Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Studies of spoken Arabic language comprehension in children are few. This research obtained data on the developmental patterns, rate and order of acquisition of the comprehension of some morpho-syntactic structures for Saudi children as a basis for a criterion-referenced test. The structures tested were chosen from data collected by studying Saudi Child Directed Speech (CDS), similar Tests in English and from linguistic knowledge of Arabic structures. The CDS sample was collected from 12 Saudi fathers conversing with their children (8 boys and 4 girls) aged 2;4 to 5;6 years. This data was analysed in terms of the vocabulary, structure and function used. Saudi fathers were found to use discourse function used by parents speaking other languages when addressing their children but in different frequencies. Fathers' language complexity was found to increase as their children got older. The comprehension of morpho-syntactic structures by Saudi children was tested through a language comprehension test that was designed for the purpose of this research. The test consisted of sixty three pictures testing twenty-one morpho-syntactic structures and six miniature toys to test children's comprehension of three structures. The test incorporated a naming test to establish the dialect forms familiar to each child, a speech discrimination screening to screen children's hearing and a vocabulary pre-test to ensure that children have comprehension of the target lexical items used in the test. Test materials were designed in a way to suit the Saudi culture. The test was performed in Saudi on 120 Saudi children ranging between 3;0 and 6;0 years of age and were 60 boys and 60 girls attending three nursery schools in Riyadh. Subjects were grouped into six groups according to their age: 3;0 to 3;5, 3;6 to 3;11, 4;0 to 4;5, 4;6 to 4;11, 5;0 to 5;5, and 5;6to 5;11 years of age. Ten boys and ten girls were tested in each age group. Results showed that gender did not affect children's results. Significant test sensitivity to age was found. Nearly half of the structures were sensitive to age while the other structures were not. An order of acquisition according to structures' difficulty was established. The age group at which every structure develops was judged by using a 60% passing criterion. The agreement between test and re-test was shown to be high, indicating that the test was reliable. A comparison was made between frequencies of structures found in the CDS study and age of acquisition in the comprehension test. An error analysis of the tested morpho-syntactic structures was obtained by analysing children's performance on every item used. Children's errors on these items were interpreted on the basis of the competition model and several patterns differed from findings in other languages. Children were found to use previously reported comprehension strategies such as world knowledge when interpreting some of the tested morpho-syntactic structures. The way children interpreted structures that require the comprehension of gender and number inflections is reported. Younger children were found to be guided more by their lexical knowledge, while older ones relied on both lexical and syntactic knowledge. While Saudi children were found to use well-established comprehension strategies such as world knowledge, they also demonstrated strategies for understanding gender and number inflections which have not been previously reported. Gender and number inflections were modified in some of the fathers' utterances in the CDS in a way that violates the rules of Arabic grammar.

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

The present study explores cross linguistic influence (CLI) on L3 Korean acquisition in Hong Kong higher education through analyzing learner’s particle errors in composition, particularly identifying the specific source of CLI –L1 (Cantonese/Chinese) or/and L2(English) in comparative linguistic perspective. A hybrid research approach is designed. Respondent’s particle errors in text assignment data and survey data are analyzed in descriptive and statistical approach correspondingly. In this thesis, majorities of findings regarding EA of particles are consistent with literature and there are also evidences of CLI on morphology stated in the literature such as inter-language grammars in word-order and semantic equivalence in different syntactic categories between source and target languages have been found in our data. It is argued positive transfer of morphology is possible if the semantic and syntactic function of morphemes between source languages and target language are identical or very similar and concluded that analysis of morpho-syntax would be crucial to identify CLI on Korean particle acquisition. Some of the important findings about the negative relationship between proficiency in source languages and CLI on Korean particle acquisition have been pinpointed. Significantly, the different roles of proficiency in L1 Chinese and L2 English are assumed as factors indicating learner’s error pattern and particle error rates respectively. The final part of the thesis is to apply theory into pedagogy. It is hoped that a tailor-made pedagogy, teaching L3 Korean in Hong Kong higher education where L2 English is teaching medium, will be achieved with the better understandings of learner’ particle errors and their causes. Certain issues of causes of particle errors except CLI are also outlined for further research in this area. / published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / Over the last few years, PCM based data acquisition systems have become known as "Traditional PCM" systems. This terminology modification is a sign of the evolution of the next generation of telemetry/data acquisition systems based on network topologies. This has come about due to users clamoring for functionality that has not been available in the traditional systems, such as supporting increased data rates, providing access to onboard archived data, supporting on-the-fly reconfiguration, and simplifying data distribution and delivery. The iNET standard is using standard network technology to improve device interoperability and data acquisition. To minimize impact on existing data acquisition system devices, the initial effort of this approach has included the transmission of "Traditional" fixed PCM frames within a network message based structure. This approach, however, squanders network bandwidth, as a PCM frame includes all samples of all channels, and requires significant processing power for even simple tasks. Delivering on the promise of a more flexible transmission method requires a change in how data is acquired in the data acquisition devices. The iNET standard defines such a packet based transport system, which supports channel based packet formats besides "Traditional PCM" to efficiently deliver data products. This paper will provide background on the benefits of these methods and an overview of methods by which these formats can be implemented.

ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / Most of today's aircraft used for the commercial transport of passengers or military aircraft still rely on simple technology such as cables, connectors and sensors to provide power, avionics data, control system, aircraft instrumentation etc. throughout the vehicle's life-cycle for flight monitoring and fault diagnosis. Despite a marked improvement in the quality and reliability of these components, they continue to be the main cause of failures due to corrosion, misuse, improper installation, etc, using-up endless man-hours to troubleshoot, repair and upgrade them. Wireless monitoring by telemetry of some of the critical systems has been in use for some time as a point to point data link designed to provide vital information, potentially improving the safety and efficiency of any flight. Aircraft manufacturers are now looking at the use of wireless networks to replace current data buses used for the transfer of data between avionics systems and their sensors as well as for the control of some of the surface actuators. Wireless networks used in this way could reduce the amount of cabling and its associated weight as well as simplify the re-routing of connections making upgradation less expensive and quicker, again a benefit to airlines. Despite many benefits there is a potentially serious security issue by means of an introduction of a backdoor into the system, meaning that before aircrafts become network-enabled, all the security issues must be identified in full and dealt with.

ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / SFSS is a universal, small, and low cost, functionally redundant flight termination system (FTS) that incorporates encoding, processing and TSPI capabilities, provides critical health/safety/welfare monitoring and allows for highly efficient telemetering of weapon application and FTS data. The SFSS is intended as a solution to provide weapon system developers, test agencies, and range safety officers the ability to track, monitor, and if necessary, terminate all types of weapon systems. The SFSS components are intended to significantly reduce the recurring costs and improve the quality of test support by minimizing physical intrusion into weapon systems, and potentially eliminating the need for warhead removal. In addition, a common hardware suite assists in reducing the overall system cost of acquisition, a key element in today's world of stressed budgets. The SFSS is designed to interface with newly developed weapon systems, while providing the capability to be integrated into existing weapon systems with nominal modifications to the platform. The SFSS development is a multi-disciplinary effort, whose participating organizations include industry suppliers, range and system safety representatives, and technical offices from all branches of the armed services, as well as the weapons vendors to ensure that applicable technical and regulatory requirements are met. The original requirements for the project were defined within the SFSS System Performance Specification (SPS), which has undergone a number of updates as the design effort has progressed from concept to assembly and debug of the prototype components. This paper will provide an overview of the overall program status, key features of the SFSS including features added during development, critical design challenges, and additional activities planned to enhance the functionality of the system.

The de-selection of large numbers of print items was prompted by an institutional decision to adopt the model of a single faculty per site following the merger in 2004. This implied having to relocate large numbers of information resources among the nine libraries. The relocation, still continuing, was an opportunity for the libraries to strive to remain with only relevant, current and physically good items. Previously, each of the three merger institutions was offering a large variety of programmes which became duplicated as a result of the merger. The process of moving collections to new parent (campus) libraries involved lecturers and librarians having to select items for relocation and dispose of the rest. Cataloguers were to change location of affected items. It became necessary to upgrade certain records and deduplicate bibliographic records which had not been detected or for which time had not been made as yet. The whole process took much longer than was planned as some lecturers took their time to select items they wanted to retain and not all librarians were familiar with the new subject areas. Moreover, the librarians could not finalise the selection on their own. The criteria for de-selection were as contained in the policy on acquisition of information resources and that on collection development and management. The de-selection enmasse, despite its own challenges, created space and a good environment for implementing plans to increase e-resources. Print resources will remain part of the TUT library collections. Regular and systematic weeding of collections is performed to preserve quality, currency and strength of collections. However, while weeding provides opportunities for replacing some print with e-resources, considerations for replacement, collection development and management – especially in developing countries – should include preference of some academic departments for print material; and the implications of increasingly acquiring e-resources for additional funds are required to enable access (e.g. availability of computers and the Internet) to clients who rely mostly on the libraries to provide it.

Mergers and acquisitions have steadily emerged as an important topic within the nonprofit sector over the past twenty years. Using lessons and conceptual frameworks from the nonprofit and private sectors, this report explores preconditions conducive to M&A activity (including funding strain, subsector disaggregation, and executive director departure) as well as common challenges facing the organizations that undertake them. A case study of the imminent merger between two SAT preparatory nonprofits is presented to provide context for a successful M&A approach. This report concludes that organizations can benefit by simply exploring potential strategic partnerships, regardless of the end decision of whether or not to fully merge. / text

published_or_final_version / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy