CIRLab: A groupware framework for collaborative information retrieval research

In this paper we describe the design of a groupware framework, CIRLab, for experimenting with collaborative information retrieval (CIR) techniques in different search scenarios. This framework has been designed applying design patterns and an object-oriented middleware platform to maximize its reusability and adaptability in new contexts with a minimum of programming efforts. Our collaborative search application comprises three main modules: the Core, which supports various modern state-of-the-art CIR techniques that can be reused or extended in a distributed collaborative environment; the Facades Mediator, an event-driven notification service which allows easy integration between the Core and front-end applications; and finally, the Actions Tracker, which allows researchers to perform experiments on the different elements involved in the collaborative search sessions. The applying of this framework is illustrated through the analysis of the collaborative search-driven development case study.     

How to play the “Names Game”: Patent retrieval comparing different heuristics

Patent statistics represent a critical tool for scholars, statisticians and policy makers interested in innovation and intellectual property rights. Many analyses are based on heterogeneous methods delineating the inventors’ or firms’ patent portfolios without questioning the quality of the method employed. We assess different heuristics in order to provide a robust solution to automatically retrieve inventors in large patent datasets (PATSTAT). The solution we propose reduces the usual errors by 50% and casts doubts on the reliability of statistical indicators and micro-econometric results based on common matching procedures. Guidelines for researchers, TTOs, firms, venture capitalists and policy makers likely to implement a names game or to comment on results based on a names game are also provided.     

What Might Dewey Think of Knowledge Insertion?

In two articles, “Might Knowledge Be Insertable?” and “Is Knowledge Insertion Desirable?,” John Tillson argues that knowledge insertion is conceivable and desirable for the person who has it inserted. By knowledge insertion, he means the immediate or almost immediate acquisition of knowledge by means other than traditional processes of learning. He takes the case presented in the science fiction film The Matrix as paradigmatic and characterizes it as a special case of direct intervention, which begin with change in brain structure and function and result in in changes in thought patterns and behavior, by contrast to indirect interventions, which begin with changes in thought patterns and behavior and result in rewiring brain structure and functioning. Here, Gonzalo Obelleiro follows Tillson's argument and offers one special case in which knowledge insertion is not desirable and that is not fully elucidated by Tillson's conditions for desirability. John Dewey's notion of growth as summum bonum depends in important ways on gradual, progressive, traditional processes of learning. Deweyan growth constitutes a case of intrinsically valuable learning that can be tragically jeopardized by calculation errors in knowledge insertion. This is a significant risk that Tillson does not consider in his articles.     

Analysis of the distances covered and technical actions performed by professional tennis players during official matches

The purpose of this study was to analyse the physical and technical performances of professional tennis players during official matches. The trajectories of eight players were obtained during matches, using an automatic tracking method. The distances covered and technical performances were analysed for the first and second sets. The athletes covered (mean ± standard deviation) a total of 1702.4 ± 448.2 m in the first set, 1457.6 ± 678.1 m in the second set and 3160.0 ± 880.1 in the entire match. No differences were found between the sets for the physical variables (lateral and forward displacements, distance covered per rally, per game and per set, and the percentage of time spent in each range of velocity). However, the distances covered by the athletes during the rallies in which they were serving (median = 5.2; interquartile range (IQR) = 6.7 m) were statistically smaller than when they were returning (median = 6.2; IQR = 7.7 m). Forehand ground stroke proficiency decreased from the first (mean ± standard deviation: 75.2 ± 4.11%) to the second set (mean ± standard deviation = 65.5 ± 14.3%). In conclusion, tennis players did not present reduced physical performance from the first to the second set.     

Ethnicity,social class,and perception of hyperactivity

This paper examines the relationship between ethnicity and hyperactivity, an area largely neglected in research on hyperactivity. The assumption that hyperactivity is uniformly distributed across ethnic groups is challenged, based on a large (N = 1719) sample of white, black, and Mexican-American elementary school children. The Abbreviated Conners Teacher Rating Scale was used to identify the hyperactive group. Two important findings emerged. First, the 15% overall incidence rate is substantially higher than previously reported in the literature for large samples. Second, in those schools with nonwhite majorities, teachers rated black children as significantly more often hyperactive and Mexican-American children as significantly less often hyperactive than would be expected, based on their representation in the general student body. These findings are interpreted from a sociological perspective.     

Ethnic group,hyperkinesis, and modes of behavior

This paper examines modes of behavior across different ethnic groups of children rated as hyperactive on a behavior rating scale. The experimenters questioned the similarity in behavior patterns or modes displayed by 132 black, white, and Mexican-American children who had been rated as hyperactive. Using the Abbreviated Conners Teacher Rating Scale, score patterns of these children were examined through analysis of variance. The results revealed differences across ethnic groups: black children scored significantly higher than the white and Mexican-American children on three scale items and also scored significantly higher than the other two groups in terms of mean total scale score. These findings are interpreted from a sociological perspective.     

Overall indexes of coordination in front crawl swimming

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to propose a group of parameters able to quantify not only arm coordination but also inter limb coordination. These include the well know index of coordination with the relative duration of the stroke phases and two new parameters: the Index of synchronization (Ids) between arms and legs actions; and the Index of inter limb coordination (IdIC) calculated as the relative foot position during successive arm stroke phases. These parameters were compared between experts and amateur swimmers in a maximal front crawl sprint. The influence of arm stroke in leg kick parameters was also assessed, comparing the full stroke condition with a condition without arms actions. Sixty-five per cent of expert swimmers used synchronized limb actions while 95% of amateur swimmers used non-synchronized limb motions. These synchronized expert swimmers also converged towards a specific coordination pattern between foot position and arm stroke phases. In the condition without arms, both groups changed kick rate and amplitude. The present study reveals the interdependency of arms and legs actions and the importance of coordination and synchronization between limbs. Therefore, the proposed group of overall indexes of coordination provides a more complete marker for the analysis of swimming technique.     

Graduating organizations and communities as a unique approach for higher education: Creating value for an institution and all in its ecosystem

Following a Mega focus on adding value to society, universities can create social capital by incubating and “graduating” not just individuals but organizations. This article discusses how the Sonora Institute of Technology implemented this new approach and developed the South of Sonora corridor, improving self‐sufficiency, quality of life, and other social indicators by creating new companies and hundreds of high‐quality jobs.     

Segmentación fonológico-silábica y adquisición de la lectura: un estudio empírico

El artículo presenta una investigación cuyos resultados muestran la menor capacidad de segmentación silábica entre aquellos niños con peor habilidad lectora. Plantea también la funcionalidad, facilidad de aplicación y carácter motivador de la prueba realizada—una tarea de ordenador—para evaluar la capacidad de segmentación.