The Genesis Of Feyerabend's 'Incommensurability Thesis' And Its Relationship To His Philosophy Of Science And Society, Sim Hui Tee

Student Works (2000-2009)

This thesis explores the genesis of Feyerabend's incommensurability thesis and its relationship to his philosophy of science and society. The exposition commences with an introduction to the origin of incommensurability thesis in chapter one. A brief outlook of the concept is introduced. In the second chapter, intellectual influences of Popper and Wittgenstein on Feyerabend is examined. With these intellectual linkages in sight, Feyerabend's incommensurability thesis is elaborated in the light of philosophy of science, in chapter three. In the consequent chapter, the focus shifts towards Feyerabend's incommensurability thesis in the perspective of his philosophy of society. In the last chapter, …

The Cultural Economy Of Dublin, Ellen Hazelkorn, Colm Murphy

Books/Book chapters

This article examines the growth between 1990 to 2000 of the interactive media industry in the Dublin area. In this period it became a world leader in the development of electronic leading companies. The article assesses the role the state played in the development of this cluster.

In Memoriam: Peter Francis, Jr., 1945-2002, Karlis Karklins

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

The bead research community lost a principal member when Peter Francis, Jr., director of the Center for Bead Research in Lake Placid, New York, died December 8, 2002, while on a research trip to Ghana, West Africa. Pete was widely known and respected, and was responsible for significantly increasing people's awareness—on a worldwide scale—of beads and their place in human culture through his many publications, lectures, workshops, symposia, and internet website. He leaves a void that will be very hard, if not impossible, to fill.

Captions And Color Plates (V. 14, 2002)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Xml-Based Modeling And Simulation: Web Service Technologies And Their Synergy With Simulation, Senthilanand Chandrasekaran, Gregory S. Silver, John A. Miller, Jorge Cardoso, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

The World Wide Web has had an huge influence on the computing field in general as well as simulation in particular (e.g., Web-based simulation). A new wave of development based upon XML has started. Two of the most interesting aspects of this development are the Semantic Web and Web services. This paper examines the synergy between Web service technology and simulation. In one direction, Web service processes can be simulated for the purpose of correcting/improving the design. In the other direction, simulation models/components can be built out of Web services. Work on seamlessly using simulation as a part of Web …

Authorization And Access Control Of Application Data In Workflow Systems, Shengli Wu, Amit P. Sheth, John A. Miller, Zongwei Luo

Kno.e.sis Publications

Workflow Management Systems (WfMSs) are used to support the modeling and coordinated execution of business processes within an organization or across organizational boundaries. Although some research efforts have addressed requirements for authorization and access control for workflow systems, little attention has been paid to the requirements as they apply to application data accessed or managed by WfMSs. In this paper, we discuss key access control requirements for application data in workflow applications using examples from the healthcare domain, introduce a classification of application data used in workflow systems by analyzing their sources, and then propose a comprehensive data authorization and …

The Latent Maximum Entropy Principle, Shaojun Wang, Ronald Rosenfeld, Yunxin Zhao, Dale Schuurmans

Kno.e.sis Publications

We present an extension of Jaynes' maximum entropy principle to handle latent variables. We use an EM algorithm that incorporates nested iterative scaling to approximately calculate maximum entropy solutions for this principle, and give a proof of its convergence.

Knowledge Discovery In Biological Datasets Using A Hybrid Bayes Classifier/Evolutionary Algorithm, Michael L. Raymer, Leslie A. Kuhn, William F. Punch

Kno.e.sis Publications

A key element of bioinformatics research is the extraction of meaningful information from large experimental data sets. Various approaches, including statistical and graph theoretical methods, data mining, and computational pattern recognition, have been applied to this task with varying degrees of success. We have previously shown that a genetic algorithm coupled with a k-nearest-neighbors classifier performs well in extracting information about protein-water binding from X-ray crystallographic protein structure data. Using a novel classifier based on the Bayes discriminant function, we present a hybrid algorithm that employs feature selection and extraction to isolate salient features from large biological data sets. The …

Profile Combinatorics For Fragment Selection In Comparative Protein Structure Modeling, Deacon Sweeney, Travis E. Doom, Michael L. Raymer

Kno.e.sis Publications

Sequencing of the human genome was a great stride towards modeling cellular complexes, massive systems whose key players are proteins and DNA. A major bottleneck limiting the modeling process is structure and function annotation for the new genes. Contemporary protein structure prediction algorithms represent the sequence of every protein of known structure with a profile to which the profile of a protein sequence of unknown structure is compared for recognition. We propose a novel approach to increase the scope and resolution of protein structure profiles. Our technique locates equivalent regions among the members of a structurally similar fold family, and …

A Passion For Ideas: How Innovators Create The New And Shape Our World, Heinrich V. Pierer, Bolko V. Oetinger

Purdue University Press Books

Business and industry leaders are eager to find ways to spark the creative instinct in their work forces. This newly translated work examines the multi-layered environment of innovation by melding the thoughts of business management pundits like Peter Senge with the views of artist, politicians, and other non-traditional thinkers like Tao Ho, Peter Greenaway, and Wolfgang Rihm.

