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ASSISTments is an online adaptive tutoring system with the ability to provide assistance to students in the form of hints and scaffolding. ASSISTments has many features to help students improve their knowledge. Researchers run studies in order to discover ways for students to learn better but ASSISTments is missing one major aspect for researchers: student level personalization. It is easy to create an assignment for a particular class or school but it would take much longer to create an assignment for each student and it would be difficult for the teacher to look through many assignment reports. One of the strongest code blocks in coding is the if-then; allowing the program to branch off to another set of code under certain circumstances. ASSISTments needed an if-then system in order for students to branch off to other parts of the assignment under certain circumstances. With this, researchers would be able to personalize assignments to give more help to lower knowledge students or allow students to get a choice of what kind of tutoring they would like to receive. With this idea in mind, the basic if-then structure was implemented into ASSISTments using problem or problem set correctness as the condition statement. Once the if-then system was created opportunities opened to create additional experiments and run studies in ASSISTments. The basic if-then was limited in using correctness only for its condition statement. This meant that a new if-then system would need to be implemented to include custom condition statements that allowed the researcher to have the assignment branch on any condition using all the information recorded in the assignment. While work was being done on the if-then system, research was being done and two papers were written on partial credit in ASSISTments. Partial credit was found out to be as accurate as knowledge tracing in determining student performance on the next problem. Once a partial credit algorithm was found, a study using if-then was analyzed. It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between students who were given a choice on their feedback and students who received no choice.

Com a popularidade e o crescimento das Redes Sociais Online, o interesse pelo entendimento de como seus usuários interagem entre si também tem crescido, configurando assim um cenário rico no qual são criadas oportunidades para melhorar o design de interfaces, compreender a organização de movimentos sociais, o marketing viral e a distribuição de conteúdos multimídia, dentre outros. Na investigação dessas oportunidades de pesquisa, um modelo de representação da atividade dos usuários amplamente empregado é baseado na construção de um grafo. Embora as atividades dos usuários em uma Rede Social Online sejam variadas, assim como as possibilidades de interação entre usuários, a construção de um grafo normalmente considera uma interação específica, que é então analisada a partir da interpretação de medidas baseadas em grafos ou de medidas estatísticas. Técnicas de mineração de dados podem ser empregadas de forma alternativa e complementar ao modelo baseado em grafos, possibilitando a extração e a avaliação de padrões das atividades de usuários. Entretanto, tanto na análise baseada em grafos quanto na utilização de técnicas de mineração de dados, a literatura reporta trabalhos em que são implicitamente representados elementos associados com a atividade dos usuários como ações executadas, mídias compartilhadas, aplicações e tipos de dispositivos utilizados. Nesse cenário, existe uma demanda por um modelo descritivo que permita a representação explícita dos elementos associados com as atividades dos usuários representação essa que possa ser utilizada na extração e na avaliação das interações entre usuários. Para atender essa demanda, nesta tese é apresentada uma técnica e um método para representar, extrair e avaliar interações entre usuários de Redes Sociais Online. São também reportados resultados de experimentos da aplicação da técnica e do método a partir de dados obtidos de uma Rede Social Online / The interest in understanding user interactions is increasing with the popularity of Online Social Networks. This scenario leads to rich opportunities to improve the design of interfaces, to understand the organization of social movements, to model the dynamics of viral marketing and to characterize the distribution of multimedia content, among others. In the investigation of these research opportunities, a widely used representation of users activities is based on graphs as underlying data models. Graph data models usually consider a specific interaction, which is analyzed based on the interpretation of statistical measures and graph-based measures. On the other hand, user activities and possibilities of interaction in social networks are multifaceted, so that singleinteraction graph-based approaches might prove to be unfeasible to properly model the problem. In order to deal with these limitations, data mining techniques may be employed as an alternative to graph-based modeling approaches, by enabling extraction and evaluation of users activities as patterns. However, both in the use of the model graph-based as in the use of data mining techniques, the literature reports an implicit representation of elements associated with the users activities such as executed actions, shared media, used applications and devices. In this scenario, there is a demand for a descriptive model which allows explicit representation of the elements associated with users activities - this representation can be used in the extraction and evaluation of interactions among users. To meet this demand, this thesis presents a technique and a method to represent, to extract and to evaluate interactions among users of Online Social Networks. Results of experimentation of applying the technique and method based on data obtained from an Online Social Network are also reported

