Procedures as a Representation for Data in a Computer Program for Understanding Natural Language

This paper describes a system for the computer understanding of English. The system answers questions, executes commands, and accepts information in normal English dialog. It uses semantic information and context to understand discourse and to disambiguate sentences. It combines a complete syntactic analysis of each sentence with a "heuristic understander" which uses different kinds of information about a sentence, other parts of the discourse, and general information about the world in deciding what the sentence means. It is based on the belief that a computer cannot deal reasonably with language unless it can "understand" the subject it is discussing. The program is given a detailed model of the knowledge needed by a simple robot having only a hand and an eye. We can give it instructions to manipulate toy objects, interrogate it about the scene, and give it information it will use in deduction. In addition to knowing the properties of toy objects, the program has a simple model of its own mentality. It can remember and discuss its plans and actions as well as carry them out. It enters into a dialog with a person, responding to English sentences with actions and English replies, and asking for clarification when its heuristic programs cannot understand a sentence through use of context and physical knowledge.

ADAM: A Decentralized Parallel Computer Architecture Featuring Fast Thread and Data Migration and a Uniform Hardware Abstraction

The furious pace of Moore's Law is driving computer architecture into a realm where the the speed of light is the dominant factor in system latencies. The number of clock cycles to span a chip are increasing, while the number of bits that can be accessed within a clock cycle is decreasing. Hence, it is becoming more difficult to hide latency. One alternative solution is to reduce latency by migrating threads and data, but the overhead of existing implementations has previously made migration an unserviceable solution so far. I present an architecture, implementation, and mechanisms that reduces the overhead of migration to the point where migration is a viable supplement to other latency hiding mechanisms, such as multithreading. The architecture is abstract, and presents programmers with a simple, uniform fine-grained multithreaded parallel programming model with implicit memory management. In other words, the spatial nature and implementation details (such as the number of processors) of a parallel machine are entirely hidden from the programmer. Compiler writers are encouraged to devise programming languages for the machine that guide a programmer to express their ideas in terms of objects, since objects exhibit an inherent physical locality of data and code. The machine implementation can then leverage this locality to automatically distribute data and threads across the physical machine by using a set of high performance migration mechanisms. An implementation of this architecture could migrate a null thread in 66 cycles -- over a factor of 1000 improvement over previous work. Performance also scales well; the time required to move a typical thread is only 4 to 5 times that of a null thread. Data migration performance is similar, and scales linearly with data block size. Since the performance of the migration mechanism is on par with that of an L2 cache, the implementation simulated in my work has no data caches and relies instead on multithreading and the migration mechanism to hide and reduce access latencies.

Segmentation and Alignment of Speech and Sketching in a Design Environment

Sketches are commonly used in the early stages of design. Our previous system allows users to sketch mechanical systems that the computer interprets. However, some parts of the mechanical system might be too hard or too complicated to express in the sketch. Adding speech recognition to create a multimodal system would move us toward our goal of creating a more natural user interface. This thesis examines the relationship between the verbal and sketch input, particularly how to segment and align the two inputs. Toward this end, subjects were recorded while they sketched and talked. These recordings were transcribed, and a set of rules to perform segmentation and alignment was created. These rules represent the knowledge that the computer needs to perform segmentation and alignment. The rules successfully interpreted the 24 data sets that they were given.

Example Based Image Analysis and Synthesis

Image analysis and graphics synthesis can be achieved with learning techniques using directly image examples without physically-based, 3D models. In our technique: -- the mapping from novel images to a vector of "pose" and "expression" parameters can be learned from a small set of example images using a function approximation technique that we call an analysis network; -- the inverse mapping from input "pose" and "expression" parameters to output images can be synthesized from a small set of example images and used to produce new images using a similar synthesis network. The techniques described here have several applications in computer graphics, special effects, interactive multimedia and very low bandwidth teleconferencing.

LLSIM Reference Manual

A program that simulates a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 computer and many of its peripherals on the AI Laboratory Time Sharing System (ITS) is described from a user's reference point of view. This simulator has a built in DDT-like command level which provides the user with the normal range of DDT facilities but also with several special debugging features built into the simulator. The DDT command language was implemented by Richard M. Stallman while the simulator was written by the author of this memo.

Fast Sorting on a Distributed-Memory Architecture

We consider the often-studied problem of sorting, for a parallel computer. Given an input array distributed evenly over p processors, the task is to compute the sorted output array, also distributed over the p processors. Many existing algorithms take the approach of approximately load-balancing the output, leaving each processor with Θ(n/p) elements. However, in many cases, approximate load-balancing leads to inefficiencies in both the sorting itself and in further uses of the data after sorting. We provide a deterministic parallel sorting algorithm that uses parallel selection to produce any output distribution exactly, particularly one that is perfectly load-balanced. Furthermore, when using a comparison sort, this algorithm is 1-optimal in both computation and communication. We provide an empirical study that illustrates the efficiency of exact data splitting, and shows an improvement over two sample sort algorithms.

Input, integración y adquisición del inglés como lengua extranjera en el aula : fase de acceso.

