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- Title
- Global domination of factors of a graph.
- Creator
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Carrington, Julie R., Brigham, Robert C., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; A factoring of a graph G = (V,E) is a collection of spanning subgraphs F1, F2,..., Fk, known as factors into which the edge set E has been partitioned. A dominating set of a graph is a set of nodes such that every node in the graph is either contained in the set or has an edge to some node in the set. Each factor Fi is itself a graph and so has a dominating set. This set is called a local dominating set or LDS. An LDS of...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; A factoring of a graph G = (V,E) is a collection of spanning subgraphs F1, F2,..., Fk, known as factors into which the edge set E has been partitioned. A dominating set of a graph is a set of nodes such that every node in the graph is either contained in the set or has an edge to some node in the set. Each factor Fi is itself a graph and so has a dominating set. This set is called a local dominating set or LDS. An LDS of minimumsize contains (gamma)i nodes. In addition, there is some set of nodes named a global dominating set which dominates all of the factors. If a global dominating set is of a minimum size, it is called a GDS and contains (gamma) nodes. A central question answered by this dissertation is under what circummstances, given a set of integers (gamma)1, (gamma)2, ..., (gamma)k, and (gamma) there is a graph which can be factored into k factors in such a way that a minimum LDS of Fi has size (gamma)i, 1 [less than or equal to] i [less than or equal to] k, and GDS has size (gamma).
Show less - Date Issued
- 1992
- Identifier
- CFR0001860, ucf:52916
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0001860
- Title
- The working relationship of international teaching assistants and undergraduate students.
- Creator
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Farina, Marcella, Stebbins, Consuelo, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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The present study was conducted to ascertain undergraduate views about the effectiveness of International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) in the American classroom. The study was administered to a stratified cluster sampling by college of the target population, undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida. The instrument used, Questionnaire of Undergraduates about International Teaching Assistants (QUITA) as developed by Wanda Fox (1990), is composed of a total...
Show moreThe present study was conducted to ascertain undergraduate views about the effectiveness of International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) in the American classroom. The study was administered to a stratified cluster sampling by college of the target population, undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida. The instrument used, Questionnaire of Undergraduates about International Teaching Assistants (QUITA) as developed by Wanda Fox (1990), is composed of a total of 40 items regarding personal and academic background, cultural exposure to and views about non-native speakers of English, and ITA-classroom effectiveness and problem-solving strategies. On the basis of data from the Fall 1998 semester, approximately 15% of the total number of ITA-taught course sections per college were surveyed. The subjects responded anonymously using computerized answer sheets. Upon completion of the data collection phase, all surveys were analyzed for response frequencies. In addition, background and demographic information regarding the participants and information regarding undergraduate exposure to IT As and IT A instruction were also summarized. The Likert-type items were combined to reveal an overall ATITA (Attitude toward International Teaching Assistants) score. The results of the ATITA portion of the study indicate that undergraduate student views toward IT As and IT A instruction are between neutral and mildly positive. Furthermore, survey responses indicated that undergraduates resolve conflicts involving IT As through personal means. The closing recommendations suggest maintaining open lines of communication between undergraduates, ITAs, and administrators alike.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1999
- Identifier
- CFR0003046, ucf:52915
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0003046
- Title
- Edge Contours.
- Creator
-
Williams, Donna J., Shah, Mubarak A., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The accuracy with which a computer vision system is able to identify objects in an image is heavily dependent upon the accuracy of the low level processes that identify which points lie on the edges of an object. In order to remove noise and fine texture from an image, it is usually smoothed before edge detection is performed. This smoothing causes edges to be displaced from their actual location in the image. Knowledge about...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The accuracy with which a computer vision system is able to identify objects in an image is heavily dependent upon the accuracy of the low level processes that identify which points lie on the edges of an object. In order to remove noise and fine texture from an image, it is usually smoothed before edge detection is performed. This smoothing causes edges to be displaced from their actual location in the image. Knowledge about the changes that occur with different degrees of smoothing (scales) and the physical conditions that cause these changes is essential to proper interpretation of the results obtained. In this work the amount of delocalization and the magnitude of the response to the Normalized Gradient of Gaussian operator are analyzed as a function of cr, the standard deviation of the Gaussian. As a result of this analysis it was determined that edge points could be characterized as to slope, contrast, and proximity to other edges. The analysis is also used to define the size that the neighborhood of an edge point must be in order to assure its containing the delocalized edge point at another scale when o is known. Given this theoretical background, an algorithm was developed to obtain sequential lists of edge points. This used multiple scales in order to achieve the superior localization and detection of weak edges possible with smaller scales combined with the noise suppression of the larger scales. The edge contours obtained with this method are significantly better than those achieved with a single scale. A second algorithm was developed to allow sets of edge contour points to be represented as active contours so that interaction with a higher level process is possible. This higher level process could do such things as determine where corners or discontinuities could appear. The algorithm developed here allows hard constraints and represents a significant improvement in speed over previous algorithms allowing hard constraints, being linear rather than cubic.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1989
- Identifier
- CFR0000160, ucf:52912
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0000160
- Title
- Finding paths in the rotation graph of binary trees.
