Detecting Emotional Involvement in Professional News Reporters: An Analysis of Speech and Gestures

This study is aimed to investigate the extent to which reporters\u2019 voice and body behaviour may betray different degrees of emotional involvement when reporting on emergency situations. The hypothesis is that emotional involvement is associated with an increase in body movements and pitch and intensity variation. The object of investigation is a corpus of 21 10-second videos of Italian news reports on flooding taken from Italian nation-wide TV channels. The gestures and body movements of the reporters were first inspected visually. Then, measures of the reporters\u2019 pitch and intensity variations were calculated and related with the reporters' gestures. The effects of the variability in the reporters' voice and gestures were tested with an evaluation test. The results show that the reporters vary greatly in the extent to which they move their hands and body in their reportings. Two gestures seem to characterise reporters\u2019 communication of emergencies: beats and deictics. The reporters\u2019 use of gestures partially parallels the reporters\u2019 variations in pitch and intensity. The evaluation study shows that increased gesturing is associated with greater emotional involvement and less professionalism. The data was used to create an ontology of gestures for the communication of emergenc

Abandoned Mine Drainage in the Swatara Creek Basin, Southern Anthracite Coalfield, Pennsylvania, USA: 2. Performance of Treatment Systems

A variety of passive and semi-passive treatment systems were constructed by state and local agencies to neutralize acidic mine drainage (AMD) and reduce the transport of dissolved metals in the upper Swatara Creek Basin in the Southern Anthracite Coalfield in eastern Pennsylvania. To evaluate the effectiveness of selected treatment systems installed during 1995–2001, the US Geological Survey collected water-quality data at upstream and downstream locations relative to each system eight or more times annually for a minimum of 3 years at each site during 1996– 2007. Performance was normalized among treatment types by dividing the acid load removed by the size of the treatment system. For the limestone sand, open limestone channel, oxic limestone drain, anoxic limestone drain (ALD), and limestone diversion well treatment systems, the size was indicated by the total mass of limestone; for the aerobic wetland systems, the size was indicated by the total surface area of ponds and wetlands. Additionally, the approximate cost per tonne of acid treated over an assumed service life of 20 years was computed. On the basis of these performance metrics, the limestone sand, ALD, oxic limestone drain, and limestone diversion wells had similar ranges of acid-removal efficiency and cost efficiency. However, the open limestone channel had lower removal efficiency and higher cost per ton of acid treated. The wetlands effectively attenuated metals transport but were relatively expensive considering metrics that evaluated acid removal and cost efficiency. Although the water-quality data indicated that all treatments reduced the acidity load from AMD, the ALD was most effective at producing near-neutral pH and attenuating acidity and dissolved metals. The diversion wells were effective at removing acidity and increasing pH of downstream water and exhibited unique potential to treat moderate to high flows associated with storm flow conditions

Digitalization in German family firms – some preliminary insights

Currently, digitalization is a key topic among firms. This paper addresses this topic in the case of German family firms. German family firms have been internationally recognized already for a long time to be at the same time very innovative but also acting very secretly. Therefore it is not surprising that prior literature on this topic is between scarce to inexistent even though literature on digitalization and SME’s in general is widespread. The key question addressed in this paper is how German family firms try to face the challenge of the digital transformation. To provide some suggestions, we relate in an explorative and theorizing essay current evidence from literature on digitalization to key characteristics of German family firms and to insights we have gained in our personal relations to German family firms and their networks. We find indications that the digital transformation touches the heart of those firms as in the light of the new technological opportunities, key values such as innovation, secrecy, specialization on a niche and customer orientation might be in need to be redefined. As a result, starting from the German case we outline challenges and opportunities for family firms that might go far beyond the German case and point to fruitful areas for future research on family firms

