CLARIN: Common language resources and technology infrastructure

This paper gives an overview of the CLARIN project [1], which aims to create a research infrastructure that makes language resources and technology (LRT) available and readily usable to scholars of all disciplines, in particular the humanities and social sciences (HSS)

Public Participation Organizations and Open Policy:A Constitutional Moment for British Democracy?

This article builds on work in Science and Technology Studies and cognate disciplines concerning the institutionalization of public engagement and participation practices. It describes and analyses ethnographic qualitative research into one “organization of participation,” the UK government–funded Sciencewise program. Sciencewise’s interactions with broader political developments are explored, including the emergence of “open policy” as a key policy object in the UK context. The article considers what the new imaginary of openness means for institutionalized forms of public participation in science policymaking, asking whether this is illustrative of a “constitutional moment” in relations between society and science policymaking

Preparation of Novel Hydrolyzing Urethane Modified Thiol-ene Networks

Novel tetra-functional hydrolyzing monomers were prepared from the reaction of TEOS and select alkene-containing alcohols, ethylene glycol vinyl ether or 2-allyloxy ethanol, and combined with trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (tri-thiol) in a thiol-ene “click” polymerization reaction to produce clear, colorless thiol-ene networks using both radiation and thermal-cure techniques. These networks were characterized for various mechanical characteristics, and found to posses Tg’s (DSC), hardness, tack, and thermal stability (TGA) consistent with their molecular structures. A new ene-modified urethane oligomer was prepared based on the aliphatic polyisocyanate Desmodur® N 3600 and added to the thiol-ene hydrolyzable network series in increasing amounts, creating a phase-segregated material having two Tg’s. An increase in water absorption in the ene-modified urethane formulations leading to a simultaneous increase in the rate of hydrolysis was supported by TGA data, film hardness measurements, and an NMR study of closely related networks. This phenomenon was attributed to the additional hydrogen bonding elements and polar functionality brought to the film with the addition of the urethane segment. SEM was utilized for visual analysis of topographical changes in the film’s surface upon hydrolysis and provides support for surface-driven erosion. Coatings prepared in this study are intended for use as hydrolyzing networks for marine coatings to protect against ship foulin

The biomass of the medicinal red algae (Rhodophyta) in the intertidal zone of the Chabahar coasts

Monthly sampling of red algae was carried out from April 2005 to March 2006 in Chabahar coasts (southestern of Iran) along Sistan & Baluchistan province coastal waters. We considered monthly periods of maximum tide according to tide tables. Then seaweed growth area in intertidal zones was determind through GPS, GIS and satellite imagery. Monthly sampling was conducted on a number of transects with equal distance and in randomly chosen 50×50cm quadrates. The samples were transfered to Offshore Waters Research Center’s lab and after cleaning and separating, the weight of each species recognized was measuerd according to the present references. The biomass of each species was obtained per area unit and in the total area after determing the average weight of species. During this research, 13 species of medicinal red algae were recognized, and the most important families included: Gelidiaceae, Gracilariaceae, Hypneaceae and Rhodomelaceae. Total biomass in the area of Chabahar Coasts were 865.2 tons and the monthly average was 72.1 tons. The maximum biomass was obtained in February as 149.8 tons (828g/m2) and the minimum biomass was seen in May as 16.3 tons (90.2g/m2 ). The maximum biomass belonged to Gracilaria corticata (%33.1) and the minimum biomass to Hypnea pannosa (%1)

Parameterised Geant4 simulation for total body PET research

Total-body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has the potential to transform medical care of a number of diseases and augment our knowledge of systems biology. Various detector designs and geometries are currently under development for total-body PET imaging of humans. This variety, in particular the variation in axial field-of-view (aFOV), motivates a need to compare the performance of these devices in a consistent simulated environment. We present an open-source Geant4 simulation package that allows variation of relevant parameters such as the detector aFOV and the tracer radioisotope from the command line. Two simplified detector geometries based on the Siemens Biograph Vision Quadra and United Imaging uEXPLORER models are supported with variable granularity. The intrinsic radioactivity of the detector crystals is fully simulated. The simulation can be viewed with the built-in GUI, and the results are saved in a plain text format for easy analysis. Example Python analysis code is provided with the simulation, demonstrating calculation of the noise equivalent count rate (NECR) figure of merit using an approximation to the NEMA NU 2-2012 standard method. A good agreement between the simulated count rate performance and experimental data is observed for both geometries. The differences in results are attributed to simplifications in the simulation code, namely not accounting for the light-collection efficiency or readout dead-time. We demonstrate the importance of assessing the scanner performance using appropriate phantom length which significantly affects the obtained results. A dependence between the detector aFOV and the length of the source, with peak NECR plateauing as the detector extends beyond the region of interest is also presented.Comment: 13 pages in total, 6 figure

