The use of computer technology to compare and analyze community college dissertations

A purpose of this research study was to demonstrate the practical linguistic study and evaluation of dissertations by using two examples of the latest technology, the microcomputer and optical scanner. That involved developing efficient methods for data entry plus creating computer algorithms appropriate for personal, linguistic studies. The goal was to develop a prototype investigation which demonstrated practical solutions for maximizing the linguistic potential of the dissertation data base. The mode of text entry was from a Dest PC Scan 1000 Optical Scanner. The function of the optical scanner was to copy the complete stack of educational dissertations from the Florida Atlantic University Library into an I.B.M. XT microcomputer. The optical scanner demonstrated its practical value by copying 15,900 pages of dissertation text directly into the microcomputer. A total of 199 dissertations or 72% of the entire stack of education dissertations (277) were successfully copied into the microcomputer's word processor where each dissertation was analyzed for a variety of syntax frequencies. The results of the study demonstrated the practical use of the optical scanner for data entry, the microcomputer for data and statistical analysis, and the availability of the college library as a natural setting for text studies. A supplemental benefit was the establishment of a computerized dissertation corpus which could be used for future research and study. The final step was to build a linguistic model of the differences in dissertation writing styles by creating 7 factors from 55 dependent variables through principal components factor analysis. The 7 factors (textual components) were then named and described on a hypothetical construct defined as a continuum from a conversational, interactional style to a formal, academic writing style. The 7 factors were then grouped through discriminant analysis to create discriminant functions for each of the 7 independent variables. The results indicated that a conversational, interactional writing style was associated with more recent dissertations (1972-1987), an increase in author's age, females, and the department of Curriculum and Instruction. A formal, academic writing style was associated with older dissertations (1972-1987), younger authors, males, and the department of Administration and Supervision. It was concluded that there were no significant differences in writing style due to subject matter (community college studies) compared to other subject matter. It was also concluded that there were no significant differences in writing style due to the location of dissertation origin (Florida Atlantic University, University of Central Florida, Florida International University).

Hospitality Information Systems: Intuitive, Object-Oriented, and Wireless Technology

Automated information system design and implementation is one of the fastest changing aspects of the hospitality industry. During the past several years nothing has increased the professionalism or improved the productivity within the industry more than the application of computer technology. Intuitive software applications, deemed the first step toward making computers more people-literate, object-oriented programming, intended to more accurately model reality, and wireless communications are expected to play a significant role in future technological advancement.

Near Term Computer Management Strategy For Hospitality Managers and Computer System Vendors

In his dialogue - Near Term Computer Management Strategy For Hospitality Managers and Computer System Vendors - by William O'Brien, Associate Professor, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Associate Professor O’Brien initially states: “The computer revolution has only just begun. Rapid improvement in hardware will continue into the foreseeable future; over the last five years it has set the stage for more significant improvements in software technology still to come. John Naisbitt's information electronics economy¹ based on the creation and distribution of information has already arrived and as computer devices improve, hospitality managers will increasingly do at least a portion of their work with software tools.” At the time of this writing Assistant Professor O’Brien will have you know, contrary to what some people might think, the computer revolution is not over, it’s just beginning; it’s just an embryo. Computer technology will only continue to develop and expand, says O’Brien with citation. “A complacent few of us who feel “we have survived the computer revolution” will miss opportunities as a new wave of technology moves through the hospitality industry,” says ‘Professor O’Brien. “Both managers who buy technology and vendors who sell it can profit from strategy based on understanding the wave of technological innovation,” is his informed opinion. Property managers who embrace rather than eschew innovation, in this case computer technology, will benefit greatly from this new science in hospitality management, O’Brien says. “The manager who is not alert to or misunderstands the nature of this wave of innovation will be the constant victim of technology,” he advises. On the vendor side of the equation, O’Brien observes, “Computer-wise hospitality managers want systems which are easier and more profitable to operate. Some view their own industry as being somewhat behind the times… They plan to pay significantly less for better computer devices. Their high expectations are fed by vendor marketing efforts…” he says. O’Brien warns against taking a gamble on a risky computer system by falling victim to un-substantiated claims and pie-in-the-sky promises. He recommends affiliating with turn-key vendors who provide hardware, software, and training, or soliciting the help of large mainstream vendors such as IBM, NCR, or Apple. Many experts agree that the computer revolution has merely and genuinely morphed into the software revolution, informs O’Brien; “…recognizing that a computer is nothing but a box in which programs run.” Yes, some of the empirical data in this article is dated by now, but the core philosophy of advancing technology, and properties continually tapping current knowledge is sound.

Dynamic image precompensation for improving visual performance of computer users with ocular aberrations

With the progress of computer technology, computers are expected to be more intelligent in the interaction with humans, presenting information according to the user's psychological and physiological characteristics. However, computer users with visual problems may encounter difficulties on the perception of icons, menus, and other graphical information displayed on the screen, limiting the efficiency of their interaction with computers. In this dissertation, a personalized and dynamic image precompensation method was developed to improve the visual performance of the computer users with ocular aberrations. The precompensation was applied on the graphical targets before presenting them on the screen, aiming to counteract the visual blurring caused by the ocular aberration of the user's eye. A complete and systematic modeling approach to describe the retinal image formation of the computer user was presented, taking advantage of modeling tools, such as Zernike polynomials, wavefront aberration, Point Spread Function and Modulation Transfer Function. The ocular aberration of the computer user was originally measured by a wavefront aberrometer, as a reference for the precompensation model. The dynamic precompensation was generated based on the resized aberration, with the real-time pupil diameter monitored. The potential visual benefit of the dynamic precompensation method was explored through software simulation, with the aberration data from a real human subject. An "artificial eye'' experiment was conducted by simulating the human eye with a high-definition camera, providing objective evaluation to the image quality after precompensation. In addition, an empirical evaluation with 20 human participants was also designed and implemented, involving image recognition tests performed under a more realistic viewing environment of computer use. The statistical analysis results of the empirical experiment confirmed the effectiveness of the dynamic precompensation method, by showing significant improvement on the recognition accuracy. The merit and necessity of the dynamic precompensation were also substantiated by comparing it with the static precompensation. The visual benefit of the dynamic precompensation was further confirmed by the subjective assessments collected from the evaluation participants.

Dynamic Image Precompensation for Improving Visual Performance of Computer Users with Ocular Aberrations

With the progress of computer technology, computers are expected to be more intelligent in the interaction with humans, presenting information according to the user's psychological and physiological characteristics. However, computer users with visual problems may encounter difficulties on the perception of icons, menus, and other graphical information displayed on the screen, limiting the efficiency of their interaction with computers. In this dissertation, a personalized and dynamic image precompensation method was developed to improve the visual performance of the computer users with ocular aberrations. The precompensation was applied on the graphical targets before presenting them on the screen, aiming to counteract the visual blurring caused by the ocular aberration of the user's eye. A complete and systematic modeling approach to describe the retinal image formation of the computer user was presented, taking advantage of modeling tools, such as Zernike polynomials, wavefront aberration, Point Spread Function and Modulation Transfer Function. The ocular aberration of the computer user was originally measured by a wavefront aberrometer, as a reference for the precompensation model. The dynamic precompensation was generated based on the resized aberration, with the real-time pupil diameter monitored. The potential visual benefit of the dynamic precompensation method was explored through software simulation, with the aberration data from a real human subject. An "artificial eye'' experiment was conducted by simulating the human eye with a high-definition camera, providing objective evaluation to the image quality after precompensation. In addition, an empirical evaluation with 20 human participants was also designed and implemented, involving image recognition tests performed under a more realistic viewing environment of computer use. The statistical analysis results of the empirical experiment confirmed the effectiveness of the dynamic precompensation method, by showing significant improvement on the recognition accuracy. The merit and necessity of the dynamic precompensation were also substantiated by comparing it with the static precompensation. The visual benefit of the dynamic precompensation was further confirmed by the subjective assessments collected from the evaluation participants.

Power and thermal aware scheduling for real-time computing systems

Over the past few decades, we have been enjoying tremendous benefits thanks to the revolutionary advancement of computing systems, driven mainly by the remarkable semiconductor technology scaling and the increasingly complicated processor architecture. However, the exponentially increased transistor density has directly led to exponentially increased power consumption and dramatically elevated system temperature, which not only adversely impacts the system's cost, performance and reliability, but also increases the leakage and thus the overall power consumption. Today, the power and thermal issues have posed enormous challenges and threaten to slow down the continuous evolvement of computer technology. Effective power/thermal-aware design techniques are urgently demanded, at all design abstraction levels, from the circuit-level, the logic-level, to the architectural-level and the system-level. ^ In this dissertation, we present our research efforts to employ real-time scheduling techniques to solve the resource-constrained power/thermal-aware, design-optimization problems. In our research, we developed a set of simple yet accurate system-level models to capture the processor's thermal dynamic as well as the interdependency of leakage power consumption, temperature, and supply voltage. Based on these models, we investigated the fundamental principles in power/thermal-aware scheduling, and developed real-time scheduling techniques targeting at a variety of design objectives, including peak temperature minimization, overall energy reduction, and performance maximization. ^ The novelty of this work is that we integrate the cutting-edge research on power and thermal at the circuit and architectural-level into a set of accurate yet simplified system-level models, and are able to conduct system-level analysis and design based on these models. The theoretical study in this work serves as a solid foundation for the guidance of the power/thermal-aware scheduling algorithms development in practical computing systems.^

Evaluating and Selecting a Property Management System

In his study - Evaluating and Selecting a Property Management System - by Galen Collins, Assistant Professor, School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Northern Arizona University, Assistant Professor Collins states briefly at the outset: “Computerizing a property requires a game plan. Many have selected a Property Management System without much forethought and have been unhappy with the final results. The author discusses the major factors that must be taken into consideration in the selection of a PMS, based on his personal experience.” Although, this article was written in the year 1988 and some information contained may be dated, there are many salient points to consider. “Technological advances have encouraged many hospitality operators to rethink how information should be processed, stored, retrieved, and analyzed,” offers Collins. “Research has led to the implementation of various cost-effective applications addressing almost every phase of operations,” he says in introducing the computer technology germane to many PMS functions. Professor Collins talks about the Request for Proposal, its conditions and its relevance in negotiating a PMS system. The author also wants the system buyer to be aware [not necessarily beware] of vendor recommendations, and not to rely solely on them. Exercising forethought will help in avoiding the drawback of purchasing an inadequate PMS system. Remember, the vendor is there first and foremost to sell you a system. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the adjectives unreliable and unethical are on the table, but do be advised. Professor Collins presents a graphic outline for the Weighted Average Approach to Scoring Vendor Evaluations. Among the elements to be considered in evaluating a PMS system, and there are several analyzed in this essay, Professor Collins advises that a perspective buyer not overlook the service factor when choosing a PMS system. Service is an important element to contemplate. “In a hotel environment, the special emphasis should be on service. System downtime can be costly and aggravating and will happen periodically,” Collins warns. Professor Collins also examines the topic of PMS system environment; of which the importance of such a factor should not be underestimated. “The design of the computer system should be based on the physical layout of the property and the projected workloads. The heart of the system, housed in a protected, isolated area, can support work stations strategically located throughout the property,” Professor Collins provides. A Property Profile Description is outlined in Table 1. The author would also point out that ease-of-operation is another significant factor to think about. “A user-friendly software package allows the user to easily move through the program without encountering frustrating obstacles,” says Collins. “Programs that require users to memorize abstract abbreviations, codes, and information to carry out standard routines should be avoided,” he counsels.

The relationship between student characteristics, computer literacy,technology acceptance, and distance education student satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the characteristics of distance education students, their computer literacy and technology acceptance and distance education course satisfaction. The theoretical framework for this study will apply Rogers and Havelock's Innovation, Diffusion & Utilization theories to distance education. It is hypothesized that technology acceptance and computer competency will influence the student course satisfaction and explain the decision to adopt or reject distance education curriculum and technology. Distance education delivery, Institutional Support, Convenience, Interactivity and five distance education technologies were studied. The data were collected by a survey questionnaire sent to four Florida universities. Three hundred and nineteen and students returned the questionnaire. A factor and regression analysis on three measure of satisfaction revealed significant difference between the three main factors related to the overall satisfaction of distance education students and their adoption of distance education technology as medium of learning. Computer literacy is significantly related to greater overall student satisfaction. However, when competing with other factors such as delivery, support, interactivity, and convenience, computer literacy is not significant. Results indicate that age and status are the only two student characteristics to be significant. Distance education technology acceptance is positively related to higher overall satisfaction. Innovativeness is also positively related to student overall satisfaction. Finally, the technology used relates positively to greater satisfaction levels within the educational experience. Additional research questions were investigated and provided insights into the innovation decision process.

An assessment of computer usage within the Bahamian public school system and recommended guidelines towards the development of a strategic national computer plan

Computers have dramatically changed the way we live, conduct business, and deliver education. They have infiltrated the Bahamian public school system to the extent that many educators now feel the need for a national plan. The development of such a plan is a challenging undertaking, especially in developing countries where physical, financial, and human resources are scarce. This study assessed the situation with regard to computers within the Bahamian public school system, and provided recommended guidelines to the Bahamian government based on the results of a survey, the body of knowledge about trends in computer usage in schools, and the country's needs. ^ This was a descriptive study for which an extensive review of literature in areas of computer hardware, software, teacher training, research, curriculum, support services and local context variables was undertaken. One objective of the study was to establish what should or could be relative to the state-of-the-art in educational computing. A survey was conducted involving 201 teachers and 51 school administrators from 60 randomly selected Bahamian public schools. A random stratified cluster sampling technique was used. ^ This study used both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Quantitative methods were used to summarize the data about numbers and types of computers, categories of software available, peripheral equipment, and related topics through the use of forced-choice questions in a survey instrument. Results of these were displayed in tables and charts. Qualitative methods, data synthesis and content analysis, were used to analyze the non-numeric data obtained from open-ended questions on teachers' and school administrators' questionnaires, such as those regarding teachers' perceptions and attitudes about computers and their use in classrooms. Also, interpretative methodologies were used to analyze the qualitative results of several interviews conducted with senior public school system's officials. Content analysis was used to gather data from the literature on topics pertaining to the study. ^ Based on the literature review and the data gathered for this study a number of recommendations are presented. These recommendations may be used by the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to establish policies with regard to the use of computers within the public school system. ^

The use of a computer graphic organizer for persuasive composition writing by Hispanic students with specific learning disabilities

Many culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) struggle with the writing process. Particularly, they have difficulties developing and expanding ideas, organizing and elaborating sentences, and revising and editing their compositions (Graham, Harris, & Larsen, 2001; Myles, 2002). Computer graphic organizers offer a possible solution to assist them in their writing. This study investigated the effects of a computer graphic organizer on the persuasive writing compositions of Hispanic middle school students with SLD. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to examine its effects on six dependent variables: number of arguments and supporting details, number and percentage of transferred arguments and supporting details, planning time, writing fluency, syntactical maturity (measured by T-units, the shortest grammatical sentence without fragments), and overall organization. Data were collected and analyzed throughout baseline and intervention. Participants were taught persuasive writing and the writing process prior to baseline. During baseline, participants were given a prompt and asked to use paper and pencil to plan their compositions. A computer was used for typing and editing. Intervention required participants to use a computer graphic organizer for planning and then a computer for typing and editing. The planning sheets and written composition were printed and analyzed daily along with the time each participant spent on planning. The use of computer graphic organizers had a positive effect on the planning and persuasive writing compositions. Increases were noted in the number of supporting details planned, percentage of supporting details transferred, planning time, writing fluency, syntactical maturity in number of T-units, and overall organization of the composition. Minimal to negligible increases were noted in the mean number of arguments planned and written. Varying effects were noted in the percent of transferred arguments and there was a decrease in the T-unit mean length. This study extends the limited literature on the effects of computer graphic organizers as a prewriting strategy for Hispanic students with SLD. In order to fully gauge the potential of this intervention, future research should investigate the use of different features of computer graphic organizer programs, its effects with other writing genres, and different populations.

Design of an automated book reader as an assistive technology tool for blind persons

This dissertation introduces a novel automated book reader as an assistive technology tool for persons with blindness. The literature shows extensive work in the area of optical character recognition, but the current methodologies available for the automated reading of books or bound volumes remain inadequate and are severely constrained during document scanning or image acquisition processes. The goal of the book reader design is to automate and simplify the task of reading a book while providing a user-friendly environment with a realistic but affordable system design. This design responds to the main concerns of (a) providing a method of image acquisition that maintains the integrity of the source (b) overcoming optical character recognition errors created by inherent imaging issues such as curvature effects and barrel distortion, and (c) determining a suitable method for accurate recognition of characters that yields an interface with the ability to read from any open book with a high reading accuracy nearing 98%. This research endeavor focuses in its initial aim on the development of an assistive technology tool to help persons with blindness in the reading of books and other bound volumes. But its secondary and broader aim is to also find in this design the perfect platform for the digitization process of bound documentation in line with the mission of the Open Content Alliance (OCA), a nonprofit Alliance at making reading materials available in digital form. The theoretical perspective of this research relates to the mathematical developments that are made in order to resolve both the inherent distortions due to the properties of the camera lens and the anticipated distortions of the changing page curvature as one leafs through the book. This is evidenced by the significant increase of the recognition rate of characters and a high accuracy read-out through text to speech processing. This reasonably priced interface with its high performance results and its compatibility to any computer or laptop through universal serial bus connectors extends greatly the prospects for universal accessibility to documentation.

