Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

State Government Cost Recovery For Electronic Information Dissemination: A Comparative Study, Donald R. Wismer

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Prior to this study, no paradigm common among state governments regarding public policy principles on cost recovery for the dissemination of public information had been described. The study revealed that U.S. federal government policy has served as a model from which a majority of the states have proceeded. This study has compared the states with the federal government and with themselves to determine the policy boundaries. Themes from in the literature were presented and summarized, and measurable elements were isolated. Data from statutory, regulatory, and case law, and from explicit policy statements, were gathered and compared within graphical formats. A …

Smart Card Systems: Development Of A Paradigm For A University-Wide Smart Card Student Identification System, Joanne M. Marlowe

CCE Theses and Dissertations

College and university campuses present an ideal environment for smart card systems and offer one of the best opportunities for the early adoption of smart card technology in the United States. This study investigated the design, development, and implementation of a smart card system in the university environment, specifically Nova Southeastern University. Additionally, this dissertation investigation developed a paradigm for a university-wide smart card student identification system capable of providing multiple applications such as portable identity, secure access, and electronic purse function. This dissertation investigation employed a Modern Systems Development Life Cycle (MSDLC) methodology along with a case study strategy. …

Persistence Differences In Community College Courses Taught In Classrooms And Through Alternative Formats, Andrew A. Runyan

CCE Theses and Dissertations

While distance education programs continue to expand, the occurrence of higher dropout rates in those programs as compared to the same courses offered in lecture/lab settings remains a point of contention between supporters and detractors of non-traditional forms of education. This study used a foundation of research on dropout in higher education as the basis for an investigation of dropout rates in non-traditional forms of instruction in a community college setting. Course delivery formats studied included videotape-based courses, Internet-based courses, and courses offered in a self-paced laboratory environment. For each of these formats, the same course, offered in a lecture/lab …

A Model For Transforming Legacy Systems In A Client/Server Environment Based On The Unified Modeling Language(Uml), Leon Stevens

CCE Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation the researcher developed the methodology for the migration of computer programs from a legacy architecture to client/server architecture. System migrations have failed frequently, and even so-called successful migrations may have serious usability problems. Additional difficulties include missing documentation of the existing program(s), the persons who developed the existing system are not available for consultation, and, frequently, there are important operational and economic issues that must be considered. The client/server environment is quite different from the source environment; the operating system and implementation languages have changed, and system requirements may have been greatly expanded, frequently including the Internet. …

Adaptive Information Filtering: Evolutionary Computation And N-Gram Representation, Daniel R. Tauritz, Ida G. Sprinkhuizen-Kuyper

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Adaptive Information Filtering (AIF) is concerned with filtering information streams in changing environments. The changes may occur both on the transmission side (the nature of the streams can change) and on the reception side (the interests of a user can change). The research described in this paper details the progress made in a prototype AIF system based on weighted n-gram analysis and evolutionary computation. A major advance is the design and implementation of an n-gram class library allowing experimentation with different values of n instead of solely with 3-grams as in the past. The new prototype system was tested on …

Information And Average Information Rates Of A Graphical Access Structure On Six Vertices, Mustafa Atici

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this paper we study the optimal information and average information rates of secret sharing schemes which are all connected graphs on six vertices. There are $102$ connected graphs on six vertices that are not complete multipartite graphs. Of these $102$ graphs, we determined the optimal information rate of $71$ graphs, and the optimal average information rate of $88$ graphs.

Teleradiology As A Foundation For An Enterprise-Wide Health Care Delivery System, John David N. Dionisio, Ricky K. Taira, Usha Sinha, David B. Johnson, Benjamin Y. Dai, Gregory H. Tashima, Stephen Blythe, Richard Johnson, Hooshang Kangarloo

Computer Science Faculty Works

An effective, integrated telemedicine system has been developed that allows (a) teleconsultation between local primary health care providers (primary care physicians and general radiologists) and remote imaging subspecialists and (b) active patient participation related to his or her medical condition and patient education. The initial stage of system development was a traditional teleradiology consultation service between general radiologists and specialists; this established system was expanded to include primary care physicians and patients. The system was developed by using a well-defined process model, resulting in three integrated modules: a patient module, a primary health care provider module, and a specialist module. …

Vcu's My Library: Librarians Love It. . . . Users? Well, Maybe, Jimmy Ghaphery, Dan Ream

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Virginia Commonwealth University's My Library project (circa 1998-1999) has chosen "ease of use" as its primary design criteria. The development of this tool using Perl scripting is described, and reports derived from usage logs are analyzed here. My Library tends to appeal a great deal to a small number of users as a personal tool. Librarians have found it popular as a class teaching tool, with pages designed for specific classes in library instruction receiving the heaviest use.

