Partisan Asymmetries in Online Political Activity

We examine partisan differences in the behavior, communication patterns and social interactions of more than 18,000 politically-active Twitter users to produce evidence that points to changing levels of partisan engagement with the American online political landscape. Analysis of a network defined by the communication activity of these users in proximity to the 2010 midterm congressional elections reveals a highly segregated, well clustered partisan community structure. Using cluster membership as a high-fidelity (87% accuracy) proxy for political affiliation, we characterize a wide range of differences in the behavior, communication and social connectivity of left- and right-leaning Twitter users. We find that in contrast to the online political dynamics of the 2008 campaign, right-leaning Twitter users exhibit greater levels of political activity, a more tightly interconnected social structure, and a communication network topology that facilitates the rapid and broad dissemination of political information.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 6 table

Reasoning About a Service-oriented Programming Paradigm

This paper is about a new way for programming distributed applications: the service-oriented one. It is a concept paper based upon our experience in developing a theory and a language for programming services. Both the theoretical formalization and the language interpreter showed us the evidence that a new programming paradigm exists. In this paper we illustrate the basic features it is characterized by

On the expressiveness and trade-offs of large scale tuple stores

Proceedings of On the Move to Meaningful Internet Systems (OTM)Massive-scale distributed computing is a challenge at our doorstep. The current exponential growth of data calls for massive-scale capabilities of storage and processing. This is being acknowledged by several major Internet players embracing the cloud computing model and offering first generation distributed tuple stores. Having all started from similar requirements, these systems ended up providing a similar service: A simple tuple store interface, that allows applications to insert, query, and remove individual elements. Further- more, while availability is commonly assumed to be sustained by the massive scale itself, data consistency and freshness is usually severely hindered. By doing so, these services focus on a specific narrow trade-off between consistency, availability, performance, scale, and migration cost, that is much less attractive to common business needs. In this paper we introduce DataDroplets, a novel tuple store that shifts the current trade-off towards the needs of common business users, pro- viding additional consistency guarantees and higher level data process- ing primitives smoothing the migration path for existing applications. We present a detailed comparison between DataDroplets and existing systems regarding their data model, architecture and trade-offs. Prelim- inary results of the system's performance under a realistic workload are also presented

CPU students’ awareness of, attitude towards, and involvement in the spiritual programs of the university and their perceived impact on their lives

Abstract only Full text availableThis study was conducted to determine the students’ awareness of, attitude towards, and involvement in the spiritual programs of the university and their perceived impact on their lives. The one-shot survey was used in the collection of data among the 292 graduating college students in 2010. Data collected were processed and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). For the descriptive part, the major variables were described using frequency distribution and percentages. The z-test was used to determine significant differences between variables and Chi-square and Cramer’s V were used to determine the relationship between specified variables. Results of the study showed that the respondents are generally female, aged 20 years old and younger, belong to the Colleges of Nursing and Business and Accountancy, graduates of public high schools located either in the cities or towns and living with their parents or staying in boarding houses while studying at CPU. The University Church, respective College of the respondents, Department of Religion and Ethics, College of Theology, and, Chaplain’s Office were the offices that offer spiritual programs as perceived by students. Bible study, Christ Emphasis Week Convocations and Devotionals are the major spiritual programs done by the University. Emergency Response Team, CPU Pastor’s Kids, Campus Crusade for Christ, Student Nurses Association of the Philippines, and, Campus Bible Fellowship are the campus organizations which help the students in their spiritual life. The respondents’ awareness of spiritual programs is determined by their sex, age, and college to which they belong. The students have favorable attitude towards the spiritual programs of the university in all areas, namely, role of faculty and staff, role of religious activity, necessity of the program and role of CPU as a whole. Irrespective of their sex, age, college, type and location of high school where they graduated and living arrangement while studying at Central Philippine University, students are more likely to have a favorable attitude towards spiritual programs offered by the university. The location of high school where respondents graduated and college to which the respondents belong determined their involvement in campus organizations while their sex, age, and college determined their involvement in spiritual activities. Majority of the respondents believed that their spiritual life had been changed because of exposure to the different spiritual programs and activities in the university. Only location of high school where respondents graduated is significantly associated with the perceived impact of spiritual programs on their lives. The attitude of the respondents is a determinant of the perceived impact of these spiritual programs on their lives.Central Philippine UniversityIncludes bibliographical reference

