Digital Commons Network^™

A Real-Time Wireless Sensor Media Access Control (Mac) Protocol, Barry W. Park

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless sensor networks are rapidly becoming a platform for applications such as battlefield monitoring, intelligence gathering, environmental monitoring, and emergency response. Inherent in these applications is a priority and urgency of the information or messages. This means the messages must be delivered in a timely manner for them to be useful. This research assigns a message priority level and provides high-priority messages quicker access to the channel. Using MICA2 sensors and a modified Media Access Control (MAC) layer, real-time message End-to-End (ETE) delay was reduced by 50 percent. Coupled with this decrease in delay, these same real-time messages also had …

Threading And Autodocumenting News Videos: A Promising Solution To Rapidly Browse News Topics, Xiao Wu, Chong-Wah Ngo, Qing Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper describes the techniques in threading and autodocumenting news stories according to topic themes. Initially, we perform story clustering by exploiting the duality between stories and textual-visual concepts through a co-clustering algorithm. The dependency among stories of a topic is tracked by exploring the textual-visual novelty and redundancy of stories. A novel topic structure that chains the dependencies of stories is then presented to facilitate the fast navigation of the news topic. By pruning the peripheral and redundant news stories in the topic structure, a main thread is extracted for autodocumentary

Using Augmented Virtuality To Improve Human-Robot Interactions, Curtis W. Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

Mobile robots can be used in situations and environments that are distant from an operator. In order for an operator to control a robot effectively he or she requires an understanding of the environment and situation around the robot. Since the robot is at a remote distant from the operator and cannot be directly observed, the information necessary for an operator to develop an understanding or awareness of the robot's situation comes from the user interface. The usefulness of the interface depends on the manner in which the information from the remote environment is presented. Conventional interfaces for interacting with …

Robust Parameter Synthesis For Planar Higher Pair Mechanical Systems, Min-Ho Kyung, Elisha Sacks

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Scalable Authentication Of Mpeg-4 Streams, Yongdong Wu, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents three scalable and efficient schemes for authenticating MPEG-4 streams: the Flat Authentication Scheme, the Progressive Authentication Scheme, and the Hierarchical Authentication Scheme. All the schemes allow authentication of MPEG-4 streams over lossy networks by integrating seamlessly digital signatures and erasure correction coding with MPEG-4's fine granular scalability. A prominent feature of our schemes is their "sign once, verify many ways" property, i.e., they generate only one digital signature per compressed MPEG-4 object group, but allow clients to verify the authenticity of any down-scaled version of the original signed object group.

Energy Efficiency And Capacity For Tcp Traffic In Multi-Hop Wireless Networks, Sorav Bansal, Rajeev Shorey, Rajeev Gupta, Archan Misra

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We study the performance metrics associated with TCP-regulated traffic in multi-hop, wireless networks that use a common physical channel (e.g., IEEE 802.11). In contrast to earlier analyses, we focus simultaneously on two key operating metrics—the energy efficiency and the transport-layer (TCP) throughput. Using analysis and simulations, we show how these metrics are strongly influenced by the radio transmission range of individual nodes. Due to tradeoffs between the individual packet transmission energy and the likelihood of retransmissions, the total energy consumption is a convex function of the number of hops (and hence, of the transmission range). On the other hand, the …

Journal Of Combinatorial Optimization: Editorial, Maggie Xiaoyan Cheng

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Dynamic Measuring Tools For Online Discourse, Jeffrey S. Saltz

Dissertations

When evaluating participation within an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN), current best practices include counting messages and reviewing participant surveys. To understand the impact of more advanced dynamic measurement tools for use within an ALN, a web-based tool, known as iPET (the integrated Participation Evaluation Tool), was created. iPET, which leverages Social Network Analysis and Information Visualization techniques, was then evaluated via an empirical study. This research demonstrates that using a tool such as iPET increases participation within an ALN without increasing facilitator workload. Due to the fact that active online discussion is a key factor in the success of an …

Using Content And Process Scaffolds For Collaborative Discourse In Asynchronous Learning Networks, Irene Wong-Bushby

Dissertations

Discourse, a form of collaborative learning, is one of the most widely used methods of teaching and learning in the online environment. Particularly, in large courses, discourse needs to be 'structured' to be effective. Historically, technology-mediated learning (TML) research has been inconclusive with often conflicting results. To address this issue, TML research needs greater breadth and depth in pedagogical grounding. The purpose of this research is to build and test an original, technology-mediated, discourse-centered model called the Asynchronous Learning Network Cognitive Discourse Model (ALNCDM) grounded in pedagogy. Cognitive discourse is defined as discourse on conceptual subject matter. The model is …

Model Driven Architecture - A Tool For Enterprise Architecture : A Look At Emergency Response Systems, Ritu Lamba

Theses

Today's fast changing markets and technology drive software industry to deliver high quality enterprise software solutions. The enterprise system architecture should be designed to keep business functions separate from technological implementation to accommodate the fast changing business environment.

In this thesis we have studied the current best practices in defining enterprise architectures and Zachman's framework in particular. We have further examined the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) approach and its application to enterprise architecture definition. MDA separates the business logic from the underlying platform technology and defines a representation model based on precise semantics. Zachman's framework defines a set of views …

A User-Centric Tabular Multi-Column Sorting Interface For Intact Transposition Of Columnar Data, David B. L. Miles

Theses and Dissertations

Many usability features designed in software applications are not procedurally intuitive for software users. A good example of software usability involves tabular sorting in a spreadsheet. Single-column sorting, activated with a mouse click to a column header or toolbar button, often produces rearranged listings that reduce cognitive organization beyond the sorted column. Multi-column sorting, generated through menu-driven processes, provides derived organization, however, locating feature options through menu-based systems can be confusing. A means to overcome this confusion is prioritized selection of database arrays issued to columnar displays for the purpose of intact transposition of data. This is a unique process …

Service Oriented Architecture For Voip Conferencing, Wenjun Wu, Geoffrey C. Fox, Hasan Bulut, Ahmet Uyar, Tao Huang

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

Voice/Video over IP (VoIP) systems to date have been either highly centralized or dependent on the IP multicast in nature. Global Multimedia Collaboration System is a scalable, integrated and service-oriented VoIP conferencing system, based on the XGSP collaboration framework and NaradaBrokering messaging middleware. This system can provide media and session services to heterogeneous endpoints such as H.323, SIP, Access Grid, RealPlayer as well as cellular phone. In this paper, we address the challenges of scalability, interoperablity and heterogeneity in massive VoIP conferencing system. We believe that our approach opens up new opportunities for leveraging classic VoIP systems by using new …

Visual Ontology Modeling For Electronic Markets, Saartje Brockmans, Andreas Geyer-Schulz, Pascal Hitzler, Rudi Studer

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

The research program, Information Management and Market Engineering, focuses on the analysis and the design of electronic markets. Taking a holistic view of the conceptualization and realization of solutions, the research integrates the disciplines business administration, economics, computer science, and law. Topics of interest range from the implementation, quality assurance, and further development of electronic markets to their integration into business processes, innovative business models, and legal frameworks.

Webisms: (Web-Based Information Security Management System): A Prevention Information Security Tool, Nam Kim

Theses Digitization Project

The impetus for this project came from five years of experience working as a system and network administrator in the California State University, San Bernardino's (CSUSB's) College of Natural Sciences. The college and campus in general are under continual cyber attack, usually by direct-penetration methods and all kinds of viruses, worms, and spywares. This project developed WebISMS as a prevention approach in information security. WebISMS is now deployed in the CSUSB Institute of Applied Supercomputing lab, where it is working efficiently as an information security assessment / audit tool.

Flight Ticket Ordering System, Ching-Ting Huang

Theses Digitization Project

The Flight Ticket Ordering System (FTOS) is an online system that allows members to get flight information and purchase tickets through the Internet. The project is designed to be a multi-platform, thus the interface is a normal web browser and it is written in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), and JSP (Java Server Page). In this system, we use the MySQL database server to maintain persistent data.

