Digital Commons Network^™

Faculty And Administrators Retire From Iwu, Sherry Wallace

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Measuring Semantic Similarity: Representations And Methods, Mihai Cosmin Lintean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation investigates and proposes ways to quantify and measure semantic similarity between texts. The general approach is to rely on linguistic information at various levels, including lexical, lexico-semantic, and syntactic. The approach starts by mapping texts onto structured representations that include lexical, lexico-semantic, and syntactic information. The representation is then used as input to methods designed to measure the semantic similarity between texts based on the available linguistic information.While world knowledge is needed to properly assess semantic similarity of texts, in our approach world knowledge is not used, which is a weakness of it.We limit ourselves to answering the …

Exam Room Computers And Patient-Clinician Communication: A Wicked Problem, Leora Jane Elli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The present study is a primarily qualitative case study examining the patient-clinician relationship. Clinicians practicing within an oncology practice with a reputation for patient-centered care responded to questions regarding how the introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) and an exam room computer had affected their day-to-day clinical practice. Framed as a wicked problem (a problem that could not be solved using a linear methodology), I believed clues to understanding a method for incorporating use of an exam room computer into a clinical visit while maintaining empathic communication with the patient could be found by exploring the experience of clinicians …

The Importance Of Cultural Competence When Evaluating Bilingual Students, Maria-Ines Castro

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of language and culture on Hispanic student test taking performance. Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that Hispanic students' test taking performance would be impacted by the language used on the assessment given, and the test administrator's awareness, knowledge, and skills related to cultural competence. Twelve bilingual-Hispanic students from Rowan University-Camden completed a Nelson-Denny Reading Test for the purpose of this research project. The same test was presented to all students in an English version and a Spanish version. A Mixed Design with repeated measures indicated that there was no significant difference …

Artificial Intelligence - I: Fuzzy Logic Based Robust Pole-Placement Controller For Dc-Dc Buck Converter, Ghulam Abbas, Umar Farooq, Muhammad Usman Asad

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

This paper describes the fuzzy logic based robust pole-placement controller for the buck converter working in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM). The converter operates at a switching frequency of 500 KHz. Pole-placement controller does not show good robustness to the load variations and the change in supply and reference voltages. In order to improve the static and dynamic properties, pole-placement controller supported by decomposed PID fuzzy algorithm is investigated. The performance of both the controllers, pole-placement and optimal pole-placement, is compared and conclusions are drawn. It will be shown that optimal control shows better dynamic performance. MATLAB/SIMULINK based simulation results validate …

Artificial Intelligence - I: Design, Low Cost Implementation And Comparison Of Mimo Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Controllers For Wall Tracking Behavior Of Mobile Robot, Umar Farooq, K. M. Hasan, Ghulam Abbas, Muhammad Usman Asad, Syed Omer Saleh

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

This paper describes the design, implementation and comparison of two Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Controllers for wall tracking behavior of mobile robot. Both the controllers take inputs from two ultrasonic sensors and generate motion commands for left and right motors. The controllers are designed using MATLAB and implemented in real time using an inexpensive and readily available microcontroller, AT89C52. The controllers differ in membership functions and the rule base which provides a mean for their comparison. Experimental results have validated both the controllers; however they exhibit different settling time and percentage overshoot due to the difference in the membership functions and …

Artificial Intelligence – I: A Preliminary Framework For Human-Agent Communication In Electronic Negotiations, Moez Ur Rehman, Nosheen Riaz

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

Electronic negotiations are business negotiations conducted via electronic means using information and communications technologies (ICT). Two dominant types of electronic negotiation systems are automated negotiation systems for software agents and negotiation support systems (NSSs) for humans. However, the integration of two types for human-agent negotiations is an important task. In this paper, an extended communication model for human-agent business negotiations is presented. For this purpose, the underlying communication models of automated negotiations and NSSs are analyzed. The extended communication model is based on a common negotiation ontology which captures the negotiation agenda and paves the way for such hybrid communication, …

Epigenetic Silencing Of Nucleolar Rrna Genes In Alzheimer's Disease, Maciej Pietrzak, Grzegorz Rempala, Peter T. Nelson, Jing-Juan Zheng, Michal Hetman

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Ribosomal deficits are documented in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often represents an early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as in advanced AD. The nucleolar rRNA genes (rDNA), transcription of which is critical for ribosomal biogenesis, are regulated by epigenetic silencing including promoter CpG methylation.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assess whether CpG methylation of the rDNA promoter was dysregulated across the AD spectrum, we analyzed brain samples from 10 MCI-, 23 AD-, and, 24 age-matched control individuals using bisulfite mapping. The rDNA promoter became hypermethylated in cerebro-cortical samples from MCI and AD groups. In parietal cortex, the rDNA promoter …

Ebsco Library Of Congress Classification Report 2011, Andree J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

This report lists all periodicals subscribed to in 2011 through EBSCO Subscription Services by the University Libraries, University of Rhode Island. Information provided includes title, ISSN, Library of Congress Classification number and name, and subscriber (URI, Pell, or CCE). The list is sorted by LC Classification to better show the journals that support each discipline/subject area. Not included here are titles available through online journal packages and reference databases, which now comprise the majority of the Libraries' subscriptions. The journals listed here are those to which the Libraries subscribe to individually, title-by-title.

Stereoscopic Vision's Impact On Spatial Ability Testing, George Takahashi

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

A look into spatial ability testing tools and the variations that past researchers made to focus on key factors that affect test scores, will demonstrate the need for tuning traditional testing methods to accommodate a wider demographic and provide more accurate results. Due to technological limitations of the time, a large variety of past spatial tests were developed by hand-drawings. Within this research, the addition of stereoscopic vision is analyzed to determine the value of said changes on human perception of spatial entities.

Priming, Adaptation, & Interpretation: Language Processing In A Social Context., Jennifer Roche

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation evaluated three possible levels of processing that interlocutors engage in during interactive discourse. The first section is a review of literature that attempts to link priming, adaptation, and interpretation. The second section presents two experiments that have been recently published in Language and Cognitive Processes. This study evaluated the tendency for interlocutors to mimic pragmatic forms of language during a pseudo-interaction. The third section offers three experiments that evaluated the contexts in which communication breakdown drives disambiguation strategies. This paper is currently under preparation and will be submitted to the Journal of Memory and Language. The fourth section …

Quality Assurance Of Post-Graduate Education: The Case Of Capes, The Brazilian Agency For Support And Evaluation Of Graduate Education, Jorge Almeida Guimarães, Elenara Chaves Edler De Almeida

Higher Learning Research Communications

CAPES Foundation, The Brazilian Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education, was created in July 11th, 1951, some few years after the end of World War II, by the initiative of Anísio Teixeira, a pioneer Brazilian educator. At the same time, Alvaro Alberto, another open mind leader pioneer created CNPq, The Brazilian National Research Council. CAPES is linked to the Ministry of Education, and CNPq to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Since its creation, CAPES has been responsible for the evaluation and financial support of graduate courses at master and doctorate levels, covering the entire Brazilian graduate …

Italianization Of Emigration To Canada: Or, What Is The Role Of The Italies Outside Of Italy?, Eveljn Ferraro

Modern Languages & Literature

In Migrancy, Culture, Identity Iain Chambers observes that present-day critical thought frequently adopts metaphors of movement, migration, maps, travel, and sometimes tourism to describe and explain the encounter with people and cultures that the European rationale is no longer able to domesticate in an era of increasing globalization. Chambers himself uses the metaphor of journey to represent this encounter and, taking on Said' s reflections on exile and his idea that homes are always provisional, 1 he states that the questions we meet en route displace our terms of reference, which are the certainty of the point of departure and …

2011 - You Can't Take It With You Program, Neiu Theatre Department

Theatre Production Programs

You Can't Take It With You program

July 21, 2011, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Sugar Makes You Sweet: Polysemy And Cultural Beliefs About Causation, Laurel Smith Stvan

Linguistics & TESOL Faculty Publications & Presentations - Archive

Earlier studies showed some word pairs in health discourse being conflated. If some polysemes are not recognized as fully separate senses, is there a pattern of use showing if speakers feel that experiencing one sense creates the occurrence of the second sense?

A Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Framework For Dividing And Predicting Facial Action Units, A K M Mahbubur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This thesis proposed a probabilistic approach to divide the Facial Action Units (AUs) based on the physiological relations and their strengths among the facial muscle groups. The physiological relations and their strengths were captured using a Static Bayesian Network (SBN) from given databases. A data driven spatio-temporal probabilistic scoring function was introduced to divide the AUs into : (i) frequently occurred and strongly connected AUs (FSAUs) and (ii) infrequently occurred and weakly connected AUs (IWAUs). In addition, a Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) based predictive mechanism was implemented to predict the IWAUs from FSAUs. The combined spatio-temporal modeling enabled a framework …

Genetic, Behavioral, And Physiological Predictors Of Phenotypic Variability In Typically Developing And High Functioning Children With Autism, Kim E. Ono

Open Access Theses

There is extensive research focused on identifying predictors of autism, including biomarkers such as genes and neurophysiology. Because of inconsistent data, I explored these biomarkers as predictors of variability in behavioral outcomes (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms), rather than indicators of the disorder per se. In a sample of children (ages 8-16) diagnosed with High Functioning Autism (HFA) and an age- and IQ- matched typically developing comparison group, individual differences in behavioral outcomes were assessed in relation to common genetic polymorphisms, 5-HTTLPR and DRD4, and neurophysiological (ERN) and behavioral (rate of self-correction) measures of response monitoring. Although the diagnostic groups …

Early Historical Aspects Of Adult Literacy: Particularly In Rowan County, Kentucky And How Adult Education Is Linked To Morehead State University, Joy F. Cecil, Jackie Mccleese

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

An applied project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Education Specialist at Morehead State University by Joy F. Cecil and Jackie McCleese on July 18, 2011.

Mythcon 42 - Monsters, Marvels, And Minstrels: The Rise Of Modern Medievalism, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon Programs

For the first time in its history, Mythcon will be held in New Mexico, whose state motto, fittingly, is "The Land of Enchantment." New Mexico is a state full of rich cultural traditions and fascinating mythologies. From Native American mythic figures such as Kokopelli and Spider Woman, to Hispanic folktales about La Llorona and El Cucui, as well as to conspiracy stories about Roswell aliens and Chupacabra, our desert landscapes are populated with an astoundingly fertile array of fantastical creatures and supernatural beings. The mythologies, folklore, and oral legends of New Mexico provide living traditions that inspire us to contemplate …

A Study Of First Language Background And Second Language Order Of Acquisition, Meghan Elizabeth Aitken

Theses and Dissertations

One major topic that often appears in textbooks on second language acquisition (SLA) is that of order of acquisition of morphemes. Much research has been done on the issue in the past, and a particular acquisition order has been accepted by many in the field of SLA for second language learners of English. This order of morphemes is deemed invariant and not affected by the native language of the learner. This thesis examines this claim, using an elicited imitation test to target nine English morphemes. The results show that a learner's native language does indeed have an effect on the …

Collection Development Of Hiv/Aids Information Resources In American Libraries, Joseph G. Andrews Jr

School of Information Student Research Journal

HIV/AIDS remains an incurable epidemic in the United States that disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM) and African Americans. Library and information science (LIS) professionals can play a vital role in keeping these higher risk groups informed about preventing HIV/AIDS and living with the disease, through a variety of current information resources that addresses their specific questions. This paper reviews collection development policies proposed by LIS professionals and library agencies since the late 1980s, and evaluates how such policies took higher-risk user groups into consideration. The findings of this paper are that collection development policies have become …

Migration Restrictions And Criminal Behavior: Evidence From A Natural Experiment, Giovanni Mastrobuoni, Paolo Pinotti

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

We estimate the causal effect of immigrants' legal status on criminal behavior exploiting exogenous variation in migration restrictions across nationalities driven by the last round of the European Union enlargement. Unique individual-level data on a collective clemency bill enacted in Italy five months before the enlargement allow us to compare the post-release criminal record of inmates from new EU member countries with a control group of pardoned inmates from candidate EU member countries. Difference-in-differences in the probability of re-arrest between the two groups before and after the enlargement show that obtaining legal status lowers the recidivism of economically motivated offenders, …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Humanities And Social Sciences, July 15, 2011, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The Department of Languages, Philosophy and Speech Communication proposes a new major in Global Communication.

Daoism As Critical Theory, Mario Wenning

Comparative Philosophy

Classical philosophical Daoism as it is expressed in the Dao-De-Jing and the Zhuang-Zi is often interpreted as lacking a capacity for critique and resistance. Since these capacities are taken to be central components of Enlightenment reason and action, it would follow that Daoism is incompatible with Enlightenment. This interpretation is being refuted by way of developing a constructive dialogue between the enlightenment traditions of critical theory and recent philosophy of action from a Daoist perspective. Daoism's normative naturalism does neither rest on a primitivist call for a return to the past, nor does it suggest future-directed activism. By way of …

Constructive Engagement Of Analytic And Continental Approaches In Philosophy: From The Vantage Point Of Comparative Philosophy, Bo Mou

Comparative Philosophy

See Editor's Words

Comparative Philosophy Vol 2 No 2 Editor's Words, Bo Mou

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Analytic And Continental Philosophy, Science, And Global Philosophy, Richard Tieszen

Comparative Philosophy

Although there is no consensus on what distinguishes analytic from Continental philosophy, I focus in this paper on one source of disagreement that seems to run fairly deep in dividing these traditions in recent times, namely, disagreement about the relation of natural science to philosophy. I consider some of the exchanges about science that have taken place between analytic and Continental philosophers, especially in connection with the philosophy of mind. In discussing the relation of natural science to philosophy I employ an analysis of the origins of natural science that has been developed by a number of Continental philosophers. Awareness …

Comparative Philosophy Vol 2 No 2 Whole Set, Comparative Philosophy

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Franco In The Basque Nation, Kalyna Macko

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This defense argues how the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, combined with the nationalism of the Basques, resulted in conflict between the two groups. ETA, a terrorist organization, was formed and began to use violence against General Franco. Due to their continued nationalism, they continued on with their violence even after his death.