Com a popularidade e o crescimento das Redes Sociais Online, o interesse pelo entendimento de como seus usuários interagem entre si também tem crescido, configurando assim um cenário rico no qual são criadas oportunidades para melhorar o design de interfaces, compreender a organização de movimentos sociais, o marketing viral e a distribuição de conteúdos multimídia, dentre outros. Na investigação dessas oportunidades de pesquisa, um modelo de representação da atividade dos usuários amplamente empregado é baseado na construção de um grafo. Embora as atividades dos usuários em uma Rede Social Online sejam variadas, assim como as possibilidades de interação entre usuários, a construção de um grafo normalmente considera uma interação específica, que é então analisada a partir da interpretação de medidas baseadas em grafos ou de medidas estatísticas. Técnicas de mineração de dados podem ser empregadas de forma alternativa e complementar ao modelo baseado em grafos, possibilitando a extração e a avaliação de padrões das atividades de usuários. Entretanto, tanto na análise baseada em grafos quanto na utilização de técnicas de mineração de dados, a literatura reporta trabalhos em que são implicitamente representados elementos associados com a atividade dos usuários como ações executadas, mídias compartilhadas, aplicações e tipos de dispositivos utilizados. Nesse cenário, existe uma demanda por um modelo descritivo que permita a representação explícita dos elementos associados com as atividades dos usuários representação essa que possa ser utilizada na extração e na avaliação das interações entre usuários. Para atender essa demanda, nesta tese é apresentada uma técnica e um método para representar, extrair e avaliar interações entre usuários de Redes Sociais Online. São também reportados resultados de experimentos da aplicação da técnica e do método a partir de dados obtidos de uma Rede Social Online / The interest in understanding user interactions is increasing with the popularity of Online Social Networks. This scenario leads to rich opportunities to improve the design of interfaces, to understand the organization of social movements, to model the dynamics of viral marketing and to characterize the distribution of multimedia content, among others. In the investigation of these research opportunities, a widely used representation of users activities is based on graphs as underlying data models. Graph data models usually consider a specific interaction, which is analyzed based on the interpretation of statistical measures and graph-based measures. On the other hand, user activities and possibilities of interaction in social networks are multifaceted, so that singleinteraction graph-based approaches might prove to be unfeasible to properly model the problem. In order to deal with these limitations, data mining techniques may be employed as an alternative to graph-based modeling approaches, by enabling extraction and evaluation of users activities as patterns. However, both in the use of the model graph-based as in the use of data mining techniques, the literature reports an implicit representation of elements associated with the users activities such as executed actions, shared media, used applications and devices. In this scenario, there is a demand for a descriptive model which allows explicit representation of the elements associated with users activities - this representation can be used in the extraction and evaluation of interactions among users. To meet this demand, this thesis presents a technique and a method to represent, to extract and to evaluate interactions among users of Online Social Networks. Results of experimentation of applying the technique and method based on data obtained from an Online Social Network are also reported

Different techniques are being implemented in modern communication networks to ensure that their coverage, capacity, and other user-experience requirements are always met. In this thesis, I consider multi-antenna techniques, energy harvesting, and the dense deployment of small cell base stations in a two-tiered wireless powered communication network (WPCN) where multi-antenna transmitters utilize a Harvest Then Transmit (HTT) protocol to coordinate wireless energy harvesting and information transmission with their associated users. To satisfy network throughput requirements at all user positions, I formulate multi-constraint optimization problems to maximize the minimum data rate at both tier and network levels, solving the resulting non-convex expressions with an algorithm which incorporates the Perron-Frobenius non-negative matrix theory for alternate parameter optimization. I also present a less complex solution methodology, compared the performance of both and provided interesting insights on my findings. / October 2016