Spezifischer Beitrag des Religionslehrers zur Bewertung der Schule

Autor promatra vjeroučitelja i njegovu ulogu u školi kao odgojnoj zajednici. U svijetu u kojem se uočava kriza vrednota odgoj osobe osobito je značajan zadatak škole. Vjeroučitelj osposobljava učenike za kritičnost u postmodernom društvu. Pomaže im da u raznim dimenzijama sazrijevaju kao slobodne i odgovorne osobe. U svojoj specifičnoj stručnoj ulozi, vjeroučitelj pomaže učenicima da otkriju smisao i istinu koje se odnose na transcendentno. Istovremeno surađuje s ostalim djelatnicima u školi kako bi škola bila i odgojna zajednica.Der Autor betrachtet den Religionslehrer und seine Rolle in der Schule als Erziehungsgemeinschaft. In der Welt, in der man eine Krise der Werte bemerke, sei die Erziehung der Person eine bedeutende Aufgabe der Schule. Die Religionslehrer befähigen Schüler zum Scharfsinn in der postmodernen Gesellschaft. Sie helfe ihnen, als freie und verantwortliche Personen in verschiedenen Dimensionen heranzureifen. In seiner spezifischen Fachrolle verhelfe der Religionslehrer den Schülern den Sinn und Wahrheit, die sich auf das Transzendente beziehen, zu enthüllen. Gleichzeitig wirkt er mit anderen Arbeitern in der Schule, damit die Schule auch Erziehungsgemeinschaft wird

Problem der Wissenschaftlichkeit der Katechese. Vorläufiges Unterscheiden

Autor proučava katehetiku kao znanost i postavlja pitanje čime i kako se može objasniti i potvrditi znanstvenost katehetike. Polazeći od F. S. Rautenstraucha i njegova tumačenja katehetike, podsjeća na nekoliko drugih najznačajnijih proučavatelja katehetske znanosti u zadnja dva stoljeća. Komunikacija Božje riječi očituje se kao katehetski problem. Autor ističe kako katehetika kao znanstveno razmišljanje o katehezi mora nastojati razriješiti pitanje svoje epistemološke utemeljenosti, vodeći istovremeno računa o svom interdisciplinarnom utemeljenju, posebice o povezanosti s teologijom i pedagogijom.Der Autor erforscht Katechetik als Wissenschaft und stellt die Frage, woher und wie die Wissenschaftlichkeit der Katechetik sich erklären und bestätigen läßt. Ausgehend von F. S. Rautenstrauch und seiner Erläuterung der Katechetik erinnert er an einige andere bedeutsame Erforscher der katechetischen Wissenschaft in den letzten zwei Jahrhunderten. Die Kommunikation des Wortes Gottes widerspiegelt sich als ein katechetisches Problem. Der Autor betont, wie Katechetik als wissenschaftliches Bedenken der Katechese danach streben muß, die Frage ihrer epistemologischen Begründung zu lösen, zugleich ihre interdisziplinäre Begründung, berücksichtigend besonders die Verbundenheit mit der Theologie und Pädagogik

Downflow Limestone Beds for Treatment of Net-Acidic, Oxic, Iron-Laden Drainage from a Flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 2. Laboratory Evaluation

Acidic mine drainage (AMD) containing elevated concentrations of dissolved iron and other metals can be neutralized to varying degrees by reactions with limestone in passive treatment systems. We evaluated the chemical and mineralogical characteristics and the effectiveness of calcitic and dolomitic limestone for the neutralization of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden AMD from a flooded anthracite mine. The calcitic limestone, with CaCO3 and MgCO3 contents of 99.8 and \u3c0.1 wt%, respectively, and the dolomitic limestone, with CaCO3 and MgCO3 contents of 60.3 and 40.2 wt%, were used to construct a downflow treatment system in 2003 at the Bell Mine, a large source of AMD and baseflow to the Schuylkill River in the Southern Anthracite Coalfield, in east-central Pennsylvania. In the winter of 2002–2003, laboratory neutralization-rate experiments evaluated the evolution of effluent quality during 2 weeks of continuous contact between AMD from the Bell Mine and the crushed calcitic or dolomitic limestone in closed, collapsible containers (cubitainers). The cubitainer tests showed that: (1) net-alkaline effluent could be achieved with detention times greater than 3 h, (2) effluent alkalinities and associated dissolution rates were equivalent for uncoated and Fe(OH)3-coated calcitic limestone, and (3) effluent alkalinities and associated dissolution rates for dolomitic limestone were about half those for calcitic limestone. The dissolution rate data for the cubitainer tests were used with data on the volume of effuent and surface area of limestone in the treatment system at the Bell Mine to evaluate the water-quality data for the first 1.5 years of operation of the treatment system. These rate models supported the interpretation of field results and indicated that treatment benefits were derived mainly from the dissolution of calcitic limestone, despite a greater quantity of dolomitic limestone within the treatment system. The dissolution-rate models were extrapolated on a decadal scale to indicate the expected decreases in the mass of limestone and associated alkalinities resulting from the long-term reaction of AMD with the treatment substrate. The models indicated the calcitic limestone would need to be replenished approaching the 5-year anniversary of treatment operations to maintain net-alkaline effluent quality

