Researching interactions between humans and machines: methodological challenges

Communication scholars are increasingly concerned with interactions between humans and communicative agents. These agents, however, are considerably different from digital or social media: They are designed and perceived as life-like communication partners (i.e., as “communicative subjects”), which in turn poses distinct challenges for their empirical study. Hence, in this paper, we document, discuss, and evaluate potentials and pitfalls that typically arise for communication scholars when investigating simulated or non-simulated interactions between humans and chatbots, voice assistants, or social robots. In this paper, we focus on experiments (including pre-recorded stimuli, vignettes and the “Wizard of Oz”-technique) and field studies. Overall, this paper aims to provide guidance and support for communication scholars who want to empirically study human-machine communication. To this end, we not only compile potential challenges, but also recommend specific strategies and approaches. In addition, our reflections on current methodological challenges serve as a starting point for discussions in communication science on how meaning-making between humans and machines can be investigated in the best way possible, as illustrated in the concluding section

The Development of Language Learning Strategies

This article discusses the strategy repertoires and strategy development of six English children who learned foreign languages at primary school. My study differs from mainstream research in that it focuses on young children and on the development of their strategies, draws on sociocultural theory and uses ethnographic methods. My findings show that the six children developed a range of strategies over the course of a calendar year in spite of receiving no direct strategy instruction. The primary classroom encouraged learner autonomy and stimulated children to reflect on their learning which, in turn, enabled them to refine their strategies

Administrative Law: Cases and Materials, 6th ed.

Administrative Law integrates doctrinal analysis and procedural rules with substantive policy areas to encourage students to see the relevance of administrative law in policy and contemporary politics. Eminently readable introductions, transitional text, and Notes and Questions;coupled with the authors; engaging approach;have made this casebook a favorite with students and professors. New co-author Jody Freeman ushers in the Sixth Edition with new materials on cooperative regulatory structures and alternative regulatory procedures. A host of updates include the separation of powers decision in Free Enterprise Fund; the global warming case, Massachusetts v. EPA ; updated coverage of the Chevron doctrine; and enhanced coverage of arbitrary, capricious review. Features of a classic in its field: outstanding authorship;all authors are luminaries in administrative law and related fields accessible approach that puts doctrinal analysis and procedural rules in real-world perspective and context concentrated attention on the policy and political context of administrative decision making selected provisions from the Constitution of the United States and the Administrative Procedure Act, plus related provisions, in the Appendix An exciting revision with a highly regarded new co-author, the Sixth Edition brings: Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (appointment and removal of board members) updates throughout, including Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, standing, cooperative regulatory structures, the Chevron doctrine, preemption, and morehttps://scholarship.law.bu.edu/books/1057/thumbnail.jp

Hyperpolarized 129Xenon Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Quantify Regional Ventilation Differences in Mild to Moderate Asthma: A Prospective Comparison Between Semiautomated Ventilation Defect Percentage Calculation and Pulmonary Function Tests.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate ventilation in mild to moderate asthmatic patients and age-matched controls using hyperpolarized (HP) Xenon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and correlate findings with pulmonary function tests (PFTs). MATERIALS AND METHODS This single-center, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant prospective study was approved by our institutional review board. Thirty subjects (10 young asthmatic patients, 26 ± 6 years; 3 males, 7 females; 10 older asthmatic patients, 64 ± 6 years; 3 males, 7 females; 10 healthy controls) were enrolled. After repeated PFTs 1 week apart, the subjects underwent 2 MRI scans within 10 minutes, inhaling 1-L volumes containing 0.5 to 1 L of Xe. Xe ventilation signal was quantified by linear binning, from which the ventilation defect percentage (VDP) was derived. Differences in VDP among subgroups and variability with age were evaluated using 1-tailed t tests. Correlation of VDP with PFTs was tested using Pearson correlation coefficient. Reproducibility of VDP was assessed using Bland-Altman plots, linear regression (R), intraclass correlation coefficient, and concordance correlation coefficient. RESULTS Ventilation defect percentage was significantly higher in young asthmatic patients versus young healthy subjects (8.4% ± 3.2% vs 5.6% ± 1.7%, P = 0.031), but not in older asthmatic patients versus age-matched controls (16.8% ± 10.3% vs 11.6% ± 6.6%, P = 0.13). Ventilation defect percentage was found to increase significantly with age (healthy, P = 0.05; asthmatic patients, P = 0.033). Ventilation defect percentage was highly reproducible (R = 0.976; intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.977; concordance correlation coefficient, 0.976) and significantly correlated with FEV1% (r = -0.42, P = 0.025), FEF25%-75% (r = -0.45, P = 0.019), FEV1/FVC (r = -0.71, P < 0.0001), FeNO (r = 0.69, P < 0.0001), and RV/TLC (r = 0.51, P = 0.0067). Bland-Altman analysis showed a bias for VDP of -0.88 ± 1.52 (FEV1%, -0.33 ± 7.18). CONCLUSIONS Xenon MRI is able to depict airway obstructions in mild to moderate asthma and significantly correlates with PFTs

Femtosecond multiphoton photoemission of silver nanoparticles on graphite

Voll S, Lehmann J, Merschdorf M, Pfeiffer W, Thon A, Gerber G. Femtosecond multiphoton photoemission of silver nanoparticles on graphite. Presented at the Multiphoton Processes ICOMP VIII 8th Int. Conf

National and International Benefit Transfer Testing with a Rigorous Test Procedure

Benefit transfer, as a mean to transfer values from existing monetary valuation studies to new policy sites, has been in use for many years. This paper aims to analyze the forecasting quality of benefit transfer by applying a rigoroust-test – also referred to as Accuracy-t-test – that takes into account testing errors which were made in previous surveys. Beside the analysis of national benefit transfers based on two German contingent valuation studies additional efforts were made to investigate into the validity and accuracy of international benefit transfer by considering two Norwegian studies that employed a similar survey design. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004benefit transfer, contingent valuation method, water quality,