Most neural network learning algorithms cannot use knowledge other than what is provided in the training data. Initialized using random weights, they cannot use prior knowledge such as knowledge stored in previously trained networks. This manuscript thesis addresses this problem.…

Cultural resources like traditional medicinal knowledge need to be recognized in their role tied to important regional practices in Zimbabwe. This is especially as a nexus of legal definitions for biological, intellectual and cultural resources will inform a National Sui…

This dissertation addresses the issues pertaining to composite products (CPs). CPs are defined as products formed by combining knowledge from two distinct domains, for example, digital cameras, which combine knowledge from digital products and cameras. The three research questions addressed…

Introduction: The use of computer-generated 3-dimensional (3-D) anatomical models to teach anatomy has proliferated. However, there is little evidence that these models are educationally effective. The purpose of this study was to test the educational effectiveness of a computer-generated 3-D…

This thesis is a theoretical and practical investigation of the role played by informal learning and teaching in the development of identity and applied knowledge. With the advent of mass schooling, there came to be a distinction between formal and…

This study explored the relationship between vocabulary size (i.e., breadth of knowledge), depth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension of Chinese-speaking ESL (English as a second language) university students in Canada. Both aspects of vocabulary knowledge, breadth and depth, continue…

Searching for information pervades a wide spectrum of human activity, including learning and problem solving. With recent changes in the amount of information available and the variety of means of retrieval, there is even more need to understand why some…

In this thesis, I investigate the nature of geometric knowledge and its relationship to spatial intuition. My goal is to rehabilitate the Kantian view that Euclid's geometry is a mathematical practice, which is grounded in spatial intuition, yet, nevertheless, yields…

This paper describes the development of an image retrieval
system that combines probabilistic and ontological information1. The
process is divided in two different stages: indexing and retrieval. Three
information flows have been created with different kind of information
each one:…

This thesis sets out to show that a philosophical reflection on history is, in the strongest possible way, an essential feature of Hume's project of a science of human nature: a philosophical investigation of human nature, for Hume, cannot be…