292 research outputs found
Crowd-Sourcing A High-Quality Dataset for Metaphor Identification in Tweets
No full textMetaphor is one of the most important elements of human communication, especially in informal settings such as social media. There have been a number of datasets created for metaphor identification, however, this task has proven difficult due to the nebulous nature of metaphoricity. In this paper, we present a crowd-sourcing approach for the creation of a dataset for metaphor identification, that is able to rapidly achieve large coverage over the different usages of metaphor in a given corpus while maintaining high accuracy. We validate this methodology by creating a set of 2,500 manually annotated tweets in English, for which we achieve inter-annotator agreement scores over 0.8, which is higher than other reported results that did not limit the task. This methodology is based on the use of an existing classifier for metaphor in order to assist in the identification and the selection of the examples for annotation, in a way that reduces the cognitive load for annotators and enables quick and accurate annotation. We selected a corpus of both general language tweets and political tweets relating to Brexit and we compare the resulting corpus on these two domains. As a result of this work, we have published the first dataset of tweets annotated for metaphors, which we believe will be invaluable for the development, training and evaluation of approaches for metaphor identification in tweets
Multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis TCMeta 1.0
No full textTCMeta is a dataset of noun phrase constructions from COVID-related tweets, annotated for relation-level metaphor.
It contains 2,138 Slovene and 2,221 English instances in tab-separated tabular format .tsv, where each line presents a unique phrase under consideration, extracted from a COVID-related tweet. The primary annotations include the COVID metaphor label (whether the phrase expresses a metaphor relating to COVID), but also additional ones for idioms, metaphors not relating to COVID, or metaphors not evident on the relation-level.
The complete user tweet could not be published due to the ToS of the then Twitter platform. We recommend retrieving the text of the tweets via their IDs using the Hydrator tool [https://github.com/docnow/hydrator] or similar.
The dataset is further described in:
Brglez, M., Zayed, O. & Buitelaar, P. TCMeta: a multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis. Lang Resources & Evaluation 59, 437–475 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10579-024-09725-z.
@article{brglez2025tcmeta,
title={{TCMeta}: a multilingual dataset of {COVID} tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis},
author={Brglez, Mojca and Zayed, Omnia and Buitelaar, Paul},
journal={Language Resources and Evaluation},
pages={437--475},
volume={59},
year={2025},
publisher={Springer},
doi = {10.1007/s10579-024-09725-z}
Implicit and explicit predictors of smoking cessation behavior
No full textThe current study drew on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to model self-change behavior in a sample of self-defined smokers over a 6 month follow-up period. The study tested the validity of the TPB model and the validity of the Expanded Model which proposed the addition of Impulsivity and Implicit Smoking Self-Identity as predictors of smoking outcome. The sample was recruited via an online advertisement and consisted of current smokers over18 years of age reporting no terminal illness. The baseline sample consisted of 81female and 49 male participants and the follow-up sample consisted of 28 female and 14 male participants. The study was administered online. Data consisted of demographic variables, dependence severity, and perceived stress. The TPB model variables were Smoking Attitude, as measured by Semantic Differential scales, Social Norm and Intent to Quit, measured using item ratings, and Self-Efficacy. Smoking outcome was measured as time to first quit attempt, number of quit attempts in the last 6 months, and longest period of abstinence in the last 6 months (dichotomized into high and low abstinence groups because of severe skew). A linear regression was run to test the first step of the TPB, predicting Intent to Quit from Personal Attitude, Social Norm, and Self-Efficacy. The current study found support for the first step of the TPB model- Personal Attitude and Social Norm predicted Intent to Quit. A series of regressions were performed to test the second step of the model, predicting Smoking Outcome from Intent to Quit, Self-Efficacy, Impulsivity, and Smoking Self-Concept. Partial support was found for the second step of the model, with Intent to Quit and Impulsivity predicting smoking outcome. Smoking Self-Concept was found to be predictive at a trend. Self-efficacy was not found to be predictive of either Intent to Quit or smoking outcome. An attrition analysis was performed to investigate predictors of study participation at follow-up. Support for the construct validity of the Smoking Self-Identity IAT was found; it was uncorrelated with Explicit Attitude and Social Desirability Bias and negatively correlated with smoking outcome. Limitations of the sample and implications for future research are discussed.Ph.D.Includes abstractVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesby Zayed Al-Otaib
Collection assessment for a Middle Eastern, English curriculum university library
No full text
Purpose
Library collections at Middle Eastern universities have usually prioritized teaching over research resources. Zayed University is transitioning toward research, but research-centric collection assessments are rarely applied in the region. The purpose of this paper is to present on the successes and limitations of using citation analysis to assess the relevance of the Zayed University Library collection to its shifted focus.
Design/methodology/approach
Recent Scopus-listed publications were sorted by the colleges of the Zayed University affiliated author, and citations listed in the publications were ranked as present or absent in the library collection.
Findings
The resultant table provides an unambiguous evaluation of the extent to which the library collection has met the needs of recently successful published academics across disciplines. Pitfalls include the limitations of the Scopus database in representing all disciplines.
