Enriching unstructured media content about events to enable semi-automated summaries, compilations, and improved search by leveraging social networks

(i) Mobile devices and social networks are omnipresent Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, or digital cameras together with social networks enable people to create, share, and consume enormous amounts of media items like videos or photos both on the road or at home. Such mobile devices "by pure definition" accompany their owners almost wherever they may go. In consequence, mobile devices are omnipresent at all sorts of events to capture noteworthy moments. Exemplary events can be keynote speeches at conferences, music concerts in stadiums, or even natural catastrophes like earthquakes that affect whole areas or countries. At such events" given a stable network connection" part of the event-related media items are published on social networks both as the event happens or afterwards, once a stable network connection has been established again. (ii) Finding representative media items for an event is hard Common media item search operations, for example, searching for the official video clip for a certain hit record on an online video platform can in the simplest case be achieved based on potentially shallow human-generated metadata or based on more profound content analysis techniques like optical character recognition, automatic speech recognition, or acoustic fingerprinting. More advanced scenarios, however, like retrieving all (or just the most representative) media items that were created at a given event with the objective of creating event summaries or media item compilations covering the event in question are hard, if not impossible, to fulfill at large scale. The main research question of this thesis can be formulated as follows. (iii) Research question "Can user-customizable media galleries that summarize given events be created solely based on textual and multimedia data from social networks?" (iv) Contributions In the context of this thesis, we have developed and evaluated a novel interactive application and related methods for media item enrichment, leveraging social networks, utilizing the Web of Data, techniques known from Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) and Content-based Video Retrieval (CBVR), and fine-grained media item addressing schemes like Media Fragments URIs to provide a scalable and near realtime solution to realize the abovementioned scenario of event summarization and media item compilation. (v) Methodology For any event with given event title(s), (potentially vague) event location(s), and (arbitrarily fine-grained) event date(s), our approach can be divided in the following six steps. 1) Via the textual search APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) of different social networks, we retrieve a list of potentially event-relevant microposts that either contain media items directly, or that provide links to media items on external media item hosting platforms. 2) Using third-party Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools, we recognize and disambiguate named entities in microposts to predetermine their relevance. 3) We extract the binary media item data from social networks or media item hosting platforms and relate it to the originating microposts. 4) Using CBIR and CBVR techniques, we first deduplicate exact-duplicate and near-duplicate media items and then cluster similar media items. 5) We rank the deduplicated and clustered list of media items and their related microposts according to well-defined ranking criteria. 6) In order to generate interactive and user-customizable media galleries that visually and audially summarize the event in question, we compile the top-n ranked media items and microposts in aesthetically pleasing and functional ways

Shallow Representations, Profound Discoveries : A methodological study of game culture in social media

This thesis explores the potential of representation learning techniques in game studies, highlighting their effectiveness and addressing challenges in data analysis. The primary focus of this thesis is shallow representation learning, which utilizes simpler model architectures but is able to yield effective modeling results. This thesis investigates the following research objectives: disentangling the dependencies of data, modeling temporal dynamics, learning multiple representations, and learning from heterogeneous data. The contributions of this thesis are made from two perspectives: empirical analysis and methodology development, to address these objectives. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a thorough introduction, motivation, and necessary background information for the thesis, framing the research and setting the stage for subsequent publications. Chapters 3 to 5 summarize the contribution of the 6 publications, each of which contributes to demonstrating the effectiveness of representation learning techniques in addressing various analytical challenges. In Chapter 1 and 2, the research objects and questions are also motivated and described. In particular, Introduction to the primary application field game studies is provided and the connections of data analysis and game culture is highlighted. Basic notion of representation learning, and canonical techniques such as probabilistic principal component analysis, topic modeling, and embedding models are described. Analytical challenges and data types are also described to motivate the research of this thesis. Chapter 3 presents two empirical analyses conducted in Publication I and II that present empirical data analysis on player typologies and temporal dynamics of player perceptions. The first empirical analysis takes the advantage of a factor model to offer a flexible player typology analysis. Results and analytical framework are particularly useful for personalized gamification. The Second empirical analysis uses topic modeling to analyze the temporal dynamic of player perceptions of the game No Man’s Sky in relation to game changes. The results reflect a variety of player perceptions including general gaming activities, game mechanic. Moreover, a set of underlying topics that are directly related to game updates and changes are extracted and the temporal dynamics of them have reflected that players responds differently to different updates and changes. Chapter 4 presents two method developments that are related to factor models. The first method, DNBGFA, developed in Publication III, is a matrix factorization model for modeling the temporal dynamics of non-negative matrices from multiple sources. The second mothod, CFTM, developed in Publication IV introduces a factor model to a topic model to handle sophisticated document-level covariates. The develeopd methods in Chapter 4 are also demonstrated for analyzing text data. Chapter 5 summarizes Publication V and Publication VI that develop embedding models. Publication V introduces Bayesian non-parametric to a graph embedding model to learn multiple representations for nodes. Publication VI utilizes a Gaussian copula model to deal with heterogeneous data in representation learning. The develeopd methods in Chapter 5 are also demonstrated for data analysis tasks in the context of online communities. Lastly, Chapter 6 renders discussions and conclusions. Contributions of this thesis are highlighted, limitations, ongoing challenges, and potential future research directions are discussed

