| 1. |
- Alissandrakis, Aris, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Visualizing dynamic text corpora using Virtual Reality
- 2018
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In: ICAME 39 : Tampere, 30 May – 3 June, 2018. - Tampere : University of Tampere. ; , s. 205-205
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In recent years, data visualization has become a major area in Digital Humanities research, and the same holds true also in linguistics. The rapidly increasing size of corpora, the emergence of dynamic real-time streams, and the availability of complex and enriched metadata have made it increasingly important to facilitate new and innovative approaches to presenting and exploring primary data. This demonstration showcases the uses of Virtual Reality (VR) in the visualization of geospatial linguistic data using data from the Nordic Tweet Stream (NTS) project (see Laitinen et al 2017). The NTS data for this demonstration comprises a full year of geotagged tweets (12,443,696 tweets from 273,648 user accounts) posted within the Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). The dataset includes over 50 metadata parameters in addition to the tweets themselves.We demonstrate the potential of using VR to efficiently find meaningful patterns in vast streams of data. The VR environment allows an easy overview of any of the features (textual or metadata) in a text corpus. Our focus will be on the language identification data, which provides a previously unexplored perspective into the use of English and other non-indigenous languages in the Nordic countries alongside the native languages of the region.Our VR prototype utilizes the HTC Vive headset for a room-scale VR scenario, and it is being developed using the Unity3D game development engine. Each node in the VR space is displayed as a stacked cuboid, the equivalent of a bar chart in a three-dimensional space, summarizing all tweets at one geographic location for a given point in time (see: https://tinyurl.com/nts-vr). Each stacked cuboid represents information of the three most frequently used languages, appropriately color coded, enabling the user to get an overview of the language distribution at each location. The VR prototype further encourages users to move between different locations and inspect points of interest in more detail (overall location-related information, a detailed list of all languages detected, the most frequently used hashtags). An underlying map outlines country borders and facilitates orientation. In addition to spatial movement through the Nordic areas, the VR system provides an interface to explore the Twitter data based on time (days, weeks, months, or time of predefined special events), which enables users to explore data over time (see: https://tinyurl.com/nts-vr-time).In addition to demonstrating how the VR methods aid data visualization and exploration, we will also briefly discuss the pedagogical implications of using VR to showcase linguistic diversity.
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| 2. |
- Alissandrakis, Aris, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Visualizing rich corpus data using virtual reality
- 2019
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In: Studies in Variation, Contacts and Change in English. - Helsinki : VARIENG. - 1797-4453. ; 20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate an approach that utilizes immersive virtual reality (VR) to explore and interact with corpus linguistics data. Our case study focuses on the language identification parameter in the Nordic Tweet Stream corpus, a dynamic corpus of Twitter data where each tweet originated within the Nordic countries. We demonstrate how VR can provide previously unexplored perspectives into the use of English and other non-indigenous languages in the Nordic countries alongside the native languages of the region and showcase its geospatial variation. We utilize a head-mounted display (HMD) for a room-scale VR scenario that allows 3D interaction by using hand gestures. In addition to spatial movement through the Nordic areas, the interface enables exploration of the Twitter data based on time (days, weeks, months, or time of predefined special events), making it particularly useful for diachronic investigations.In addition to demonstrating how the VR methods aid data visualization and exploration, we briefly discuss the pedagogical implications of using VR to showcase linguistic diversity. Our empirical results detail students’ reactions to working in this environment. The discussion part examines the benefits, prospects and limitations of using VR in visualizing corpus data.
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| 3. |
- Habib Zeiler, Johannes, 1976-
(author)
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Crafting Lutheran Pastors in Tanzania : Perceptions of Theological Education and Formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
- 2018
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The quest for theological education is embedded in the history of the churches in sub-Saharan Africa and is, at the same time, inherently linked to how the churches continue to evolve and shift in character over time. It relates to the self-understanding of the churches and their role in society, including their academic and pastoral obligations to adequately educate and train leaders to work in the localities. With its estimated 6.5 million members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) is today one of the largest Lutheran churches in the world. The role and impact of institutions for theological education are high on the agenda in the ELCT, not least as the various educational institutions for ministerial training are often seen as important means in the processes of theologising and strategising for the future.This qualitative study draws heavily upon interviews with Lutheran bishops and theological educators in Tanzania, and identifies leading motives and ideas behind their current engagements in the field of ministerial studies. More specifically, it shows how the informants reflect upon, argue about and negotiate their perceptions of higher theological education. It demonstrates by what means, techniques, and practices they claim to govern, guide, and form the students in theology. Formal ministerial studies are not carried out in a vacuum but in and through certain institutions, appropriately designed to serve their purposes. In order to gain academic accreditation, institutional and theological recognition, and to oversee the processes of quality assurance, the ELCT cultivates its links with relevant actors and institutions in Tanzanian society. Even the global networks and connections, such as other churches and missionary organisations abroad, play a significant role in this regard.Drawing inspiration from governmentality studies and the notion of governmentality, this study focuses on ‘how’ questions; it examines how the interviewees think about governing, and how they calculate, strategise, or respond to certain problems linked to the multiple forms and models of theological training. As such, the study focuses on how government operates, and examines what claims, hopes, and visions the informants have in mind when educating a new generation of clergy in a rapidly changing society.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Kvarnung, Malin, et al.
