scholarly journals Computer-assisted detection and classification of misinformation about climate change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Coan ◽  
Constantine Boussalis ◽  
John Cook ◽  
Mirjam Nanko

A growing body of scholarship investigates the role of misinformation in shaping the debate on climate change. Our research builds on and extends this literature by 1) developing and validating a comprehensive taxonomy of climate misinformation, 2) conducting the largest content analysis to date on contrarian claims, 3) developing a computational model to accurately detect specific claims, and 4) drawing on an extensive corpus from conservative think-tank (CTTs) websites and contrarian blogs to construct a detailed history of misinformation over the past 20 years. Our study finds that climate misinformation produced by CTTs and contrarian blogs has focused on attacking the integrity of climate science and scientists and, increasingly, has challenged climate policy and renewable energy. We further demonstrate the utility of our approach by exploring the influence of corporate and foundation funding on the production and dissemination of specific contrarian claims.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis G. Coan ◽  
Constantine Boussalis ◽  
John Cook ◽  
Mirjam O. Nanko

AbstractA growing body of scholarship investigates the role of misinformation in shaping the debate on climate change. Our research builds on and extends this literature by (1) developing and validating a comprehensive taxonomy of climate contrarianism, (2) conducting the largest content analysis to date on contrarian claims, (3) developing a computational model to accurately classify specific claims, and (4) drawing on an extensive corpus from conservative think-tank (CTTs) websites and contrarian blogs to construct a detailed history of claims over the past 20 years. Our study finds that the claims utilized by CTTs and contrarian blogs have focused on attacking the integrity of climate science and scientists and, increasingly, has challenged climate policy and renewable energy. We further demonstrate the utility of our approach by exploring the influence of corporate and foundation funding on the production and dissemination of specific contrarian claims.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (05) ◽  
pp. 45-55
Author(s):  
Mauricio Díaz Valdés

During the next decades the construction will have to face many problems that never had inferred, it must reinvent itself to adapt to the new needs that it currently demands because it consumes too many energetic resources, it generates excess of CO2 emissions, consumption of natural resources and every day the construction is more expensive. The United Nations 2030 Agenda announced the objectives for sustainable development, this to try to mitigate the effects of climate change; The Coronavirus pandemic made humanity reflect on the emergencies that we must face and left us reflecting that we are not prepared for an emergency or crisis; These are key points that we must address to develop the new architecture. If we analyze the history of architecture, we can see that technology and science has always been a catalyst for humanity and has generated great solutions to the problems that befall us, this should motivate us to use technology and software in our favor. Therefore, we must prepare and generate new solutions, innovations and technology that focus on solving the new needs that architecture demands. The question is: how we can solve these problems?  The answer is through digital fabrication and parametric design. It is important to emphasize and make it clear, we cannot continue to build as we have been doing in the past century, our practices and approaches must change, and it is urgent to rethink the role of the architecture today.


Somatechnics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-303
Author(s):  
Michael Connors Jackman

This article investigates the ways in which the work of The Body Politic (TBP), the first major lesbian and gay newspaper in Canada, comes to be commemorated in queer publics and how it figures in the memories of those who were involved in producing the paper. In revisiting a critical point in the history of TBP from 1985 when controversy erupted over race and racism within the editorial collective, this discussion considers the role of memory in the reproduction of whiteness and in the rupture of standard narratives about the past. As the controversy continues to haunt contemporary queer activism in Canada, the productive work of memory must be considered an essential aspect of how, when and for what reasons the work of TBP comes to be commemorated. By revisiting the events of 1985 and by sifting through interviews with individuals who contributed to the work of TBP, this article complicates the narrative of TBP as a bluntly racist endeavour whilst questioning the white privilege and racially-charged demands that undergird its commemoration. The work of producing and preserving queer history is a vital means of challenging the intentional and strategic erasure of queer existence, but those who engage in such efforts must remain attentive to the unequal terrain of social relations within which remembering forms its objects.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252098513
Author(s):  
Claire Konkes ◽  
Kerrie Foxwell-Norton

When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-313
Author(s):  
Enver Hasani

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has played a role of paramount importance in the country’s recent history. The author uses a comparative analysis to discuss the role of the Court in light of the work and history of other European constitutional courts. This approach sheds light on the Court’s current role by analyzing Kosovo’s constitutional history, which shows that there has been a radical break with the past. This approach reveals the fact that Kosovo’s current Constitution does not reflect the material culture of the society of Kosovo. This radical break with the past is a result of the country’s tragic history, in which case the fight for constitutionalism means a fight for human dignity. In this battle for constitutionalism, the Court has been given very broad jurisdiction and a role to play in paving the way for Kosovo to move toward Euro-Atlantic integration in all spheres of life. Before reaching this conclusion, the author discusses the specificities of Kosovo’s transition, comparing it with other former communist countries. Among the specific features of constitutionalism in Kosovo are the role and position of the international community in the process of constitution-making and the overall design of constitutional justice in Kosovo. Throughout the article, a conclusion emerges that puts Kosovo’s Constitutional Court at the forefront of the fight for the rule of law and constitutionalism of liberal Western provenance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Marjona Akhmadovna Radjabova ◽  

