24,035 research outputs found

    The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function

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    This 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

    Language Change and SA-OT: The case of sentential negation

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    Simulated Annealing for Optimality Theory (SA-OT) updates Optimality Theory by adding a model of performance to a theory of linguistic competence. Our aim is to show that SA-OT can contribute to language change simulations. Performance "errors" are considered to be one of the causes of variation and change. We have chosen to model the evolution of sentential negation (SN). The descriptive background adopts Jespersen's Cycle, according to which the evolution of sentential negation follows three main stages (1. pre-verbal, 2. discontinuous, and 3. post-verbal). Therefore, we advance a novel model for SN, based on SA-OT. It reproduces the three pure and the two observed mixed stages, whereas it correctly predicts the lack of an intermediate stage between 3 and 1. The success of the approach corroborates the computational, performance-based approach to the data. Finally, we employ the iterated learning paradigm to reproduce historical changes in a "simulated corpus study". This enterprise turns out to be more difficult than one would naively believe.Appeared open access as: Computational Linguistics in the Netherlands Journal (CLIN), vol. 1 (2011), pp. 21-40, and is available at http://www.clinjournal.org/sites/default/files/Lopopolo.pdfA. Lopopolo and Biró, T., “Language Change and SA-OT. The case of sentential negation”, Computational Linguistics in the Netherlands Journal, vol. 1, pp. 21-40, 2011.Peer Reviewe

    Guidance for using pilot studies to inform the design of intervention trials with continuous outcomes

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    Melanie L Bell,1 Amy L Whitehead,2 Steven A Julious2 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; 2Medical Statistics Group, Design, Trials and Statistics, School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK Background: A pilot study can be an important step in the assessment of an intervention by providing information to design the future definitive trial. Pilot studies can be used to estimate the recruitment and retention rates and population variance and to provide preliminary evidence of efficacy potential. However, estimation is poor because pilot studies are small, so sensitivity analyses for the main trial’s sample size calculations should be undertaken.Methods: We demonstrate how to carry out easy-to-perform sensitivity analysis for designing trials based on pilot data using an example. Furthermore, we introduce rules of thumb for the size of the pilot study so that the overall sample size, for both pilot and main trials, is minimized.Results: The example illustrates how sample size estimates for the main trial can alter dramatically by plausibly varying assumptions. Required sample size for 90% power varied from 392 to 692 depending on assumptions. Some scenarios were not feasible based on the pilot study recruitment and retention rates.Conclusion: Pilot studies can be used to help design the main trial, but caution should be exercised. We recommend the use of sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the design assumptions for a main trial. Keywords: pilot, feasibility, sample size, power, randomized controlled trial, sensitivity analysi

    Stakeholder research CoVE Water SA: CoVE Water SA the umbrella for all stakeholders