Towards an analytical framework of science communication models

This chapter reviews the discussion in science communication circles of models for public communication of science and technology (PCST). It questions the claim that there has been a large-scale shift from a ‘deficit model’ of communication to a ‘dialogue model’, and it demonstrates the survival of the deficit model along with the ambiguities of that model. Similar discussions in related fields of communication, including the critique of dialogue, are briefly sketched. Outlining the complex circumstances governing approaches to PCST, the author argues that communications models often perceived to be opposed can, in fact, coexist when the choices are made explicit. To aid this process, the author proposes an analytical framework of communication models based on deficit, dialogue and participation, including variations on each

Data Reduction Techniques for High Contrast Imaging Polarimetry. Applications to ExPo

Imaging polarimetry is a powerful tool for detecting and characterizing exoplanets and circumstellar environments. Polarimetry allows a separation of the light coming from an unpolarized source such as a star and the polarized source such as a planet or a protoplanetary disk. Future facilities like SPHERE at the VLT or EPICS at the E-ELT will incorporate imaging polarimetry to detect exoplanets. The Extreme Polarimeter (ExPo) is a dual-beam imaging polarimeter that currently can reach contrast ratios of 10^5, enough to characterize circumstellar environments. We present the data reduction steps for a dual-beam imaging polarimeter that can reach contrast ratios of 10^5. The data obtained with ExPo at the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) are analyzed. Instrumental artifacts and noise sources are discussed for an unpolarized star and for a protoplanetary disk (AB Aurigae). The combination of fast modulation and dual-beam techniques allow us to minimize instrumental artifacts. A proper data processing and alignment of the images is fundamental when dealing with large contrasts. Imaging polarimetry proves to be a powerful method to resolve circumstellar environments even without a coronagraph mask or an Adaptive Optics system.Comment: 9 pages, 12 Figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Industrial constructions of publics and public knowledge: a qualitative investigation of practice in the UK chemicals industry

This is a post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - © 2007 by SAGE PublicationsWhile the rhetoric of public engagement is increasingly commonplace within industry, there has been little research that examines how lay knowledge is conceptualized and whether it is really used within companies. Using the chemicals sector as an example, this paper explores how companies conceive of publics and "public knowledge," and how this relates to modes of engagement/communication with them. Drawing on qualitative empirical research in four companies, we demonstrate that the public for industry are primarily conceived as "consumers" and "neighbours," having concerns that should be allayed rather than as groups with knowledge meriting engagement. We conclude by highlighting the dissonance between current advocacy of engagement and the discourses and practices prevalent within industry, and highlight the need for more realistic strategies for industry/public engagement.Funding was received from the ESRC Science in Society Programme

HerMES: A Statistical Measurement of the Redshift Distribution of Herschel-SPIRE Sources Using the Cross-correlation Technique

The wide-area imaging surveys with the Herschel Space Observatory at submillimeter (sub-mm) wavelengths have now resulted in catalogs of the order of one-hundred-thousand dusty, starburst galaxies. These galaxies capture an important phase of galaxy formation and evolution, but, unfortunately, the redshift distribution of these galaxies, N(z), is still mostly uncertain due to limitations associated with counterpart identification at optical wavelengths and spectroscopic follow-up. We make a statistical estimate of N(z) using a clustering analysis of sub-mm galaxies detected at each of 250, 350 and 500 μm from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey centered on the Boötes field. We cross-correlate Herschel galaxies against galaxy samples at optical and near-IR wavelengths from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey, and the Spitzer Deep Wide Field Survey. We create optical and near-IR galaxy samples based on their photometric or spectroscopic redshift distributions and test the accuracy of those redshift distributions with similar galaxy samples defined with catalogs from the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS), which has superior spectroscopic coverage. We model the clustering auto- and cross-correlations of Herschel and optical/IR galaxy samples to estimate N(z) and clustering bias factors. The S_(350) > 20 mJy galaxies have a bias factor varying with redshift as b(z) = 1.0^(+1.0)_(–0.5)(1 + z)^1.2^(+0.3)_(–0.7). This bias and the redshift dependence is broadly in agreement with galaxies that occupy dark matter halos of mass in the range of 1012 to 10^(13) M_☉. We find that galaxy selections in all three Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) bands share a similar average redshift, with = 1.8 ± 0.2 for 250 μm selected samples, and = 1.9 ± 0.2 for both 350 and 500 μm samples, while their distributions behave differently. For 250 μm selected galaxies we find the a larger number of sources with z ≤ 1 when compared with the subsequent two SPIRE bands, with 350 and 500 μm selected SPIRE samples having peaks in N(z) at progressively higher redshifts. We compare our clustering-based N(z) results to sub-mm galaxy model predictions in the literature, and with an estimate of N(z) using a stacking analysis of COSMOS 24 μm detections