Applications such as satellite and digital mobile radio systems (DMR) have gained widespread acceptance in recent years, and efficient digital processing techniques are gradually replacing the older analogue systems. An important subsystem of these applications is voiceband communication, especially digital speech encoding. Digital encoding of speech has been a focus of speech processing research for many years, and recently this activity together with the rapid advances in digital hardware, has begun to produce realistic working algorithms. This is typified by the Pan-European DMR system which operates at 13Kbit/s. For applications operating below this coding capacity, sophisticated algorithms have been developed. A particular class of these, termed Analysis-by-Synthesis Linear Predictive Coding (ABS-LPC), has been a subject of active world-wide research. In this thesis, ABS-LPC algorithms are investigated with particular emphasis on the Code-Excited Linear Predictive coding (CELP) variant. The aim of the research is to produce high communication quality speech at 8Kbit/s and below by considering aspects of quantisation, computational complexity and robustness. The ABS-LPC algorithms operate by exploiting short-term and long-term correlations of speech signals. Line Spectral Frequency (LSF) representation of the short-term correlation is examined and various LSF derivations and quantisation procedures are presented. The variants of ABS-LPC are compared for their advantages and disadvantages to determine an algorithm suitable for in-depth analysis. The particular chosen variant, CELP, was pursued. A study on the importance of the long-term prediction, and the simplification of CELP without sacrificing speech quality is presented. The derived alternative approaches for the computation of the long-term predictor and the filter excitation have enabled the previously unpractical CELP algorithm to produce high communication quality speech at rates below 8Kbit/s, and yet remain implement able in real-time on a single chip. Refinements of the CELP algorithm followed in order to improve the coder towards higher speech quality at 4.8Kbit/s and below. This involved the examination of the weaknesses of the basic CELP algorithm, and alternative strategies to overcome these limitations are presented.

Computer prints have long been viewed as final products. All the work was traditionally completed on the computer then printed as final output, without alteration or adaptation. Unlike other forms of fine arts printing (photo or printmaking) there are no chemical alterations or multiple printing procedures. I have used this exploration to experiment with numerous approaches to digital printing. Several artists have inspired my work, both in approach and technique. Those artists include Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, and Man Ray. This creative project is both an experiment in creative printing techniques and the aesthetic creation of experimental works of digital art.The purpose of this project is to explore and experiment with techniques and practices that will push my own digital work to new levels, and open areas of further study for myself and other digital artists. / Department of Art

This dissertation is concerned with loss and abandonment, and together with the practical component, titled Restitution, forms part of a Master of Fine Art degree submission. Both loss and abandonment can take many forms, from the straightforward deterioration, departure or removal of objects to the more complex deterioration of memory, responsibility and dignity. It seems though, that the question, “What has been lost?” is one that is always asked once it is too late. The loss becomes irretrievable and one is left only with fragments and traces. In Chapter 1 issues of liminality and the precariousness of being between states is addressed. Dignity of the ‘other’, in this case the deceased pauper, is interrogated especially with reference to complicity, forensic investigation and the forensic aesthetic. Chapter 2 outlines photographic representation, with attention given to posthumous portraiture, the punctum and memory in the service of permanence and authenticity. Chapter 3 considers the ambition and purpose of the artist through a critique centred on contemporary photographic artist, Sally Mann. Throughout the thesis and exhibition, I am concerned with loss as it relates physically to objects. Metaphorically, I investigate loss and abandonment in relation to dignity and responsibility. In so doing I view death as being the ultimate form of loss, as there is physical loss of the body, as one part of the whole that makes up ‘the person’, as well as the psychological and emotional loss that attends the passing of life. The delayed burial of the deceased therefore is seen to be evidence of abandonment at its extreme. I end by positioning my conclusion around a stop animation series in which I dug a grave and buried a pauper at Mayfield cemetery.

Given a finite set V, a convexity, C, is a collection of subsets of V that contains both the empty set and the set V and is closed under intersections. The elements of C are called convex sets. We can define several different convexities on the vertex set of a graph. In particular, the digital convexity, originally proposed as a tool for processing digital images, is defined as follows: a subset S of V(G) is digitally convex if, for every vertex v in V(G), we have N[v] a subset of N[S] implies v in S. Or, in other words, each vertex v that is not in the digitally convex set S needs to have a private neighbour in the graph with respect to S. In this thesis, we focus on the generation and enumeration of digitally convex sets in several classes of graphs. We establish upper bounds on the number of digitally convex sets of 2-trees, k-trees and simple clique 2-trees, as well as conjecturing a lower bound on the number of digitally convex sets of 2-trees and a generalization to k-trees. For other classes of graphs, including powers of cycles and paths, and Cartesian products of complete graphs and of paths, we enumerate the digitally convex sets using recurrence relations. Finally, we enumerate the digitally convex sets of block graphs in terms of the number of blocks in the graph, rather than in terms of the order of the graph. / Graduate

This dissertation examines the culture and climate of disabled people and the disability community within society and the engineering field and the experience of disabled students in higher education. The theoretical lenses utilized is the Technology Acceptance Model which emphasizes the importance of end user's perspectives, and the Social Model of Disability which sees the world and society as disabling rather than the imposition of disability on a person. The perception of disability in engineering is examined through the use of a systematic literature review within Chapter 3 by comparing general engineering academic literature and engineering education literature housed within the American Society of Engineering Education national database. Chapter 4 of this dissertation quantitatively examines the digital accessibility landscape of learning management systems utilized within engineering and engineering related courses that first and second year engineering students are required to take. Finally, Chapter 5 utilized a mixed method approach to examine disabled and non-disabled engineering students' perspectives on the usability of their Learning Management System within their engineering courses. The second part of this research study utilizes individual design interviews to have students redesign their Canvas experiences such that it minimizes digital accessibility barriers. Chapter 6 details tangible digital accessibility recommendations for developers, designers, and instructors/content managers. These recommendations are based on the results within the previous chapters of this dissertation. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation examines the culture and climate of disabled people and the disability community within society and the engineering field and the experience of disabled students in higher education. The research presented is understood by looking at disability as not a detriment to the individual and is imposed by society. Chapter 3 talks about how disabled people are and are not included within the engineering field. It compares a more general engineering academic literature with engineering education academic literature from American Society of Engineering Education national proceedings. The second study researches the accessibility of engineering and engineering related course websites from a higher education institution. This research shows the most common digital accessibility errors that are found along with the types of web pages that have the most accessibility errors. Finally, the third study researches the digital accessibility barriers encountered by disabled and nondisabled engineering students. These results are broken down by the specific disability that was disclosed by the participant. Chapter 6 details tangible digital accessibility recommendations for developers, designers, and instructors/content managers. These recommendations are based on the results within the previous chapters of this dissertation.

In online learning, little is known about the impact of mixed reality and its underlying socio-technological factors on social space perceived by learners. The term social space refers to a group's socio-emotional dynamics that structure the social relationships among its members. Drawing upon extant literature on mixed reality, interaction and social presence, this research proposes and validates a theoretical model that elucidates the influence of immersion on users’ social space experiences within digital environments across different mixed realities (i.e., augmented and virtual realities, and video conferencing). Interaction and social presence are identified as two key factors mediating this relationship. To test the proposed model, a survey involving 488 participants in higher education was conducted, and the effects were examined under three conditions: video conferencing, augmented-reality, and virtual-reality. The findings show that 1) an immersion perspective plays a significant role in educational technology, particularly for its role in facilitating social space among learners in higher education; 2) the impact of immersion on social space is entirely mediated by learners’ assessment of interactions and their perception of social presence in digitally facilitated learning environments; and 3) the influences of immersion on learners to experience a prosocial space vary across virtual reality, augmented reality, and video conferencing. VR environments offer the most pronounced sensation of social presence, while AR environments prove to be optimal for interacting in digitally facilitated learning environments. Out of these three conditions, VC environments were perceived the lowest for interaction, sensation of social presence, and the establishment of a communal atmosphere of collaboration in digitally mediated learning environments. These findings make valuable contributions to theory by providing insights into the influence of immersion and variability in mixed reality on learners’ perception of social space experiences. In this respect, this research expands the body of knowledge and research in both the information systems and education fields. Furthermore, this research offers valuable insights for educators to make informed decisions regarding the selection and adoption of augmented and virtual reality technologies, as well as devising digital strategies in higher education. It contributes to our understanding of effective implementation of mixed reality in this context. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Yes / The race against ‘Digital Darwinism’ in public sector had caused failures of several high profile large-scale Digitally Enabled Service Transformation (DEST) projects. While technical and managerial issues are often emphasised as the factors underpinning such failures, the vital role of key actors and the interplay between these actors and structures is underplayed when examining the causes of DEST failure. To enable a richer understanding of DEST, this paper proposes an analytical lens combining Institutional Theory (IT) and Structuration Theory (ST) to explore the case of ‘Universal Credit’, a very large and ambitious DEST project in the UK. Analysis reveals that the institutional actors and structures played significant roles in the transformation process. Albeit governing the actors’ actions, institutional structures are shaped through actions that are influenced by knowledge, power and norms. Hence, recognising and addressing these subliminal factors are critical to promote actions that can facilitate DEST success. The contributions of this case study are two-folds. Theoretically, it provides a distinctive conceptual approach to study DEST; and practically, the lessons help in signposting better managerial practices.

