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A robust associative self network automatically biases attention, memory, and impression formation in a heuristic-like way. This thesis examines whether this self-heuristic underlies association formation of novel person and object representations to the self network and how this structure influences perceptions. This was tested across three experiments. The first employed an implicit task to assess whether self-similar individuals were represented with greater association strength to self-concept than self-dissimilar individuals. The second used an implicit task to measure whether newly-owned, previously-owned, and unowned objects exhibited different association strength with self-concept. The third determined the impact of minimal self-similarity to another individual, presented either before or after encoding, on memory for encoded information about them. Results of these experiments support three conclusions summarizing how a self-heuristic affects perceptions of novel stimuli. First, self-relevance automatically biases cognitive representation of novel self-similar (versus self-dissimilar) people and owned (versus unowned) objects, evidenced by stronger implicit association strength between these stimuli and self-concept. Next, this representation biases memory accuracy and errors in favour of heuristic-consistent information, even in contexts of minimal self-similarity. Finally, representation of self-similar people and owned objects relative to the self network biases perception through first-order effects, whereby unrelated concepts sharing an association to the self-network can influence one-another. Owned objects were automatically more favourably evaluated due to a first-order association with self-positivity. Perception of well-established self-knowledge was malleable based on response pairing with first-order associated self-similar or self-dissimilar individuals. Finally, when memory retrieval for self-similar and self-dissimilar individuals failed, responses were predicted based on first-order associated personality traits. These conclusions provide novel support for the existence of an automatic and ubiquitous self-heuristic that biases representation formation and subsequent perception of novel people and objects. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / A highly accessible network of self-representation biases attention and memory in favour of self-relevant information. I investigated how this network mediates representation of novel people and novel objects, stimulus categories that have received little attention in the social cognitive literature. An implicit test of cognitive association strength (i.e. the Implicit Association Test) revealed that novel self-similar (versus self-dissimilar) people and owned (versus unowned) objects are immediately associated to the self network. The new representations led to perceptual biases through first-order associations, whereby strictly self-relevant information was generalized to self-similar people and owned objects. For instance, even minimal self-similarity to a novel individual biased memory retrieval and reconstruction so that the retrieved information was consistent with the expectation of self-similarity. Together, the findings highlight the ubiquity and automaticity with which self-associations mediate cognitive representations and consequent perceptions of novel people and objects in realistic social situations.

Data mining is the extraction of interesting non-trivial, implicit, previously unknown and potentially useful information or patterns from data in large databases. Association rule mining is a data mining method that seeks to discover associations among transactions encoded within a database. Data mining on spatio-temporal data takes into consideration the dynamics of spatially extended systems for which large amounts of spatial data exist, given that all real world spatial data exists in some temporal context. We need fuzzy sets in mining association rules from spatio-temporal databases since fuzzy sets handle the numerical data better by softening the sharp boundaries of data which models the uncertainty embedded in the meaning of data. In this thesis, fuzzy association rule mining is performed on spatio-temporal data using data cubes and Apriori algorithm. A methodology is developed for fuzzy spatio-temporal data cube construction. Besides the performance criteria interpretability, precision, utility, novelty, direct-to-the-point and visualization are defined to be the metrics for the comparison of association rule mining techniques. Fuzzy association rule mining using spatio-temporal data cubes and Apriori algorithm performed within the scope of this thesis are compared using these metrics. Real meteorological data (precipitation and temperature) for Turkey recorded between 1970 and 2007 are analyzed using data cube and Apriori algorithm in order to generate the fuzzy association rules.

