Polysemicolon; Novice Programmers and Java KeywordsBriana Bettin, Michigan Technological University
Abstract
[en]
Industry standard programming languages often leverage the English language for reserved
keywords – words interpreted as specific execution commands for the compiled program.
The Java programming language is no exception to using English reserved keywords,
and is used widely in industrial and educational settings.
The expert-novice programmer divide exemplifies an intriguing middle-ground for navigating
metaphor and highlighting polysemic interpretations of keywords. For experts, keywords
become “dead metaphor” (drawn from “career of metaphor” theory). That is, the expert
sees the keyword – often the entire grammatical construct with it – and derives programmatic
meaning near instantly. For the expert, there is rare consideration of alternative
English-language interpretations. Novices however, in attempting to first navigate
programming, may use these English keywords as familiar landmarks in unfamiliar terrain.
Amidst a sea of semicolons, single letter variables, and math operators, they may
gravitate to familiar words such as “if” or “while” to derive meaning.
Attempts by novices to create meaning using these English definitions can, however,
result in potential misconceptions. The word “for” as a preposition has over a dozen
distinct definitions. Which definition should a novice programmer use to achieve understanding
in learning to program, and what misconceptions may they develop through alternatives
to the “correct” choice? For some keywords, there may be no completely “correct” definition.
While this ambiguity can create a myriad of interpretations for critical code studies,
it can provide pitfalls for those first learning to program. This essay samples several
keyword interpretations that novice programmers may derive from the Java language’s
keywords and how polysemous meaning may affect their interpretation. Through observation
of students in their CS1 class, the author began exploring how polysemy, linguistics,
and metaphoric interpretations may affect understanding in beginner courses. These
students are largely native English speakers, highlighting that understanding rifts
exist even for native and colloquial speakers.
Code snippets are explored with both compiled keyword meanings and potential understood
meanings. This provides insight into pathways for student reasoning and navigation
in the programming landscape. The myriad of potential conclusions or definitions are
contrasted against the compiler’s singular interpretation, and how the polysemic potential
of natural language falls to singular dead metaphor in experts. This stark difference
between natural linguistics, critical code analysis, and compiled code meaning highlights
contrasts between programming and natural languages, in addition to highlight paradigm
shifts that may occur in pursuit of expertise.
Rhetorical Strategies of Naming Practices in CodeKevin Brock, University of South Carolina
Abstract
[en]
The rhetorical significance of naming practices is widely understood, but it--and
many other rhetorical dimensions of language--are often overlooked in the domain of
software development, especially in regards to code languages and relevant practices
(as demonstrated in file names, functions, variables, and so on). While naming conventions
in code are typically recognized as inherently arbitrary, they are also tangled up
in numerous networks of community expectations, constraints, and mores, whether organizational
or interpersonally social in nature. Given Kenneth Burke's argument for the revealing
and concealing influences of terministic screens upon our engagement with the world
(by establishing ways of seeing and not seeing), naming conventions in code play an
important role in how meaningful invention occurs for human developers and readers
of code files. Despite the apparent triviality of such a component of software projects,
naming practices shine a light on the goals and values of a programmer in addition
to the functional intentions that they might have for the use of a given body of code.
first name(s) family name,
first name(s) family name,
first name(s) family name,
first name(s) family name,
Evaluating and Understanding the Geocoding of City
Directories of Paris (1787-1914): Data-Driven Geography of Urban Sprawl and
DensificationJulie Gravier, Laboratoire ThéMA UMR 6049, CNRS, Université Marie et Louis Pasteur;
Stéphane Baciocchi, Centre de Recherches Historiques, EHESS-CNRS UMR 8558; Pascal
Cristofoli, Centre de Recherches Historiques, EHESS-CNRS UMR 8558; Bertrand Duménieu,
Centre de Recherches Historiques, EHESS-CNRS UMR 8558; Edwin Carlinet, Laboratoire
de Recherche de l'EPITA; Joseph Chazalon, Laboratoire de Recherche de l'EPITA; Nathalie
Abadie, Université Gustave Eiffel, ENSG, IGN, LASTIG; Solenn Tual, Université Gustave
Eiffel, ENSG, IGN, LASTIG; Julien Perret, Université Gustave Eiffel, ENSG, IGN, LASTIG
Abstract
[en]
As in other western cities, the fast-paced urban, industrial, and commercial sprawl
of Paris during the 19th century provided the backdrop and driving force for the
publishing phenomenon of trade directories. We show how these collections of millions
of nominative entries associated with addresses can be turned into a serial dataset
whose massive, fine-grained, and geolocated nature opens up new possibilities for
quantitative and multi-scale analyses of the dynamics at play during one of the most
dramatic socio-spatial transformations of the city. We highlight the methodological
conditions of such data-driven analyses and emphasize the importance of understanding
source effects. The findings underscore the significance of data science in
critically evaluating digital sources and adhering to best practices in the
production of large historical datasets.