Downflow Limestone Beds for Treatment of Net-Acidic, Oxic, Iron-Laden Drainage from a Flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 2. Laboratory Evaluation

Acidic mine drainage (AMD) containing elevated concentrations of dissolved iron and other metals can be neutralized to varying degrees by reactions with limestone in passive treatment systems. We evaluated the chemical and mineralogical characteristics and the effectiveness of calcitic and dolomitic limestone for the neutralization of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden AMD from a flooded anthracite mine. The calcitic limestone, with CaCO3 and MgCO3 contents of 99.8 and \u3c0.1 wt%, respectively, and the dolomitic limestone, with CaCO3 and MgCO3 contents of 60.3 and 40.2 wt%, were used to construct a downflow treatment system in 2003 at the Bell Mine, a large source of AMD and baseflow to the Schuylkill River in the Southern Anthracite Coalfield, in east-central Pennsylvania. In the winter of 2002–2003, laboratory neutralization-rate experiments evaluated the evolution of effluent quality during 2 weeks of continuous contact between AMD from the Bell Mine and the crushed calcitic or dolomitic limestone in closed, collapsible containers (cubitainers). The cubitainer tests showed that: (1) net-alkaline effluent could be achieved with detention times greater than 3 h, (2) effluent alkalinities and associated dissolution rates were equivalent for uncoated and Fe(OH)3-coated calcitic limestone, and (3) effluent alkalinities and associated dissolution rates for dolomitic limestone were about half those for calcitic limestone. The dissolution rate data for the cubitainer tests were used with data on the volume of effuent and surface area of limestone in the treatment system at the Bell Mine to evaluate the water-quality data for the first 1.5 years of operation of the treatment system. These rate models supported the interpretation of field results and indicated that treatment benefits were derived mainly from the dissolution of calcitic limestone, despite a greater quantity of dolomitic limestone within the treatment system. The dissolution-rate models were extrapolated on a decadal scale to indicate the expected decreases in the mass of limestone and associated alkalinities resulting from the long-term reaction of AMD with the treatment substrate. The models indicated the calcitic limestone would need to be replenished approaching the 5-year anniversary of treatment operations to maintain net-alkaline effluent quality

Semi-automation of gesture annotation by machine learning and human collaboration

none6siGesture and multimodal communication researchers typically annotate video data manually, even though this can be a very time-consuming task. In the present work, a method to detect gestures is proposed as a fundamental step towards a semi-automatic gesture annotation tool. The proposed method can be applied to RGB videos and requires annotations of part of a video as input. The technique deploys a pose estimation method and active learning. In the experiment, it is shown that if about 27% of the video is annotated, the remaining parts of the video can be annotated automatically with an F-score of at least 0.85. Users can run this tool with a small number of annotations first. If the predicted annotations for the remainder of the video are not satisfactory, users can add further annotations and run the tool again. The code has been released so that other researchers and practitioners can use the results of this research. This tool has been confirmed to work in conjunction with ELAN.openIenaga, Naoto; Cravotta, Alice; Terayama, Kei; Scotney, Bryan W.; Saito, Hideo; Busà, M. GraziaIenaga, Naoto; Cravotta, Alice; Terayama, Kei; Scotney, Bryan W.; Saito, Hideo; Busà, M. Grazi