Digital Commons Network^™

On Transactional Workflows, Amit P. Sheth, Marek Rusinkiewicz

Kno.e.sis Publications

The basic transaction model has evolved over time to incorporate more complex transactions structures and to take the advantage of semantics of higher-level operations that cannot be seen at the level of page reads and writes. Well known examples of such extended transaction models include nested and multi-level transactions. A number of relaxed transaction models have been defined in the last several years that permit a controlled relaxation of the transaction isolation and atomicity to better match the requirements of various database applications. Correctness criteria other than global serializability have also been proposed. Several examples of extended/relaxed transaction models are …

An Investigation Of Methodologies For Software Development Prototyping, Susan M. Jones

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The computer industry has a poor record of system development using the traditional life-cycle approach. The main cause of user dissatisfaction is the unacceptably large amount of time between specification and delivery of a system. In addition, users have limited opportunity to influence how the system will look when implemented once development has commenced. With the advent of 4GLs, system development using a prototyping approach has become a viable option. This has reduced the development tlme significantly and, together with the use of prototyping, has allowed users to become more involved in the development process. However, this change in the …

A-Hohfeld: A Language For Robust Structural Representation Of Knowledge In The Legal Domain To Build Interpretation-Assistance Expert Systems, Layman E. Allen, Charles S. Saxon

Book Chapters

The A-Hohfeld language is presented as a set of definitions; it can be used to precisely express legal norms. The usefulness of the AHohfeld language is illustrated in articulating 2560 alternative structural interpretations of the four-sentence 1982 Library Regulations of Imperial College and constructing an interpretation-assistance legal expert system for these regulations by means of the general-purpose Interpretation-Assistance legal expert system builder called MINT. The logical basis for A-Hohfeld is included as an appendix.

Temporal Model Of An Optically Pumped Co-Doped Solid State Laser, T. G. Wangler, J. J. Swetits, A. M. Buoncristiani

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Currently, research is being conducted on the optical properties of materials associated with the development of solid-state lasers in the 2 micron region. In support of this effort, a mathematical model describing the energy transfer in a holmium laser sensitized with thulium is developed. In this paper, we establish some qualitative properties of the solution of the model, such as non-negativity, boundedness, and integrability. A local stability analysis is then performed from which conditions for asymptotic stability are obtained. Finally, we report on our numerical analysis of the system and how it compares with experimental results.

Vector Layout In Virtual-Memory Systems For Data-Parallel Computing, Thomas H. Cormen

Computer Science Technical Reports

In a data-parallel computer with virtual memory, the way in which vectors are laid out on the disk system affects the performance of data-parallel operations. We present a general method of vector layout called banded layout, in which we divide a vector into bands of a number of consecutive vector elements laid out in column-major order, and we analyze the effect of the band size on the major classes of data-parallel operations. We find that although the best band size varies among the operations, choosing fairly small band sizes—at most a track—works well in general.

Detection Of Skin Tumor Boundaries In Color Images, Fikret Erçal, M. Moganti, William V. Stoecker, Randy Hays Moss

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A simple and yet effective method for finding the borders of tumors is presented as an initial step towards the diagnosis of skin tumors from their color images. The method makes use of an adaptive color metric from the red, green, and blue planes that contains information for discriminating the tumor from the background. Using this suitable coordinate transformation, the image is segmented. The tumor portion is then extracted from the segmented image and borders are drawn. Experimental results that verify the effectiveness of this approach are given

Formal Method For Scheduling, Routing And Communication Protocol, Lenore Mullin, S. A. Thibault, D. R. Dooling, E. A. Sandberg

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The PRAM model has been shown to be an optimal design for emulating both loose and tightly coupled multiprocessors for unit time operations. When virtual processors are required, multiplexing work to available processors is employed. This introduces a form of latency incurred by operating system overhead. Further complications arise when bandwidth creates bottlenecking of work units. G.E. Blelloch (1989) showed how to add parallel prefix operations (scans) to an extended PRAM model which uses unit step, not time operations. This paper shows how the psi) calculus can be used to group work units, i.e., pipelining the work units, so that …

Evidence For Penguin-Diagram Decays: First Observation Of B→K*(892)Γ, R. Ammar, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We have observed the decays B0→K*(892)0γ and B−→K*(892)−γ, which are evidence for the quark-level process b→sγ. The average branching fraction is (4.5±1.5±0.9)×10−5. This value is consistent with standard model predictions from electromagnetic penguin diagrams.

