The performance of two-dimensional image processing systems has been well documented. In this thesis we study the performance of three-dimensional imaging systems. Such a study helps in understanding the fundamental restrictions of the propagation of three-dimensional (3-D) wavefields. The knowledge of the obtainable 3-D wave structures are useful for applications such as 3-D data acquisition, material processing, radiation therapy, radiative non-invasive surgery, 3-D microscopy and robotic vision. This thesis primarily deals with some investigations of 3-D optical transfer functions (OTFs). Specific emphasis has been made on the interpretation of 3-D wavefield distributions as an extension of 2-D defocused OTFs and also the interpretations of 3-D diffraction images from convolution relations. / Master of Science

This research identifies a current and future need in the realm of information systems development which has surfaced as a result of layered architectures and software reuse. An analysis methodology based upon two three-dimensional metamodels which correspond to the principal aspects of system architecture, structure and communication, is developed. Each metamodel can be viewed as having three planes which represent increasing abstractions away from actual source code. For example, with regard to the structure metamodel, the lowest plane corresponds to actual source code structures written in a specific computer language, the middle plane represents the general form of the structure available in that language, and the top plane represents the general form of structures available in any language. An object-oriented viewpoint was adopted in order to allow the expression of the relationships between entities found on a single plane of a metamodel, as well as the expression of the relationships between entities found on different planes. The metamodels provide a framework and methodology for discerning the structure and communication mechanisms employed in software source code as well as a framework from within which behavioral models can be developed.

This paper is comprised of research briefings from the MIT Sloan School of Management's Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). CISR's mission is to perform practical empirical research on how firms generate business value from IT.

Moshe Sidi, Adrian Segall. / Bibliography: leaf 8. / "Contract ONR/N00014-77-C-0532"

Moses Ma. / "December, 1982" / Bibliography: leaf [6] / "ONR/N00014-77-C-0532 (NR 041-519)

David J. Rossi. / "17 February 1983" / Bibliography: leaf [3]

This PhD attempts to study and learn about issues that influence Information Systems research development in Malaysia. An Action Case was conducted to learn about how to improve research in the author's institution in Malaysia. The action case included participatory activities to promote qualitative research in the author's institution and collecting information from qualitative interviews and discussions. This thesis is presented as a story from a first-person perspective and narrative of the researcher. The first person perspective was chosen because the author wanted to present his work from the his own perspective and for the reader to follow the research experience itself. The narrative also fits into many of the discussions in the thesis for action-based methods placing the researcher as the research tool and that the researcher is the 'hero' of the research story. This also ties into one of the main aspects of the thesis which is actuality. To improve IS research in Malaysia, those who conduct and administer research need to understand each other's actuality. The thesis suggests due to Malaysia's academic culture there are misunderstandings that cause IS research to be left behind in terms of research support. Despite the contextual difference of views among researchers and administrators, there are patterns of similarities that can be taken from government policies and university policies. The thesis proposes that by increasing understanding using these patterns and actuality, Malaysian IS research can be improved and developed further. The thesis proposes more Action Research in the future to improve this understanding. This thesis contributes by proposing theoretical aspects that discuss the issues related to IS research improvement. This thesis proposes the action case method as an approach for Malaysian-based IS research. And this thesis along with the author attempts to make a positive difference in improving IS research in the author's institution specifically, and Malaysia in general.

