Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:Master's Degree. Education and research. Part 1. Tutorial
.pdf
141
4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPARATIVE NEWSPAPER
ANALYSIS31
a) Choose a news st ory, whic h has been reported in both the Daily Mail and
The Guardian. Provide a link to each.
b) Write a brief su mmary (4-6 sentences) of the inci dent/topic both articles
are reporting on.
c) Write a short analysis of the diff erence in the two headlines. How are the y
different? What choices have been made in selecting the headlines?
d) Comment on the diff erences between the two ar ticles under the following
headings. Support your answer with quotations.
e) Explain which artic le you prefer and why. You may make your decision
based on any criteria you choose (e.g. how entertaining /clear /informative/
stylish the article was) as long as you make it clear what criteria you have
judged the articles on. Support any statement you make with quotations.
1. CONTENT & DETAI L: What extra details does one article offer over
the other? What details have been missed out?
2. VOCABULARY / COMPLEXITY OF LANGUAGE- How complex is
the language of each article? What words in particular are usual or
interesting? Is there any technical jargon?
3. TONE - What is the tone of each article? If they are different, consider
why.
4. ATTITUDE / STA NCE / B IAS O F TH E WRITER - Does the writer of
either article have an agenda or preference? How can you tell? Can you
identify the newspaper's bias in the article (Guardian = left-wing; Daily
Mail = right-wing)?
5. ACCOMPANYING PHOTO (S), ILLUSTRATIONS, GRAPHICS,
and GRAPHS - What graphics are included with each art icle? How does
the choice of accompanying images reflect the articles' differences? Does
the choice of photo/illustration influence the way the story is being
presented?
31
https://bearsdeneng.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/newspaper-analysis-instructions-and-examples.pdf
142
APPENDIX II. SAMPLES OF THE RESEARCH STATEMENTS
1. THE QUALITY RESEARCH STATEMENT IN IT-INDUSTRY
Rajshekhar Sunderraman
Computer Science Department
Georgia State University
May 2005
My research interests and activities over the past six years have mainly
centred around three areas: Databases, Middleware for Distributed and Mobile
Applications, and Hybrid Intelligent Systems and its Applications. In additio n
to these research areas, I was also actively involved in a NSF funded “Digital
Library” project that created a central repository of educational materials for
Computer Graphics and Visualization Education.
More recently, I have started working in the emerging area of
bioinformatics, in particul ar data management issues related to life sciences
data. As part of a P20 Planning grant fro m NIH, I am working on t he proble m
of efficiently storing, querying, and mining protein structure data. I am also
actively participating in a neuro-informatics project funded internally by a seed
grant from the Brains and Behaviour program at Georgia State University. This
project involves the creation and management of a Web based resource that
catalogues and organizes identified neuronal types and their synaptic
connections for a number of invertebrate species. This resource is expected to
benefit neuroscientists who study model invertebrate nervous systems, which
are composed of individually identifiable neurons.
The following sections summarize my research efforts during the past
six years in the three broad areas:
I. Databases
Data Models for Non-Standard Data: I have continued to build on my
earlier research on representing and manipulating incomplete, inconsistent, and
uncertain information by considering neutrosophic sets, a generalization of
fuzzy, paraconsistent, and other nonclassical sets, and using them to model
uncertain, inconsistent, and incomplete information. I have also studied a
special case of neutrosophic sets, termed paraconsistent intuitionistic fuzzy
sets, that allows paraconsistent relational databases to generalize to include
“belief” and “doubt” measures. The data model is capable of modeling both
incomplete as well as inconsistent information and standard relational algebraic
32
32
http://tinman.cs.gsu.edu/~raj/PAPERS/raj-research.pdf.
143
operators are generalized to query against the incompleteness and
inconsistencies present in the database. We have also proposed an SQL like
construct for querying such data. Most of this work is summarized in the
recently published book (publication 12 in the CV).
Global Querying and Constraint Checking in Multi-Databases: In
this research, we have studied the proble m of querying and updating a system
of databases, each operating in an autonomous manner with an independent
schema, much like a multi-database. To query a system of databases, we ha ve
proposed a Java API that hides many of the complexities involved in
programming a global query across the set of databases. We have also looked
at the problem of maintaining integrity constraints that are global in nature, i.e.
the constraints refer to more than one object r esiding in one or more of the
databases. We have proposed an elegant constraint decomposition algorithm
and have implemented it using mobile a gents. Several optimizations have also
been proposed to this al gorithm as well as an extensio n to handle constraints
that involve aggregate operations have been designed.
