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Conceptual knowledge (or semantic knowledge) refers to our shared knowledge for words, objects, people and emotions. The anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) have been identified as a critical region for the representation of conceptual knowledge through convergent evidence from fMRI in healthy participants, cortical electrode implantation and damage-deficit correlations. With the involvement of the ATLs established, recent research has begun to focus on the functions of subregions of the ATLs - with particular interest surrounding the functions of the left and right ATLs. This thesis investigated three main research questions: (1) What are the functions of the left and right ATLs in semantic representation? (2) How does unilateral damage affect the semantic system and what mechanisms underlie the robustness of the system? (3) Do functional gradations exist within the ATLs? These questions were addressed using convergent methodologies including functional neuroimaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in healthy participants and behavioural and neuroimaging investigations in patients who have undergone unilateral ATL resection. To address the question of left vs. right ATL function, this thesis began by directly comparing the predictions of the different accounts of ATL function in a large-scale meta-analysis of the existing neuroimaging literature (Chapter 2) and in a large sample of patients who had undergone unilateral left or right ATL resection (Chapter 3). The overarching finding was that conceptual knowledge is underpinned by a primarily bilateral ATL system, whereby both the left and right ATLs are critical for normal semantic processing. Secondary to this bilateral representation, relative functional gradations were observed both between and within the ATLs. To address the second research question, Chapter 4 investigated the robustness of the semantic system to unilateral damage, specifically regions involved in the maintenance of conceptual knowledge were localised. Results showed that upregulation occurred within regions previously associated with semantic knowledge. The upregulation of activation after unilateral resection also mimicked the upregulation in control participants during more challenging semantic processing. Chapter 5 examined the behavioural relevance of upregulation in the contralateral ATL after unilateral perturbation using a novel TMS protocol in healthy participants. The findings observed here suggest that the bilateral ATL system is resistant to a degree of unilateral damage/perturbation because semantic representations are distributed between the hemispheres. Therefore, unilateral damage/disruption only results in a mild semantic impairment, as the undamaged/unperturbed hemisphere is available to compensate. Finally, Chapter 6 explored functional gradations within the ATLs by comparing responses in the ventral ATL to different conceptual categories, presented as visual and auditory inputs. The functional gradations observed here are proposed to emerge via differential structural and functional connectivity between the ATLs and sensory-motor and limbic cortices.

In two experiments the Weighted Salience Model (WSM) of conceptual combination was examined. Several of the hypotheses set forth in the WSM were evaluated, including the importance of salience of constituent features, differential interpretation strategies based on similarity, an initial reliance on the modifier as opposed to the head, and a context effect of salience reorganization. Results confirmed that the hierarchy of output dominance within constituent features was important in determining features in final combinations. Additionally, similar pairs were defined with property interpretations more frequently than were dissimilar pairs, and dissimilar pairs were defined with relation interpretations more frequently than were similar pairs. Context effects were demonstrated through the finding that target features were found more often in primed than unprimed pairs. The hypothesis of modifier superiority was not confirmed. These findings indicate that the WSM adds to the current understanding of conceptual combination through a reliance on output dominance and the importance of context. Despite these strengths, changes to the WSM may be necessary if future studies fail to support the importance of the modifier over the head noun.

Quality of life (QOL) has been chosen as an outcome measure by various agencies of the United States federal government and has been employed to an increasing extent by healthcare researchers when evaluating various courses of treatment or health promotion interventions. In light of the increasing ubiquitousness of QOL, one can conclude there exists a commonly employed and accepted conceptual understanding of its meaning. A systematic review of the literature focusing on quality of life published between January 1990 and January 2004 was conducted in an effort to discover this definition. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria outlined in the study, a population of 503 articles was identified for potential inclusion. From this population a random sample of 50 articles was selected for further review, with an emphasis placed on the conceptual and operational definitions of quality of life employed in the various studies. Twenty of the articles contained some conceptual discussion of quality of life and 38 contained some operational discussion. Although many articles contained some discussion of the term, little agreement with regard to its meaning and measurement was found. The only acknowledged fact in the majority of the articles concerns the subjective, multi-faceted nature of quality of life and its inherent measurement difficulties. As a result of this work, and because of this lack of cohesion in the understanding of the conceptual issues involved, the following conceptual definition has been proposed. Quality of life is a measure of an individual??s ability to function physically, emotionally and socially within his/her environment at a level consistent with his/her own expectations.

We used functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and a split ratio paradigm used to investigate the role and nature of prior knowledge in conceptual change in science. Sixteen participants, eight physicists and eight non-physicists were presented with two types of videos, Newtonian (two balls of unequal mass falling at the same rate) and Impetus (two balls of unequal mass, the larger one falling faster), to vary their exposure to plausible and implausible information. Whereas no increased neural activation was found in physicists, non-physicists showed recruitment in the frontopolar areas and DLPFC. Studies implicating these regions in integration and working memory support the notion that prior knowledge held by novices is flexible and context-dependent.

We used functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and a split ratio paradigm used to investigate the role and nature of prior knowledge in conceptual change in science. Sixteen participants, eight physicists and eight non-physicists were presented with two types of videos, Newtonian (two balls of unequal mass falling at the same rate) and Impetus (two balls of unequal mass, the larger one falling faster), to vary their exposure to plausible and implausible information. Whereas no increased neural activation was found in physicists, non-physicists showed recruitment in the frontopolar areas and DLPFC. Studies implicating these regions in integration and working memory support the notion that prior knowledge held by novices is flexible and context-dependent.

