Combining Taxonomies using Word2vec

Taxonomies have gained a broad usage in a variety of fields due to their extensibility, as well as their use for classification and knowledge organization. Of particular interest is the digital document management domain in which their hierarchical structure can be effectively employed in order to organize documents into content-specific categories. Common or standard taxonomies (e.g., the ACM Computing Classification System) contain concepts that are too general for conceptualizing specific knowledge domains. In this paper we introduce a novel automated approach that combines sub-trees from general taxonomies with specialized seed taxonomies by using specific Natural Language Processing techniques. We provide an extensible and generalizable model for combining taxonomies in the practical context of two very large European research projects. Because the manual combination of taxonomies by domain experts is a highly time consuming task, our model measures the semantic relatedness between concept labels in CBOW or skip-gram Word2vec vector spaces. A preliminary quantitative evaluation of the resulting taxonomies is performed after applying a greedy algorithm with incremental thresholds used for matching and combining topic labels.

Mindfulness and Spirituality as determinants of Existential Loneliness in the Dutch

Existential loneliness is a concept that is largely ignored in the psychological research tradition, although from a philosophical perspective it is deeply connected to inherent human longings of connection and meaning. This research investigated the relationship between existential loneliness and two variables that are theoretically closely related to the concepts of connection and meaning, namely mindfulness (connection to oneself and others) and spiritual well-being (connection to a larger whole). This was done in a sample of n = 180 individuals (61.7% female; mean age 41.72, SD = 12.16) of the Dutch population. A multiple regression analysis was conducted. It can be concluded that there is a negative relationship between mindfulness and existential loneliness, as well as between spiritual well-being and existential loneliness. This means that people with a higher level of mindfulness and/or a higher level of spiritual well-being experience a lower level of existential loneliness. At the same time, people with a lower level of mindfulness and/or spiritual well-being experience a lower level of existential loneliness. There are some limitations to this study, for example the use of a non-random sampling method, a limited sample group, a scale that has not been widely tested, and a potential bias towards the higher educated. However, these limitations are inherent to exploratory research and does not diminish the main strength of this thesis, namely that it has provided more insight into an important and prevalent societal phenomenon, that had not been extensively researched previously, that has so far only been addressed in more philosophical instead of scientific debates, and linked almost exclusively to negative concepts, such as terminal illness. This research provides a first understanding of two positive determinants of existential loneliness, which could potentially be used to help make sense of this inherently humane condition, as well as to actively cope with the potential (adverse) effects of it.

Towards Data Management Planning Support for Research Data

Görzig, H., Engel, F., Brocks, H., Vogel, T. & Hemmje, M. (2015, August). Towards Data Management Planning Support for Research Data. Paper presented at the ASE International Conference on Data Science, Stanford, United States of America.

D10.2 - Research Data Management Plan, version 1.0

This document is the first out of three iterations of the DMP that will be formally delivered during the project. Version 2 is due in month 24 and version 3 towards the end of the project. The DMP thus is not a fixed document; it evolves and gains more precision and substance during the lifespan of the project. In this first version we describe the planned research data sets related to the RAGE evaluation and validation activities, and the fifteen principles that will guide data management in RAGE. The former are described in the format of the EU data management template, and the latter in terms of their guiding principle, how we propose to implement them, and when they will be implemented. This document is thus first of all relevant to WP5 and WP8 members.

What serious game studios want from ICT research: identifying developers’ needs

Although many scholars recognise the great potential of games for teaching and learning, the EU-based industry for such “serious” games” is highly fragmented and its growth figures remain well behind those of the leisure game market. Serious gaming has been designated as a priority area by the European Commission in its Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The RAGE project, which is funded as part of the Horizon 2020 Programme, is a technology-driven research and innovation project that will make available a series of self-contained gaming software modules that support game studios in the development of serious games. As game studios are a critical factor in the uptake of serious games, the RAGE projects will base its work on their views and needs as to achieve maximum impact. This paper presents the results of a survey among European game studios about their development related needs and expectations. The survey is aimed at identifying a baseline reference for successfully supporting game studios with advanced ICTs for serious games.