Presenting KAPODI – The Searchable Database of Emotional Stimuli Sets

Emotional stimuli such as images, words, or video clips are often used in studies researching emotion. New sets are continuously being published, creating an immense number of available sets and complicating the task for researchers who are looking for suitable stimuli. This paper presents the KAPODI-database of emotional stimuli sets that are freely available or available upon request. Over 45 aspects including over 25 key set characteristics have been extracted and listed for each set. The database facilitates finding of and comparison between individual sets. It currently contains sets published between 1963 and 2020. A searchable online version ( https://airtable.com/shrnVoUZrwu6riP9b ) allows users to select specific set characteristics and to find matching sets accordingly, as well as to add new published sets.

Quantum and Classical Log-Bounded Automata for the Online Disjointness Problem

We consider online algorithms with respect to the competitive ratio. In this paper, we explore one-way automata as a model for online algorithms. We focus on quantum and classical online algorithms. For a specially constructed online minimization problem, we provide a quantum log-bounded automaton that is more effective (has less competitive ratio) than classical automata, even with advice, in the case of the logarithmic size of memory. We construct an online version of the well-known Disjointness problem as a problem. It was investigated by many researchers from a communication complexity and query complexity point of view.

Current metaphoric models in modern Spanish media discourse

In the article, a metaphor as a universal category of thinking, a special cognitive analogy-based operation, and a method of modeling reality, is investigated on journalistic materials of modern Spanish media discourse, the online version of the Spanish newspaper EL MUNDO in particular from the discursive point of view. The use of various types of metaphors by Spanish politicians, which are part of the national-linguistic picture of the world, is examined on the example of media materials concerning the most significant events in the internal life of Spain and international community. Based on the classification by A.P. Chudinov, a semantic and quantitative analysis of metaphorical models in Spanish media discourse is carried out. It is concluded that at the time being Spanish political discourse abounds predominantly in anthropomorphic and sociomorphic metaphors. It was also found that the most frequent is the use of morbial metaphors, which reflect the crisis the Spanish society is undergoing in the pandemic period and its economic, political and social impact on the life of modern Spanish society.

Online promotion of the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (results of user’s survey study)

The article is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of beginning the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (EMU), the first volume of which was published in 2001. On this occasion, scholars of NASU Institute of Encyclopedic Research conducted a sociological study of people that are being used the online version of the EMU. In this article, the author presents the results of this study processed by methods of statistical analysis, and offers some discussions based on the results. Acquired information is important for the further progression of the EMU on the Internet, because it allows getting feedback from encyclopedia users.

Navigating the information space of the Mary MacQueen Scrap Book wiki: is it an index, a mind map or a topic map?

This paper discusses the use of wiki technology to provide a navigation structure for the online version of the Mary MacQueen Scrap Book, which contains newspaper clippings about the Victorian artist. After outlining the architecture of the wiki, the navigation structure is discussed and several questions are posed: is the navigation structure an index? If so, what type? Or is it just a linkage structure or topic map? Does such a distinction really matter? Are these definitions in reality function-based?

Thresholds, Text Coverage, Vocabulary Size, and Reading Comprehension in Applied Linguistics

<p>The inextricable link between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension is incontrovertible. However, questions remain regarding the nature of the interaction. One question which remains unresolved is whether there is an optimum text coverage, or ratio of known to unknown words in a text, such that any deleterious effects of the unknown words on reading comprehension are minimised. A related question is what vocabulary size would a reader need to have in order to achieve the optimum text coverage for a given text or class of texts. This thesis addresses these questions in three ways. First, a replication and expansion of a key study (Hu & Nation, 2000)1 was performed. In that study, 98% text coverage was found to be optimal for adequate reading comprehension of short fiction texts when reading for pleasure. To replicate that study, equivalent measures of reading comprehension were collected from a more homogeneous group of participants at a university in northern Thailand (n = 138), under stricter conditions and random assignment to one of three text coverage conditions, to verify the generalisability of the results. The original study was also expanded by measuring reader characteristics thought to contribute to reading comprehension, such as vocabulary size, l1 and l2 literacy, and reading attitudes, in an effort to improve the explainable reading comprehension variance. In order to more accurately calculate the text coverage a reader experiences for a particular text, both the vocabulary profile of the text and the vocabulary size of the reader must be known as precisely as possible. Therefore, to contribute to the question of vocabulary size, changes such as measuring item completion time and varying the order of item presentation were made to the VST (P. Nation & Beglar, 2007) to improve its sensitivity and accuracy. This may ultimately lead to increased precision when using text coverage to predict reading comprehension. Finally, l2 English vocabulary size norms were established to supplement the diagnostic usefulness of the VST. Data were collected through an online version of the VST created for this thesis from primarily self-selected participants (n 1:31 105) located in countries (n 100) around the world representing several l1 and age groups. Analysis of the data collected for this thesis suggest that text coverage explains much less reading comprehension variance than previously reported while vocabulary size may be a more powerful predictor. An internal replication of Hu and Nation (2000) found errors in the calculation of optimum text coverage and in the reported size of the effect on reading comprehension. A critical review of the theoretical foundations of the text coverage model of reading comprehension found serious flaws in construct operationalisation and research design. Due to these flaws, most research which has purported to measure the effect of text coverage on reading comprehension actually measured the effect of an intervening variable: readers’ vocabulary size. Vocabulary size norms derived from data collected through an online version of the VST appear to be reliable and representative. Varying item presentation order appears to increase test sensitivity. Despite a moderate effect for l1 English users, item completion time does not seem to account for any variance in vocabulary size scores for l2 English learners. Based on the finding that vocabulary size may explain both reading comprehension and text coverage, the putative power of text coverage to predict reading comprehension is challenged. However, an alternative measure which may offer greater power to predict reading comprehension, the VST, has been modified and made available online. This version of the VST may provide greater sensitivity and ease of use than the offline, paper-based version.</p>