Web and Semi-Structured Data: In the area of Web and semistructured data, I have looked at the problem of constraint specification and
enforcement in multiple XML databases. An efficient constraint decomposition
algorithm is introduced to deal with global constraints over a collection of XML
data sources. The constraint checking is carried out before any updates are
performed on the database thereby saving any potential rol lback times that may
be needed to recover from constraint violation. I have also studied the problem of
effectively querying data from multiple Web sources using Wrapper
methodologies.
II. Middleware for Distributed and Mobile Applications
I have also been activel y in volved in a middleware project, called Syste m
on Devices (SyD). SyD is a middleware t est-bed which allows programmers t o
rapidly develop an d de ploy c ollabor ati ve appl icati ons runnin g on a coll ectio n of
heterogeneous and possibly mobile devices on a network, each potentially
hosting data stor es of interest to the u sers of the applicati on. Developing such
applications usin g current tec hnologies is tedious an d time cons uming and SyD
relieves the programmer of many of the cumbersome data and network
programming details by providing a high level API to work with. Data
communication is done usi ng XML and remote proce dure calls are enabl ed via
Web Services. The design of SyD is modular and consists of several kernel
components. Two of the main components are the SyD Listener and the SyD
Engine modules. The S yD Listener module is a lightweig ht component that can
easily be deployed on a nu mber of de vices i nclu din g hand -held devices and cell
144
phones. The listener module enables remote pr ocedure calls to be execut ed on
the host device and serves data from the local data store. The SyD Engine
module allows for method invocations on individual as well as groups of objects.
It consists of a dispatcher component that is responsible for making the necessary
method invocations on remote objects and an aggregator component that
accumulates the results from these method invocations and presents an
aggregated view of the results back to the invoking application program.
The success of SyD middleware platform has been demonstrated in two
key collaborative applications: the calendar application and the fleet
application. In the calendar application, several individuals are maintaining
their independent schedule i nformation in t heir hand -held devices. The typical
functionalities provided in such an application are: set up meeting among
individuals with certain condit ions t o be met such as a re quire d quoru m, set up
tentative meetings which could not be set up otherwise due to unavailability of
certain individuals, and remove oneself from a meeting resulting in automatic
triggers being executed that may possibly convert tentative meetings into
confirmed ones. The fleet application involves the operations of a shipping and
delivery company such as FedEx within a city with trucks equipped with
devices that communicate with other trucks as well as stationary nodes
representing warehouses and central stations. Several problems such as
efficient scheduling of deliveries, ad hoc rescheduling of deliveries due to
accident situations, etc were studied and implemented.
III. Hybrid Intelligent Systems
In the area of Hybrid Intelligent Systems, I have used intelligent agents,
neural networks, fuzzy logic, and granular computing techniques to build many
different applications.
In a recent work, we have proposed a framework to evaluate Web
services using soft computin g methodologies. When con fronted with a task of
choosing between competing Web services offering the same capability, this
framework allows the d ynamic computati on of the Quali ty of Service (QoS) of
Web services. The main evaluation engine employs neutrosophic neural
networks with genetic algorithms to calculate the QoS of competing Web
services.
In an earlier work dealing with college selections, we proposed a fuzzy
rule tree based approach to evaluate colleges for possibility of admission based
on a number of characteristics. The system is an expert agent, which uses a
hierarchical fuzzy knowledge base using fuzzy logic for inferences. The
system designed was more of a framework capable of implementing a number
of similar applications fro m a nu mber of domains. With a simple specification
145
change, the college selection system could be easily transformed into a
physician selection system, which evaluates physicians for the possibility of
best match to deal with a patient’s problem.
In a series of papers, we have also designed and implemented several
Web applications that use h ybrid soft co mputing methodologies to incorporat e
intelligent behaviour into the system. Several Web data mining systems were
also designed and implemented that use soft computing methodologies.
Future Goals
I now present some of my future research goals. I am very much
interested in solving some difficult problems that are associated with life
sciences data that is growing at an astronomical pace. I have begun work with
two Ph.D. students in the area of Domain Specific Data Modeling. In one case,
we are proposing to introduce an abstract domain specific layer (in this case
genomic domain) on top of an exis ting object-oriented database system. This
abstract layer would contain several domain specific data types and operators.
A domain-specific query language is being designed that would be easily
understood and used by domain scientists t o pose ad-hoc queries. We are also
proposing a limited domain-specific programming language using which
domain scientists would be able to formulate small scripts or programs on their
own and run them to transform their data. In another project in the neuroinformatics domain, we are proposing a “neuron data model” that is capable of
representing complex information about neurons and their connections to other
neurons. We are also proposing a neuron query language that will allow neuroscientists to interact with their data in an easy to use manner. This work is in
conjunction with a larger database -building project called NeuronBank that is
creating a universal resource of neuronal information for neuro-scientists to
share. This project is akin to the more widely used data banks such as Protein
Data Bank, GeneBank etc.
One other near term goal of mine is in the area of XML query
processing using XML to Relational or XML to object mappings. In this work,
we are proposing to develop query transformation algorithms that
automatically map queries in XML query languages such as XPath or XQuery
into corresponding queries in relational or object databases. This mapping
would be tied to a specific data mapping and would have to satisfy a
correctness criterion typically used in mapping systems such as the one used
here. The advantage of such query mappings would be that we could use
robust relational or object systems to store XML data and provide for XML
querying without the need for a native XML database.
146
2. THE QUALITY RESEARCH STATEMENT IN MODERN
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
33
Daniel R. Rogers
November, 2011
Summary
My overarching research interests revolve around marine microbial
ecology and geomicrobiology, the interactions between microbial
communities, their geochemical e nvironment and the resulting modifications
of the rock substrate and environmental chemistry. I use a combination of
modern molecular microbiology (PCR, qPCR, next-generation sequencing,
etc.), geochemical (wet chemistry and electrochemistry) and isotopic
techniques (natural abundance, (radio) tracer-level, and isotope pairing) to
answer the how, who, where and ho w fast questions of microbia l ecology and
geomicrobiology. More specifically I am interested in examining the direct and
intimate relationship between the activity of the biological community, the
geochemical signature of the activity and how that signature may translate
between environments thus enhancing our understanding of the current and
past processes that drive our planet.
Introduction
The cycles of the major elements on earth, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur,
etc. are controlled by interaction between the biosphere, lithosphere and
hydrosphere. The pathways or mechanisms that drive these pr ocesses, while
ultimately thermodynamically favoured, are often carried out and exploited by
the microbiota. The result of the processes change the geochemical
environment, often on a time-scale much more rapid than abiotic geochemistry
could explain. For example, the oxygenation of the atmosphere and the
accumulation of fixed carbon and nitrogen are direct results of microbial
processes. My research interests centre on examining the intimately linked
interactions between the microbiological and geochemical spheres. I strive to
use my novel training as both an environmental chemist and marine microbial
ecologist, including tracer-level and natural abundance isotopic and molecular
tools, to investigate environmental processes on a range of temporal and spatial
scales. These tools directly apply to the central questions of geomicrobiology,
who (molecular - 16S rRNA genes), what process and where (molecular -
33
http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/drrogers/files/researchstatement2011.pdf.
147
functional genes qPCR surveys, natural abundance isotopes) and how fast are
these processes going (tracer incubations or natural abundance isotopes).
My interests focus on the cycling of both nitrogen and sulphur in the
environment. Both elements are essential for life and because of their many
oxidation states t he resultant compounds c an be used in alternati ve respiratory
pathways in many en vir on ment s r an ging from common mari n e sediments to the
deep-sea. Furthermore, these two elemental c ycles have als o been altered in th e
coastal setting due to anthropogenic inputs. For example, the Haber-Bosch
process has doubled the worldwide inventory of fixed nitrogen (ammonia, nitrite
and nitrate). This has resulted in our ability to feed our 7 billion mouths and keep
our lawns green. However, f ixed nitro gen are mobile speci es and when the rain
falls, the fixed nitrogen follows the water to the local stream and ultimate ly to the
coastal waters. Excess nitrogen in coastal waters i s linked to many deleterious
processes and events inc luding phytoplankton bl ooms, hypoxia and anoxi a, sea
grass and shellfish die off and human health concerns. The stimulation of
biomass by the addi tion of nitro gen can produce local h ypoxic or anoxic events
and thus a greater proportion of the fixed carbon is available for anaerobic
respiration. In the marine en vironment thi s respirati on is dominat ed by sulp hate
reduction. This is but one way the nitrogen and sulphur cycle interact.