- Creator
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Rogers, Rodney O., Dutton, Ronald D., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; A binary tree coding scheme is a bijection mapping a set of binary trees to a set of integer tuples called codewords. One problem considered in the literature is that of listing the codewords for n-node binary trees, such that successive codewords represent trees differing by a single rotation, a standard operation for rebalancing binary search trees. Then, the codeword sequence corresponds to an Hamiltonian path in the...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; A binary tree coding scheme is a bijection mapping a set of binary trees to a set of integer tuples called codewords. One problem considered in the literature is that of listing the codewords for n-node binary trees, such that successive codewords represent trees differing by a single rotation, a standard operation for rebalancing binary search trees. Then, the codeword sequence corresponds to an Hamiltonian path in the rotation graph Rn of binary trees, where each node is labelled with an n-node binary tree, and an edge connects two nodes when their trees differ by a single rotation. A related problem is finding a shortest path between two nodes in Rn, which reduces to the problem of transforming one binary tree into another using a minimum number of rotations. Yet a third problem is determining properties of the rotation graph. Our work addresses these three problems.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1996
- Identifier
- CFR0000193, ucf:52941
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0000193
- Title
- Writing as a public relations task: how much do public relations practitioners write?.
- Creator
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Stansberry, Frank R., Taylor, K. Phillip, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The purpose of this study was to investigate how much public relations people write in the course of their work; to determine if the amount and type of writing varies with experience, job type or employer; and to investigate what other tasks besides writing public relations professionals do. The sample was 198 members of the Public Relations Society of America who responded to a nation-wide mailing of 500 people selected from...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The purpose of this study was to investigate how much public relations people write in the course of their work; to determine if the amount and type of writing varies with experience, job type or employer; and to investigate what other tasks besides writing public relations professionals do. The sample was 198 members of the Public Relations Society of America who responded to a nation-wide mailing of 500 people selected from the Society's membership directory. Results showed that public relations practitioners spent 36.5 percent of their time writing. Overall, public relations people spend more time on publicity, media relations, and business administration than on any other function, but counseling management and research--two emerging area--are rating in the top 50 percent. Thus, while this study does not provide any startling new information on the public relations industry, it does provide, for the first time, empirical evidence of what an average or typical public relations practitioner does. That was the primary goal of the study.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1989
- Identifier
- CFR0008148, ucf:52953
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008148
- Title
- Effects of a Female Appointed Leader's Degree of Intervention and Orientation Behavior on a Task Oriented Group's Decision Effectiveness, Member Satisfaction, and Time to Solution.
- Creator
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Page, Robert D., Taylor, K. Phillip, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis
- Date Issued
- 1983
- Identifier
- CFR0008150, ucf:52943
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008150
- Title
- Inoculation theory: motivation mechanism vs. attack credibility as mediators of resistance to persuasion.
- Creator
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Cranis, Peter F., Pryor, Albert, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis
- Date Issued
- 1988
- Identifier
- CFR0008149, ucf:52947
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008149
- Title
- The battle's lost and won: ratification of the nineteenth amendment in Tennessee.
