24,198 research outputs found
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
Language Change and SA-OT: The case of sentential negation
No full textSimulated 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
Understanding the polarization signal of spherical particles for microwave limb radiances
No full textThis paper presents a simple conceptual model to explain that even spherical scatterers lead to a polarization difference signal for microwave limb radiances. The conceptual model relates the polarization difference measured by a limb-looking sensor situated inside a cloud with the anisotropy of the radiation. In the simulations, it was assumed that the cloud consists of spherical ice particles with a radius of which were situated between 10.6 and 12.3 km altitude. The frequencies 318 and 500 GHz were considered.
The results of the conceptual model were compared to the results of the fully polarized scattering model ARTS-1-1. The comparison showed a good qualitative agreement. The polarization difference decreases inside the cloud with increasing height and changes sign. This behavior can be related to a different amount of radiation coming from the atmosphere above and below the cloud, compared to the amount of radiation coming from the sides. The sign of polarization difference of the scattered radiation is opposite for these two radiation sources
Tissue- and Cell-Specific Cytokinin Activity in Populus × canescens Monitored by ARR5::GUS Reporter Lines in Summer and Winter
No full textCytokinins play an important role in vascular development. But knowledge on the cellular localization of this growth hormone in the stem and other organs of woody plants is lacking. The main focus of this study was to investigate the occurrence and cellular localization of active cytokinins in leaves, roots, and along the stem of Populus × canescens and to find out how the pattern is changed between summer and winter. An ARR5::GUS reporter construct was used to monitor distribution of active cytokinins in different tissues of transgenic poplar lines. Three transgenic lines tested under outdoor conditions showed no influence of ARR5::GUS reporter construct on the growth performance compared with the wild-type, but one line lost the reporter activity. ARR5::GUS activity indicated changes in the tissue- and cell type-specific pattern of cytokinin activity during dormancy compared with the growth phase. ARR5::GUS activity, which was present in the root tips in the growing season, disappeared in winter. In the stem apex ground tissue, ARR5::GUS activity was higher in winter than in summer. Immature leaves from tissue-culture grown plants showed inducible ARR5::GUS activity. Leaf primordia in summer showed ARR5::GUS activity, but not the expanded leaves of outdoor plants or leaf primordia in winter. In stem cross sections, the most prominent ARR5::GUS activity was detected in the cortex region and in the rays of bark in summer and in winter. In the cambial zone the ARR5::GUS activity was more pronounced in the dormant than in growth phase. The pith and the ray cells adjacent to the vessels also displayed ARR5::GUS activity. In silico analyses of the tissue-specific expression patterns of the whole PtRR type-A family of poplar showed that PtRR10, the closest ortholog to the Arabidopsis ARR5 gene, was usually the most highly expressed gene in all tissues. In conclusion, gene expression and tissue-localization indicate high activity of cytokinins not only in summer, but also in winter. The presence of the signal in meristematic tissues supports their role in meristem maintenance. The reporter lines will be useful to study the involvement of cytokinins in acclimation of poplar growth to stress.Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 201
Stakeholder research CoVE Water SA: CoVE Water SA the umbrella for all stakeholders
No full textThe 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
No full textErica 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)
Compound events in South America using the CORDEX-CORE ensemble: Current climate conditions and future projections in a global warming scenario
No full textClimate hazards associated with compound events (CEs) have lately received increasing attention over South America (SA) due to their potential risks and amplification of impacts. This work addressed the evaluation of different temperature- and precipitation-based CE in SA considering the CORDEX-CORE ensemble of regional climate models (RCMs) and their driving earth system models (ESMs) in the reference period 1981–2010 and the late 21st century (2070–2099), for the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5 scenarios. The assessment focused on model performance for the individual events—heatwaves (HWs), Extreme rainfall (ER) days, and dry-spells (DSs)—and their compound occurrence in terms of climatological frequency and duration. The spatial patterns of individual events were adequately reproduced by the RCMs, evidencing general overestimations in extreme precipitation intensities. In terms of CE, the frequencies of coincident HWs and DSs (sequential DSs and ER) were remarkable over central-eastern Brazil and southern SA (southeastern SA). The main features of CE were generally well-simulated by the RCMs, although they presented regional differences such as an underestimation of the maximum frequencies of these two CE in northeastern Brazil and southeastern SA, respectively. The high-resolution information was generally in line with the larger-scale driving ESMs. The climate change signal analysis generally showed robust future increases in CE frequency and duration in different areas of SA, as for coincident HWs and DSs (sequential DSs and ER) over northern SA and southern Brazil (southeastern SA). This was mostly consistent among the RCMs ensemble and notably strengthened in the worst-case scenario (RCP 8.5).Fil: Olmo, Matías Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos; ArgentinaFil: Weber, T.. Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon; AlemaniaFil: Teichmann, C.. Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon; AlemaniaFil: Bettolli, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos; Argentin
Historický vývoj a charakteristika rozvojovej pomoci
No full textV 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
No full textDer 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
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