Social Feedback: Social Learning from Interaction History to Support Information Seeking on the Web

Information seeking on the Web has become a central part of many daily activities. Even though information seeking is extremely common, there are many times when these tasks are unsuccessful, because the information found is less than ideal or the task could have been completed more efficiently. In unsuccessful information-seeking tasks, there are often other people who have knowledge or experience that could help improve task success. However, information seekers do not typically look for help from others, because tasks can often be completed alone (even if inefficiently). One of the problems is that web tools provide people with few opportunities to learn from one another’s experiences in ways that would allow them to improve their success. This dissertation presents the idea of social feedback. Social feedback is based on the theory of social learning, which describes how people learn from observing others. In social feedback, observational learning is enabled through the mechanism of interaction history – the traces of activity people create as they interact with the Web. Social feedback systems collect and display interaction history to allow information seekers to learn how to complete their tasks more successfully by observing how other people have behaved in similar situations. The dissertation outlines the design of two social-feedback systems, and describes two studies that demonstrate the real world applicability and feasibility of the idea. The first system supports global learning, by allowing people to learn new search skills and techniques that improve information seeking success in many different tasks. The second system supports local learning, in which people learn how to accomplish specific tasks more effectively and more efficiently. Two further studies are conducted to explore potential real-world challenges to the successful deployment of social feedback systems, such as the privacy concerns associated with the collection and sharing of interaction history. These studies show that social feedback systems can be deployed successfully for supporting real world information seeking tasks. Overall, this research shows that social feedback is a valuable new idea for the social use of information systems, an idea that allows people to learn from one another’s experiences and improve their success in many common real-world tasks

Collaborative tagging : folksonomy, metadata, visualization, e-learning, thesis

Collaborative tagging is a simple and effective method for organizing and sharing web resources using human created metadata. It has arisen out of the need for an efficient method of personal organization, as the number of digital resources in everyday lives increases. While tagging has become a proven organization scheme through its popularity and widespread use on the Web, little is known about its implications and how it may effectively be applied in different situations. This is due to the fact that tagging has evolved through several iterations of use on social software websites, rather than through a scientific or an engineering design process. The research presented in this thesis, through investigations in the domain of e-learning, seeks to understand more about the scientific nature of collaborative tagging through a number of human subject studies. While broad in scope, touching on issues in human computer interaction, knowledge representation, Web system architecture, e-learning, metadata, and information visualization, this thesis focuses on how collaborative tagging can supplement the growing metadata requirements of e-learning. I conclude by looking at how the findings may be used in future research, through using information based in the emergent social networks of social software, to automatically adapt to the needs of individual users

Master of Science

thesisMine fires and explosions associated with spontaneous combustion (sponcom) can be the cause of mines closings temporarily or permanently. The risk of fatalities and production losses are also associated with the hazards of sponcom. Over the last 175 years, nearly 13,000 deaths have been recorded and are attributed to mine fires or explosions in the United States coal mines. Some of these fires could have been prevented with proper ventilation precautions. Ventilation is a primary tool used to prevent fires and explosions in an underground mining environment. Removing contaminants with proper air flow rate is the general method for preventing fires and explosions. Another method for fire prevention is pressure balancing. Pressure balancing is a technique of redistribution of the air pressure in areas where there is potential for sponcom. The implementation of passive and dynamic pressure balancing methods can be used to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustions and accumulation of explosive gas mixtures in confined areas. These methods have been applied in mines outside of the United States, mostly practiced in Australia, India, and some European countries. Pressure balancing, when applied correctly, may reduce or eliminate the flow of air through caved areas, thus reducing the possibility of self-heating of coal in critical areas where sponcom is more prevalent. Each mine in the United States will have different ventilation designs that are either classified as Bleeder or Bleederless with multiple variations in design. Passive and active pressure balancing designs were engineered for two underground longwall mines, one ventilated by a bleeder system and the other by a bleederless system. The study includes pressure quantity surveys in these coal mines, computer simulation exercises, and laboratory tests performed at the University of Utah. The simulations of surveyed coal mine models have been compared with field data and model data to produce results of potential pressure balancing implementations. The results have been analyzed and compared to each other, and used to develop strategies to prevent spontaneous combustion, create safe working conditions, and minimize ventilation requirement

Comparative efficacy of sign surveys, spotlighting and audio playbacks in a landscape-scale carnivore survey

Many carnivores are difficult and labour-intensive to detect, often leading to prohibitively high effort and cost in large-scale surveys. However, such studies provide information that is important for effective management and conservation. Here, we evaluate the suitability of three survey methods for landscape-scale multi-species monitoring. We compare sign surveys, spotlighting, and audio playbacks in terms of detection efficiency, precision, effort, and cost. Sign surveys out-performed the other methods in all comparison criteria, although supplementary methods were needed for some species and sites. We found that using established analysis techniques, robust landscape-scale abundance estimates would require unrealistically high effort and cost. Occupancy estimation required considerably lower sample sizes and was therefore more economical. We conclude that sign-based occupancy estimates constitute a versatile and efficient option for future large-scale, multi-species carnivore surveys

Management: Leading & Collaborating in A Competitive World -9/E.

Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World is a text with a fully modernized functional approach. This text is maintaining the four traditional functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, while modernizing and re-visioning the concepts as delivering strategic value, building a dynamic organization, mobilizing people, and learning and changing. Bateman/Snell’ results-oriented approach is a unique hallmark of this textbook. In this ever more competitive environment there are five essential types of performance, on which the organization beats, equals, or loses to the competition which are cost, quality, speed, innovation and service. These five performance dimensions, when done well, deliver value to the customer and competitive advantage to you and your organization. Throughout the text Bateman & Snell remind students of these five dimensions and their impact on the “bottom line” with marginal icons contributing to the leadership and collaboration theme, which is the key to successful management. People working with one another, rather than against, is essential to competitive advantage

An assessment of diet overlap of two mesocarnivores in the North-West Province, South Africa

We used scat analysis to study the diet of two sympatric medium-sized carnivores: brown hyaena and black-backed jackal, in the NorthWest Province of South Africa. Seven major dietary categories were identified from the scats, with mammal remains being most common for both species. Brown hyaena scats contained more large mammal remains, which together with the presence of invertebrates (in 50% of all brown hyaena scats), suggests that they mainly scavenged. Jackal scats contained a higher proportion of small mammal remains, suggesting that jackals actively hunted more often than brown hyaenas did. The diets differed significantly between the two species, even though diet overlap was fairly high (0.79). Further analysis, albeit based on small sample sizes, suggests that diet of these mesopredators differ between protected reserves with apex predators and unprotected areas without apex predators, thus confounding generalizations. Further studies are therefore required to investigate possible mesopredator release when apex predators are absent

Preserving the palaeoenvironmental record in Drylands: Bioturbation and its significance for luminescence-derived chronologies

Luminescence (OSL) dating has revolutionised the understanding of Late Pleistocene dryland activity. However, one of the key assumptions for this sort of palaeoenvironmental work is that sedimentary sequences have been preserved intact, enabling their use as proxy indicators of past changes. This relies on stabilisation or burial soon after deposition and a mechanism to prevent any subsequent re-mobilisation. As well as a dating technique OSL, especially at the single grain level, can be used to gain an insight into post-depositional processes that may distort or invalidate the palaeoenvironmental record of geological sediment sequences. This paper explores the possible impact of bioturbation (the movement of sediment by flora and fauna) on luminescence derived chronologies from Quaternary sedimentary deposits in Texas and Florida (USA) which have both independent radiocarbon chronologies and archaeological evidence. These sites clearly illustrate the ability of bioturbation to rejuvenate ancient weathered sandy bedrock and/or to alter depositional stratigraphies through the processes of exhumation and sub-surface mixing of sediment. The use of multiple OSL replicate measurements is advocated as a strategy for checking for bioturbated sediment. Where significant OSL heterogeneity is found, caution should be taken with the derived OSL ages and further measurements at the single grain level are recommended. Observations from the linear dunes of the Kalahari show them to have no bedding structure and to have OSL heterogeneity similar to that shown from the bioturbated Texan and Florida sites. The Kalahari linear dunes could have therefore undergone hitherto undetected post-depositional sediment disturbance which would have implications for the established OSL chronology for the region

Designing game-based myoelectric prosthesis training

A myoelectric prosthesis (myo) is a dexterous artificial limb controlled by muscle contractions. Learning to use a myo can be challenging, so extensive training is often required to use a myo prosthesis effectively. Signal visualizations and simple muscle-controlled games are currently used to help patients train their muscles, but are boring and frustrating. Furthermore, current training systems require expensive medical equipment and clinician oversight, restricting training to infrequent clinical visits. To address these limitations, we developed a new game that promotes fun and success, and shows the viability of a low-cost myoelectric input device. We adapted a user-centered design (UCD) process to receive feedback from patients, clinicians, and family members as we iteratively addressed challenges to improve our game. Through this work, we introduce a free and open myo training game, provide new information about the design of myo training games, and reflect on an adapted UCD process for the practical iterative development of therapeutic games

Prospectus, March 24, 1982

VOTER TURNOUT FULFILLS MANY\u27S PREDICTIONS; News In Brief; Student talent to be displayed in variety show; Man fined after stealing service; 29 schools participating in upcoming Math contest; Opinions and Views: Brown neutral about WPCD, StuGo two areas should be improved, StuGo president discusses student apathy, Correction; P.C. happenings...: More seminars offered, Dixon displays ceramics, Series will deal with health issues, Essay deadline approaches, Panel to discuss learning, Workshop focuses on defensive driving, Driving class rescheduled, Motivate yourself; Vis Art field offers many possibilities; High schools battle to be best; Classifieds; Angel Street : mystery, murder; Reed\u27s appeal lies in inconsistency; Rundgren defines Utopia; Sports Watch; IHSA teams thrill Assembly Hall fans; Community Calendar; Coach optimistic about team play; Tom Jones gives ladies an eyefulhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1982/1025/thumbnail.jp

LUD, a new protein domain associated with lactate utilization.

BackgroundA novel highly conserved protein domain, DUF162 [Pfam: PF02589], can be mapped to two proteins: LutB and LutC. Both proteins are encoded by a highly conserved LutABC operon, which has been implicated in lactate utilization in bacteria. Based on our analysis of its sequence, structure, and recent experimental evidence reported by other groups, we hereby redefine DUF162 as the LUD domain family.ResultsJCSG solved the first crystal structure [PDB:2G40] from the LUD domain family: LutC protein, encoded by ORF DR_1909, of Deinococcus radiodurans. LutC shares features with domains in the functionally diverse ISOCOT superfamily. We have observed that the LUD domain has an increased abundance in the human gut microbiome.ConclusionsWe propose a model for the substrate and cofactor binding and regulation in LUD domain. The significance of LUD-containing proteins in the human gut microbiome, and the implication of lactate metabolism in the radiation-resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans are discussed