Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes index. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-142). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-34).

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-156). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (PhD.(Reproductive Biology)--Faculty of Health Sciences)-University of Pretoria, 2007.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-130). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-132). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (MPhil (General Linguistics))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / This study examined the impact of SMS speak on the written school work of English first language (L1) and English second language (L2) high school learners. The general aims of the study were to establish how widespread the use of SMS language is among high school learners, and to assess whether there is any evidence of the use of features of SMS speak in the English written work of these learners. Eighty-eight learners from an English-Afrikaans dual medium school in a middle class neighborhood in the Western Cape participated in this study. The participants included 43 grade 8s and 45 grade 11s, of which 51 were English L1 speakers and 37 English L2 speakers. The participants completed questionnaires from which the frequency and volume of their SMS use was determined, as well as the features of SMS speak they reportedly use while SMSing. In addition, samples of the learners’ English written work were examined for specific features of SMS speak. These features included (deliberate) spelling errors, lack of punctuation, over-punctuation, the omission of function words, the use of abbreviation or acronyms, and the use of emoticons and rebus writing. The results of this study indicate that high school learners are avid users of SMS and/or MXit. All participants reported using features of SMS speak in their SMSes, and many reported using SMS speak in their written school work. Despite this, the samples of written work did not contain a great number of incidences of SMS speak features. It seems that the general lack of SMS speak in the written work of these learners is a result of being able to assess when it is and is not appropriate to use a certain variety of language: These learners are proficient in SMS speak and use it when chatting to friends on MXit, but they can produce written work that adheres to the formally approved standards of written high school English. That said, a number of SMS speak features were indeed present in their formal written work, which indicates that SMS speak had some impact on the written work of these learners, which could in turn be attributed to the high frequency of their SMS usage. However, not all of the non-standard features of their written English could necessarily be attributed to the influence of SMS speak; specifically some of the spelling and punctuation errors could be unrelated to SMS speak, as they have been noted in the written English of high school learners from before the advent of cellphones. The learners in this study were from a school that has a strict language policy, one which does not tolerate the use of SMS speak in written work. Seven of the teachers completed a questionnaire compiled for all teachers at the school in question. Responses to this questionnaire, especially those of the language teachers, indicated that teachers either deduct marks for features of SMS speak in written language or refuse to mark written work that does not conform to the formally approved standards that the school has set in place. It is possible that the actions of the teachers and the language policy of the school play a significant role in the lack of SMS speak features in the written language use of the learners.

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Computer Science) / This thesis describes the development cycles of an authoring tool that generalises scenario creation for SignSupport. SignSupport is a mobile communication tool for Deaf people that currently runs on an Android smartphone. The authoring tool is computer-based software that helps a domain expert, with little or no programming skills, design and populate a limited domain conversation scenario between a Deaf person and a hearing person, e.g., when a Deaf patient collects medication at a hospital pharmacy or when a Deaf learner is taking a computer literacy course. SignSupport provides instructions to the Deaf person in signed language videos on a mobile device. The authoring tool enables the creation and population of such scenarios on a computer for subsequent 'playback' on a mobile device. The output of this authoring tool is an XML script, alongside a repository of media les that can be used to render the SignSupport mobile app on any platform. Our concern was to iteratively develop the user interface for the authoring tool, focusing on the domain experts who create the overall flow and content for a given scenario. We had four development iterations, where the rst three were evaluated for usability; for both pharmacy and ICDL course scenarios with purposive sampling. The fourth iteration focused on using the authoring tool to design an ICDL practise mobile app, recording the necessary SASL videos and using an XML parser to render the designs XML script into an Android app. The research conducted herein leveraged multiple approaches to content authoring and generalisation; and further that software generalisation can improve accessibility and a ordability for the ultimate end users. The thesis concludes with a summary of recommendations and lessons learnt.

The aim of this study was to determine which land line telephone and/or mobile/cellular telephone will enable an individual with a cochlear implant to achieve the best speech discrimination scores. Objective measurements and the subjective experience of the individual were used. The literature review provided an overview on the telephone abilities of individuals fitted with cochlear implants. In this study three factors, the quality of the telephone, the speaker's voice and different speech-coding strategies, were discussed and examined, in order to explore and explain the technical difficulties commonly experienced by this population regarding the successful use of a telephone. Data regarding various telephones and the influence different voice-types has on the telecommunication abilities were obtained through the execution of the methodology. Telephone abilities on five different telephones were assessed. Ten participants, four females and six males, fitted with the ESPrit 22, ESPrit 24 and ESPrit 3G Nucleus cochlear implants were used. The Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) open-set sentences were used and data was statistically analysed using a split plot design. Significant differences between different types of telephones were found. The results also suggested that different voice types have an impact on these individual's ability to use a telephone independently. Possible reasons such as different coding strategies, technical interference and quality of voices were discussed. Recommendations for developing rehabilitation programs, to obtain successful telephone competence for these individuals, were made and discussed. The study aimed to empower technologists working in this field to actively take note of the need for development and continuous research regarding various telephones. These telephones should enable more individuals fitted with cochlear implants to receive the maximum speech discrimination with the minimum interference. The findings of this study should encourage future research regarding this topic. A more extensive range of telephones should be used and compared to the findings in this study. / Dissertation (M (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / Unrestricted

This thesis proposes a multistage RAKE receiver for use at the base station of a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular communications system. This receiver combines the interference rejection capability of multiuser receivers with the robust performance of a RAKE receiver in the presence of multipath interference. Unlike previous multiuser receiver designs, this multistage RAKE receiver requires no a priori information about the time-vary multipath radio channel. The thesis presents a mathematical description of the multistage receiver, and a software simulation of the receiver performance. A wide range of channel models are considered which include the effects of Gaussian noise, multipath propagation, imperfect power control and multiple access interference for the reverse link CDMA channel. Under a wide range of conditions, the multistage RAKE receiver is able to support two to three times as many users as a conventional single stage RAKE receiver. The receiver is also shown to be robust to the near-far problem. / Master of Science