With the advances in technology, the change of the healthcare environment, and the need for users, the use of computerized support systems or expert systems are able to cut down costs for unnecessary procedures, achieve higher levels of efficiency and productivity. Applied to the nursing department, it may provide good quality of care, decrease the time that nurses duplicate patient history, reduce nurses¡¦ burden and enhance the abilities to solve problems. The topic of this research mainly focused on the nursing department in the pediatric ward. I propose a framework for nursing knowledge management by using subjective data, objective data, assessment, and care plan (SOAP), which is used by the nursing staffs as a way of decision-making processes. The method is to collect subjective and objective data, read relevant clinical practice guidelines, make clinical judgments about patients¡¦ actual or potential problems and provide applicable nursing plans and interventions. The staffs review and make final decision to accept or reject these judgments, nursing plans and related interventions. If the staffs reject any judgment, nursing plan and intervention, the system should have inquiry-signs to ask physician and nursing staff. Then the staffs correct the inappropriateness. These clear and easy-to-follow processes help student nurses or beginning nurses cultivate their abilities to care and hope it can provide as a guide to nursing teaching and clinical patient care.

In classrooms and textbooks the “Director's Vision” is often identified as the unifying concept for the production, and my goal in returning to graduate school was to explore my own vision as a director. In my own practice as a director, I tend to “hear” the play in my head before visualizing it. From my interpretation of the text, to the staging of the performers, to my collaboration with design team, my approach to the production of theatre stems from a place of musicality. Seeking a Vision, Finding a Voice explores my creative journey as multi-disciplinary theatre artist through a series of case studies detailing my practice as a Director/ Sound Designer. It examines my evolving process, which often utilizes audio collage to shape the dramatic arc of a piece or scene, experiments with using music to inform character, emotion, and movement, and values the impulses of the cast and creative team as important collaborative resources. By detailing my process on three productions (as Director/ Sound Designer of the University of Central Florida's Theatre for Young Audience's Tour, Emily Freeman's And Then Came Tango, as the Assistant Director/ Dramaturg/ Sound Designer for UCF's production of Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz, and as the Director/ Sound Designer of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: A Parable, for Titusville Playhouse, Inc.), my process as director/designer is critically analyzed and reflected upon. Through my analysis, I explore the benefits and challenges of being a Director-who-Designs and a Designer-who-Directs, utilizing aural dramaturgy, collaboration, rhythm and emotion as essential tools in practicing theatre production. Seeking a Vision, Finding a Voice reflects on my practice through the lens of David Roesner's Musicality as a Paradigm for the Theatre: A Kind of Manifesto, analyzing the ways in which the 'notion of musicality' was exemplified in the preparation, performance, and perception of my work. This thesis examines the benefits and challenges of multidisciplinary artistry, pondering the merits and pitfalls of taking on multiple roles in each of my processes. It further explores the impact applying musicality to theatre practice can have on both actors and audiences and cherishes sound design as a valuable tool capable of enriching theatrical storytelling.

