Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Approaching The Notion Of Place By Contrast, Stephan Winter, Christian Freksa

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Place is an elusive notion in geographic information science. This paper presents an approach to capture the notion of place by contrast. This approach is developed from cognitive concepts and the language that is used to describe places. It is complementary to those of coordinate-based systems that dominate contemporary geographic information systems. Accordingly the approach is aimed at explaining structures in verbal place descriptions and at localizing objects without committing to geometrically specified positions in space. We will demonstrate how locations can be identified by place names that are not crisply defined in terms of geometric regions. Capturing the human …

The Semantics Of Similarity In Geographic Information Retrieval, Krzysztof Janowicz, Martin Raubal, Werner Kuhn

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Similarity measures have a long tradition in fields such as information retrieval artificial intelligence and cognitive science. Within the last years these measures have been extended and reused to measure semantic similarity; i.e. for comparing meanings rather than syntactic differences. Various measures for spatial applications have been developed but a solid foundation for answering what they measure; how they are best applied in information retrieval; which role contextual information plays; and how similarity values or rankings should be interpreted is still missing. It is therefore difficult to decide which measure should be used for a particular application or to compare …

Determination Of Consumer Context In An Online Transaction Process For A High Risk Purchase, Robert G. Grant, Rodney J. Clarke, Elias Kyriazis

Robert Grant

This paper showcases/discusses a method of analyzing consumer website behavior that enables real-time purchase context identification. Such analysis will enable online vendors to serve content that is relevant to the consumer’s needs, addressing the apparent utility deficit that websites have for complex product transactions. The use of communication theory is a key component of a value co-creation process that leverages the data derived from website interactivity by analyzing the meaning of consumer activity on a website. Such an approach offers insights into the effect of information accessed by consumers in real time, enabling a responsive system for serving information in …

Choice And Context In Studying Change, Creativity And Innovation At Work: Call Off The Search For Excellence, Question Combinational Perspectives, And Loosen The Straightjacket Of Polarised Views, Patrick M. Dawson

Patrick Dawson

This article draws attention to debates on studying change, creativity and innovation at work. Attention is given to 'stable' and 'process' views of organizations and how these positions influence research objectives, methodological approach and findings. The paper is critical of those who seek to hold to a superior position - a one best approach for all; as well as those who seek the best from all worlds - a combinational approach that services both quantitative and qualitative research. In drawing on over 25 years of field research on change management, the paper also seeks to explore the broken links between …

Learning And Relevance In Information Retrieval: A Study In The Application Of Exploration And User Knowledge To Enhance Performance, Harvey Stuart Hyman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of exploration and learning upon eDiscovery information retrieval; it is written in three parts. Part I contains foundational concepts and background on the topics of information retrieval and eDiscovery. This part informs the reader about the research frameworks, methodologies, data collection, and instruments that guide this dissertation.

Part II contains the foundation, development and detailed findings of Study One, "The Relationship of Exploration with Knowledge Acquisition." This part of the dissertation reports on experiments designed to measure user exploration of a randomly selected subset of a corpus and its relationship with performance in the information …

Australian Adolescents' Compliance With Sun Protection Behaviours During Summer: The Importance Of The School Context, Melinda Williams, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Adolescents exhibit significantly lower sun protection behaviours than adults in Australia. While many studies have assessed the sun protection behaviours of adolescents during summer, few studies have explored the differences in sun protection behaviours of adolescents across key contexts relevant to adolescents during summer—notably school time, weekends and school holidays. Greater understanding of differences in behaviours across these contexts provides more detailed explanations of the nature of adolescent ultraviolet exposure and thereby facilitates improved targeting of interventions for this segment whose behaviour is considered hard to change. In this study, we explore the differences in self-reported, habitual, sun protection behaviours …

Location-Based Social Networking And Its Impact On Trust In Relationships, Sarah Jean Fusco, Roba Abbas, Katina Michael, Anas Aloudat

Professor Katina Michael

Location based social networking (LBSN) applications are part of a new suite of social networking tools. LBSN is the convergence between location based services (LBS) and online social networking (OSN). LBSN applications offer users the ability to look up the location of another “friend” remotely using a smart phone, desktop or other device, anytime and anywhere. Users invite their friends to participate in LBSN and there is a process of consent that follows. This paper explores the potential impact of LBSN upon trust in society. It looks at the willingness of individuals to share their location data with family, friends, …

