Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-205). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-62). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες έχουν παραχθεί ασύλληπτα μεγάλες ποσότητες δεδομένων από διάφορες διεργασίες που έχουν οργανωθεί με χρήση υπολογιστικών συστημάτων. Το μεγαλύτερο βέβαια ποσό των δεδομένων βρίσκεται σε μορφή κειμένων και αυτός ο τύπος των μη δομημένων στοιχείων στερείται συνήθως «τα στοιχεία για τα στοιχεία». Η ανάγκη λοιπόν για την αυτοματοποιημένη εξαγωγή χρήσιμης γνώσης από τεράστια ποσά κειμενικών στοιχείων προκειμένου να βοηθηθεί η ανθρώπινη ανάλυση είναι προφανής. Η εξόρυξη κειμένου (text mining) είναι ένας νέος ερευνητικός τομέας που προσπαθεί να επιλύσει το πρόβλημα της υπερφόρτωσης πληροφοριών με την χρησιμοποίηση των τεχνικών από την εξόρυξη από δεδομένα (data mining), την μηχανική μάθηση (machine learning), την επεξεργασία φυσικής γλώσσας (natural language processing), την ανάκτηση πληροφορίας (information retrieval), την εξαγωγή πληροφορίας (information extraction) και τη διαχείριση γνώσης (Knowledge management). Βασιζόμενοι λοιπόν σε αυτήν την τεχνική εξόρυξης κειμένου παρουσιάζουμε σε αυτή την διπλωματική εργασία μια μεθοδολογία εξαγωγής γνώσης από κείμενο με απώτερο σκοπό την απόδοση της πατρότητας δυο έργων σε συγκεκριμένο συγγραφέα. Το κύριο θέμα ενδιαφέροντος είναι το εξής: είναι η Ιλιάδα και Οδύσσεια έργα του ίδιου ποιητή; Η μεθοδολογία μας βασίζεται στην ανάλυση του «σημαινόμενου» παρά του «σημαίνοντος» στην Ιλιάδα και στην Οδύσσεια. Σε μία πρώτη φάση μετασχηματίζουμε τα δεδομένα: διατηρήθηκαν μόνο τα ουσιαστικά, τα ρήματα, τα επίθετα και τα επιρρήματα τα οποία οργανώθηκαν σε ομάδες συνωνύμων, όπου κάθε ομάδα αντιπροσωπεύει μία έννοια. Επιλέξαμε να κάνουμε ανάλυση των σχέσεων μεταξύ αυτών των εννοιών. Έτσι μετατρέψαμε όλες τις προτάσεις στο κείμενο, σε προτάσεις οι οποίες αποτελούνται μόνο από αυτές τις έννοιες, απαλείφοντας φυσικά τα διπλότυπα. Στη συνέχεια μετασχηματίσαμε το κείμενο σε μια δομημένη μορφή, ώστε να μπορέσουμε να το αποθηκεύσουμε σε «εγγραφές» μιας βάσης δεδομένων. Συγκεκριμένα, θεωρήσαμε συνεχή τμήματα κειμένου σαν τέτοιες «εγγραφές». Πειραματιστήκαμε ορίζοντας είτε μία πρόταση είτε δύο συνεχόμενες ως «εγγραφή», χρησιμοποιώντας τον Apriori αλγόριθμο για να εξάγουμε «κανόνες συσχέτισης» της μορφής «90% των εγγραφών που περιέχουν την έννοια χ περιέχουν και την έννοια y». Εξάγαμε ένα μεγάλο αριθμό ισχυρών συσχετίσεων μεταξύ ίδιων εννοιών και στα δυο ποιήματα (π.χ. «γη»-«άνδρας»). Υπάρχουν επίσης συσχετίσεις μεταξύ διαφορετικών εννοιών (π.χ. «μάχη»-«άνδρας» μόνο στην Ιλιάδα) και διαφορετικές συσχετίσεις για την ίδια έννοια (π.χ. «ήρωας»-«μάχη» στην Ιλιάδα και «ήρωας»-«κατοικία» στην Οδύσσεια). Όμως, δεν βρήκαμε καμία αντίθεση. Αυτά τα αποτελέσματα ενδεχομένως να οδηγούν στο συμπέρασμα ότι ο Όμηρος έγραψε και τα δυο έπη. / What is generally called “the Homeric question” is by far the oldest author-attribution problem. The Homeric question really encompasses several issues, e.g. are the Iliad and Odyssey each work of a single poet? In this paper we try to answer the question using a data mining technique. Data mining is an emerging research area that develops techniques for knowledge discovery in huge volumes of data. Data mining methods have been applied to a wide variety of domains, from market basket analysis to the analysis of satellite pictures and human genomes. More specifically, in this paper, we present an application of data mining in discovering whether a document is ascribed to a writer. Our methodology is based on analyzing rather the content than the syntax. More specifically, we propose a technique for mining association rules, in order to analyze associations amongst concepts. We, also demonstrate the results of the analyses which we have undertaken using this algorithm.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de montrer l’influence des systèmes écoculturels en prenant en compte les effets développementaux sur l’élaboration des constructions conceptuelles, de la catégorisation et des attributions causales dans les questions relatives à l’environnement. Elle s’appuie sur des recherches issues de la psychologie cognitive, de la psychologie interculturelle et de la psychologie environnementale. Notre thèse s’est construite à partir de trois études exploratoires, dirigées par des théories (« theory driven ») : la théorie des dimensions de valeur (Hosftede, 1998) et celle des différents styles de pensée (Nisbett et al. 2001). Les recherches de terrain ont eu lieu auprès d’enfants et d’adolescents en France et au Mexique, deux pays ayant des traditions culturelles différentes (ex. la langue, les pratiques religieuses et de socialisation). Nous postulons que la réalité culturelle locale influence les constructions conceptuelles, la catégorisation et les attributions causales sur le monde qui nous entoure. La première étude de la thèse examine non seulement les constructions conceptuelles portant sur la nature et l’environnement mais aussi leur co-construction. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que la construction conceptuelle de la nature est mieux élaborée que celle de l’environnement, même si aucune d’entre elles deux ne peuvent atteindre le niveau d’un concept mature (Vygostky, 1978). Nous avons identifié deux modèles cognitifs et des différences significatives dans le contenu des ces constructions conceptuelles selon l’appartenance culturelle des sujets. Toutefois, nous observons avec l’âge un affaiblissement de ces différences, probablement du à l’influence de l’éducation de type occidental. La deuxième étude quasi-expérimentale analyse les modes de catégorisation des objets du monde naturel et des objets créés par l’homme ainsi que la place de l’homme dans la nature. Les résultats concernant ces modes de catégorisation révèlent l’utilisation de différents styles de pensée (Nisbett et al. 2001). D’un côté, les sujets français catégoriseraient le monde en utilisant un raisonnement de type analytique s’appuyant sur les caractéristiques taxonomiques et les propriétés biologiques ou fonctionnelles des objets. De l’autre, les sujets mexicains privilégieraient un raisonnement holistique s’appuyant sur les caractéristiques contextuelles et interactionnelles des objets. Cependant, nous observons encore une fois qu’avec l’âge ces différences sont moins significatives. Les résultats concernant la place de l’homme dans la nature ne révèlent pas de différences interculturelles ni développementales. En effet, pour les enfants et les adolescents des deux cultures, l’homme n’appartient pas intrinsèquement à la nature. Ce résultat souligne ainsi la confusion conceptuelle entre le monde des humains et le monde naturel. La troisième étude quasi-expérimentale s’intéresse au contenu et au type d’attributions causales des modifications ou transformations de la nature. Cette étude explore la compréhension par les enfants et les adolescents des causes de deux problèmes environnementaux (déforestation et pollution atmosphérique) et de deux conséquences du changement climatique (fonte des glaces et montée des eaux). Les résultats mettent en lumière que, dans les deux cultures, les causes des problèmes environnementaux sont plus facilement conceptualisées que celles des changements climatiques. Concernant l’attribution causale, des différences interculturelles et développementales ont été observées. L’analyse des données a révélé différents types de causes : internes, externes, relationnelles et des raisonnements écologiques. Cette thèse démontre que le développement de la pensée humaine est influencé par les connaissances modulées par la culture et l’expérience directe fournissant à l’individu des cadres d'interprétation qui lui permettent de s’adapter socialement. / This thesis aims to show the influence of eco-cultural systems by taking into account the effects of development on the evolution of conceptual constructs, categorization and causal attributions. This work involves research from cognitive psychology, cross-cultural psychology and environmental psychology. This thesis is composed of three main exploratory experimental studies, and also involves some theory driven hypotheses based on the theory of value dimensions (Hosftede, 1998) and thinking styles (Nisbett et al. 2001). Field research took place among children and adolescents in France and Mexico, which are two countries with different cultural traditions (eg. language, religious practices and socialization). However, the lifestyles of the cities of Monterrey and Paris are relatively similar, which enables cross-cultural comparison. We postulate that local cultural reality influences conceptual constructs, categorization and causal attributions of the world around us. The first experimental study examines not only conceptual constructions of nature and environment but also their co-construction. The results of this study show that the conceptual construction of nature is better developed than that of the environment, although neither reach the level of mature concept (Vygostky 1978). One reason is that their respective observed conceptualization is therefore interdependent and weakening each other. From a cultural point of view, we have identified two specific cognitive models in each country and observed significant differences in the content of these conceptual constructions. However, these differences decrease with age, probably due to the influence of Western education. The second experimental study analyzes the modes of categorization of the natural and artificial world and the place of man in nature. The results for these modes of categorization reflect the use of different styles of thinking (Nisbett et al. 2001). These are influenced by different values favored by the type of society (Hofstede, 1998). French subjects categorize the world with an analytical type of reasoning based on taxonomic characteristics, and the biological and functional properties of objects. Mexican subjects however prefer a holistic reasoning based on contextual and interactional features of objects. However, once again, we observe that these differences are less pronounced with age. The results concerning the place of man in nature do not reveal intercultural or developmental differences. Indeed, for children and adolescents of both cultures, man does not intrinsically belong to nature. This result underlines the conceptual extreme fragility between the