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(21 - 27 of 27)
Pages
- Title
- Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Military Simulation.
- Creator
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Golovcsenko, Igor V., Biegel, John E., Engineering
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Engineering Thesis; This report is a survey of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology contributions to military training. It provides an overview of military training simulation and a review of instructional problems and challenges which can be addressed by AI. The survey includes current as well as potential applications of AI, with particular emphasis on design and system integration issues. Applications include knowledge and skills training in...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Engineering Thesis; This report is a survey of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology contributions to military training. It provides an overview of military training simulation and a review of instructional problems and challenges which can be addressed by AI. The survey includes current as well as potential applications of AI, with particular emphasis on design and system integration issues. Applications include knowledge and skills training in strategic planning and decision making, tactical warfare operations, electronics maintenance and repair, as well as computer-aided design of training systems. The report describes research contributions in the application of AI technology to the training world, and it concludes with an assessment of future research directions in this area.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1987
- Identifier
- CFR0011599, ucf:53044
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011599
- Title
- PANUA PARTNERS IN HOPE, NAIVASHA, KENYA: LEGAL AND DOMESTIC RELATED CHALLENGES.
- Creator
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Holman, Keisha, Naccarato-Fromang, Gina, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The complexities of issues existing in Kenya create a domino effect directly affecting not only the effective management and economic growth of Kenya, but also social and legislative constraints to the lower socioeconomic classes. Land dispossession, proof of ownership to property and nationality are ongoing troubling issues affecting increased orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Kenya, most noticeably within predominantly poverty stricken rural enclaves. This research focuses on the...
Show moreThe complexities of issues existing in Kenya create a domino effect directly affecting not only the effective management and economic growth of Kenya, but also social and legislative constraints to the lower socioeconomic classes. Land dispossession, proof of ownership to property and nationality are ongoing troubling issues affecting increased orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Kenya, most noticeably within predominantly poverty stricken rural enclaves. This research focuses on the bold move of stakeholders of Trinity United Methodist Church in Naivasha, Kenya partnering with First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Orlando, United States of America. In 2010, they conceptualized Panua Partners in Hope, a transformational ministerial assisted non-profit organization program. These churches recently established support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Naivasha, Kenya. Decisively apply all their available resources to stem the varying issues these orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) are facing. Whereby, the program is designed to teach self-sufficiency, wealth creation through sustainable income generation and entrepreneurship, and religious relationship development. Continued education is a key component of which Panua mandates. Ongoing (learning) education ensures each child remain in school - (basic, primary and secondary school levels). In addition to ensuring orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) are legally aware of their civil, human and property rights. Conversely, these issues being perpetual worldwide challenges, however, the aim of this research is to specifically address its impactive progression on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Thus, outlining their local conditions, the provisions of governmental policies, and assistance, or lack thereof to remedy such current challenges. Additionally, the research will outline reformed constitutional statutes despite being ratified, have not addressed the major issues currently impinging on the freedom and rights of rural communities in Naivasha, Kenya.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004640, ucf:45319
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004640
- Title
- CURES TO STALLED DEVELOPMENT: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS TO ECONOMIC CRISIS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
- Creator
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Thiboutot, Monika, Jungblut, Bernadette, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this thesis is to investigate some of the contending issues associated with economic underdevelopment in sub-Saharan African states. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the combined effects of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic austerity programs, the increased spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the continuous democratic deficit on the sluggish economic performance within four sub-Saharan African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Botswana and the...
Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to investigate some of the contending issues associated with economic underdevelopment in sub-Saharan African states. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the combined effects of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic austerity programs, the increased spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the continuous democratic deficit on the sluggish economic performance within four sub-Saharan African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The research questions are: are there any unique political, cultural, and economic issues that underscore and determine the path of sub-Saharan African development? What are the potentials for sub-Saharan Africa going beyond its present state of socioeconomic and political underdevelopment? Can sub-Saharan African nation-states truly claim the 21st century? It is hoped that what is learned from examining the situation in these four countries may be generalizeable to other sub-Saharan African states. This thesis has been written with the conviction that sub-Saharan Africa, although it has missed opportunities over the past thirty years, has not completely closed the door on economic development. Although sub-Saharan African conditions have not favored development and there is no simple solution for sub-Saharan Africa's economic and social ills, there are a number of 'common sense' approaches toward sustainable economic and social development. This thesis examines why sub-Saharan Africa's economic crisis has persevered for three decades, and why efforts to establish and uphold more effective economic policies and functioning public institutions have been so much more difficult in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. My account concentrates on political and institutional factors: I explore how the predicament has progressed over the last thirty years, and the repercussions of the long-term nature of this predicament. The focal purpose is to identify and explain the causes which have kept sub-Saharan Africa for several decades mired in an ostensibly permanent crisis. The general theme of the thesis emphasizes that politics and economics are interconnected in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the thesis focuses on the changing role of politics and markets in the process of economic development since the 1970s – and prospects for the future of this region.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001476, ucf:47086
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001476
- Title
- An economic analysis of child care and low-income mothers.
- Creator
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Donnan, Brenda C., Hosni, Djehane, Business Administration
- Abstract / Description
-
University of Central Florida College of Business Administration Thesis
- Date Issued
- 1979
- Identifier
- CFR0011947, ucf:53102
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011947
- Title
- Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing Interplay to Achieve Higher Yields at Reduced Costs using SMART Techniques.
- Creator
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Oberai, Ankush Bharati, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, Abdolvand, Reza, Georgiopoulos, Michael, Sundaram, Kalpathy, Reilly, Charles, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Since the outset of IC Semiconductor market there has been a gap between its design and manufacturing communities. This gap continued to grow as the device geometries started to shrink and the manufacturing processes and tools got more complex. This gap lowered the manufacturing yield, leading to higher cost of ICs and delay in their time to market. It also impacted performance of the ICs, impacting the overall functionality of the systems they were integrated in. However, in the recent years...
Show moreSince the outset of IC Semiconductor market there has been a gap between its design and manufacturing communities. This gap continued to grow as the device geometries started to shrink and the manufacturing processes and tools got more complex. This gap lowered the manufacturing yield, leading to higher cost of ICs and delay in their time to market. It also impacted performance of the ICs, impacting the overall functionality of the systems they were integrated in. However, in the recent years there have been major efforts to bridge the gap between design and manufacturing using software solutions by providing closer collaborations techniques between design and manufacturing communities. The root cause of this gap is inherited by the difference in the knowledge and skills required by the two communities. The IC design community is more microelectronics, electrical engineering and software driven whereas the IC manufacturing community is more driven by material science, mechanical engineering, physics and robotics. The cross training between the two is almost nonexistence and not even mandated. This gap is deemed to widen, with demand for more complex designs and miniaturization of electronic appliance-products. Growing need for MEMS, 3-D NANDS and IOTs are other drivers that could widen the gap between design and manufacturing. To bridge this gap, it is critical to have close loop solutions between design and manufacturing This could be achieved by SMART automation on both sides by using Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data algorithms. Lack of automation and predictive capabilities have even made the situation worse on the yield and total turnaround times. With the growing fabless and foundry business model, bridging the gap has become even more critical. Smart Manufacturing philosophy must be adapted to make this bridge possible. We need to understand the Fab-fabless collaboration requirements and the mechanism to bring design to the manufacturing floor for yield improvement. Additionally, design community must be educated with manufacturing process and tool knowledge, so they can design for improved manufacturability. This study will require understanding of elements impacting manufacturing on both ends of the design and manufacturing process. Additionally, we need to understand the process rules that need to be followed closely in the design phase. Best suited SMART automation techniques to bridge the gap need to be studied and analyzed for their effectiveness.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007351, ucf:52096
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007351
- Title
- Infectious Disease Risks in Developing Countries: A Non-Market Valuation Exercise.
- Creator
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Samajpati, Shreejata, Gerking, Shelby, Dickie, Mark, Caputo, Michael, Roy, Joyashree, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This dissertation focuses on the non-market valuation of health-risks of malaria, an infectious disease that imposes a substantive public health burden across the globe, hitting particularly hard the tropical developing nations of Africa and Asia. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include malaria control as a priority and large investments are underway to promote effective prevention and treatment. Despite such concerted supply-side efforts, malaria-related mortality and...
Show moreThis dissertation focuses on the non-market valuation of health-risks of malaria, an infectious disease that imposes a substantive public health burden across the globe, hitting particularly hard the tropical developing nations of Africa and Asia. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include malaria control as a priority and large investments are underway to promote effective prevention and treatment. Despite such concerted supply-side efforts, malaria-related mortality and morbidity still abound due to a complex interface of factors like climate-change, poverty, inadequate control behavior, infection and prevention externalities, parasite resistance etc. This research project digs into the demand-side of the health problem, considers the "externality" dimension to prevention, and primarily asks the question: how do individuals in developing countries view competing disease-control (prevention) measures, viz. a publicly-administered community-level malaria control measure as against private preventive choices. A theoretical model is developed to help explore the public-private interplay of health risks of malaria. The malaria-endemic regions of Kolkata (India) and its rural fringes comprise the site for an empirical investigation. A field survey (Malaria Risk and Prevention Survey, October-December, 2011) incorporating a mix of stated and revealed preference techniques of health valuation is implemented. Risk-perceptions of respondents are elicited using a measurable visual-aid and individuals' perceived valuations of health-risk reductions, randomly offered with the public and private health treatments, are empirically ascertained. Using a Likelihood Ratio Test on the structural risk parameters, it is seen that individuals' valuations of health risk reductions are the same across the private and public treatments. The comparative valuation exercise, thus, corroborates the externality dimension to malaria control, calling for greater public action to combat malaria. The viability of such a scaled-up public malaria program, in the context of Kolkata, is discussed by comparing the public treatment willingness to pay estimates with the annual estimated costs that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the civic body in the city of Kolkata, maintains on account of vector control. Results from the comparative valuation exercises also support the idea that private prevention is generally responsive to prevention costs, indicating the importance of price incentives to induce greater prevention. The issues of health valuation and price sensitivity are further explored across various split-samples differentiated on the basis of socio-economic attributes, disease exposure, actual prevention efforts and perceived malaria risks of survey respondents. Such auxiliary exercises help analyze the valuation question in greater depth, and generate policy insights into the potential factors that shape private prevention behavior.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004594, ucf:49195
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004594
- Title
- KING LEOPOLD II'S EXPLOITATION OF THE CONGO FROM 1885 TO 1908 AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
- Creator
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Johnson, Steven, Walker, Ezekiel, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis argues that King Leopold II, in his exploitation of the Congo, dealt the Congo a future of political, ethnic, and economic destabilization. At one time consisting of unified and advanced kingdoms, the Congo turned to one completely beleaguered by poverty and political oppression. Leopold acquired the Congo through unethical means and thus took the people's chances away at self-rule. He provided for no education or vocational training, which would stunt future Congolese leaders...
Show moreThis thesis argues that King Leopold II, in his exploitation of the Congo, dealt the Congo a future of political, ethnic, and economic destabilization. At one time consisting of unified and advanced kingdoms, the Congo turned to one completely beleaguered by poverty and political oppression. Leopold acquired the Congo through unethical means and thus took the people's chances away at self-rule. He provided for no education or vocational training, which would stunt future Congolese leaders from making sound economic and political policies. Leopold also exploited the Congo with the help of concession companies, both of which used forced labor to extract valuable resources. Millions of Congolese died and the Congo itself became indebted through Belgian loans that were given with no assurance they could ever truly be paid back due to the crippled economy of the Congo. With the Congo now in crippling debt, the current president, Joseph Kabila, has little incentive to invest in reforms or public infrastructure, which stunts economic growth. For over a century the Congo has been ruled by exploitative and authoritarian regimes due to Leopold's initial acquisition. The colonization from Leopold lasted from 1885-1908, and then he sold it to his home country of Belgium who ruled the Congo from 1908 to 1960. Belgium helped prop up a dictator named Joseph Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled from 1965 to 1997. Afterwards he was overthrown by the Kabila family who has continued the exploitative rule and has made no significant efforts at democratization or reforms. Thus the ethnic conflicts, political oppression and economic woes that the Congo is facing today are inevitably linked to its Leopoldian past.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004661, ucf:45304
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004661