(author)
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Ataxia in Patients With Bi-Allelic NFASC Mutations and Absence of Full-Length NF186
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Genetics. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-8021. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The etiology of hereditary ataxia syndromes is heterogeneous, and the mechanisms underlying these disorders are often unknown. Here, we utilized exome sequencing in two siblings with progressive ataxia and muscular weakness and identified a novel homozygous splice mutation (c.3020-1G > A) in neurofascin (NFASC). In RNA extracted from fibroblasts, we showed that the mutation resulted in inframe skipping of exon 26, with a deprived expression of the full-length transcript that corresponds to NFASC isoform NF186. To further investigate the disease mechanisms, we reprogrammed fibroblasts from one affected sibling to induced pluripotent stem cells, directed them to neuroepithelial stem cells and finally differentiated to neurons. In early neurogenesis, differentiating cells with selective depletion of the NF186 isoform showed significantly reduced neurite outgrowth as well as fewer emerging neurites. Furthermore, whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of patient-derived neuronal cells revealed a lower threshold for openings, indicating altered Na+ channel kinetics, suggesting a lower threshold for openings as compared to neuronal cells without the NFASC mutation. Taken together, our results suggest that loss of the full-length NFASC isoform NF186 causes perturbed neurogenesis and impaired neuronal biophysical properties resulting in a novel early-onset autosomal recessive ataxia syndrome.
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| 6. |
- Laitinen, Mikko, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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Revisiting weak ties : Using present-day social media data in variationist studies
- 2017
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In: Exploring Future Paths for Historical Sociolinguistics. - Amsterdam : John Benjamins Publishing Company. - 9789027200860 ; , s. 303-325
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article makes use of big and rich present-day data to revisit the social network model in sociolinguistics. This model predicts that mobile individuals with ties outside a home community and subsequent loose-knit networks tend to promote the diffusion of linguistic innovations. The model has been applied to a range of small ethnographic networks. We use a database of nearly 200,000 informants who send micro-blog messages in Twitter. We operationalize networks using two ratio variables; one of them is a truly weak tie and the other one a slightly stronger one. The results show that there is a straightforward increase of innovative behavior in the truly weak tie network, but the data indicate that innovations also spread under conditions of stronger networks, given that the network size is large enough. On the methodological level, our approach opens up new horizons in using big and often freely available data in sociolinguistics, both past and present.
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| 7. |
- Laitinen, Mikko, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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The Nordic Tweet Stream : A Dynamic Real-Time Monitor Corpus of Big and Rich Language Data
- 2018
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In: DHN 2018 Digital Humanities in the Nordic Countries 3rd Conference. - : CEUR-WS.org. ; , s. 349-362
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article presents the Nordic Tweet Stream (NTS), a cross-disciplinarycorpus project of computer scientists and a group of sociolinguists interestedin language variability and in the global spread of English. Our research integratestwo types of empirical data: We not only rely on traditional structured corpusdata but also use unstructured data sources that are often big and rich inmetadata, such as Twitter streams. The NTS downloads tweets and associatedmetadata from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. We first introducesome technical aspects in creating a dynamic real-time monitor corpus, andthe following case study illustrates how the corpus could be used as empiricalevidence in sociolinguistic studies focusing on the global spread of English tomultilingual settings. The results show that English is the most frequently usedlanguage, accounting for almost a third. These results can be used to assess howwidespread English use is in the Nordic region and offer a big data perspectivethat complement previous small-scale studies. The future objectives include annotatingthe material, making it available for the scholarly community, and expandingthe geographic scope of the data stream outside Nordic region.
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| 8. |
- Laitinen, Mikko, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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Utilizing Multilingual Language Data in (Nearly) Real Time : The Case of the Nordic Tweet Stream
- 2017
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In: Journal of universal computer science (Online). - : J.UCS consortium. - 0948-695X .- 0948-6968. ; 23:11, s. 1038-1056
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents the Nordic Tweet Stream, a cross-disciplinary digital humanities project that downloads Twitter messages from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The paper first introduces some of the technical aspects in creating a real-time monitor corpus that grows every day, and then two case studies illustrate how the corpus could be used as empirical evidence in studies focusing on the global spread of English. Our approach in the case studies is sociolinguistic, and we are interested in how widespread multilingualism which involves English is in the region, and what happens to ongoing grammatical change in digital environments. The results are based on 6.6 million tweets collected during the first four months of data streaming. They show that English was the most frequently used language, accounting for almost a third. This indicates that Nordic Twitter users choose English as a means of reaching wider audiences. The preference for English is the strongest in Denmark and the weakest in Finland. Tweeting mostly occurs late in the evening, and high-profile media events such as the Eurovision Song Contest produce considerable peaks in Twitter activity. The prevalent use of informal features such as univerbated verb forms (e.g., gotta for (HAVE) got to) supports previous findings of the speech-like nature of written Twitter data, but the results indicate that tweeters are pushing the limits even further.
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| 9. |
- Lundberg, Magnus, 1972-
(author)
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A Pope of their Own : El Palmar de Troya and the Palmarian Church
- 2017
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Book (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In 2018, fifty years will have passed since the first reports of Marian apparitions in El Palmar de Troya in Spanish Andalusia. It will also be the fortieth anniversary of the coronation of the seer Clemente Domínguez Gómez as Pope Gregory XVII, and the consequent foundation of the Palmarian Catholic Church. Still, placing the papal tiara on his head was only seen as a human act of confirmation. He asserted that Christ himself had crowned him just after the death of Pope Paul VI.This book provides a broad overview of the history of the apparitions at El Palmar de Troya and the church that became its main result. It also includes a more systematic analysis of the church’s increasingly unusual doctrines and rituals. Through the study, I try to answer two underlying questions: First, which factors contributed to the foundation of the Palmarian Church? Second, how has the church survived and developed through its four decades of existence?
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| 10. |
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