- Creator
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Beale, Judith, Leckie, Shirley A., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Tennessee ratified the Nineteenth amendment by a margin of one vote. This study, therefore, examines Tennessee, its politics, and its politicians to see to what extent the usual historical explanations that states' rights and the liquor and railroad industries were the main obstructions to Tennessee's ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. It concludes that women's increased access to education and employment affected too...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Tennessee ratified the Nineteenth amendment by a margin of one vote. This study, therefore, examines Tennessee, its politics, and its politicians to see to what extent the usual historical explanations that states' rights and the liquor and railroad industries were the main obstructions to Tennessee's ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. It concludes that women's increased access to education and employment affected too few women in the state to cause a great demand for the vote. Moreover, corporate opponents and racist fears were less important as impediments to ratification than historians have believed. Legislators voted neither out of fear of federal intervention, nor from party loyalty; they considered each issue on its merits. Whether it was good for the state, their constituents, and their own political careers seem likely reasons for their decisions. Woman suffrage hung in the balance until the last possible minute so that one vote eventually determined the outcome in Tennessee.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2000
- Identifier
- CFR0000175, ucf:52936
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0000175
- Title
- Legacy to the people : community and the Orange County Regional History Center.
- Creator
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Beatty, Robert L., Leckie, Shirley A., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The development and birth of the Orange County Regional History Center is perhaps unlike any other local history museum in the United States. Its story is worth telling because of its long gestation, the difficulties in bringing this center to life, and the goals of the people who made it possible. All of these elements are a vital part of the history of Orange County, Florida and should not be overlooked. In this light, this...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The development and birth of the Orange County Regional History Center is perhaps unlike any other local history museum in the United States. Its story is worth telling because of its long gestation, the difficulties in bringing this center to life, and the goals of the people who made it possible. All of these elements are a vital part of the history of Orange County, Florida and should not be overlooked. In this light, this thesis will discuss more fully three topics in relation to the creation of the new History Center. First, it will look at the American museum field and its role as a community-building enterprise in American society. Second, it will examine the history of Central Florida, a region that sorely lacks a strong sense of community. Third, it will trace the transformation of the Orange County Historical Society and Museum from a small volunteer-run museum into the Orange County Regional History Center, the largest history museum in Central Florida. The ultimate goal of the History Center is to foster a sense of community in a region with little feeling of connectedness. This community building goal has evolved from both a renewed emphasis on community service in the museum field, and the desire of the History Center's leaders and staff to serve more effectively the Central Florida region. My thesis tells the story of the history and development of the Regional History Center, an institution dedicated to bringing the diverse community of Central Florida together for discussion, dialogue, and reflection. It also identifies some of the new roles and functions it must assume in the future and the new tasks that await it as it strives to become more useful and relevant to its community. In that way, and through that resource, the institution can help build the foundation for a more promising future for present and future residents of Orange County.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2002
- Identifier
- CFR0000195, ucf:52935
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0000195
- Title
- Florida macrolichens as potential bioindicators of environmental quality : a baseline study.
- Creator
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Neal, Harry V., Wanielista, Martin P., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Lichens have been used extensively and with considerable success as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution in North America and Europe for more than thirty years. Little research has followed in tropical and subtropical regions where population growth is rapid and environmental pressures unprecedented. However, taxa used as bioindicators in other studies and/or taxa having this potential, occur naturally in Central Florida. A...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Lichens have been used extensively and with considerable success as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution in North America and Europe for more than thirty years. Little research has followed in tropical and subtropical regions where population growth is rapid and environmental pressures unprecedented. However, taxa used as bioindicators in other studies and/or taxa having this potential, occur naturally in Central Florida. A new potential major source of pollution, the coal-fired Curtis H. Stanton Energy Canter, is about to begin operation providing the opportunity to determine the extent of impact. Therefore, lichen monitoring sites have been established and the collection of baseline data reflecting species diversity, frequency, overall cover and vitality has been accomplished. Theme locations will be preserved for future monitoring activities. Voucher specimens and photographic documentation of sample populations have been deposited in the herbarium of the University of Central Florida.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1986
- Identifier
- CFR0004338, ucf:52996
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0004338
- Title
- Abstinence Versus Controlled Drinking: A Critical Review.
- Creator
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Pushkarna, Suresh, McGuire, John M., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Abstinence used to be the only recommended goal for persons affected with alcohol misuse. In recent years there has been a trend to suggest controlled drinking for some alochol abusers. The comparison of abstinence versus controlled drinking indicates that controlled drinking goals have proved to be successful in a limited attempt with problem drinkers having middle income, average intelligence, stable job and adequate social...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Abstinence used to be the only recommended goal for persons affected with alcohol misuse. In recent years there has been a trend to suggest controlled drinking for some alochol abusers. The comparison of abstinence versus controlled drinking indicates that controlled drinking goals have proved to be successful in a limited attempt with problem drinkers having middle income, average intelligence, stable job and adequate social support system. Severely dependent alcoholics (gamma type) have been trained in some instances to control their drinking in a laboratory environment, but their control erodes over time. The controlled drinking controversy has partly to do with different theoretical perspectives on alcoholism, but part of it has to do with the issue of territorality. What is needed at this point is an effective and thorough evaluation of a variety of alcohol-treatment programs with a variety of problem drinkers and alcoholics. In this endeavor a research design is proposed as an extension and improvement over the existing research methods on the comparative suitability of abstinence versus controlled drinking.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1985
- Identifier
- CFR0008168, ucf:53073
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008168
- Title
- Psychological Responses of Fathers and Mothers to Amniocentesis.
- Creator
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Williamson, Nancy D., Blau, Burton I., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Amniocentesis is one of the most widely used prenatal diagnostic techniques for congenital disorders. It was hypothesized that the spychological responses of mothers and fathers to amniocenthesis during high-rish pregnancies would be positively correlated on scales of Symptomatology (Anxiety, Depression, Anger, and Somatic Complaints) and Well-Being (Relaxed, Contented, Friendliness, and Somatic Well-Being). It was also...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Amniocentesis is one of the most widely used prenatal diagnostic techniques for congenital disorders. It was hypothesized that the spychological responses of mothers and fathers to amniocenthesis during high-rish pregnancies would be positively correlated on scales of Symptomatology (Anxiety, Depression, Anger, and Somatic Complaints) and Well-Being (Relaxed, Contented, Friendliness, and Somatic Well-Being). It was also hypothesized that Symptomatology would be negatively correlated with Well-Being. Nineteen couples, who were referred by their physicians, voluntarily participated in the study. Each partner completed the Symptom Questionnaire (Kellner, 1983), a self-rating scale of Symptomatology and Well-Being, in addition to the Pre-Amniocentesis and Post-Amniocentesis Questionnaires (original questionnaires developed for this study) at intervals prior to and following the procedure, while awaiting results. A Pearson product-moment correlation of the total scores revealed a positive correlation (p < 0.5) between the scores of fathers and mothers on the Symptomatology Scale, both pre- and post-amniocentesis (r = .47 and .47). In addition, there was a significant negative correlation (p < .05) between Symptomatolgy and Well-Being scores for both mothers (r = -.55 and -.60) and fathers (r = -.48 and -.74) at the pre- and post-amniocentesis periods, respectively. The hypothesis cannot be completely accepted because the positive correlation does not exist at the post-amniocentesis level. Mothers appear to experience more Symptomatology and less Well-Being than fathers at the post-amniocentesis level. The results are interpreted to suggest that fathers and mothers may both benefit from pre- and post-amniocentesis supportive intervention.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1985
- Identifier
- CFR0008164, ucf:53074
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008164
- Title
- Dairy calcium advertising awareness, attitudes and behavior : a survey of 13-17 year-old females.
- Creator
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Cooper, Michele, Davis, Robert H., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; In April 1984, at a conference convened by the National Institutes of Health, a panel of experts issued a statement listing calcium as a "mainstay in the prevention and management of osteoporosis." Osteoporosis, or "brittle bone disease," affects one out of every four American women over 5 0 and is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. In January 1985, the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board began...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; In April 1984, at a conference convened by the National Institutes of Health, a panel of experts issued a statement listing calcium as a "mainstay in the prevention and management of osteoporosis." Osteoporosis, or "brittle bone disease," affects one out of every four American women over 5 0 and is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. In January 1985, the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board began emphasizing dietary calcium in the promotion of milk and dairy products. Television commercials and print advertising were developed which focused on the calcium contained in dairy products and stressed the importance of this nutrient to a woman's diet. Recent consumer research conducted by Market Facts, Inc. of Chicago indicates that this positive calcium message designed to increase dairy product intake may not be effectively reaching the 13-24 year old female. The study shows that subjects in this age group report that they are doing less about their calcium deficiencies than subjects who were studied prior to the time that the dietary calcium advertising began. In addition, the research indicates that those women who are taking steps to increase calcium intake are less likely to use dairy products. Teenage females offer the dairy industry a challenging opportunity. While average male milk consumption jumps dramatically during the ages of 13-19, average female milk consumption experiences only a slight increase. Reaching this audience at this habit-forming age end changing their attitudes and behavior could provide lifelong use of dairy products. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of past dairy calcium advertising messages in affecting the health attitudes and dietary behavior of 13-17 year old women in Florida.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1987
- Identifier
- CFR0004326, ucf:52991
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0004326
- Title
- Job Characteristics Model: Test of a Modified Four-Trait Model at the University of Central Florida.
- Creator
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Cox-Jones, Gena L., Wooten, William, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The study examined the number of significant factors in the Hackman and Oldham (1980) job characteristics model. The original factors were: Skill Variety, Task Significance, Task Identity, Autonomy, and Feedback. Scores on these dimensions for 84 employees of the University of Central Florida (21 supervisory and 63 non-supervisory subjects) were used as the basis for this study through a mail administration of the Hackman and...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The study examined the number of significant factors in the Hackman and Oldham (1980) job characteristics model. The original factors were: Skill Variety, Task Significance, Task Identity, Autonomy, and Feedback. Scores on these dimensions for 84 employees of the University of Central Florida (21 supervisory and 63 non-supervisory subjects) were used as the basis for this study through a mail administration of the Hackman and Oldham Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) and their Job Rating Form (JRF). It was hypothesized that: (a) only four significant job dimensions would emerge from factor analysis of the data; (b) that the motivating potential ratings from job incumbents would be significantly different from those provided by supervisors; and (c) that these motivating potential scores would be significantly lower than the norm for the job families into which those positions fell. the data failed to lend support to any of the preceeding hypotheses. First, only one significant factor (Skill Variety) was extracted from the non-supervisory data while two factors (Skill Variety and Task Identity) were extracted from the supervisory data. Second, incumbents' ratings were not significantly different from those of their supervisors and third, the motivating potential scores of incumbents were found to be higher than the norm for most of the job families sampled in the study.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1987
- Identifier
- CFR0008177, ucf:53060
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008177
- Title
- An intelligent editor for natural language processing of unrestricted text.
- Creator
-
Glinos, Demetrios George, Gomez, Fernando, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The understanding of natural language by computational methods has been a continuing and elusive problem in artificial intelligence. In recent years there has been a resurgence in natural language processing research. Much of this work has been on empirical or corpus-based methods which use a data-driven approach to train systems on large amounts of real language data. Using corpus-based methods, the performance of part-of...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The understanding of natural language by computational methods has been a continuing and elusive problem in artificial intelligence. In recent years there has been a resurgence in natural language processing research. Much of this work has been on empirical or corpus-based methods which use a data-driven approach to train systems on large amounts of real language data. Using corpus-based methods, the performance of part-of-speech (POS) taggers, which assign to the individual words of a sentence their appropriate part of speech category (e.g., noun, verb, preposition), now rivals human performance levels, achieving accuracies exceeding 95%. Such taggers have proved useful as preprocessors for such tasks as parsing, speech synthesis, and information retrieval. Parsing remains, however, a difficult problem, even with the benefit of POS tagging. Moveover, as sentence length increases, there is a corresponding combinatorial explosing of alternative possible parses. Consider the following sentence from a New York Times online article: After Salinas was arrested for murder in 1995 and lawyers for the bank had begun monitoring his accounts, his personal banker in New York quietly advised Salinas' wife to move the money elsewhere, apparently without the consent of the legal department. To facilitate the parsing and other tasks, we would like to decompose this sentence into the following three shorter sentences which, taken together, convey the same meaning as the original: 1. Salinas was arrested for murder in 1995. 2. Lawyers for the bank had begun monitoring his accounts. 3. His personal banker in New York quietly advised Salinas' wife to move the money elsewhere, apparently without the consent of the legal department. This study investigates the development of heuristics for decomposing such long sentences into sets of shorter sentences without affecting the meaning of the original sentences. Without parsing or semantic analysis, heuristic rules were developed based on: (1) the output of a POS tagger (Brill's tagger); (2) the punctuation contained in the input sentences; and (3) the words themselves. The heuristic algorithms were implemented in an intelligent editor program which first augmented the POS tags and assigned tags to punctuation, and then tested the rules against a corpus of 25 New York Times online articles containing approximately 1,200 sentences and over 32,000 words, with good results. Recommendations are made for improving the algorithms and for continuing this line of research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1999
- Identifier
- CFR0008181, ucf:53055
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008181
- Title
- We can't be the women we were before: Mary Livermore and Chicago women in the American Civil War.
