An unsupervised heuristic-based approach for bibliographic metadata deduplication

Digital libraries of scientific articles contain collections of digital objects that are usually described by bibliographic metadata records. These records can be acquired from different sources and be represented using several metadata standards. These metadata standards may be heterogeneous in both, content and structure. All of this implies that many records may be duplicated in the repository, thus affecting the quality of services, such as searching and browsing. In this article we present an approach that identifies duplicated bibliographic metadata records in an efficient and effective way. We propose similarity functions especially designed for the digital library domain and experimentally evaluate them. Our results show that the proposed functions improve the quality of metadata deduplication up to 188% compared to four different baselines. We also show that our approach achieves statistical equivalent results when compared to a state-of-the-art method for replica identification based on genetic programming, without the burden and cost of any training process.     

Contemporary discourses in Information Systems Research: Methodological inclusiveness in a sample of Information Systems Journals

We propose a framework to reflect on the development of four information systems (IS) paradigms, arguing that this field has followed a similar path to that of Management Sciences (MS). The framework comprises four IS paradigms/discourses: (1) positivist/normative; (2) soft/interpretive; (3) critical/pluralistic; and (4) constructivist/2nd order cybernetics. The paper characterizes these approaches to IS by using four key terms: System; Organisation; Management and Information, exploring the way these concepts are perceived through the lens of the four paradigms. The paper reports on the nature of current IS trends, from an initial survey of six top IS journals identifying articles adhering to the interpretive, critical and constructivist paradigms published between 1999 and 2009. Results indicate that IS is moving towards research practice in which interpretive, critical and constructivist discourses are utilised. Implications of the proposed framework and publication trends, together with some points for further research, are offered.     

Agreement in activity energy expenditure assessed by accelerometer and self-report in adolescents: variation by sex, age, and weight status

The agreement between self-reported and objective estimates of activity energy expenditure was evaluated in adolescents by age, sex, and weight status. Altogether, 403 participants (217 females, 186 males) aged 13-16 years completed a 3-day physical activity diary and wore a GT1M accelerometer on the same days. Partial correlations (controlling for body mass) were used to determine associations between estimated activity energy expenditure (kcal · min(-1)) from the diary and accelerometry. Differences in the magnitude of the correlations were examined using Fisher's r to z transformations. Bland-Altman procedures were used to determine concordance between the self-reported and objective estimates. Partial correlations between assessments of activity energy expenditure (kcal · min(-1)) did not differ significantly by age (13-14 years: r = 0.41; 15-16 years: r = 0.42) or weight status (normal weight: r = 0.42; overweight: r = 0.39). The magnitude of the association was significantly affected by sex (Δr = 0.11; P < 0.05). The agreement was significantly higher in males than in females. The relationship between activity energy expenditure assessed by the objective method and the 3-day diary was moderate (controlling for weight, correlations ranged between 0.33 and 0.44). However, the 3-day diary revealed less agreement in specific group analyses; it markedly underestimated activity energy expenditure in overweight/obese and older adolescents. The assessment of activity energy expenditure is complex and may require a combination of methods.     

Scaffolding in immersive virtual reality environments for learning English: an eye tracking study

Educational technology research and development - Scaffolding is a mechanism for helping novice learners to solve a problem or complete a task that is beyond their current skill set. Prior research...     

学术简讯

常识的概念已经成为一种意识形态,在当代社会构建霸权主义、并将霸权主义作为道德与智力领导力的过程中起着重要作用。尽管在事实上新自由主义作为一种经济发展模式已经彻底失败,与新自由主义相关的文化政治仍然盛行于世,并在塑造现代政府和教育角色的理念中变成了新的常识。新自由主义全球化是全球化中最突出的模式,以市场相对于政府的主导地位和放松管制的治理模式为前提,在"学术资本主义"背景下深深地影响了高校。由此带来的改革通常以促进国际竞争力为合理借口,也被称为"竞争型改革"。市场力量日益渗透到高等教育领域,围绕学术资本主义"游戏"展开的大学治理模式的重构,均显示了新自由主义对高校影响的四个主要方面,即效率与问责制、认证与普及化、国际竞争力、私有化。通过引入以管理主义治理院校的新型模式,高校深化并扩大了自身的危机。虽然高校采纳并实施了这些改革措施,但是在不同领域,在自上而下地通过政策和重心调整强制改革时,全球化面临着越来越大的阻力。在许多情况下,新自由主义改革通过收取较高学费与减少政府对院校和个人的支持,限制了一些阶级和种族接受高等教育的机会。 更多还原     

The interaction of functional and dysfunctional emotions during balance beam performance

The interaction between functional and dysfunctional emotions, as one of the major tenets of the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, 2000), was studied in a sport specific setting. Fourteen female gymnasts performed three attempts of a compulsory balance beam routine at three different heights. Heart rate and self-report of functional and dysfunctional emotions were measured during each routine. These data revealed the effectiveness of inducting emotions by manipulating height. Also, performance decreased on the most challenging condition, (i.e., the first attempt on the highest height). Moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between functional and dysfunctional emotions only when the dysfunctional emotion level was low.     

Best Practices for English Language Learners in Massachusetts: Five Years After The Question 2 Mandate

Educating English language learners (ELLs) presents a challenge for teachers and policy makers; the population of ELLs increases, yet their achievement trails that of their native English-speaking peers. In November 2002, Massachusetts voters supported a law that mandated Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) as the primary means of instruction for ELLs, effectively ending transitional bilingual education. This report examines key considerations in educating ELLs, and in implementing SEI in Massachusetts schools. It also presents case studies of three schools making significant strides with ELLs through innovative programming built around SEI methods yet maintaining important bilingual education practices that promote educational equity. Cross-case analysis identified themes about strategic data use, staff recruitment, and supports for students and families.     

Instrumental Variables Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) vs. Maximum Likelihood Structural Equation Modeling of Causal Effects in Linear Regression Models

In the presence of omitted variables or similar validity threats, regression estimates are biased. Unbiased estimates (the causal effects) can be obtained in large samples by fitting instead the Instrumental Variables Regression (IVR) model. The IVR model can be estimated using structural equation modeling (SEM) software or using Econometric estimators such as two-stage least squares (2SLS). We describe 2SLS using SEM terminology, and report a simulation study in which we generated data according to a regression model in the presence of omitted variables and fitted (a) a regression model using ordinary least squares, (b) an IVR model using maximum likelihood (ML) as implemented in SEM software, and (c) an IVR model using 2SLS. Coverage rates of the causal effect using regression methods are always unacceptably low (often 0). When using the IVR model, accurate coverage is obtained across all conditions when N = 500. Even when the IVR model is misspecified, better coverage than regression is generally obtained. Differences between 2SLS and ML are small and favor 2SLS in small samples (N ≤ 100).