Using edit distance to analyse errors in a natural language to logic translation corpus

We have assembled a large corpus of student submissions to an automatic grading system, where the subject matter involves the translation of natural language sentences into propositional logic. Of the 2.3 million translation instances in the corpus, 286,000 (approximately 12%) are categorized as being in error. We want to understand the nature of the errors that students make, so that we can develop tools and supporting infrastructure that help students with the problems that these errors represent. With this aim in mind, this paper describes an analysis of a significant proportion of the data, using edit distance between incorrect answers and their corresponding correct solutions, and the associated edit sequences, as a means of organising the data and detecting categories of errors. We demonstrate that a large proportion of errors can be accounted for by means of a small number of relatively simple error types, and that the method draws attention to interesting phenomena in the data set

Livingstone's cataract

Includes abstract.In January 1860, the painter Thomas Baines returned to Cape Town in disgrace, having been dismissed from David Livingstone's expedition to explore the Kebrabasa rapids on the Zambesi River. Livingstone's Cataract is a historical novel that follows Baines's involvement with the expedition. It is written from Baines's point of view, in the first person..

Characterizations in Domination Theory

Let G = (V,E) be a graph. A set R is a restrained dominating set (total restrained dominating set, resp.) if every vertex in V − R (V) is adjacent to a vertex in R and (every vertex in V −R) to a vertex in V −R. The restrained domination number of G (total restrained domination number of G), denoted by gamma_r(G) (gamma_tr(G)), is the smallest cardinality of a restrained dominating set (total restrained dominating set) of G. If T is a tree of order n, then gamma_r(T) is greater than or equal to (n+2)/3. We show that gamma_tr(T) is greater than or equal to (n+2)/2. Moreover, we show that if n is congruent to 0 mod 4, then gamma_tr(T) is greater than or equal to (n+2)/2 + 1. We then constructively characterize the extremal trees achieving these lower bounds. Finally, if G is a graph of order n greater than or equal to 2, such that both G and G\u27 are not isomorphic to P_3, then gamma_r(G) + gamma_r(G\u27) is greater than or equal to 4 and less than or equal to n +2. We provide a similar result for total restrained domination and characterize the extremal graphs G of order n achieving these bounds

Organizational Structure and Resources of Alumni Associations at Public Senior Universities in the Southeastern United States

The purpose of the quantitative study was to analyze the staffing patterns, organizational structures, funding resources, practice of resource allocation, technology use, size of alumni population, size of institution enrollment, and age of the institutions at senior public colleges and universities in the southeastern United States. These institutions were derived from the membership of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education [CASE] during the academic years 2010-2012 in the United States District III region, generally the Southeast to lower Mid-Atlantic states. The study was further limited to public, comprehensive institutions as determined by the Carnegie Classification system. Data were collected through an online internet survey to test 11 research questions and gather demographic information relevant to the study. Of the 100 potential institutions for response, 16 completed surveys were received. The overall results of the tests reflect that 3 of the 11 results were statistically significant. Specifically, resource allocation scores were significantly higher than funding resource scores. Also there were strong positive correlations between technology use and age of institution and between size of alumni and the size of the institution

Automatic speech recognition research at NASA-Ames Research Center

A trainable acoustic pattern recognizer manufactured by Scope Electronics is presented. The voice command system VCS encodes speech by sampling 16 bandpass filters with center frequencies in the range from 200 to 5000 Hz. Variations in speaking rate are compensated for by a compression algorithm that subdivides each utterance into eight subintervals in such a way that the amount of spectral change within each subinterval is the same. The recorded filter values within each subinterval are then reduced to a 15-bit representation, giving a 120-bit encoding for each utterance. The VCS incorporates a simple recognition algorithm that utilizes five training samples of each word in a vocabulary of up to 24 words. The recognition rate of approximately 85 percent correct for untrained speakers and 94 percent correct for trained speakers was not considered adequate for flight systems use. Therefore, the built-in recognition algorithm was disabled, and the VCS was modified to transmit 120-bit encodings to an external computer for recognition

Synthesis of chelating bidentate and tridentate cyano ligands and their complexes with Group VII metal carbonyls

