2,759 research outputs found
City of Austin 25 cents (twenty-five cents) municipal scrip
No full text(L) Native American woman with quiver of arrows and spear in right hand.This municipal scrip was issued in Austin by the City of Austin. The note is believed to be a contemporary counterfeit. The recto is printed in green ink; the verso is printed in red. A line borders each edge of the note. A vignette of a Native American woman carrying a quiver of arrows on her back and a spear in her right hand comprises the left border. The number '25' is printed above the vignette. A decorative design with the phrase 'Twenty-Five' printed within comprises the right border. The abbreviation 'No.' appears in a scroll design towards the upper-left corner of the note; the number '119' is handwritten adjacent to it. The month is handwritten towards the upper-left corner of the note, and the year is printed adjacent to it. The plate designation 'A' is printed above the date. The note is payable in Texas bank notes when presented in sums of five dollars. The phrase 'Twenty-Five Cents.' is printed on the verso of the note in the four corners to form an oval design. The phrase 'Austin, Texas' is printed in center of the verso in a log-style font. The note is signed on the recto by the president, whose signature is illegible, and by G. Hale, Secretary.Recto: G Hale Secr'y.; [illegible] Pres't
Bayesian sample-size determination and adaptive design for clinical trials with Poisson outcomes.
No full textBecause of the high cost and time constraints for clinical trials, researchers often need to determine the smallest sample size that provides accurate inferences for a parameter of interest or need to adaptive design elements during the course of the trial based on information that is initially unknown. Although most experimenters have employed frequentist methods, the Bayesian paradigm offers a wide variety of methodologies and are becoming increasingly more popular in clinical trials because of their flexibility and their ease of interpretation. Recently, Bayesian approaches have been used to determine the sample size of a single Poisson rate parameter in a clinical trial setting. We extend these results to the comparison of two Poisson rates and develop methods for sample-size determination for hypothesis testing in a Bayesian context. Also, we propose a Bayesian predictive adaptive two-stage design for Poisson data that allows for sample-size adjustments by basing the second-stage sample size on the first-stage results. Lastly, we present a new Bayesian meta-analytic non-inferiority method for binomial data that allows researchers a more direct interpretation of their results. Our method uses MCMC methods to approximate the posterior distribution of the new treatment compared to a placebo rather than indirectly inferring a conclusion from the comparison of the new treatment to an active control.by Austin L. Hand.Ph.D
Increasing the frequency of hand washing by healthcare workers does not lead to commensurate reductions in staphylococcal infection in a hospital ward
No full textYesHand hygiene is generally considered to be the most important measure that can be applied to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Continuous emphasis on this intervention has lead to the widespread opinion that HAI rates can be greatly reduced by increased hand hygiene compliance alone. However, this assumes that the effectiveness of hand hygiene is not constrained by other factors and that improved compliance in excess of a given level, in itself, will result in a commensurate reduction in the incidence of HAI. However, several researchers have found the law of diminishing returns to apply to hand hygiene, with the greatest benefits occurring in the first 20% or so of compliance, and others have demonstrated that poor cohorting of nursing staff profoundly influences the effectiveness of hand hygiene measures. Collectively, these findings raise intriguing questions about the extent to which increasing compliance alone can further reduce rates of HAI.
In order to investigate these issues further, we constructed a deterministic Ross-Macdonald model and applied it to a hypothetical general medical ward. In this model the transmission of staphylococcal infection was assumed to occur after contact with the transiently colonized hands of HCWs, who, in turn, acquire contamination only by touching colonized patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of imperfect hand cleansing on the transmission of staphylococcal infection and to identify, whether there is a limit, above which further hand hygiene compliance is unlikely to be of benefit.
The model demonstrated that if transmission is solely via the hands of HCWs, it should, under most circumstances, be possible to prevent outbreaks of staphylococcal infection from occurring at a hand cleansing frequencies <50%, even with imperfect hand hygiene. The analysis also indicated that the relationship between hand cleansing efficacy and frequency is not linear - as efficacy decreases, so the hand cleansing frequency required to ensure R0<1 increases disproportionately.
Although our study confirmed hand hygiene to be an effective control measure, it demonstrated that the law of diminishing returns applies, with the greatest benefit derived from the first 20% or so of compliance. Indeed, our analysis suggests that there is little benefit to be accrued from very high levels of hand cleansing and that in most situations compliance >40% should be enough to prevent outbreaks of staphylococcal infection occurring, if transmission is solely via the hands of HCWs. Furthermore we identified a non-linear relationship between hand cleansing efficacy and frequency, suggesting that it is important to maximise the efficacy of the hand cleansing process
John Langshaw Austin
No full textJohn Langshaw Austin (1911-1960) was one of the most influential British philosophers of his time, for his rigorous thought, extraordinary personality and innovative philosophical method. According to John Searle, Austin was a philosopher both passionately loved and hated by his contemporaries, because, like Socrates, he seemed to destroy all philosophical orthodoxy without presenting an alternative, and equally comforting, orthodoxy. Austin’s work is known for two major contributions to contemporary philosophy. On the one hand, his ‘linguistic phenomenology’, a peculiar method of philosophical analysis of the concepts and ways of expression of everyday language. On the other hand, Speech Act Theory, the idea of a performative dimension in any use of the language: with a well-known slogan, “to say something is to do something.” Speech Act Theory has had consequences and import in research fields as diverse as philosophy of language, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of law, linguistics, artificial intelligence and feminist philosophy. Here we will focus on Austin’s contributions to philosophy of language, epistemology and philosophy of action, and on two main developments of speech act theory: the dispute between conventionalism and intentionalism on the one hand, and the debate on free speech, pornography, and censorship on the other.John Austin (1911-1960) è stato uno dei filosofi britannici più influenti del suo tempo, per il rigore del pensiero, la personalità straordinaria e il metodo filosofico innovativo. A parere di John Searle Austin era molto amato e molto odiato dai contemporanei – disorientati da un pensiero che sembrava distruggere più che costruire, sfidare l‟ortodossia della filosofia tradizionale ma anche dell‟allora imperante empirismo logico, senza sostituirvi nessuna confortante nuova ortodossia. L‟opera di Austin è tuttavia oggi poco conosciuta e gli elementi di novità della sua riflessione non sufficientemente apprezzati. Costituiscono un‟eccezione due risultati, universalmente riconosciuti e celebrati: da un lato la tecnica di analisi filosofica – quella versione della “filosofia linguistica” praticata da Austin con la pazienza, il rigore e il talento di un entomologo; dall‟altro la teoria degli atti linguistici. Austin viene ricordato soprattutto per aver evidenziato la dimensione performativa che permea ogni nostro proferimento: con uno slogan diventato famoso, ogni dire è anche un fare. Una tesi con ripercussioni in aree di ricerca molto diverse, dalla filosofia del linguaggio all‟etica, dalla filosofia politica al diritto, dalla linguistica alla filosofia femminista. Ci concentreremo qui sui contributi di Austin alla filosofia del linguaggio, ma faremo cenni anche estesi ai suoi contributi in epistemologia e teoria dell‟azione, nonché al vivace dibattito che a partire dalla teoria degli atti linguistici si è sviluppato negli anni „60 e „70. Un dibattito che è tornato ad accendersi in tempi recentissimi nelle discussioni su libertà di espressione e censura
John L. Austin: the role of rethoric in the periphery of philosophy
No full textThis paper analyses a variety of issues (biography, history, theory, methodology…) that throw light on the peculiarity of John L. Austin and his philosophy, as well as on the rejection generated against it. From all these aspects, this study intends to highlight the stylistic and discursive ones, especially the role of rhetoric, whit the aim to show that this author creates a performative prose in line with its intellectual content. In this way, Austin gives to his work a unique coherence between content and form
The Bibliographic Concept of Work in Cataloguing and its Issues
No full textThis report explores the IFLA’s document Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). It discusses the notion of work in cataloguing as it was built since the 1950s, inasmuch this notion constitutes the conceptual framework for the proposal. Also, the entity-relationship database modeling (ERDM) system is described as far as such model provides to FRBR the operative elements that make it functional. ERDM gives to FRBR a user-centered approach as well. In its third chapter, the report tests the FRBR model through its application to a set of items belonging to the novel Rayuela, by Julio Cortázar, held at the Benson Latin American Collection of the University of Texas at Austin. Finally, some critical issues are raised along with general conclusions regarding the functionality of the mode
[Canada and the Great Lakes].
No full textNote in a different hand at lower right: Map drawn by Lt. Loring Austin aide to Gen. Jac. Brown 1813-14.; Finished, pen and ink map of Canada from the Great Lakes to Newfoundland with place names along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence water route
Music Video Games:Performance, Politics, and Play
No full textMusic Video Games takes a look (and listen) at the popular genre of music games – video games in which music is at the forefront of player interaction and gameplay. With chapters on a wide variety of music games, ranging from well-known console games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band to new, emerging games for smartphones and tablets, scholars from diverse disciplines and backgrounds discuss the history, development, and cultural impact of music games.Each chapter investigates important themes surrounding the ways in which we play music and play with music in video games. Starting with the precursors to music games – including Simon, the hand-held electronic music game from the 1980s, Michael Austin’s collection goes on to discuss issues in musicianship and performance, authenticity and “selling out,” and composing, creating, and learning music with video games. Including a glossary and detailed indices, Austin and his team shine a much needed light on the often overlooked subject of music video games
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
Starbird, Austin Charles
No full textCora L. Starbird - wifehttps://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-ch-memoranda-1928/1211/thumbnail.jp
- …