Experience of developing Twitter-based communities of practice in higher education

This article presents the results of a case study of the use of a microblogging tool by a university academic to increase their knowledge and experience of social media for educational purposes. The academic had the role of digital steward in a university and attempted to use microblogging (Twitter) to increase professional contacts within the framework of a community of practice. Several types of data were collected and analysed. These included the structure of the network arising from the links formed with others by microblogging, the similarity of stated interests between the academic and others in the network, and the contents of postings such as their external references. It was found that a personal network had been established, with some of the characteristics of a community of practice. The activity demonstrated the utility of social media in supporting the professional development of academic staff using technology

Disease Extent at Secondary Cytoreductive Surgery is Predictive of Progression-free and Overall Survival in Advanced Stage Ovarian Cancer: an NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group study

Purpose GOG 152 was a randomized trial of secondary cytoreductive surgery (SCS) in patients with suboptimal residual disease (residual tumor nodule >1 cm in greatest diameter) following primary cytoreductive surgery for advanced stage ovarian cancer. The current analysis was undertaken to evaluate the impact of disease findings at SCS on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods Among the 550 patients enrolled on GOG-152, two-hundred-sixteen patients were randomly assigned following 3 cycles of cisplatin and paclitaxel to receive SCS. In 15 patients (7%) surgery was declined or contraindicated. In the remaining 201 patients the operative and pathology reports were utilized to classify their disease status at the beginning of SCS as; no gross disease/microscopically negative N= 40 (19.9%), no gross disease/microscopically positive N= 8 (4.0%), and gross disease N=153 (76.1%). Results The median PFS for patients with no gross disease/microscopically negative was 16.1 months, no gross disease/microscopically positive was 13.5 months and for gross disease was 11.7 months, p=0.002. The median OS for patients with no gross disease/microscopically negative was 51.5 months, no gross disease/microscopically positive was 42.6 months and for gross disease was 34.9 months, p=0.018. Conclusion Although as previously reported SCS did not change PFS or OS, for those who underwent the procedure, their operative and pathologic findings were predictive of PFS and OS. Surgical/pathological residual disease is a biomarker of response to chemotherapy and predictive of PFS and OS

How well do Engineers teach? Do background, experience and commitment matter?

Dissertation abstractThis study aimed to find out the knowledge about teaching strategies, career commitment and teaching competence of engineer-teachers in engineering schools in Panay. In consonance with the objectives of the study, it was hypothesized that the levels of the continuing education experiences, knowledge about teaching techniques, career commitment and teaching competence of the engineer-teachers vary according to their sex, age and civil status and their continuing education experiences and knowledge about teaching techniques are related to their career commitment and teaching competence. This study made use of the descriptive-relational method with one-shot survey design. Complete enumeration of the sixty-five full-time engineer-teacher faculty members of these schools who participated served as the respondents of the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire and were computer-processed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for MS Windows 10.0 software. The profile of the respondents were analyzed using percentages and frequency distribution. The variation in the levels of the continuing education experience, knowledge about teaching techniques, career commitment and teaching competence of the engineer- teachers according to their sex, age and civil status and the relationship between their career commitment and teaching competence and their continuing education experience and knowledge about teaching techniques and methods were analyzed using z-test for difference between proportions, Gamma and Pearson’s r. Findings The engineer-teachers of engineering schools in Panay were generally males, married and middle-aged. The engineer-teachers had an average of 15.192 years of teaching experience; had attended an average of three trainings attended in the last five years; had three and a half years of professional experience; and, had earned an average of 8.83 units in education. The engineer-teachers had an excellent knowledge about the different teaching techniques and methods with a mean score of 13.03 out of 15 items test about techniques. Specifically, their knowledge about cooperative learning, experimenting, discussion, student research, team teaching, problem solving, peer tutoring, field study, and lecture was high. The engineer-teachers also had a high level of career commitment. The same is true with their level of commitment in three sub-categories namely: dedication, loyalty, and identification. Moreover, the majority of them had an outstanding level of teaching competence. The data further show that the number of years of teaching experience of the engineer-teachers did not significantly vary according to their sex, age and civil status. There was also no big disparity in the number of relevant trainings attended; length of professional experience; and, in the number of education units earned before teaching in the College of Engineering between sex groups, age groups and civil status groups. On the other hand, there were more male than female engineer-teachers who had excellent knowledge about teaching techniques, while there were more female than male engineer-teachers who had very good knowledge of teaching techniques. Almost all of the engineer-teachers, regardless of sex, had a high level of career commitment in terms of dedication and loyalty to their work. However, the difference between proportions of male and female engineer-teachers in the high category of level of career commitment in terms of identification revealed that female engineer-teachers have a little higher level of identification with their work as teachers and over-all commitment to their teaching career in the College of Engineering than the male engineer-teachers. Almost the same proportion of the engineer-teachers had very satisfactory and outstanding teaching competence regardless of their continuing education experiences, such as attendance to relevant trainings; number of years of professional experiences before teaching; and number of education units earned. The study further revealed that the longer the engineer-teachers’ stay experience in teaching, the more they are dedicated to their teaching profession. Their loyalty to the teaching profession peaks at their 10th -19th year in teaching. The more experienced they are, the more they are committed to their teaching profession. The engineer-teachers’ level of career commitment varied according to their attendance in relevant trainings. Those who had attended trainings were more loyal to their schools than those who had not attended any training. No significant difference however was noted between the two groups in their level of commitment in terms of dedication, identification and over-all commitment. Furthermore, no significant difference in the level of their commitment in terms of dedication, loyalty, identification and over-all commitment was also noted between those who had professional experience prior to their teaching career and those who had no professional experience. The data further show a significant relationship between age and teaching competence of the engineer-teachers. There were more female than male engineer teachers who had outstanding teaching competence, while there were more male than female engineer-teachers who had very satisfactory teaching competence. As to civil status, no big difference in the teaching competence was noted between the single and the married engineer-teachers, although, there were more single than married engineer teachers with outstanding teaching competence. The findings also revealed a positive relationship between career commitment and teaching competence of the engineer-teachers. Those with high level of dedication, loyalty, identification and over-all commitment to their teaching profession, also had high teaching competence. Conclusions On the basis of the findings of this study, it is reasonable to conclude that: Engineer-teachers of Panay are mostly males, married, middle-aged, experienced teachers with professional experience, highly committed and competent in their teaching career, and had excellent background in teaching techniques. The number of years of teaching in the college of engineering, number of years of professional experience prior to teaching and number of units in education earned varied according to the age of the engineer-teachers. The middle-aged and older engineer-teachers had an edge over the younger ones in terms of teaching and professional experience, as well as in equipping themselves for their teaching career such as having units in education. The level of knowledge about teaching techniques of engineer-teachers varied according to their sex, with male engineer-teachers having a better grasp of teaching techniques that are best suited for engineering students. The teaching competence of the engineer-teachers varied according to their age, in favor of the older ones. The older one becomes, the more competent he gets. Career commitment, specifically, the engineer-teachers’ identification with their work as teachers is related to their teaching competence. The engineer-teachers’ identification with their work as teachers helps them become good teachers.Includes bibliographical referencesDoctor of Education (Major in Educational Administration and Supervision