The use of computer graphic organizers for narrative writing by elementary school students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Writing is an academic skill critical to students in today's schools as it serves as a predominant means for demonstrating knowledge during school years (Graham, 2008). However, for many students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), learning to write is a challenging, complex process (Lane, Graham, Harris, & Weisenbach, 2006). Students SLD have substantial writing challenges related to the nature of their disability (Mayes & Calhoun, 2005). ^ This study investigated the effects of computer graphic organizer software on the narrative writing compositions of four, fourth- and fifth-grade, elementary-level boys with SLD. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to explore the effects of the computer graphic organizer software on four dependent variables: total number of words, total planning time, number of common story elements, and overall organization. ^ Prior to baseline, participants were taught the fundamentals of narrative writing. Throughout baseline and intervention, participants were read a narrative writing prompt and were allowed up to 10 minutes to plan their writing, followed by 15 minutes for writing, and 5 minutes of editing. During baseline, all planning was done using paper and pencil. During intervention, planning was done on the computer using a graphic organizer developed from the software program Kidspiration 3.0 (2011). All compositions were written and editing was done using paper and pencil during baseline and intervention. ^ The results of this study indicated that to varying degrees computer graphic organizers had a positive effect on the narrative writing abilities of elementary aged students with SLD. Participants wrote more words (from 54.74 to 96.60 more), planned for longer periods of time (from 4.50 to 9.50 more minutes), and included more story elements in their compositions (from 2.00 to 5.10 more out of a possible 6). There were nominal to no improvements in overall organization across the 4 participants. ^ The results suggest that teachers of students with SLD should considering use computer graphic organizers in their narrative writing instruction, perhaps in conjunction with remedial writing strategies. Future investigations can include other types of writing genres, other stages of writing, participants with varied demographics and their use combined with remedial writing instruction. ^

Practical dynamic thermal management on Intel desktop computer

Fueled by increasing human appetite for high computing performance, semiconductor technology has now marched into the deep sub-micron era. As transistor size keeps shrinking, more and more transistors are integrated into a single chip. This has increased tremendously the power consumption and heat generation of IC chips. The rapidly growing heat dissipation greatly increases the packaging/cooling costs, and adversely affects the performance and reliability of a computing system. In addition, it also reduces the processor's life span and may even crash the entire computing system. Therefore, dynamic thermal management (DTM) is becoming a critical problem in modern computer system design. Extensive theoretical research has been conducted to study the DTM problem. However, most of them are based on theoretically idealized assumptions or simplified models. While these models and assumptions help to greatly simplify a complex problem and make it theoretically manageable, practical computer systems and applications must deal with many practical factors and details beyond these models or assumptions. The goal of our research was to develop a test platform that can be used to validate theoretical results on DTM under well-controlled conditions, to identify the limitations of existing theoretical results, and also to develop new and practical DTM techniques. This dissertation details the background and our research efforts in this endeavor. Specifically, in our research, we first developed a customized test platform based on an Intel desktop. We then tested a number of related theoretical works and examined their limitations under the practical hardware environment. With these limitations in mind, we developed a new reactive thermal management algorithm for single-core computing systems to optimize the throughput under a peak temperature constraint. We further extended our research to a multicore platform and developed an effective proactive DTM technique for throughput maximization on multicore processor based on task migration and dynamic voltage frequency scaling technique. The significance of our research lies in the fact that our research complements the current extensive theoretical research in dealing with increasingly critical thermal problems and enabling the continuous evolution of high performance computing systems.

Technology Integration and School Leadership

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought many significant changes to American schools including accessibility to technology. Through an extensive literature review of the relationship between technology leadership and student achievement, five major themes emerged from data that support the need for more effective computer-based education in schools.

Automating Hospitality Information: Network Technology and Systems Management

The local area network (LAN) interconnecting computer systems and soft- ware can make a significant contribution to the hospitality industry. The author discusses the advantages and disadvantages of such systems.