Digital Commons Network^™

Pendulum: Controlling An Inverted Pendulum Using Fuzzy Logic, Scott Houchin J.

Theses

None provided.

Effect Of Developmental Spelling Level On Spelling Achievement, Karen Finn Edwin

Theses

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to compare the developmental levels of spelling in first and second graders with measured performance in the classroom over a period of ten weeks.

It was the hypotheses of t his study that children in first and second grade who were functioning at pre-Phonetic stages of spelling abiIity would have difficulty passing weekly classroom spelling tests . A second hypothesis was that students who were developmentally at higher levels would be able to achieve better on weekly spelIing tests.

Procedures

In this study the spelling achievement of thirty-six first graders …

Etrans: A English-Thai Translator, Nuntaporn Warote

Theses

ETRANS is an experimental English-Thai machine translation (MT) system that translates a simple English sentence into a grammatically correct Thai sentence. The entire system is written in C-Prolog, and runs on UNIX systems. The MT strategy taken by ETRANS is an interlingual strategy with a parser for English and a generator for Thai. The parser creates a semantic representation equivalent to the meaning of the English sentence. A generator then interprets the semantic representation into Thai. ETRANS employs frames as a means for representing knowledge, and an augmented transition network (ATN) as the linguistic framework for analyzing and generating sentences.

An Expert System To Generate Musical Variations In The Style Of Telemann, Kathy Johnson Merck

Theses

Musical performance practice during the Baroque period (approximately 1600 - 1750) required that a solo performer be adept at adding extemporaneous variations on the composer's original melody during performance. Atypically, George Phillip Telemann, in his "Methodical Sonatas", provided, along with the original melody line, a written-out variation of that line. Using knowledge of the Baroque style in general and that gleaned from an analysis of Telemann's variations in particular, this expert system models a Baroque musician's (expert's) process of creating such variations. The variation process (programmed in Prolog) involves transformations to a list structure which represents the piece. The system …

Computer Classification Of Stop Consonants In A Speaker Independent Continuous Speech Environment, Michael R. Campanelli

Theses

In the English language there are six stop consonants, /b,d,g,p,t,k/. They account for over 17% of all phonemic occurrences. In continuous speech, phonetic recognition of stop consonants requires the ability to explicitly characterize the acoustic signal. Prior work has shown that high classification accuracy of discrete syllables and words can be achieved by characterizing the shape of the spectrally transformed acoustic signal. This thesis extends this concept to include a multispeaker continuous speech database and statistical moments of a distribution to characterize shape. A multivariate maximum likelihood classifier was used to discriminate classes. To reduce the number of features used …

A Knowledge-Based Approach To Understanding Natural Language, Bernard J. Huber Jr.

Theses

Understanding a natural language requires knowledge about that language as a system of representation. Further, when the task is one of understanding an extended discourse, world knowledge is also required. This thesis explores some of the issues involved in representing both kinds of knowledge, and also makes an effort to arrive at some under standing of the relationship between the two. A part of this exploration involves an examination of some natural language understanding systems which have attempted to deal with extended discourse both in the form of stories and in the form of dialogues. The systems exam ined are …

Ms. Pacrat: A Feeling, Thinking Machine, Lorraine D'Ortona

Theses

Since before the time of the first digital computers, the workings of the mind have been compared to that of a machine. With the onset of the discipline of Artificial Intelligence a truly organized attempt has been made to build intelligent machines that model the mind. Many interesting programs have been built, but the legitimacy of their success is a matter of great controversy. None of the AI programs developed so far have come close to the true power and intelligence of the brain. Expert systems, for example, are the most success ful commercial AI programs, and even they have …

Vowel Recognition Using Kohonen's Self-Organizing Feature Maps, Anand R. K. Sundaram

Theses

An important organizing principle observed in the sensory pathways in the brain is the orderly placement of neurons. Although the neurons are structurally identical, the specialized role played by each unit is determined by its internal parameters that are made to change during early learning processes. In the human auditory system, the nerve cells and fibres are arranged in a manner that would elicit maximum response from the neurons when they are activated. Although most of this organization is genetically determined, some of the high level organization is created due to algorithms that promote self-organization. Kohonen's self-organizing feature map is …

Shaping Wood/Naming Shapes, Robert Thomas Leverich

Theses

None provided.

Direct And Inferential Communication: An Investigation Of The Development Of Oral Communication Styles In Children Through Converging Methods, James H. Hoerchler

Theses

In an investigation involving 43 residents of a children's residential treatment facility, communication styles were determined through correlation of data from three converging measures. The participants received commands ranging from unspoken gestures to direct oral instructions. Communication styles were determined through three measures: Physical responses to seven commands (CT), written responses to a variation of the Zajonc line test (LT), and a psychometric instrument (DIPT).

The purpose of this study was twofold: To determine if communication style are observable and measurable, and to design a psychometric instrument specifically for this population, the Direct/Inferential Psychometric Test (DIPT), to measure direct and …

San Luis Rey In The Nineteenth Century: Its People, Institutions And Events, Robert Ernest Melbourne

Theses

Anyone interested in the history of San Luis Rey will soon realize that the San Luis Rey of the nineteenth century was a region of considerable expanse. The Mission of San Luis Rey de Francia, which was just getting on solid footing at the beginning of 1800, established ranchos for the raising of cattle, sheep and grain that provided the revenue to sustain the Mission and most of the food for the nearly three thousand Indian residents. These ranchos, which included gardens and orchards of varying sizes, extended from the Rancho Agua Hedionda in the south to Rancho Santa Margarita …

Speech Intelligibility Estimation Via Neural Networks, Stephen Knight

Theses

Current methods of speech intelligibility estimation rely on the subjective judgements of trained listeners. Accurate and unbiased intelligibility estimates have a number of procedural and/or methodological constraints including the necessity for large pools of listeners and a wide variety of stimulus materials. Recent research findings however, have shown a strong relationship between speech intelligibility estimates and selected acoustic speech parameters which appear to determine the intelligibility of speech. These findings suggest that such acoustic speech parameters could be used to derive computer-based speech intelligibility estimation, obviating the procedural and methodological constraints typically associated with such estimates. The relationship between speech …

Self-Efficacy And Motivation : An Unexplored Relationship, Elizabeth Angela Dixon

Theses

There is a need for models of motivation which emphasize individual differences. Many studies cited in the literature indicate that differences in personality influence work performance, and the way individuals react to various job stimuli. As such, research efforts should be directed towards examining the interaction between specific personality traits such as self-efficacy and motivation. When studies of this nature are conducted, motivational strategies aimed at improving performance, can be designed with more attention to individual differences.

Algorithms And Analysis Of Dialogue Time Patterns, Muhammad Saleem Akhtar

Theses

The characteristics of a conversation between two people can be determined not only what they say to each other, but also by the rhythm of their dialogue. Their moods, attitudes and attributes may be conveyed in part by time patterns of the speech. The programs described herein can be useful in exploring the relationship between dialogue time patterns and other psychological aspects of human behavior. The measurements of these time patterns can be quickly, inexpensively, and reliably accomplished by the use of a PC.

The programs described herein are capable of calculating the variabilities, the time durations and frequencies of …

The Use Of Word Association To Examine Conscious Attention, Laura A. Batchelor

Theses

This study applied statistical analysis to the word association method of psychological research to investigate the element of conscious attention, defined as those mental processes which deliver a word a s a response to a stimulus word.

The subjects were 15 males and 15 females from a middle-class suburban community. They were tested individually with a 100 - item word association test. Each subject participated in two testing sessions, and the word association test was administered twice during each session.

Two variables were measured, response time and response reproduction. These were used to classify each subject's reactions to the test …

Vowel Recognition In Continuous Speech, Darrell C. Stam

Theses

In continuous speech, the identification of phonemes requires the ability to extract features that are capable of characterizing the acoustic signal. Previous work has shown that relatively high classification accuracy can be obtained from a single spectrum taken during the steady-state portion of the phoneme, assuming that the phonetic environment is held constant. The present study represents an attempt to extend this work to variable phonetic contexts by using dynamic rather than static spectral information. This thesis has four aims: 1) Classify vowels in continuous speech; 2) Find the optimal set of features that best describe the vowel regions; 3) …

The Architecture Of Automobile And Building Design : Learning From 100 Years Of Parallel Processes, Vojislav Ristic

Theses

The industrial revolution has had a critical impact on society in general and architecture in particular. How we design, build and use buildings is different due to industrial changes in materials, processes and techniques. A key manifestation of the industrial revolution has been the automobile. Since the automobile is a more direct result of application of technique, it is helpful to examine its design to better understand the less direct influences of technique in architecture. This is especially important at a time when the role of technology in architecture is becoming both more significant and more difficult to define and …

The Comparison Of Different Quality Of Working Life Among Countries From A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Jih-Ping Ouyang

Theses

The objective of this study is to focus on the factors underlying the prosperity of Taiwan from a cross-cultural perspective by utilizing Hofstede's (1980) theory and England's (1983) theory. It presents the scores on Hofstede's four indices (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism and Masculinity), using it to compare with countries, and touches upon England's eleven work goals.

Through research and analysis comparisons of the differences and similarities between Taiwan (Republic of China) and the other countries are found and based on these, the modifications can be made to improve the current managerial pattern. For the past few years, there has …

A Survey Of Computerized Writing Aid Systems And Implementation Of A Homonym Checker Using Artificial Intelligence, Anna Marie Robbins

Theses

Computerized writing aid systems ideally determine whether word usage in written text is appropriate both syntactically and semantically. Currently developed computerized writing aid systems are reviewed with emphasis on their methods for and success at grammar checking. A limited homonym checker and correction advisor is devised and implemented using the Prolog programming language and artificial intelligence techniques. Insight is gained into the problem of developing a comprehensive computerized system for determining appropriate syntactic and semantic word usage.

Port-A-Map, Viriya Pungthong

Theses

None provided.

Criteria For Identifying Artistically Talented Students In Elementary Education, Mary C. Tevlin

Theses

To objectively identify an "artistically talented'' student in an elementary art class is a difficult procedure. Many processes have been used in recent years in order to place these art students in gifted art programs.

This paper examines the literature describing many tests and procedures that have been used to assess students in the area of visual arts ability. It examines research identifying the behaviors and characteristics of visually talented art students and has formulated a questionnaire for teachers to use when identifying artistically talented students in elementary education.

The questionnaire was piloted in one school district. Revisions were made, …

Ada As A Design Specification Language, Barbara Brunner Gibson

Theses

The primary thesis objective is research into current approaches to design specification languages, emphasizing Ada. Requirements specification is touched upon. Design specification is explored and related to requirements and implementation. The role of language in design is discussed, as well as objectives of the design specification and features that a specification language should provide in order to meet those objectives. Formal language is contrasted with natural language. Some formal specification languages are described, both Ada related and not Ada related. The secondary objective, the thesis project, is to illustrate a design specification in a formal language, Ada. The purpose of …

A System For The Generation Of Tonal Music Based On Transformations, Karl J. Myers

Theses

Most if not all of the approaches being used in the computer study of natural languages also have been applied to the computer study of music. Music theorist Heinrich Schenker (1867 - 1935) developed a system for the study of tonal music that is compatible with the transformational grammars defined by linguist Noam Chomsky for the study of natural languages. Steven Smoliar ( 1980 ) defined transformations, based on Schenker’s theory, for the analysis of musical compositions. This study provides background into the application of grammars in the generation of musical compositions and a full implementation of the transformations defined …

Importance And Implementation Of Explanation In Expert Systems, Kurt R. Heilbronn

Theses

Explanation is crucial in persuading others of the correctness of our beliefs to gain acceptance of our conclusion. Early research into expert systems focused on methods for reasoning. However it became apparent that the ultimate success lay in the ability to gain user acceptance by explaining the reasoning behind the conclusion. This study examines explanation from a social and an implementation standpoint. The social aspects of explanation provide insight into the role of naturally occurring explanations and listener expectations. Examination of research expert systems with explanation facilities and modifications of a simple Prolog expert system shell demonstrate the techniques required …

My Life's Contrasts, Doreen A. Long

Theses

Not Included

Visual Organizational Systems For The Graphic Designer, Michael P. Agoston

Theses

None provided.

Images Of My Mind, Mary Loomis Rickman

Theses

Not Included

"The Ransom Of Red Chief": A Junior High School Play, Janet Hanssen Bueneman

Theses

As an overview of a junior high play production which emphasizes the importance of drama in education this project describes the events during the eight weeks leading to the actual performance. The goal of the director was to use a play production to experimentally explore different ways to teach students to process information, solve problems , accomplish tasks, and to challenge students to think. The literature review presents a rationale for using drama in the school system . The methods chapter contains a Hodge Analysis of given circumstances, dialogue, dramatic action, ideas, tempo, moods, lighting plot, and ground plan. An …

A Survey Of Current Practices In Teaching Remedial Reading To Determine Congruence Of Opportunities For Reading Development, Ruth Hubbard Richardson

Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine current practices in providing opportunities for reading . development for remedial reading students in mid- Missouri schools, Callaway County, Hermann R-1, Montgomery County R-3, Warren County R-3, and Wellsville R-1, and to relate those practices to the attitudes of teachers responding to the survey. It was intended to elicit information regarding practices in remedial reading compared to classroom reading instruction, reading instruction compared to library usage, and reading instruction compared to language instruction. Responses were assessed to determine areas of congruence or closely related practices and to determine the effects of perceived …

Searching, Lisa (Elizabeth) Forster

Theses

The purpose of this Thesis has been an exploration of the means of composing paintings that are personally expressive, meaningful in concept, and aesthetically exciting, while being structurally well designed and executed. An intensive search in the areas of concept, or idea development; design and composition; as well as the technical concerns in choosing media and the methodology of its use has resulted in growth, increased knowledge, and many new discoveries. Each area has been systematically explored in great depth in a productive and effective sequence. The process involved in the development of concept was researched through many avenues. The …