Effects Of Method And Context Of Note-Taking On Memory: Handwriting Versus Typing In Lecture And Textbook-Reading Contexts, Ian Schoen

Pitzer Senior Theses

Both electronic note-taking (typing) and traditional note-taking (handwriting) are being utilized by college students to retain information. The effects of the method of note-taking and note-taking context were examined to determine if handwriting or typing notes and whether a lecture context or a textbook-reading context influenced retention. Pitzer College and Scripps College students were assigned to either handwrite or type notes on a piece of academic material presented in either a lecture or textbook context and were given a test to assess their retention. The results demonstrated that there was a significant main effect for typing notes such that typing …

Australian Adolescents' Compliance With Sun Protection Behaviours During Summer: The Importance Of The School Context, Melinda Williams, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Adolescents exhibit significantly lower sun protection behaviours than adults in Australia. While many studies have assessed the sun protection behaviours of adolescents during summer, few studies have explored the differences in sun protection behaviours of adolescents across key contexts relevant to adolescents during summer—notably school time, weekends and school holidays. Greater understanding of differences in behaviours across these contexts provides more detailed explanations of the nature of adolescent ultraviolet exposure and thereby facilitates improved targeting of interventions for this segment whose behaviour is considered hard to change. In this study, we explore the differences in self-reported, habitual, sun protection behaviours …

A Simple Post-Hoc Method To Add Spatial Context To Predictive Species Distribution Models, Michael B. Ashcroft, Kristine O. French, Laurie A. Chisholm

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Methods to incorporate spatial context into species distribution models (SDMs) are underutilised, with predictions usually based only on environmental space and ignoring geographic space. The goals of this study were to demonstrate a relatively simple post-hoc method to include spatial context in SDMs and to quantify the improvement over purely niche-based models. The method involved producing a standard niche-based model using established techniques, such as Maxent, and then calculating the neighbourhood average of the model output in geographic space. In effect, we tested whether the spatially averaged model output was better at predicting species distributions than the raw model output. …

Selective Imitation In 6-Month-Olds: The Role Of The Social And Physical Context, Sabine Seehagen, Jane S. Herbert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Six-month-old infants' learning of a new action from two different models (mother/stranger) was assessed in two settings (home/laboratory). In the laboratory, a significant number of infants learned the action from a stranger but not from their mother. In the infants' homes, this pattern was reversed.

Using Learning Objects To Provide Context In Simulation, Patrea Andersen, Kay Crookes, Victoria Traynor, Siobhan Wragg

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Incorporating simulation in curricula is a strategy that provides innovative opportunities to address the challenges of preparing learners for the complexities of clinical practice (Jefferies, 2007). However, where students have had limited exposure to clinical practice their understanding of the context of this may impact on the quality of the learning experience. This is especially so when students are expected to engage in simulation activities that include role play. Using learning objects as a teaching tool and embedding these within the structure of simulation can enhance the quality of the learning experience through facilitating an understanding of the practice context, …

Wireless Indoor Localisation Using Received Signal Strength Fingerprinting With Context Aware Partitioning, Montserrat Ros, Brendan Schoots, Matthew D'Souza

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Real-time indoor localisation tracking of people with unobtrusive, wearable sensors has valuable potential for a variety of applications such as remote monitoring and tracking of aged-care patients to improve their safety and other care aspects. There are no widely available or costeffective and ubiquitous wireless solutions like GPS for indoor localisation which require no prior infrastructure. Indoor localisation systems are available but most have difficulties operating in confined spaces or cannot localise to within small distances in real-time for moving objects as required for sport and health applications.

