An overview of decision table literature 1982-1995.

This report gives an overview of the literature on decision tables over the past 15 years. As much as possible, for each reference, an author supplied abstract, a number of keywords and a classification are provided. In some cases own comments are added. The purpose of these comments is to show where, how and why decision tables are used. The literature is classified according to application area, theoretical versus practical character, year of publication, country or origin (not necessarily country of publication) and the language of the document. After a description of the scope of the interview, classification results and the classification by topic are presented. The main body of the paper is the ordered list of publications with abstract, classification and comments.

A microcomputer-based synthesis of Blissymbols from key components to facilitate language acquisition in severely disabled people

Blissymbolics is a semantically-based graphic language which was originally developed as universal channel of communication to promote world peace. Instead, this logical and unambiguous symbol system has been adopted as a communication-enhancement system for pre-reading non-speaking children, and it is now ranked as the most comprehensive and effective graphic system used within augmentative communication. Over the years, a number of multi-functional programmes designed to manipulate microcomputer- based assembly of Blissymbols have been developed. Although some of these applications have become rather popular, none of them is based on a mechanism which provides their users with a cognitive access to the stored symbol vocabulary. The present research was initiated and devised with an underlying goal to gain an insight into some of the most potent characteristics of Blissymbolics, and then, with the backing of the findings, offer a microcomputer-based interface featuring a cognitive technique designed to facilitate retrieval, manipulation, teaching and learning of Blissymbols

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 341)

This bibliography lists 133 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

MedVir: an interactive representation system of multidimensional medical data applied to Traumatic Brain Injury's rehabilitation prediction

Clinicians could model the brain injury of a patient through his brain activity. However, how this model is defined and how it changes when the patient is recovering are questions yet unanswered. In this paper, the use of MedVir framework is proposed with the aim of answering these questions. Based on complex data mining techniques, this provides not only the differentiation between TBI patients and control subjects (with a 72% of accuracy using 0.632 Bootstrap validation), but also the ability to detect whether a patient may recover or not, and all of that in a quick and easy way through a visualization technique which allows interaction

Enhanced tactical symbology for command and control of ground forces

This thesis is directed at the design and evaluation of "enhanced" ground-force map symbology. Enhanced symbology differs from conventional in that enhanced symbols quantify and clarify information on particular units such as combat effectiveness, personnel strength, equipment density and logistics readiness, A variety of design properties compiled from several sources that should be considered when fashioning a new military symbol group is discussed with special emphasis on reducing the negative effects of clutter. A suggested symbol set is developed for support of tactical decision-making and for display on computer graphics systems. The performance of this symbology is then evaluated through an experiment designed to compare the process of quickly and easily solving tactical problems with the enhanced decision aids versus the conventional. An analysis of the experiment results indicates that a commander can reach a tactical decision faster using enhanced symbology.http://archive.org/details/enhancedtactical00hawrCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Digital Image Access & Retrieval

The 33th Annual Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in March of 1996, addressed the theme of "Digital Image Access & Retrieval." The papers from this conference cover a wide range of topics concerning digital imaging technology for visual resource collections. Papers covered three general areas: (1) systems, planning, and implementation; (2) automatic and semi-automatic indexing; and (3) preservation with the bulk of the conference focusing on indexing and retrieval.published or submitted for publicatio

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 315)

This bibliography lists 211 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in September, 1988

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 313)

This bibliography lists 227 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in July, 1988

COBE's search for structure in the Big Bang

The launch of Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the definition of Earth Observing System (EOS) are two of the major events at NASA-Goddard. The three experiments contained in COBE (Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR), Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), and Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE)) are very important in measuring the big bang. DMR measures the isotropy of the cosmic background (direction of the radiation). FIRAS looks at the spectrum over the whole sky, searching for deviations, and DIRBE operates in the infrared part of the spectrum gathering evidence of the earliest galaxy formation. By special techniques, the radiation coming from the solar system will be distinguished from that of extragalactic origin. Unique graphics will be used to represent the temperature of the emitting material. A cosmic event will be modeled of such importance that it will affect cosmological theory for generations to come. EOS will monitor changes in the Earth's geophysics during a whole solar color cycle

COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING AND LEARNING DISABILITY: AN EVALUATION

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the use of computer-assisted learning with people who have severe and profound learning disabilities. Theories of learning are central to our understanding of learning disability and contributions from the cognitive and behavioural schools are reviewed and related to methods of education and training for people with learning disabilities. This framework provides a rationale for understanding the premises of computer-assisted learning. A review of the literature reveals a lack of evidence for the efficacy of computer-assisted learning. Evaluation studies to date appear to be characterised by a lack of a methodologically sound framework. An evaluation survey of software designated for use with people with severe learning disabilities is presented which finds that much educational software lacks a sound grounding in established and effective principles of learning and teaching, although its use is still supported by instructors. Thus, the need for empirical research investigating the use and efficacy of computer-assisted learning in learning disability is identified. Psychological models provide an appropriate method of such an inquiry, though methodological problems inherent in evaluative research with a special population appear to act as a barrier to the development of effective knowledge in the area. Within these limitations, three experiments are presented. The first compares conventional teaching with computer-assisted teaching. The computer was as effective as the teacher, though the conventional measures of achievement used were not sensitive to any differences between the two methods. The second developed a more finegrain analysis which revealed a difference between the quality of participants' interaction with computer and teacher instruction. Specifically, attentional behaviour was increased in the computer-taught condition, yet there was no concomitant increase in learning. The reliance of educational software on sensory reinforcement was postulated as underlying the ability of computer-assisted learning to maintain attention to the task. The third experiment directly addressed the ability of three different sensory reinforcers typical of those found in educational software to support learning a simple discrimination task. It was found that sensory reinforcers were not effective in supporting learning, though they did maintain attention and performance on the task. It is suggested that the multiple modalities used by software may interfere adversely with the coding of relevant information involved in the discrimination of stimulus dimensions and that this may account for the discrepancy between measures of performance and measures of learning on computer-assisted tasks.South Western Regional Health Authority and Plymouth Community Services NHS Trus