human world and the natural world. The third experimental study focuses on the content and type of causal attributions modifications/transformations of nature. This study explores the understanding of children and adolescents of both the causes of environmental problems (deforestation and air pollution) and the consequences of climate change (melting ice and rising sea levels). The results highlight that in both cultures, the causes of environmental problems are more easily conceptualized than the consequences of climate change. We observed cross-cultural and developmental differences in the nature of these causes. Data analysis of the causes of such modifications/transformations of nature revealed different types of causes: internal, external, relationships and ecological reasoning. This thesis demonstrates the cultural nature of human thought. knowledge modulated by culture and direct experience provides the individual with an interpretive framework that guides their cognitive processes and allows them to adapt socially.

This study analyses how readers impute credibility to the Tanzanian investigative newspaper Raia Mwema which, as a matter of routine journalistic practice, uses a high number of anonymous sources. Against the backdrop of a strong theoretical position, espoused by media studies theorists in both Western media contexts and in Africa, in which this practice is deemed to diminish the credibility of both journalists and their stories, the study’s main purpose is to examine how readers make sense of this very prevalent practice in a country that has recently opened up to media plurality. It also investigates where they locate the source of credibility for this high-selling newspaper, if not in the traditional way through its named sources of information. The study surveys the frequency of appearance of anonymous sources in this newspaper for the period of one year from January 2011 to December 2011. Then the study considered how this practice is viewed and understood by the wider journalistic community in Tanzania as well as looking into how the journalists and owners of Raia Mwema make choices about attributing their journalism. Lastly, the study engaged with particular readers to understand what sense they make of this practice in the wider landscape of Tanzanian media and the post-repressive political situation. The study makes use of theories of the sociology of news production so as to understand the context in which Raia Mwema has routinised the practice of anonymous attribution and whether the journalistic community and newspaper readers find the practice credible. The study also employs reception analysis in order to understand to what extent Raia Mwema readers negotiate and make sense of the mainly political, and often critical, media messages they get from newspaper. In this way, it introduces the importance of the reader in the production of meaning and of assessment of credibility of journalism. The interviews – ranging from journalists working at the paper, through the wider journalistic community and taking in the readership of the paper – show that theoretical considerations of journalistic credibility must take into account the political, social and media context in which journalism is produced. Pronouncements on the overuse of anonymous sources, without understanding the way readers and journalists negotiate the complexities of an actual situation, do not tell us much about credibility and how readers understand the messages they are given. From this study, it is clear that in African countries embarking on opening media systems, credibility involves more factors than have been discussed in the literature and that readers and journalists are sophisticated consumers and producers of media messages in countries that place a host of obstacles in the way of investigative journalism and open political communication.

A double-blind comparison was conducted using typical doses of soporific agents from three drug classes and a placebo. Drugs which were used in the study included secobarbital, flurazepam hydrochloride, and thioridazine. Subjects were 40 outpatient volunteers whose primary complaint was difficulty in falling to sleep. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three drug groups or the placebo group. One of the drugs or the placebo was administered to each subject for 3 nights. Half of the subjects in each of the four groups were told the drug had caused any observed changes in their sleep behavior and were in this way led to attribute any changed sleep behavior externally to the drug. The other half were told the drugs were not typically used to treat insomnia and changes in their sleep were due to changes made in their own behavior, thus attributing any changes in sleep behavior internally. The implication for clinicians was that a short course of drug therapy using a placebo or one of several soporific drugs might be used equally effectively to treat primary latency insomnia. Additionally, the results demonstrated that clinicians might expect the effectiveness of treatment to be maintained following treatment. Recommendations included a suggestion for future research with soporific drugs in other classes.