Patterns are used as building blocks for design and construction in many fields such as architecture, music, literature, etc. Researchers and practitioners in the information systems area have been exploring patterns and using them in system analysis and design. Patterns found in the analysis stage, when analysts create conceptual models to abstractly represent domain reality, are call business patterns or analysis patterns. Although various business patterns were proposed in previous studies, we found that business semantics were missing in these patterns. These business patterns failed to show functionalities that is essential to patterns in general. Most of these patterns were also not capable of describing business activities, the dynamic aspect of business. This study is conducted to address these issues. In this thesis, we provide a brief literature review on business patterns, and discuss the major problems we found in these studies. Then we introduce our research approach and the major outcomes. We propose a new definition of business patterns with business semantics, which enables us to recover the missing functionality in business patterns. We suggest the key elements to represent business patterns, and propose a two-level template (functional and operational) to describe these elements. Based on theR²M approach, we propose a modeling method with graphical notations to describe the operational level of patterns, where business activities can be modeled. Examples and a case study are provided in this thesis to demonstrate how to use the modeling method and how to use business patterns in practice.

We are living in a conceptual world which we build through both informal and systematic interaction. Concepts enable us to simplify and organize our environment and communicate efficiently with others. The learning of concepts is represented by a general idea, usually expressed by a word, which represent a class or group of things or actions having certain characteristics in common, is a matter of central concern for designing effective instructional conditions in the school setting. Thus, concept attainment is a cornerstone of social studies to help students to make informed and reasonable decisions and therefore is a fundamental and challenging aspect of social studies content. Previous studies had not focused specifically on concept questions and nonconcept questions. The purpose of this study is to determine whether 8th, 10th, and 11th grade students perform better on social studies questions which were classified as concept questions compared to questions which were classified as nonconcept questions. This study also attempts to identify the relationship between correct answers on concept questions and students' demographics. This study used a non-experimental descriptive, correlational, and causal-comparative research designs. This study used secondary data analysis, which involves a re-analysis of data collected for another study or purpose. The data for this study was gathered from Texas Education Agency, for all students who took the Spring 2006 and Spring 2009 version of the Grade 8, Grade 10, and Grade 11 Social Studies TAKS Tests. A statistical significant difference was found between the percentage of correct concept question and nonconcept questions. Students had higher achievement on nonconcept questions than concept questions. The researcher compared students' correct answers for concept questions between years, the result indicated that students scored higher on concept questions in 2009 than 2006. Also, there was a significant difference between male students and female students. Male students had a higher mean of concept questions than female students. In addition, Grade 11 had a higher mean on concept questions than Grade 10 and Grade 8. The researcher found significant differences among ethnicity. Asian students and White students scored better on concept question than other ethnic groups. The researcher also examined the correlation between concept questions and nonconcept questions. The result indicated that there was a significant positive high correlation between choosing correct answers for concept question and nonconcept questions. Last, native speaker students had a higher achievement on concept questions than ESL students.

Materials and manufacturing processes are an integral part of the design of a product. The need to combine materials and manufacturing processes selection during the early stages of the design has previously been realized. The work that generally attracts the most attention is by M.F. Ashby. This methodology, like others, concentrates on materials and manufacturing processes selection after the conceptual design is completed and before moving into embodiment design. The disadvantage of waiting until the conceptual design is completed to address materials and manufacturing processes is that the designer cannot search for conceptual solutions when dealing with issues relating to the materials and manufacturing processes domains. By not considering these issues early on in the design process, the scope for innovation is reduced and this results in the designer being fixated on the configuration at hand. It is well recognized that this is not the best way to address a design challenge and an even worse approach to innovation. The basic framework for which enhancements and improvements are suggested is the design methodology practiced and taught by the members of the Institute for Innovation and Design in Engineering (IIDE) at Texas A&M University. Conceptual design is very much a part of the IIDE design process; but the current format concentrates on functional parameters and how to search for conceptual solutions for these, and does not highlight materials and manufacturing issues in the preliminary design stages where it could be most helpful. The work documented in this thesis is an attempt to ensure that there is no disconnect between function oriented design and the materials and manufacturing processes that are applicable to that design. The core of the thesis is to incorporate a thought process which will help the designer during conceptual design phase to: 1. Consciously question if there materials and manufacturing issues; 2. Identify critical parameters in both of these domains; and 3. Search for conceptual solutions to these identified critical parameters.

Quality of life (QOL) has been chosen as an outcome measure by various agencies of the United States federal government and has been employed to an increasing extent by healthcare researchers when evaluating various courses of treatment or health promotion interventions. In light of the increasing ubiquitousness of QOL, one can conclude there exists a commonly employed and accepted conceptual understanding of its meaning. A systematic review of the literature focusing on quality of life published between January 1990 and January 2004 was conducted in an effort to discover this definition. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria outlined in the study, a population of 503 articles was identified for potential inclusion. From this population a random sample of 50 articles was selected for further review, with an emphasis placed on the conceptual and operational definitions of quality of life employed in the various studies. Twenty of the articles contained some conceptual discussion of quality of life and 38 contained some operational discussion. Although many articles contained some discussion of the term, little agreement with regard to its meaning and measurement was found. The only acknowledged fact in the majority of the articles concerns the subjective, multi-faceted nature of quality of life and its inherent measurement difficulties. As a result of this work, and because of this lack of cohesion in the understanding of the conceptual issues involved, the following conceptual definition has been proposed. Quality of life is a measure of an individual??s ability to function physically, emotionally and socially within his/her environment at a level consistent with his/her own expectations.