Language morphology offset: Text classification on a Croatian–English parallel corpus

We investigate how, and to what extent, morphological complexity of the language influences text classification using support vector machines (SVM). The Croatian–English parallel corpus provides the basis for direct comparison of two languages of radically different morphological complexity. We quantified, compared, and statistically tested the effects of morphological normalisation on SVM classifier performance based on a series of parallel experiments on both languages, carried over a large scale of different feature subset sizes obtained by different feature selection methods, and applying different levels of morphological normalisation. We also quantified the trade-off between feature space size and performance for different levels of morphological normalisation, and compared the results for both languages. Our experiments have shown that the improvements in SVM classifier performance is statistically significant; they are greater for small and medium number of features, especially for Croatian, whereas for large number of features the improvements are rather small and may be negligible in practice for both languages.     

Public Libraries in the Eyes of the LGBTIQ Community: The Case of Croatia

ABSTRACT

The achievement of social justice, which implies the development of collections and the design of services for different user groups, is an objective present in the mission of public libraries. Since the 1950s, Croatian public libraries have been continuously developing collections and services for different user communities. However, one user community has remained largely unrecognized – LGBTIQ people. Therefore, the aim of the research presented in this paper is to examine the importance of the role of public libraries in the life of the LGBTIQ community in the Republic of Croatia. With a sample of 259 respondents, information behaviors, attitudes and experiences of LGBTIQ people in relation to public libraries have been examined via an online survey. In particular, this study explored the extent to which members of public libraries differ from non-members. The obtained results should contribute to a better understanding of the information needs and behavior of members of sexual minorities and help bring this group of users closer to (Croatian) public libraries by ensuring that libraries more adequately respond to their needs.     

Anatomical Sciences in Chiropractic Education: A Survey of Chiropractic Programs in Australia

Human anatomy knowledge is a core requirement for all health care clinicians. There is a paucity of information relating to anatomy content and delivery in Australian chiropractic programs. The aim of this study was to describe anatomy teaching in Australian chiropractic programs, utilizing a survey which was distributed to all four programs, requesting information on: anatomy program structure, delivery methods, assessment, teaching resources, and academic staff profile at their institution. The survey was undertaken in 2016 and documented practices in that academic year. All four institutions responded. There was a reported difference in the teaching hours, content, delivery and assessment of anatomy utilized in Australian chiropractic programs. Anatomy was compulsory at all four institutions with the mean total of 214 (SD ± 100.2) teaching hours. Teaching was undertaken by permanent ongoing (30%) and sessional academic staff, and student to teacher ratio varied from 15:1 to 12:1. A variety of teaching resources were utilized, including human tissue access, either as prosected cadavers or plastinated body parts. The results of this survey confirm that anatomy has an established place in chiropractic education programs in Australia and while curricular variations exist, all programs had similar course design, delivery, and assessment methods. This study confirmed the provision of a strong foundation in topographical anatomy and neuroanatomy, while other anatomical sciences, such as histology and embryology were not consistently delivered. Formalization of a core anatomy curriculum together with competency standards is needed to assist program evaluation and development, and for accreditation purposes.     

Entrepreneurialism at the University of Novi Sad

What does being an entrepreneurial university mean? The University of Novi Sad in Serbia is taken as an example of how one University in a transition country, which was lacking tradition in entrepreneurial practices, is striving to become an entrepreneurial university. Examples of new practices are also described such as the establishment of a university incubator, introduction of a course in entrepreneurship offered to all students, diversification of income sources, development of institutional links and strategies for the closer flow of ideas, information, and research results between the University and its stakeholders.     

THE LISBON CONVENTION ON THE RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE EUROPEAN REGION: AN EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL CO‐OPERATION BETWEEN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND UNESCO

On the eve of the adoption of the new Council of Europe ‐ UNESCO Convention, this article goes back to the first agreement between the two international organizations to step up their co‐operation in the field of academic recognition and retraces the different stages that led to the final completion of the legal text. It offers an overview of the entire process, analyzing the development of the basic concepts of the Convention, highlighting controversial issues, and demonstrating the complex process of consultation in a wider and diversified Europe that will be brought to completion at the Lisbon Diplomatic Conference. This article, in a slightly different form, will be presented as a background document at the Lisbon Conference.     

Diversity of Terrestrial Cyanobacteria Colonizing Selected Stone Monuments in Serbia

The presence of biofilms on stone monuments can lead to biodeterioration processes that significantly lower not only the aesthetic value of cultural heritage sites but also cause considerable physical and chemical damage to stone surfaces. In terrestrial environments, cyanobacteria have a significant role in biofilm formation on a variety of natural and artificial stone substrata, including granite, sandstone, limestone, lime mortar, etc. Studies on cyanobacterial diversity and estimation of biodeteriorative activity on stone cultural heritage objects can be very important for conservators and restorers, and cyanobacteria removal from stone monuments is currently a great challenge for conservation science. In that sense, the diversity of terrestrial cyanobacteria was investigated at six localities in Serbia. Samples for cyanobacterial analyses were taken from surface biofilms covering different substrata: granite and lime mortar (The Monument to the Unknown Hero), sandstone (Branko's Bridge, Eiffel’s Lock) and carbonate rock (Medieval tombstones from Mramorje and Rasti?te, Gradac Monastery). A total of 18 cyanobacterial taxa were identified. The highest diversity was found on carbonate rock, followed by sandstone. Cyanobacteria were also recorded on an artificial substratum – lime mortar, while cyanobacteria were not found on granite. All detected cyanobacteria seriously impaired the structural and aesthetic integrity of the studied monuments via mechanical and chemical actions, so their presence must not be overlooked.     

Using Academic Journals to Help Students Learn Subject Matter Content, Develop and Practice Critical Reasoning Skills, and Reflect on Personal Values in Food Science and Human Nutrition Classes

ABSTRACT:  It has been reported that students learn best when they use a wide variety of techniques to understand the information of the discipline, be it visual, auditory, discussion with others, metacognition, hands-on activities, or writing about the subject. We report in this article the use of academic journals not only as an aid for students to learn about content knowledge needed in an Experimental Foods course, but also as a way to have students think about and reflect on their own personal values. The topics of these journal entries cover several of the core competencies in the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Undergraduate Education Standards for Degrees in Food Science. These are basic principles of food science, as well as address several "Success Skills" (written communication, critical thinking, professionalism, life-long learning, interaction skills, and organizational skills). While there are no quantitative "measurements" of gains in learning, comments from the students indicate that learning took place, critical reasoning occurred, and personal values were analyzed. A guideline for writing and grading academic journals and a simple rubric for scoring the quality of the writing are included.     

Review:Global nutrient profiling by Phenotype MicroArrays:a tool complementing genomic and proteomic studies in conidial fungi

Conidial fungi or molds and mildews are widely used in modern biotechnology as producers of antibiotics and other secondary metabolites,industrially important enzymes,chemicals and food.They are also important pathogens of animals including humans and agricultural crops.These various applications and extremely versatile natural phenotypes have led to the constantly growing list of complete genomes which are now available.Functional genomics and proteomics widely exploit the genomic information to study the ...