Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Geometric Mean As A Generator Of Truth-Value In Heuristic Expert Systems: An Improvement Over The Fuzzy Weighted Arithmetic Mean, Walter L. Dixon

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Many earlier expert systems that were modeled after MYCIN, the first expert system, employed truth-value factors for their rule antecedents (premises) and consequents (conclusions). These crisp truth-value factors were usually called certainty factors and attempted to provide a measure of confidence and computational capability to the analysis of rule uncertainty (Shortliffe, 1977; Kandel, 1994). However, in the literature criticism has been often expressed concerning the lack of precision a crisp truth/certainty factor value conveys (Zadeh, 1983; Turban, 1993). Zadeh (1973) and Xingui (1988) utilized the weighted fuzzy average algorithm to improve the precision of truth/certainty factor values. Kandel (1994) further …

An Empirical Investigation Of Employee Perceptions Of Outsourcing Success Of Information Technology Operations, Lynda Roberson Louis

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Outsourcing is defined as the contracting out of all or parts of a company's functional work. While most outsourcing initiatives attempt to open a line of communication between upper management and affected employees, little effort is made to assess and incorporate employee perceptions into the outsourcing deal. Little research exists that addresses employee perceptions of outsourcing Information Technology (IT) functions and operations and the effects such outsourcing have on the employee. This study investigated the perceptions of employees directly involved in IT outsourcing deals in an effort to relate these perceptions to factors identified in earlier studies. The following human …

Enterprise Integration Modeling Linking Enterprise Integration Architecture With Business Strategy Planning, Easton B. Rhodd

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The goals for this study were twofold. The first goal was to identify planning variables for linking both organizational and architectural objectives for developing enterprise integration architecture. The second goal was to validate enterprise integration modeling methodology as a viable planning tool for the design, development, and maintenance of the enterprise integration architecture.

This lack of linkage at the intellectual dimension level can be characterized as having a dysfunctional effect on enterprise integration strategy formulation and infrastructure development. There is a disjoint between adoptions of appropriate information technology in relation to organizational objectives. This includes misapplication of investments in information …

A Comparison Of The Use Of Artificial Neural Networks, Fractal Time Series And Fractal Neural Networks In Financial Forecasts, Beverly A. Swisshelm

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Effective prediction of future financial states has been a major quest for groups ranging from national governments to individual investors. The size, diversity and complexity of financial markets make traditional statistical methods ineffective in predicting beyond a very short time frame. Alternative models using artificial neural networks and fractal time series have had better results in long-term predictions, but still do not work in all situations. This dissertation combined features of artificial neural networks and fractal time series to create a fractal neural network. Fractals exhibit repetitive patterns when a unit is broken down into its components. This similarity property …

Y2k Serendipity: Benefits And Spinoffs, Roy Gwen Taunton

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of the researcher this study was to determine what, if any, unexpected benefits, spin-offs, and other "serendipitous" events occurred as a result of the year 2000 remediation process undertaken by businesses, industry, and other organizations. This was measured through the use of an online survey instrument comprised of a series of questions designed to measure and discover those benefits. The survey was sent to approximately 50 different businesses/organizations during the pilot stage of this study and 250 during the main stage of this study. These businesses/organizations were randomly selected from the sampling frame using random sampling techniques. …

The Design Of Online Learning Communities For Older Adults, Martha Marie Snyder

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Rapid, ongoing advancements in the growth of the Internet and web-based technology coupled with the steadily increasing number of older adults in our society create a significant need for the design of safe, convenient, and accessible online learning communities for this demographic. The primary goal of this dissertation was to conduct formative research into methodologies for developing a new instructional-design theory for establishing online learning communities for older adults. The aim of this work was to apply formative research, which is a type of developmental research used to create a new design theory or improve an existing theory, to the …

A Technique For Visualizing Software Architectures, Jon M. Inouye

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Software architecture appeared in the early 1990s as a distinct discipline within software engineering. Models based on software architecture attempt to reduce the complexity of software by providing relatively coarse-grained structures for representing different aspects of software development. A software architecture typically consists of various components and connections arranged in a specific topology. Elements of the topology can serve as abstractions on (for example) modules, objects, protocols or interfaces. The meaning of the topology depends on viewpoint.

Software architectures' can be described using an architecture description language (ADL). The key goals of ADLs are to communicate alternate designs to the …