- Creator
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Engle, Nancy Arlene Driscol, Crepeau, Richard C., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; This study examines the impact of the American Civil War on Union women by focusing on Mary Ashton Rice Livermore and her associates in wartime aid societies in Chicago, Illinois. It argues that Livermore's postwar lecture career epitomizes the new confidence that many benevolent women possessed after the Civil War. From contemporary newspaper accounts and letters it demonstrates that the conflagration broadened the scope of...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; This study examines the impact of the American Civil War on Union women by focusing on Mary Ashton Rice Livermore and her associates in wartime aid societies in Chicago, Illinois. It argues that Livermore's postwar lecture career epitomizes the new confidence that many benevolent women possessed after the Civil War. From contemporary newspaper accounts and letters it demonstrates that the conflagration broadened the scope of their activity, allowing many to hone their skills and expand their influence while remaining safely inside society's accepted gender standards. concluding that the war changed moderate white middle-class women's lives, it then illustrates that some modifications proved permanent for many throughout the ensuing decade. This work draws from published sources, including Livermore's autobiography and her account of th war, and manuscript collections containing correspondence, dated between 1850 and 1905, among advocates of women's rights and their acquaintances.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1996
- Identifier
- CFR0010869, ucf:53057
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0010869
- Title
- Prediction of simulator sickness in a virtual environment.
- Creator
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Kolasinski, Eugenia M., Gilson, Richard D., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Sickness induced by Virtual Reality (VR) devices poses a genuine threat to the viability of this new technology and its potential products. If the occurrence or severity of sickness could be successfully predicted based on characteristics of an individual, at-risk users could be identified, properly warned, and, perhaps, trained in some way to reduce their risk. A Personal Computer-based VR system was used to address the...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Sickness induced by Virtual Reality (VR) devices poses a genuine threat to the viability of this new technology and its potential products. If the occurrence or severity of sickness could be successfully predicted based on characteristics of an individual, at-risk users could be identified, properly warned, and, perhaps, trained in some way to reduce their risk. A Personal Computer-based VR system was used to address the prediction of simulator sickness. Phase I investigated four characteristics of an individual - age, gender, mental rotation ability, and pre-exposure postural stability - which were hypothesized to be predictive of sickness. Sickness measured as a function of the Total Severity score from the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) was successfully modeled on these characteristics using linear regression techniques, leading to three major findings. First, sickness - as measured by the SSQ - did, in fact, occur in association with exposure to VR. for 35% of the participants, this sickness involved lingering effects and/or possible delayed after-effects. Second, sickness was successfully modeled on characteristics of the individual. The developed model indicated a complicated relationship between predicted sickness and gender, age, mental rotation ability, and pre-exposure postural stability. Third, based on the model developed, sickness is not predicted to differ for gender directly but, rather, gender interacts with mental rotation ability in its effects on sickness. Phase II investigated the occurrence of ataxic decrements in postural stability. No such decrements were found to be associated with the 20-minute exposure. Thus, ataxic decrements do not appear to be associated with short exposures to low-end VR. This finding, however, may be limited to VR tasks of the type used in this study. Practical implications and areas for future research are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1996
- Identifier
- CFR0010868, ucf:53058
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0010868
- Title
- Shape reconstruction from shading using linear approximation.