Giving, receiving, and volunteering among households in Iloilo Province: A study on reciprocity

Abstract onlyThis study aimed to describe the giving practices and receiving experiences of the households and volunteering patterns of household members in the province of Iloilo. Moreover, the study also determined variations in the giving, receiving and volunteering practices relative to selected characteristics of the households, household heads and respondents. This study collected data on the giving and receiving and volunteering practices of the households from the different income strata in the province of Iloilo. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. The quantitative data were sourced with permission from the Household Survey on Volunteering and Giving of the Philippine Non-Profit Sector, conducted by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) of Central Philippine University, and the University of the Philippines Ugnayan ng Pahinungod supported by Johns Hopkins University wherein a one-shot survey design was employed using a structured interview. The qualitative data were collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) in two urban and rural areas in Iloilo. The urban areas were the municipalities of Dingle (Barangay San Matias) and Pavia (Barangay Purok 4), the rural areas were Barangay Agsalanan in Dingle and Barangay Anilao in Pavia. In consonance with the objectives of the study, it was hypothesized that the giving practices and receiving experiences of the households significantly vary according to location of residence, household size and sex, age, civil status, educational attainment and work status of the household heads, and the volunteering practices of household members significantly vary according to their location of residence, sex, age, civil status, educational attainment, work status, religion and involvement in religious activities. It was further hypothesized that all these characteristics of the households and their heads and members were significant predictors of their giving practices, receiving experiences and volunteering practices. Findings The pertinent results of the study were: The households in the Province of Iloilo were generally located in rural areas and have five or less members. The household head was typically male, 50 years old or older, married, elementary-educated and gainfully working. Majority of the households had ever given something and were able to give during the last twelve months prior to the conduct of this study. Likewise, majority of household members had volunteered to do something for someone. Household size, age, civil status and educational attainment of household heads were significantly associated with the giving practices of the households, but place of residence, sex, and work status of the household heads were not. Moreover, an analysis of the regression coefficients of the seven variables on the giving practices of the households showed that age, civil status and educational attainment of the household heads significantly influenced the giving practices of the households which was consistent with the results of the test for association. Households with older household heads had given more than those households headed by younger household heads. Married household heads were more likely to give more than those households with single heads. The higher the educational attainment of the household head, the more likely that the household gave. Feeling compassion for those who needed help was considered to be the most important reason for giving, while prioritizing the needs of the family, was the most important reason for not giving. Two other reasons for giving were feeling good about one’s self and benefits were returned in many fold. Most of the decisions of the households such as whether to give or not to give, how much to give and what to give were either made solely by the household head or a shared decision by the husband and the wife. The households’ residence and size and age and civil status of household heads were significantly associated with their receiving experiences, but sex, educational attainment and work status of the household heads were not significantly associated with the receiving experiences of the households. On the other hand, regression analysis showed that the households’ residence and educational attainment of the household heads significantly influenced the households’ receiving experiences. Urban households were more likely to receive something than the rural households. Moreover, households with elementary educated-heads were more likely to receive something than those with college-educated household heads. Religious organizations were the most frequent recipients of contributions of the households while the most number of donations received by households came from the education and research sector wherein one in five of the household members were able to do so. However, experience in giving was not significantly associated with experience. The test of association between the volunteering practices of the household members and selected variables showed that location of residence and the sex, age, civil status, educational attainment and work status of the household members were significantly associated with their volunteering practices. Specifically, there were more household members in the urban than in the rural areas who had done voluntary work, and slightly but significantly more female household members than male members who had done voluntary work. Most of those who volunteered were either married or widowed/separated, and either college-educated or high school-educated. Moreover, regression analysis showed that the household members’ residence, age, sex, civil status, educational attainment and work status significantly influenced their volunteering practices. This confirms the results of the test for associations between these variables. Urban and younger household members were less likely to volunteer than rural and older counterparts. Female household members and those who were widowed/separated were more likely to volunteer than male household members and those who were married. Both elementary and high school-educated household members were more likely to volunteer more than the college-educated household members while working household members volunteered more than the non-working household members. Among the reasons for volunteering cited by those household members who volunteered were: “volunteering makes me feel good”; “feeling compassion for people in need”; “to improve conditions of community”; “religious/political ideology”; and “people know and respect volunteers.” Likewise, the activities considered as volunteering and participated in by household members were: “praying for someone”; “lending money without interest”; “community cleaning” and “helping someone in an emergency.” Conclusions On the basis of the findings of this study, it is reasonable to conclude that: Household size, age and civil status of household heads are significantly associated with the giving practices of the households. Households with six or more family members, households with older household heads, and households with married household heads tend to give more than those with fewer members, younger household heads and those with single or widowed heads, respectively. Age and educational attainment of household heads are significant predictors of the giving practices of the households. Households with older household heads and college-educated heads are more likely to give than those with younger and less-educated heads, respectively. Households’ residence and size and age and civil status of household heads are significantly associated with their receiving experiences. Households coming from urban areas, households with six or more family members, households with household heads aged 40 - 49 years old, and households with married house-hold heads tend to receive something more from others than those from rural areas, with fewer members, with younger heads (aged 39 years old and below) or older heads (aged 50 years old and above), and those with single and widowed/separated heads, respectively. Households’ residence and educational attainment of the household heads significantly influenced the households’ receiving experiences. Urban households and those with elementary educated-heads are more likely to receive something from others than rural households and those with college-educated household heads, respectively. The location of residence and the sex, age, civil status, educational attainment and work status of the household members are significantly associated with their volunteering practices. Urban, female, married and widowed/separated, college and high school educated household members are more likely to do volunteer work than those rural, male, single, elementary-educated or those with no formal education household members. The household member’s residence, age, sex, civil status, educational attainment and work status are significant predictors of their volunteering practices. Rural, younger, female, both elementary and high school-educated and working household members are more likely to volunteer more than those urban, male, college-educated and non-working household members, respectively. Recommendations The foregoing findings and conclusions lead to the following recommendations: Since educational attainment is one of the significant predictors of the giving and volunteering practices of households, it is important that these values of giving and volunteering be taught and modeled to the children in school. Children in school should be given opportunities wherein these practices could be put into action. They should, for example, support fully the gift-giving activity of their community as well as render voluntary service in any barangay project or endeavor. Moreover, since the variables considered in this study contributed minimally to the variances in the giving practices and receiving experiences of the households and volunteering practices of the household members, it is suggested that in the replication of this study other socioeconomic variables not considered in this study be explored.Includes bibliographical referencesDoctor of Educatio

A baseline survey of barangays covered by the Bulabog Puti-an National Park

Abstract only Full text availableThis study was conducted to determine the present needs and problems of the nine barangays of the municipalities of Dingle and San Enrique which are covered by the Bulabog Puti-an National Park and to establish baseline data as basis for implementation of the outreach program of the University in these areas. Descriptive analysis was employed and utilized the one shot survey design. From a total of 1,886 households, a sample of 319 was obtained using the sampling formula with a margin of error of 0.05. The baseline survey questionnaire served as the main tool for data collection. Results of the study showed that the respondents are generally males, married, in their middle ages, either elementary or high school educated, engaged in farming and earning a relatively low level of income per month. The regular food eaten by the households are primarily rice, fish and vegetables during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cultural, organizational and political participation of household members are relatively low. Their houses are made of semi-permanent materials and they use electricity for lighting and firewood for cooking. There is a functional road, school, functional health center and recreation facility in their respective barangays. Majority of the respondents are aware that the Bulabog Puti-an is a national park but do not have activities involving it while gathering/cutting trees for firewood/charcoal and lumber are the main activity for those who have. The respondents have identified major problems and needs confronting their households, barangays in general, and the men, women, youth and children in their barangays