Contribution structures

The invisibility of the individuals and groups that gave rise to requirements artifacts has been identified as a primary reason for the persistence of requirements traceability problems. This paper presents an approach, based on modelling the dynamic contribution structures underlying requirements artifacts, which addresses this issue. We show how these structures can be defined, using information about the agents who have contributed to artifact production, in conjunction with details of the numerous traceability relations that hold within and between artifacts themselves. We describe a scheme, derived from work in sociolinguistics, which can be used to indicate the capacities in which agents contribute. We then show how this information can be used to infer details about the social roles and commitments of agents with respect to their various contributions and to each other. We further propose a categorisation for artifact-based traceability relations and illustrate how they impinge on the identification and definition of these structures. Finally, we outline how this approach can be implemented and supported by tools, explain the means by which requirements change can be accommodated in the corresponding contribution structures, and demonstrate the potential it provides for "personnel-based" requirements traceability

Community acquired respiratory syncytial virus infections : detection by multiplex PCR and strain characterisation by partial G gene sequencing

The aim of this project was to design an assay for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) RNA extracted directly from clinical specimens. The assay was intended to address the question of whether RSV is a significant cause of respiratory illness in all age groups of the general community. The amplification assay for the detection of RSV subtypes A and B was designed using primers located in the nucleocapsid gene. This RSV PCR was incorporated into a multiplex PCR together with primers specific to influenza A H1N1, H3N2 and influenza B, The multiplex assay was optimised and validated, and different amplicon detection methods were investigated with a view to develop a high throughput protocol. The multiplex PCR assay was then applied to combined nose and throat swabs collected from members of the general community with influenza or influenza like illness, over a three year period (1995-1998). Analysis of these results revealed the co-circulation of RSV and influenza during the winters. RSV was shown to be an important contributor to respiratory illness in all age groups, being detectable in about 20% of patients with influenza like illness. The RSV positive samples from the three winter seasons studied were processed to obtain sequence data suitable for molecular epidemiological analysis. A strategy to amplify and sequence the first variable region of the glycoprotein gene was developed. PCR amplification was successfully performed directly using stored clinical samples. Phylogenetic analyses of the amplicons revealed that different strain types circulated during each winter season

PERFORMING THE SELF : AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CONCEPTS OF IDENTITY AND PERFORMANCE

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/794 on 27.03.2017 by CS (TIS)Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/794 Submitted by Collection Services ([email protected]) on 2011-09-29T13:25:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 360474.pdf: 15160704 bytes, checksum: 40f848ae83a87ccb4f31120a1961019e (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Collection Services([email protected]) on 2011-09-29T13:25:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 360474.pdf: 15160704 bytes, checksum: 40f848ae83a87ccb4f31120a1961019e (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2011-09-29T13:25:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 360474.pdf: 15160704 bytes, checksum: 40f848ae83a87ccb4f31120a1961019e (MD5) Previous issue date: 1997This thesis sets out to examine the idea that self-identity can be coherently viewed as a performance event. If such a proposition is supportable, it would seem to argue for attention to be paid to the nature of the activity of performing as a means to better understanding the processes of human identity. Beginning with an analysis of an early example of such a theoretical position, this thesis examines some of the central issues involved in viewing the self as performative. The agenda dictating the direction of this analysis can be summarised as an effort to provide a model of the performative self that is affirmatory rather than negative; that establishes it as a positive, rather than debilitating, fact of existence. The construction of this model is achieved in large part by the adoption of the ontological outlook contained in the philosophy of Frederich Nietzsche which, it is argued, offers a reading of the nature of human identity that avoids the sometimes reductive elements of more contemporary theories such as post-structuralism. Allied to this elaboration of a theoretical model of the self is the recognition that the theory produced within and around radical theatre practice in the West over the last century can be seen as a field of activity that has consistently argued for, and experimented with, new conceptualisations of the constituent factors of human social identities. Because of this, such theatre writings are proposed as being genuinely potent political activities; ones which continuously seeks to extend, rather than reduce, the sphere of influence of individuals in society. The contribution this thesis makes to research in the field of theatre studies, then, is in the provision of a theoretical framework within which it becomes possible to see radical theatre as a paradigmatic site of liberatory activity

The structural characteristics of women-endorsers in advertising messages and their influence on consumers´ responses

