<p>Many artificial intelligence applications suffer severely from a bottleneck in acquiring domain information necessary to go beyond toy hand-built demonstrations to realistic applications. This project examines one approach to reducing that bottleneck by using automated and semi-automated techniques to analyze published domain-relevant material. A taxonomy of terms related to computers with an emphasis on microprocessors is developed and presented. The methods used are experimental and not yet fully validated, but are potentially of great use for extracting useful domain information from published material. Preliminary validation by comparison with a published taxonomy shows that these methods have produced a taxonomy which is better suited for the immediate use of this taxonomy.</p> / Master of Science

Development strategies of user-interlaces have been changing rapidly. User-interlaces are no longer the byproducts of the traditional software development process. Interface designers are now more concerned with the usability of the product rather than its pure technical optimization. It has been recognized that higher usability can only be achieved if interfaces are designed by human factors specialists and implemented by software engineers. Clearly, there exists a need for an effective and unambiguous (i.e. non-prose) form of communication between the designers and implementers of user-interlaces. / Master of Information Systems

Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to investigate franchisee turnover practice and empirically test the relationship between franchisee satisfaction and turnover behavior. A total of 402 franchisees of a quick service franchise system were surveyed by using two sets of structured questionnaires. Sixty-seven current and 24 terminated franchisee participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 29.8%. Based on the objective and research questions, two hypotheses were established and tested. The testing of the hypotheses indicated a significant difference between the satisfaction of terminated and current franchisees on service support, social interaction, and general satisfaction. Also, there is a relationship between franchisee’s satisfaction and his or her future intention. Through factor analysis two critical factors were identified closely related to the satisfaction and future intention of current and terminated franchisees. / Master of Science

Master of Science

The termini of the autonomous parvovirus LuIII, which encapsulates plus and minus DNA strands equally, were cloned and sequenced. The left and right termini of LuIII differ in nucleotide sequence and these termini can assume T- and U-shaped intra-strand base-paired structures, respectively. The LuIII termini are virtually identical in nucleotide sequence and secondary structure to those of the rodent parvoviruses MVM and H-1. The presence of non-identical LuIII termini demonstrated that identical ends are not required for the encapsidation of both DNA strands with equal frequency, as suggested for parvoviruses B19 and AAV. An infectious genomic clone of LuIII was constructed and sequenced. The LuIII genome is 5135 bases and it shares over 80% sequence identity with the sequence of the genomes of MVM and H-1. The genome organization of LuIII is virtually identical to that of the rodent parvoviruses of known sequence. The major ORFs, the left and right ORFs, are restricted to the plus strand. Promoter-like sequences are present at map units 4 and 38. The transactivation responsive element (TAR), characterized in H-1, upstream of P38, is also present in LuIII. Regulatory sequences and splice donor-acceptor consensus sequences, characterized in MVM and H-1, are also present in LuIII. This suggests that both LuIII promoters are functional, and that the transcription map for LuIII could be very similar to that of MVM. The LuIII sequence has only a single copy of a repeat present in tandem at the right end of the MVMp genome. Downstream of this sequence, an A-T rich region of 47 nt is present in LuIII. Since this A-T rich region is absent from the genomes of MVM and H-1, we propose that it represents a putative encapsidation signal responsible for the encapsidation pattern observed for LuIII. Northern analysis of BPV RNAs suggests that, like the human parvovirus B19, most, if not all, BPV transcripts initiate at promoter sequences localized at map unit 4. Amplification of BPV cDNA ends by the polymerase chain reaction resulted in a number of BPV-specific fragments. Four of these fragments were cloned and sequenced. Sequencing revealed two splices, one of which is very likely a major splice for several BPV transcripts. cDNA fragments were assigned to transcripts possibly coding for three BPV non-structural proteins. Amplification of BPV transcripts with primers specific to the mid-ORF suggests that the amino terminus of the capsid protein VP1 is not coded for by the mid-ORF as suggested by earlier studies, but instead results from one or both of the two small ORFs present upstream of the right ORF, in the same reading frame. / Ph. D.

A reconfiguration algorithm for electrical distribution system to reduce system losses is presented. The algorithm determines the switching patterns as a function of time. Either seasonal or daily time studies may be performed. Both manual and automatic switches are used to reconfigure the system for seasonal studies, whereas only automatic switches are considered for daily studies. An algorithm for load estimation is developed. The load estimation algorithm provides load information for each time point to be analyzed. The load estimation algorithm can incorporate any or all of the following: spot loads, circuit measurements, and customer time-varying diversified load characteristics. Voltage dependency of loads is considered at the circuit level. It is shown that switching at the system peak can reduce losses but may cause a marginal increase in system peak. Voltage and current constraints are incorporated in the reconfiguration algorithm. Data base tables and data structures used in the algorithm are described. Example problems are provided to illustrate results. / Ph. D.

The differential effects of clothing interest and knowledge on the utilization of price and intrinsic attributes on product evaluation and behavioral intentions were investigated. The impact of clothing interest and knowledge, price, and intrinsic attributes on attitude toward advertisements and perceptions of relevance, typicality, and fashionability were examined. Causal relationships among constructs were verified through path analysis. A conceptual model was developed and tested. To test the proposed model and additional propositions, a survey was conducted with manipulated variables. Data were collected in Clothing and Textiles departments of three universities and Communications and Marketing departments in one university. Respondents evaluated a pair of dress slacks inclusive of manipulated price and intrinsic attributes. A total of 417 questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis. The items used to measure the theoretical constructs were thoroughly tested to assure the reliability of the measures and manipulation checks were conducted. The data were analyzed by multiple regression to test the significance of the proposed relationships. To test the differences between the high and low clothing interest and knowledge conditions, subjects were divided into two groups based on median scores on clothing interest and clothing knowledge scales. Then the data were subjected to analysis of variance and Duncan's Multiple Range Test. The results indicate that taken together, price, intrinsic attributes, clothing interest and knowledge significantly help to predict perceptions of quality, monetary sacrifice, perceptions of benefits, perceptions of value, willingness to buy, search intention, and attitude toward advertisements. Intrinsic attributes were significant in predicting the perceptions of quality, benefits, monetary sacrifice, value, and subjects' willingness to buy, search intention, attitude toward advertisements, and perceptions of typicality. Clothing interest was significant in predicting perceptions of monetary sacrifice, perceptions of benefits, perceptions of value, and willingness to buy. The proposed effect of clothing knowledge was significant in predicting subjects' perceptions of quality and intentions to search. The model specifying the causal relationships among the proposed variables was analyzed by Path Analysis. The results indicated that the relationships were significant and thus the proposed model was supported. / Ph. D.

In order to optimize the overall efficiency of pronuclear microinjection, we designed experiments to: 1) test the best developmental stage for transferring injected embryos to obtain pregnancies and transgenic pups; 2) determine the optimum number of injected embryos transferred to obtain pregnancies and transgenic pups; 3) investigate whether addition of non-injected embryos with injected embryos increased pregnancy rate (PR) and transgenic pups; and 4) establish the time during pregnancy of highest embryonic or fetal loss. Mice (CD1; 3 to 4 wk old), were superovulated with 10 iu PMSG and 5 iu hCG 48 h apart. One-cell embryos were collected for microinjection 20 to 24 h after hCG. The gene used was the whey acidic protein promoter linked to a coding sequence of the human protein C gene (WAP-hPC). Embryos were cultured in CZB at 37°C in 5% CO₂ in air. All the live pups born and embryos and fetuses recovered were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction to detect the presence of the transgene. Experiment one consisted of nine transfer treatments (TRT) which included all the combinations of three developmental stages (1-cell, 2-4 cell and morula/blastocyst) with three quantities of embryos per transfer (15-24, 25-34 and 35-44). Ten transfers were performed for each TRT. The highest PR and total pups born (TOTP) were obtained after transferring 25 to 34 2-4 cell embryos (PR=90% TOTP=3.5/ pregnancy). However, overall analysis indicated that the percentage of transgenic pups born (%TRS) was highest using 1-cell embryos [33.9%, 20.0% and 11.1% for 1-cell, 2-4 cell and morula/blastocyst (mor/bl), respectively]. The second experiment consisted of six transfer TRT: 20-0, 16-4, 12-8,30-0, 26-4, and 22-8 injected - non-injected embryos, respectively (10 transfers/TRT). Data showed that PR and TOTP can be improved by addition of non-injected embryos. However, the percentage of transgenic pups was significantly (p< .05) higher when all the embryos transferred were injected (53.6 % vs 46.4 % for transfers without and with non-manipulated embryos, respectively). Additionally, 30 embryos per transfer yielded a significantly higher percentage (p< .05) of transgenic pups than 20 embryos per transfer (67.9 % vs 32.1 % for 30 and 20 embryos per transfer, respectively). In experiment three 45 transfers of microinjected embryos were performed (30 embryos per transfer). Fifteen recipients were sacrificed on day 4, 12, and 18 of gestation. On each day all embryos and fetuses were counted and analyzed for the presence of the transgene. The percentage of transgenic embryos or fetuses was not statistically different at any recovery day (45.8%, 35.5%, and 34.6% for days 4, 12, and 18, respectively). However, the number of viable embryos at day 4 was significantly greater than the number of viable fetuses on days 12 or 18 (10 ± 1.1,,5.1 ± 1.6, and 2.4 ± 1.3 for days 4,,12 and 18, respectively). Collectively, the results indicate that: 1) transfer of 20 to 30 1-cell embryos was the best method to obtain transgenic mice, 2) addition of non-injected embryos decreased the number of transgenic pups obtained per pregnancy, and 3) although most of the embryonic losses after microinjection happen before day 4 of gestation, additional losses occurred between days 4 and 18 of pregnancy. / Ph. D.

Applications, converter topologies, and control schemes are examined for superconductive magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems. Diurnal load leveling for electric utilities and compensation for fluctuations in photovoltaic (PV) power generation are the primary applications discussed. It is demonstrated that a SMES system implemented with standard AC/DC converters offers energy storage capacity large enough, and dynamic response fast enough, to compensate for PV fluctuations due to changes in weather conditions. The method of control is developed so that the charging and discharging of the SMES system are changed in response to PV fluctuations, and the combined SMESIPV power output is smooth and controllable. An innovative control scheme is introduced for SMES that can simultaneously regulate real power and voltage independently without hardware modifications to the standard ACIDC bridge arrangement normally used for coordinated control of real and reactive power. The combination of SMES and PV systems could benefit from DCIDC converters that take advantage of the DC nature of both. It is established that DClDC converters can respond with sufficient speed to handle variations in PV power. A converter topology is devised where two DC/DC converters in cascade effectively maintain a PV array at its maximum power point and simultaneously control a SMES system to compensate for PV fluctuations. An alternative cascade configuration of an AC/DC converter with a DCIDC converter is proposed that could significantly reduce the reactive power requirements and improve the operational characteristics of a large scale SMES system connected to the utility grid. / Master of Science