Les codes correcteurs d’erreurs Non-Binaires Low Density Parity Check (NB-LDPC) sont connus pour avoir de meilleure performance que les codes LDPC binaires. Toutefois, la complexité de décodage des codes non-binaires est bien supérieure à celle des codes binaires. L’objectif de cette thèse est de proposer de nouveaux algorithmes et de nouvelles architectures matérielles de code NB-LDPC pour le décodage des NBLDPC. La première contribution de cette thèse consiste à réduire la complexité du nœud de parité en triant en amont ses messages d’entrées. Ce tri initial permet de rendre certains états très improbables et le matériel requis pour les traiter peut tout simplement être supprimé. Cette suppression se traduit directement par une réduction de la complexité du décodeur NB-LDPC, et ce, sans affecter significativement les performances de décodage. Un modèle d’architecture, appelée "architecture hybride" qui combine deux algorithmes de l’état de l’art ("l’Extended Min Sum" et le "Syndrome Based") a été proposé afin d’exploiter au maximum le pré-tri. La thèse propose aussi de nouvelles méthodes pour traiter les nœuds de variable dans le contexte d’une architecture pré-tri. Différents exemples d’implémentations sont donnés pour des codes NB-LDPC sur GF(64) et GF(256). En particulier, une architecture très efficace de décodeur pour un code de rendement 5/6 sur GF(64) est présentée. Cette architecture se caractérise par une architecture de check node nœud de parité entièrement parallèle. Enfin, une problématique récurrente dans les architectures NB-LDPC, qui est la recherche des P minimums parmi une liste de taille Ns, est abordée. La thèse propose une architecture originale appelée first-then-second minimum pour une implantation efficace de cette tâche. / The Non-Binary Low Density Parity Check (NB-LDPC) codes constitutes an interesting category of error correction codes, and are well known to outperform their binary counterparts. However, their non-binary nature makes their decoding process of higher complexity. This PhD thesis aims at proposing new decoding algorithms for NB-LDPC codes that will be shaping the resultant hardware architectures expected to be of low complexity and high throughput rate. The first contribution of this thesis is to reduce the complexity of the Check Node (CN) by minimizing the number of messages being processed. This is done thanks to a pre-sorting process that sorts the messages intending to enter the CN based on their reliability values, where the less likely messages will be omitted and consequently their dedicated hardware part will be simply removed. This reliability-based sorting enabling the processing of only the highly reliable messages induces a high reduction of the hardware complexity of the NB-LDPC decoder. Clearly, this hardware reduction must come at no significant performance degradation. A new Hybrid architectural CN model (H-CN) combining two state-of-the-art algorithms - Forward-Backward CN (FB-CN) and Syndrome Based CN (SB-CN) - has been proposed. This hybrid model permits to effectively exploit the advantages of pre-sorting. This thesis proposes also new methods to perform the Variable Node (VN) processing in the context of pre-sorting-based architecture. Different examples of implementation of NB-LDPC codes defined over GF(64) and GF(256) are presented. For decoder to run faster, it must become parallel. From this perspective, we have proposed a new efficient parallel decoder architecture for a 5/6 rate NB-LDPC code defined over GF(64). This architecture is characterized by its fully parallel CN architecture receiving all the input messages in only one clock cycle. The proposed new methodology of parallel implementation of NB-LDPC decoders constitutes a new vein in the hardware conception of ultra-high throughput rate decoders. Finally, since the NB-LDPC decoders requires the implementation of a sorting function to extract P minimum values among a list of size Ns, a chapter is dedicated to this problematic where an original architecture called First-Then-Second-Extrema-Selection (FTSES) has been proposed.

Les structures internes de la syllabe et leur combinaison pour former des items lexicaux sont analysées à partir de la constitution d'une base de données informatisée contenant les lexiques de 16 langues découpés en syllabes. L'élaboration de typologies, la recherche de tendances et cooccurrences entre constituants syllabiques et entre syllabes consécutives d'une unité lexicale constituent la majeure partie de cette étude. Les résultats sont analysés à la lumière de travaux antérieurs pouvant fournir une base explicative des tendances, notamment ceux s'inscrivant dans le cadre d'une linguistique orientée substance, et plus particulièrement la théorie « Frame, then Content » (MacNeilage, 1998). Utilisant un paradigme expérimental original, nous montrons qu'il existe un corrélat perceptif de l'effet lexical Labial-Coronal. L'ensemble du travail apporte des éléments incontournables dans une perspective de modélisation de l'émergence des structures syllabiques et de la complexité des lexiques.

Now and Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1, published in 1984. This issue did not have a theme but focused on news from the Center of Appalachian Studies and Services and other news and creative works from Appalachian writers. / https://dc.etsu.edu/now-then/1000/thumbnail.jpg