Topic Modeling and Text Analysis for Qualitative Policy Research

This paper contributes to a critical methodological discussion that has direct ramifications for policy studies: how computational methods can be concretely incorporated into existing processes of textual analysis and interpretation without compromising scientific integrity. We focus on the computational method of topic modeling and investigate how it interacts with two larger families of qualitative methods: content and classification methods characterized by interest in words as communication units and discourse and representation methods characterized by interest in the meaning of communicative acts. Based on analysis of recent academic publications that have used topic modeling for textual analysis, our findings show that different mixed‐method research designs are appropriate when combining topic modeling with the two groups of methods. Our main concluding argument is that topic modeling enables scholars to apply policy theories and concepts to much larger sets of data. That said, the use of computational methods requires genuine understanding of these techniques to obtain substantially meaningful results. We encourage policy scholars to reflect carefully on methodological issues, and offer a simple heuristic to help identify and address critical points when designing a study using topic modeling.     

16-18世纪英国宪制和宪制思想演进

英国16-18世纪宪制的演变比较曲折。内战前混合宪制已形成多年,其相应思想长期流行并影响后世。17世纪中期共和国的兴衰和分权制有名无实,给后人留下经验和教训。贵族寡头权力垄断和内阁制的形成发展,增强了18世纪英国混合制的特色。     

Qadhat—a comparative study of ancient and new lime mortar from the Marib province/Yemen

Qadhat is the name for a lime mortar in Southern Arabia. Its usage has a long tradition. This work describes physical and mineralogical properties of ancient, historical and new samples, which seem to have been produced the same way. XRD, thin sections and SEM analyses show the similarity of the material. It consists of aggregates of volcanic material that are rich in volcanic glass and lime as binder. The production process includes several hours of crushing the material, which produces fine-grained splinters of aggregates in the binder matrix and gives the mortar a high stability. A weathering test with sodium sulphate on different samples confirms that the stability of this mortar is the result of the production process.     

Voluntarism, municipalism and welfare: the geography of hospital utilization in England in 1938

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the pattern of hospital utilization (rather than provision) in England prior to the establishment of the NHS, showing the extent to which the probability of obtaining hospital treatment was a function of residence. Access to hospital care depended on the vigour of voluntarism and the political priorities of local governments. The pattern of voluntary hospital utilization is shown to have been markedly unequal, but the effect of municipal provision was to reduce disparities in access to services. The paper demonstrates variations in hospital utilization and discusses contemporary assessments of the situation. This work contributes to debates about the efficacy of non-profit forms of welfare delivery; it provides a novel British study to complement American work in this field. It also raises questions about the contemporary vogue for partnerships in health care delivery between the public and private sectors, arguing that such proposals rest on an optimistic view of history.     

邮轮旅游者未来价值评估与潜类分析模型——以大陆、香港和台湾为例

自20 世纪80 年代以来,现代邮轮旅游作为一种休闲度假方式,已经成为欧美国家中产阶级出游的重要选择之一。深入了解中国邮轮旅游者的特点并进行市场细分,有助于推动中国邮轮旅游市场开发。本研究根据顾客终身价值理论,测算了邮轮旅游者的未来价值,并通过探索性因子分析和验证性因子分析研究了邮轮旅游者的消费偏好,建立了邮轮旅游者未来价值评估模型。基于中国大陆、香港和台湾邮轮旅游者的相关数据,通过AMOS21.0 对邮轮旅游者未来价值模型进行了检验,发现了对邮轮旅游者未来价值有显著影响的因素;通过R13.0 软件进一步对显著影响邮轮旅游者未来价值的因素进行了潜类分析,识别出了未来价值较高的邮轮旅游市场,进而为有效地市场开发提供依据。     

Management of Historic Shipwrecks Through a Combination of Significance and Conservation Assessments

Abstract

Corrosion modelling of decay rates of the iron wrecks in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, has enabled an estimation of the speed at which the historic resource of iron shipwrecks is disappearing. Use of the significance ranking of the iron wrecks, based on the Australian National Standards for significance assessment, provides a useful guide to decision-making, but decisions based solely on these criteria can lead to less than optimal results. From the corrosion rates and the amount of residual metal thickness in structural elements it is possible to determine a conservation ranking that is based on the need for intervention and the chances of being successful in stabilizing the wrecks. The arithmetic product of the significance and conservation rankings defines the treatment score or ranking which forms the basis for rational decision making about deployment of resources.     

A Late Antique Ceramic Assemblage at Burgaz,Datça Peninsula,South‐west Turkey,and the ‘Normality of the Mixed Cargo’ in the Ancient Mediterranean

By combining underwater survey with formal and compositional study of ceramics, recent work at Burgaz (south‐west Turkey) reveals a late 6th‐ or 7th‐century assemblage of wine and perhaps other agricultural products carried in LR1 and LR2‐related amphoras. Representing various south‐east Aegean and likely Cilician producers, the mixed cargo aboard this probable shipwreck offers insights into the complex dynamics of seaborne distribution at the end of Antiquity. This brief study also underscores the need for documentation in underwater survey of amphora forms and fabrics, particularly those from a period characterized by intensified and diversified production of supra‐regional ceramic types.     

基于流形学习与光谱解混的文物表面字迹增强——以云冈第38窟为例

文物表面的文字是了解历史的关键信息，对文物表面文字信息的探索成为文物保护的重要环节。结合流形学习与光谱解混，提出一种新的文物表面字迹增强方法。首先，利用基于流形学习的等距映射方法对预处理后的高光谱图像进行非线性降维，得到信息量最大的灰度图像；其次，分析文字与背景的光谱特征，通过多层非负矩阵分解方法得到字迹丰度图；然后，将二者进行加权平均得到字迹增强图像，再与合成真彩色影像进行HSV融合，得到字迹融合影像；最后，为更好地辨认文字，在字迹增强图像上裁剪文字并做形态学变换，得到字迹提取图。以云冈石窟第38窟的一景褪色文字高光谱图像为例进行了验证，结果表明，该方法能够有效地增强出文物表面的褪色文字，且较其他增强方法效果更好。     

丙酸钙水酒精溶液对纸质文物脱酸效果的影响

为考察丙酸钙作为新型脱酸溶质、水-乙醇作为混合溶剂用于纸质文物脱酸效果.针对不同质量丙酸钙的水-乙醇饱和溶液、不同的水与乙醇的质量比、去酸溶液的量及纸张在溶液中浸泡的时间等因素,对纸张脱酸效果的影响做了系列研究.结果表明,内酸钙为3g的水-乙醇饱和溶液用于纸张脱酸具有较好的效果,纸张在该溶液中浸泡后pH值为7左右,且自然干燥速度快,基本不发皱、不变色.     

Biedermeier desk in Seattle: the Veit Simon children,class and the transnational in Holocaust history

This study offers a transnational history of the Holocaust based on a study of a well-known Berlin Jewish family, the Veit Simons. The authors use this tangled family history as a point of departure for a transnational history of the Holocaust. In particular, they show how to read the links connecting the protagonists to the wider world as a means of writing transnational history. Their history also shows the interconnectedness of perpetrators and victims. Moreover, they demonstrate the importance of the category of class for our understanding of the experience of Holocaust history. While the Veit Simons could hold off some of the persecution, eventually the Holocaust brought them to the ground, resulting in a story of illness, death and loss. Finally, the authors read the story from a feminist angle, offering an examination of the interplay of gender, class and persecution, examining how gender played out in coping while losing one’s former class.