Conversational interfaces have received much attention as a promising natural communication channel between humans and computers. A typical conversational interface consists of three major systems: speech understanding, dialog management and spoken language generation. In such a conversational interface, speech recognition…

Current methods for bipedal walking control include playback of recorded joint motion and the derivation of dynamic equations to map desired forces at the body to the required torques at the joints. Both methods require a significant amount of up-front…

What is the best way to understand 'applies to' when it is said of a linguistic theory that it applies to a particular language-user? We can answer by saying that a linguistic theory is applicable to an individual language-user just…

This study investigates how Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a medieval abbess used visions received during the prodromal stages of migraines to reconstruct herself symbolically. In her visions she believed that God, the "Living Light" instructed her "to write and say…

Human designers use previous designs extensively in solving new design problems and Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) provides a knowledge representation paradigm which attempts to model such process. In this thesis we present a case-based approach to solving design problems by retrieving…

(cont.) which is expected, given their additional knowledge resources. The respondents' urgency in looking for the relevant knowledge is the primary explanation for this difference between the two networks. This difference in knowledge networking among the different groups did not…

The Embrapa Agricultural Instrumentation Center, one of the thematic centers of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, is an institution of science and technology in instrumentation. Its purpose is to promote Brazilian agribusiness through the generation, adaptation, and transference of knowledge…

his dissertation analyzes how local knowledge improves environmental decisions. The premise is that controlling pollution and addressing public health disparities are not problems that professionals alone can solve. Concerned lay publics, especially low-income populations and people of color that experience…

Does knowledge of language consist of symbolic rules? How do children learn and use their linguistic knowledge? To elucidate these questions, we present a computational model that acquires phonological knowledge from a corpus of common English nouns and verbs. In…

This thesis presents a survey of the development of economic growth theory, including the latest developments in the relationship between international economic integration through international flows of goods and/or knowledge and endogenous economic growth. Based on the following literature review,…