188 research outputs found
A Study On Taiwan's Populism
在“第三波”的民主化浪潮中,与许多同样经历政治转型的新兴民主国家和地区相比,台湾地区是少数几个转型较为顺利和成功的例子之一。即便如此,台湾的民主政治运作仍然面临许多困难和问题。在各种质疑、批判和反思台湾民主政治的观点之中,民粹主义普遍被认为是台湾民主政治发展的一大隐忧。但是,也有人不赞同上述观点。他们认为“民粹主义”一词在台湾的使用非常混乱,而且已经被过度污名化,于是他们要致力于使“民粹主义”回归其中性化的原貌。本文认为,民粹主义并没有一个放之四海而皆准的定义,在污名化的“民粹主义”已经被台湾各界所广泛使用的情况下,再让“民粹主义”的涵义回归中性化的努力已经没有太大的意义。概念上的无谓争论只会...Compared with many other newly democratized countries and regions, Taiwan was among the few examples with a relatively successful and smooth democratic transition. In spite of this fact, Taiwan's democracy is still facing many difficulties and problems. It comes under suspicion and criticism. Populism is generally believed to be an insidious threat to the consolidation of democracy in Taiwan. Howe...学位:法学硕士院系专业:台湾研究所_中外政治制度学号:2562006115275
Designing Chatbots for Crises: A Case Study Contrasting Potential and Reality
Chatbots are becoming ubiquitous technologies, and their popularity and adoption are rapidly spreading. The potential of chatbots in engaging people with digital services is fully recognised. However, the reputation of this technology with regards to usefulness and real impact remains rather questionable. Studies that evaluate how people perceive and utilise chatbots are generally lacking. During the last Kenyan elections, we deployed a chatbot on Facebook Messenger to help people submit reports of violence and misconduct experienced in the polling stations. Even though the chatbot was visited by more than 3,000 times, there was a clear mismatch between the users’ perception of the technology and its design. In this paper, we analyse the user interactions and content generated through this application and discuss the challenges and directions for designing more effective chatbots
The ABCD of usability testing
We introduce a methodology for tracking and auditing feedback, errors and suggestions for software packages. This short paper describes how we innovate on the evaluation mechanism, introducing an (Antecedent, Barrier, Consequence and Development) ABCD form, embedded within an eParticipation platform to enable end users to easily report on any usability issues. This methodology will be utilised to improve the STEP cloud eParticipation platform (part of the current STEP Horizon2020 project http://step4youth.eu. The platform is currently being piloted in real life contexts, with the participation of public authorities that are integrating the eParticipation platform into their regular decision-making practices. The project is involving young people, through engagement and motivation strategies and giving them a voice in Environmental decision making at the local level. The pilot evaluation aims to demonstrate how open engagement needs to be embedded within public sector processes and the usability methodology reported here will help to identify the key barriers for wide scale deployment of the platform
Atypical CTSK Transcripts and ARNT Transcription Read-Through Into CTSK
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) and cathepsin K
(CTSK) genes lie in a tandem head-to-tail arrangement on human chromosome 1. The two
genes are in extremely close proximity; the usual CTSK transcription start site is
less than 1.4 kb downstream of the end of the longest reported ARNT transcript.
By generating an RT-PCR product that overlaps both the 3′ end of ARNT and
the 5′ end of CTSK, we show that ARNT transcripts may extend through the
ARNT–CTSK intergenic region and progress into the CTSK gene.
Furthermore, by using quantitative RT-PCR from several tissues to detect the ARNT expression
signature in CTSK introns, we show that ARNT transcripts can read through into
CTSK as far as CTSK intron 3, extending approximately 3.7 kb downstream of the
end of the longest previously described ARNT mRNA. Given that ARNT and
CTSK are expressed in an overlapping range of tissues, ARNT read-through may have a
negative impact on CTSK transcript levels by interfering with CTSK expression.