Participation of women-endorsers in advertising is key element in solving some of the psychological problems of the advertising industry: to involve consumers into the message of the brand, to evoke desire to possess advertised product and to form positive attitude towards brand. Researchers claim that consumers build their attitude towards brand messages based on their first impression. Human images are the first sources which consumers pay attention to in advertising. Negative reaction to these images has strong impact on consumers’ attention towards the advertising message, their interest towards the product and brand which may lead to disregarding of advertising. Study shows that image of endorsers may influence not only on attention or interest of consumers to brand but also may form their attitude towards the product and intention to purchase (Bjerke and Polegato, 2006; Chi, Yeh, Huang, 2009; Goldsmith, Laffery and Newell, 2000; Maheswaran, Durajraj and Sternhall, 1990; Solomon and Michael, 2004). On the other hand, for the consumers, the endorsers used in adverting are the most powerful vehicles for the brands’ messages because they are capable of forming the opinion of consumers through a large number of psychological effects (Bahram and Zahra, 2010; DeBono, Kenneth, Harnish and Richard, 1988; Goldsmith, Laffery and Newell, 2000). Basic modalities represented by endorsers, such as speech, emotional expression, behavior, etc., are dependent on several external and internal factors (social, cultural, political, religious, economic, and others), and therefore, they tend to vary in space and time. This complexity makes then elusive to scientific study. The purpose of this study is to define how participants’ attitudes towards different characteristics of women-endorsers influence on their assessments of brands and their messages. How participants’ assessments of these characteristics influence on responses of participants in the form of subjective feedback (such as attention, interest, positive attitude towards advertising message, brand and intention to purchase). This study shows to what extent participants’ assessments of women-endorsers are subject to influence of brand attitude in consumers and how these assessments correlate

Computing point-of-view : modeling and simulating judgments of taste

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-163).People have rich points-of-view that afford them the ability to judge the aesthetics of people, things, and everyday happenstance; yet viewpoint has an ineffable quality that is hard to articulate in words, let alone capture in computer models. Inspired by cultural theories of taste and identity, this thesis explores end-to-end computational modeling of people's tastes-from model acquisition, to generalization, to application- under various realms. Five aesthetical realms are considered-cultural taste, attitudes, ways of perceiving, taste for food, and sense-of-humor. A person's model is acquired by reading her personal texts, such as a weblog diary, a social network profile, or emails. To generalize a person model, methods such as spreading activation, analogy, and imprimer supplementation are applied to semantic resources and search spaces mined from cultural corpora. Once a generalized model is achieved, a person's tastes are brought to life through perspective-based applications, which afford the exploration of someone else's perspective through interactivity and play. The thesis describes model acquisition systems implemented for each of the five aesthetical realms.(cont.) The techniques of 'reading for affective themes' (RATE), and 'culture mining' are described, along with their enabling technologies, which are commonsense reasoning and textual affect analysis. Finally, six perspective-based applications were implemented to illuminate a range of real-world beneficiaries to person modeling-virtual mentoring, self-reflection, and deep customization.by Xinyu Hugo Liu.Ph.D

Judicial decision-making and extra-legal influences: Neurolinguistic Programming as a candidate framework to understand persuasion in the legal context

Jurister försöker påverka rättsliga beslutsprocesser med hjälp av övertalning, men den befintliga litteraturen om övertalning i rättssalen är förvånansvärt begränsad med fokus på enskilda tekniker i isolering; inga omfattande integrerade ramverk finns tillgängliga. Vi föreslår en populär kommersiell metod för övertalning, Neurolingvistisk Programmering (NLP), som startpunkt för att utveckla en modell som kan fylla detta gap. Först presenterar vi en bred analys av rättsliga beslutsprocesser och utomrättsliga faktorer som påverkar dem. Därefter utsätter vi centrala aspekter av NLP för noggrann granskning. Slutligen syntetiserar vi dessa trådar i en mångfacetterad bedömning av NLPs potentiella användbarhet som ett omfattande och integrerat ramverk för att förstå och beskriva juristers övertalningsprocesser i rättssalen. Vi hävdar att NLP kan beskriva dessa beteenden och strategier både genom en självreflexiv logik, som ett resultat av dess breda inflytande, men också för mer generella övertalningsprocesser tack vare ett stort antal överensstämmelser mellan NLP-begrepp och resultat från vetenskaplig litteratur. Även om dessa överensstämmelser är ytliga, tyder det faktum att NLP integrerar sina förenklade koncept i ett sammanhållet ramverk, som spänner argumentations- och presentations-dimensioner för övertalning, att det förhållandevis enkelt kan anpassas till en praktisk modell för att beskriva och förstå övertalning i rättssalen. Vidare forskning är indikerad.Trial advocates seek to influence the outcomes of judicial decision-making processes using persuasion, but the existing literature regarding persuasion in the courtroom is surprisingly piecemeal, focusing on individual techniques in isolation; no comprehensive frameworks for integrating these techniques, or for systematically analyzing advocates’ attempts to enact persuasion in the courtroom, have been developed. We propose a popular commercial technology for persuasion, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), as a candidate framework that might be modified and adapted to fill this gap. First we present a wide-ranging, discursive analysis of judicial decision-making processes and extra-legal factors that influence them. Next, core aspects of NLP theory are subjected to careful examination. Finally, these threads are synthesized into a multifaceted assessment of NLP’s potential utility as a comprehensive and integrative framework for understanding and describing how litigators enact persuasion in the courtroom. We argue that NLP can describe these behaviors and strategies both by way of a self-reflexive logic resulting from its popular influence, but also as a more general, context independent model by virtue of a large number of correspondences between NLP concepts and findings from the scholarly literature. Although these correspondences are superficial, the fact that NLP integrates its simplified, folk concepts into a coherent framework spanning argumentative and presentational dimensions of persuasion suggests that it might readily be adapted into a useful descriptive model for understanding persuasion in the courtroom. Further scholarly attention is indicated