Using Context-Aware Sub Sorting Of Received Signal Strength Fingerprints For Indoor Localisation, Montserrat Ros, Brendan Schoots, Matthew D'Souza

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Mobile indoor localisation has numerous uses for logistics, health, sport and social networking applications. Current wireless localisation systems experience reliability difficulties while operating within indoor environments due to interference caused by the presence of metallic infrastructure. Current position localisation use wireless channel propagation characteristics, such as RF receive signal strength to localise a user's position, which is subject to interference. To overcome this, we developed a Fingerprint Context Aware Partitioning tracking model for tracking people within a building. The Fingerprint Context Aware Partitioning tracking model used received RF signal strength fingerprinting, combined with localised context aware information about the user's …

Changes In Physical Activity Levels, Lesson Context, And Teacher Interaction During Physical Education In Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Australian Schools, Dean A. Dudley, Anthony D. Okely, Philip Pearson, Wayne G. Cotton, Peter Caputi

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Recent data show that only 15% of Australian adolescents participate in adequate amounts of physical activity (PA) and those students from Asian and Middle-Eastern backgrounds in Grades 6-12 are significantly less active than their English-speaking background peers. Schools have recently been recognised as the most widely used and cost-effective setting for promoting PA among youth and one domain within schools where PA can occur regularly for all youth, regardless of cultural background or socio-economic status, is during physical education (PE). Methods: This study describes changes in physical activity (PA), lesson context and teacher interaction in physical education over the …

Peer Support In A Mental Health Service Context, Lindsay G. Oades, Frank P. Deane, Julie Anderson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This chapter will first summarise the range of definitions that have been provided for peer support, in a mental health context. Clarifications of the different aims of peer support initiatives aud the potential psychological processes that underpin them are then provided. Three key forms that peer support groups may take are then described and we track Sam as he experiences peer support in the context of job seeking. A summary of existing empirical evidence for peer support groups is provided before examining some of the necessary tensions that may exist between the alternative views of those coming from inside the …

Cognitive Reappraisal Ability As A Protective Factor: Resilience To Stress Across Time And Context, Allison S. Troy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emotion regulation is crucially involved in individuals' psychological health. For example, the frequent use of cognitive reappraisal, or changing the way one thinks about an emotional event, is positively associated with psychological health. Recent cross-sectional findings have shown that the ability to use cognitive reappraisal (cognitive reappraisal ability; CRA) is associated with lower depression in the context of high stress. However, two important questions about CRA remain unexamined: 1) Does CRA predict long-term adjustment to stress? 2) Do the protective effects of CRA depend upon the type of stress encountered? To examine these questions, a community sample of men and …

Implicit And Explicit Memory Performance In Bilinguals: Implications For Transfer-Appropriate Processing And Vocabulary Learning, Elva Natalia Strobach

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Two experiments examined whether translation and sentence context improved memory performance in explicit and implicit memory. For explicit memory, an effect of translation was found such that translation led to better item recognition than read aloud encoding. Sentence context did not benefit recognition memory performance. For implicit memory, neither translation nor sentence context led to priming in a word-stem completion paradigm. The results are discussed in terms of the transfer-appropriate processing framework.

Conservation Planning In A Cross-Cultural Context: The Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Project In The Kimberley, Western Australia, Heather Moorcroft, Emma Ignjic, Stuart Cowell, John Goonack, Sylvester Mangolomara, Janet Oobagooma, Regina Karadada, Dianna Williams, Neil Waina

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

This article illustrates how a conservation planning approach combined Indigenous knowledge and Western science to support Indigenous Traditional Owners to make decisions about managing their ancestral lands and seas, and communicate more strategically with external stakeholders.

Neighborhood Contexts And Academic Achievement : An Analysis Of Hispanic Children In Immigrant And Native-Born Families, Suzanne E. Macartney

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Hispanic children in the U.S. have made great strides in academic achievement. Yet gaps persist between Hispanic children and a number of their peers. This research investigates whether this diverse population of children may be better understood as two groups with different academic needs and assets: those in immigrant families and those in third and later generation families.

Tweets And Votes: A Study Of The 2011 Singapore General Election, Marko M. Skoric, Nathaniel D. Poor, Palakorn Achananuparp, Ee Peng Lim, Jing Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This study focuses on the uses of Twitter during the elections, examining whether the messages posted online are reflective of the climate of public opinion. Using Twitter data obtained during the official campaign period of the 2011 Singapore General Election, we test the predictive power of tweets in forecasting the election results. In line with some previous studies, we find that during the elections the Twitter sphere represents a rich source of data for gauging public opinion and that the frequency of tweets mentioning names of political parties, political candidates and contested constituencies could be used to make predictions about …