Practical Prefetching Techniques For Multiprocessor File Systems, David Kotz, Carla Schlatter Ellis

Dartmouth Scholarship

Improvements in the processing speed of multiprocessors are outpacing improvements in the speed of disk hardware. Parallel disk I/O subsystems have been proposed as one way to close the gap between processor and disk speeds. In a previous paper we showed that prefetching and caching have the potential to deliver the performance benefits of parallel file systems to parallel applications. In this paper we describe experiments with practical prefetching policies that base decisions only on on-line reference history, and that can be implemented efficiently. We also test the ability of these policies across a range of architectural parameters.

Multiprocessor File System Interfaces, David Kotz

Dartmouth Scholarship

Increasingly, file systems for multiprocessors are designed with parallel access to multiple disks, to keep I/O from becoming a serious bottleneck for parallel applications. Although file system software can transparently provide high-performance access to parallel disks, a new file system interface is needed to facilitate parallel access to a file from a parallel application. We describe the difficulties faced when using the conventional (Unix-like) interface in parallel applications, and then outline ways to extend the conventional interface to provide convenient access to the file for parallel programs, while retaining the traditional interface for programs that have no need for explicitly …

Trimming And Closure Of Constrained Surfaces, Xiangping Chen, Christoph M. Hoffmann

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Modeling With A-Patches, Chandrajit L. Bajaj, Jindon Chen, Guoliang Xu

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Multimedia Scientific Design In Shastra, Vinod Anupam, Chandrajit L. Bajaj

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Distributed Modeling And Rendering Of Splines Using Ganith And Splinex, Chandrajit L. Bajaj, Jindon Chen, Susan B. Evans

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

A Coarse-Grained, Architecture-Independent Approach For Connected Component Labeling, Mikhail J. Atallah, Frank Dehne, Susanne E. Hambrusch

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Preconditioner Construction With Rational Approximation, Mo Mu, John R. Rice

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

An Optimal Algorithm For Shortest Paths On Weighted Interval And Circular-Arc Graphs With Applications, Mikhail J. Atallah, Danny Z. Chen, D. T. Lee

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Topologically Correct Approximations Of Arbitrary Rational Parametric, Chandrajit L. Bajaj, Andrew V. Royappa

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

A Unifying Approach To Hierarchical Transaction Management In Multidatabase Systems, Ahmed K. Almagarmid, Aidong Zhang

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

On The Semantics Of Generative Geometry Representations, Christoph M. Hoffmann

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Visual Inspection Algorithms For Printed Circuit Board Patterns A Survey, Madhav Moganti, Fikret ErçAl, Cihan H. Dagli

Computer Science Technical Reports

The importance of the inspection process has been magnified by the requirements of the modern manufacturing environment. In electronics mass-production manufacturing facilities, an attempt is often made to achieve 100 % quality assurance of all parts, subassemblies, and finished goods. A variety of approaches for automated visual inspection of printed circuits have been reported over the last two decades. In this survey, algorithms and techniques for the automated inspection of printed circuit boards are examined. A classification tree for these algorithms is presented and the algorithms are grouped according to this classification. This survey concentrates mainly on image analysis and …

Repository Evaluation Of Software Reuse: An Empirical Study, R. D. Banker, Robert J. Kauffman, D. Zweig

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The use and benefits of repository evaluation of software reuse are illustrated through an analysis of the evolving repositories of two large firms that recently implemented integrated CASE development tools. The analysis shows that these tools have supported high levels of software reuse, but it also suggests that there remains considerable unexploited reuse potential. The findings indicate that organizational changes will be required before the full potential of the new technology can be realized.

A Rule-Based System For Query Feedback, Hock C. Chan, Kwok-Kee Wei, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The authors propose a rule-based system which provides feedback in order to give the user a better understanding of the user's queries. This technique improves query accuracy and confidence. A rule-based expert system that pinpoints syntax errors is described. It suggests possible semantics errors and provides possible solutions, as well as the English translation for the queries. The system can be used for computer-aided training and in actual operations. The system was experimentally tested with a group of students.