Appointment System, Ming-Tse Chen

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to create an online appointment system that allows students to make appointments with faculty through the internet.

Integrated View And Comparison Of Alignment Semantics, Pascal Hitzler, Jerome Euzenat, Markus Krotzsch, Luciano Serafini, Heiner Stuckenschmidt, Holger Wache, Antoine Zimmermann

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We take a general perspective on alignment in order to develop common theoretical foundations for the subject. The deliverable comprises a comparative study of different mapping languages by means of distributed first-order logic, and a study on category-theoretical modelling of alignment and merging by means of pushout-combinations.

Interactive Multimedia E-Learning System, Wen-Yi Shih

Theses Digitization Project

This project is an interactive, multimedia, on-line learning system. It provides a friendly and simple interface to let kids easily learn their ABC's. Teachers and administrators can modify and view files and database information from a normal web browser to customize the student's learning experience. The web browser is written in Java Server Page (JSP), Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and Macromedia Flash.

A Web Accessible Clinical Patient Information Networked System, Andrew Yee Chang

Theses Digitization Project

Developed with the intention to make the patient data storage system in the clinical outpatient area more efficient, this system stores all pertinent and relevant patient data such as lab results, patient history and X-ray images. The system is accessible via the internet as well as operable over a local area network (LAN). The intended audience for this program is essentially the clinical staff (e.g., physicians, nursing staff, secretarial staff). The computer program was developed using Java Server Pages (JSP) and utilizes the Oracle 9i database.

Software-Based Gradient Nonlinearity Distortion Correction, Thomas Seward Lee

Theses Digitization Project

The primary purpose of the thesis is to discuss the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in functional proton radiosurgery. The methods presented in this thesis were specifically designed to correct gradient nonlinearity distortion, the single greatest hurdle that limits the deployment of MRI-based functional proton radiosurgery systems. The new system central in the thesis fully utilized MRI to provide localization of anatomical targets with submillimeter accuracy. The thesis provides analysis and solutions to the problems related to gradient nonlinearity distortion. The characteristics of proton radiosurgery are introduced, in addition to a discussion of its advantages over other current methods …

Taxaminer: Improving Taxonomy Label Quality Using Latent Semantic Indexing, Cartic Ramakrishnan, Christopher Thomas, Vipul Kashyap, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

The development of taxonomies/ontologies is a human intensive process requiring prohibitively large resource commitments in terms of time and cost. In our previous work we have identified an experimentation framework for semi-automatic taxonomy/hierarchy generation from unstructured text. In the preliminary results presented, the taxonomy/hierarchy quality was lower than we had anticipated. In this paper, we present two variations of our experimentation framework, viz. Latent semantic Indexing (LSI) for document indexing and the use of term vectors to prune labels assigned to nodes in the final taxonomy/hierarchy. Using our previous results of taxonomy/hierarchy quality as the baseline we present results that …

Data Processing In Space, Time, And Semantics Dimensions, Farshad Hakimpour, Boanerges Aleman-Meza, Matthew Perry, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

This work presents an experimental system for data processing in space, time and semantics dimensions using current Semantic Web technologies. The paper describes how we obtain geographic and event data from Internet sources and also how we integrate them into an RDF store. We briefly introduce a set of functionalities in space, time and semantics dimensions. These functionalities are implemented based on our existing technology for main-memory based RDF data processing developed in the LSDIS Lab. A number of these functionalities are exposed as REST Web services. We present two sample client side applications that are developed using a combination …

Multinational Web Uses And Gratifications: Measuring The Social Impact Of Online Community Participation Across National Boundaries, Patricia Grace-Farfaglia, Ad Dekkers, Binod Sundararajan, Lois Peters, Sung-Hee Park

