Towards a video browser for the digital native

Almost every aspect of how we create, transmit, and consume video has changed, but video interfaces still mimic those from video's inception. We extend Temporal Semantic Compression for interactive video browsing, which uses an arbitrary frame-by-frame interest measure to sub-sample video in real time, with user interface elements that visualize these measures and the effect of compressing on them. We experiment with a novel interest measure for popularity, and design novel visualizations for expressing interest measures and the compression interaction. We conduct the first formative evaluation of the TSC paradigm, with 8 subjects, and report design implications arising from it.

Elaborative relational structures in the research prose of sociology : an intercultural study

This paper investigates elaborative relational structures utilised by native English speaking and native Polish speaking scholars in sociology research articles written in English. The examined texts have been produced in American, Australian and Polish academic discourse communities. The study utilised the framework of the analysis of the rhetorical structure of tests (FARS) as an analytical tool (Golebiowski 2009, 2011). The following types of elaboration relations are discussed : amplification, extension, reformulation, explanation, instantiation and addition. Elaboration is analysed with respect to its textual function, frequency of employment, hierarchical location, recursiveness, discoursal prominence and explicitness. The elaborative systems in the examined texts are shown to be complex, with pervasive presence of multi-stage recursive structures. It is suggested that elaborativeness may be a general characteristic of the style of writing sociology, which, as a relatively new discipline, requires establishing of wide grounds for the proposed claims, where writers persuade their readers not only of the specific claims of their text, but also of frameworks of thought in which the claims are placed. It is hypothesized that the similarities in the elaborativeness across texts result from the shared stylistic conventions and traditions of the disciplinary research community of sociology, while differences in the mode of employment of elaboration relations are attributed to cultural norms and conventions as well as educational systems prevailing within the discourse communities constituting the social contexts of the studied texts.
Golebiowski, Z. (2011). Scholarly criticism across discourse communities. In Salager-Meyer, Françoise and Lewin, Beverly A. (eds), Crossed words : Criticism in scholarly writing, pp. 203-224, Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, Berlin, Germany.
Golebiowski Z. (2009). The use of contrastive strategies in a sociology research paper: A cross-cultural study. In Suomela-Salmi, Eija and Dervin, Fred (eds), Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives on academic discourse, pp. 165-186, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Philadelphia.

Effects of an invasive species on refuge-site selection by native fauna : the impact of cane toads on native frogs in the Australian tropics

Invasive species can induce shifts in habitat use by native taxa: either by modifying habitat availability, or by repelling or attracting native species to the vicinity of the invader. The ongoing invasion of cane toads (Rhinella marina) through tropical Australia might affect native frogs by affecting refuge-site availability, because both frogs and toads frequently shelter by day in burrows. Our laboratory and field studies in the wet-dry tropics show that native frogs of at least three species (Litoria tornieri, Litoria nasuta and Litoria dahlii) preferentially aggregate with conspecifics, and with (some) other species of native frogs. However, the frogs rarely aggregated with cane toads either in outdoor arenas or in standardized experimental burrows that we monitored in the field. The native frogs that we tested either avoided burrows containing cane toads (or cane toad scent) or else ignored the stimulus (i.e. treated such a burrow in the same way as they did an empty burrow). Native frogs selected a highly non-random suite of burrows as diurnal retreat sites, whereas cane toads were less selective. Hence, even in the absence of toads, frogs do not use many of the burrows that are suitable for toads. The invasion of cane toads through tropical Australia is unlikely to have had a major impact on retreat-site availability for native frogs.

Comparison of genetic diversities in native and alien populations of hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana [L.] Lagreze-Fossat)

Increased selfing and inbreeding and, consequently, depauperate genetic diversities are commonly expected for alien colonies. We compared RAPDs data for native (southern Europe) and alien (British Isles) populations of hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana). This species is normally out-breeding, but it is capable of self- fertilization. Contrary to the common expectations, genetic diversities in native and alien populations were similar, without any strong evidence of decreased levels of genetic diversities in alien populations. A variety of factors may have contributed to this observation, including high variation in founding groups, founders originating from multiple H. incana source populations, and high rates of past and/or current gene flow. A review of other studies showed that this pattern of similar genetic diversities in native and alien populations was not unusual but has been regularly observed in other invasive plant species.

Networks of Meaning: Learning How Native Speakers Think and Use Language

This article discusses the way in whic language learners master meaning, particularly of on-literal language. This issue is discussed in the context of the learner's cognitive framework with specific reference to Indonesian and English.

How do native English academic writers and Chinese native speakers writing in English promote their research

This paper reports on an investigation of a rhetorical organization of Applied Linguistics abstracts produced in Anglophone and Chinese academic discourse communities and written by native English and native Chinese speaking scholars. The study utilises the Framework for the Analysis of the Rhetorical Structure of Texts (FARS), proposed by Golebiowski (2009, 2011). FARS provides a functional account of the relational structure of texts in terms of strategies employed by writers to achieve their communicative purposes. I show how the two groups of abstracts utilize different relational schemata in order to indicate the functional prominence of textual propositions. It is proposed that relational choices, which result in differences in the accentuation of communicative messages in the two groups of abstracts, are dictated by cultural traditions and conventions underlying the discourse community into which the authors have been socialized.

