The multimedia documentation of endangered and minority languages : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Linguistics at Massey University

This thesis examines the impending loss of linguistic diversity in the world and advocates a change in emphasis in linguistic research towards the documentation of minority and endangered languages. Various models for documentation are examined, along with some of the ethical issues involved in linguistic research amongst small groups, and a new model is proposed. The new model is centred around the collection of a wide variety of high-quality data, but includes the collection of other related materials that will be of particular use and interest to the ethnic community. The collected data and other materials are then structured as an internet-ready multimedia documentation designed for use by the ethnic community as primary audience, while still catering for the needs of linguistic researchers worldwide. A pilot project is carried out using the model

Distribution matching for transduction

Many transductive inference algorithms assume that distributions over training and test estimates should be related, e.g. by providing a large margin of separation on both sets. We use this idea to design a transduction algorithm which can be used without modification for classification, regression, and structured estimation. At its heart we exploit the fact that for a good learner the distributions over the outputs on training and test sets should match. This is a classical two-sample problem which can be solved efficiently in its most general form by using distance measures in Hilbert Space. It turns out that a number of existing heuristics can be viewed as special cases of our approach.

Time-Resolved Raman Spectroscopy for depth analysis in scattering samples

Gooijer, C. [Promotor]Ariese, F. [Copromotor

Origin of fluids in the shallow geothermal environment of Savo, Solomon Islands.

Savo is a recently emergent volcano. An active geothermal system has been present for at least 50 years, expressed at the surface by numerous hot springs, fumaroles and steaming ground. Samples of water and steam were collected from geothermal features and non-thermal springs and wells, and representative samples of altered rocks and precipitates were collected from geothermal areas. Analysis of the waters for anion, cation and stable isotope composition shows that the waters discharging at the surface fall into two groups Reoka type fluids have the high sulfate, low pH, and enriched δ18O and δD values typical of steam heated acid sulfate waters, where shallow groundwater is heated by rising steam and gas. Isotopically light H2S is oxidised in the near surface environment to produce the sulfate content. Rembokola type fluids have chemistry distinct from the Reoka type fluids, despite the two being found within close proximity (<10 m). Rembokola Type fluids produce a carbonate sinter, so are assumed to be saturated with bicarbonate. The aqueous sulfate has heavy δ34S, suggesting that it is not exclusively produced by the oxidation of H2S in the near surface environment. We suggest that condensation of volcanic gases (including CO2 and isotopically heavy SO2) into meteoric-derived groundwater in the upper levels of the volcanic edifice produces these carbonate–sulfate waters. The presence of SO2 suggests that there is a degassing magma at depth, and potentially a high sulfidation-type epithermal system beneath the steam heated zone

Structured learning for information retrieval

Information retrieval is the area of study concerned with the process of searching, recovering and interpreting information from large amounts of data. In this Thesis we show that many of the problems in information retrieval consist of structured learning, where the goal is to learn predictors of complex output structures, consisting of many inter-dependent variables. We then attack these problems using principled machine learning methods that are specifically suited for such scenarios. In the process of doing so, we develop new models, new model extensions and new algorithms that, when integrated with existing methodology, comprise a new set of tools for solving a variety of information retrieval problems. Firstly, we cover the multi-label classification problem, where we seek to predict a set of labels associated with a given object; the output in this case is structured, as the output variables are interdependent. Secondly, we focus on document ranking, where given a query and a set of documents associated with it we want to rank them according to their relevance with respect to the query; here, again, we have a structured output - a ranking of documents. Thirdly, we address topic models, where we are given a set of documents and attempt to find a compact representation of them, by learning latent topics and associating a topic distribution to each document; the output is again structured, consisting of word and topic distributions. For all the above problems, we obtain state-of-the-art solutions as attested by empirical performance in publicly available real-world datasets

Increasing Compliance of Diabetic Screening Eye Exams

Approved May 2017 by the faculty of UMKC in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Nursing PracticeDiabetic retinopathy is one of the principal causes of vision loss in middle-age and older adults worldwide. This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of patient diabetic retinopathy education and eye exam screening card on compliance with annual diabetic eye screening. About 40 participants ranging in ages from 18-80 years of age diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and without having an eye screening exam in the past two years were recruited from a family practice clinic in an underserved community in the Midwest. Outcome measures were completed eye screening exams and knowledge pertaining to diabetic retinopathy. Screening results were compared to a retrospective non-intervention group, and knowledge was compared pre- and post- education within the intervention group. The results showed that 30.8% of the participants completed an eye screening exam by returning the screening card. Using a Fisher’s Exact test and a McNemar test, there was an improvement in diabetic retinopathy knowledge from pre- to post-test in one question along with improvement of knowledge in two questions but not statically significant due to the small sample size. This project will foster awareness to patients about the positive consequences of compliancy with prevention measures, specifically in regards to diabetic retinopathy

Merkelig lidenskap – Mystikk og det uhyggelige i Algernon Blackwoods “The Man Whom the Trees Loved”

The purpose of this essay is to explore the mystical and uncanny themes of Algernon Blackwood’s short story from 1912, “The Man Whom the Trees Loved”. Through the central conflict between the two main protagonists, the reader is presented with a conflicting worldview and relationship with nature. In this conflict, the uncanny and the mystical becomes central aspects to understanding the world and relationship with nature. The essay will show how Blackwood’s story opens a discussion regarding man’s encounter with something completely alien and how this affects their perception of nature and the world around them