Originality/value
Outcomes of the assessment enable the Library to develop collection strategies for continuous improvement and effectively support the campus researchers.
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PENGARUH DAYA TARIK DAN HASIL REVIEW MELALUI MEDIA SOSIAL TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN MASYARAKAT BERKUNJUNG KE MASJID RAYA SYEIKH ZAYED SURAKARTA
No full textAbstrak: Perkembangan tren pariwisata halal dari tahun ke tahun menjadikan daya tarik tersendiri bagi umat muslim. Indonesia dengan peringkat ke-1 pada tahun 2023 dalam pariwisata halal semakin dapat melebarkan sayapnya untuk meningkatkan potensi dari pariwisata halal yang salah satunya ialah masjid. Tujuan penelitian ini guna mengetahui adakah pengaruh daya tarik dan hasil review melalui media sosial terhadap keputusan masyarakat untuk berkunjung di Masjid Raya Syeikh Zayed Banjarsari Surakarta. Metode yang digunakan oleh penulis yaitu kuantitatif dengan analisis regresi linear berganda berupa alat SPSS versi 25 dan teknik sampling berupa purposive sampling. Penelitian ini menggunakan data primer yang diperoleh dari hasil penyebaran kuesioner dan sekunder yang merujuk pada literatur-literatur yang relevan. Hasil dari penelitian menunjukkan bahwa secara simultan daya tarik dan hasil review berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap keputusan masyarakat berkunjung ke Masjid Raya Syeikh Zayed. Sedangkan secara parsial, variabel daya tarik memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap keputusan masyarakat untuk berkunjung ke Masjid Raya Syeikh Zayed. Berbeda dengan hasil review tidak berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap keputusan masyarakat berkunjung ke Masjid Raya Syeikh Zayed.
Kata kunci: Review Melalui Social Media; Daya Tarik; Hasil Review; Keputusan Berkunjung; Pariwisata Halal
Abstract: The development of halal tourism trends from year to year makes it a special attraction for Muslims. Indonesia, which ranks 1st in 2023 in halal tourism, can increasingly spread its wings to increase the potential for halal tourism, one of which is mosques. The aim of this research is to find out whether there is an influence of attractiveness and the results of reviews via social media on people's decisions to visit the Grand Mosque of Sheikh Zayed Banjarsari Surakarta. The method used by the author is quantitative with multiple linear regression analysis in the form of SPSS version 25 tools and a sampling technique in the form of purposive sampling. This research uses primary data obtained from the results of distributing questionnaires and secondary data which refers to relevant literature. The results of the research show that simultaneously the attraction and the results of the review have a significant influence on people's decisions to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Meanwhile, partially the attractiveness variable has a significant influence on people's decisions to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. In contrast to the results of the review, it does not significantly influence people's decisions to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Keywords: Review Via Social Media; Attractiveness; Review Results; Decision to Visit; Halal Touris
Metaphor processing in tweets
No full textMetaphor plays an important role in defining the interplay between cognition and language. Despite its fuzziness, this ubiquitous figurative device is an essential element of human communication that allows us (as humans) to better understand and, thus, communicate unfamiliar experiences and concepts in terms of familiar ones. Metaphor comprehension and understanding is a complex cognitive task that includes grasping the interaction between the underlying concepts. This is very challenging for humans, let alone computers.
The last few decades have witnessed a growing interest in automating this cognitive process by introducing a wealth of ideas to model the computational recognition and comprehension of metaphors in text. Many approaches and techniques have been introduced to explore the automatic processing of different types of metaphors and the preparation of metaphor-related resources.
In spite of the attention that metaphor processing has gained recently, the majority of existing approaches do not process metaphors in informal settings such as social media.
Twitter offers a novel way of communication that enables users all over the world to share their thoughts and experiences. The social media content circulated on this platform through the short informal tweets poses a challenge for automatic language processing due to the unstructured nature and brevity of the text as well as the vagueness of topics. Such unique characteristics of tweets, coupled with the importance of studying metaphoric usage on social media motivated me to study metaphor processing in such a context.
Metaphor processing in tweets can be beneficial in many social media analysis applications, including political discourse analysis and health communication analysis.
In this thesis, I investigate the automatic processing of metaphors in tweets focusing on two main tasks, namely metaphor identification and interpretation. My aim is to improve metaphor identification to study the usage of metaphoric language in healthcare communication and political discourse in social media. Furthermore, I aim to improve metaphor interpretation to aid language learners and to enrich lexical resources. I, therefore, study various NLP and deep learning techniques to automatically identify and interpret metaphors in tweets. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no attempt to process metaphors in tweets in part due to the lack of tweet datasets annotated for linguistic metaphor. Thus, the focus of the work presented here is not only introducing models to process metaphors in tweets but also developing the necessary datasets.
Overall, the work is divided into three main research themes; the first focuses on the development of metaphor annotation schemes and the preparation of datasets for both tasks. The second is concerned with the automatic identification of linguistic metaphors in tweets under a relational paradigm which explores three main ideas, namely distributional semantics, meta-embedding learning and contextual modulation. Finally, the last theme focuses on metaphor interpretation along the more complex ``definition generation\u27\u27 approach, which provides full explanation of a given metaphoric expression. Experiments are conducted on the introduced datasets of tweets as well as benchmark metaphor datasets to show the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. Furthermore, the proposed datasets and the best models from this thesis will be made publicly available to facilitate research on metaphor processing in general and in tweets specifically
Measuring the Accessibility of Arab Markets
No full textMarket access matters. This paper uses a method suggested by Hugo et al. (2006) to determine and rank a sample of Arab countries in terms of their market access. The paper suggests that market access is comprised of three components: public institutions, regulatory environment, and network industries. The paper finds that most Arab countries perform better than the world median in terms of market access, except for Morocco and Algeria. The paper demonstrates how these two countries and other Arab countries can improve their market access, either by improving their network industries, their public institutions, or their regulatory environment. Corresponding Author, Zayed University, Economic & Policy Research Unit, P.O. Box 19282, Dubai, UAE, Phone: +971 4 402 1465, Fax: +971 4 402 1002, E-mail: [email protected] Zayed University, Economic & Policy Research Unit, P.O. Box 19282, Dubai, UAE, Phone: +971 4 402 1470, Fax: +971 4 402 1002, E-mail: [email protected]
Are library electronic resources providing adequate support for research? A case study of a federal university in the United Arab Emirates
No full text© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Middle Eastern universities have recently been included in international rankings, driving a shift in priorities from teaching to research. However, research-centric collection assessments are rarely applied in the region. The Library and Learning Commons of Zayed University has recently completed the first phase of collection assessment for this transition. This study aims to provide an overview of how electronic resources adequacy was measured, and correlations between utilization of resources and research output were determined. A systematic approach is presented to assess electronic resources impact and to investigate and demonstrate the Library’s support of research output in local research and the scholarly environment. Design/methodology/approach: Journal article publications from 2009 to 2016 with at least one Zayed University affiliated author were collected from Scopus, the abstract and citation database operated by Elsevier BV. Sources used within these articles were analyzed. COUNTER usage statistics of three indicators (searches, sessions and full-text downloads) were collected from the most used electronic resources in the Library to define the correlation between usage and research activities in the university during the assessment period. Findings: The change in university direction toward research is apparent in the data since Fall 2014. Since then, faculty publication output grew rapidly and was positively correlated with library resources use. Sessions and searches displayed a strong positive relationship with research output while the correlation with full-text downloads was moderate. This was true for individual colleges as well as for the university as a whole, supporting the assumption that library utilization is highly correlated with the growth of research productivity. Practical implications: Results of this assessment were used to justify the budget allocation of Zayed University Library for supporting research and improve the focus of collection development to better meet researchers’ needs. The most important outcomes were to provide evidence-based information to Library management for strategic planning and evaluation of their changing role in the digital age. Originality/value: The systematic approach described has enabled Zayed University library to assess the relevance of its resources to its changed focus toward research, both for the university as a whole and among the more research-productive colleges. This initial approach may be useful for other libraries going through a similar transition, particularly within the region
TCMeta: a multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis
No full textThe COVID pandemic spurred the use of various metaphors, some very common and universal, others depending on the language, country and culture. The use of metaphors by the general public, especially in languages other than English, has not yet been sufficiently investigated, one of the reasons being the lack of resources and automatic tools for metaphor analysis. To fill this gap, we introduce TCMeta, a dataset of tweets annotated for metaphors around COVID-19, in two languages from ten different countries. The dataset contains metaphoric phrases covering four source domains. Furthermore, we introduce a semi-automatic methodology to annotate more than 2000 tweets in English and Slovene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multilingual semi-automatically compiled dataset of user-generated texts aimed at investigating metaphorical language about the pandemic. It is also the first Slovene dataset of tweets annotated for metaphors.The research leading to these results received funding from Science Foundation Ireland under Grant Number SFI/12/RC/2289_P2 (Insight), and from the Slovene Research Agency (ARRS) under the research core funding P6-0215. The project has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 883285. The material presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the author(s) only. The EU Commission takes no responsibility for any use made of the information set out.peer-reviewe
Creativity and Dissidence in Jordanian Women’s Literature
No full textContemporary Jordanian women writers have transported the act of writing into an act of dissidence to reflect their own perspectives and priorities shaped by a distinctive cultural and aesthetic formation. Writers like Huzama Habayeb, Afaf Batayneh, and Leila Elatrash speak with assertive voices about the confinement and even the abuse of Arab women. Their works reveal an unequivocal sense of pride in overthrowing all confinements, while at the same time condemning and combating the abusive excesses of patriarchy when it appropriates and exploits religious and cultural traditions to preserve its own material hegemony. Their discourse strives, with varying degrees of militancy, for an agenda that is quite dissident and threatening to the fabric of the traditional religious and social Arab norms. Some look at the West for a substitute model of their freedom of expression, while others seek an answer within the framework of Arabic culture. Their writing represents not only a fascinating phenomenon of articulating feelings and perspectives of their own by adopting a dissident stance in their use of language and narrative, but also a promise to extend and expand their scope of focus to an apparent militant and confrontational response to the discourse produced by male-made theocracies
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