No / "Enabling Multichannel Participation through ICT Adaptations for Participatory Budgeting ICT-enabled platform” (EMPATIA) is a multi-channel participatory budgeting (PB) platform that represents a significant social innovation process of democratic deliberation and decision-making, involving citizens within complex public-institution structures. EMPATIA was targeted to deliver socio-economic and political benefits, such as enhancing citizen-government engagement, increasing public value through PB process, promoting ‘inclusiveness’ among the marginalized groups of citizens, and impeding political discontent that underpins distrust and skepticism towards the government. The attainment of these benefits will be driven by the EMPATIA's performance. Hence, a performance measurement tools is needed to enable assessment of EMPATIA, empirically. With an aim to propose an integrated performance evaluation metrics, this study presents a set of assessment criteria for multi-channel digitally enabled PB service platforms – especially EMPATIA. Findings from a qualitative, multi-strategies research approach suggest that the metrics should include five key technical and non-technical performance indicators, to be used as basis for the development of future evaluation instruments. Of major signposts, the metrics would inform key performance aspects to be considered during the PB platform development, and evaluated to indicate the PB platform performance.

In 2018, most news articles are consumed online from a digitally native news outlet and it is therefore appropriate to examine the presence of linguistic sexism in the digitally native news site Buzzfeed News. The material is made up of 159 articles collected from Buzzfeed News. Selected features at the lexical and discourse levels are analysed using a quantitative method with qualitative elements. The selected features at the lexical level include generic pronouns and nouns, focused on the affix -man- and naming practices for females and males. At the discourse level, the selected features include how females and males are described in terms of their relationships, appearance and age-related words. Linguistic sexism is found to be expressed at both the lexical and discourse levels in the material. It is mainly expressed in naming practices, the use of relationship words and age-related words. / Dagens nyhetskonsument får, enligt studier, de flesta av sina nyheter från källor online och då främst från digitalt inhemska nyhetskällor, också känt som digitally native news outlets. Detta innebär att det därför är lämpligt att undersöka närvaron av språklig sexism i den digitally native news outlet Buzzfeed News. Materialet i studien består av 159 artiklar insamlade från Buzzfeed News. Utvalda språkliga markörer på ord- och diskursnivå är analyserade med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod med kvalitativa element. De utvalda markörerna på ordnivå inkluderar generiska pronomen och substantiv med fokus på affixet -man- och hur kvinnor och män namnges. De utvalda markörerna på diskursnivå som studeras inkluderarar hur kvinnor och män beskrivs vad gäller deras relationer till andra, utseende och åldersrelaterade ord. Språklig sexism finns uttryckt både på ord- och diskursnivå i materialet och det är huvudsakligen uttryckt i hur kvinnor och män namnges, användandet av relationsord och åldersrelaterade ord.

The connection between educational technology and critical pedagogy has not been greatly explored. This yearlong research study was conducted with pre-service teachers as they progressed through a teacher licensure program. Data collection included the use of focus groups, individual interviews and participant journals. In addition, this study explored the personal and technology identity of the participants. The results led to a greater understanding of how pre-service teachers view the connection between educational technology and critical pedagogy. / 10000-01-01