Thresholds, Text Coverage, Vocabulary Size, and Reading Comprehension in Applied Linguistics

<p>The inextricable link between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension is incontrovertible. However, questions remain regarding the nature of the interaction. One question which remains unresolved is whether there is an optimum text coverage, or ratio of known to unknown words in a text, such that any deleterious effects of the unknown words on reading comprehension are minimised. A related question is what vocabulary size would a reader need to have in order to achieve the optimum text coverage for a given text or class of texts. This thesis addresses these questions in three ways. First, a replication and expansion of a key study (Hu & Nation, 2000)1 was performed. In that study, 98% text coverage was found to be optimal for adequate reading comprehension of short fiction texts when reading for pleasure. To replicate that study, equivalent measures of reading comprehension were collected from a more homogeneous group of participants at a university in northern Thailand (n = 138), under stricter conditions and random assignment to one of three text coverage conditions, to verify the generalisability of the results. The original study was also expanded by measuring reader characteristics thought to contribute to reading comprehension, such as vocabulary size, l1 and l2 literacy, and reading attitudes, in an effort to improve the explainable reading comprehension variance. In order to more accurately calculate the text coverage a reader experiences for a particular text, both the vocabulary profile of the text and the vocabulary size of the reader must be known as precisely as possible. Therefore, to contribute to the question of vocabulary size, changes such as measuring item completion time and varying the order of item presentation were made to the VST (P. Nation & Beglar, 2007) to improve its sensitivity and accuracy. This may ultimately lead to increased precision when using text coverage to predict reading comprehension. Finally, l2 English vocabulary size norms were established to supplement the diagnostic usefulness of the VST. Data were collected through an online version of the VST created for this thesis from primarily self-selected participants (n 1:31 105) located in countries (n 100) around the world representing several l1 and age groups. Analysis of the data collected for this thesis suggest that text coverage explains much less reading comprehension variance than previously reported while vocabulary size may be a more powerful predictor. An internal replication of Hu and Nation (2000) found errors in the calculation of optimum text coverage and in the reported size of the effect on reading comprehension. A critical review of the theoretical foundations of the text coverage model of reading comprehension found serious flaws in construct operationalisation and research design. Due to these flaws, most research which has purported to measure the effect of text coverage on reading comprehension actually measured the effect of an intervening variable: readers’ vocabulary size. Vocabulary size norms derived from data collected through an online version of the VST appear to be reliable and representative. Varying item presentation order appears to increase test sensitivity. Despite a moderate effect for l1 English users, item completion time does not seem to account for any variance in vocabulary size scores for l2 English learners. Based on the finding that vocabulary size may explain both reading comprehension and text coverage, the putative power of text coverage to predict reading comprehension is challenged. However, an alternative measure which may offer greater power to predict reading comprehension, the VST, has been modified and made available online. This version of the VST may provide greater sensitivity and ease of use than the offline, paper-based version.</p>

French norms for the online Sussex-Waterloo Scale of Hypnotizability

This paper presents French norms for the online version of the Sussex-Waterloo Scale of Hypnotizability. This scale is an online adaptation of the well-established Waterloo-Stanford Group C scale of hypnotic susceptibility with both behavioural and subjective scores. Insofar as hypnotizability (the ability to respond to suggestions in a hypnotic context) varies substantially in the general population and remains generally stable throughout life, it is important to measure it in experiments using hypnotic suggestion. However, these scales are time consuming, as they often require multiple sessions in order to achieve a suitable sample size for subsequent participant screening. One promising route for overcoming this inconvenience is to perform hypnotizability assessment online. The Sussex-Waterloo Scale of Hypnotizability is the first to have demonstrated the viability of online measurement. We show that our translation of this scale yields similar statistics. Alongside recent critics of the classic scales of hypnotizability, we point to limitations of this scale and discuss ways of accommodating some of its drawbacks.

Authorship Correction: International Changes in COVID-19 Clinical Trajectories Across 315 Hospitals and 6 Countries: Retrospective Cohort Study (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Authorship Correction: International Changes in COVID-19 Clinical Trajectories Across 315 Hospitals and 6 Countries: Retrospective Cohort Study In “International Changes in COVID-19 Clinical Trajectories Across 315 Hospitals and 6 Countries: Retrospective Cohort Study” (J Med Internet Res 2021 Oct 11;23(10):e31400. doi: 10.2196/31400), two errors were noted. Due to a system error, the equal contribution of the last three authors was not noted. To correct this under the JMIR parameters allowing only one equal contribution footnote, we are implementing the following changes. In the originally published paper, equal contribution was noted as: “Griffin M Weber MD, PhD1*, Harrison G Zhang1*, Sehi L'Yi PhD1*,… *These authors contributed equally” This has been corrected to: “Griffin M Weber MD, PhD1*, Harrison G Zhang1*, Sehi L'Yi PhD1*,… Tianxi Cai ScD1*‡, Andrew M South MD, MS36*, Gabriel A Brat MD, MPH1*… *These authors contributed equally” Additionally, the Authors’ Contribution section has been updated to include: “These authors contributed equally: Griffin M Weber MD, PhD, Harrison G Zhang, Sehi L’Yi PhD. These authors jointly supervised the work: Tianxi Cai ScD, Andrew M South MD, MS, Gabriel A Brat MD.” The correction will appear in the online version of the paper on the JMIR Publications website on November 2, 2021, together with the publication of this correction notice.