Research Settings
I envision my laboratory as having both local coastal waters and deep-sea
field components. Many of the processes I study occur at many locations but the
communities may change from location to location. Having two or more sites
allows the evaluati on of h ypothe ses about the mecha nism s and the c ommunit ies
involved to be investi gated separat ely. I ha ve worked in a l ot of coastal s ystems
such as salt marshes, salt ponds and coastal sediments, including my Ph.D. work
examining the geo microbiology of the nitro gen cycle in a coastal groundwater
aquifer underlying the Waquiot Bay National Estuary Research Reserve
(WBNERR). The local sites are easily accessed and can be used to generate
long-term and/or high freque ncy monitoring data. Local sites are also excellent
proving grounds for the development of techniques and instruments.
Collaborations with other researchers within and outside of the
department are also more easily forged in this small-scale setting. There are
also advantages to working at sites and on environmental issues that have a
more visceral impact on the general public. Wi th half the world’s population
living within 50 miles of the coast, having a coastal research site is of great
importance. For example, my work on nitrogen cycling in the groundwater
under Waquiot Bay, MA ha s direct application for loca l decision makers and
148
planners. These more politically minded people can use the primary research
and interactions with the scientis t involved to make decisions and judgments
that improve the health of our coastal systems.
Remote environments offer an opportunity to examine
geomicrobiological processes in more “pristine” settings that may serve as
analogy for early earth history or provide ground truth data for extra-solar
research efforts. Deep-sea systems such as hydrothermal vents have often been
described as an analogy to early earth. The chemical environment is extreme
compared to our everyday experience. Organic carbon is limiting and toxic
dissolved (up to mM level) and solid phas e sulphur (H2S, Sx 2-, pyrite, etc.)
are the main sources of electrons driving primary production, as opposed to the
light drive systems that support m ore fam iliar life.
The major oxidants include the familiar oxygen but also extend rapidl y
through nitrate, metals and sulphate in a redox cascade similar to that observed
in carbon rich coastal environments. Organisms that thrive in these
environments must be able to tolerate high frequency changes in the chemical
and physical environment including dynamic redox potentials, pH and oxidants
as well as severe changes in temperature in excess of 100°C.
Research Approach
Oceanography and geomicrobiology are interdisciplinary efforts. I strive
to combine the use of isotopic, chemical, molecular and traditional
microbiology to address the basic who, what, where, how and how fast
questions that are the bas is of microbial ecology and geomicrobiology. There
are many advantages to using an interdisciplinary approach such as described
here. First, each technique approaches the question from a different angle;
different set of assumptions and the results may integrate over a different
temporal or spatial scale. For example, combining the use of natural abundance
isotopic and molecular data can yield overlapping views of the processes
occurring in an environment. Isotopic measure ments integrate o ver the histor y
(temporal and spatial) of that solute pool. Changes in the δ15N of the nitrate
pool along a flow path from point A to point B reflect the processes that
occurred in that pool during that transit time and within the matrix of that flowpath. Concurrent molecular data, 16S rRNA genes for example, provide
evidence for which organisms are present, though 16S rRNA genes do not
reveal what these organisms are doing. Furthermore, the DNA record has a
lifetime of its own which may integrate of days, months, years or longer
depending on the specific c onditions of the environmen t. By combining these
distinct techniques, inferences into the ecology of the system and rates of
149
reaction can be estimated (ex. Rogers and Casciotti , 2010). Incubations with
tracer level isotopes ( I have done thi s type of work with both radioacti ve 35S,
14C as well as stable 15N tracer compounds) can be used to determine
potential rates of specific processes including processe s that are traditionally
difficult to access such as anaerobic ammonia or methane oxidation (anammox
and AOM respectively). I have employed 15N stable isotope pairing
techniques to assay these processes in both a groundwater aquifer (Ph.D.) and
deep-sea massive sulphide (Postdoc) incubat ions. In the Casciotti l aboratory, I
used both natural abundance δ15N and δ18O of the nitrite and nitrate pools and
isotope pairing techniques with 15N-labelled ammonium and nitrate to detect
