title: Co-browsing the Greenstone digital library collection

authors: Alzahrani, Saad Ghorom

subjects: Co-browsing

abstract: Context: Social interaction is an important aspect of a successful web page. Social network sites attract many people worldwide. The social interaction aspect is missing from digital libraries, including the Greenstone Digital Library.
Objectives: This study investigates how two distant users exchange information while in front of the computer and browsing the same Greenstone Digital library collection, in real time, and identifies the features that support their needs.
Methods: To answer the research questions, an observation methodology is applied to gain more insight into users’ information-seeking behaviour for an online DL. Two recording elements were used to gather data from a sample of eight pairs of university students (n=16). The two elements were video camera (with audio) and screen capture. Further, a questionnaire was used to collect data about the workload during the session.
Results: The data obtained was analysed using conversation and content analysis methods. The findings of this user study related to the metadata presentation, referencing information and search box activities. A Co-browsing GDL system is proposed based on the requirements derived from findings from the user study and also the related works.
Evaluation: A usability test is used to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the proposed system. Think aloud and questionnaire methods are used to gather the data of this usability test.
Results: The result of this study “debug” the proposed Co-browsing GDL system and explore issues related to communication and private works, with it having become apparent through the study that improvements can be made to some parts of the system presentation.
Conclusions: The findings of the thesis research have been used to provide recommendations for future work to develop and implement a Co-browsing Greenstone digital library (GDL) system.

text: Co-browsing the Greenstone digital library collection Context: Social interaction is an important aspect of a successful web page. Social network sites attract many people worldwide. The social interaction aspect is missing from digital libraries, including the Greenstone Digital Library.
Objectives: This study investigates how two distant users exchange information while in front of the computer and browsing the same Greenstone Digital library collection, in real time, and identifies the features that support their needs.
Methods: To answer the research questions, an observation methodology is applied to gain more insight into users’ information-seeking behaviour for an online DL. Two recording elements were used to gather data from a sample of eight pairs of university students (n=16). The two elements were video camera (with audio) and screen capture. Further, a questionnaire was used to collect data about the workload during the session.
Results: The data obtained was analysed using conversation and content analysis methods. The findings of this user study related to the metadata presentation, referencing information and search box activities. A Co-browsing GDL system is proposed based on the requirements derived from findings from the user study and also the related works.
Evaluation: A usability test is used to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the proposed system. Think aloud and questionnaire methods are used to gather the data of this usability test.
Results: The result of this study “debug” the proposed Co-browsing GDL system and explore issues related to communication and private works, with it having become apparent through the study that improvements can be made to some parts of the system presentation.
Conclusions: The findings of the thesis research have been used to provide recommendations for future work to develop and implement a Co-browsing Greenstone digital library (GDL) system.

year: 2014

title: Deep mutational learning predicts ACE2 binding and antibody escape to combinatorial mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain.

authors: Taft, Joseph M.

subjects: artificial intelligence

abstract: The continual evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the emergence of variants that show resistance to vaccines and neutralizing antibodies threaten to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic. Selection and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants are driven in part by mutations within the viral spike protein and in particular the ACE2 receptor-binding domain (RBD), a primary target site for neutralizing antibodies. Here, we develop deep mutational learning (DML), a machine-learning-guided protein engineering technology, which is used to investigate a massive sequence space of combinatorial mutations, representing billions of RBD variants, by accurately predicting their impact on ACE2 binding and antibody escape. A highly diverse landscape of possible SARS-CoV-2 variants is identified that could emerge from a multitude of evolutionary trajectories. DML may be used for predictive profiling on current and prospective variants, including highly mutated variants such as Omicron, thus guiding the development of therapeutic antibody treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

text: Deep mutational learning predicts ACE2 binding and antibody escape to combinatorial mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain. The continual evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the emergence of variants that show resistance to vaccines and neutralizing antibodies threaten to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic. Selection and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants are driven in part by mutations within the viral spike protein and in particular the ACE2 receptor-binding domain (RBD), a primary target site for neutralizing antibodies. Here, we develop deep mutational learning (DML), a machine-learning-guided protein engineering technology, which is used to investigate a massive sequence space of combinatorial mutations, representing billions of RBD variants, by accurately predicting their impact on ACE2 binding and antibody escape. A highly diverse landscape of possible SARS-CoV-2 variants is identified that could emerge from a multitude of evolutionary trajectories. DML may be used for predictive profiling on current and prospective variants, including highly mutated variants such as Omicron, thus guiding the development of therapeutic antibody treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

year: 2022

title: Military Settlement in the Middle Waikato Basin

authors: Allen, Peter D.H.

abstract: Military settlement formed a brief but distinctive phase in the European occupation of the Middle Waikato Basin. Prior to the 1863 - 1864 Waikato War, few Europeans, other than a small number of missionaries and traders, were settled in the region. The setting of the Middle Waikato Basin was largely unmodified by Man, except along the major rivers where a dense Maori population was settled. 
During the 1850's, the encroachment of European settlers upon Maori tribal lands in many North Island regions, including the Waikato, led to an increase in tension between the two populations and open conflict. This conflict slowed down the progress of colonization in the North Island. To enable colonization to continue in those regions disturbed by Maori unrest, a scheme of military settlement was devised. The aim of this scheme was the formation of compact, self-sufficient defensive settlements to act as a deterrent to Maori unrest. These settlements would also provide an assurance to settlers of security for their life and property.
 Military settlement in the Middle Waikato Basin consisted of two phases. In the first phase, the nodal points of the military settlements, the townships, were established and occupied by the military settlers. In the second phase, farm districts were surveyed around the nodal points and the military settlers moved out from the townships to occupy and develop the land they were allocated. A number of factors, relating to deficiencies in the scheme of military settlement and to the particular problems of settlement in the region, contributed to the failure of the military settlers to successfully establish farms on the land they were allocated. 
The scheme of military settlement largely failed as a method of colonization in the Middle Waikato Basin. However, the pattern of human occupation, established in the initial phase of military settlement, remained when the need for defensive settlements had gone, and forms the basis of the present pattern of settlement.

text: Military Settlement in the Middle Waikato Basin Military settlement formed a brief but distinctive phase in the European occupation of the Middle Waikato Basin. Prior to the 1863 - 1864 Waikato War, few Europeans, other than a small number of missionaries and traders, were settled in the region. The setting of the Middle Waikato Basin was largely unmodified by Man, except along the major rivers where a dense Maori population was settled. 
During the 1850's, the encroachment of European settlers upon Maori tribal lands in many North Island regions, including the Waikato, led to an increase in tension between the two populations and open conflict. This conflict slowed down the progress of colonization in the North Island. To enable colonization to continue in those regions disturbed by Maori unrest, a scheme of military settlement was devised. The aim of this scheme was the formation of compact, self-sufficient defensive settlements to act as a deterrent to Maori unrest. These settlements would also provide an assurance to settlers of security for their life and property.
 Military settlement in the Middle Waikato Basin consisted of two phases. In the first phase, the nodal points of the military settlements, the townships, were established and occupied by the military settlers. In the second phase, farm districts were surveyed around the nodal points and the military settlers moved out from the townships to occupy and develop the land they were allocated. A number of factors, relating to deficiencies in the scheme of military settlement and to the particular problems of settlement in the region, contributed to the failure of the military settlers to successfully establish farms on the land they were allocated. 
The scheme of military settlement largely failed as a method of colonization in the Middle Waikato Basin. However, the pattern of human occupation, established in the initial phase of military settlement, remained when the need for defensive settlements had gone, and forms the basis of the present pattern of settlement.

year: 1969