Abstract. The following article discusses the role of onomastic components in phraseological units and their meaning as well as giving a classification of onomastic components in phraseological units based on the materials of different structural languages. Through examples the author proves that the presence of names in the ancient rich phraseological layer of non-fraternal English, Russian and Uzbek languages is related to the national and cultural values, customs, ancient history, folklore and daily life of the peoples who speak this language. Besides, in the process of study of onomastic components it is also determined that names, along with forming their national character, are a factor giving information about the past of a particular nation. Background. In the world linguistics there have been carried out a series of researches in the field of the study of phraseological units with onomastic components in comparative-typological aspect revaling their national and cultural peculiarities, analyzing and classifying their content structurally and semantically


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk-Jan Dekker

In an effort to fight climate change, many cities try to boost their cycling levels. They often look towards the Dutch for guidance. However, historians have only begun to uncover how and why the Netherlands became the premier cycling country of the world. Why were Dutch cyclists so successful in their fight for a place on the road? Cycling Pathways: The Politics and Governance of Dutch Cycling Infrastructure, 1920-2020 explores the long political struggle that culminated in today’s high cycling levels. Delving into the archives, it uncovers the important role of social movements and shows in detail how these interacted with national, provincial, and urban engineers and policymakers to govern the distribution of road space and construction of cycling infrastructure. It discusses a wide range of topics, ranging from activists to engineering committees, from urban commuters to recreational cyclists and from the early 1900s to today in order to uncover the long and all-but-forgotten history of Dutch cycling governance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (04) ◽  
pp. 562-565
Author(s):  
ABID HUSSAIN ◽  
KISHWAR NAHEED

Objective: To determine the role of chemical syphincterotomy as non surgical management of chronic anal fissure. Study Design: Descriptive. Setting: This study was conducted at Margalla teaching Hospital and United Medical center .Rawalpndi. Period: 1½ years. Patients & Methods: This study included 70 patients of either sex. A personal bio data and detailed history of dietary and bowel habits were registered. Topical 0.2% GTN (Gylciryltrinitrate) was applied to anal verge 2 times per day for the period of two months and its effects were noted. Result: 58 patients (83%) got symptomatic relief and 12 patients (17%) did not get improvement. Conclusions: Chemical syphincterotomy heals majority of the fissure . Topical 0.2% GNT ointment is widely used as a first line treatment in U.K . It is generally accepted as an effective treatment for chronic fissure .


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-63
Author(s):  
Alhaji Mustapha Isa

Deforestation and climate change have become global environmental issues. The detection of forest changes in association with climate change can be successfully carried out by the use of multi-temporal remote sensing and modelling. This study undertook analysis of the past and present condition of the forest from the pattern changes of the Kota tinggi district johor state Malaysia, using landsat images of three different periods. These are thematic mapper (TM) data of 1998; enhanced thematic mapper (ETM+) image of 2008 and the operation land imager (OLI) of 2018 were collectively used. The images were geometrically and atmospherically pre-processed then classified, using maximum likelihood (M/C) algorithm to produce thematic land use/cover maps of the district. The accuracy of the classification was assessed through ground truthing and confusion matrices which revealed an accuracy of above 90% and kappa coefficient at 0.9 respectively.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 451-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
COSTANTINO SIGISMONDI

The role of Venus and Mercury transits is crucial to know the past history of the solar diameter. Through the W parameter, the logarithmic derivative of the radius with respect to the luminosity, the past values of the solar luminosity can be recovered. The black drop phenomenon affects the evaluation of the instants of internal and external contacts between the planetary disk and the solar limb. With these observed instants compared with the ephemerides the value of the solar diameter is recovered. The black drop and seeing effects are overcome with two fitting circles, to Venus and to the Sun, drawn in the undistorted part of the image. The corrections of ephemerides due to the atmospheric refraction will also be taken into account. The forthcoming transit of Venus will allow an accuracy on the diameter of the Sun better than 0.01 arcsec, with good images of the ingress and of the egress taken each second. Chinese solar observatories are in the optimal conditions to obtain valuable data for the measurement of the solar diameter with the Venus transit of 5/6 June 2012 with an unprecedented accuracy, and with absolute calibration given by the ephemerides.


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