Role-based results redistribution for collaborative information retrieval

We describe a new approach for algorithmic mediation of a collaborative search process. Unlike most approaches to collaborative IR, we are designing systems that mediate explicitly-defined synchronous collaboration among small groups of searchers with a shared information need. Such functionality is provided by first obtaining different rank-lists based on searchers’ queries, fusing these rank-lists, and then splitting the combined list to distribute documents among collaborators according to their roles. For the work reported here, we consider the case of two people collaborating on a search. We assign them roles of Gatherer and Surveyor: the Gatherer is tasked with exploring highly promising information on a given topic, and the Surveyor is tasked with digging further to explore more diverse information. We demonstrate how our technique provides the Gatherer with high-precision results, and the Surveyor with information that is high in entropy.     

Collective team behaviour of Australian Rules football during phases of match play

Using the spatiotemporal characteristics of players, the primary aim of this study was to determine whether differences in collective team behaviour exist in Australian Rules football during different phases of match play. The secondary aim was to determine the extent to which collective team behaviour differed between competing teams and match half. Data was collected via 10 Hz global positioning system devices from a professional club during a 2 × 20 min, 15-v-15-match simulation drill. Five spatiotemporal variables from each team (x centroid, y centroid, length, width, and surface area) were collected and analysed during offensive, defensive, and contested phases. A multivariate analysis of variance comparing phase of match play (offensive, defensive, contested), Team (A & B), and Half (1 & 2) revealed that x-axis centroid and y-axis centroid showed considerable variation during all phases of match play. Length, width, and surface area were typically greater during the offensive phase comparative to defensive and contested phases. Clear differences were observed between teams with large differences recorded for length, width, and surface area during all phases of match play. Spatiotemporal variables that describe collective team behaviour may be used to understand team tactics and styles of play.     

The influence of match phase and field position on collective team behaviour in Australian Rules football

This study investigated the influence of match phase and field position on collective team behaviour in Australian Rules football (AF). Data from professional male athletes (years 24.4 ± 3.7; cm 185.9 ± 7.1; kg 85.4 ± 7.1), were collected via 10 Hz global positioning system (GPS) during a competitive AFL match. Five spatiotemporal metrics (x-axis centroid, y–axis centroid, length, width, and surface area), occupancy maps, and Shannon Entropy (ShannEn) were analysed by match phase (offensive, defensive, and contested) and field position (defensive 50, defensive midfield, forward midfield, and forward 50). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that field position had a greater influence on the x-axis centroid comparative to match phase. Conversely, match phase had a greater influence on length, width, and surface area comparative to field position. Occupancy maps revealed that players repositioned behind centre when the ball was in their defensive half and moved forward of centre when the ball was in their forward half. Shannon Entropy revealed that player movement was more variable during offence and defence (ShannEn = 0.82–0.93) compared to contest (ShannEn = 0.68–0.79). Spatiotemporal metrics, occupancy maps, and Shannon Entropy may assist in understanding the game style of AF teams.     

Reinventing (open) government: State and federal trends

Federal open records laws, executive orders on national security classification, and similar policy instruments in the states require that most records at government agencies be available to the public upon request—subject to exemptions which may entail review. Traditionally, this review has been accomplished by redaction (purging) of hardcopy. Resource limitations and increases in the number of requests demand a rethinking of the process. Offices are experimenting with optical scanning, onscreen purging, and online dissemination. Statutory and common law trends may soon require disclosure of database reports in electronic form, when so requested, rather than printouts. The dissemination of manipulable data of commercial value requires a rationale broader than the “citizenship rights” that justified the Freedom of Information Act. Online publication of agency-controlled records also demands careful planning of information systems and public networks. The issues discussed in this article are central to the establishment of an adequate policy for electronic freedom of information.     