Estudiar los modelos descriptivos del lenguaje más apropiado para la elaboración del currículum y que determinan la calidad del input. Tomar en consideración los rasgos y estrategias propios del proceso de aprendizaje. Efectuar un estudio psicolingüístico específico del aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera en el aula a partir de una propuesta curricular concreta. Un aula de quinto de EGB: 26 niños y 7 niñas grupo experimental/dos cursos de BUP: 57 alumnas y alumnos. Alumnado de sexto, séptimo y octavo de EGB: 418. El estudio se centra en un aula de quinto de EGB que es donde se realiza de forma completa. Para comprobar las pruebas de comprensión auditiva se utilizan dos grupos de alumnos, uno de EGB y otro de BUP. A partir de ellas se sacan las conclusiones. Diario de clase, grabación en vídeos, pruebas de comprensión auditiva: Almadén 20I: listening, Almadén 25I: listening, Almadén 20PR: listening y un gráfico. Análisis de contenido de los diarios de clase. Porcentajes individuales y acumulados de frecuencias y porcentajes de medias en pruebas de comprensión, correlación de porcentajes entre las tres pruebas de comprensión. Conveniencia de establecer el código comunicativo básico de forma que aglutine nociones y destrezas dentro de un ámbito de clase y de subsistencia para la inicial competencia comunicativa. Efectos positivos de la hipótesis del input. Se constatan diferencias individuales considerables en cuanto a la participación verbal activa. Los criterios de secuenciación se confirman como válidos. Consecuencia de un planteamiento de objetivos en términos operativos sobre comprensión y expresión orales.

Sistema de información geográfica para web con informaciones espaciales (geográficas) de output y input para expediciones

This project is a Web Geographic Information System built on an Open Source geographic structure like MapServer (Minnesota University) and PostgreSQL/PostGIS (object relational database management system). The study case is a web site for expeditions in a specific Brazilian region

Microcalcification evaluation in computer assisted diagnosis for digital mammography

In order to develop applications for z;isual interpretation of medical images, the early detection and evaluation of microcalcifications in digital mammograms is verg important since their presence is often associated with a high incidence of breast cancers. Accurate classification into benign and malignant groups would help improve diagnostic sensitivity as well as reduce the number of unnecessa y biopsies. The challenge here is the selection of the useful features to distinguish benign from malignant micro calcifications. Our purpose in this work is to analyse a microcalcification evaluation method based on a set of shapebased features extracted from the digitised mammography. The segmentation of the microcalcifications is performed using a fixed-tolerance region growing method to extract boundaries of calcifications with manually selected seed pixels. Taking into account that shapes and sizes of clustered microcalcifications have been associated with a high risk of carcinoma based on digerent subjective measures, such as whether or not the calcifications are irregular, linear, vermiform, branched, rounded or ring like, our efforts were addressed to obtain a feature set related to the shape. The identification of the pammeters concerning the malignant character of the microcalcifications was performed on a set of 146 mammograms with their real diagnosis known in advance from biopsies. This allowed identifying the following shape-based parameters as the relevant ones: Number of clusters, Number of holes, Area, Feret elongation, Roughness, and Elongation. Further experiments on a set of 70 new mammogmms showed that the performance of the classification scheme is close to the mean performance of three expert radiologists, which allows to consider the proposed method for assisting the diagnosis and encourages to continue the investigation in the sense of adding new features not only related to the shape

Computer-mediated communication and time pressure induce higher cardiovascular responses in the preparatory and execution phases of cooperative tasks

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Nano Electronics and Computer Science Research Group

This is the website for the Nano Research group based at the University of Southampton ECS department, and details current research topics and the people connected with these. It shows some of the current research topics undertaken at the center, and gives an outline of what can be done for post graduate courses.

Plan de mercadeo de marketing de insumos SAS

Marketing de Insumos S.A.S es una empresa nueva en el mercado, creada con el propósito de garantizar, por medio de una plataforma de red, la mejor alternativa en el suministro de equipos de codificación e insumos importados para atender las necesidades de la industria colombiana en general, en cuanto a la medición de trazabilidad en los empaques de los productos. El propósito de MARKYNS es cubrir la deficiencia que existe en la provisión oportuna y de calidad de los productos e insumos que actualmente se comercializan en Colombia, aprovechando la vasta experiencia que se tiene en la comercialización de estos productos, el conocimiento del mercado y los contactos con la industria colombiana en general. El objetivo de este trabajo es la elaboración de un plan de mercadeo para la empresa Marketing de Insumos S.A.S en la línea de productos e insumos de codificación para la industria en general. Para el presente análisis se evaluó la competencia, reconociendo sus ventajas y desventajas en el mercado, se clasificaron los tipos de clientes y la importancia que éstos tienen para la compañía, se realizaron encuestas a los clientes de Marketing de Insumos S.A.S, por medio de las cuales se pudo concluir una positiva percepción de la compañía. Asimismo se analizaron las líneas de productos principales diseñándose una estrategia para cada uno de éstos y su posicionamiento en el mercado.

Computer Misuse Act Presentation

This is one of two presentations we have produced for the resource set part of the INFO2009 Assignment 2 Group Poster.