Disambiguation strategies for cross-language information retrieval

This paper gives an overview of tools and methods for Cross-Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) that are developed within the Twenty-One project. The tools and methods are evaluated with the TREC CLIR task document collection using Dutch queries on the English document base. The main issue addressed here is an evaluation of two approaches to disambiguation. The underlying question is whether a lot of effort should be put in finding the correct translation for each query term before searching, or whether searching with more than one possible translation leads to better results? The experimental study suggests that the quality of search methods is more important than the quality of disambiguation methods. Good retrieval methods are able to disambiguate translated queries implicitly during searching

Privacy sets for constrained space-filling

The paper provides typology for space filling into what we call "soft" and "hard" methods along with introducing the central notion of privacy sets for dealing with the latter. A heuristic algorithm based on this notion is presented and we compare its performance on some well-known examples

Automated unique input output sequence generation for conformance testing of FSMs

This paper describes a method for automatically generating unique input output (UIO) sequences for FSM conformance testing. UIOs are used in conformance testing to verify the end state of a transition sequence. UIO sequence generation is represented as a search problem and genetic algorithms are used to search this space. Empirical evidence indicates that the proposed method yields considerably better (up to 62% better) results compared with random UIO sequence generation

Thing Theory

This article is an extended review of Graham Harman's Heidegger Explained: From Phenomenon to Thing. The paper explains Harman's argument that Heidegger's famous broken tool incident - the account that introduces a critique of presence based on the withdrawn dimensions of things - has a much greater relevance than is usually imagined. It explores Harman's extrapolations from Heidegger to rethink the very nature of objects - or things in themselves, their relations to each other, and their own unfathomable inner being. The paper goes on to note the implications of this argument for thinking more generally about relationality, space, and the more-than-human

Fighting HIV/AIDS: Reconfiguring the State?

The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers of the article and the ESRC for funding part of this research

Semiconductor measurement technology: Microelectronic ultrasonic bonding

Information for making high quality ultrasonic wire bonds is presented as well as data to provide a basic understanding of the ultrasonic systems used. The work emphasizes problems and methods of solving them. The required measurement equipment is first introduced. This is followed by procedures and techniques used in setting up a bonding machine, and then various machine- or operator-induced reliability problems are discussed. The characterization of the ultrasonic system and its problems are followed by in-process bonding studies and work on the ultrasonic bonding (welding) mechanism. The report concludes with a discussion of various effects of bond geometry and wire metallurgical characteristics. Where appropriate, the latest, most accurate value of a particular measurement has been substituted for an earlier reported one

Investigating the phenomenon of dance and music performance through the experience of the performer

This thesis examines the phenomenon of performance in dance and music as experienced by the performer. Previous research studies have generally been directed towards examining specific facets of dance and music performance, with a lack of understanding concerning the performer’s experiences of them. Although these studies have often focused on gaining insight into what constitutes a performance, their attention to isolated aspects of performance has precluded understanding of how these elements form the experience of the performer in a holistic sense. Inspired by a personal quest for insight into the subjective awareness of what underlies dance and music performance, the following thesis aims to better understand the phenomenon of performance from the perspective of the performing dancer and musician. In strengthening the originality of this research, the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms provided a framework that allowed in-depth exploration of the phenomenon under investigation. Two qualitative research studies, together with a questionnaire, were carried out to investigate the thoughts and perceptions of the performer in relation to what it means to be a performer and more generally on the phenomenon of performance. This thesis also includes two separate chapters on the concepts of performance enhancement and reflective practice with a view to establishing whether they might usefully be applied within the artistic disciplines of dance and music. Findings from the two research studies and questionnaire revealed that performers place high importance on the concept of the ‘self’, which they experience and perceive differently as an ‘individual’, a ‘person’ and a ‘performer’. Performers were also shown to view themselves as embodied entities, evincing a strong sense of individuality and a subjective awareness of being a performer, alongside conveying technical and expressive abilities. Findings illustrate the subjective nature of how participants experience and understand performance and performing, revealing the potential for application to other artistic disciplines. It is hoped that, through offering performers the opportunity to speak openly about what is of importance to them, researchers and educators might productively address the components that exist within the experience of the performer, in order to better and more widely understand the performer and the phenomenon of performance

The market for dried fruit in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany and France (ODNRI Bulletin No. 34)

This study forms part of a series examining the prospects for selected commodities including those of developing countries in major world markets. The immediate objectives of this report are to assess the present and longer term prospects in the United Kingdom, France and West Germany for selected tropical and temperate fruits in their dried form and to provide existing and potential suppliers with information on various aspects of marketing including product forms, their uses and quality, external trade, trade and distribution structure, prices, tariffs and consumption levels. The three countries were selected because of their importance in the trade. The trade statistics used cover the period 1982 to 1987. Initial fieldwork was carried out between 1983 and 1985; further trade views were subsequently obtained for the United Kingdom. The tariff rates quoted in the report apply specifically to products imported into the United Kingdom, but are similar in other EC countries including France and West Germany

Sensitivity of Ag/Al Interface Specific Resistances to Interfacial Intermixing

We have measured an Ag/Al interface specific resistance, 2AR(Ag/Al)(111) = 1.4 fOhm-m^2, that is twice that predicted for a perfect interface, 50% larger than for a 2 ML 50%-50% alloy, and even larger than our newly predicted 1.3 fOhmm^2 for a 4 ML 50%-50% alloy. Such a large value of 2ARAg/Al(111) confirms a predicted sensitivity to interfacial disorder and suggests an interface greater than or equal to 4 ML thick. From our calculations, a predicted anisotropy ratio, 2AR(Ag/Al)(001)/2AR(Ag/Al)(111), of more then 4 for a perfect interface, should be reduced to less than 2 for a 4 ML interface, making it harder to detect any such anisotropy.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. In Press: Journal of Applied Physic