Random Indexing K-tree

Random Indexing (RI) K-tree is the combination of two algorithms for clustering. Many large scale problems exist in document clustering. RI K-tree scales well with large inputs due to its low complexity. It also exhibits features that are useful for managing a changing collection. Furthermore, it solves previous issues with sparse document vectors when using K-tree. The algorithms and data structures are defined, explained and motivated. Specific modifications to K-tree are made for use with RI. Experiments have been executed to measure quality. The results indicate that RI K-tree improves document cluster quality over the original K-tree algorithm.Comment: 8 pages, ADCS 2009; Hyperref and cleveref LaTeX packages conflicted. Removed clevere

Workflows, processes and technical solutions for seeding the research data commons

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) completed an Australian National Data Service (ANDS) funded “Seeding the Commons Project” to contribute metadata to Research Data Australia. The project employed two Research Data Librarians from October 2009 through to July 2010. Technical support for the project was provided by QUT’s High Performance Computing and Research Support Specialists. ---------- The project identified and described QUT’s category 1 (ARC / NHMRC) research datasets. Metadata for the research datasets was stored in QUT’s Research Data Repository (Architecta Mediaflux). Metadata which was suitable for inclusion in Research Data Australia was made available to the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) in RIF-CS format. ---------- Several workflows and processes were developed during the project. 195 data interviews took place in connection with 424 separate research activities which resulted in the identification of 492 datasets. ---------- The project had a high level of technical support from QUT High Performance Computing and Research Support Specialists who developed the Research Data Librarian interface to the data repository that enabled manual entry of interview data and dataset metadata, creation of relationships between repository objects. The Research Data Librarians mapped the QUT metadata repository fields to RIF-CS and an application was created by the HPC and Research Support Specialists to generate RIF-CS files for harvest by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). ---------- This poster will focus on the workflows and processes established for the project including: ---------- • Interview processes and instruments • Data Ingest from existing systems (including mapping to RIF-CS) • Data entry and the Data Librarian interface to Mediaflux • Verification processes • Mapping and creation of RIF-CS for the ARD

Exploring how a sense of belonging is constructed in the accounts of autistic girls who attend mainstream school in England

Autistic girls’ social motivation and associated desire to fit in, suggests that feeling a sense of belonging is important for the girls. This may be particularly relevant during adolescence, as this period is marked by uncertainty and loneliness due to increasing independence and development of identity. There is evidence that feeling a sense of belonging provides pupils social acceptance and is a protective factor against harmful psychological outcomes. Despite this, limited research has considered autistic girls belonging experiences in mainstream schools and what needs to change to facilitate belonging. Further, the historical underdiagnoses of autistic girls has entailed that their personal stories are mostly absent from autism research. This research prioritises autistic girls’ voices by exploring the girls’ constructs of belonging, including the facilitators of and barriers to feeling a sense of belonging, and the impact on wellbeing. This study included the autistic community in the research process in various ways. An autism advisory group provided consultation on pre-study considerations, data collection and data analysis. Personal constructs and lived experiences of school belonging were explored using semi-structured interviews and personalised activities (e.g. drawings and poetry) with eighteen adolescent autistic girls. Participants were involved in the data analysis process as they commented on emerging codes and themes. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and five themes were identified: (I) autistic girl’s want to be seen and heard, (II) the joys and pains of mutuality, (III) losing myself under the mask, (IV) marginalisation links with invalidation, (V) sensory fatigue. The autistic girls defined belonging from a relational perspective, as they want to be externally valued, heard, and involved in the school community. However, aspects of masking, stigma and sensory experiences limit the girls belonging in school. Implications for schools and Educational Psychologists are discussed using an experience sensitive framework of wellbeing

Water policy and theoretical models: Political, bureaucratic and class dynamics in a growth economy

Water Policy and Theoretical Models: Political, Bureaucratic and Class Dynamics in a Growth Economy explores the three major socio-political theories of the state and public policy: pluralism, elite/managerialism and class-dialecticism using a case study of a series of policy decisions and outcomes during the period from 1989 to 1995 related to the Las Vegas Valley Water District which serves Las Vegas, Nevada. This time period is important due to the unprecedented levels of population growth experienced in the Las Vegas Valley and due to the extreme scarcity of water resources. This case study explores the issues of popular politics, bureaucratic and elite organization and class imperatives as played out in the development of public water policy by the Las Vegas Valley Water District

