Cans and cants: Computational potentials for multimodality with a case study in head position

As the study of embodiment and multimodality in interaction grows in importance, there is a need for novel methodological approaches to understand how multimodal variables pattern together along social and contextual lines, and how they systematically coalesce in communicative meanings. In this work, we propose to adopt computational tools to generate replicable annotations of bodily variables: these can be examined statistically to understand their patterning with other variables across diverse speakers and interactional contexts, and can help organize qualitative analyses of large datasets. We demonstrate the possibilities thereby with a case study in head cant (side‐to‐side tilt of the head) in a dataset of video blogs and laboratory‐collected interactions, computationally extracting cant and prosody from video and audio and analyzing their interactions, looking at gender in particular. We find that head cant indexes an orientation towards the interlocutor and a sense of shared understanding, can serve a ‘bracketing’ function in interaction (for speakers to create parentheticals or asides), and has gendered associations with prosodic markers and interactional discourse particles.     

形象思维:右脑开发的主要方式

形象思维是与直观性、形象性紧密结合的思维活动方式 ,运用和研究形象思维是人类开发自己右脑的主要方式。“形象思维”传入我国后 ,经历过坎坷的途程。改革开放以来 ,我国文学艺术界、自然科学界、逻辑学界以及教育科学界对形象思维进行了讨论和研究 ,达成了一些共识 ,取得了一定的成绩 ,但是 ,还存在着的明显的不足。     

林黑儿形象传播考论

林黑儿为天津船民的后裔,有走江湖卖艺的阅历。林黑儿参加红灯照之前,曾有过娼妓生涯。卖艺的艺人和卖唱的娼妓构成了林黑儿的前期形象。义和团运动爆发,林黑儿成为红灯照的首领,化身为黄莲圣母,并成了红灯照群体里的精神领袖。林黑儿后期形象主要是军事领袖和精神超女。林黑儿之死,更是众说纷纭,有奸杀说、就义说、海外流亡说、归隐江湖说,各种说法都是基于各自不同的需求有所述求的。海外媒介曾附和了林黑儿的神女和超女说。传播领域里的林黑儿是集娼妓、巫婆、艺人、超女于一身的多变形象。林黑儿形象的传播反映了一种乱世的情怀,是国家动荡、宗庙震毁时民心叵测的主观想象,而林黑儿本真的风貌,反倒在历史的风烟中渐趋落寞。     

Social work—a shifting paradigm

This article explores the changing role of social work in the context of community care legislation, the political era and the resulting care management process, using Kuhn's concept of paradigms. (Kuhn, T. (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (2nd Edition), (Chicago, University of Chicago Press). The article suggests that it is our values, the theories we use and the environment that is impacting on and creating a shift in the social welfare paradigm and social work. It proposes that there is a fundamental conflict between the traditional values and model of social work and the evolving care management role that social workers are assuming, which can, and is resulting in an identity crisis for social work professionals and presents evidence for this. The article concludes that social work is in a state of transition and crisis. In order to re-define itself it needs to consolidate its basis for being. Social work needs to re-align itself with its value base and firm knowledge base. Putting the client first rather than the State or its own professional interests, otherwise it is in danger of becoming simply an agent of the State rather than a service striving for equality and the welfare of its communities. In order to do this the article proposes that social work needs to be clear of its purpose, whom it is serving and how it proposes to move forward.     

Random number generation and estimation with the bimodal asymmetric power-normal distribution

Recently, Bolfarine et al. [Bimodal symmetric-asymmetric power-normal families. Commun Statist Theory Methods. Forthcoming. doi:10.1080/03610926.2013.765475] introduced a bimodal asymmetric model having the normal and skew normal as special cases. Here, we prove a stochastic representation for their bimodal asymmetric model and use it to generate random numbers from that model. It is shown how the resulting algorithm can be seen as an improvement over the rejection method. We also discuss practical and numerical aspects regarding the estimation of the model parameters by maximum likelihood under simple random sampling. We show that a unique stationary point of the likelihood equations exists except when all observations have the same sign. However, the location-scale extension of the model usually presents two or more roots and this fact is illustrated here. The standard maximization routines available in the R system (Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS), Trust, Nelder–Mead) were considered in our implementations but exhibited similar performance. We show the usefulness of inspecting profile loglikelihoods as a method to obtain starting values for maximization and illustrate data analysis with the location-scale model in the presence of multiple roots. A simple Bayesian model is discussed in the context of a data set which presents a flat likelihood in the direction of the skewness parameter.     

浅谈"符号学"方法论在平面商业广告设计中的运用

"符号学"作为一门综合性科学,其广博艰深、层次多样的原理与方法论,广泛应用于平面商业广告设计领域中.本文例证了图形图像符号学中的语义生成、语义转换和语义表达在平面商业广告设计中的工具性作用.     

元代崇福使爱薛史事补说

爱薛是元代首位崇福使,与元代基督教管理机构崇福司的设立有密切关系。本文梳理了爱薛至元二十四年前后政治地位之变化,考察了爱薛与元代广惠司及回回司天台机构筹建之关联,认为崇福司有可能是爱薛自波斯归国后,利用自身地位上升而主动建言筹建的结果。文章还就爱薛是否为神职人员进行考辨。     

基于GIS技术的张掖绿洲生态系统服务价值评估

以张掖绿洲为研究区域,在Costanza等对全球生态系统服务功能进行价值核算的基础上,结合谢高地等人的研究成果,分析了张掖绿洲1985～2006年在土地利用/覆盖变化驱动下的生态系统服务价值变化.结果表明,研究区内生态系统服务总价值呈增加趋势,21年间增加了2.96亿元,主要是由耕地面积增加和区域价值修正造成的;生态系统单项服务功能价值中废物处理的生态服务价值最高,且在研究期间内增量最大,为0.53亿元.     

突发公共事件中的传播机制

突发公共事件中的传播现象通常以异常形态出现,且传播速度极其迅速,本文力图在这种异常、迅速之中剖析其各个阶段的传播机制,据此找出相应的应对措施.