Writing in the Language of Reality: Interwar Experiments in Language

This paper examines projects in universal communication from the interwar period, including Charles Kay Ogden’s Basic English, Otto Neurath’s Isotype, and László Moholy-Nagy’s typo-photo. The projects under discussion — experiments in language reform, graphic design and photography — were all born from a dissatisfaction with the imprecise, arbitrary and historically-contingent nature of established languages and semiotic systems. A non-arbitrary mode of communication was sought, one that represented reality directly without translation through a cultural code

ENG 5585-001: Writing Workshop for Writing Teachers: Best Writing from our Students and Ourselves

U zadnjih nekoliko godina, moderni pristupi kompozicijskoj distribucijskoj semantici donijelu su revoluciju u mnoga područja bazirana na semantičkoj sličnosti. U ovom je radu dan pregled tog područja. Izabrano je nekoliko modela i iskušani su na zadacima nadziranog i nenadziranog učenja u području semantike, na tekstovima na hrvatskome jeziku. Posebna pažnja dana je sematičkoj sličnosti teksta. Razvijena je i prikazana pokazna web aplikacija.Modern approaches to compositional distributional semantics have revolutionized many areas based on semantic similarity in recent years. In this thesis, a survey of the field is given. Several of these modern models and approaches are selected and tried on a variety of supervised and unsupervised learning tasks in the field of semantics, on texts in the Croatian language, with attention given to semantic text similarity. A showcase web application is developed and presented

Analysis of the paleomagnetism and rock magnetism of the Surco Intrusion, Peru: an attempt to obtain a Southern Hemisphere reversal record

Investigation of the Surco pluton, a granodioritic body approximately 12 km in diameter and age 20 Ma, located near Lima, Peru, was initiated in order to obtain a geomagnetic reversal record. More than 300 samples provide a complete section through the intrusion. Preliminary results obtained using conventional paleomagnetic techniques indicate that the western part of the pluton records the ambient field behavior well; a consistent reversed direction is followed by a partial reversed to normal transition as one progresses into the core of the intrusion. Plots of NRM vs. IRM(S) demagnetization indicate a steady decrease in the geomagnetic field intensity prior to the reversal. The intrusion does not appear to have recorded the recovery of the normal intensity after the reversal. The existence of a complete section through the intrusion permitted, in principle, the observation of a symmetrical record of the reversal from each side of the pluton. However, the results from the eastern Surco section present a confusing picture and reveal significant variations in rock magnetic and remanence properties along section. Magnetic properties of mineral separates were studied in an attempt to understand variability in the rock as a paleomagnetic recorder. In general, the feldspars contain an unstable magnetization, while the mafic minerals hold a more stable magentization. In the eastern Surco, there are considerable variations in their magnetic properties

Domestication as innovation : the entanglement of techniques, technology and chance in the domestication of cereal crops

The origins of agriculture involved pathways of domestication in which human behaviours and plant genetic adaptations were entangled. These changes resulted in consequences that were unintended at the start of the process. This paper highlights some of the key innovations in human behaviours, such as soil preparation, harvesting and threshing, and how these were coupled with genetic ‘innovations’ within plant populations. We identify a number of ‘traps’ for early cultivators, including the needs for extra labour expenditure on crop-processing and soil fertility maintenance, but also linked gains in terms of potential crop yields. Compilations of quantitative data across a few different crops for the traits of nonshattering and seed size are discussed in terms of the apparently slow process of domestication, and parallels and differences between different regional pathways are identified. We highlight the need to bridge the gap between a Neolithic archaeobotanical focus on domestication and a focus of later periods on crop-processing activities and labour organization. In addition, archaeobotanical data provide a basis for rethinking previous assumptions about how plant genetic data should be related to the origins of agriculture and we contrast two alternative hypotheses: gradual evolution with low selection pressure versus metastable equilibrium that prolonged the persistence of ‘semi-domesticated’ populations. Our revised understanding of the innovations involved in plant domestication highlight the need for new approaches to collecting, modelling and integrating genetic data and archaeobotanical evidence

Effects of deer on woodland structure revealed through terrestrial laser scanning

1. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) captures the three-dimensional structure of habitats. Compared to traditional methods of forest mensuration, it allows quantification of structure at increased resolution, and the derivation of novel metrics with which to inform ecological studies and habitat management. 2. Lowland woodlands in the UK have altered in structure over the last century due to increased abundance of deer and a decline in management. We compared whole-canopy profiles between woodlands with high (>10 deer km−2) and low deer density (c. 1 deer km−2), and in stands with and without records of management interventions in the last 20 years, providing a test case for the application of TLS in habitat assessment for conservation and management. 3. Forty closed-canopy lowland woodlands (height range 16·5–29·4 m) were surveyed using TLS in two regions of the UK, divided into areas of high- and low-deer abundance, and between plots which had been recently managed or were unmanaged. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the woodlands were created to document the density of foliage and stem material across the entire vertical span of the canopy. 4. There was a 68% lower density of understorey foliage (0·5–2 m above-ground) in high-deer woodlands, consistent in both regions. Despite this, total amounts of foliage detected across the full canopy did not differ between deer density levels. High-deer sites were 5 m taller overall and differed in the distribution of foliage across their vertical profile. Managed woodlands, in contrast, exhibited relatively minor differences from controls, including a lower quantity of stem material at heights from 2 to 5 m, but no difference in foliage density. All main effects were replicated equally in both regions despite notable differences in stand structures between them. 5. Synthesis and applications. Terrestrial laser scanning allows ecologists to move beyond two-dimensional measures of vegetation structure and quantify patterns across complex, heterogeneous, three-dimensional habitats. Our findings suggest that reduction of deer populations is likely to have a strong impact on woodland structures and aid in restoring the complex understorey habitats required by many birds, whereas management interventions as currently practiced have limited and inconsistent effects

Silver coordination compounds with antimicrobial properties

Silver and its compounds have long been known to possess antimicrobial properties. We report here on our observations in this field of research, namely on silver coordination compounds, and in particular polymers, which can be used in the medical field. An overview of the structural diversity of coordination compounds with a particular class of organic ligands is given, together with their properties, with a special focus on antimicrobial activity, solubility and light stability