Review Of The New Geography: How The Digital Revolution Is Reshaping The American Landscape, By Joel Kotkin., Davin Heckman

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

No abstract provided.

Online Bayesian Tree-Structured Transformation Of Hmms With Optimal Model Selection For Speaker Adaptation, Shaojun Wang, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper presents a new recursive Bayesian learning approach for transformation parameter estimation in speaker adaptation. Our goal is to incrementally transform or adapt a set of hidden Markov model (HMM) parameters for a new speaker and gain large performance improvement from a small amount of adaptation data. By constructing a clustering tree of HMM Gaussian mixture components, the linear regression (LR) or affine transformation parameters for HMM Gaussian mixture components are dynamically searched. An online Bayesian learning technique is proposed for recursive maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation of LR and affine transformation parameters. This technique has the advantages of …

The Conference Proceedings Of The 2001 Air Transport Research Society (Atrs) Of The Wctr Society, Volume 2, Yeong-Heok Lee, Brent D. Bowen, Scott E. Tarry, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 01-7

The Conference Proceedings Of The 2001 Air Transport Research Society (Atrs) Of The Wctr Society, Volume 3, Yeong-Heok Lee, Brent D. Bowen, Scott E. Tarry, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 01-8

Semantic Operators And Fixed-Point Theory In Logic Programming, Anthony K. Seda, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We consider rather general operators mapping valuations to (sets of) valuations in the context of the semantics of logic programming languages. This notion generalizes several of the standard operators encountered in this subject and is inspired by earlier work of M.C. Fitting. The fixed points of such operators play a fundamental role in logic programming semantics by providing standard models of logic programs and also in determining the computability properties of these standard models. We discuss some of our recent work employing topological ideas, in conjunction with order theory, to establish methods by which one can find the fixed points …

Summarizing Data Sets For Classification, Christopher W. Kinzig, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Gary B. Lamont, Robert E. Marmelstein

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper describes our approach and experiences with implementing a data mining system using genetic algorithms in C++. In contrast with earlier classification algorithms that tended to “tile” the data sets using some pre-specified “shapes”, the proposed system is based on Marmelstein’s work on determining natural boundaries for class homogeneous regions. These boundaries are further refined to construct a compact set of simple data mining rules for classification.

Query Processing With An Fpga Coprocessor Board, Jack S. Jean, Guozhu Dong, Hwa Zhang, Xinzhong Guo, Baifeng Zhang

Kno.e.sis Publications

In this paper, a commercial FPGA coprocessor board is used to accelerate the processing of queries on a relational database that contains texts and images. FPGA designs for text searching and image matching are described and their performances summarized. A potential design for a database JOIN operator is then studied. A query optimization preprocessor is then proposed.

Making Use Of The Most Expressive Jumping Emerging Patterns For Classification, Jinyan Li, Guozhu Dong, Kotagiri Ramamohanarao

Kno.e.sis Publications

Classification aims to discover a model from training data that can be used to predict the class of test instances. In this paper, we propose the use of jumping emerging patterns (JEPs) as the basis for a new classifier called the JEP-Classifier. Each JEP can capture some crucial difference between a pair of datasets. Then, aggregating all JEPs of large supports can produce a more potent classification power. Procedurally, the JEP-Classifier learns the pair-wise features (sets of JEPs) contained in the training data, and uses the collective impacts contributed by the most expressive pair-wise features to determine the class labels …

Developing Better Economic Information About Coastal Resources As A Tool For Integrated Coastal Management, Judith T. Kildow Dr, Brian Baird, Charles S. Colgan, Hauke Kite-Powell, Rodney Weiher

Publications

Measuring economic activity associated with the ocean through examination of the goods and services produced by specified industries and in coastal locations will provide answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about the ocean economy. But even this data will still be incomplete. Beyond are a variety of "non-market" values, which are needed to complete the picture. When someone goes to the beach in Florida or boats on Chesapeake Bay, there may be little that is directly purchased on that day. But the popularity of such activities is testament to their underlying value. Economists have developed a variety …

The Airline Quality Rating 2001, Brent D. Bowen, Dean Headley, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 01-2

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) was developed and first announced in early 1991 as an objective method of comparing airline quality on combined multiple performance criteria. This current report, Airline Quality Rating 2001, reflects monthly Airline Quality Rating scores for 2000. AQR scores for the calendar year 2000 are based on 15 elements that focus on airline performance areas important to air travel consumers.

