title: Racing for conditional independence inference

authors: Bouckaert, Remco R.

subjects: computer science

abstract: In this article, we consider the computational aspects of deciding whether a conditional independence statement t is implied by a list of conditional independence statements L using the implication related to the method of structural imsets. We present two methods which have the interesting complementary properties that one method performs well to prove that t is implied by L, while the other performs well to prove that t is not implied by L. However, both methods do not perform well the opposite. This gives rise to a parallel algorithm in which both methods race against each other in order to determine effectively whether t is or is not implied.
Some empirical evidence is provided that suggest this racing algorithms method performs a lot better than an existing method based on so-called skeletal characterization of the respective implication. Furthermore, the method is able to handle more than five variables.

text: Racing for conditional independence inference In this article, we consider the computational aspects of deciding whether a conditional independence statement t is implied by a list of conditional independence statements L using the implication related to the method of structural imsets. We present two methods which have the interesting complementary properties that one method performs well to prove that t is implied by L, while the other performs well to prove that t is not implied by L. However, both methods do not perform well the opposite. This gives rise to a parallel algorithm in which both methods race against each other in order to determine effectively whether t is or is not implied.
Some empirical evidence is provided that suggest this racing algorithms method performs a lot better than an existing method based on so-called skeletal characterization of the respective implication. Furthermore, the method is able to handle more than five variables.

year: 2005

title: Qualitative methods to capture the nuance of realities: My journey to explore their stories, our stories and my own stories

authors: Lee, Jinah

abstract: This study reflects on my research journey with qualitative methodologies — specifically narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and duoethnography — as ways to capture the nuanced and complex realities embedded in diverse contexts. Through revisiting four distinct studies, I demonstrate how these approaches offer rich possibilities for novice and early-career researchers seeking to engage deeply with lived experience.

My doctoral research employed narrative inquiry to foreground their stories — the lived experiences of participants shaped and expressed through personal narratives. Building upon this foundation, I turned to autoethnography to explore my stories in relation to theirs, acknowledging the entangled nature of researcher and participant narratives and the emergence of our stories. Most recently, duoethnography has enabled collaborative meaning-making, where your stories and my stories intersect, challenge, and evolve together.

Across these methodological explorations, I highlight the importance of reflection, reflexivity, retrospection, and iteration as central practices within qualitative inquiry. These elements not only support the construction and co-construction of realities but also foster deeper understanding of complexity and context. By critically positioning ourselves in relation to the stories we study, co-create, and share, researchers can cultivate spaces for ethical engagement, transformative insight, and relational accountability.

text: Qualitative methods to capture the nuance of realities: My journey to explore their stories, our stories and my own stories This study reflects on my research journey with qualitative methodologies — specifically narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and duoethnography — as ways to capture the nuanced and complex realities embedded in diverse contexts. Through revisiting four distinct studies, I demonstrate how these approaches offer rich possibilities for novice and early-career researchers seeking to engage deeply with lived experience.

My doctoral research employed narrative inquiry to foreground their stories — the lived experiences of participants shaped and expressed through personal narratives. Building upon this foundation, I turned to autoethnography to explore my stories in relation to theirs, acknowledging the entangled nature of researcher and participant narratives and the emergence of our stories. Most recently, duoethnography has enabled collaborative meaning-making, where your stories and my stories intersect, challenge, and evolve together.

Across these methodological explorations, I highlight the importance of reflection, reflexivity, retrospection, and iteration as central practices within qualitative inquiry. These elements not only support the construction and co-construction of realities but also foster deeper understanding of complexity and context. By critically positioning ourselves in relation to the stories we study, co-create, and share, researchers can cultivate spaces for ethical engagement, transformative insight, and relational accountability.

year: 2025

title: Taking Taniwha seriously

authors: Kingsbury, Justine

subjects: intercultural understanding

abstract: Taniwha are powerful water creatures in te ao Māori (the Māori world/worldview). Taniwha sometimes afect public works in Aotearoa New Zealand: for example, consultation between government agencies and tangata whenua (the people of the land) about proposed roading developments sometimes results in the route being moved to avoid the dwelling place of a taniwha. Mainstream media responses have tended to be hostile or mocking, as you might expect, since on the face of it the dominant western scientifc worldview has no place for beings like taniwha. However, in the 2020s, there appears to be an increased willingness to engage with te ao Māori. In this spirit, this paper proposes a way for non-Māori to begin to take taniwha more seriously, taking as its starting point the work of Dan Hikuroa on the practical usefulness of taniwha pūrākau (traditional narratives) in encoding information about natural hazards. The focus of this paper is narrow, but aspects of the strategy it proposes may be generalisable both to other aspects of te ao Māori and to other bicultural and multicultural contexts.

text: Taking Taniwha seriously Taniwha are powerful water creatures in te ao Māori (the Māori world/worldview). Taniwha sometimes afect public works in Aotearoa New Zealand: for example, consultation between government agencies and tangata whenua (the people of the land) about proposed roading developments sometimes results in the route being moved to avoid the dwelling place of a taniwha. Mainstream media responses have tended to be hostile or mocking, as you might expect, since on the face of it the dominant western scientifc worldview has no place for beings like taniwha. However, in the 2020s, there appears to be an increased willingness to engage with te ao Māori. In this spirit, this paper proposes a way for non-Māori to begin to take taniwha more seriously, taking as its starting point the work of Dan Hikuroa on the practical usefulness of taniwha pūrākau (traditional narratives) in encoding information about natural hazards. The focus of this paper is narrow, but aspects of the strategy it proposes may be generalisable both to other aspects of te ao Māori and to other bicultural and multicultural contexts.

year: 2022-11-10