Galactic gamma-ray emission from discrete and diffuse sources

Imperial Users onl

Knowledge Acquisition for Content Selection

An important part of building a natural-language generation (NLG) system is knowledge acquisition, that is deciding on the specific schemas, plans, grammar rules, and so forth that should be used in the NLG system. We discuss some experiments we have performed with KA for content-selection rules, in the context of building an NLG system which generates health-related material. These experiments suggest that it is useful to supplement corpus analysis with KA techniques developed for building expert systems, such as structured group discussions and think-aloud protocols. They also raise the point that KA issues may influence architectural design issues, in particular the decision on whether a planning approach is used for content selection. We suspect that in some cases, KA may be easier if other constructive expert-system techniques (such as production rules, or case-based reasoning) are used to determine the content of a generated text.Comment: To appear in the 1997 European NLG workshop. 10 pages, postscrip

Magnitude, homology, and the Whitney twist

Magnitude is a numerical invariant of metric spaces and graphs, analogous, in a precise sense, to Euler characteristic. Magnitude homology is an algebraic invariant constructed to categorify magnitude. Among the important features of the magnitude of graphs is its behaviour with respect to an operation known as the Whitney twist. We give a homological account of magnitude's invariance under Whitney twists, extending the previously known result to encompass a substantially wider class of gluings. As well as providing a new tool for the computation of magnitudes, this is the first new theorem about magnitude to be proved using magnitude homology.Comment: 24 page

Deer in Queensland

Fallow deer, Cervus dama L., axis or chital deer, C. axis Erxleben, red deer, C. elephas L., and rusa deer, C. unicolor Kerr, are present in Queensland, and under fauna conservation legislation are protected. Results of the first survey since deer were introduced over 80 years ago indicate that present populations and distributions of the fallow, axis and rusa deer do not warrant and would not support a policy of open season hunting. Red deer offer possibilities in this regard, but before implementation could be considered, well defined and adequately staffed management areas would be required

Local history journals and their contributions: Where would we be without them?

Since we are in the era of digitization much information is accessible easily, which makes it difficult for researchers to imagine locating manuscripts, ephemera and other local history finds without using the internet. We are only a few decades removed from when this was the norm, and the historian or genealogist searched for the forgotten document on the shelves of a library or in the pages of a local history journal. These local history journals appeared all over the country and struggled for survival. The contributions made by these journals are substantial, with hidden gems of information awaiting discovery by researchers

Iterated magnitude homology

Magnitude homology is an invariant of enriched categories which generalizes ordinary categorical homology -- the homology of the classifying space of a small category. The classifying space can also be generalized in a different direction: it extends from categories to bicategories as the geometric realization of the geometric nerve. This paper introduces a hybrid of the two ideas: an iterated magnitude homology theory for categories with a second- or higher-order enrichment. This encompasses, for example, groups equipped with extra structure such as a partial ordering or a bi-invariant metric. In the case of a strict 2-category, iterated magnitude homology recovers the homology of the classifying space; we investigate its content and behaviour when interpreted for partially ordered groups, normed groups, and strict $n$-categories for $n > 2$.Comment: 37 page

The self-concept in adolescent girls

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of this study was to investigate two dimensions of the self-concept of girls in successive phases of the developmental process. One dimension was self-satisfaction, that is, the degree to which the girl is content with herself. The second dimension was identification with mother, that is, the connection between the girl's self-picture and her image of the major identification figure available to her, her mother. The hypotheses investigated related to the expected fluctuations in self-satisfaction and identification with mother in prepuberty, early puberty, and late puberty. They were based on certain theories about the characteristics of these periods. Prepuberty is a period during which the girl experiences relatively little acute internal tension, and her dependence on her parents is still accepted by herself and them. In early puberty, however, physical maturation is well under way and the girl is confused by the upsurge of internal drives. At the same time that she strives for independence, she also fears it. She tries to be different from her mother but is still closely identified with her. By late puberty more adequate ways of coping with the internal drives have been developed and independence has become less frightening. While it is no longer so threatening to be like mother, identification with other persons from a wider world of experience has reshaped important aspects of the girl's ego-ideal. On the basis of these theoretical considerations, the following hypotheses were generated: 1. In the course of female development, there will be a decline in-self-satisfaction from prepuberty to early puberty and a rise in late puberty. 2. In the course of female development, there will be a decline in self-moth~r identification from prepuberty to early puberty and a rise in late puberty. 3. In the course of female development, there will be no marked difference in ideal-mother identification in prepuberty·and early puberty, but there will be a decline in late puberty. A Q-sort technique was employed to test these hypotheses. Descriptive statements were sorted three times to reflect the self image, the ideal image, and the image of mother respectively. Correlations between the sorts served as measures of self-satisfaction, self-mother identification, and ideal-mother identification. To represent the developmental periods, three groups of girls, whose ages were 11, 14, and 17 years, were originally included, and a fourth group of 20 year old girls was added in the course of the study. The results based on the data from the original three groups did not support the hypotheses. Responses of the 17 year old group, however, approximated those predicted for 14 year olds. On the premise that adolescence extends for a longer period than originally postulated, a transposition of the developmental hypotheses was tested by the addition of a 20 year old group. The findings from the extended study in general supported the hypotheses except for a conspicuous departure from the prediction regarding self-mother identification. Self-satisfaction declines continuously through the adolescent period until the end of adolescence when it rises slightly. This suggests that the self-concept is most severely shaken in later adolescence3 defined as age 17, and that its reintegration has only begun at the end of adolescence, defined as age 20. Self-mother identification declines continuously through the entire adolescent period, reaching its lowest point at the end of the adolescent period. This result is contrary to the prediction. Ideal-mother identification remains high until the end of adolescence when it declines sharply. Thus, it would appear that overall identification with mother is not significantly loosened until the end of adolescence. The patterns of the fluctuation of the two measures of identification are quite different and give rise to various interpretations of adolescence

Creative States and Structures

This paper explores the states of consciousness associated with creative work and intimations of specific structures of consciousness that develop over the life of an artist or other creative individual. Creative states are transitory phenomenological experiences that are recurrent and predictable aspects of the creative process. Collectively they form a continuum experienced in the course of a creative work. Creative structures are developmental conditions of consciousness that emerge and incorporate one another in succession. A structure cannot be omitted in individual cognitive development, and, barring damage to the brain, structures are permanent and irreversible

Quantitative analysis of approaches to group marking

Group work, where students work on projects to overcome challenges together, has numerous advantages, including learning of important transferable skills, better learning experience and increased motivation. However, in many academic systems the advantages of group projects clash with the need to assign individualised marks to students. A number of different schemes have been proposed to individualise group project marks, these include marking of individual reflexive accounts of the group work and peer assessment. Here we explore a number of these schemes in computational experiments with an artificial student population. Our analysis highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme and particularly reveals the power of a new scheme proposed here that we call pseudoinverse marking.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 4 figure