Assemblies of Points: Strategies to
Art-historical Human Pose Estimation and RetrievalStefanie Schneider, LMU Munich
Abstract
[en]
This paper attempts to construct a virtual space of possibilities for the
historical embedding of the human figure, and its posture, in the visual arts by
proposing a view-invariant approach to Human Pose Retrieval (HPR) that resolves
the ambiguity of projecting three-dimensional postures onto their
two-dimensional counterparts. In addition, we present a refined approach for
classifying human postures using a support set of 110 art-historical reference
postures. The method’s effectiveness on art-historical images was validated
through a two-stage approach of broad-scale filtering preceded by a detailed
examination of individual postures: an aggregate-level analysis of
metadata-induced hotspots, and an individual-level analysis of topic-centered
query postures. As a case study, we examined depictions of the crucified, which
often adhere to a canonical form with little variation over time — making it an
ideal subject for testing the validity of Deep Learning (DL)-based methods.
A Critical Collection History of Nineteenth-century
Women’s Letters: Overcoming the Occluded Archive with Data-Driven
MethodsIlona Pikkanen, The Finnish Literature Society; Matti La Mela, Uppsala University;
Hanna-Leena Paloposki, Independent Scholar; Jouni Tuominen, University of Helsinki
and Aalto University
Abstract
[en]
This paper presents a “virtual archive” of women’s epistolary exchange in
19th-century Finland. By harmonising metadata from over 1.2 million letters and over
100,000 correspondents across key cultural heritage organisations and leveraging
linked open data, we gain an unprecedented view of 19th-century epistolary
communication and 20th-century archival practices. Using quantitative analysis,
enriched metadata, and network visualisations, we explore the gendered nature of
these collections. Are women archival protagonists, or are their materials embedded
within the collections of male relatives? Do the data reveal overlooked women with
extensive archival networks absent from historical narratives? We introduce the
framework of “critical collection history,” which combines theoretical debates
and research interests from critical archival studies and digital history and
combines them with contemporary digital methods. This approach underscores the
necessity for scholars using data-driven methods in historical research to critically
engage with digitised archives. Moreover, critical collection history highlights how
“big cultural heritage metadata” can expose archival biases and enhance our
understanding of source limitations – biases that digital scholarship may
unintentionally perpetuate.
Making Sense of the Emergence of Manslaughter in British Criminal JusticeTim Hitchcock, Professor Emeritus of Digital History, University of Sussex; William
J. Turkel, Professor of History, The University of Western Ontario
Abstract
[en]
Manslaughter emerged as a new and distinct category of crime amongst those tried at
the Old Bailey in London in the first half of the nineteenth century. From being a
rare charge in 1800, manslaughter came to represent over 60% of all trials for ‘killing’
by the 1850s. This article describes the methodologies used by the authors to explore
this phenomenon via trials included in the Old Bailey Online. It details the use of
unsupervised clustering, embeddings and relevance measures to map the changing language
associated with the charge of manslaughter; and more importantly, describes the application
of top-down ‘sense making’ methodologies to the resulting analysis. Along the way
it argues for the importance of including qualitative judgements by subject specialists
in the process of developing quantitative analyses. Inter Alia it suggests that the
rise of manslaughter was the result of a complex set of forces including changing
statute law, the rise of a professional police, changes in the administration of coroners’
courts, and a growing public intolerance of violence.
Image Reuse in Eighteenth-Century Book History: Large-Scale Data-Driven Study of Headpiece
Ornament VariantsRuilin Wang, University of Helsinki; Enes Yılandiloğlu, University of Helsinki; first
name(s) family name, ; Mikko Tolonen, University of Helsinki; Lidia Pivovatova, University
of Helsinki; Yann Ryan, Digital Humanities and postdoctoral researcher, Leiden University
Abstract
[en]
This study uses large-scale computational analysis to trace the reuse of decorative
headpieces in eighteenth-century books. The results highlight how image variants reveal
complex networks of printers and publishers beyond simple one-to-one ownership.