NEGLIGENCE - APPLICATION OF RES IPSA LOQUITUR DOCTRINE

Plaintiff was passing under defendant\u27s elevated railway structure when a small particle of steel coming therefrom dropped into his eye. In his suit for damages plaintiff relied on the application of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to make out a prima facie case for him. Held, the rule of res ipsa loquitur cannot apply to help plaintiff on such facts. Riles v. Murray, (N. Y. Cty. Ct. 1939) 12 N. Y. S. (2d) 648

Study of an electro-optic modulator capable of generating simultaneous amplitude and phase modulations

We report on the analysis and prototype-characterization of a dual-electrode electro-optic modulator that can generate both amplitude and phase modulations with a selectable relative phase, termed a universally tunable modulator (UTM). All modulation states can be reached by tuning only the electrical inputs, facilitating real-time tuning, and the device is shown to have good suppression and stability properties. A mathematical analysis is presented, including the development of a geometric phase representation for modulation. The experimental characterization of the device shows that relative suppressions of 38 dB, 39 dB and 30 dB for phase, single-sideband and carrier-suppressed modulations, respectively, can be obtained, as well as showing the device is well-behaved when scanning continuously through the parameter space of modulations. Uses for the device are discussed, including the tuning of lock points in optical locking schemes, single sideband applications, modulation fast-switching applications, and applications requiring combined modulations.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Pump-probe differencing technique for cavity-enhanced, noise-canceling saturation laser spectroscopy

We present an experimental technique enabling mechanical-noise free, cavity-enhanced frequency measurements of an atomic transition and its hyperfine structure. We employ the 532nm frequency doubled output from a Nd:YAG laser and an iodine vapour cell. The cell is placed in a traveling-wave Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) with counter-propagating pump and probe beams. The FPI is locked using the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique. Mechanical noise is rejected by differencing pump and probe signals. In addition, this differenced error signal gives a sensitive measure of differential non-linearity within the FPI.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Optics Letter

RFI Statistical Distribution and Missed Detection in Aquarius Radiometer Measurements

Aquarius is an microwave active/passive sensor whose main goal is to globally estimate sea surface salinity from space. Two instruments, a radar scatterometer and a radiometer, operate at L-band observing the same surface footprint almost simultaneously. The sensitivity to sea surface salinity (SSS) is given by the radiometer, while the scatterometer measurements provide a correction for sea surface roughness. Although the primary objective is the measurement of SSS, the instrument combination operates continuously, acquiring data over land and sea ice as well. Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) can occur in both the radiometer and the scatterometer bands of operation, and for this reason detection and mitigation of RFI was included in the data processing of both active and passive instruments. This paper will focus on the RFI processing for the Aquarius radiometer only and provide an update on the efforts to reduce the amount of missed RFI detection

Aquarius Active-Passive RFI Environment at L-Band

Active/Passive instrument combinations (i.e., radiometer and radar) are being developed at L-band for remote sensing of sea surface salinity and soil moisture. Aquarius is already in orbit and SMAP is planned for launch in the Fall of 2014. Aquarius has provided for the first time a simultaneous look at the Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) environment from space for both active and passive instruments. The RFI environment for the radiometer observations is now reasonably well known and examples from Aquarius are presented in this manuscript that show that RFI is an important consideration for the scatterometer as well. In particular, extensive areas of the USA, Europe and Asia exhibit strong RFI in both the radiometer band at 1.41 GHz and in the band at 1.26 GHz employed by the Aquarius scatterometer. Furthermore, in areas such as the USA, where RFI at 1.4 GHz is relatively well controlled, RFI in the scatterometer band maybe the limiting consideration for the operation of combination active/passive instruments

Laser Frequency Stabilization for LISA

This research focuses on laser ranging developments for LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), a planned NASA-ESA gravitational wave detector in space. LISA will utilize precision laser interferometry to track the changes in separation between three satellites orbiting 5 million kilometers apart. Specifically, our goal is to investigate options for laser frequency stabilization. Previous research has shown that an optical cavity system can meet LISA\u27s stability requirements, but these units are large and heavy, adding cost to the implementation. A heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer could be integrated onto LISA’s existing optical bench, greatly reducing the weight, provided the interferometer meets the stability requirements. On this poster, we describe a performance comparison between an optical cavity and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, by measuring the relative phase of stabilized lasers from the two systems. This project\u27s results will determine whether a heterodyne Mach-Zehnder is suitable for LISA