Digital Commons Network^™

Addsmart: Address Digitization And Smart Mailbox With Rfid Technology, Jonathon Ross Tew

Theses and Dissertations

ADDSMART is a research project focused on digitizing addresses of locations and building a smart mailbox by combining wireless sensors, cameras, locks, and RFID readers and tags into a system controlled by an Arduino board. The aim of the project is to explore the idea of address digitization (using RFID tags to store addresses) and incorporate it into a mailbox that can communicate wirelessly with the homeowner to provide mail status updates and home security footage through digital photographs. This paper demonstrates the proposed ideas, describes the design of a smart mailbox, the technology that has been used, and the …

A Step Towards An Intelligent Digital Training Management System (I-Dtms), Andrew Dugger

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Army Digital Training Management System (DTMS) is a web-based system designed to create a single point of entry for units to schedule unit training, manage training resources, and create schedules and master calendars for training. Currently, the U.S. Army uses DTMS to manage unit training and help commanders at each step of the training management process from planning and preparing to execute and assessing the training plans. This research aims to add intelligent features to DTMS through augmenting it with an intelligent decision support system (ITPSS) that utilizes artificial intelligence techniques (case-based reasoning, in particular) to determine if …

Application Of Computer Modeling And Simulation Techniques For Optimization Of Factory Floor Operations In Small To Medium- Sized Businesses, Brian P. Romano

Theses and Dissertations

The rationale and motive for this thesis was to prove that no matter the size of a company and its particular value stream, the application of applied computer science principles with a reliance on computer modeling and simulation onto the factory floor process improves efficiencies and throughput through the reduction of downtime and/or process waiting. This thesis research specifically emphasized small businesses of between $2 and $20 million and was purposely limited to factory floor production processes and utilized standardized applied computer science techniques including simulation and modeling, microprocessor based factory floor intelligence devices. The results of this applied technology …

Strain Analysis Across The Margins Of The Elkahatchee And Coley Creek Plutons, Alabama Eastern Blue Ridge: Implications For The Alexander City Fault, Kenneth Joel Roop-Eckart

Theses and Dissertations

The Ashland-Wedowee-Emuckfaw belt of the eastern Blue Ridge of Alabama and Georgia consists of metamorphosed Neoproterozoic-Ordovician continental margin and Ordovician back-arc sedimentary/volcanic sequences intruded by Ordovician-Mississippian granitic plutons. Two of these plutons, the Elkahatchee Quartz Diorite and Coley Creek orthogneiss exhibit zones of high strain, evidenced by mylonitic fabrics, ductile deformation of feldspar grains, grain size reduction, and changes in mica content at their margins. Geologic mapping in the vicinity of the Coley Creek pluton shows no evidence for a ductile shear zone beyond its margins and thus, is unlikely to be associated with a major fault. More likely, this …

Rapid Orbit Refinement Of Potential Near-Earth Objects And Recovery Of Nearly Lost Asteroids, Austin Lantz Caughey

Theses and Dissertations

The Minor Planet Center alerts researchers about potential discoveries of new Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) on their NEO Confirmation Page (NEOCP). Most of these are indeed previously unstudied objects, which must be studied very promptly while initial predictions of their motions are still accurate. My thesis project has focused on the observation of these bodies, and the submission of their measured positions to the MPC within a few hours of observation. Data has been obtained using the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network, including the R-COP telescope in Perth, Australia; the PROMPT 3 telescope in La Serena, Chile; and Yerkes Observatory in Williams …

Hydrological Drought Analysis For Seven North Georgia Watersheds (1970-2000), Jessica L. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Drought is a prolonged reduction in precipitation which may result in significant effects on local ecosystems, watersheds, and water sources, with the potential to have negative impacts on human populations. Normalized indexes can be used to characterize drought magnitudes and frequencies using historical data records on temperature, rainfall, snowpack, soil moisture, streamflow, and/or other water supply indicators. This study examined the applicability of two drought indices: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Streamflow Drought Index (SDI). The SPI and SDI estimate the magnitude of observed rainfall (SPI) and discharge (SDI) deviations from the longterm average. In this study, SPI and SDI …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of The Csu Peer Leader Program On Student Performance In 2014-2015, Harrison E. Sharitt

Theses and Dissertations

In efforts to retain students and increase student performance, Columbus State implemented a Peer Leader program. With access to archival data on the CSU Peer Leader Program, the goal of this project was to determine if the program at CSU had a significant impact on students’ course performance. The impact of the program was assessed by performing multiple regression analyses and ANOVA. Preliminary results showed that Columbus State’s Peer Leader program had a small, but statistically significant, positive impact on students’ final course grades.