In NCAA Division I, academic eligibility standards are national in scope and are the same for all institutions. In NCAA Division III, there are no national standards; rather each member institution establishes its own academic eligibility standards. However, information on these standards has never been collected and published, leaving a significant hole in the research in this area. The problem addressed by this study was to collect this academic eligibility information on the members of one Division III conference. A number of questions were addressed in the study. One was, how do Division III eligibility standards compare to Division I standards? Another was, how do eligibility standards in the Division III institutions studied compare to each other? Since differences were found, a final question addressed was, do the differences in academic eligibility standards between the Division III institutions lead to competitive equity issues. Data on academic eligibility standards from 15 members of one Division III conference were collected through interviews of Compliance Officers at each institution. The data were compared to the NCAA national standards for Division I. The data were also analyzed for differences among the Division III institutions studied. A correlation analysis was used to determine if a relationship existed between academic eligibility standards and competitive equity. The findings of the study were that on most of the academic eligibility variables, the Division III institutions studied had lower standards than the national standards for Division I. In the comparison of Division III institutions to each other, differences were found for high school core course requirements, transfer and continuing student credit hour requirements, and exceptions to the rules. While the study found pronounced differences in competitive equity among the Division III institutions studied, there was no clear indication of any relationship between eligibility requirements and competitive equity. This study provided some interesting information about the institutions in one Division III conference. However, the study raised as many questions as it answered. More work needs to be done to determine whether the policies followed by NCAA Division III institutions are truly different from those followed by Division I institutions. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of English, 1998. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-328).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of English, 1998. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 315-328).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Nous étudions la dynamique non linéaire en champ moyen de la formation de molécules diatomiques par photo-association ou magnéto-association d’atomes ultra froids pour un système entièrement atomique dans l’état initial. Nous montrons que dans la limite d’une forte interaction non linéaire entre un système atome-molécule ultra froid et un champ électromagnétique quasi résonnant, le processus de formation du condensat moléculaire peut évoluer suivant deux scénarios en fonction des caractéristiques du champ : régime faiblement oscillatoire ou régime fortement oscillatoire. Dans le cas du régime faiblement oscillatoire, le nombre de molécules augmente sans oscillations prononcées des populations atomiques et moléculaires alors que de fortes oscillations de Rabi apparaissent dans le second cas. Nous présentons des solutions analytiques décrivant la dynamique temporelle du système dans ces deux cas. Nous étudions ensuite l’influence de la diffusion élastique entre particules sur la dynamique de formation cohérente de molécules sous l’action d’un champ extérieur représenté par le modèle de Landau-Zener. Nous déterminons une solution approchée qui décrit bien toute la dynamique temporelle de formation moléculaire dans ce cas général. / We study the nonlinear mean-field dynamics of diatomic molecule formation at coherent photo- and magneto-association of ultracold atoms focusing on the case when the system is initially in the all-atomic state. We show that in the limit of strongly nonlinear interaction between an ultra-cold atomic-molecular system and a quasi-resonant electromagnetic field, the molecule formation process, depending on the characteristics of the associating field, may evolve according two different scenarios, namely, weak- and strong-oscillatory regimes. In the first case the number of molecules increases without pronounced oscillations of atom-molecule populations, while in the second case high-amplitude Rabi-type oscillations arise. Assuming an arbitrary external field configuration, we construct analytical solutions to describe the system’s temporal dynamics in the both interaction regimes. Further, we investigate the influence of inter-particle elastic scattering on the dynamics of coherent molecule formation subject to an external field configuration of the resonance-crossing Landau-Zener model. We derive an approximate solution which for the first time describes the whole temporal dynamics of the molecule formation in this general case.

Le secteur associatif a pris une place considérable dans nos sociétés contemporaines. C’est un objet d’étude de la sociologie. L’accroissement de la sphère collective, sociale et publique fait aussi de l’association, une organisation utile pour la Société Civile et la firme. Sous différentes dénominations, elle s’est imposée pour réguler des professions, des métiers, des activités commerciales, des produits, des marchés voire des firmes. Dans le secteur des Cafés Hôtels et Restaurants, le potentiel stratégique d’associations de support à la firme telles que la Société des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, les coopératives publicitaires des réseaux de franchise, les Disciples d’Escoffier, le Comité Français de Modernisation de l’Hôtellerie ou encore la Fédération des Franchisés ACCOR est analysé. Quatre groupes de théories (théories sociologiques, théories de la nature de l’association, théories des Institutions et théories des Organisations) permettent de mettre en évidence sa raison d’être et son utilité pour la firme. A des spécificités propres à ce mode d’organisation correspond une approche managériale autonome qui emprunte au management des affaires publiques et privées. / The voluntary sector has taken an important place in our contemporary societies. It is a topic of study for sociology. The increase of the collective, social and public sphere also makes of the association, a useful organization for the Civil Society and the Firm.Under various names, she was imperative to regulate occupations, jobs, businesses, commercial activities, products, markets and even firms. In the sector of Coffees, Hotels and Restaurants, the strategic potential of associations of support to the firm such as the Company of France’s Best Workers, the advertising cooperatives of the franchise networks, the Escoffier’s Followers, the Hospitality Modernization French Committee or the ACCOR Franchisees Federation is analyzed. Four groups of theories (sociological theories, theories of the nature of the association, Institutions theories and Organizations theories) allows to highlight its purpose and its utility to the firm. At the appropriate specificities of this type of organization corresponds an independent management approach which borrows from the management of the public and private affairs.