the presence and estimate rates of denitrification, nitrification and anammox
processes. One of the results of this work shows that denitrification, in the
nitrate rich groundwater, is limited to areas that experience mixing with
reduced seawater (bay water ) infiltrating through the se diment, however, the
rates are similar to those reported for coastal sediments where the organic load
is much higher. Molecular data from concurrent samples demonstrates a shift
in the denitrified community toward more marine-like nitrite reductase
sequences as the profile transitions between the groundwater and the
underlying reduced seawater. In the Girguis laboratory, working with a
graduate student, I am coupling 35S tracer methods with functional gene
abundance, through quantitative polymerase chain reaction, to examine the rate
and locations of sulphate reduction in deep-sea massive sulphides from the
Juan de Fuca Ridge. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide
estimates of sulphate reduction rates from deep-sea hydrothermal vent deposits
across a range of relevant temperatures. I am also attempting to recover RNA
from these difficult, metal rich samples in an effort to place constraints on
metabolic rates per gene expression level.
Student Involvement
I have worked with and mentored students ( high school, undergraduate
and graduate), technicians and postdoctoral researchers. I can envision a role
for researchers at each stage in my laboratory. For more the most junior , the
high school and undergraduate students I prefer to employ them in small, termlength projects where techniques and fundamentals are heavily emphasized. As
these students gain experience and technical skill they can be given more
freedom and creativity in the laboratory. Graduate students initially (first year
or two) will be trained on both technique and research philosophy, gaining
greater independence as experience grows. I see Master’s degree students as
trained, skilled researchers but they ought to have concise projects that are
150
mainly driven by my research interests. I expect Ph.D. students to have a
greater role in the development of the project rationale, methodology and
perhaps funding effort. The goal is to foster their development into
independent and talented researchers. Postdoctoral researchers join my lab to
either gain experience in a new field or in a new technique, adding to their
professional toolbox. While I will strive to i nclude postdoctoral funding in my
research proposals I also believe it is important for young Ph.D. level
researchers to attempt to establish thei r own fundi ng source s. This be nefits t he
Postdoc as much if not more than the establis hed laboratory. The postdoctoral
period is also a time to develop mentoring skills by working closely with
graduate students, perhaps on a joint project, in the laboratory.
Future Directions
In coastal systems, I am interested in asking: Where does nitrogen
removal occur along the coast? What are the potential pathways and rates of
nitrogen oxidation a nd ulti mat ely re moval for the s yste m? How do ot her cycles ,
such as sulphur, interact with nitrogen cycling? What environmental factors
(carbon content, flow rates, etc.) may enhance or abate the nitrogen removal
process? Is nitrogen transport into the coastal waters a focused or distributed
flow and how might that aff ect how we engi neer solut ions (move fro m septi c to
sewer, housing development level treatment options, beach barriers, etc.)?
Larger-scale deep-sea expeditions will come through collaboration wi th
colleagues who maintain large ocean-going efforts and as ship time becomes
available. The key questions I am interested in addressing are: Nitrate is
available (5 µM) in the deep-sea and crenarchaea are abundant, what is the role
of these archaea in the deep-sea nitrogen cycle? What role does nitrate from
seawater and ammonia from thermal fluids play in microbial communities at
organic poor systems like the Eastern Pacific Rise verses organic and
ammonium rich (as high as mM levels) settings like Guaymus Basin? How
widespread is the anammox process at these vent environments and what does
this process look like isotopically in the ammonium, nitrate and nitrite pools?
Conclusion
I have developed a unique skill set that encompasses traditional
microbiology, modern molec ular techniques, isotopes and geochemistr y. I am
excited about using this skill s et and training to investigate how the microbial
world effects and drives the elemental cycles of nitrogen, sulphur and more. I
believe the union of techniques, knowledge and skill from a range of
disciplines is necessary to address these questions in the environment. My
background and training bring this approach and skill set to together.
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]