Argotario: Computational Argumentation Meets Serious Games

An important skill in critical thinking and argumentation is the ability to spot and recognize fallacies. Fallacious arguments, omnipresent in argumentative discourse, can be deceptive, manipulative, or simply leading to `wrong moves' in a discussion. Despite their importance, argumentation scholars and NLP researchers with focus on argumentation quality have not yet investigated fallacies empirically. The nonexistence of resources dealing with fallacious argumentation calls for scalable approaches to data acquisition and annotation, for which the serious games methodology offers an appealing, yet unexplored, alternative. We present Argotario, a serious game that deals with fallacies in everyday argumentation. Argotario is a multilingual, open-source, platform-independent application with strong educational aspects, accessible at www.argotario.net.Comment: EMNLP 2017 demo paper. Source codes: https://github.com/UKPLab/argotari

Course Innovation: A Graduate Course on Digital Tools for Qualitative Research

There are few ways for novice qualitative researchers to systematically learn about new tools. We describe a graduate qualitative research course developed at the University of Tennessee designed to highlight the affordances and constraints of new tools and how they can support the qualitative research process. Graduate students and the instructor will discuss the design, development, and experience with the course, and share recommendations for those interested in designing similar courses

Investigating the Causes of a Landslide in Terra Nativa Subdivision and Designing Slope Stabilization Using Recycled Plastic Pins

In early 2016, five homes along Alto Via Court in the Terra Nativa Subdivision of the Boise Foothills began to move. By May of 2016, the street was closed due to safety concerns, and a few years later, the homes were demolished. Despite the heartbreak and legal action that followed the event, a definitive cause of the landslide was never identified. To date, the site remains vacant. This research aims to investigate the potential causes of the slide to help identify the contributing factors that resulted in the mishap. In addition, the research seeks to design a way to stabilize the slope using recycled plastic pins (RPPs), which are durable, slender pins made from recycled materials that can reinforce a slope by driving the pins into the slope face to intercept the sliding surface. Results of the research found that surface runoff and irrigation were the greatest contributors to slope failure. Using average strength values of RPPs, a variety of reinforcement patterns were investigated. RPPs spaced at 3 feet in-plane and out-of-plane over the distance of the entire slope and RPPs spaced at 2 feet only at the slope crest and toe were both successful in bringing the slope factor of safety (FOS) to above 1.5. The 2-foot spacing is recommended due to having the least amount of reinforced area. Material costs to reinforce the entire area are estimated to be approximately 4 million dollars

“Protesting for climate change is more constructive than your quick useless comment” – A corpus-based analysis of incivility, impoliteness, and response-time in online newsreader comments on The Guardian climate change articles

Online newsreader comments (ONRC) constitute a vital form of user engagement and participatory communication in the virtual public sphere, enabling users to engage in discussions about important contemporary societal issues. Exposure to different ideas and opinions in news organisations’ comment sections can stimulate a free, constructive exchange among equals and contribute to deliberative democracy. However, this genre of computer-mediated communication has been subject to public debates surrounding concerns about increased incivility, impoliteness and its consequences for journalists and users. Due to the contemporary acceleration and emphasis on instant reaction in our digital lives and communication, there is less time for users to reflect and deliberate before interacting with others. This project uses a corpus-based approach to test the hypothesis that a quick speed of response is linked to an increased likelihood of incivility and impoliteness in ONRC. For this, comments from the Guardian ONRC Climate Change Corpus (Thompson & Clarke, in progress) are analysed regarding instances of name-calling, pejorative speech and hate speech. Results revealed no statistically significant relation between a fast response-time and most impoliteness forms in comments, while the analysis of some impoliteness forms indicated no relation or the reverse trend, i.e., impoliteness occurring more likely in ‘slow’ comments. Incivility was generally infrequent in the data, suggesting that these phenomena behave differently regarding speed of response. Scholars and news organisations should attend to this distinction in acknowledging the stimulating potential of impoliteness, in contrast to the greater threat of incivility, for constructive social conversations and deliberative democracy online

Passive Space Radiation Shielding: Mass and Volume Optimization of Tungsten-Doped PolyPhenolic and Polyethylene Resins

The use of commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) components have become an increasingly attractive option to develop small satellites that satisfy high-quality and reliability, as well as low-cost and development time demands. However, the use of COTS may introduce mission design constraints associated with the mass and volume of appropriate radiation shielding required for various mission lifetime and/or reliability objectives. The purpose of this study is to provide insights towards optimization that minimizes the mass and/or volume of a graded-Z or composite-Z shield. In this study, three model space radiation environments will be attenuated via mass shields using numerical analysis, with a discussion provided on the manufacturability and integration of such shields within the small sat design envelope. The use of graded-Z shielding for multi-particle attenuation is not a new concept. However, as this area of application is yet emerging, few concepts have the development maturity at a Technology Readiness Level of three (TRL-3). Previous design approaches employed an optimization strategy that equally weighed the structural ability of the given system equally against its shielding performance. The current study removes the specific structural constraint, and examines the mass associated with a constant thickness Tungsten-doped PolyPhenolic and Polyethylene resins

Particle Shielding for Human Spaceflight: Electrostatic Potential Effects on the Störmer Magnetic Dipole Exclusion Region

A basic hybrid radiation shield concept, consisting of both a monopole positive electrostatic potential barrier and a current-carrying superconducting solenoid, was predicted to provide a more effective method of shielding a habitable torus region than a solenoid acting alone. A randomized position and velocity vector simulation of equal-energy iron ions using a Lagrangian reference frame was performed on the exact magnetic field integral for the solenoid and a discrete summation electrostatic field for a toroidal monopole array approximating a potential surface. Each particle is injected at a specific energy (100, 150 MeV and 1 GeV). Two cases were evaluated at each particle energy modeling 2x104 particles. The first case studied effects from only the magnetic dipole field (1.1x1013 A m2); the second case evaluated phenomena from a combined magnetic dipole field and electrostatic potential (20 MV). The toroidal electrostatic potential’s influence on the size and shape of the Störmer magnetic dipole exclusion region was examined as the main evaluating criterion against the pure magnetic field results. It was shown that the electrostatic potential influences the size of the Störmer dipole exclusion region, and the ratio of particle energy to electrostatic potential is significant in determining the amount increased. It was found that a low particle energy to electrostatic potential ratio of 5:1 increases Störmer area approximately by a factor of 2

Make Better Maps for Transportation Planning and Communication

Transportation plans are riddled with maps. We often make maps describing land use, demographics, terrain, transit, not to mention the roadways themselves. With modern technology, it is often easier to make a confusing map than to make a clear one. For this project, I have cataloged what makes these maps clear for the reader. This involves compiling information from researchers, professionals, and cartographers. I have tracked my symbology so that it is useful to other professionals who wish to improve their maps.Master of City and Regional Plannin

Cost-Effective Icy Bodies Exploration using Small Satellite Missions

It has long been known that Saturn's moon Enceladus is expelling water-rich plumes into space, providing passing spacecraft with a window into what is hidden underneath its frozen crust. Recent discoveries indicate that similar events could also occur on other bodies in the solar system, such as Jupiter's moon Europa and the dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt. These plumes provide a possible giant leap forward in the search for organics and assessing habitability beyond Earth, stepping stones toward the long-term goal of finding extraterrestrial life. The United States Congress recently requested mission designs to Europa, to fit within a cost cap of $1B, much less than previous mission designs' estimates. Here, innovative cost-effective small spacecraft designs for the deep-space exploration of these icy worlds, using new and emerging enabling technologies, and how to explore the outer solar system on a budget below the cost horizon of a flagship mission, are investigated. Science requirements, instruments selection, rendezvous trajectories, and spacecraft designs are some topics detailed. The mission concepts revolve around a comparably small-sized and low-cost Plume Chaser spacecraft, instrumented to characterize the vapor constituents encountered on its trajectory. In the event that a plume is not encountered, an ejecta plume can be artificially created by a companion spacecraft, the Plume Maker, on the target body at a location timed with the passage of the Plume Chaser spacecraft. Especially in the case of Ceres, such a mission could be a great complimentary mission to Dawn, as well as a possible future Europa Clipper mission. The comparably small volume of the spacecraft enables a launch to GTO as a secondary payload, providing multiple launch opportunities per year. Plume Maker's design is nearly identical to the Plume Chaser, and fits within the constraints for a secondary payload launch. The cost-effectiveness of small spacecraft missions enables the exploration of multiple solar system bodies in reasonable timeframes despite budgetary constraints, with only minor adaptations. The work presented here is a summary of concepts targeting icy bodies, such as Europa and Ceres, which have been developed over the last year at NASA Ames Research Center's Mission Design Division. The platforms detailed in this work are also applicable to the cost-effective exploration of many other small icy bodies in the solar system

Klamm’s Microbiology Laboratory Manual

This laboratory manual was developed for a microbiology laboratory course designed to give students in the health care professions basic knowledge and skills of the techniques used to study microbes. The course is taken by first-time college students in the 6-year medical program and by prepharmacy undergraduates. Because this is the only microbiology laboratory course these students take, the laboratory experiments are essential to illustrate microbiological principles and methods presented in lecture companion course. The laboratory exercises demonstrate basic concepts of microbiology with emphasis on infectious diseases and host defenses. Throughout the course, students gain competency in the following areas: Safe handling of microbes Knowledge of the techniques and media used to subculture microbes Use of the light microscope Staining techniques Quantitative methods Identification of microbes using biochemical tests and/or immunological techniques Interpretation of experimental results In the past, I supplemented a commercially published lab manual with detailed weekly instructions posted to the course website. My instructions summarized the theory presented, pointing out the important concepts. Based on past experience, I made changes to the lab procedure accommodating organisms that work well in the UMKC teaching lab. In addition, the instructions gave students clarification on the post lab questions, encouraging critical thinking and evaluation of their actual experimental results. Students were required to use both the manual and my handouts to fully understand the exercise. As much as I tried to make each week’s activities clear, there was often confusion about the procedure, observations and/or expectations on the post-lab questions. This work aims to put it all together in one place for the student. For this project, I have built upon much of my original supplementary material using several open educational resources, most notably, OpenStax Microbiology. I appreciate the funding and support from the UM-system and the UMKC Libraries. I am grateful to my students who make teaching fun and interesting and will be unwitting editors and evaluators of this work. Sincerely, Loretta Sanderson Klam