Genome sequence of Ensifer sp. TW10, a Tephrosia wallichii (Biyani) microsymbiont native to the Indian Thar Desert

Ensifer sp. TW10 is novel N2-fixingbacterium isolated from a root nodule of the perennial legume Tephrosia wallichii Graham (known locally as Biyani) found in the Great Indian (or Thar) desert, a large arid regionin the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Strain TW10 is a Gram-negative, rod shaped,aerobic, motile, non-spore forming, species of root nodule bacteria (RNB) that promiscuously nodulates legumes in Thar Desert alkaline soil. It is fast growing, acid-producing, and tolerates up to 2% NaCl and capable of growth at 40C. In this report we describe for the first time the primary features of this Thar Desert soil saprophyte together with genome sequence informationand annotation. The 6,802,256 bp genome has a GC content of 62% and is arranged into 57 scaffolds containing 6,470 protein-coding genes, 73 RNA genes and asingle rRNA operon. This genome is one of 100 RNB genomes sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Genomic Encyclopedia for Bacteria and Archaea-Root Nodule Bacteria (GEBA-RNB) project.

A case of Kingella kingae endocarditis complicated by native mitral valve rupture

We report a case of Kingella kingae endocarditis in a patient with a history of recent respiratory tract infection and dental extraction. This case is remarkable for embolic and vasculitic phenomena in association with a large valve vegetation and valve perforation. Kingella kingae is an organism known to cause endocarditis, however early major complications are uncommon. Our case of Kingella endocarditis behaved in a virulent fashion necessitating a combined approach of intravenous antibiotic therapy and a valve replacement. It highlights the importance of expedited investigation for endocarditis in patients with Kingella bacteraemia.

The occupiers' burden: tackling food shortage and related health problems in post-war Germany 1945-47

The end of the Second World War brought much relief to its combatants, but a range of problems remained that would plague post-war Europe for years to come. Chief among them was food shortage. The breakdown of agricultural systems, essential services, and the state itself laid fertile ground for food shortage to develop in parts of post-war Germany occupied by the victorious powers. There is much to be gained from comparing the occupiers’ responses to this Horseman of the Apocalypse. The most fruitful comparison lies between the Soviets and British. Unlike the Americans whose economic might in the post-war period allowed them to better feed and supply Germans living in their occupation zone, domestic economic weaknesses hamstrung both Soviet and British responses to the more severe advent of food shortage which confronted them. Their responses were very different—some successful, others not—but all instructive for understanding the impacts of natural and policy factors on the development of food shortage and the consequences to the health of the population. The variety of these impacts have been obscured by the absence of this comparison in the literature, which is now made more feasible by the greater availability of the extensive resources that each occupier devoted to recording food and health data, particularly in the Soviet case. The data is not only relevant to the occupation period from 1945 to 1949, as it suggests long-term health impacts on those most exposed to the risk of food shortage then, and most at risk to the consequences of malnutrition decades later. In fact, as the available data defines regional differences in food rations and, accordingly, comparative food shortages in Soviet and British occupation zones, the situation in post-war Germany provides an excellent platform for future research linking differences in early nutrition to adult health outcomes.

Detecting the impact of invasive species on native fauna: Cane toads (Bufo marinus), frillneck lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii) and the importance of spatial replication

An understanding of which native species are severely impacted by an anthropogenic change (such as the arrival of an invasive species) and which are not is critical to prioritizing conservation efforts. However, it is difficult to detect such impacts if the native taxa exhibit strong stochastic variations in abundance; a ‘natural’ population decline might be wrongly interpreted as an impact of the invader. Frillneck lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii) are large iconic Australian agamids, and have been reported to decline following the invasion of toxic cane toads. We monitored three populations of the species in the savanna woodland of tropical Australia over a 7-year period bracketing toad arrival. One population crashed, one remained stable and one increased. Hence, studies on any single population might have inferred that cane toads have negative, negligible or positive effects on frillneck lizards. With the benefit of spatial replication, and in combination with observations of prey choice by captive lizards, our data suggest that invasive cane toads have had little or no effect on frillneck abundance.

Increased mortality of naive varanid lizards after the invasion of non-native can toads (bufo marinus)

Exotic animal and plant species introduced into the Australian continent often imparted catastrophic effects on the indigenous fauna and flora. Proponents of biological control introduced the South American Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) into the sugar cane fields of Queensland in 1935. The Cane Toad is one of the most toxic bufonids and when seized by naive Australian predators, the toxin usually kills the attacker. One group of Australian squamate reptiles that are very susceptible to Cane Toad toxins is varanid lizards. Prior to Cane Toad invasion of our study area, the Adelaide River floodplain of the Northern Territory of Australia, annual mortality of adult male radio-tagged yellow-spotted Goannas (Varanus panoptes) was very low. After the arrival of toads in October 2005, all radio-tracked goannas were found dead in August 2006, most likely attempting to feed on the toads. Our results suggest that invasive Cane Toads place naive adult male Yellow-spotted Goannas at risk of possibly >90% mortality. This increase in mortality could reduce the genetic diversity and hamper long-term survival of these large carnivorous lizards.