Fuzzy Decision Tree-Based Inference System For Liver Disease Diagnosis, Himaja Sivaraju

Theses and Dissertations

Medical diagnosis can be challenging because of a number of factors. Uncertainty in the diagnosis process arises from inaccuracy in the measurement of patient attributes, missing attribute data and limitation in the medical expert’s ability to define cause and effect relationships when there are multiple interrelated variables. Given this situation, a decision support system, which can help doctors come up with a more reliable diagnosis, can have a lot of potential. Decision trees are used in data mining for classification and regression. They are simple to understand and interpret as they can be visualized. But, one of the disadvantages of …

A Potential Long-Lived Upper Cretaceous Paleodrainage System In The U.S. Southwestern Georgia-Southeastern Alabama Region, Daniel L. Black

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cmsvega: A Content Management System For The Layman, Roshan P.J. Nedumpurath

Theses and Dissertations

Content management systems are becoming increasingly convoluted to use. Existing website creation systems require users without programming knowledge to scour documentation. A CMS should be intuitive, something a user can pick up and use right away. Simplicity is key when targeting layman users who have no web development knowledge. This project aims to create a simple and intuitive content management system, CMSVega, which users can pick up and use with minimal web development knowledge. A blind study was conducted to compare CMSVega against popular Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla systems. After having recreated a webpage using each CMS, participants were asked …

An Investigation Of Complex Systems In 16 Dimensions, Jordon M. Huffman

Theses and Dissertations

Sir Isaac Newton studied the world around him. He observed unexplainable phenomena that the math of his time could not prove. With the help of Gottfried Leibniz, he created infinitesimal calculus to prove his theories. The new concepts he created revolutionized science, and opened new realms of science previously unthought of. In 2002, Dr. Stephen Wolfram published A New Kind of Science, He argues that the processes of understanding cellular automata can be applied to other aspects of science. Dr. Rodrigo Obando of Columbus State University took Dr. Wolfram's work and dissected it. By breaking down the rules, he started …

Developing A Mobile-Commerce Financial Transaction Processing Model, Edward Nathaniel Thomas Charles Williams Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The topic for this Master’s Thesis is selected in compliance with the guidelines to complete a Master of Science in Applied Computer Science at Columbus State University. The problem to be addressed by this thesis is to produce an open standard for an m-commerce financial transaction processing system based on current e-commerce standards and mobile technology. This solution was to be specifically designed to build upon the strengths of a mobile platform using current smartphone and tablet technology.

An open source software stack in combination with a cloud computing solution was used to create a working example of the specification. …

Detecting Student Dropouts Using Fuzzy Inferencing, Shahriar Husainy

Theses and Dissertations

Fuzzy logic provides a methodology for reasoning using imprecise rules and assertions. Fuzzy inference is the process of formulating the mapping from a given input to an output using fuzzy logic. The mapping then provides a basis from which decisions can be made, or patterns discerned. This study concerns the development of a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) for identifying likely student dropouts at Columbus State University (CSU). The fuzzy inference based model uses a hybrid knowledge extraction process to predict how likely each freshman student will be to drop their program of study at the end of their first semester. …

Preparation And Characterization Of Palladium Catalysts, Michael J. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a critical need for improved combustion-oxidation catalysts to reduce emissions of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from exhaust gas of gasoline combustion in automotive vehicles. Materials and systems currently available, such as the three way catalytic converter (TWC), have low activity below 400 °C in the catalytic process. Palladium catalysts were prepared by alternative methods including: preparation by wet impregnation or incipient wetness, drying by room temperature or air-oven, and support choice between silica and alumina. These catalysts were prepared to meet the demand for low temperature oxidation. Results indicated a 5% increase in percent dispersion of …

Demographic And Genetic Consequences Of Small Population Size In Remnant Populations Of Arabis Georgiana Harper (Georgia Rockcress), Alicia M. Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to provide a greater scientific understanding of the demographic and genetic consequences of small population size in remnant populations of Arabis georgiana Harper (Georgia Rockcress). Specifically, 1 ) traits associated with phenological progression, fitness and reproductive success were compared between naturally occurring "native" plants and plants grown ex situ and subsequently restored to one of the largest remaining populations of A. georgiana, and 2) a preliminary analysis of population genetic structure in remnant populations across the species' range was performed. In addition to updating census information on remnant populations of A. georgiana, chapter one …

Determination Of Toxic Heavy Metals In Wet Deposition And Ambient Air In Columbus, Ga, Melissa K.M. Nestor

Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric pollution is one of the most significant and potentially catastrophic environmental issues threatening the United States and the world today. One such source of this pollution is heavy metals. The impact of heavy metal pollution on living organisms can be disastrous, having the potential to cause the deterioration of ecosystems and posing danger to the health and survival of the human race. Chronic and acute human exposure to this type of pollution can damage the proper functioning of vital body organs by inhibiting important neurological pathways. In plants, it essentially acts as a counter-agent to proper growth. In areas …

Interspecific Hybridization Among Black Basses (Micropterus Spp.) In The Chattahoochee River, Columbus Georgia, Kimberly S. Holley

Theses and Dissertations

Interspecific hybridization can lead to the evolution of a new hybrid species or extinction of parental species due to competition or excessive backcrossing, When parental populations differ in abundance, hybrids tend to backcross more frequently with the more abundant parent, resulting in asymmetrical introgression. The objective of this study was to determine the extent and apparent direction of hybridization between shoal bass {Micropterus cataractae), a rare endemic species to the Apalachicola drainage, and spotted bass (M. punctulatus), an introduced and more abundant species. Pelvic fin tissue (N = 130) was taken from bass species in the Chattahoochee River between Columbus, …

Host Fish Assessment And Gravidity For The Mussel Elliptoideus Sloatianus, Andrew Hartzog

Theses and Dissertations

Elliptoideus sloatianus (purple bankclimber) is a freshwater mussel that m endemic to the Apalachicola River Basin, which includes the Chattahoochee, Flint, Chipola, and Apalachicola Rivers. Populations of E. sloatianus also exist in the Ochlockonee River, which discharges independently from the ACF basin into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1998, E. sloatianus was listed as federally threatened due to the loss of suitable habitat and the potential blockage of host fish passage into areas where the mussel lives. For this study, we located three populations of £. sloatianus in the Flint River in southwest Georgia. Gravid mussels were collected in late …

Chemoselective Oxidation Of 6,13-Bis(Decylthio) Pentacene, Claire Eunhye Cho

Theses and Dissertations

Organic semiconductors present much potential for industrial use because of their possible low cost production, Pentacene and pentacene derivatives are promising candidates for organic semiconductor research since their ^-conjugated electronic structures possess small HOMO- LUMO gaps and high field effect mobility. Whereas there is much potential in devices made from pentacenes they do however undergo short lifetimes and poor processability due to photodegradation and poor solubility of pentacene. Previous research has shown that the pentacene lifetime and solubility can be enhanced by arylthio and alkylthio substituents placed on the pentacene backbone. For example 6,13-i?/s(decylthio)pentacene was one of the longest lived …

Xmm-Newton Survey Of The Brightest Supernova Remnants In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Zachary I. Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

Therefore, a realistic understanding of SN contribution from SNRs populations is needed to model the evolution of a galaxy.

An Investigation Into A Hybrid Genetic Programming And Ant Colony Optimization Method For Credit Scoring, Rojin Aliehyaei

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes and investigates a new hybrid technique based on Genetic Programming (GP) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) techniques for inducing data classification rules. The proposed hybrid approach aims to improve on the accuracy of data classification rules produced by the original GP technique, which uses randomly generated initial populations. This hybrid technique relies on the ACO technique to produce the initial populations for the GP technique. To evaluate and compare their effectiveness in producing good data classification rules, GP, ACO, and hybrid techniques were implemented in the C programming language. The data classification rules were created and evaluated …

Advanced I/O Techniques For Efficient And Highly Available Process Crash Recovery Protocols, Jason Cornwell

Theses and Dissertations

As the number of CPU cores in high-performance computing platforms continues to grow, the availability and reliability of these systems become a primary concern. As such, some solutions are physical (ie. power backup) and some are software driven. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has created a system-level fault-tolerant checkpoint/restart implementation for Linux Clusters. This allows processes to restart computations at the last known checkpoint in the event the system crashes. The checkpoint data creation is highly dependent on system input and output operations. This paper proposes: (i) a technique to improve the efficiency of these I/O operations and (ii) an alternative …

Characterization Of Watersheds On Fort Benning Military Reservation: Comparison Of Field Data To Watershed Parameters, Melinda Rosetta Stahl

Theses and Dissertations

Sixteen watersheds located on Fort Benning Military Installation in Georgia were analyzed using both physically collected data and computer modeling data. Physical data collected included total suspended solids (TSS) and grain size analysis using the Wolman Pebble Count method. Computer modeling analyzed the watersheds using ArcGIS 9.3 for comparison to physical data. Land use, slope, and soil data were used in a modified revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) to create a soil erodibility index map. Wolman Pebble Count data showed that in half of the watersheds, 84% of the sampled grains were less than half a millimeter in size. …

