A common task for spoken dialogue systems (SDS) is to help users select a suitable option (e.g., flight, hotel, restaurant) from the set of options available. When the number of options is small, they can simply be presented sequentially. However, as the number of options increases, the system must have strategies for helping users browse the space of available options. In this thesis, I compare two approaches to information presentation in SDS: (1) the summarize and refine (SR) approach (Polifroni et al., 2003; Polifroni, 2008) in which the summaries are generated by clustering the options based on attributes that lead to the smallest number of clusters, and (2) the user-model based summarize and refine (UMSR) approach (Demberg, 2005; Demberg and Moore, 2006) which employs a user model to cluster options based on attributes that are relevant to the user and uses coherence markers (e.g., connectives, discourse cues, adverbials) to highlight the trade-offs among the presented items. Prior work has shown that users prefer approaches to information presentation that take the user’s preferences into account (e.g., Komatani et al., 2003;Walker et al., 2004; Demberg and Moore, 2006). However, due to the complexity of building a working end-to-end SDS, these studies employed an ”overhearer” evaluation methodology, in which participants read or listened to pre-prepared dialogues, thus limiting evaluation criteria to users’ perceptions (e.g., informativeness, overview of options, and so on). In order to examine whether users prefer presentations based on UMSR when they were actively interacting with a dialogue system, and to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the two approaches, I compared them in a Wizard-of-Oz experiment. I found that in terms of both task success and dialogue efficiency the UMSR approach was superior to the SR approach. In addition, I found that users also preferred presentations based on UMSR in the interactive mode. SDS are typically developed for situations in which the user’s hands and eyes are busy. I hypothesized that the benefits of pointing out relationships among options (i.e., trade-offs) in information presentation messages outweighs the costs of processing more complex sentences. To test this hypothesis, I performed two dual task experiments comparing the two approaches to information presentation in terms of their effect on cognitive load. Again, participants performed better with presentations based on the UMSR algorithm in terms of both dialogue efficiency and task success, and I found no detrimental effect on performance of the primary task. Finally, I hypothesized that one of the main reasons why UMSR is more efficient is because it uses coherence markers to highlight relations (e.g., trade-offs) between options and attributes. To test this hypothesis, I performed an eye-tracking experiment in which participants read presentations with and without these linguistic devices, and answered evaluation and comparison questions to measure differences in item recall. In addition, I used reading times to examine comprehension differences between the two information presentation strategies. I found that the linguistic devices used in UMSR indeed facilitated item recall, with no penalty in terms of comprehension cost. Thus, in this thesis I showed that an approach to information presentation that employs a user model and uses linguistic devices such as coherence markers to highlight trade-offs among the presented items improves information browsing. User studies demonstrated that this finding also applies to situations where users are performing another demanding task simultaneously.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study was designed to investigate student understanding of fundamental concepts in the engineering course, signals and systems. The aim of this study was threefold: (1) to identify faulty reasonings students invoke in their study of signals and systems; (2) to identify the reasoning resources that explain the origin of student faulty reasonings; and (3) to identify consistencies in students' invocation of reasoning resources across different signals and systems topics. Fifty-one undergraduate students majoring in aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology participated in this study. Seven oral problems were designed to test student understanding of central topics in the study of continuous-time linear, time-invariant systems. Participants were divided into seven cohorts and each cohort was interviewed on a different problem. Interview transcriptions were analyzed based from a complex systems perspectiv to identify the knowledge elements of reasoning resources that characterize student reasoning in signals and systems. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-02

Thesis (M.Arch)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1984. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / This thesis comprises a series of impressions of the Department of Architecture, garnered after a long absence from M.I.T. These impressions are meant as an intervention in the Department's current self-analysis and debate over the future of architectural education. Comments are drawn from the experience of several visits, from discussions with students and faculty, and from a reading of a number of the texts produced as part of the on-going process of curricular review. Additional commentary is provided on the author's sense of the portrait of the Department currently dominant in the profession generally. Finally, a number of suggestions as to possible futures for the Department are provided. / by Michael David Sorkin. / M.Arch

This is the first study done to ascertain which factors significantly determine graduation and non-graduation in the Diploma courses at Fiji Institute of Technology. It is a quantitative study and analyses of the effects of the variables sponsored/private, entry level, race, grade point average, course sex, age and rural/urban on graduation and non-graduation. The significance of this study lies in determining which improvements are necessary in order to increase the number of graduates and thus make more effective use of the physical and human resources. Resource utilisation gains added importance because of its national implications. The Diploma graduates are the main source of middle level technical manpower for Fiji; a developing country which since its independence in 1970, has made satisfactory social, political and economic progress. For the period under study, data analysis shows that the percentage of students graduating was 40.8. Furthermore, the major finding was that Government sponsored ethnic Indian male students with New Zealand University Entrance as entry level, belonging to the 24+ age group produced statistically significant results. It has been recommended that both the Fiji Institute of Technology and the Government of Fiji should increase and strengthen Government sponsorship of Diploma students. Fiji Institute of Technology in consultation with industry should work out effective strategies such as better supervision and the monitoring of sponsored students' progress throughout the course and provision of an increased variety of work experiences, in order to improve the weaker areas of practical experience during the course. Since this is the first such study, further research in areas such as the requirements of the Diploma curriculum and the availability of training facilities and equipment, is recommended.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1953. / Typewritten. Vita. Bibliography: leaves 90-91. Also available via the Internet.

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Vocational & Technology education is playing an extremely important role in the process of economic development of our country ; And the employed population of service industry has already exceeded 57% of total employed population.It shows that the economy of our country moves toward regarding service industry as the development structure continuously. Human resources quality is the important topic always , so as the demand of talents of service industry increase, how does the education system trains out available talents for the demand of employing unit, and avoid the unbalanced phenomenon between the supply and demand of talents ? This research adopt the case study of quality research, discussed to the mode of cooperative education l of Vocational & Technology Institute and the service industry by depth interview. In the Vocational & Technology Institute and service industry which have already gone on cooperative education, to collect their experience of implementation ,the way of deplay, and their difficulties . And,to provide the objective appraisal and the reference for self-criticism . This research tried to probed into the cooperative education of the service industry from two different views,one is from the side of school education,another is from the enterprise. We gather all information for analyzing results to catch main conclusions as follow: 1. Settle students position: It is necessary to settle students as the first-line supervisor enterprise. 2. Salaries and benefits: The capital-market can present the wages competitiveness of each enterprise , the level of the wages is not the only factor which students choose the enterprise. 3. Training : The school should focus on the continuity of course between practice experience and the theoretical foundation . And enterprises should rely mainly on entering training , basic unit training , management training , and can participate in school's planning , make students not divorced from industry . 4. Development : In performance appraisals , both sides can function as the annual coordination committee for common understanding , and understand that the training of the other side is required, then reach the real training goal. 5. Set up and maintain Cooperation: The initiative development for new cooperation target is important. And, keep the position of neutrality, fast handling problem upon the position of neutrality is the only effective means which maintains the relation of both sides. 6. Cooperative difficulty: The school should emphasize it¡¦s characteristic, in order to increase new students; Enterprise should set up company's advantage , attract talents to join; And the support of the CEO is particularly important inside enterprises.

Under the well developed economy and the medical, aged population brings up the related medical service demands. In the future, the service quality is a key to determines the life of long-term-care institutes. The purpose of this study to address the relationships among the product factors by which people make a decision. Besides, the construction of what degrees of people emphasis on them is also explored as well. Based on the above, ten nights were used to collect 1097 effective samples by making phone calls. After analysis by statistics software, the conclusions are as below, 1. Men pay more attention to opinions of medical professionals than women. In the inspections of reference group, opinions of relatives & friends (46%) hardly differ from them of medical professionals (47%). However, It was found that man intends to refer more of medical professionals than women, and women put more emphasis on them relatives and friends than men in the cross analysis of gender-reference group. 2. The better educated people put more emphasis on quality of institutes. We can expect the better educated people earn more incomes, and they usually can accept the more expenses which are set as 25 thousands for each month. And this also highlights they concern the service quality than other groups even they¡¦re charged more. 3. It determines the service quality whether an institute has medical professionals or not. This highlights the expectations and trust of people to an institute with medical professionals. Under the trends of diseases changes of the older, the daily care of them is not only included, but also long term tracing or inspection on diseases is necessary. 4. In the past affections on filial piety of China, people thought that distances between the institute and home will be a key factor to choose for visit and take over the older easier. However, People do not care how far from home, when an institute with good service quality can also provide better prices. Key words: Kaohsiung Area, Long Term Care Institute

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Philosophische Fakultät--Düsseldorf--Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 296-314. Index.