The Extent Of Multimedia Computer Applications In The Business World, Mei Yee Lim

Honors Theses

The world, or at least I, was all agog when touch screens arrived. My initial contact with touch screens was at a science exhibition in Menara MPPJ, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia in July 1987. That particular exhibit, which encouraged visitors to participate and to experiment with, was a graphic program. Visitors could use their fingers to select the drawing tool or the color they want (which is something like the tools on a MacDraw screen on a Macintosh) and use their fingers to move around the screen to draw anything they want. That added to my fascination with the world of …

The Dynamics Of Growth-Factor-Modified Immune-Response To Cancer Growth: One-Dimensional Models, J. A. Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

By characterizing the effect of tumor growth factors as deviations from normal logistic-type growth rates, the spatio-temporal dynamics for a one-dimensional model of cancer growth incorporating immune response are studied. The growth rates considered are classified respectively as normal, activated, inhibited and delay activated. The homogeneous steady states are defined by relative extrema of a ''free energy'' function V(x) for each of the above four cases. This function is of particular importance in studying the coexistence of tumoral and cancer-free steady states, and in identifying the nature (progressive or regressive) of travelling wave solutions to the nonlinear partial differential equation …

Development Of A Classification System For Computer Viruses In The Ibm Pc Environment Using The Dos Operating System, Hugh R. Browne

Theses : Honours

The threat to computers worldwide from computer viruses is increasing as new viruses and variants proliferate. Availability of virus construction tools to facilitate 'customised' virus production and wider use of more sophisticated means of evading detection, such as encryption, polymorphic transformation and memory resident 'stealth' techniques increase this problem. Some viruses employ methods to guard against their own eradication from an infected computer, whilst other viruses adopt measures to prevent disassembly of the virus for examination and analysis. Growth in computer numbers and connectivity provide a growing pool of candidate hosts for infection. Standardised and flexible systems for classification and …

Digital Information In The Peel-Harvey Catchment Area, Dennis Van Gool

Agriculture reports

This paper presents a summary of the main features of the digital mapping data available in the Peel-Harvey Catchment area. This type of information is essential for Geographic Information System (GIS) users to assess projects involving the use of digital data such as plotting of mapped themes, topological overlays, area calculations and reporting.

The Use Of A Factory Simulation To Evaluate A Flexible Control Structure For Integrated Manufacturing, Ling Ling Pan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Once a control structure for an integrated manufacturing system is decided upon, manufacturing activities are limited by that structure. A flexible control structure is presented as an approach for accommodating a variety of manufacturing activities, without being limited to a single control structure. A flexible control structure is one that allows multiple types of control structure in the manufacturing process. For example, both hierarchical and non-hierarchical structures may be used in a flexible structure. The properties of a flexible control structure are discussed from the point of view of graph theory.

Control structures for automated manufacturing are difficult to evaluate …

Functional Representation And Reasoning About The F/A-18 Aircraft Fuel System, M. Pegah, J. Sticklen, William E. Bond

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Functional reasoning, a subfield of model-based reasoning, is discussed. This approach uses abstractions of a device's purpose to index behaviors that achieve that purpose. Functional modeling, a variation on this method, also uses simulation as a core reasoning strategy. The complex causal knowledge of a device along functional lines is decomposed, then a causal story of how the device will operate in a particular situation given stated boundary conditions is composed. The application of the functional approach to modeling the fuel system of a F/A-18 aircraft is described. The representation of the F/A-18 fuel system includes 89 component devices, 92 …

Optimal Greedy Algorithms For Indifference Graphs, Peter J. Looges, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

A fundamental problem in social sciences and management is understanding and predicting decisions made by individuals, various groups, or the society as a whole. In this context, one important concept is the notion of indifference. We characterize the class of indifference graphs, that is, graphs which arise in the process of quantifying indifference relations. In particular, we show that these graphs are characterized by the existence of a special ordering of their vertices. As it turns out, this ordering leads naturally to optimal greedy algorithms for a number of computational problems, including coloring, finding a shortest path between two vertices, …