We also present evidence for novel CTSK transcripts following sequence analysis
of CTSK-derived ESTs and RT-PCR products. These transcripts show alternate 5′
splicing and or 5′ extension and are sometimes initiated from a cryptic alternative
promoter which is upstream of the known CTSK promoter and possibly in the 3′
UTR of ARNT
Food processing and technology 1978: a summary of research
Evaluation of tomato cultivars for processing / W. A. Gould, W. Stone, J. Mount, L. Witt, Y. Yamada, and S. Z. Berry -- Geotrichum candidum in midwestern tomato processing plants and various methods of inhibiting its growth / James G. Fox and Wilbur A. Gould -- Effects of various qualities of raw tomatoes (subjective evaluation) on color of extractable juice (objective evaluation) / Yasunori Yamada and Wilbur A. Gould -- Protein content of seeds taken from tomatoes at various stages of ripeness / Daniel Brodowski and J. R. Geisman -- Effects of cultivar, break temperature, and extraction methods on the viscosity of tomato juice / Hashmy Bel-Haj and Wilbur A. Gould -- A study of some factors affecting the solid content of canned tomatoes / J. R. Mount and W. A. Gould -- Prediction of ascorbic acid stability in canned apple juice / Mohamed I. Mahmoud and Wilbur A. Gould -- Investigation of protein content of ohio grown soybeans / Girish N. Desai and Andrew C. Peng -- Recovery and functionality of soybean leaf proteins / Mohammed H. Ali and Andrew C. Peng -- Carotene content of green snap beans / H. Fenercioglu and D. E. Crean -- Effect of reconditioning on the ascorbic acid content of potato cultivars / I. S. Arkoudilos and D. E. Crean -- Kinetic studies of polyphenol oxidase from HiDri cabbage / Ling-May Chen and Andrew C. Peng -- Refinements in pickle brine recycling / T. Glares and J. R. Geisman -- Use of ultraviolet light to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus growth on the surface of baked pumpkin pie / Nicholas N. Kallas and Wilbur A. Gould -- Development of a nutritionally improved corn masa / Thomas H. Rieman and Wilbur A. Gould -- Mechanical deboning of Lake Erie freshwater drum / W. E. Stone and W. A. Gould -- Lake Erie freshwater drum fillet processing, storage, and evaluation / W. E. Stone and W. A. Goul
Usability and digital inclusion: standards and guidelines
This article aims at discussing e-government website usability in relation to concerns about
digital inclusion. E-government web design should consider all aspects of usability, including
those that make it more accessible to all. Traditional concerns of social exclusion are being
superseded by fears that lack of digital competence and information literacy may result in dangerous
digital exclusion. Usability is considered as a way to address this exclusion and should
therefore incorporate inclusion and accessibility guidelines. This article makes an explicit link
between usability guidelines and digital inclusion and reports on a survey of local government
web presence in Portugal
Effects of branching spatial structure and life history on the asymptotic growth rate of a population
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Theoretical Ecology 3 (2010): 137-152, doi:10.1007/s12080-009-0058-0.The dendritic structure of a river network creates directional dispersal and a hierarchical
arrangement of habitats. These two features have important consequences for the
ecological dynamics of species living within the network.We apply matrix population models to a stage-structured population in a network of habitat patches connected in a dendritic
arrangement. By considering a range of life histories and dispersal patterns, both constant
in time and seasonal, we illustrate how spatial structure, directional dispersal, survival, and
reproduction interact to determine population growth rate and distribution. We investigate
the sensitivity of the asymptotic growth rate to the demographic parameters of the model,
the system size, and the connections between the patches. Although some general patterns
emerge, we find that a species’ mode of reproduction and dispersal are quite important in its
response to changes in its life history parameters or in the spatial structure. The framework
we use here can be customized to incorporate a wide range of demographic and dispersal
scenarios.Funding for this work came from the James S. McDonnell Foundation (EEG, HJL, WFF). MGN was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (CMG-0530830, OCE-0326734, ATM-0428122)
Population Response to Habitat Fragmentation in a Stream-Dwelling Brook Trout Population
Fragmentation can strongly influence population persistence and expression of life-history strategies in spatially-structured populations. In this study, we directly estimated size-specific dispersal, growth, and survival of stream-dwelling brook trout in a stream network with connected and naturally-isolated tributaries. We used multiple-generation, individual-based data to develop and parameterize a size-class and location-based population projection model, allowing us to test effects of fragmentation on population dynamics at local (i.e., subpopulation) and system-wide (i.e., metapopulation) scales, and to identify demographic rates which influence the persistence of isolated and fragmented populations. In the naturally-isolated tributary, persistence was associated with higher early juvenile survival (∼45% greater), shorter generation time (one-half) and strong selection against large body size compared to the open system, resulting in a stage-distribution skewed towards younger, smaller fish. Simulating barriers to upstream migration into two currently-connected tributary populations caused rapid (2–6 generations) local extinction. These local extinctions in turn increased the likelihood of system-wide extinction, as tributaries could no longer function as population sources. Extinction could be prevented in the open system if sufficient immigrants from downstream areas were available, but the influx of individuals necessary to counteract fragmentation effects was high (7–46% of the total population annually). In the absence of sufficient immigration, a demographic change (higher early survival characteristic of the isolated tributary) was also sufficient to rescue the population from fragmentation, suggesting that the observed differences in size distributions between the naturally-isolated and open system may reflect an evolutionary response to isolation. Combined with strong genetic divergence between the isolated tributary and open system, these results suggest that local adaptation can ‘rescue’ isolated populations, particularly in one-dimensional stream networks where both natural and anthropogenically-mediated isolation is common. However, whether rescue will occur before extinction depends critically on the race between adaptation and reduced survival in response to fragmentation
Perceived Credibility in News Depending on Author Race & Statistical Evidence
This 2x2 between-subjects experiment investigated the impact of the race of the reporter and statistical evidence upon perceived credibility. This study was run at a small midwestern university with 65 participants (60% female and 40% male) that had an average age of 19.26 years. These participants were asked to read a news article in an online format, answer a few short-answer questions over the content of the article, take a quick survey, answer a set of multiple choice questions about the content, and complete a demographic survey. The survey that the participants completed was adapted from a credibility scale utilized by Gaziano and McGrath (1986) and measured credibility on a five-point likert scale. It has been hypothesized that articles with more statistical evidence present will lead to higher ratings of credibility in relation to the report and a white male author will lead to higher ratings of credibility in relation to the article. Finally, an interaction was also hypothesized between the race of the author and the statistical evidence present in the article such that when there is a presence of statistical evidence, the credibility ratings of the black and white male authors will not show a statistical difference. Whereas, without the presence of statistical evidence, the black male author will lead to significantly lower ratings in credibility in comparison to the white male author. A 2x2 between-subjects ANOVA indicated no significant results (p \u3e .05) suggesting that neither race or statistical evidence has a significant impact upon credibility
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