An Application of Sentiment Analysis Techniques to Determine Public Opinion in Social Media

This paper describes a prototype application that gathers textual data from the microblogging platform Twitter and carries out sentiment analysis to determine the polarity and subjectivity in relation to Brexit, the UK´ s exit from the European Union. The design, implementation and testing of the developed prototype will be discussed and an experimental evaluation of the product described. Specifically we provide insight into how events affect public opinion and how sentiment and public mood may be gathered from textual twitter data and propose this as an alternative to opinion polls. Traditional approaches to opinion polling face growing challenges in capturing the public mood. Small sample response and the time it takes to capture swings in public opinion make it difficult to provide accurate data for the political process. With over 500 million daily messages posted worldwide, the social media platform Twitter is an untapped resource of information. Users post short real time messages views and opinions on many topics, often signed with a ‘#hashtag’ to classify and document the subject matter in discussion. In this paper we apply automated sentiment analysis methods to tweets giving a measure of public support or hostility to a topic (‘Brexit’). The data were collected during several periods to determine changes in opinion. Using machine learning techniques we show that changes in opinion were also related to external events. Limitations of the method are that age, location and education are confounding factors where Twitter users over represent a young, urban public. However, the economic advantage of the method over real-time telephone polling are considerable

The Grizzly, December 5, 1995

Concerns About Commencement • Bohanak Injured in Accident • Dean Search Committee Appointed • Science: Fact or Fiction? • Lower Prices = Lower Quality • No One is Going to Starve • Religion as a Basis for Morality? • Fun With the Subjunctive • Letters to the Editor • The Beatles Anthology • Messiah a Success • Bears Surprise NYU • Bears Open Conference Play with Two Wins • Ortman Starts Season with a Bang • Teams Begin Season with Winshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1371/thumbnail.jp

Highly Variable Objects in the Palomar-QUEST Survey: A Blazar Search using Optical Variability

We identify 3,113 highly variable objects in 7,200 square degrees of the Palomar-QUEST Survey, which each varied by more than 0.4 magnitudes simultaneously in two broadband optical filters on timescales from hours to roughly 3.5 years. The primary goal of the selection is to find blazars by their well-known violent optical variability. Because most known blazars have been found in radio and/or X-ray wavelengths, a sample discovered through optical variability may have very different selection effects, elucidating the range of behavior possible in these systems. A set of blazars selected in this unusual manner will improve our understanding of the physics behind this extremely variable and diverse class of AGN. The object positions, variability statistics, and color information are available using the Palomar-QUEST CasJobs server. The time domain is just beginning to be explored over large sky areas; we do not know exactly what a violently variable sample will hold. About 20% of the sample has been classified in the literature; over 70% of those objects are known or likely AGN. The remainder largely consists of a variety of variable stars, including a number of RR Lyrae and cataclysmic variables.Comment: 22 pages (preprint format), 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. References update

Simultaneous high resolution meausurement of phonons and ionization created by particle interactions in a 60 g germanium crystal at 25 mK

We demonstrate simultaneous high energy resolution (rms≊800 eV) measurements of ionization and phonons created by particle interactions in a semiconductor crystal of macroscopic size (60 g germanium) at 25 mK. We present first studies of charge collection at biases below 1 V/cm, and find that, contrary to commonly held opinion, the full recoil energy of particle interactions is recovered as phonons when charge trapping is negligible. We also report an unanticipated correlation between charge collection and phonon energy at very low bias, and discuss this effect in terms of charge trapping

Measurement of ionization and phonon production by nuclear recoils in a 60 g crystal of germanium at 25 mK

We report on the first measurement of the absolute phonon energy and the amount of ionization produced by the recoil of nuclei and electrons in a 60 g germanium cyrstal at a temperature of ≊25 mK. We find good agreement between our results and previous measurements of ionization yield from nuclear recoils in germanium. Our device achieves 10:1 discrimination between neutrons and photons in the few keV energy range, demonstrating the feasibility of this technique for large reductions of background in searches for direct interactions of weakly interacting massive particle dark matter

Counter-intelligence in a command economy

This article provides the first thick description of the counter-intelligence function in a command economy of the Soviet type. Based on documentation from Soviet Lithuania, the article considers the KGB (secret police) as a market regulator, commissioned to prevent the disclosure of secret government business and forestall the disruption of government plans. Where market regulation in open societies is commonly intended to improve market transparency, competition, and fair treatment of consumers and employees, KGB regulation was designed to enforce secrecy, monopoly, and discrimination. One consequence of KGB regulation of the labour market may have been adverse selection for talent. Here it is argued that the Soviet economy was designed to minimize costs

Effect of Supplementation with Zinc and Other Micronutrients on Malaria in Tanzanian Children: A Randomised Trial

Hans Verhoef and colleagues report findings from a randomized trial conducted among Tanzanian children at high risk for malaria. Children in the trial received either daily oral supplementation with either zinc alone, multi-nutrients without zinc, multi-nutrients with zinc, or placebo. The investigators did not find evidence from this study that zinc or multi-nutrients protected against malaria episodes