Cryptocurrencies and beyond: using design science research to demonstrate diverse applications of blockchains

This thesis investigates blockchain technology and whether its mutually cooperative topology and commons-based peer production practices have implications for society because, instead of the traditional top-down, centralised model of governance, blockchains represent an alternative way of collaborating. Much of the literature anticipates the vast potential of the permanent and publicly auditable nature of the propagated values of blockchains. Indeed, writers have supposed that the smart contract capabilities of the technology may prove revolutionary for areas beyond that of the economic domain targeted by the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which is the first successful use-case of a blockchain. However, few advanced use cases beyond that economic realm have materialised; this research demonstrates such usecases. This thesis asks four research questions. The first asks whether blockchains can help reduce energy consumption. The second asks whether blockchains can help digitise the informal sector. The third asks whether blockchains can help counter fake news. The final question asks whether blockchains can help address criticisms of humanitarian aid. Those topics are four amongst many urgent problems currently facing humankind, and therefore, the overarching research question of this thesis becomes whether blockchains can help humanity. This work advances the supposed potential of blockchains proposed by current literature by using design science research to create software artefacts that propose solutions for incentivising energy efficiency, fighting financial fraud, providing digital provenance and adding trust to humanitarian aid reporting. By demonstrating blockchain-based software solutions in those four topic areas, this thesis concludes that blockchains can help humanity. However, if they are to help society address some of its problems, blockchains have significant technological and organisational barriers to overcome. Furthermore, the idea that blockchains can help humanity is a form of techno-determinism and this research concludes that it is impossible to solve every issue by diversifying technical operations; humankind must also change political, economic, and cultural goals, too. Nevertheless, this thesis has implications for regulators, despite the barriers and false solutionism offered by technology because, rather than the trusted lawmakers and experts that nations used to look up to as oracles of truth, now it may be possible to look to blockchains, instead

The impact of using social networking sites on academic relations and student learning in University setting

This study investigates academic relations of educators, tutors, and students in university settings. Academic relations refer to the controlling and productive relations of power that operate at both societal and interpersonal level between academic actors and through them, knowledge is produced and identities are constructed. From a Critical theoretical point of view, power is unequally distributed in society and psychological development is fundamentally mediated by power relations which are socially and historically constituted. Given the capacity of power configurations to influence learning coupled with the fact that such relations are both relational and psychological, the notion of unequal social power is critical to understanding academic relations in university settings. The psychological and relational aspects of power suggest that underprepared students from disadvantaged academic backgrounds may suffer a sense of powerlessness and social domination as they interact with academics and more capable peers from privileged academic backgrounds. Research suggests that students (especially the previously disadvantaged) form peer-based knowledge sharing clusters (for example, study groups) to augment their intellectual potential and resource limitations. Mindful of these underprepared students' social domination (social and psychological) by high achieving peers and academics, and the capacity of peer-based clusters/ relations to democratise academic relations through presenting opportunities for exchange of perspectives, these peer-based relations present viable proxies for unpacking academic relations. The problem, therefore, is that while academic relations (lecturer-student, tutor-student, and student-peer) in face-to-face contact are quite central to student meaningful learning and transformation, capturing and studying these relations is complex. This complexity is explicated by the incapacity of traditional classrooms to capture and sustain academic relations due to: 1) The temporality, time and spatially bounded nature of academic relations in class, 2) Class sizes, academics' huge workloads and time constraints that limit one-on-one lecturer-student engagements especially at undergraduate level 3) Transmission pedagogy and classroom space configuration that mute lateral discourses, and 4) Student complex histories and cultural diversity. Research suggests that student knowledge sharing clusters are shifting from face-to-face to social networking sites (SNS), that is, online social networks that support group collaboration vii and support. The persistence of these online interactions, opportunities for peer-based discourses, peer-generation of artefacts on SNS challenge the limitations of traditional classrooms, making SNS essential for unpacking classroom lecturer-student and student-peer relations by proxy (if academics participate). These opportunities, and computer-mediated communication theory' suggestion that computer-mediated nature of textual interaction has potential to undermine status, gender and power asymmetries built in face-to-face interaction inform my thesis that SNS interaction has potential to equalise power relations of academic actors. The goal of this study was therefore, to use lecturer-student, student-peer interaction on SNS as proxies for unpacking academic relations and learning that unfold in traditional academic settings (classrooms, computer laboratories). The research question instigated the impact of lecturer-student, student-peer interaction on the academic /power relations and learning of academics and students in formal university settings. Using a Critical ethnographic approach, the research investigated power relations and learning manifested in: 1. academics and student text-based messages posted on SNS (Facebook), 2. lecturer and student experiences of using Facebook and its influence on classroom interactions, and 3. Lecturer-student and student peer interactions in class. Mindful of the democratisation potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on previously disadvantaged learners, the relational nature of power, the influence of structural forces on mediated interaction and higher mental development, this research was informed by three theories namely, Critical Theory of Technology (CTT), Critical Theories of Power (CTP), and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), respectively. As a participant observer in online ethnography, the researcher employed CTT to examine the democratisation potential and constraints of computer-mediated communication (that is SNS) on learning and academic relations. While CTT was useful for examining the technological effects on mediated learning, the theory was less insightful for unpacking the power contestations in text-mediated discourses. To this end, Critical Discourse Analysis' (CDA) (which draws on CTP) was employed to examine how vertical and horizontal relational power were articulated and contested via textual messages, to complement CTT in its limitations. Although CTP was insightful for the examination of power manifested in lecturer-student, and peer-based interaction, CTP equally proved inadequate for the examination of mediated learning, that is, the role of artefact-mediated action on psychological development. Mindful viii of CHAT's focus on the influence of symbolic mediation on psychological development, CHAT offered a rational complement to CTP for the examination of mediated learning. This was important given that this research on academic/power relations and student learning unfolded in a technology-mediated learning environment (that is SNS). CHAT was adopted as a theoretical and methodological approach to examine how mediated interaction and the interplay of different elements of the lecture activity system impacted on student psychological development and lecturer's teaching practices. In summary, the study examined these empirical materials: text-based interactions (lecturer and student Facebook postings), lecturer and student narratives of lectures and Facebook interactions (interview transcripts, lecturer debriefings after classroom observations), in-class actions and discourses (lecture observations and focus group discussions). The findings of this study are that SNS democratized academic relations and communication for academically inclined students through: widening the academic networking space, breaching lecturer-student social boundaries that often hindered student access to knowledge resources, and offering 'safe haven' for student contestation of unpopular academic practices. Facebook also allowed shy and timid students to be more assertive in requesting academic support. The unintended effect of SNS was that it reconfigured peer-based relations as high achievers assumed additional vertical, 'super tutor' roles of advising peers. Facebook also regulated in-class interaction by hiving off mundane questions on course administration and practicals from the class. SNS thus augmented classroom interaction as online and classroom learning cross fertilised each other. The practical contribution of this work is in the insight into how student informal academic and social support online networks could be drawn upon in student in-class learning. The study proposed a 'best practice' pedagogical model/ strategy that draws on: 1) Informal peer-based and lecturer-student knowledge sharing on Facebook and associated SN tools, 2). Student reflexivity on self-generated and peer-generated content, and 3). Self and peer-based evaluation as a basis for academic empowerment. The theoretical contribution lies in the methodology or approach for analysing the interplay between academic relations and student learning using SNS as proxy. In particular, this work contributes a new body of knowledge through the integration of Critical Theories (Critical Theories of Power and Critical Theories of Technology) and CHAT

A model for a comprehensive electronic school dictionary for South African primary school learners