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    The water and sanitation sector faces well-documented issues that are challenging to address, leading to the establishment of the Platform of Vocational Excellence (PoVE) Water. This platform brings together five regional Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) Water in Europe and South Africa to ensure high-quality skills and competencies in the water sector. These CoVEs facilitate collaboration among stakeholders, enabling the development of vocational education and training programs to increase awareness, responsiveness to industry needs, and address sector challenges. A few months ago, CoVE Water SA was established in South Africa to achieve the previously mentioned goals. Therefore, it is important that the following research question is answered in this initial set-up phase: What actions need to be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the CoVE Water SA? To answer this research question, several important stakeholders were interviewed. Subsequently, the interviews were analysed thematically in order to extract the most important themes and quotes, PI grids were created to assess power and interest dynamics among stakeholders, and a Social Network Analysis was conducted to understand the CoVE Water SA network and potential clusters.The research findings have unveiled key aspects for enhancing the effectiveness of CoVE Water SA. The current network in the water sector has a low density, implying that many collaborations are lacking. This leads to a high degree of interdependence within the network, resulting in a non dynamic system. The lack of collaborations, such as connections with TVET colleges, schools, farmers and local communities, results in a lack of knowledge, funding and connection to the labour market. Governmental stakeholders, like DWS, EWSeta, and BGCMA, have been identified as influential players with extensive networks and important resources, Local Authorities and Research Organizations also play important roles. Universities exhibit substantial international links, making them crucial contributors. These stakeholders have the potential to provide knowledge, collaboration, and power. These are valuable insights for CoVE Water SA, fostering network growth and effectiveness in the water sector. Furthermore, six key themes have been derived from the conducted interviews, addressing the needs of stakeholders and where CoVE can make a valuable contribution. These themes include raising awareness, reducing the skills gap in the water sector, fostering international collaborations, mitigating the labour shortage in the water sector, improving education material and establishing desired collaborations. For each theme, the interviewed stakeholders have presented their views and numerous suggestions on how CoVE Water SA can assist in addressing these issues. Additionally, stakeholders have also mentioned possible failures of CoVE Water SA, which can aid in preventing any shortcomings of the platform. Furthermore, stakeholders mentioned ongoing initiatives related to the six themes, through which they can contribute to the platform. From the Thematic Analysis, PI Grids and the SNA, a set of actions have emerged that are essential for enhancing the effectiveness of CoVE Water SA. These actions revolve around expanding and enhancing the network, organising activities and contributing to educational improvement. In terms of broadening and strengthening the network, the platform should focus on enhancing the collaborations among educational groups, building stronger relations with international institutions in Europe and Africa, involving TVETs and schools within the water network, improving stakeholder involvement and encouraging the involvement of Local Communities to increase awareness and knowledge about water issues. Furthermore, CoVE Water SA should play a role in organising activities to raise awareness of Water Resource Management. Additionally, it should assist in improving curricula, supporting students’ preparation for the workforce and making the education more practical instead of only theoretical. CoVE Water SA should also provide training and learning resources as well as comprehensive courses.However, this study recognizes several limitations that should be considered in future research and when implementing recommendations for CoVE Water SA. These limitations encompass factors like a limited scope due to resource and time constraints, minimal varied interviewee responses, and potential biases in responses. Addressing these limitations will be crucial in guiding future research and actions for CoVE Water SA.CEGM3000Civil Engineerin

    Interview with Erica Jolly - teacher, author and founding member of SA Social Studies Teachers Association

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    Erica is a teacher and author who was a founding member of the SA Social Studies Teachers Association (contributing to its text books) and the SA History Teachers Association. She took her Masters in English Literature at Flinders University and taught in Girls and Boys Technical Colleges for 40 years. Erica's published works include a history of vocational education in South Australia from 1897 - 2001, We Came to Marion 1955 - 1995 (1995), A Broader Vision: Voices of Vocational Education in SA (2001), Challenging the Divide: Approaches to Science and Poetry (2010), and Making a Stand (2015)

    Historický vývoj a charakteristika rozvojovej pomoci

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    V príspevku sa autor zaoberá vývojom povojnových rozvojových teórií, ktorých podstatou je skúmanie príčin, dôsledkov zaostalosti krajín rozvojového sveta a vzniku ekonomických a spoločenských disparít medzi jednotlivými regiónmi sveta. Z chronologického hľadiska sa autor v príspevku venuje relevantným historickým aspektom, ktoré ovplyvnili vznik rozvojovej pomoci vo forme ako ju poznáme v súčasnosti. Východiskovou teóriou zahraničnej rozvojovej pomoci sa stala teória „Začarovaného kruhu chudoby“ a z nej vychádzajú mnohí autori, ktorí hľadajú východiská zo zaostalosti a prehlbovania sa rozdielov medzi vyspelými a zaostalými krajinami sveta. Jednotlivé regióny sú špecifické určitými charakteristikami, ktoré autor rozoberá v poslednej časti príspevku.rozvojové teórie, rozvojová pomoc, zahraničná pomoc, začarovaný kruh

    Le Dr Doyen, sa Staphylase et sa Mycolysine

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    Der Dr Doyen, seine Staphylase und seine Mycolysine. Der Verfasser gibt einige Auskünfte über diese zwei, von Marcel Proust erwähnte Arzneimittel, und deren Hersteller, Eugène-Louis Doyen, 1859 geboren.Dr Doyen, his Staphylase and his Mycolysine. The author provides some information on these two medications mentioned by Marcel Proust, and on their discover, Eugène-Louis Doyen, born in 1859.Lefebvre Thierry. Le Dr Doyen, sa Staphylase et sa Mycolysine. In: Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie, 79ᵉ année, n°289, 1991. pp. 193-198

    Corporate author.1. Concept

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    43-49<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US">First of a series of papers as a basis for the discussion of the IFLA to arrive at international agreement on corporate body - Heading. As the starting point, gives a precise definition of "Corporate Body" and of its four species, "Government" "Institution", "Conference" and "Organ". Defines also author and gives criteria for distinguishing between "Personal Author" and" Corporate Author".</span