The Airline Quality Rating 2001 is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for the ten major U.S. airlines operating during 2000. Using the Airline Quality Rating system of weighted averages and monthly performance …

Survivability Architecture For Workflow Management Systems, Jorge Cardoso, Zongwei Luo, John A. Miller, Amit P. Sheth, Krzysztof J. Kochut

Kno.e.sis Publications

The survivability of critical infrastructure systems has been gaining increasing concern from the industry. The survivability research area addresses the issue of infrastructure systems that continues to provide pre-established service levels to users in the face of disorders and react to changes in the surrounding environment. Workflow management systems need to be survivable since they are used to support critical and sensitive business processes. They require a high level of dependability and should not allow process instances to be interrupted or aborted due to failures. Moreover, due to their sensitivity, business process should reflect any change in the environment. In …

A "Converse" Of The Banach Contraction Mapping Theorem, Pascal Hitzler, Anthony K. Seda

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We prove a type of converse of the Banach contraction mapping theorem for metric spaces: if X is a T₁ topological space and f: X -> X is a function with the unique fixed point a such that fⁿ(x) converges to a for each x is a member of X, then there exists a distance function d on X such that f is a contraction on the complete ultrametric space (X,d) with contractivity factor 1/2. We explore properties of the resulting space (X,d).

Unique Supported-Model Classes Of Logic Programs, Pascal Hitzler, Anthony K. Seda

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We study classes of programs, herein called unique supported-model classes, with the property that each program in the class has a unique supported model. Elsewhere, the authors examined these classes from the point of view of operators defined relative to certain three-valued logics. In this paper, we complement our earlier results by considering how unique supported-model classes fit into the framework given by various classes of programs in several well-known approaches to semantics.

Kontraktionssatze Auf Verallgemeinerten Metrischen Raumen, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Latent Maximum Entropy Principle For Statistical Language Modeling, Shaojun Wang, Ronald Rosenfeld, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

We describe a unified probabilistic framework for statistical language modeling, the latent maximum entropy principle. The salient feature of this approach is that the hidden causal hierarchical dependency structure can be encoded into the statistical model in a principled way by mixtures of exponential families with a rich expressive power. We first show the problem formulation, solution, and certain convergence properties. We then describe how to use this machine learning technique to model various aspects of natural language, such as syntactic structure of sentences, semantic information in a document. Finally, we draw a conclusion and point out future research directions.

Collegiate Aviation Research And Education Solutions To Critical Safety Issues, Brent D. Bowen, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 2001-5

This document contains four papers concerning collegiate aviation research and education solutions to critical safety issues. “Panel Proposal Titled Collegiate Aviation Research and Education Solutions to Critical Safety Issues for the Tim Forte Collegiate Aviation Safety Symposium” (Brent Bowen) presents proposals for panels on the following topics: geographic north versus magnetic north to provide enhanced national airspace system safety; weather safety training for general aviation pilots through computer flight simulation; identification of human behavior and aircraft maintenance safety issues; disaster preparedness, emergency response, and curriculum development; the collegiate aviation emergency response checklist; and systemic initiatives in aviation …

A Framework For Assessing The Global Diffusion Of The Internet, Peter Wolcott, Larry Press, William Mchenry, Seymour E. Goodman, William Foster

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for describing the diffusion of the Internet in a country. It incorporates insights gained from in-depth studies of about 25 countries undertaken since 1997. The framework characterizes diffusion using six dimensions, defining them in detail, and examines how the six dimensions relate to underlying bodies of theory from the national systems of innovation and diffusion of innovations approaches. It addresses how to apply the framework in practice, highlighting Internet diffusion determinants. This framework is useful for business stakeholders wanting to make use of and invest in the Internet, for policy makers debating how to …

Ivr Test & Survey: A Computer Program To Collect Data Via Computerized Telephonic Applications, Louis H. Janda, Michael Janda, Eric Tedford

Psychology Faculty Publications

Several studies have demonstrated the advantages of using interactive voice response (IVR) technology to collect self-report data from research participants and recipients of psychological/medical services. IVR allows participants to phone a computer and respond to recorded questions by pressing the appropriate touch-tone keys on their telephone. Because this technology offers substantial benefits in terms of cost and efficiency, it is surprising that it has not been more widely utilized by researchers and practitioners. Along with the automation of the administration and scoring of tests or surveys, IVR provides for questioning to be adapted to the participants' responses. One possible explanation …

The Internet In Turkey And Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis, Peter Wolcott, Seymour E. Goodman

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

The Global Diffusion of the Internet Project was initiated in 1997 to study the diffusion and absorption of the Internet to, and within, many diverse countries. This research has resulted in an ongoing series of reports and articles that have developed an analytic framework for evaluating the Internet within countries and applied it to more than 25 countries. (Seehttp://mosaic.unomaha.edu/gdi.html for links to some of these reports and articles.)

The current report applies the analytic framework to compare and contrast the Internet experiences of Turkey and Pakistan, through mid-2000. Although historically these countries have not been closely related, there are …

Classes Of Logic Programs Which Possess Unique Supported Models, Anthony K. Seda, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Logic programming is concerned with the use of logic as a programming language. The main manifestation of this computing paradigm is in the various versions of Prolog which are now available, in which computation is viewed as deduction from sets of Horn clauses, although there is also growing interest in the related form known as answer set programming, see [10]. The reference [1] contains a good survey of the growth of logic programming over the last twenty-five years both as a stand-alone programming language and as a software component of large information systems. One advantage a logic program P has …