The Effect of Initial Knee Angle on Concentric-Only Squat Jump Performance

Purpose: There is uncertainty as to which knee angle during a squat jump (SJ) produces maximal jump performance. Importantly, understanding this information will aid in determining appropriate ratios for assessment and monitoring of the explosive characteristics of athletes. Method: This study compared SJ performance across different knee angles—90º, 100º, 110º, 120º, 130º, and a self-selected depth—for jump height and other kinetic characteristics. For comparison between SJ and an unconstrained dynamic movement, participants also performed a countermovement jump from a self-selected depth. Thirteen participants (M_age = 25.4 ± 3.5 years, M_height = 1.8 ± 0.06 m, M_weight = 79.8 ± 9.5 kg) were recruited and tested for their SJ performance. Results: In the SJ, maximal jump height (35.4 ± 4.6 cm) was produced using a self-selected knee angle (98.7 ± 11.2°). Differences between 90°, 100°, and self-selected knee angles for jump height were trivial (ES ± 90% CL = 90°–100° 0.23 ± 0.12, 90°–SS ?0.04 ± 0.12, 100°–SS ?0.27 ± 0.20; 0.5–2.4 cm) and not statistically different. Differences between all other knee angles for jump height ranged from 3.8 ± 2.0 cm (mean ± 90% CL) to 16.6 ± 2.2 cm. A similar outcome to jump height was observed for velocity, force relative to body weight, and impulse for the assessed knee angles. Conclusions: For young physically active adult men, the use of a self-selected depth in the SJ results in optimal performance and has only a trivial difference to a constrained knee angle of either 90° or 100°.     

Adding Individual Technical Standards to a Library Collection: A Case Study and a Proposed Workflow

Abstract

Acquiring technical standards connects libraries with vendors who are very protective, legally and technologically, of their products. To conform to the technical restrictions placed on standards, librarians must think creatively and adopt a workflow more labor-intensive than with other publications. This article presents a case study of one institution, a basic discussion of the issues surrounding the addition of technical standards to a library collection, and a stepwise process for the situation in which a patron requests an individual standard.     

The Use of Immersive Virtual Reality in the Learning Sciences: Digital Transformations of Teachers,Students, and Social Context

This article illustrates the utility of using virtual environments to transform social interaction via behavior and context, with the goal of improving learning in digital environments. We first describe the technology and theories behind virtual environments and then report data from 4 empirical studies. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that teachers with augmented social perception (i.e., receiving visual warnings alerting them to students not receiving enough teacher eye gaze) were able to spread their attention more equally among students than teachers without augmented perception. In Experiments 2 and 3, we demonstrated that by breaking the rules of spatial proximity that exist in physical space, students can learn more by being in the center of the teacher's field of view (compared to the periphery) and by being closer to the teacher (compared to farther away). In Experiment 4, we demonstrated that inserting virtual co-learners who were either model students or distracting students changed the learning abilities of experiment participants who conformed to the virtual co-learners. Results suggest that virtual environments will have a unique ability to alter the social dynamics of learning environments via transformed social interaction.     

Before The Rhetorical Presidency

The American Language: Supplement One. By H. L. Mencken. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945; pp. xv + 739 + xxxv. $5.00.

Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited by Charles R. Morris. New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1945; pp. 194. $1.00.

Educating Liberally. By Hoyt H. Hudson. Stanford University, California: The Stanford University Press, 1945; pp. viii + 120. $2.00.

Television: Programming and Production, By Richard Hubbell. New York: Murray Hill Books, Inc., 1945; pp. 207. $3.00.

Representative American Speeches: 1944–1945. Selected by A. Craig Baird. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1945; pp. 328. $1.25.

Planning and Equipping the Educational Theatre. By A. S. Gillette. Cincinnati: The National Thespian Society, 1945; pp. 30. $0.60.

Improving Your Vocabulary and Spelling. By Roland Ketchum and Jay B. Greene. New York: Noble and Noble, 1944; pp. viii + 118. $1.00.

A Stage Version of Shelley's Cenci. By Arthur C. Hicks and R. Milton Clarke. Caldwell, Idaho: Claxton Printers, 1945; pp. 156. $3.50.

Principles of Speech, Brief Edition. By Alan H. Monroe. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1945; pp. viii + 303. $1.50.

College Handbook of Composition. By Edwin C. Woolley and Franklin W. Scott, with the collaboration of Evelyn Tripp Berdahl. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1944; 4th edition, pp. 452. $1.50.

A Drill Manual for Improving Speech. By William Norwood Brigance and Florence M. Henderson. Chicago: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1945; pp. xxiii + 246. $8.25.