Search results for "feature"
showing 10 items of 4091 documents
Facilitating joint attention with salient pointing in interactions involving children with autism spectrum disorder
2016
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reportedly have difficulties in responding to bids for joint attention, notably in following pointing gestures. Previous studies have predominantly built on structured observation measures and predefined coding categories to measure children’s responsiveness to gestures. However, how these gestures are designed and what detailed interactional work they can accomplish have received less attention. In this paper, we use a multimodal approach to conversation analysis (CA) to investigate how educators design their use of pointing in interactions involving school-aged children with ASD or autistic features. The analysis shows that pointing had specifi…
Do networks matter? Network involvement and policy learning in Nordic regions
2017
ABSTRACTThe capacities of regions to form networks are an important feature of regional cooperation. This article assesses why Nordic regions engage in network activities and what new organizational patterns of collaboration emerge. It draws on historical data from a 2006–2008 survey of elected regional politicians from the Nordic countries. The article argues that through this process, participation in cross-border networks matters for regional learning as measured by the policy-choices of regions.
‘Tour me onshore’: understanding cruise tourists’ evaluation of shore excursions through text mining
2018
ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to shed light on the elements underlying cruise tourists’ evaluation of shore excursions, approaching them as an interaction of expressive and instrumental components.To fulfil the aim of the investigation, a thematic content analysis of 1296 online reviews was conducted using the text-mining software Leximancer. The results of the study revealed that cruise visitors with different overall satisfaction with their guided tour focus the narrative of their opinion on different tour attributes. Thus, the dominant themes of the cruise passengers delighted with their tour included the performance of the tour guide, the arrangement of the tour, as well as the cruis…
Designing a New Method of Studying Feature-Length Films
2019
Measuring viewers’ experiences of films has become a critical issue for filmmakers because all kinds of audiences now have access to new releases from all over the world. Some approaches have focused on the cognitive level of the experience, while others have emphasized the structure of films. Additionally, some have used quantitative objective methods to examine audience reactions to short film sequences, while others have applied qualitative approaches to study feature-length films. However, an integrated method that combines the features of these approaches is needed. In this article, we describe a new method that combines quantitative and qualitative data to study viewers’ experiences o…
Glimmering utopias: 50 years of African film
2010
The history of African film began in the 1960s with the independence of the colonies. Despite all kinds of political and economic difficulties, numerous films have been made since then, featuring wide-ranging processes of consolidation, differentiation and transformation which were characteristic of post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa. However, these feature films should not merely be viewed as back references to specifically African problems. The glimmering fictions are imagination spaces. They preserve ideas about how the post-colonial circumstances should be approached. Seen from this perspective, the history of African film may be studied as a history of African utopias. Die Geschichte des…
Raising the summit or flattening the agora? The elitist turn in science policy in Northern Europe
2017
ABSTRACTThis contribution focuses on how one hegemonic idea – excellence – which has significant impact on science and higher education policy was translated in two Nordic countries: Norway and Sweden. Building on key concepts emanating from political science and organizational sociology, the article assesses how excellence was locally translated by policy makers, leading to the rise of a series of policy measures aimed at fostering excellence in science across the board. In doing this, we investigate a key empirical dimension: the policy mechanisms or instruments launched at national levels (two Nordic countries) in the form of centers of excellence.
Tourism livelihoods in Smøla, Norway
2017
Tourism in islands and archipelagos provides numerous advantages and disadvantages. This paper analyses a previously unpublished case study of island tourism livelihoods from the archipelago of Smøla, Norway, examining the pros and cons of implemented or proposed tourism livelihoods based on a snapshot from 2008-2009. Smøla’s tourism livelihoods are categorised by nature, technology focusing on the wind farm, fishing and hunting, cultural landscapes, culture, and history. As with many other island and archipelago case studies, the most suitable approach could be tourism-supplemented, rather than tourism-dependent, livelihoods with the principal challenge being finding the right scale for Sm…
Book Review: When Things Fell Apart. State Failure in Late-Century Africa
2009
Review of the monograph: Robert H. Bates: When Things Fell Apart. State Failure in Late-Century Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, Paperback ISBN 9780521715256; Hardback ISBN 9780521887359; 216 pages
Anomalous soil CO 2 degassing in relation to faults and eruptive fissures on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy)
1998
The relationships between soil gas emissions and both tectonic and volcano-tectonic structures on Mt. Etna have been studied. The investigation consisted of soil CO2 flux measurements along traverses orthogonal to the main faults and eruptive fissures of the volcano. Anomalous levels of soil degassing were found mainly in coincidence with faults, whereas only 49% of the eruptive fissures were found to produce elevated CO2 soil fluxes. This result suggests that only zones of strain are able to channel deep gases to the surface. According to this hypothesis, several previously unknown structures are suggested. Based on our geochemical data, new structural maps of different areas of Etna are p…
The allelopathic capacity of submerged macrophytes shapes the microalgal assemblages from a recently restored coastal wetland
2013
Abstract We have tested the efficiency of isolated and combined submerged macrophyte cultures to inhibit, through allelopathy, the natural phytoplankton growth. Both plants and microalgae come from the same wetland, a recently restored area in Albufera de Valencia Natural Park (Spain). The need to replant the area under restoration with submerged macrophytes makes this information essential for wetland management. The selection and culture of the submerged macrophytes used in that restoration (four charophytes: Chara hispida , Chara vulgaris , Chara baltica , Nitella hyalina , and one angiosperm: Myriophyllum spicatum ) provided a good opportunity to test in the laboratory the allelopathic …