Bayesian Reconstruction Of 3d Human Motion From Single-Camera Video, Nicholas Howe, Michael E. Leventon, William T. Freeman

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

The three-dimensional motion of humans is underdetermined when the observation is limited to a single camera, due to the inherent 3D ambiguity of 2D video. We present a system that reconstructs the 3D motion of human subjects from single-camera video, relying on prior knowledge about human motion, learned from training data, to resolve those ambiguities. After initialization in 2D, the tracking and 3D reconstruction is automatic; we show results for several video sequences. The results show the power of treating 3D body tracking as an inference problem.

Integrating Color, Texture, And Geometry For Image Retrieval, Nicholas Howe, Daniel P. Huttenlocher

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the problem of image retrieval from large, heterogeneous image databases. We present a technique that fulfills several needs identified by surveying recent research in the field. This technique fairly integrates a diverse and expandable set of image properties (for example, color, texture, and location) in a retrieval framework, and allows end-users substantial control over their use. We propose a novel set of evaluation methods in addition to applying established tests for image retrieval; our technique proves competitive with state-of-the-art methods in these tests and does better on certain tasks. Furthermore, it improves on many standard image retrieval …

Data As Ensembles Of Records: Representation And Comparison, Nicholas Howe

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Many collections of data do not come packaged in a form amenable to the ready application of machine learning techniques. Nevertheless, there has been only limited research on the problem of preparing raw data for learning, perhaps because widespread differences between domains make generalization difficult. This paper focuses on one common class of raw data, in which the entities of interest actually comprise collections of (smaller pieces of) homologous data. We present a technique for processing such collections into high-dimensional vectors, suitable for the application of many learning algorithms including clustering, nearestneighbors, and boosting. We demonstrate the abilities of the …

Life And Evolution In Computers, Melanie Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper argues for the possibility of 'artificial life' and computational evolution, first by discussing (via a highly simplified version) John von Neumann's self-reproducing automaton and then by presenting some recent work focusing on computational evolution, in which 'cellular automata', a form of parallel and decentralized computing system, are evolved via 'genetic algorithms'. It is argued that such in silico experiments can help to make sense of the question of whether we can eventually build computers that are intelligent and alive.

Radiation From An Impedance Loaded Parallel-Plate Waveguide, Fi̇li̇z Bi̇rbi̇r, Ali̇nur Büyükaksoy

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

A hybrid method consisting of employing the mode matching method in conjunction with the Fourier transform technique is used to analyze the radiation of the dominant TEM-wave from an impedance loaded parallel-plate waveguide. The hybrid method that we adopt here reduces the related boundary value problem to a scalar modified Wiener-Hopf equation of the second kind. The solution involves infinitely many unknown constants satisfying an infinite system of linear algebraic equations susceptible to a numerical treatment. Some computational results illustrating the effects of various parameters on the radiation phenomenon are also presented.

A Fuzzy Identification Method For Nonlinear Systems, İbrahi̇m Eksi̇n, Osman Kaan Erol

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this paper, two mathematical ways of building a fuzzy model of both linear and nonlinear systems are presented and compared. In order to determine a model for a nonlinear system, the phase plane is divided into sub-regions and a linear model is assigned for each of these regions. This linear model is represented either in state-space or ARX model form. To determine the pre-selected parameters of the linear system model under study, least-square identification method is used. Then these linear models are arranged in a fuzzy manner to characterize the overall system behavior. The results show that this method …

Control Chart Pattern Recognition Using Artificial Neural Networks, Şeref Sağiroğlu, Erkan Beşdok, Mehmet Erler

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Precise and fast control chart pattern (CCP) recognition is important for monitoring process environments to achieve appropriate control and to produce high quality products. CCPs can exhibit six types of pattern: normal, cyclic, increasing trend, decreasing trend, upward shift and downward shift. Except for normal patterns, all other patterns indicate that the process being monitored is not functioning correctly and requires adjustment. This paper describes a new type of neural network for speeding up the training process and to compare three training algorithms in terms of speed, performance and parameter complexity for CCP recognition. The networks are multilayered perceptrons trained …

Knowledge-Based Navigation For Autonomous Road Vehicles, Murat Eki̇nci̇, Franches W.J.Gibbs, Barry T. Thomas

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

This paper presents a computer vision system for an autonomous road vehicle (ARV) that is capable of negotiating complex road networks including road junctions in real time. The ultimate aim of the system is to enable the vehicle to drive automatically along a given complex road network whose geometric description is known. This computer vision system includes three main techniques which are necessary for an ARV: a) road following, b) road junction detection, c) manoeuvring at the road junction. The road following algorithm presents a method of executing a number of algorithms using different methods concurrently, fusing their outputs together …

Decentralised H_{\Infty} Load Frequency Controller Design Based On Ssvs, Hasan Çi̇men

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The decentralised load-frequency controller design problem concerned is translated into an equivalent problem of decentralised controller design for a multi-area multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control system. It is shown that subject to a condition based on the structured singular values (SSVs), each local area load-frequency controller can be designed independently. The stability condition for the overall system can be stated as to achieve a sufficient interaction margin. It is demonstrated by computer simulation that within this general framework, local H$_{\infty}$ controllers can be designed to achieve satisfactory performances for a sample two-area power system.

Comparison Of Simulation Algorithms For The Hopfield Neural Network: An Application Of Economic Dispatch, Tankut Yalçinöz, Hali̇s Altun

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

This paper is mainly concerned with an investigation of the suitability of Hopfield neural network structures in solving the power economic dispatch problem. For Hopfield neural network applications to this problem three important questions have been answered: what the size of the power system is; how efficient the computational method; and how to handle constraints. A new mapping process is formulated and a computational method for obtaining the weights and biases is described. A few simulation algorithms used to solve the dynamic equation of the Hopfield neural network are discussed. The results are compared with those of a classical technique, …

The Ups Prototype: An Experimental End-User Service Across E-Print Archives, Herbert Van De Sompel, Thomas Krichel, Michael L. Nelson, Patrick Hochstenbach, Victor Lyapunov, Kurt Maly, Mohammad Zubair, Mohamed Kholief, Xiaoming Liu, Heath O'Connell

Computer Science Faculty Publications

A meeting was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 21-22, 1999, to generate discussion and consensus about interoperability of publicly available scholarly information archives. The invitees represented several well known e-print and report archive initiatives, as well as organizations with interests in digital libraries and the transformation of scholarly communication. The central goal of the meeting was to agree on recommendations that would make the creation of end-user services -- such as scientific search engines and linking systems -- for data originating from distributed and dissimilar archives easier. The Universal Preprint Service (UPS) Prototype was developed in preparation for …

Upper Bounds To The Clique Width Of Graphs, Bruno Courcelle, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Hierarchical decompositions of graphs are interesting for algorithmic purposes. Many NP complete problems have linear complexity on graphs with tree-decompositions of bounded width. We investigate alternate hierarchical decompositions that apply to wider classes of graphs and still enjoy good algorithmic properties. These decompositions are motivated and inspired by the study of vertex-replacement context-free graph grammars. The complexity measure of graphs associated with these decompositions is called clique width. In this paper we bound the clique width of a graph in terms of its tree width on the one hand, and of the clique width of its edge complement on …

An International Cross-Cultural Study Of The Role Of Chief Informational Officers In Healthcare, Wallace Saunders

Faculty Dissertations

The introduction and utilization of Information Systems (IS) in the hospital environment has had a significant and lasting impact on the practice of medicine. The development of this dissertation will attempt to explore a widely overlooked area: The comparison of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Aspects of CIO experiences relating to assumed roles, CIO challenges, skills, frustrations, success, failure, leadership, management, involvement and perceptions about the role of Information Technology (IT) in healthcare are discussed with a comparative global model. This study investigates the managerial roles of the Chief Information Officer based on …

An Investigation On Sun Microsystems Jini Technology, Ferdina D. Soeyadi

Theses : Honours

Sun Microsystems introduced the Jini^TM Technology as its vision of the future in networking, where services can be registered dynamically and he used easily regardless of their location in the network. This is an investigation of feasibility on such claims made by Sun regarding Jini^TM and comparisons with the directly similar Universal Plug and Play from Microsoft. The aim is to implement a simple application of the Jini^TM Technology in order to demonstrate its capabilities as a contribution to the distributed computing research.

