The goal of this article is to inform social scientists, especially those of a quantitative orientation, about the basic characteristics of Big Data and to present the opportunities and limitations of using such data in social research. The paper informs about three basic types of Big Data as they are distinguished in contemporary methodological literature, namely administrative data, transaction data and social network data, and exemplifies how they can be utilized by quantitative social research. According to many, questionnaire-based sample survey as the dominant method of quantitative social research has found itself in a crisis, especially as response rates have decreased in most developed countries and public confidence in opinion polling has declined. The author presents the characteristics and specifics of Big Data compared to survey research - a method whose primary distinguishing characteristic is the capacity to quantify individual behaviour, social action and attitudes at the level of populations. In this context, the article draws attention to the differences between Big Data and survey data typically presented in scholarly literature, namely that datasets are not representative of known populations, the values of observed variables are systematically biased, there is a limited number of variables in Big Data sets, there is uncertainty about the meaning of observed values, and social environment has direct influence on the behaviours captured by Big Data. Attention is also paid to such characteristics of Big Data that pose an obstacle to smooth integration of this type of data in the social scientific mainstream. First, the collection, processing and analysis of Big Data is extremely demanding in terms of programming skills, something social scientists typically do not have. Second, the availability of Big Data is limited as they are normally possessed by private corporations, some of which (Facebook, Google) have undoubtedly come to form data oligopolies - and their management is mostly unwilling to share their data with traditional academics. Based on the above-mentioned specifics, differences and limitations, it is argued that Big Data currently do not have the potential of becoming a full-fledged source of social science data and replacing sample surveys as the dominant research method. Finally, the article draws attention to the specifics of different types of Big Data as they are primarily generated for purposes other than social research and result from specific situations framed by existing social relations - and it is from this perspective that Big Data should be viewed by social researchers., Johana Chylíková., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
In Guodian in October 1993 an important archeological find of manuscripts was made, a part of which was the text The Grand One generates water. It was an unknown and, in the Chinese tradition, unique, “water cosmogony”, which was appended to the oldest known version of the Taoist anthology Laozi. The highest element in the cosmological scheme is the Great One, which it is possible to understand in a simplified manner as the Way of the Dao. The Grand One generates water which in return works with it on the birth of the heavens, which makes it something like an elementary tool. In further phases the cooperation of heavens and the Grand One generates earth and after the cooperation of the heavens with earth the other elements of the scheme. The returning (the principle of backness, feedback) and the mutual interaction of opposites put into motion the entire process. and Im Oktober 1993 machte man im chinesischen Guodian einen bedeutenden archäologischen Fund von Schriftstücken. Unter ihnen befand sich auch der Text Das große Eine gebiert das Wasser. Es handelt sich um eine früher ganz unbekannte und in der chinesischen Tradition einmalige „Wasser-Kosmogonie“, die an die bislang älteste bekannte Version der taoistischen Anthologie Laozi angefügt war. Das höchste Element des kosmologischen Schemas ist das Große Eine, das vereinfacht als „Weg Dao“ verstanden werden kann. Das Große Eine gebiert das Wasser, das regressiv mit ihm bei der Geburt des Himmels zusammenwirkt und so gewissermaßen zu einem Primärwerkzeug des Höchsten wird. In den weiteren Phasen wird aus dem Zusammenwirken des Himmels mit dem Großen Einen die Erde geboren und nach dem Zusammenwirken von Himmel und Erde entstehen weitere Elemente des Schemas. Der ganze Prozess wird durch die Rückwirkung (das Prinzip des Zurückwirkens, der Rückkoppelung) und das gemeinsame Wirken der Gegensätze ständig neu in Bewegung gesetzt.
Very Large Telescope (VLT) je zcela výjimečným dalekohledem postaveným organizací ESO na jižní polokouli v Atacamské poušti v chilských Andách ve výšce 2635 metrů. Jde o čtyři dalekohledy o průměru 8,2 metru, které v kombinovaném režimu odpovídají jednomu přístroji o průměru zrcadla 16 metrů. Do budoucna se plánuje ještě interferometrické propojení (VLTI - Very Large Telescope Interferometer) se základnou 200 metrů. Naše expedice PARACHI 2003 měla možnost VLT navštívit a vidět na vlastní oči současný stav tohoto astronomicky mimořádně cenného přístroje. and Petr Kulhánek, Jakub Rozehnal.
To investigate the vestibular and somatosensory interaction in human postural control, a galvanic vestibular stimulation of cosine bell shape resulting in a small forward or backward body lean was paired with three vibrations of both soleus muscles. The induced body lean was registered by the position of the center of foot pressure (CoP). During a quiet stance with eyes closed the vibration of both soleus muscles with frequency (of) 40 Hz, 60 Hz and 80 Hz resulted in the body lean backward with velocities related to the vibration frequencies. The vestibular galvanic stimulation with the head turned to the right caused forward or backward modification of CoP backward response to the soleus muscles vibration and peaked at 1.5-2 s following the onset of the vibration. The effect of the paired stimulation was larger than the summation of the vestibular stimulation during the quiet stance and a leg muscle vibration alone. The enhancement of the galvanic stimulation was related to the velocity of body lean induced by the leg muscle vibration. The galvanic vestibular stimulation during a faster body movement had larger effects than during a slow body lean or the quiet stance. The results suggest that velocity of a body postural movement or incoming proprioceptive signal from postural muscles potentiate the effects of simultaneous vestibular stimulations on posture., O. Dzurková, F. Hlavačka., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy