Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation Into The Concepts And Applicability Of Agent Technologies, Anne White

Theses

The software world is one of great richness and diversity

Even though the concept of software agents date back to the days of AI (Artificial Intelligence) work (1970’s) the word “Agent” is currently in vogue in the computing press and computer science communities.

This thesis presents a review of the ongoing evolution of software agents, places agents in context within today’s software domain, and takes a closer look at the ongoing debate of what really constitutes an '"Agenf\ The numerous dimensions of classification are studied and an opinion of the attributes that an agent should encompass is put forward. Leading …

Theological Reflections On Leadership In Christian Community, Gerard O'Neill

Theses

This paper examines the dynamics involved in Christian community, paying particular attention to the pivotal role leadership plays in nurturing and sustaining the life of the community. It begins by analysing the human need for community if people are to fulfill their potential both individually and communally. Time is devoted to understanding Christian community from a Scriptural perspective and a caution is sounded not to envisage Christian community in purely mechanistic terms. The doctrine of the trinity of God is used as a lens to view vital characteristics in the life of a Christian community. The theology of leadership is …

Cross Pollination, Shaun Foster

Theses

A descriptive narration of a project to create a 3-D computer animated film about a "cross-pollination" that occurs between plants on a planet and nanites (nanoparticle robots) that arrive on a space ship. Includes original thesis proposal, original storyboard, color stills, and technical notes.

A Very Low Bit-Rate Speech Recognition System, Matthew Baecher

Theses

When using extracted speech feature coefficients for speech synthesis, quantization is considered a lossy compression scheme. The data being compressed cannot be recovered or reconstructed exactly. However, in a speech recognition system for command and control purposes, a certain amount of quantization can be allowed, with comparable results. In some cases, quantization even serves to "close the gaps" between the coefficients of the incoming speech signal and those of the templates. Since the coefficients are not being used to reconstruct the signal, a very coarse quantization can be used, enabling a very low bit-rate transmission with very good recognition results. …

Sculpture To Wear (Metaphorically); Sculpture To Wear As Jewelry; Sculpture That Wears Jewelry, Juan Caballero-Perez

Theses

None provided.

Data Mining Using Neural Networks For Large Credit Card Record Sites, Wei Wei

Theses

Data mining using neural networks has been applied in various financial fields such as risk mitigation, missing data filling, fraud detection, and customer profile classification etc. This master thesis work aims to develop methodologies to mine large sets of records and in particular to fill missing data in these records. The steps include data cleansing, data selection, data preprocessing, data representation, data clustering and finally the missing data filling. Furthermore, this work designs algorithms to evaluate the supervised neural networks' performance, which is helpful for the future research on data prediction and classification. A case study based on a large …

A Methodology Of Process, Belinda Bryce

Theses

None provided.

Visual Syntax And Intelligence, Tanya Harding

Theses

This thesis project is concerned with the role that graphic designers have in making learning materials more effective. It is focused on the need for instructional materials to reflect current advances in cognitive psychology and our society's definition of intelligence. Most instructional materials today are outdated and ineffective. Some reasons are political, others are socio-economic, and some fall within the scope of the designed environment. Learning materials, especially textbooks, designed before the 1980's have been designed without standards, and at a time when intelligence was seen as a narrow list of abilities.

The Practice Of Graphic Design And Architectural Theory: A Study Of Two Disciplines, Tara Mcvean

Theses

None provided.

Implementing An Icc Printer Profile Visualization Software, Stone Xianfeng Zhao

Theses

Device color gamut plays a crucial role in ICC-based color management systems. Accurately visualizing a device's gamut boundary is important in the analysis of color conversion and gamut mapping. ICC profiles contain all the information which can be used to better understand the capabilities of the device. This thesis project has implemented a printer profile visualization software. The project uses A2B 1 tag in a printer profile as gamut data source, then renders gamut of device the profile represents in CIELAB space with a convex hull algorithm. Gamut can be viewed interactively from any view points. The software also gets …

Tackling The Deficit - It Solutions For Art Appreciation - Needs Study And Provision Project At Primary School Level., Séan Ó Hargáin

Theses

This project looks at the changing environment in terms of the approach to the Visual Arts curriculum at Primary School level. It aims to provide an innovative solution to the art appreciation area, which is being given equal status with the art creation area, which traditionally has been the main focus of the curriculum.

The Project includes a review of the curricular climate, both at home and abroad. In this context it focusses particularly on the role of Information Technology in addressing access problems from those living remote from major population, and therefore major artistic centres.

Primary Research included involved …

International Graduate Student Expectations At Rit, Zeneida Granados

Theses

Information is a key to seeing problems and experiences encountered by international graduate students while studying abroad. Consequent adaptations to new surroundings have been suggested from several perspectives. Services offered on-campus could help international graduate students to achieve their main goal: to be successful in their professional and social life. Success could commence from the initial contemplation or decision of studying abroad and might continue throughout their prolonged stay if continuous support was available from the staff and customized services in the college or university selected. Conducting sixteen face-to-face interviews (using open-ended questions) and two focus groups of four students …

Synchronous Communication Tools: Enabler For The Deaf And/Or Hard-Of-Hearing Colleagues, Yael Agriss

Theses

Deaf and/or hard-of-hearing and hearing people communicate frequently. Most people find it enjoyable in some situations and scary in others. We spend most of our waking hours communicating. Communication affects our life. This is a study to investigate the use of synchronous communication tools, in particular focusing on two target groups, the deaf and/or hard-of-hearing and their hearing colleagues. The aim will be to determine people's views on whether synchronous communication tools are now or will be beneficial for them to use as communication. The point of the survey and interview was to ascertain who, if anyone, was actually using …

Using A Multiple Intelligence Checklist In Determining Multiple Intelligence, Rebecca Vee Ralston

Theses

Multiple Intelligence Theory was introduced in 1983 by Howard Gardner in his book Frames of Mind. Since the book was introduced. many educators who were searching for new methods to reach their students have utilized the theory of Multiple Intelligences in their classes. To assist in determining students' areas of strength in Multiple Intelligence. The Multiple Intelligence Checklist (MJC) was used in this study. Students, seven hundred seventy-seven, from a suburban elementary school were asked to complete the MIC. Data was collected from students in grades 2 through 5. A factor analysis was completed to determine if the checklist would …

An Expert System Solution To Watermarking, David Coumou

Theses

The watermarking system proposed in this paper offers an expert system technique to help solve the ownership claim on digital images. The watermarking system is based on fuzzy logic and was designed with the intent of embedding watermark features such that they are undetectable to the human visual system. To achieve this objective, the development and design of the watermarking scheme was targeted to utilize three of the five perceptual holes of the human visual system: intensity resolution, intensity sensitivity and spatial masking. Basing the design on these characteristics, the resulting watermarking scheme proved to be resilient to several image …

A Cross Culture Comparison Of Learning Styles, Yamit Massachi

Theses

This study examined differences in learning styles between African-American and Caucasian students while also taking into consideration students' gender. Students in grade 9th through 12th grade completed the Silver-Hanson Learning Preference Inventory (Hanson, Silver & Gulkus, 1984). This inventory is a 125-item questionnaire, which assesses students' preferences for different learning conditions, modes, and areas of interest. The sample included the results of the Learning Style inventory obtained from 95 African-American students and 95 Caucasian-Students. This study found that there is substantial evidence that gender has an affect on learning style. However, this study found marginal evidence that ethnicity affects learning …

The Public Rhetoric Of Privatization : The Value System Of The Water And Wastewater Industry, Claire St. Louis

Theses

Politicians involved in the water and wastewater industry invoke core American values in their rhetoric to persuade their audience to support or decry privatization. By weaving these values into their rhetoric, politicians provide moral and social justification for their audiences to support them, whether in election or privatization.

This thesis places these rhetoricians in their historical context It analyzes the legacy of environmentalism, from the 17th and l8th century religious preachers to the 19th and 20th century Greenspeak writers to the 21st century leaders of America's largest cities. It provides a detailed discussion of the American value system as defined …

Vernacular Letterforms: An Expression Of Cultural And Social Values, Georgiana Leite

Theses

This thesis investigates similar problem-solving processes used in the fields of graphic design and engineering, revealing an underlying relationship between the two disciplines. It shows the principles these two disciplines share and how they employ a common creative process. By comparing these two vastly different disciplines, an understanding of the methodology of thought is constructed.

Development And Testing Of A Simulated Closed Loop Drug Delivery System For Chf Patients Under Milrinone Administration, Runa Shah

Theses

The purpose of this thesis project is the development and testing of a simulated closed loop drug delivery (CLDD) system that consists of a pharmacokinetic, physiological, and feedback-controlling model. The focus of this study is on the control of milrinone inflision to maintain cardiac output at desired setpoint range for patients suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF). The simulated CLDD system is written in VisSim dynamic simulation language for an IBM-compatible PC.

Milrinone pharmacokinetics are represented by a three compartment model. The physiological model consists of the cardiovascular system model linked to the pharmacodynamic submodel of milrinone. The feedback-controlling model …

Translating Cyberculture : An Analysis Of American And Brazilian Cultural Differences Evidenced In The Translation Of A Popular Computer Text, Angela M. Ferrao

Theses

This thesis examines the translation of a popular American computer book and its translation into Brazilian Portuguese to determine whether current discourses on computers and technology are being literally translated or culturally adapted for their target audience. The selected text adopts a humorous approach to learning new software applications and replaces complicated technical explanations with culturally-bound examples that are inextricably tied to American attitudes toward technology.

An analysis of the translation reveals that the ideologies and social codes at work in the book threaten to impede the Brazilian reader's understanding due to the translator's failure to adapt the text for …

Assessment Of Prothrombotic Tendency In Humans Using Functional And Genomic Determinants, Pádraig O'Sullivan

Theses

Thrombophilia describes the familial or acquired disorders of the haemostatic mechanism that are likely to predispose to thrombosis. Venous thrombosis and its associated complications account for a significant number of hospital admissions and deaths annually having a significant health-economic impact on the heath-care industry globally. Mutations in genes that code for proteins involved directly (or indirectly) in blood coagulation have been associated with prothrombotic states. The majority of inherited genetic defects were attributed to polymorphisms in Antithrombin III, Protein C, and Protein S genes until 1994. Together these accounted for only 5-10% of individuals with thrombosis. Subsequently the Factor V …

Comparing The Travel Rules In Other Countries Designing An Implementations Plan For Taiwan, Ya-Li Hu

Theses

Not provided.

Smart Decisions, Beatriz Gomez

Theses

It is very often that parents and educators find themselves running out of words when it comes to explaining a sensitive topic to a child. Such topics include but are not limited to sex, abortion, adoption, pregnancy, divorce, drugs, and disease. A computer based game has been designed to help parents and educators address such sensitive topics. This software package consists of a series of two dimensional animations. All of the animations belong to the same story, which as it progress, gives the player the opportunity to make diverse decisions. Each decision leads the player through a different path, hence …

An Investigation Of Non-Verbal Auditory Cues Within Graphical User Interfaces, Christopher Hahn

Theses

As we approach the end of the century and enter into a digital era there is a need to concentrate on new methods of communication. The expansion of personal computers into the industrial sector and more recently into the home, has brought the ability to transmit various forms of data to the average user. This new ability is accompanied with a responsibility to communicate effectively and clearly. This study focuses on the ability of user interfaces to effectively communicate combinations of visual and auditory cues to produce a more comprehensive user experience. This work proposed that the addition of auditory …

William Wheatley: A Retrospective, Melissa K. Kaup

Theses

William F. Wheatley was an active participant during the "turbulent" typesetting years. His first years in the typographic field were spent working beside Bently Raak at Varityper Corporation. They worked with character designs for the Varityper and the Headliner "cold-type" line of machines and moved into collaborating with Photon, Inc. for photo typesetting machines. As the necessity for typographic experience increased for foreign languages, Mr. Wheatley was transferred to Varityper s European division. In the daily effort of obtaining typefaces and designing proper character sets, he became associated with many of the European type foundries and companies. Mr. Wheatley's experience …

The Goddess Sells: The Impact Of Archetypes In Visual Communications, Martha M. Torres Donovan

Theses

Graphic design is the process of connecting with an audience by creating visual communication that appeals to a audience's intellect and aesthetic sensibility. the use of archetypes as a form of connection is a familiar process. This thesis explores the use of the goddess archetype in visual communications, specifically in advertising.

Philosophy Made Visual, Kirk Gustafson

Theses

Focuses on how graphic design can be implemented as an educational tool to help visually-oriented college-aged students learn a particular philosophical concept. Plato's Divided Line and Allegory of the Cave were chosen as the content for the thesis study

Graphic Design And Architecture At Their Intersection, Kathleen Kaminski

Theses

This thesis will explore the increasingly important role played by graphic design in architecture. Traditionally thought of as a two-dimensional applied art, graphic design has relevant applications in the design of places. This is sometimes known as environmental graphic design. The premise of this investigation is that by extending graphic design into the world of architecture, both disciplines are strengthened. Graphic design in an architectural context benefits from a more long-lasting medium, in material and duration, than its more common forms in print, film or digital media. Architecture, in its turn, gains another way to communicate to an audience, one …

A Directorial Approach: Tom Stoddard's Rosencrantz And Guidenstern Are Dead, Jason A. Stahr

Theses

This thesis presents a detailed directing journal and production analysis of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, staged at Lindenwood University in 1999 as part of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre. The study explores the creative and practical processes of directing an absurdist play, with particular attention to Stoppard’s blending of existential themes, Shakespearean intertextuality, and metatheatrical devices.

The work follows Francis Hodge’s “Play Directing: Analysis, Communication, and Style” as the primary methodological framework, guiding the director from textual interpretation through rehearsals to performance. Key challenges addressed include balancing Stoppard’s humor with the …

Surface Topography Of Cuneiform Tablets, Monica Barbu-Mcinnis

Theses

Ancient Cuneiform tablets consists of one of the oldest forms of writings in the world. These clay tablets act as a link between our time and a time thousands of years ago. The surface of these Cuneiform tablets consists of wedge shaped characters and cylinder seal impressions. These features present many challenges to photographers as well as epistolary scholars. Modern technology and state of the art equipment can ease these hindrances and unlock secrets of past civilizations. Using surface topography techniques previously applied to intaglio prints and lithic artifacts as well as implementation of modern digital image processing techniques, images …