Systems, interactions and macrotheory

A significant proportion of early HCI research was guided by one very clear vision: that the existing theory base in psychology and cognitive science could be developed to yield engineering tools for use in the interdisciplinary context of HCI design. While interface technologies and heuristic methods for behavioral evaluation have rapidly advanced in both capability and breadth of application, progress toward deeper theory has been modest, and some now believe it to be unnecessary. A case is presented for developing new forms of theory, based around generic “systems of interactors.” An overlapping, layered structure of macro- and microtheories could then serve an explanatory role, and could also bind together contributions from the different disciplines. Novel routes to formalizing and applying such theories provide a host of interesting and tractable problems for future basic research in HCI

Laboratory-scale simulations with hydrated lime and organic polymer to evaluate the effect of pre-chlorination on motile Ceratium hirundinella cells during conventional water treatment

Algal genera such as Carteria, Chlamydomonas, Chlorogonium, Cryptomonas, Ceratium, Peridinium and Euglena are motile and may disrupt unit processes and cause water treatment problems. Algal  species belonging to these motile algal genera are known to interfere with coagulation and flocculation unit processes which are the main processes for algal removal. These cells are well adapted, by means of their motile structures, morphological shapes and storage products, to remain in the supernatant (by swimming or floating) until it is carried over to sand filters, where cells may cause filter-clogging  problems. When organic material is released from algal cells as a result of physical-chemical impacts on the cells, it may result in tasteand odour-related problems or the formation of harmful organic products such as trihalomethanes (THM). The aims of this study were to: (i) determine chlorine concentrations required to immobilise C. hirundinella cells; (ii) determine the removal efficiencies of pre-chlorination; (iii) investigate the integrity of C. hirundinella cells; and (iv) identify trihalomethanes that are formed. Source water samples enriched with C. hirundinella cells were exposed to a pre-determined chlorineconcentration range (0.05–0.45 mg/L). This study found that the half-maximal inhibitory concent ration (IC50-values) for chlorine < 0.20 mg/L is sufficient to render C. hirundinella cells immobile, while cells remain intact. Pre-chlorination did not have an impact on C. hirundinella removal when hydrated lime was used as a coagulant or coagulant aid. However, when organic polymer only was used as coagulant, removal efficiencies were improved by 20%. Chlorine by-products were measured, but posed no specific health risks to drinking water consumers due to the low concentration levels measured. Algal removal challenges that occur in water treatment plants when dosing organic polymers can be resolved by implementation of effective pre-chlorination strategies.Keywords: algae, coagulation, dinoflagellate, pre-treatment, trihalomethanes (THM

Recovering Grammar Relationships for the Java Language Specification

Grammar convergence is a method that helps discovering relationships between different grammars of the same language or different language versions. The key element of the method is the operational, transformation-based representation of those relationships. Given input grammars for convergence, they are transformed until they are structurally equal. The transformations are composed from primitive operators; properties of these operators and the composed chains provide quantitative and qualitative insight into the relationships between the grammars at hand. We describe a refined method for grammar convergence, and we use it in a major study, where we recover the relationships between all the grammars that occur in the different versions of the Java Language Specification (JLS). The relationships are represented as grammar transformation chains that capture all accidental or intended differences between the JLS grammars. This method is mechanized and driven by nominal and structural differences between pairs of grammars that are subject to asymmetric, binary convergence steps. We present the underlying operator suite for grammar transformation in detail, and we illustrate the suite with many examples of transformations on the JLS grammars. We also describe the extraction effort, which was needed to make the JLS grammars amenable to automated processing. We include substantial metadata about the convergence process for the JLS so that the effort becomes reproducible and transparent

Lockdown low vision assessment: an audit of 500 telephone-based modified low vision consultations

PURPOSE: Non‐urgent face‐to‐face outpatient ophthalmology appointments were suspended in the United Kingdom in March 2020, due to the COVID‐19 outbreak. In common with other centres, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (London) offered modified telephone consultations to new and follow‐up patients in the low vision clinic. Here we assess the success of this telephone service. METHODS: Data were collected for 500 consecutive telephone low vision appointments. Successful completion of the assessment and clinical outcomes (low vision aids prescribed, onward referral) were recorded. RESULTS: Telephone assessments were completed for 364 people (72.8%). The most common reasons for non‐completion were either no answer to the telephone call (75 people, 15%), or the patient declining assessment (20 people, 4%). There was no association between age and the likelihood of an assessment being completed. 131 new low vision aids were dispensed, 77 internal referrals were made and 15 people were referred to outside services. More than 80% of the low vision aids prescribed were useful. CONCLUSIONS: Telephone low vision assessments were completed in about three‐quarters of cases. About one‐quarter of consultations resulted in new low vision aids being dispensed, which were generally found useful. Telephone low vision assessments can be used successfully in a large low vision clinic, but have many limitations when compared to face‐to‐face assessments

Schizophrenia and the progression of emotional expression in relation to others

Gaining an improved understanding of people diagnosed with schizophrenia has the potential to influence priorities for therapy. Psychosis is commonly understood through the perspective of the medical model. However, the experience of social context surrounding psychosis is not well understood. In this research project we used a phenomenological methodology with a longitudinal design to interview 7 participants across a 12-month period to understand the social experiences surrounding psychosis. Eleven themes were explicated and divided into two phases of the illness experience: (a) transition into emotional shutdown included the experiences of not being acknowledged, relational confusion, not being expressive, detachment, reliving the past, and having no sense of direction; and (b) recovery from emotional shutdown included the experiences of being acknowledged, expression, resolution, independence, and a sense of direction. The experiential themes provide clinicians with new insights to better assess vulnerability, and have the potential to inform goals for therapy

Submerged in the mainstream? A case study of an immigrant learner in a New Zealand primary classroom

Immigrant children from diverse language backgrounds face not only linguistic challenges when enrolled in mainstream English-medium classrooms, but also difficulties adjusting to an unfamiliar learning community. The culture of primary school classrooms in New Zealand typically reflects conventions across three dimensions: interactional, instructional task performance and cognitive-academic development. All three dimensions are underpinned by the culturally specific discourse conventions involved in language socialisation. New learners may be helped by classmates or their teacher to understand and successfully use these conventions, but left on their own they may sink rather than swim. This is a case study of one Taiwanese 11-year old boy, 'John', who entered a New Zealand primary classroom midway through the school year. John's basic conversational ability was sound, but he did not possess the interactive classroom skills needed to operate in the new culture of learning. Selected from a wider study of the classroom, transcript data from audio-recorded excerpts of John's interactions over several months with his teacher and classmates are interpreted from perspectives derived from sociocultural and language socialisation theories. The article concludes with a brief consideration of the extent to which John constructed, or was constrained from constructing meaningful learning experiences, and suggestions for further research and reflection

The Victorian Naturalist

v.116 (1999

The Victorian Naturalist

v.44 (1927-1928