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Honors Thesis (English)--Oberlin College, 2002. / Title from home page. "The evolution of a disembodied body of work"--Title frame animation. Description of resource as of: July 29, 2003. Includes bibliographical references.

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This thesis examines the nature of an electronic medium known as hypertext in relation to the act and experience of writing and expression. Essential to the thesis is a conviction that the experiential realm that is created by a particular medium of communication and/or representation is capable of also creating new 'habits of mind' or 'worldings.' These two concepts are indicative of the intensity of experience that is made available via an expressive act and the extent to which the various aspects of this intensity are capable of transformations on personal and public levels. / One of the central issues of the thesis is an ongoing re-evaluation of the euphoric claims that trumpet hypertext as usurping the so-called tyranny of the book and the domain of linear thinking in general. In many evaluations of the medium, hypertext is commonly presented as a communications medium that offers a far greater panorama of choices and freedoms than does the printed word and, in addition, is far closer to the way in which the human mind 'actually works.' One of the intentions of this project is to not only critique and study such claims but also to explore their numerous offshoots with respect to cultural, philosophical and ideological practices and techniques. Thus, this thesis unfolds via four major thematic clusters that each, in its own way, challenges and probes at the emerging medium of hypertext as it relates to the activity and cultural practice of writing itself. / The first of these clusters is organized around the challenges and problems of constructing an appropriate interpretive methodology with which to approach hypertext. The second cluster offers an analysis of hypertext's defining characteristics and their relation to melancholy, isolation and anxiety. What follows is an analysis of the major figures in the history of hypertext and their relationship to the dynamics of power and knowledge. The thesis concludes with a meditation on how the act of writing (electronic or otherwise) has profound implications on the very structure and form of the creative human mind and world.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-185)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 200-227).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Amy L. Baylor, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Nov. 15, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisors: Marilla Svinicki and Min Liu. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. David Kirby, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 6, 2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Since MYCIN, explanation has become a fundamental feature of knowledge-based systems (KBS). Among the common deficiencies of KBS explanations, the most acute one is the lack of knowledge. This dissertation research investigates the use of explanations provided with hypertext for increasing the availability and accessibility of domain knowledge. The ultimate objective is to determine the behavioral and cognitive basis of the use of hypertext in providing KBS explanations. Two informationally equivalent KBS were comparatively studied in a laboratory setting: one used hypertext to provide explanations, while the other one used conventional lineartext. The experiment involved 26 experienced professionals, and 29 undergraduate and graduate students specializing in accounting. Subjects used the experimental KBS to work on a realistic problem of financial analysis. Both the process and outcomes of explanation use were assessed. Outcome variables included improvement in decision accuracy, trust in the KBS, and perceived usefulness of explanations. In addition to questionnaires used to measure decision accuracy and perceptions, computer logs were used to capture the number, type, and context of explanation use. Thinkingaloud procedures were used to assess the nature of explanation use. Results indicate that the use of hypertext for providing explanations significantly improved decision accuracy, and influenced users' preference for explanation types, and the number and context of explanation requests. Enhanced accessibility to deep explanations via the use of hypertext significantly increased the number of deep explanations requested by both novices and experts. Verbal protocol analysis shows that the lack of knowledge and means of accessing deep explanations could make it difficult to understand KBS recommendations, and that deep explanations could improve the understandability of KBS advice, especially in cases where unfamiliar domain concepts were involved. In the hypertext group, about 37% of the deep explanations were requested in the context of judgment making, rather than in the abstract. While only about 28% of the deep explanations requested by the lineartext group were the How type, 42% were the How type for the hypertext group. Experts and novices had different preferences for explanation types. Experts requested a much higher percentage of How, and lower percentages of Why and Strategic explanations, than novices. Verbal protocol analysis illustrates that experts and novices used explanations for different purposes.