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The vast majority of South African learners are being taught in English, which is not their first language. These learners are often not equipped to achieve in English, as they are not yet fluent enough. There is very little support in the form of language resources available in classrooms to assist these learners. There is a need for an electronic school dictionary that supports learning, text reception, and text production in learners in South African schools. Existing school dictionaries are primarily print dictionaries, and while efforts have been made to make them as supportive to second language learners as possible, they are still constrained by space restrictions and the limitations of the printed medium. The electronic medium has not yet been exploited in order to produce South African electronic school dictionaries. This dissertation presents model dictionary articles as a response to the need for a South African school dictionary that offers more support to non-mother-tongue speakers of English who are being taught in English. This study considers the current literature on pedagogical dictionaries, electronic dictionaries, and the South African education context, and combines that with interviews with Grade 5 and 6 teachers to establish what is required in an electronic school dictionary for South African learners. School dictionaries and online dictionaries are also compared and discussed in order to determine what features and components the articles contain, and whether they would be beneficial in an electronic school dictionary for South African primary school learners. A set of preliminary model articles is designed and then tested on Grade 5 and 6 learners, and presented to experts in the fields of pedagogical lexicography and electronic lexicography. The design is then modified and improved, and a final set of model articles that meet the criteria set out by the teacher interviews and current literature is presented. The result is a model for the user interface of articles in an electronic school dictionary that provides more support in the form of translation equivalents, word banks with related words, illustrations for each sense, usage notes, and word family boxes showing relationships between words. The versatility of the model means that it can be adapted for other languages and other grades. The implication for this model is that it can help to close the language gap that is found between first- and second-language English learners.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die meerderheid van Suid-Afrikaanse leerders word in Engels onderrig, wat nie hulle eerste taal is nie. Hierdie leerders is dikwels nie toegerus om in Engels te presteer nie, aangesien hulle nog nie vlot genoeg is nie. Daar bestaan baie min ondersteuning in die vorm van taalhulpbronne wat in die klaskamer beskikbaar is om hierdie leerders te help. Daar is ̓n behoefte aan ̓n elektroniese skoolwoordeboek wat die leerproses, teksresepsie en teksproduksie in leerders in Suid-Afrikaanse skole ondersteun. Bestaande skoolwoordeboeke is hoofsaaklik gedrukte woordeboeke, en al is pogings aangewend om hulle so ondersteunend moontlik te maak van leerders wat tweedetaalsprekers is, word hulle steeds begrens deur die beperkinge van spasie en die gedrukte medium. Die elektroniese medium is nog nie ontgin om Suid-Afrikaanse elektroniese skoolwoordeboeke te maak nie. Hierdie proefskrif stel voorbeeldwoordeboekartikels voor in antwoord op die behoefte aan ̓n Suid-Afrikaanse skoolwoordeboek wat meer ondersteuning bied aan niemoedertaalsprekers van Engels wat in Engels onderrig word. Hierdie studie beskou die huidige literatuur oor opvoedkundige woordeboeke, elektroniese woordeboeke en die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwyskonteks, en kombineer dit met onderhoude met onderwysers vir Graad 5 en 6 om vas te stel wat benodig word in ̓n elektroniese skoolwoordeboek vir Suid-Afrikaanse leerders. Skoolwoordeboeke en aanlyn woordeboeke word ook vergelyk en bespreek sodat bepaal kan word watter eienskappe en komponente die artikels bevat, en of hulle voordelig sou wees in ̓n elektroniese skoolwoordeboek vir Suid-Afrikaanse laerskoolleerders. ̓n Stel voorlopige voorbeeldartikels word ontwerp en dan op leerders in Graad 5 en 6 getoets, en aan kenners in die velde van opvoedkundige leksikografie en elektroniese leksikografie voorgelê. Die ontwerp word dan aangepas en verbeter, en ̓n finale stel voorbeeldartikels wat voldoen aan die vereistes soos uiteengesit deur die onderwyser-onderhoude en die huidige literatuur, word aangebied. Die resultaat is ̓n model vir die gebruikerskoppelvlak van artikels in ̓n elektroniese skoolwoordeboek wat meer ondersteuning in die vorm van vertaalekwivalente verskaf, asook woordbanke met verwante woorde, illustrasies vir elke betekenisonderskeiding, gebruiksnotas, en woordfamiliekassies wat die verhouding tussen woorde verduidelik. Die veelsydigheid van die model beteken dat dit vir ander tale en grade aangepas kan word. Die implikasie vir hierdie model is dat dit kan help om die taalgaping tussen leerders wat moedertaal- en tweedetaalsprekers van Engels is, te oorbrug.Doctora