abstract: Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) whose observed personal option-holding patterns are not consistent with theoretical predictions are variously described as overconfident or optimistic. Existing literature demonstrates that the investment and financing decisions of such CEOs differ from those of CEOs who do not exhibit such behavior and interprets the investment and financing decisions by overconfident or optimistic CEOs as inferior. This paper argues that it may be rational to exhibit behavior interpreted as optimistic and that the determinants of a CEO’s perceived optimism are important. Further, this paper shows that CEOs whose apparent optimism results from above average industry-adjusted CEO performance in prior years make investment and financing decisions which are actually similar, and sometimes superior to, those of unbiased CEOs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2016

abstract: With the fast development of Chinese capital market, an increasing number of institutions and retail investors invest through professional managers. The key to evaluating investment manager’s skill and performance persistence largely lies in portfolio style research and attribution analysis. The current dissertation takes advantage of a unique dataset, uncover hidden investment style and trading behavior, understanding their source of excess returns, and establishing a more comprehensive methodology for evaluating portfolio performance and manager skills. The dissertation focuses on quantitative analysis. Highlights three most important aspects. Investment style determines the systematic returns and risks of any portfolio, and can be assessed ex-ante; Transaction can be observed and modified during the investment process; and return attribution can be implemented to evaluate portfolio (managers), ex-post. Hence, these three elements make up a comprehensive and logical investment process. Investment style is probably the most important factor in determining portfolio returns. However, Chinese investment managers are under constant pressure to follow the market trend and shift style accordingly. Therefore, accurately identifying and predicting each manager’s investment style proves critically valuable. In addition, transaction data probably provides the most reliable source of information in observing and evaluating an investment manager’s style and strategy, in the middle of the investment process. Despite the efficacy of traditional return attribution methodology, there are clear limitations. The current study proposes a novel return attribution methodology, by synthesizing major portfolio strategy components, such as risk exposure adjustment, sector rotation, stock selection, altogether. Our novel methodology reveals that investment managers do not obtain much abnormal returns through risk exposure adjustment or sector rotation. Instead, Chinese investment managers seem to enjoy most of their excess returns through stock selection. In addition, we find several interesting patterns in Chinese A-share market: 1). There is a negative relationship between asset under management (AUM) and investment performance, beyond certain AUM threshold; 2). There are limited benefits from style switching in the long run; 3). Many investment managers use CSI 300 component stocks as portfolio ballast and speculate with CSI500 and Medium-and-Small board component stocks for excess returns; 4). There is no systematic negative relationship between portfolio turnover and investment performance; despite negative relationship within certain sub-samples and sectors; 5). It is plausible to construct out-performing portfolios with style index funds and ETFs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2016

abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of success and failure, attributions of success and failure, predictions of future success, and reports of out-of-class engagement in composition among middle school band students composing in open task conditions (n = 32) and closed task conditions (n = 31). Two intact band classes at the same middle school were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Both treatment groups composed music once a week for eight weeks during their regular band time. In Treatment A (n = 32), the open task group, students were told to compose music however they wished. In Treatment B (n = 31), the closed task group, students were given specific, structured composition assignments to complete each week. At the end of each session, students were asked to complete a Composing Diary in which they reported what they did each week. Their responses were coded for evidence of perceptions of success and failure as well as out-of-class engagement in composing. At the end of eight weeks, students were given three additional measures: the Music Attributions Survey to measure attributions of success and failure on 11 different subscales; the Future Success survey to measure students' predictions of future success; and the Out-of-Class Engagement Letter to measure students' engagement with composition outside of the classroom. Results indicated that students in the open task group and students in the closed task group behaved similarly. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in terms of perceptions of success or failure as composers, predictions of future success composing music, and reports of out-of-class engagement in composition. Students who felt they failed at composing made similar attributions for their failure in both treatment groups. Students who felt they succeeded also made similar attributions for their success in both treatment groups, with one exception. Successful students in the closed task group rated Peer Influence significantly higher than the successful students in the open task group. The findings of this study suggest that understanding individual student's attributions and offering a variety of composing tasks as part of music curricula may help educators meet students' needs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Music Education 2014

Most of the existing plagiarism detection systems compare a text to a database of other texts. These external approaches, however, are vulnerable because texts not contained in the database cannot be detected as source texts. This paper examines an internal plagiarism detection method that uses style markers from authorship attribution studies in order to find stylistic changes in a text. These changes might pinpoint plagiarized passages. Additionally, a new style marker called specific words is introduced. A pre-study tests if the style markers can fingerprint an author s style and if they are constant with sample size. It is shown that vocabulary richness measures do not fulfil these prerequisites. The other style markers - simple ratio measures, readability scores, frequency lists, and entropy measures - have these characteristics and are, together with the new specific words measure, used in a main study with an unsupervised approach for detecting stylistic changes in plagiarized texts at sentence and paragraph levels. It is shown that at these small levels the style markers generally cannot detect plagiarized sections because of intra-authorial stylistic variations (i.e. noise), and that at bigger levels the results are strongly a ected by the sliding window approach. The specific words measure, however, can pinpoint single sentences written by another author.