An Open and Social Spaced Repetition System for Language Learning

In the last decades big improvements have been done in the field of computer aided learning, based on improvements done in computer science and computer systems. Although the field has been always a bit lagged, without using the latest solutions, it has constantly gone forward taking profit of the innovations as they show up. As long as the train of the computer science does not stop (and it won’t at least in the near future) the systems that take profit of those improvements will not either, because we humans will always need to study; Sometimes for pleasure and some other many times out of need. Not all the attempts in the field of computer aided learning have been in the same direction. Most of them address one or some few of the problems that show while studying and don’t take into account solutions proposed for some other problems. The reasons for this can be varied. Sometimes the solutions simply are not compatible. Some other times, because the project is an investigation it’s interesting to isolate the problem. And, in commercial products, licenses and patents often prevent the new projects to use previous work. The world moved forward and this is an attempt to use some of the options offered by technology, mixing some old ideas with new ones.

Digging into signs: Developing standard annotation practices for cross-linguistic, quantitative analysis of sign language data. Final Report.

For sign languages used by deaf communities, linguistic corpora have until recently been unavailable, due to the lack of a writing system and a written culture in these communities, and the very recent advent of digital video. Recent improvements in video and computer technology have now made larger sign language datasets possible; however, large sign language datasets that are fully machine-readable are still elusive. This is due to two challenges. 1. Inconsistencies that arise when signs are annotated by means of spoken/written language. 2. The fact that many parts of signed interaction are not necessarily fully composed of lexical signs (equivalent of words), instead consisting of constructions that are less conventionalised. As sign language corpus building progresses, the potential for some standards in annotation is beginning to emerge. But before this project, there were no attempts to standardise these practices across corpora, which is required to be able to compare data crosslinguistically. This project thus had the following aims: 1. To develop annotation standards for glosses (lexical/word level) 2. To test their reliability and validity 3. To improve current software tools that facilitate a reliable workflow Overall the project aimed not only to set a standard for the whole field of sign language studies throughout the world but also to make significant advances toward two of the world’s largest machine-readable datasets for sign languages – specifically the BSL Corpus (British Sign Language, http://bslcorpusproject.org) and the Corpus NGT (Sign Language of the Netherlands, http://www.ru.nl/corpusngt).

Applying Habermas's critical theory to public administration and policy: A case study of Florida Everglades restoration program

The foundation of Habermas's argument, a leading critical theorist, lies in the unequal distribution of wealth across society. He states that in an advanced capitalist society, the possibility of a crisis has shifted from the economic and political spheres to the legitimation system. Legitimation crises increase the more government intervenes into the economy (market) and the "simultaneous political enfranchisement of almost the entire adult population" (Holub, 1991, p. 88). The reason for this increase is because policymakers in advanced capitalist democracies are caught between conflicting imperatives: they are expected to serve the interests of their nation as a whole, but they must prop up an economic system that benefits the wealthy at the expense of most workers and the environment. Habermas argues that the driving force in history is an expectation, built into the nature of language, that norms, laws, and institutions will serve the interests of the entire population and not just those of a special group. In his view, policy makers in capitalist societies are having to fend off this expectation by simultaneously correcting some of the inequities of the market, denying that they have control over people's economic circumstances, and defending the market as an equitable allocator of income. (deHaven-Smith, 1988, p. 14). Critical theory suggests that this contradiction will be reflected in Everglades policy by communicative narratives that suppress and conceal tensions between environmental and economic priorities. Habermas’ Legitimation Crisis states that political actors use various symbols, ideologies, narratives, and language to engage the public and avoid a legitimation crisis. These influences not only manipulate the general population into desiring what has been manufactured for them, but also leave them feeling unfulfilled and alienated. Also known as false reconciliation, the public's view of society as rational, and "conductive to human freedom and happiness" is altered to become deeply irrational and an obstacle to the desired freedom and happiness (Finlayson, 2005, p. 5). These obstacles and irrationalities give rise to potential crises in the society. Government's increasing involvement in Everglades under advanced capitalism leads to Habermas's four crises: economic/environmental, rationality, legitimation, and motivation. These crises are occurring simultaneously, work in conjunction with each other, and arise when a principle of organization is challenged by increased production needs (deHaven-Smith, 1988). Habermas states that governments use narratives in an attempt to rationalize, legitimize, obscure, and conceal its actions under advanced capitalism. Although there have been many narratives told throughout the history of the Everglades (such as the Everglades was a wilderness that was valued as a wasteland in its natural state), the most recent narrative, “Everglades Restoration”, is the focus of this paper.(PDF contains 4 pages)

Computer system support for data analysis

This thesis is an investigation into the nature of data analysis and computer software systems which support this activity.

The first chapter develops the notion of data analysis as an experimental science which has two major components: data-gathering and theory-building. The basic role of language in determining the meaningfulness of theory is stressed, and the informativeness of a language and data base pair is studied. The static and dynamic aspects of data analysis are then considered from this conceptual vantage point. The second chapter surveys the available types of computer systems which may be useful for data analysis. Particular attention is paid to the questions raised in the first chapter about the language restrictions imposed by the computer system and its dynamic properties.

The third chapter discusses the REL data analysis system, which was designed to satisfy the needs of the data analyzer in an operational relational data system. The major limitation on the use of such systems is the amount of access to data stored on a relatively slow secondary memory. This problem of the paging of data is investigated and two classes of data structure representations are found, each of which has desirable paging characteristics for certain types of queries. One representation is used by most of the generalized data base management systems in existence today, but the other is clearly preferred in the data analysis environment, as conceptualized in Chapter I.

This data representation has strong implications for a fundamental process of data analysis -- the quantification of variables. Since quantification is one of the few means of summarizing and abstracting, data analysis systems are under strong pressure to facilitate the process. Two implementations of quantification are studied: one analagous to the form of the lower predicate calculus and another more closely attuned to the data representation. A comparison of these indicates that the use of the "label class" method results in orders of magnitude improvement over the lower predicate calculus technique.

Frame-level features conveying phonetic information for language and speaker recognition

150 p.

Metodologia Problematizadora na formação de graduandos de Pedagogia em Comunicação Alternativa

A formação inicial de professores se constitui como objeto desta tese. Na presente pesquisa pretendi planejar, implementar e avaliar a eficácia de um programa de formação inicial de professores para atuar com Tecnologia Assistiva, principalmente com a Comunicação Alternativa e Ampliada, por meio de metodologia problematizadora. Para responder à pergunta principal do estudo A formação inicial de professores para atuar com TA, principalmente com a CAA, através de metodologia problematizadora favorece a modificação das preconcepções sobre deficiência e práticas desses futuros professores? foi necessário conhecer as concepções dos alunos de Pedagogia, assim como envolvê-los no planejamento do curso. Outro elemento fundamental na proposta de formação foi a Metodologia da Problematização aplicada a questões educacionais , que estimula o trabalho reflexivo, criativo e colaborativo. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em dois estudos, durante o período de agosto de 2008 a dezembro de 2010. Uma pesquisa ação foi desenvolvida com 37 alunos da graduação do curso de Pedagogia, duas professoras responsáveis pela disciplina, 26 alunos com deficiência sem fala articulada, com idades entre 8 e 32 anos, cinco professoras de uma escola especial da rede pública de ensino. Os estudos foram desenvolvidos na Faculdade de Educação da UERJ em salas de aula e no Laboratório de Tecnologia Assistiva/Comunicação Alternativa (Lateca) e numa escola especial. Foram utilizados questionários, filmagens, vídeos e vários recursos de tecnologia assistiva. Os procedimentos metodológicos foram os seguintes: 1. Aplicação de questionário com objetivo duplo caracterizar os graduandos de Pedagogia e apreender suas concepções a respeito de Educação Inclusiva, deficiência, TA e CAA. 2. Com base na análise dos questionários, levantei o perfil dos alunos, suas expectativas em relação a essa formação e as sugestões que direcionaram o planejamento e a implementação da oferta das aulas expositivas e das atividades práticas. 3. Oferta de aulas expositivas, acompanhadas de farto material audiovisual e do desenvolvimento de atividades práticas, que versaram sobre os seguintes temas: linguagem, comunicação e interação, deficiência, TA e CAA. 4. Os graduandos observaram, planejaram e desenvolveram uma proposta de intervenção direta para alunos com deficiência. Os estudos apontaram que houve modificação das concepções dos graduandos em relação aos conceitos de deficiência, TA e CAA. Os dados revelaram ainda que esse trabalho proporcionou aos graduandos uma oportunidade real de exercício da prática, com as seguintes características: partindo da observação da realidade de uma sala de aula ou sala de atendimento especializado, identificar problemas pedagógicos e escolher um deles como foco de uma investigação; refletir sobre os possíveis fatores e determinantes principais do problema selecionado e definir os pontos-chave do estudo; investigar esses pontos-chave; buscar informações em diversas fontes e analisá-las para responder ao problema, compondo, assim, a teorização; elaborar hipóteses de solução para o problema; e, por fim, aplicar uma ou mais das hipóteses de solução, como um retorno do estudo à realidade investigada. Verifiquei também, ao final do estudo, a imensa gama de recursos e estratégias de CAA, a adequação de material pedagógico e os recursos de acesso ao computador que foram criados pelos graduandos nesse atendimento aos alunos com deficiência. O estudo beneficiou, ainda, os professores e alunos da escola especial que, além de conhecer os recursos de TA e CAA, puderam vivenciar essa abordagem educacional diferenciada, proposta na formação inicial. Além disso, observei que os alunos com deficiência ampliaram as oportunidades de comunicação e interação social.

Data structures and software tools for the computer aided design of control systems: a survey.

CAD software can be structured as a set of modular 'software tools' only if there is some agreement on the data structures which are to be passed between tools. Beyond this basic requirement, it is desirable to give the agreed structures the status of 'data types' in the language used for interactive design. The ultimate refinement is to have a data management capability which 'understands' how to manipulate such data types. In this paper the requirements of CACSD are formulated from the point of view of Database Management Systems. Progress towards meeting these requirements in both the DBMS and the CACSD community is reviewed. The conclusion reached is that there has been considerable movement towards the realisation of software tools for CACSD, but that this owes more to modern ideas about programming languages, than to DBMS developments. The DBMS field has identified some useful concepts, but further significant progress is expected to come from the exploitation of concepts such as object-oriented programming, logic programming, or functional programming.