Extracting Latent Moral Information from Text Narratives: Relevance,Challenges, and Solutions

ABSTRACT

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) and the Model of Intuitive Morality and Exemplars (MIME) contend that moral judgments are built on a universal set of basic moral intuitions. A large body of research has supported many of MFT’s and the MIME’s central hypotheses. Yet, an important prerequisite of this research—the ability to extract latent moral content represented in media stimuli with a reliable procedure—has not been systematically studied. In this article, we subject different extraction procedures to rigorous tests, underscore challenges by identifying a range of reliabilities, develop new reliability test and coding procedures employing computational methods, and provide solutions that maximize the reliability and validity of moral intuition extraction. In six content analytical studies, including a large crowd-based study, we demonstrate that: (1) traditional content analytical approaches lead to rather low reliabilities; (2) variation in coding reliabilities can be predicted by both text features and characteristics of the human coders; and (3) reliability is largely unaffected by the detail of coder training. We show that a coding task with simplified training and a coding technique that treats moral foundations as fast, spontaneous intuitions leads to acceptable inter-rater agreement, and potentially to more valid moral intuition extractions. While this study was motivated by issues related to MFT and MIME research, the methods and findings in this study have implications for extracting latent content from text narratives that go beyond moral information. Accordingly, we provide a tool for researchers interested in applying this new approach in their own work.     

Methods and Approaches to Using Web Archives in Computational Communication Research

ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of web archives as a critical source of data for conducting computational communication research. Web archives are large-scale databases containing comprehensive records of websites showing how those websites have evolved over time. Recent communication scholarship using web archives is reviewed, demonstrating the breadth of research conducted in this space. Subsequently, a methodological framework is proposed for using web archives in computational communication research. As a source of data, web archives present a number of methodological challenges, particularly with regards to the accuracy and completeness of web archives. These problems are addressed in order to better inform future work in this area. The closing sections outline a forward-looking trajectory for computational communication research using web archives.     

Assessing coping in children and adolescents: Research and practice

Although standardized and psychometrically-sound instruments for assessing children's coping are essential to both clinical practice and theory development, there have been few systematic efforts to design such measures. This review of assessment instruments compatible with the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) formulation of coping reveals a limited number of instruments but great diversity in the types of techniques employed to assess the coping of children and adolescents. Types of measures critiqued include projective techniques, interviews, questionnaires, and behavioral observation scales. A comprehensive assessment procedure is proposed and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Ultrasonic phased array technology for the non-destructive testing of marble sculptures

The medical ultrasonic phased array technology was modified for the non-destructive testing of marble sculptures and the feasibility of the approach was evaluated. For this purpose, 1?MHz, 64-channel phased array electronic and phased array transducers were developed. The specifications of the electronics and the transducers are presented and discussed. Ultrasound images of inner structures of a marble sculpture are presented. The problem of the acoustic matching layers for different states of deterioration is discussed and the developments in view of a suitable matching layer solution are presented. This matching layer is combined with a new coupling technique that protects the marble surface. The results of experiments on ultrasound phantoms and on a marble sculpture are presented.     

Using What You've Got: The Possession and Use of Official Information in Urban School Choice

In this study, the author makes the connection between school and district provided information and families' use of this information. Prior studies have found that over half of families eligible for school choice have information to make their decision. However, little is known about if and how families actually use formally provided information. Drawing from observation and in-depth interviews to construct families' information use approaches, the study revealed that approaches families take in engaging information range along a spectrum from what can be characterized as shallow to deep engagement. Their engagement ultimately influences the number, type, and quality of schools to which families apply. As choice proliferates in urban districts and continues to put the least resourced families at increasing disadvantage, the implications of this study can support policymakers and educators in providing more robust information sources and practices to increase potential families' deep engagement.     

Redefining roles and responsibilities: Implementing a triage reference model at a single service point

ABSTRACT

As academic institutions continue to renovate and remodel existing libraries to include colocated services, it is important to understand how this new environment requires the redefining of traditional library roles and responsibilities. This case study examines how Delaware County Community College redefined reference and research service by transitioning to a triage reference model. This includes how information desk staff and student workers at a single service point determine when to refer users to librarians and how this model has evolved based on specific situations and experiences.     

The Impact of Information Technology on Public Libraries

In the real world of library service, librarians have to keep up with change by answering specific questions. They need training because technology, the character of populations, and local economics all are changing. Recognizing that technology is a catalyst of change, the author shows how librarians can and do work to help libraries harness the power of technology to navigate the changing reading and information needs of their communities. This article examines useful behaviors as librarians approach their work tasks, relying on new technology to help meet customers’ reading and information needs.     

Relations Among Maternal Literacy Beliefs, Home Literacy Practices, and the Emergent Literacy Skills of Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment

Self-reported maternal literacy beliefs and home literacy practices were compared for families of children with typicially developing language skills (TL, n = 52) and specific language impairment (SLI, n = 56). Additionally, the present work examined whether maternal beliefs and practices predicted children's print-related knowledge. Mothers filled out 2 questionnaires asking about their literacy beliefs and practices while children's print-related knowledge was assessed directly. Results indicated that mothers of children with SLI held somewhat less positive beliefs about literacy and reported engaging in fewer literacy practices compared to mothers of children with TL. For the entire sample, maternal literacy practices and beliefs predicted children's print-related knowledge, although much of this association was accounted for by maternal education. Subgroup analyses focused specifically on children with SLI showed there to be no relation between maternal literacy beliefs and practices and children's print-related knowledge. The present findings suggest that the home literacy experiences of children with SLI, and the way that these experiences impact print-related knowledge, may differ in important ways from typical peers.