzer claims is characteristic of Racine's poetic style. The present attempt to reimplement Spitzer's study reveals new insights not only into Racine's style, but also into the respective strengths and limitations of both approaches to stylistic analysis and to the contrasting notions of style which underpin them [2].
References:
* Spitzer, Leo. „Die klassische Dämpfung in Racines Stil“ [1928]. In: Romanische Stil- und Literaturstudien I, Marburg: Elwert, 1931, 135-268.
* Léo Spitzer, "L'effet de sourdine dans le style classique: Racine", Études de style. Paris: Gallimard, 1970, p. 208-335.
* J. Berenike Herrmann, Karina van Dalen-Oskam und Christof Schöch, „Revisiting Style, a Key Concept in Literary Studies“, Journal of Literary Theory, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 25-52, 2015.
* Rockwell, Geoffrey. „Replication as a way of knowing in the digital humanities“. Vortrag, Universität Würzburg, 27. April 2016
Logarithmic lower bounds for Néel walls
No full textMost mathematical models for interfaces and transition layers in materials science exhibit sharply localized and rapidly decaying transition profiles. We show that this behavior can largely change when non-local interactions dominate and internal length scales fail to be determined by dimensional analysis: we consider a reduced model for the micromagnetic N\'eel wall which is observed in thin films. The typical phenomenon associated with this wall type is the very long logarithmic tail of transition profiles. Logarithmic upper bounds were recently derived by the author. In the present article we prove that the latter result is indeed optimal. In particular, we show that N\'eel wall profiles are supported by explicitly known comparison profiles that minimize relaxed variational principles and exhibit logarithmic decay behavior. This lower bound is established by a comparison argument based on a global maximum principle for the non-local field operator and the qualitative decay behavior of comparison profiles.Melcher, Christof. (2003). Logarithmic lower bounds for Néel walls. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/3871
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