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Recent research highlights the importance of figurative language as a tool for amplifying emotional impact. In this paper, we dive deeper into this phenomenon and outline our methods for Track 1, Empathy Prediction in Conversations (CONV-dialog) and Track 2, Empathy and Emotion Prediction in Conversation Turns (CONV-turn) of the WASSA 2024 shared task. We leveraged transformer-based large language models augmented with figurative language prompts, specifically idioms, metaphors and hyperbole, that were selected and trained for each track to optimize system performance. For Track 1, we observed that a fine-tuned BERT with metaphor and hyperbole features outperformed other models on the development set. For Track 2, DeBERTa, with different combinations of figurative language prompts, performed well for different prediction tasks. Our method provides a novel framework for understanding how figurative language influences emotional perception in conversational contexts. Our system officially ranked 4th in the 1st track and 3rd in the 2nd track.
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A Collaborative duoethnography of two Academics in Diaspora amidst the Palestinian/ Israeli Catastrophe
We present a collaborative duoethnography on the intersection of individual identities, a research project on empathy, and external events. The Oct. 7th attacks on Israel and ensuing invasion of Gaza raised difficult questions surrounding identity and relationships for the authors, one (Hamdan) a Muslim-Palestinian American cis-women postdoctoral researcher with family in the West Bank, the other (Franklin) a white, American Jewish cis-male professor with parents and extended family living in Israel. This study reveals the authors creating a space in which difficult conversations can occur, with attention to explicit and implicit power differentials. Reflective and generative writings reveal themes of fear, concern for each other, and appreciation for how their research on empathy both facilitates and benefits from these conversations. The work concludes with implications for how physics education researchers can better support each other in the face of external political and geo-political conflicts and pressures.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2222337
- PAR ID:
- 10543028
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Association of Physics Teachers
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 175 to 180
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Boston, MA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2024.pr.Hamdan