    Overview of the Author Profiling Task at PAN 2013

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    [EN] This overview presents the framework and results for the Author Profiling task at PAN 2013. We describe in detail the corpus and its characteristics, and the evaluation framework we used to measure the participants performance to solve the problem of identifying age and gender from anonymous texts. Finally, the approaches of the 21 participants and their results are described.The author profiling task @PAN-2013 was an activity of the WIQ-EI IRSES project (Grant No. 269180) within the FP 7 Marie Curie People Framework of the European Commission. We want to thank the Forensic Lab of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona for sponsoring the award for the winner team. The work of the first author was partially funded by Autoritas Consulting SA and by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España under grant ECOPORTUNITY IPT-2012-1220-430000. The work of the second author was in the framework the DIANA-APPLICATIONS-Finding Hidden Knowledge in Texts: Applications (TIN2012-38603-C02-01) project, and the VLC/CAMPUS Microcluster on Multimodal Interaction in Intelligent Systems. The work of fifth author was funded in part by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) project "Mining Conversational Content for Topic Modelling and Author Identification (ChatMiner)" under grant number 200021_130208.Rangel, F.; Rosso, P.; Koppel, M.; Stamatatos, E.; Inches, G. (2013). Overview of the Author Profiling Task at PAN 2013. CLEF Conference on Multilingual and Multimodal Information Access Evaluation. 352-365. https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/46636S35236

    Ilang Retrospektibo at Pagpapalawig sa Kaisipang Reyes Hinggil sa Aralín at Pagtuturo ng Kulturang Popular Ngayon

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    Layon ng sanaysay na ito na maghain ng retrospektibo o, wika nga ni Soledad S. Reyes, “balik-tanaw” sa dalawa niyang sanaysay na matatagpuang pampinid sa Pagbasa ng Panitikan at Kulturang Popular: Piling Sanaysay, 1976–1996 (1997) at sa pinatnugutan niyang teksbuk na Katha (1992) para sa Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila noong dekada 1990. Ang mga ito ay mahalagang pagtatala at pagninilay ng pangunahing iskolar ng kulturang popular sa Filipinas hinggil sa kaniyang mga kaisipan sa aralín at pagtuturo ng kulturang popular. Sa mga akda ring nabanggit, pinahahalagahan niya ang animasyon ng saliksik hinggil sa kulturang popular sa pedagohiya o pagkasangkapan sa mga teksto at penomena bílang materyal na panturo sa silid-aralan. Ang ganitong praktika ay produkto ng kaniyang maatikabong pagbuwag sa mga halagahang kultural. Matapos ng retrospektibo, isasalaysay ng awtor ang sariling sapalaran at nilay hinggil sa pagaaral at pagtuturo ng teleserye simula 2014, o sampung taon na ang nakalilipas. Sa hulí, matapos na iulat din ang mga katulad at nakasabayang lunggati sa aralín at pagtuturo ng kulturang popular, maikakatwirang pawang solidipikasyon ng legasiya ni Reyes, magmumungkahi ang awtor ng ilang susing pagpapalawig sa mga naunang prinsipyong inilatag hinggil sa kulturang popular sa klasrum, lalo sa Filipinong konteksto at sa panahon ng communicative violence at death of truth. This essay aims to offer a retrospective or, in the words of Soledad S. Reyes, a “balik-tanaw” of two of her essays found, respectively, at the end of Pagbasa ng Panitikan at Kulturang Popular: Piling Sanaysay, 1976–1996 (1997) and in the textbook Katha (1992), which she edited for the Ateneo de Manila University in the 1990s. These texts serve as important records and reflections by a foremost scholar of popular culture in the Philippines, laying out her insights on the study and pedagogy of popular culture. In these works, Reyes underscores the value of animating pedagogy with a scholarly engagement with popular culture—mobilizing texts and phenomena as instructional materials within the classroom. This pedagogical practice emerges from her vigorous critique and dismantling of entrenched cultural hierarchies. Following this retrospective, the author recounts their own journey and reflections on studying and teaching the teleserye beginning in 2014, which is now a decade-long undertaking. Finally, after surveying similar and parallel efforts in the study and teaching of popular culture, the author argues that these signify the consolidation of Reyes’s intellectual legacy. Building on this, the essay proposes several key directions for expanding Reyes’s foundational principles on popular culture in the classroom, particularly within the Filipino context and in an era marked by communicative violence and the death of truth
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