Digital Commons Network^™

Robotic Realities: Near Term Prospects And Problems, Robert U. Ayres, Steven M. Miller

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Industrial robots are automation, but with a difference. Other machine tools are extensions of human capabilities, while robots are seen mainly as substitutes for human workers. Robots will find most of their industrial applications during the next decade or two in the metal-working sectors, where they will begin to displace semiskilled machine operatives in medium to large batch production operations. They cannot substitute for skilled machinists or other workers doing nonroutine jobs, or specialized, dedicated hard automation used in mass production. The current generation of robots, lacking sensory data processing and interpretation capabilities, can potentially replace up to 1.3 million …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Computer Systems In Community Hospital Food Service, Beverly Kittle

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Cost containment has always been a major concern to managers. Therefore, any system which decreases costs by reducing labor time is given serious evaluation.

A five week comparison was made between financial record keeping by the manual method and by the computerized method. A continuous time study was utilized to make this comparison.

Over the five weeks, an average overall time savings of 245 minutes for the computerized versus the manual method was observed. The net savings to the institution was 223 minutes per week which translates to approximately $140.00 per month over a 5 year period.

The rapid payback …

Proportional Advancement From Regional Programming Contests, John R. Metzner

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Uniform System For Data Base Directories, Karl Chang

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to provide an efficient uniform system for data base directories, so that every file in the data base will have the same type of efficient directory. Data base directories will then be uniformly generated, updated and maintained.

The uniform system which is developed here can handle not only discrete attributes, but also range attributes. For the range attributes, it provides the uniform ranges (i.e., a set of ranges such that the records are distributed uniformly between ranges.)

In this thesis, the design and implementation of the hybrid B-plus tree and inverted files which is …

Orthodontic Information Systems : A Developmental Study, Gary D. Sheldon

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The intent of this study was to design and implement a computer-based orthodontic system providing an integrated information environment throughout the entire patient treatment process.

Total system integration was achieved by restructuring the entire information gathering process. A complete, evaluation of patient diagnosis and treatment evaluation procedures established five major information categories and a critical information list for proper patient management. Information organization was outlined to provide a logical progression in the information gathering process and patient chart forms were designed to implement this. Defining the computer system's performance identified three functions as follows: 1) entry and editing of individual …

Reduced Set Of Phages For Typing Salmonellae, Melvin Gershman, George Markowsky

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A set composed of 27 phages is described for differentiating Salmonella spp. representative of groups A, B, C₁, C₂, D₁, D₂, E₁, E₂, E₃, E₄, G₁, K, and N. All of the 1,245 cultures used in this effort were typable and were differentiated on the basis of the 420 phage patterns observed. All results were reproducible. Characteristic phage patterns were produced by a variety of Salmonella serovars isolated from campus incidents and a number of hospital, family, restaurant, and processing plant outbreaks …

An Analytical Model For Evaluating Database Update Schemes, Kathryn C. Kinsley

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

A methodology is presented for evaluating the performance of database update schemes. The methodology uses the M/Hr/1 queueing model as a basis for this analysis and makes use of the history of how data is used in the database. Parameters have been introduced which can be set based on the characteristics of a specific system. These include update to retrieval ratio, average file size, overhead, block size and the expected number of items in the database. The analysis is specifically directed toward the support of derived data within the relational model. Three support methods are analyzed. These are first examined …

Incremental Analysis Of Programs, Vida Ghodssi

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Algorithms used to determine the control and data flow properties of computer programs are generally designed for one-time analysis of an entire new input. Application of such algorithms when the input is only slightly modified results in an inefficient system. In this theses a set of incremental update algorithms are presented for data flow analysis. These algorithms update the solution from a previous analysis to reflect changes in the program. Thus, extensive reanalysis to reflect changes in the program. Thus, extensive reanalysis of programs after each program modification can be avoided. The incremental update algorithms presented for global flow analysis …

Computing As A Part Of A P.H.D Students Education: A Position Paper, Andrew D. Bailey, Rayman D. Meservy

Faculty Publications

The skills and abilities associated with computer literacy are becoming required tools for accounting Ph.D. students. Not only are new doctoral students entering Ph.D. programs with better skills, they are also applying these skills more on a day to day basis. This paper presents a brief discussion of a number of issues associated with computer use and computer literacy in general. The paper also presents several aspects of the Ph.D. program at the University of Minnesota and how computers are affecting the program.

A Study Of Flow Languages, Vector Machines, Petri Nets And Convex Languages, Shyam Kishore Bajpai

Masters Theses

In this work, relations have been established among vector machines and augmented vector machines, vector machines and Petri nets, and augmented vector machines and generalized Petri nets. At each stage, number of examples are given to illustrate the theory of Petri nets, vector machines and augmented vector machines.

A Computer System For Understanding English Text In A Kindergarten Story, Janice Anne Freyburger

Masters Theses

A computer system for natural language understanding is presented in this thesis. The system attempts to understand English in a limited domain, a kindergarten-level story about three frogs and a puppy. The system is designed with two modes of operations: the text of the story is processed and its information incorporated into a knowledge database; and as a test of the system's understanding, the system answers questions from the user about the text. If any parts of the test or questions cannot be processed, the user is asked for clarification. The functions of this system are described and analyzed. A …

The Online Subject/Title Catalog Of Western Michigan University, James N. Sleep

Masters Theses

An online subject searchable catalog has been developed to allow public access to the OCLC-MARC subscription tapes of the Western Michigan University Libraries. The system has been implemented on the Western Michigan University Academic Computer Center DECsystem-10 computer and is currently running with access to nearly one hundred thousand citations. During the design of the Online Subject/Title Catalog, statistical analysis of the source data was performed. Paper products based on the OCLC-MARC subscription tapes, such as KWOC indexes, were also developed. A novel feature of this project was the use of SN0B0L4 as the main computer language used.

Comparison Of Steady-State Pipe Network Computer Programs, Michael Bernice Holloway

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Four widely used computer programs for the analysis of steady state flows in pipe networks are compared. These programs are NEWTH, written by Jeppson; KENTUCKY, written by Wood; FLOW, written by Epp and Fowler; and LIQSS, written by Stoner. Differences, similarities, advantages and disadvantages of these programs, and various options available are discussed for the benefit of possible future users. In addition, the efficiency of NEWTH, KENTUCKY, and FLOW was tested by simulating a typical network by each program. The listing of LIQSS was not available, and thus was not included in this comparison. In simulation, KENTUCKY used over twice …

The Subjective Nature Of Programming Complexity, Daniel G. Mcnicholl, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

One of the more difficult problems confronting software engineers today is the construction of accurate predictive models of the software development process, [21,[8] and [93. It has long been recognized that one of the most essential elements of any successful model of this process is a quantification of the complexity of software systems. During the past several years a great deal of work has been performed by researchers such as Halstead [3], McCab [5], and others in an attempt to develop metrics which adequately capture the complexity of software systems. Yet one very important aspect of software development complexity seems …

A Hidden-Line Algorithm For Hyperspace, Robert P. Burton, David R. Smith

Faculty Publications

An object-space hidden-line algorithm for higher-dimensional scenes has been designed and implemented. Scenes consist of convex hulls of any dimension, each of which is compared against the edges of all convex hulls not eliminated by a hyperdimensional clipper, a depth test after sorting and a minimax text. Hidden and visible elements are determined in accordance with the dimensionality of the selected viewing hyperspace. When shape alone is the attribute of interest, hidden-line elimination need be performed only in that hyperspace. The algorithm is of value in the production of shadows of hyperdimensional models, including but not limited to four-dimensional space-time …

A Theory Of Small Program Complexity, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Small programs are those which are written and understood by one. person. Large software systems usually consist of many small programs. The complexity of a small program is a prediction of how difficult it would be for someone to understand the program. This complexity depends of three factors: (1) the size and interelationships of the program itself; (2) the size and interelationships of the internal model of the program's purpose held by the person trying to understand the program; and (3) the complexity of the mapping between the model and the program. A theory of small program complexity based on …

Stochastic Modeling Of Individual Resource Consumption During The Programming Phase Of Software Development, Daniel G. Mcnicholl, Kenneth Magel

Computer Science Technical Reports

In the past several years there has been a considerable amount of research effort devoted to developing models of individual resource consumption during the software development process. Since many conditions affect individual resource consumption during the software development process, including several which are difficult if not impossible to quantify, it is our contention that a stochastic model is more appropriate than a deterministic model.

In order to test our hypothesis we conducted an experiment based upon several student programming assignments. Data from this experiment is used to demonstrate that the two parameter Log-Normal distribution is appropriate for describing the probabilistic …

A Finitary Retract Model For The Polymorphic Lambda-Calculus, Nancy Mccracken

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Technical Reports

There has been great interest in recent years in designing programming languages which permit functions which may accept types as parameters (polymorphic functions) and types with type parameters (type generators). Unfortunately the semantics of such functions and types has not been as well understood as their practical use in software design. In [McCracken 1979], a denotational semantics was given for a simple programming language with these features. The semantics used closures, which are a special case of the more familiar retractions, over the Scott universal domain, Pw to represent types. It was then possible to interpret polymorphic functions as continuous …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Garvin, Catherine. The Recognition of Anticipatory Grieving and Associated Needs of the Family of a Critically Ill Patient
• Parks, Barbara. Energy Properties of Textiles
• Martin, Lanna. A Historical Approach to the Understanding of Civil Disobedience
• Atwood, Tammy. The Computer Manufacturing Industry and the Burroughs Corporation
• Allen, Christopher. The Battle of Marathon: Athens' Magnificent Triumph
• Martin, Lanna. Melville's Creation of Captain Vere as Pontius Pilate in Billy Budd
• Boles, Barbara. Emerson's Uriel and the …

Graduate Bulletin, 1982-1984 (1982), Moorhead State University

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Robotics And The Conservation Of Human Resources, Robert U. Ayres, Steven M. Miller

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Due to rapid expansion in the field of robotics, policy issues have arisen in regard to developing human skills to deal with the new technology and to deal with the obsolescent human skills which are the inevitable result of this growth pattern. Industrialists, educators, union leaders, and government officials must work cooperatively to insure that the coming changes are made with minimum disruption. Improved training methods and courses have to be developed for the skills needed to control, manage and supervise the new machines. Some of the ways in which this can be accomplished are through offering financial incentives for …

An Approximation Theory For Conjugate Surfaces And Solutions Of Elliptic Multiple Integral Problems: Application To Numerical Solutions Of Generalized Laplace's Equation, John Gregory, Ralph W. Wilkerson

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

An Approximation Theory is Given for a Class of Elliptic Quadratic Forms Which Include the Study of Conjugate Surfaces for Elliptic Multiple Integral Problems. These Ideas Follow from the Quadratic Form Theory of Hestenes, Applied to Multiple Integral Problems by Dennemeyer, and Extended with Applications for Approximation Problems by Gregory. the Application of This Theory to a Variety of Approximation Problem Areas in This Setting is Given. These Include Conjugate Surfaces and Conjugate Solutions in the Calculus of Variations, Oscillation Problems for Elliptic Partial Differential Equations, Eigenvalue Problems for Compact Operators, Numerical Approximation Problems, And, Finally, the Intersection of These …

Some Results On Optimum Premium Payment Plans, Jeyaraj Vadiveloo, Kishan Mehrotra, Kenneth Kaminsky

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Technical Reports

Any insurance plan consists of a sequence of payments every year (or some other fixed time interval) in return for certain death benefits. The benefits may take the form of a wide variety of insurances or annuities. For simplicity, we will assume that premiums and benefits are paid annually. In this paper, we investigate the appropriateness of this type of plan. Naturally, appropriateness of any plan cannot be measured without an optimality criteria. Three such criteria, which are statistical in nature, are introduced in this paper. For the principal "safety" criterion which we use, the optimal premium are those which …

Array Facilities In Programming Languages, John R. Rice

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Algebraic Structures During The Nineteenth Century, Richard Stout

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1981

I remember entering the faculty lounge one day while I was in graduate school and hearing a logician chiding some of the algebraists in the room. He said, "Don't you fellows ever get tired of just plus and times?" His remark, said in jest, had more to it than he may have realized. The fact that there is structure to algebra, represented by plus and times, was a vital discovery in the nineteenth century. It would lead algebra away from a reliance on numbers to a much more formal approach, one in which many different types of algebraic structures could …

Mathematics As Rhyme, Vern Poythress

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1981

Using the analogy between the universe and a choral poem, one may view mathematics as the “rhyme” of the universe. In that perspective new light is thrown on the unique subject matter of mathematics, the a priori character of its truths, and the relation of mathematics to other areas of knowledge. A route is thereby opened for richer use of creativity in mathematics.

Science As Allegory, Vern Poythress

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1981

The universe is God’s choral poem, and science is a system of allegories within it. That is the thesis that I propose to expound and defend. Yet it is not a “thesis” at all, if the word “thesis” commits me to a certain kind of strict logical defense. I am not putting forward my thesis that science is allegory as the endpoint of a deductive or inductive argument. Rather, it is a springboard for a program of exploration and reflection that turns upside-down some conventional ways of thinking about science.

On App Decoding, Carlos R.P. Hartmann, Luther D. Rudolph, Kishan Mehrotra, Guy J. Snedeker

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Technical Reports

In this paper we show that APP decoding for a linear code C is optimum not for C, but for a minimum-distance-2 code which contains C as a subcode when the codewords of are transmitted with equal probability. However, APP decoding is shown to be a symptotically optimum for C for high SNR when C is a binary one-step orthogonolizable code with equiprobable codewords transmitted over the AWGN channel.

A Hybrid Metric To Measure Software Complexity, Warren Harrison, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Technical Reports

Software complexity is an important facet of the software development process, especially in regard to maintenance. A number of complexity metrics have been developed to measure the complexity contributed by: program size, flow of control, data structures, or a combination of two or more of these. Several representative measures from each of these groups are described.

A new hybrid complexity metric, the Extended Scope Metric, is presented and compared with other popular complexity metrics. While the new metric appears to be an improvement over existing metrics due to its enhanced context sensitivity and comprehensiveness, conclusive results cannot be determined until …

A Topological Analysis Of The Complexity Of Computer Programs With Less Than Three Binary Branches, Warren Harrison, Kenneth I. Magel

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.