- Creator
-
Tsai, Ping Sing, Shah, Mubarak, Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Shape from shading (SFS) deals with the recovery of 3D shape from a single monocular image. This problem was formally introduced by Horn in the early 1970s. Since then it has received considerable attention, and several efforts have been made to improve the shape recovery. In this thesis, we present a fast SFS algorithm, which is a purely local method and is highly parallelizable. In our approach, we first use the discrete...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Shape from shading (SFS) deals with the recovery of 3D shape from a single monocular image. This problem was formally introduced by Horn in the early 1970s. Since then it has received considerable attention, and several efforts have been made to improve the shape recovery. In this thesis, we present a fast SFS algorithm, which is a purely local method and is highly parallelizable. In our approach, we first use the discrete approximations for surface gradients, p and q, using finite differences, then linearize the reflectance function in depth, Z ( x , y), instead of p and q. This method is simple and efficient, and yields better results for images with central illumination or low-angle illumination. Furthermore, our method is more general, and can be applied to either Lambertian surfaces or specular surfaces. The algorithm has been tested on several synthetic and real images of both Lambertian and specular surfaces, and good results have been obtained. However, our method assumes that the input image contains only single object with uniform albedo values, which is commonly assumed in most SFS methods. Our algorithm performs poorly on images with nonuniform albedo values and produces incorrect shape for images containing objects with scale ambiguity, because those images violate the basic assumptions made by our SFS method. Therefore, we extended our method for images with nonuniform albedo values. We first estimate the albedo values for each pixel, and segment the scene into regions with uniform albedo values. Then we adjust the intensity value for each pixel by dividing the corresponding albedo value before applying our linear shape from shading method. This way our modified method is able to deal with nonuniform albedo values. When multiple objects differing only in scale are present in a scene, there may be points with the same surface orientation but different depth values. No existing SFS methods can solve this kind of ambiguity directly. We also present a new approach to deal with images containing multiple objects with scale ambiguity. A depth estimate is derived from patches using a minimum downhill approach and re-aligned based on the background information to get the correct depth map. Experimental results are presented for several synthetic and real images. Finally, this thesis also investigates the problem of the discrete approximation under perspective projection. The straightforward finite difference approximation for surface gradients used under orthographic projection is no longer applicable here. because the image position components are in fact functions of the depth. In this thesis, we provide a direct solution for the discrete approximation under perspective projection. The surface gradient is derived mathematically by relating the depth value of the surface point with the depth value of the corresponding image point. We also demonstrate how we can apply the new discrete approximation to a more complicated and realistic reflectance model for SFS problem.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1995
- Identifier
- CFR0000191, ucf:53139
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0000191
- Title
- Effects of avian breeding colonies on a man-made freshwater marsh in East Central Florida.
- Creator
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Burney, James L., Stout, I.J., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The effects of nutrient loading from avian breeding colonies into aquatic/marine ecosystems have been well documented. Documented influences include increased productivity of aquatic/marine macrophytes, elevated sediment nutrient concentrations, and increased densities of zooplankton and planktivorus fishes. The primary pathway of nutrient export from the rookery is through excreta from adult birds and their offspring. This...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The effects of nutrient loading from avian breeding colonies into aquatic/marine ecosystems have been well documented. Documented influences include increased productivity of aquatic/marine macrophytes, elevated sediment nutrient concentrations, and increased densities of zooplankton and planktivorus fishes. The primary pathway of nutrient export from the rookery is through excreta from adult birds and their offspring. This study examined the influences of a 400-nesting pair rookery of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in 1990 and a 75-nesting pair rookery of cattle egret in 1991 on a man-made freshwater treatment marsh in east central Florida. Because the fundamental intent of the created marsh (study site) was the removal of nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from advanced treated wastewater prior to discharge into public surface waters, the main objective of this study was to document the effects of the avian breeding colonies on water quality within the system. Secondary objectives of the study were to document influences on phytoplankton density and aquatic faunal community structure, as well as to estimate spatial and temporal limits of rookery influences. The results indicated significant water quality differences between rookery and reference sites during 1990 and 1991. The results also indicated significant differences between phytoplankton productivity and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure between rookery and reference sites during 1990 and 1991. The effects of nutrient loading from the rookeries were confined to within 150 m and background water quality conditions were regained within one month of rookery abandonment. In effect, the 1990 and 1991 rookery sites were characterized as limited, transient "islands" of increased eutrophication within the marsh.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1995
- Identifier
- CFR0011941, ucf:53110
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011941
- Title
- A History of the Lutherans in the Orlando Area, 1868-1948.
- Creator
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Prahlow, James D., Wehr, Paul W., Arts and Sciences
- Abstract / Description
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University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis
- Date Issued
- 1985
- Identifier
- CFR0011602, ucf:53039
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011602
