Towards a Standard Taxonomy for Levels of Automation in Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery

Automated and autonomous systems change the nature of human interactions and their respective role within the systems. To characterize such changes, several domain specific levels of automation (LOA) taxonomies have been proposed over the years. The SAE J3016 levels for driving automation have been adopted as the de-facto standard in the automotive industry and the broader society. However, the heavy-duty mobile machinery (HDMM) industry does not have a commonly accepted LOA taxonomy, thereby relying on organizational specific LOA taxonomies adapted from SAE J3016. Moreover, HDMM handle and transport external materials in addition to driving tasks. Thus, SAE J3016 inadequately captures the manipulation operations of HDMM. This paper proposes a new LOA taxonomy for HDMM, to accommodate both, the manipulation and driving operations of HDMM. Building on the SAE J3016 taxonomy, the LOA in this paper is proposed as a two-dimensional 6 × 6 matrix, with machine manipulation operations on one dimension, and driving operations on the other. Thus, the LOA matrix could be generalized for HDMM in different application areas. The proposed LOA matrix could also serve as a guide and starting point for future standardized and collaborative discourse in HDMM research, development, and subsequent deployments.

Linguistic co-creativity and the performance of identity in the discourse of National Trust holiday cottage guestbooks

This article reports on some of the results of a project undertaken by researchers at the University of Sheffield with The National Trust in the UK, which seeks to examine the discourse found in guestbooks located in the Trust’s holiday rental cottages. Our key interests lie in the ways in which holidaymakers perform particular identities through the stylistic choices they make when writing entries in guestbooks, the role linguistic creativity plays in these performances, and the extent to which cognitive-linguistic analysis can help us understand guestbooks as socially and conceptually complex sites of linguistic interaction. Between 2014 and 2018, we collected over 800,000 words of data from 13 holiday cottages in two popular holiday regions in the UK: the Roseland Peninsula in South East Cornwall and the Port Quin area of Northern Cornwall. Our dataset was analysed and tagged using NVivo qualitative coding software, which enables the identification of both linguistic and non-linguistic features of the discourse and makes these items searchable. In the present discussion, we use Text World Theory to explore both the situational context of this discourse, or the ‘discourse-world’, and the conceptual structures, or ‘text-worlds’, which result from linguistic interaction in the minds of participants. We suggest that the unified examination of these two interacting levels of discourse enables a holistic investigation of the pragmatic and conceptual environment which surrounds the production and reception of the guestbook discourse; the linguistic and stylistic features of the texts themselves; and the mental representations that arise from them. In particular, we present a case-study analysis of the guestbooks of Caragloose, a three-bedroomed former farmhouse in South East Cornwall, which our study found to contain levels of linguistic creativity which were exceptional in our dataset. We outline the key stylistic features of this discourse and show how one collective linguistic endeavour in particular in Caragloose fosters an exceptionally experimental style across multiple entries. We reveal how the resulting discourse, although taking place between strangers separated in both time and space, exhibits a density of creativity more commonly associated with collaborative discourse produced between intimates in a face-to-face situation.

Learning science through argumentative synthesis writing and deliberative dialogues: a comprehensive and effective methodology in secondary education

Scientific literacy can be promoted through oral and written argumentative practice. Collaborative discourse has proven effective in fostering conceptual understanding, especially when discussions are developed under deliberative goals. Likewise, writing tasks as argumentative syntheses stand out for its epistemic value and its contribution to constructive learning processes. However, there are no known educational interventions that have combined these two didactic activities to teach science. The objective of this research was to compare the impact of four intervention programs, based on deliberative dialogues and argumentative synthesis writing activities, on the learning of socio-scientific content. The four programs resulted from the combination of two instructional components (Explicit Instruction; Guide), while deliberative dialogues and argumentative syntheses were constant elements. We conducted a pre-post quasi-experimental study in which participated 151 Spanish third grade secondary school students. Socio-scientific learning was evaluated through a content test made up of open questions. The results showed all students progressed in their socio-scientific knowledge. Instructional practices did not have a direct effect on content learning. However, we observed an indirect effect of explicit instruction on learning socio-scientific content, through learning of argumentative synthesis writing. Besides, we found a positive relation between progression in synthesis writing and knowledge acquisition.

The Weight of Our Words: Language and Teacher Agency from the Perspective of Gee’s ‘Cultural Models’

In this article, I suggest that one way to enhance teacher agency is to practise greater linguistic awareness in our professional conversations. Based on a conceptual framework utilising the idea of ‘cultural models’ (everyday theories expressed in language) I analyse primary data of Malaysian English-language teachers’ meetings to show two ways in which they have an impact on practice and agency. Based on the evidence, I claim that cultural models [1] function as problem-framing devices and [2] can support transformations in practice. The data in this paper comes from audiovisual recordings of teacher meetings, generated as part of a larger study on teacher collaborative discourse in professional learning communities (PLC), with English-language teachers at Malaysian national secondary schools. Based on these findings, I argue that teacher agency defined as the capacity to make a difference in the context of teachers’ work—is partly a function of how teachers speak about the relevant domains of their practice, be they students, subject or pedagogy. This offers practitioners who wish to be more agentic in their practice some relevant points for reflection.

A Critical Analysis of Conversational Floors In Post- Corona Digital Discourse Among Pakistani Students

This study investigates the pattern of conversational floors of digital discourse in WhatsApp groups among Pakistan's students after the outbreak of Covid-19. Gender differences were also focused while generating digital discourse in the post corona scenario. Non-probability sampling techniques are used, as our research design is qualitative. Data is taken from universities of Punjab and is in the form of interviews and screenshots of students' five days chat in Whatsapp groups. Researchers chiefly focused on conversational floors, gender roles, and post corona discourse. Results show the effects of Covid-19 as students have problems involving in more meaningful conversations, and due to conflicts among members, a breakdown in communication occurs. The connection between argumentation and floor holding gives a deep analysis of the dynamics of online discussion. From the gender perspective, males maintained the central stage in noncollaborative discourse while there are almost equal or more active females in collaborative discourse.