Matching Items (4)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Creative Project
Description
A common challenge faced by students is that they often have questions about course material that they cannot ask during lecture time. There are many ways for students to have these questions answered, such as office hours and online discussion boards. However, office hours may be at inconvenient times or locations, and online discussion boards are difficult to navigate and may be inactive. The purpose of this project was to create an Alexa skill that allows users to ask their Alexa-equipped device a question concerning their course material and to receive an answer retrieved from discussion board data. User questions are mapped to discussion board posts by use of the cosine similarity algorithm. In this algorithm, posts from the discussion board and the user’s question are converted into mathematical vectors, with each term in the vector corresponding to a word. The values of these terms are computed based on the word’s frequency within the vector’s corresponding document, the frequency of that word within all the documents, and the length of the document. After the question and candidate posts are converted into vectors, the algorithm determines the post most similar to the user’s question by computing the angle between the vectors. With the most similar discussion board post determined, the user receives the replies to the post, if any, as their answer. Users are able to indicate to their Alexa device whether they were satisfied by the answer, and if they were unsatisfied then they are given the opportunity to either rephrase their question or to have the question sent to a database of unanswered questions. The professor can view and answer the questions in this database on a website hosted by use of Amazon’s Simple Storage Service. The Alexa skill does well at answering questions that have already been asked in the discussion board. However, the skill depends heavily on the user’s word choice. Two questions that are semantically identical but different in phrasing are often given different answers. This is because the cosine algorithm measures similarity on the basis of word overlap, not semantic meaning, and thus the application never truly “understands” what type of answer the user desires. Improving the performance of this Alexa skill will require a more advanced question answering algorithm, but the limitations of Amazon Web Services as a development platform make implementing such an algorithm difficult. Nevertheless, this project has created the basis of a question answering Alexa skill by demonstrating a feasible way that the resources offered by Amazon can be utilized in order to build such an application.
ContributorsBaker, Matthew Elias (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Over the summer of 2018, I had the incredible opportunity to serve as an AmeriCorps member through the Providing Access to Court Services Program (PACS) program. It was the duty of the AmeriCorps members to provide access to justice to the community. Serving as an AmeriCorps member opened my eyes to many parts of the court system I did not know existed, and made me want to explore more ways I could help the community in Maricopa County. One of the many factions of the Maricopa County Superior Court that I had the privilege of learning more about was Drug Court. Drug Court, at the Maricopa County Superior Court in Downtown Phoenix, started in 1992 as a program designed to monitor and provide counseling for offenders in hopes to break the cycle of substance abuse and addiction. Commissioner Guyton, the Presiding Commissioner of Drug Court, came to the AmeriCorps program in the Summer of 2018 in hopes of adding a new program of life-skills workshops to be used as an alternative sanction for offenders going through Drug Court. The On Second Thought program offers life-skills workshops that aim to encourage success within the Drug Court Program at the Maricopa County Superior Court in Downtown Phoenix, and promote further success in life after graduation. The two workshops developed include the "Basic Writing " and "Resumes, Job Search, Job Interviews" workshops. This program has been a successful new part to the Drug Court program and will continue to educate and inspire each individual that walks through the door.
ContributorsInoshita, Irelan Hope (Author) / Kenney, Patrick (Thesis director) / Porter, Lisa (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Making Clarinet Reeds by Hand is an instructive manual for the collegiate or professional clarinetist seeking to learn about how to have more control over their reeds. It explores reasons to consider making one’s own clarinet reeds by hand, explains the process in detail both from starting with tube cane or from commercially purchased reed blanks, and includes a cost and time effectiveness analysis highlighting the benefits and disadvantages of making reeds by hand. The thesis also includes a variety of pictures, diagrams, and infographics to incorporate visual explanation as well as addresses the common mistakes associated with each part of the reed making process. The thesis is organized into many sections and section headings to facilitate quick reference for specific questions, as well as incorporates step-by-step guides that walk through the general reed making process.
ContributorsBreeden, Katherine Nichole (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis director) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Ice hockey is a minority sport in New Zealand, but many people are dedicating their lives to grow its popularity in the country. Hockey in Kiwi Land: Exploring the Ice Hockey Culture of New Zealand presents the voices of those involved in the country’s largest city, Auckland, and their efforts in the country’s highest league. The New Zealand Ice Hockey League is made up of people of different backgrounds, including fathers, teenagers, university students, full-time workers, and Canadians. Information on ice hockey’s culture was found through spending a week in Auckland and interviewing different people involved with the West Auckland Admirals, the defending champion at the time. The information was then created into a website that displays both a written and visual component. The photo stories were made to capture the physical aspect of a game that wants to dominate in a country obsessed with rugby. The interviews capture why those born in New Zealand love ice hockey and what needs to change to promote the sport better. Many in the league came from ice hockey haven Canada, and they provided insight on the differences they noticed between New Zealand and North America. The project taught me more about New Zealand’s ice hockey programs and how they differ from those in North America. The interviews showed that while the sport will be a minority in the country for the next few years, it will continue to grow through the joint efforts of international and New Zealand-born players giving back.
ContributorsOrtiz, Jenna (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05