Two new bidentate cyano ligands, DiCN-3 (2) and DEN-4 (3) (a,w-bis(2-cyanophenoxy)propane and -butane, respectively), have been prepared. These ligands and the ethane analogue DEN-2 (1) react with Mn(C0)5Br to afford complexes of the composition Mr~(cO)~(DicN-n)Br (n= 2, 9; n = 3, 10; n = 4, 11). Complexes 9 and 10 appear to be mononuclear and contain 13- and 14-membered chelate rings, respectively. Ligand 3 in 11 might be either chelated or bridged. IR studies of the reaction between 1-3 and Mn2(C0)6(CH&N)2(p-Br)2 show that, under identical conditions, more nitrile groups of 1 than of 2 and 3 are bound to the Mn(C0)3Br unit; this results suggests that DiCN-2 is a better chelating ligand than DiCN-3 or DiCN-4. A novel tricyano ligand, TriCN (1,3,5-tris(2-cyanophenyl)benzene (8)) has been synthesized from 2methylacetophenone. TriCN functions either as a bidentate ligand, as in M(CO)3(TriCN)Br (M = Mn, 12; M = Re, 14), or as a tridentate ligand, as in [M(CO),(TriCN)]PF6 (M = Mn, 13; M = Re, IS). Complexes 13 and 15 of TriCN are the first examples in which a tridentate cyano ligand chelates to a single metal center through its nitrogen lone pairs

Labour market segmentation and the demand for EU migrant workers: A comparative study of Sweden and the United Kingdom

This study analyses and compares the nature and extent of employers’ demand for EU migrant workers in the food manufacturing and transportation and storage sectors in Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK). The research uses the theoretical framework provided by labour market segmentation theory and a broadly pragmatist methodological approach and a case study strategy. Within the framework provided by labour market segmentation theory, the research design and analysis of the sectoral case study findings have been situated in the context of the two countries’ industrial relations systems and national variation in the nature of their economic organisation, which reflect divergent regulatory frameworks and economic practices. As a result of diverging national practices it is found that the demand for EU migrant labour varies between the two countries and sectors. The Swedish labour market does not currently display strong evidence of a segmented structure, but it is suggested that there is the potential for it to become more segmented, partly as a result of the presence of EU migrants. On the other hand, the UK labour market is already viewed as being segmented with the employment of EU migrants helping to sustain this. There is a corresponding association between a more prominent role for EU migrant workers in the UK labour market than there is in Sweden. On this basis, this research can be considered as making an important contribution to better understanding employers’ demand for EU migrant labour in the context of comparative industrial relations research

How can sound engineers working in large format recording facilities participate in collaborative creativity and experience “creative immersion”?

Record production is often seen in musicology as a combination of two or three (often the songwriters’ and producer’s) persons’ creativity, and often not analysed from a collaborative viewpoint. When looking at technical staff on recordings, the producer often takes centre stage. The creative role of the studio engineer is mostly overlooked, yet highly important. A studio engineer’s practices influences the creativity of all of the participants of a recording session, regardless of how creative those practices may be. This research sheds light on the engineer’s effect on the creativity of the recording session including the best practices and workflows to ensure the highest creative output. Included in this research are four case studies of professional studio sessions which I engineered at Visconti Studio. Visconti Studio is a professional recording facility residing at Kingston University’s “Hill Campus”. Having professional practice based research on an area of musicology which is still in its infancy is invaluable. Using existing frameworks, and my own model, I take a look into the case studies, analysing the creative output and the practices that led to such creativity. The recording engineer may not just facilitate creativity, but also be invited into the collaborative process. In this research I demonstrate how, and when, an engineer may experience being collaboratively creative, but also how they may achieve the highest form of this, creative immersion. Building upon the works by authors such as Samantha Bennet, Simon Zagorski Thomas, Toby Seay, and Michael Paul Stavrou, and integrating my professional experience, I am able to offer valuable insight and knowledge which has, until now remained untapped

Legendary Obscurity: the Working Life of Malcolm Ross

Malcolm Ross (1948-2003) was a sculptor, painter, photographer, cartoonist and historian who operated at one remove from the art world for the entirety of his career. As a consequence, almost no analysis, criticism or writing on his work exists, and his place within this country's history of art has subsequently been overlooked. This thesis seeks to give art historical and analytical attention to Ross's oeuvre, arguing for his status as one of New Zealand's key conceptual practitioners. It traces the thematic threads which recur throughout his work and argues that the diverse range of artistic and historic investigations he undertook are ultimately unified within his archive at the E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki