Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [70]-72).

M.S. / Computer Science / A general river routing algorithm is described. It is assumed that there is one layer available for routing and the terminals are on the boundaries of an arbitrarily shaped rectilinear routing region. All nets are two terminal nets. No crossover is permitted between nets. A minimum separation must be maintained between wires to prevent design rule violations. The separation and default width for all nets are obtained from a parameter file. A command line option permits the user to change the width. The algorithm assumes no grid on the routing plane. The number of corners in a given route is reduced by flipping corners.

Thesis (M.S.)--Wake Forest University. Dept. of Computer Science, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves: [26]-[27])

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-103). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This thesis tackles a series of problems related to the evolution of completesoftware systems both in terms of the underlying Genetic Programmingsystem and the application of that system. A new representation is presented that addresses some of the issues withother Genetic Program representations while keeping their advantages. Thiscombines the easy reproduction of the linear representation with the inheritablecharacteristics of the tree representation by using fixed-length blocks ofgenes representing single program statements. This means that each block ofgenes will always map to the same statement in the parent and child unless itis mutated, irrespective of changes to the surrounding blocks. This methodis compared to the variable length gene blocks used by other representationswith a clear improvement in the similarity between parent and child. Traditionally, fitness functions have either been created as a selection ofsample inputs with known outputs or as hand-crafted evaluation functions. Anew method of creating fitness evaluation functions is introduced that takesthe formal specification of the desired function as its basis. This approachensures that the fitness function is complete and concise. The fitness functionscreated from formal specifications are compared to simple input/outputpairs and the results show that the functions created from formal specificationsperform significantly better. A set of list evaluation and manipulation functions was evolved as anapplication of the new Genetic Program components. These functions havethe common feature that they all need to be 100% correct to be useful. Traditional Genetic Programming problems have mainly been optimizationor approximation problems. The list results are good but do highlight theproblem of scalability in that more complex functions lead to a dramaticincrease in the required evolution time. Finally, the evolution of graphical user interfaces is addressed. The representationfor the user interfaces is based on the new representation forprograms. In this case each gene block represents a component of the userinterface. The fitness of the interface is determined by comparing it to a seriesof constraints, which specify the layout, style and functionality requirements. A selection of web-based and desktop-based user interfaces were evolved. With these new approaches to Genetic Programming, the evolution ofcomplete software systems is now a realistic goal.

O estilo de aprendizagem indica as preferências do sujeito em relação às estratégias de aprendizagem que podem ser empregadas pelo professor na construção do conhecimento. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo investigar se o prévio conhecimento dos estilos de aprendizagem pelos alunos e pelo professor contribui para o alinhamento de esforços aplicados no processo de ensino e aprendizagem e, conseqüentemente, para a melhoria do resultado alcançado. No estudo de caso realizado em três turmas de algoritmos e programação, partiu-se do pressuposto de que as estratégias pedagógicas adotadas pelo professor levam à sinergia desde que os estilos de aprendizagem dos sujeitos sejam identificados; a metodologia de trabalho empregada, na consecução dos objetivos, considere os estilos de aprendizagem predominantes na turma; e, haja uma boa relação interpessoal entre o professor e os alunos. A partir da análise que se fez, verificou-se a interdependência entre os estilos de aprendizagem predominantes e as estratégias pedagógicas adotadas pelos professores, assim como foram identificados indícios de atividades de ensino e aprendizagem observáveis que denotam coerência com os estilos mapeados. Logo, os resultados inferidos, a partir do estudo de casos empregado neste trabalho, reafirmam a expectativa geral dos benefícios do conhecimento sobre estilos de aprendizagem para as práticas educacionais, principalmente no que tange à melhoria dos métodos de ensino e à qualificação das ações do professor. / The learning style indicates the preferences of the subject with regard to the learning strategies that could be used by the teacher in the construction of knowledge. The goal of the present paper is to investigate if previous knowledge of the learning styles by the students and by the teacher contributes towards aligning the efforts applied on the teaching and learning process and, consequently, towards improving the achieved result. In the case study conducted in three algorithm and programming groups, it was assumed that the pedagogical strategies employed by the teacher lead to synergy, provided the learning styles of the subjects are identified; the methodology used for achieving the goals, takes into consideration the predominant learning styles of the group; and the existence of a good interpersonal relationship between the teacher and the students. The analysis of the issue pointed to an interdependence between the predominant learning styles and the pedagogical strategies employed by the teachers, and other identifications include hints of observable teaching and learning activities that show coherence with the mapped styles. Therefore, the results accomplished, based on the study cases of this paper, reaffirm the general expectation of the benefits of knowledge over the learning styles for educational activities, especially with regard to an improvement of the teaching methods and the qualification of teacher actions.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on January 19, 2010). Thesis advisor: Dr. Tina Smilkstein. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. / Committee Chair: Vachtsevanos, George J.; Committee Co-Chair: Litt, Brian; Committee Member: Butera, Robert J.; Committee Member: Echauz, Javier; Committee Member: Howard, Ayanna M.; Committee Member: Williams, Douglas B.