The Directorate of Extension and Engineering Services (DEES) in the Caprivi Region introduced the concept of Community Action Plan (CAP) in 2005 as a tool for implementing the Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSRE) approach. The Directorate’s main aim is to have functional Community Action Plans (CAP) in all communities in the Caprivi Region. Although CAP is a useful tool for implementing the FSRE approach in rural communities, not every stakeholder perceives it to be useful. Therefore the purpose of this study is to ascertain the usefulness of Community Action Plans as a strategy to support a bottom up extension approach. Three groups in the Caprivi Region, namely, Extension Staff, Mubiza Community and the Bukalo Community were selected to determine their knowledge and perception of CAP. The Mubiza community implements a Community Action Plan while Bukalo community does not implement a Community Action Plan. Two structured questionnaires were administered to a total of 95 respondents. Of these respondents, twenty two (22) were Extension staff, thirty seven (37) were from the Mubiza community and thirty six (36) were from the Bukalo community. There were no significant differences occurring between the two communities with regard to independent variables such as gender, age and education level. However, in respect of variables such as contact with extension staff and attendance of extension meetings there were differences. Clearly Mubiza community respondents had more contact and they attended meetings more often than respondents from Bukalo community. The majority of the Mubiza respondents 91% indicated that they planned their development activities using CAP while 75% of the Bukalo respondents indicated that they have no plans. Respondents from the Mubiza community are significantly more satisfied (p= < 0.0001) with the support they received from the Agricultural Extension Technicians than those from Bukalo. The study reveals also that there is significantly more involvement and participation in community development by members of the Mubiza community. While 92% of respondents from Mubiza community indicated quite clearly that they received appropriate support from the community leaders, only 42% of the respondents from Bukalo community indicated receiving such appropriate support from their leaders. Both, Extension staff and the respondents from the Mubiza Community, perceived the CAP as an effective tool for implementing the FSRE approach and improving the livelihood of communities. Copyright / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

archives@tulane.edu / Public health finance is still a relatively young field and, as such, many questions have yet to be asked—and answered. To date, few have examine how specific revenue streams—alone or in combination—shape local health departments’ (LHD) resources and capacity to accomplish their public health missions. Given ongoing policy conversations about financing for public health, it’s important for researchers to rigorously examine the and the potential costs and benefits associated with different revenue sources. Introduction Chapter: The central thesis for the body of work encapsulated by this dissertation is simple: where money comes from matters. This chapter critically examines published evidence and theory linking public health financing mechanisms and their interactions to LHD operations, outputs, and even outcomes. The chapter also introduces situates the specific research questions addressed in this dissertation within a broader conceptual framework. Paper 1: The first paper examines the relationship between revenue diversification and revenue volatility among Washington State LHDs. Using fixed effects linear regression models and revenue data reported during 1998-2014 by all LHDs operating in Washington State, the paper finds little evidence to suggest revenue diversification is significantly associated with revenue volatility. Paper 2: The second paper evaluates whether available revenue sources differentially effected the scope of programs provided by Washington State LHDs between 2000 and 2011. Using two measures of program scope and both linear and non-linear fixed effects panel regression models, the paper finds that only funding received from federal Medicaid was consistently and significantly associated with both measures of program scope. Paper 3: The third paper examines changes in total LHD expenditures in Washington State between 2006 and 2013 following introduction of a new state funding program to support core public health services and infrastructure. Using a pre-post design regression model to evaluate changes in LHD expenditures, the paper finds overall spending among LHDs significantly increased with receipt of the new state funds in the first years of the program. However, those increases were not sustained over the longer term Conclusion Chapter: The final chapter reviews findings from the three papers and discusses their implications for public health policy, practice, finance, and research. / 1 / Abigail Hope Viall

Previous work by Fox has extended the vector space model of information retrieval and its implementation in the SMART system so different types of information about documents can be separately handled as multiple subvectors, each for a different concept type. We hypothesized that relevance of a document could be best predicted if proper coefficients are obtained to reflect the importance of the query-document similarity for each subvector when computing an overall similarity value. Two different research collections, CACM and ISI, each split into halves, were used to generate data for the regression studies to obtain coefficients. Most of the variance in relevance could be accounted for by only four of the subvectors (authors, Computing Review descriptors, links, and terms) for the CACM1 collection. In the ISI1 collection, two of the vectors (terms and cocitations) accounted for most of the variance. Log transformed data and samples of the records gave the best RSQ's; .6654 was the highest RSQ (binary relevance). The regression runs provided coefficients which were used in subsequent feedback runs in SMART. Having ranked relevance did not improve the regression model over binary relevance. The coefficients in the feedback runs with SMART proved to be of limited usefulness since improvements in precision were in the 1-5% range. Although log data and samples of the records gave the best RSQ's, coefficients from log values of all data improved precision the most. The findings of this study support previous work of Fox, that additional information improves retrieval. Regression coefficients improved precision slightly when used as subvector weights. Log transforming the data values for the concept types modestly helped both the regression analyses and the retrieval in SMART. / M.C.S.