Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2002. / "Publication number AAT 3065209"

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-155).

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-97). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 5, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-08, Section: A, page: 2796. Adviser: Alan R. Dennis.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science, 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 12, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-10, Section: A, page: 3635. Adviser: Katy Boerner.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0417. Adviser: Linda C. Smith. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-217) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

The goal of this project is to create a small-scale, low cost, electric home brewing system that allows a user to more easily brew large (5 gallon) batches of beer in an enclosed space. This is accomplished by using an Arduino microcontroller in conjunction with a Yun WiFi shield to host a local website which allows a user to enter a temperature into the system via their phone, tablet, or computer. This data is then passed from a website running on the Yun shield to the Arduino sketch which runs a check against the current temperature reported by a thermometer installed in the brewing kettle and switches a heating element on or off depending on the goal temperature set by the user. This process is meant to be a more precise method of temperature control that allows the user to brew higher ABV beer than other common homebrew setups and will require less of the user's time in terms of monitoring temperature. Data taken from brewing several batches using the completed brew kettle does suggest that more precise control of temperature increases the efficiency of saccharification during a mash phase, and thus increases alcohol by volume in the final product.

<p> Streaming is an emerging practice of videogame culture, where a player broadcasts a live capture of their game-play to an audience. Every day Twitch.tv, the most popular streaming platform, features thousands of streams broadcast to millions of viewers. Streams are detailed multimedia artifacts, and their study allows us to understand how the culture of games is produced, reproduced, and reinvented. </p><p> In this dissertation, I examine the act of streaming using a theoretical concept that I have developed called &lsquo;performed play&rsquo;, which combines social performance theory, game culture studies, situated learning, and sociological perspectives in order to understand streaming as an act that produces culture. Through the theoretical construct of performed play, I argue that we can better understand digital game-play as a cultural act. I present two interrelated studies: a grounded theory analysis of a social space dedicated to streaming, and an ethnographic study comprised of seven individual streamers. </p><p> I find that streaming is a practice comprised of three connected behaviors: assembling technology to produce the digital artifact of the stream, acting as a curator and manager of one&rsquo;s audience, and projecting a persona as a player. These behaviors are moderated by the goals and desires of the streamer, and influenced by the metrics displayed by Twitch (e.g., viewership). Activity within the practice is further mediated by one&rsquo;s history, relationship to games, and communities that are imported into the space of the stream. I find that streaming is very much a day-to-day activity, making the stream a blend of one's personal identity alongside an individual interpretation of game culture. Synthesizing findings across both my studies, I conclude that due to the highly personal and quotidian nature of performed game-play, the practice has the potential to change larger game culture by allowing previously marginalized populations to form their own communities as players of games. </p><p>

This thesis investigates the design and implementation of an Office Information System that allows user input in defining a system for the office environment. This system has a limited knowledge of its domain, as an expert system. This knowledge is provided by users, and specified in terms of production rules. The system allows users to tailoring of the system to best meet their own requirements. The system has been implemented in Common Lisp on a VAX computer.

This research is concerned with the problem of making knowledge acquisition and representation practical for a wide variety of people. The key question investigated is the following: What features are needed in what this research defines as a knowledge management system, so that people who are not computer specialists can use it for tasks that involve manipulating complex ideas? In this research the needs of such users were evaluated, and several prototype systems were created, culminating in the creation of a system called CODE4. A key conclusion is as follows: Users need a tool that involves the synthesis of several techniques for organizing the knowledge. The research has led to ideas for two types of features: abstract knowledge representation features and user interface features. Some of the proposed abstract knowledge representation features that are novel or improved include: (1) a uniform treatment of units of knowledge which are called concepts; (2) the separation of the names of concepts from their unique identities so that concepts can have multiple names and a given name can be used for several concepts; (3) the classification of conceptual relations using property and statement hierarchies, and (4) facilities for smoothly integrating informal knowledge with knowledge that is more precisely represented. The above ideas are implemented in CODE4-KR, the abstract knowledge representation used in the CODE4 knowledge management system. Some of the user interface features that are found in CODE4, and are proposed for general use, are: (1) unlimited chained browsers; (2) knowledge maps, representing patterns of knowledge to be explored or processed; (3) fully interchangeable mediating representations operating on knowledge maps; (4) a uniform set of knowledge editing operations in the mediating representations, and (5) masks for highlighting and controlling the visibility of concepts. CODE4 has had a significant amount of serious use by users in such diverse fields as terminology, organizational modelling and software engineering. This has served as the basis for validating the above ideas about knowledge organization. To this end, several techniques have been used including: (1) a detailed questionnaire about CODE4 administered to many users, and (2) a static analysis of the knowledge bases using several newly-developed metrics. The metrics include seven largely independent measures of knowledge base complexity, as well as compound measures that allow the user to ascertain the completeness, well-formedness and information-richness of a knowledge base.