It has long been recognised that everyday dictionaries are a potential source of lexical and world knowledge of the type required by many Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems. This research presents a semi-automated approach to the extraction of rich semantic relationships from dictionary definitions. The definitions are taken from the recently published "Cambridge International Dictionary of English" (CIDE). The thesis illustrates how many of the innovative features of CIDE can be exploited during the knowledge acquisition process. The approach introduced in this thesis uses the LOLITA NLP system to extract and represent semantic relationships, along with a human operator to resolve the different forms of ambiguity which exist within dictionary definitions. Such a strategy combines the strengths of both participants in the acquisition process: automated procedures provide consistency in the construction of complex and inter-related semantic relationships, while the human participant can use his or her knowledge to determine the correct interpretation of a definition. This semi-automated strategy eliminates the weakness of many existing approaches because it guarantees feasibility and correctness: feasibility is ensured by exploiting LOLITA's existing NLP capabilities so that humans with minimal linguistic training can resolve the ambiguities within dictionary definitions; and correctness is ensured because incorrectly interpreted definitions can be manually eliminated. The feasibility and correctness of the solution is supported by the results of an evaluation which is presented in detail in the thesis.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-57). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Computer Science, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-60).

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 96).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Computer Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-198). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11816

Inspired by the robustness and flexibility of biological systems, we are developing linguistic and programming tools to allow us to program spatial systems populated by vast numbers of unreliable components interconnected in unknown, irregular, and time-varying ways. We organize our computations around geometry, making the fact that our system is made up of discrete individuals implicit. Geometry allows us to specify requirements in terms of the behavior of the space occupied by the aggregate rather than the behavior of individuals, thereby decreasing complexity. So we describe the behavior of space explicitly, abstracting away the discrete nature of the components. As an example, we present the Amorphous Medium Language, which describes behavior in terms of homeostatic maintenance of constraints on nested regions of space.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Computer architecture and assembly language programming microprocessor execution are basic courses taught in every computer science department. Generally, however, students have difficulties in mastering many of the concepts in the courses, particularly students whose first language is not English. In addition to their difficulties in understanding the purpose of given instructions, students struggle to mentally visualize the data movement, control and processing operations. To address this problem, this research proposed a graphical visualization approach and investigated the visual illustrations of such concepts and instruction execution by implementing a graphical visualization simulator as a teaching aid. The graphical simulator developed during the course of this research was applied in a computer architecture course at Kabul University, Afghanistan. Results obtained from student evaluation of the simulator show significant levels of success using the visual simulation teaching aid. The results showed that improved learning was achieved, suggesting that this approach could be useful in other computer science departments in Afghanistan, and elsewhere where similar challenges are experienced. / South Africa