Tracking Floral Visitation Using Dna Barcodes, Ivan Ray Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations

Floral visitation resulting in interspecific pollen transfer (IPT) from non-native or invasive plant species can affect the reproductive fitness of native plant species through pollen allelopathy, stigma clogging, stylar clogging, and ovule (seed) discounting. The prevalence of IPT and the importance of pollinators in mediating its impacts, however, remain poorly understood. Although most traditional methods for examining visitor movement are insufficient for determining rates of potential IPT, one promising alternative is the use of DNA barcoding. Because floral visitors eat, collect or unknowingly obtain pollen, nectar and other floral tissues, plant DNA should be recoverable from their bodies, permitting molecular …

Windows Azure: Using Windows Azure's Service Bus To Solve Data Security Issues, Don Chambers

Theses and Dissertations

Many of the largest technology companies are heavily investing in Cloud Computing technology, making this a major force in the realm of software development. However, this software paradigm brings with it significantdata related security issues. This paper discusses some of these security issues and presents a solution. The solution calls for storing data outside of the cloud, and under the control of the cloud consumer. In addition, the solution provides the ability to manipulate data using only the standard HTTP ports that are typically opened at most locations. This solution is implemented using Microsoft's Windows Azure Cloud Computing operating system. …

A Study Of Three Artificial Neural Networks Models' Ability To Identify Emotions From Facial Images, Timothy Scott Hyde

Theses and Dissertations

Facial expressions conveying emotions are vital for human communication. They are also important in the studies of human interaction and behavioral studies. Recognition of emotions, using facial images, may provide a fast and practical approach that is noninvasive. Most previous studies of emotion recognition through facial images were based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). The FACS, which was developed by Ekman and Freisen in 1978, was created to identify different facial muscular actions. Previous artificial neural network-based approaches for classification of facial expressions focused on improving one particular neural network model for better accuracy. The purpose of this …

Implementing The Intelligent Mail Barcode In The N-Tiered Service Library Of A Print Mail Enterprise, Christopher E. Bunch

Theses and Dissertations

Starting in autumn, 2009, the Intelligent Mail Barcode fully replaced the PostNet barcode for the United States Postal Service. This barcode enables a sender of a mailpiece to track the mailpiece through the entire mail stream, as well as track any remit mail returned to the sender. This thesis explains how the Intelligent Mail Barcode was implemented in the n- tiered Windows Communication Foundation service architecture of the Emdeon, Inc. print-mail engine. To help provide a full understanding of the environment, this document, also, explains the operation of the print mail engine at Emdeon.

Statistical Tools For Linking Engine-Generated Malware To Its Engine, Edna Chelangat Milgo

Theses and Dissertations

Malware-generating engines challenge typical malware analysts by requiring them to quickly extract and upload to their customers' machines, a signature for each of a possi- bly vast number of never-before-seen malware instances that an engine can generate in a short amount of time In this thesis we propose and evaluate two methods for'linking va- riants of engine-generated malware to its engine. The proposed methods use the w-gram frequency vector (NFV) of the opcode mnemonics of an engine-generated malware in- stance as a feature vector for the instance. An NFV is a tuple that maps «-grams with their frequencies. The in-formation …

Construction Site Sedimentary Pollution In A Watershed, Imo Okwu

Theses and Dissertations

In the study of sediment pollution on and near a construction site, it is necessary to remember that sediment movement and deposition are part of the natural environment before the intervention of construction. As with many hydrologic problems, most sedimentation problems have visual impacts for relatively short periods, because they are rainstorm-related. Perhaps the most serious sedimentation problem is general deterioration of the total environment, a condition usually not recognized by the public. This research presents an analytical evaluation of five construction sites. The analytical framework categorized the life cycle of construction sites into three stages in order to facilitate …

Comparative Ecology And Conservation Status Of Procambarus (Pennides) Gibbus And Procambarus (Pennides) Versutus In Marion County, Georgia, Joann Chadwick

Theses and Dissertations

Two crayfish species, whose conservation status was of concern, Procambarus (Pennides) gibbus Hobbs and Procambarus (Pennides) versutus Hagen, and one relatively common crayfish, Procambarus (Pennides) spiculifer LeConte were studied at nine creek sites in Marion County, Georgia. Major objectives of the yearlong study were to 1) compare the habitats of these species, looking for environmental differences that might account for their isolated distributions within the county and 2) assess the current conservation status of P. gibbus and P. versutus. Each study site was characterized by a one-time assessment of floodplain width, stream width, water velocity, stream depth and assessment of …