No description available.

The work presented in this thesis concerns the recognition of isolated words using a pattern matching approach. In such a system, an unknown speech utterance, which is to be identified, is transformed into a pattern of characteristic features. These features are then compared with a set of pre-stored reference patterns that were generated from the vocabulary words. The unknown word is identified as that vocabulary word for which the reference pattern gives the best match. One of the major difficul ties in the pattern comparison process is that speech patterns, obtained from the same word, exhibit non-linear temporal fluctuations and thus a high degree of redundancy. The initial part of this thesis considers various dynamic time warping techniques used for normalizing the temporal differences between speech patterns. Redundancy removal methods are also considered, and their effect on the recognition accuracy is assessed. Although the use of dynamic time warping algorithms provide considerable improvement in the accuracy of isolated word recognition schemes, the performance is ultimately limited by their poor ability to discriminate between acoustically similar words. Methods for enhancing the identification rate among acoustically similar words, by using common pattern features for similar sounding regions, are investigated. Pattern matching based, speaker independent systems, can only operate with a high recognition rate, by using multiple reference patterns for each of the words included in the vocabulary. These patterns are obtained from the utterances of a group of speakers. The use of multiple reference patterns, not only leads to a large increase in the memory requirements of the recognizer, but also an increase in the computational load. A recognition system is proposed in this thesis, which overcomes these difficulties by (i) employing vector quantization techniques to reduce the storage of reference patterns, and (ii) eliminating the need for dynamic time warping which reduces the computational complexity of the system. Finally, a method of identifying the acoustic structure of an utterance in terms of voiced, unvoiced, and silence segments by using fuzzy set theory is proposed. The acoustic structure is then employed to enhance the recognition accuracy of a conventional isolated word recognizer.

A number of studies have attempted to examine the writing processes of skilled and non-skilled native and non-native speakers of English. However, few studies have examined the writing processes of Arab university students, and none has been conducted on Libyan students' writing processes. This study examines the writing processes in L1 (Arabic) and L2 (English) of twelve Third-Year Libyan University Students (TYLUS), as they verbalised and produced written texts in both languages. The study investigates the process and product data separately to see if any relationship exists between an individual subject's process skill and product quality in either language. Observation, think-aloud protocols, interviews, questionnaires, and written products have been utilised to gather data in a triangulated case study. The composing sessions were audio-taped; the tapes were then transcribed, translated, and coded for analysis, along with the drafts and the final written compositions. The investigation into Ll and L2 writing processes was guided by one main and three sub-research questions. The main research question was: what writing processes do Libyan University students use while writing in Ll Arabic and in L2 English? Do they follow similar or different strategies? The first sub-research question was: how is the linguistic knowledge of the students reflected in Ll and L2 writing? The second was: does the Arabic rhetorical pattern affect the students' English writing? And lastly, how does instruction influence the writing processes and products of these students? The L1 and L2 protocol data yielded a number of interesting findings. Most subjects had a purpose in mind while composing their texts, but had little concern for audience. Individually, each subject displayed a unitary composing style across languages, tending to compose in the Ll and L2 similarly, with some variations in specific aspects. , As a group, the subjects' writing process differences were manifested in planning, time and content; writing time was shorter in L1 than in L2; reviewing in L1 focused on organisation and content, but on form, grammar and vocabulary in L2. Similarities were apparent in mental planning and reliance on internal resources as the subjects alternated between writing, repeating, and rehearsing. The L2 compositions gradually emerged with repetitions, pauses, and the use of L1, and seemed to be constrained by the subjects' linguistic knowledge and imperfect mastery of L2. This suggests that the composing knowledge and skills of Ll could potentially be transferred into L2 composing, and the subjects had employed many similar strategies deemed necessary for writing in both languages but were unable to apply accurately them in L2. In addition, the subjects used Ll to facilitate their composing in L2. They tended to comment and repeat portions of texts in words, rehearse in phrases, and engage in other composing activities at sentence level. Translated segments occurred at almost every level but mainly at phrase level. Finally, and interestingly, some subjects made more errors in L1 than in L2. A tentative composing process model showing the locations in which LI was used during the writing process is proposed. Implications for EFL, particularly. for Libyan University students, and suggestions for further research are also provided.

This thesis presents a new and powerful approach to the development of a general purpose machine vision system. The approach is inspired from anatomical considerations of the primate's vision system. The geometrical arrangement of cones on a primate's retina can be described in terms of a hexagonal grid. The importance of the hexagonal grid is that it possesses special computational features that are pertinent to the vision process. The fundamental thrust of this thesis emanates from the observation that this hexagonal grid can be described in terms of the mathematical object known as a Euclidean ring. The Euclidean ring is employed to generate an algebra of linear transformations which are appropriate for the processing of multidimensional vision data. A parallel autonomous segmentation algorithm for multidimensional vision data is described. The algebra and segmentation algorithm are implemented on a network of transputers. The implementation is discussed in the context of the outline of a general purpose machine vision system's design.

No description available.

CD-ROM in back pocket comprises experimental results and executables. / System requirements: Unix workstation or PC with Windows 95 or Windows NT. The reports output by EPrep. can be viewed with a web browser such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer through the top level HTML page. / Bibliography: p. 251-261. / Computer data and programs / HTML reports, data and figures generated by EPrep / xxiv, 261 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. + 1 computer laser optical disk ; 4 3/4". / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Proposes a framework for automatic feature extraction called generalised pre-processor. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 1999

Typescript (photocopy) / iv, 227 leaves, [35] leaves of plates : ill ; 31 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1982

CD-ROM in back pocket comprises experimental results and executables. / System requirements: Unix workstation or PC with Windows 95 or Windows NT. The reports output by EPrep. can be viewed with a web browser such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer through the top level HTML page. / Bibliography: p. 251-261. / Computer data and programs / HTML reports, data and figures generated by EPrep / xxiv, 261 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. + 1 computer laser optical disk ; 4 3/4". / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Proposes a framework for automatic feature extraction called generalised pre-processor. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 1999

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 97-100)

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 1984. / Title from PDF t.p.