Sicnn Optimisation, Two Dimensional Implementation And Comparison, Grant Walker

Theses : Honours

The study investigates the process of optimisation, implementation and comparison of a Shunting Inhibitory Cellular Neural Network (SICNN) for Edge Detection. Shunting inhibition is lateral inhibition where the inhibition function is nonlinear. Cellular Neural Networks are locally interconnected nonlinear, parallel networks which can exist as either discrete time or continuous networks. The name given to Cellular Neural Networks that use shunting inhibition as their nonlinear cell interactions are called Shunting Inhibitory Cellular Neural Networks. This project report examines some existing edge detectors and thresholding techniques. Then it describes the optimisation of the connection weight matrix for SICNN with Complementary Output …

Mapcast : Real-Time Collaboration With Concept Maps, Brett Greay

Theses : Honours

This thesis describes the development of the application mapCAST, a computer-based concept-mapping tool that allows synchronous collaboration via TCP/IP networks, such as the Internet The useability and feasibility of mapCAST as a computer-based tool was examined and analysed in a real world situation. Results indicate that mapCAST is successful as a collaborative tool in a situations involving knowledge organisation, but lacks certain functionality that many Macintosh users are accustomed to.

Virtual Reality And The Modern Ideology Of Order And Control, Craig I. Murrihy

Theses : Honours

In this thesis I will examine the construction of the concept of Virtual Reality. I argue that rather than a technology of liberation as it is often perceived, virtual realities' conception has been influenced significantly by a discourse of control and order. I examine books, articles and films concerning Virtual Reality to support this claim. Furthermore this discourse of control and order is born out of a larger ideology of Western culture that values order and control. Throughout modernity this ideology has manifested itself through techniques and technologies of social and environmental control. I provide a brief historical outline highlighting …

Hello, World: A Simple Application For The Field Programmable Port Extender (Fpx), John Lockwood, David Lim

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The FPX provides simple and fast mechanisms to process cells or packets. By performing all computations in FPGA hardware, cells and packets can be processing at the full line speed of the card [currently 2.4 Gbits/sec]. A sample application, called 'Hello World' has been developed that illustrates how easily an application can be implemented on the FPX. This application uses the FPGA hardware to search for a string on a particular flow and selectively replace contents of the payload. The resulting circuit operates at 119 MHz on a Xilinx XCV 1000E-FG680-7, and occupies less than 1% of the available gates …

Estimating Tessellation Parameter Intervals For Rational Curves And Surfaces, Thomas W. Sederberg, Jianmin Zheng

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a method for determining a priori a constant parameter interval with which a rational curve or surface can be tessellated such that the deviation of the curve or surface from its piecewise linear approximation is within a specified tolerance. The parameter interval is estimated based on information about the second order derivatives in the homogeneous coordinates, instead of using affine coordinates directly. This new step size can be found with roughly the same amount of computation as the step size presented in [Cheng 1992], though it can be proven to always be larger than Cheng's step size. …

Mobile Agents: Motivations And State-Of-The-Art Systems, Robert S. Gray, George Cybenko, David Kotz, Daniela Rus

Dartmouth Scholarship

A mobile agent is an executing program that can migrate, at times of its own choosing, from machine to machine in a heterogeneous network. On each machine, the agent interacts with stationary service agents and other resources to accomplish its task. In this chapter, we first make the case for mobile agents, discussing six strengths of mobile agents and the applications that benefit from these strengths. Although none of these strengths are unique to mobile agents, no competing technique shares all six. In other words, a mobile-agent system provides a single general framework in which a wide range of distributed …

An Interactive Simulation Environment For End-To-End Digital Imaging System Design And Fidelity Analysis, Moira Joyce Turner

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The detailed specification, implementation, and documentation of an interactive software environment based on a continuous/discrete/continuous imaging system model is presented. The purpose of the interactive environment is to support the design and performance analysis of end-to-end digital imaging systems. Development of the environment is based on the objectives of acceptable response time, large sampling grid capability, good graphical user interface design, independence from proprietary applications and portability among UNIX workstations. While one-dimensional variations of interactive design environments have been developed by the commercial active filter design community, there is little or no evidence that the increased complexity associated with the …

Data Structures For The Analysis Of Large Structured Markov Models, Andrew S. Miner

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

High-level modeling formalisms are increasingly popular tools for studying complex systems. Given a high-level model, we can automatically verify certain system properties or compute performance measures about the system. In the general case, measures must be computed using discrete-event simulations. In certain cases, exact numerical analysis is possible by constructing and analyzing the underlying stochastic process of the system, which is a continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) in our case. Unfortunately, the number of states in the underlying CTMC can be extremely large, even if the high-level model is "small". In this thesis, we develop data structures and techniques that can …