Nutrition Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes the rationale and findings from a multinational study of online uses and gratifications conducted in theUnited States,Korea, and theNetherlandsin spring 2003. Survey questions developed in three languages by native speaking researchers was presented to approximately 400 respondents in each country via the Web. Web uses and gratifications were analyzed cross-nationally in a comparative fashion focusing on involvement in different types of on-line communities. Findings indicate that demographic characteristics, cultural values, and Internet connection type emerged as critical factors that explain why the same technology is adopted differently.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 22, Number 4, January 2006, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

A ten page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Sabbatical Leave Proposal And Report, Ken Urban

Sabbaticals

I plan to use my sabbatical time creating live websites/ databases/ web services for not-for-profit businesses. I plan to create them using the rich variety of different tools I have been teaching. I think it is important that I not only build these sites, but also interact with groups who will be using the sites while building them.

I plan to write a time-based contract with the entities for whom I will consultant pro bono for. Of the many benefits, this will ensure an end for the work, to prevent this from interfering with my future work at Parkland. This …

Semi-Supervised Conditional Random Fields For Improved Sequence Segmentation And Labeling, Feng Jiao, Shaojun Wang, Chi-Hoon Lee, Russell Greiner, Dale Schuurmans

Kno.e.sis Publications

We present a new semi-supervised training procedure for conditional random fields (CRFs) that can be used to train sequence segmentors and labelers from a combination of labeled and unlabeled training data. Our approach is based on extending the minimum entropy regularization framework to the structured prediction case, yielding a training objective that combines unlabeled conditional entropy with labeled conditional likelihood. Although the training objective is no longer concave, it can still be used to improve an initial model (e.g. obtained from supervised training) by iterative ascent. We apply our new training algorithm to the problem of identifying gene and protein …

An Investigation Of Codon Usage Bias Including Visualization And Quantification In Organisms Exhibiting Multiple Biases, Douglas W. Raiford, Travis E. Doom, Dan E. Krane, Michael L. Raymer

Kno.e.sis Publications

Prokaryotic genomic sequence data provides a rich resource for bioinformatic analytic algorithms. Information can be extracted in many ways from the sequence data. One often overlooked process involves investigating an organism’s codon usage. Degeneracy in the genetic code leads to multiple codons coding for the same amino acids. Organism’s often preferentially utilize specific codons when coding for an amino acid. This biased codon usage can be a useful trait when predicting a gene’s expressivity or whether the gene originated from horizontal transfer. There can be multiple biases at play in a genome causing errors in the predictive process. For this …

A Semantic Future For Ai, Rudi Studer, Anupriya Ankolekar, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

In our modern information society, people need to manage ever-increasing numbers of personal devices and conduct more of their work and activities online, often making use of heterogeneous services. The amount of information to be processed by each individual is constantly growing, making it increasingly difficult to control, channel, share and make constructive use of it. To mitigate this, computing needs to become much more human-centered, e.g. by presenting personalised information to users and by respecting personal preferences in controlling multiple devices or invoking various services. Appropriate representation of the semantics of the information and functionality of devices and services …

Exploiting Redundancy To Boost Performance In A Raid-10 Style Cluster-Based File System, Yifeng Zhu, Hong Jiang, Xiao Qin, Dan Feng, David Swanson

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

While aggregating the throughput of existing disks on cluster nodes is a cost-effective approach to alleviate the I/O bottleneck in cluster computing, this approach suffers from potential performance degradations due to contentions for shared resources on the same node between storage data processing and user task computation. This paper proposes to judiciously utilize the storage redundancy in the form of mirroring existed in a RAID-10 style file system to alleviate this performance degradation. More specifically, a heuristic scheduling algorithm is developed, motivated from the observations of a simple cluster configuration, to spatially schedule write operations on the nodes with less …

Comprehension And Maintenance Of Large Scale Multi-Language Software Applications: Open Issues And Challenges, Kostas Kontogiannis, Panos K. Linos, Kenny Wong

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

During the last decade, the number of software applications that have been deployed as a collection of components implemented in different programming languages and paradigms has increased considerably. When such applications are maintained, traditional program comprehension and reengineering techniques may not be adequate. In this context, this working session aims to stimulate discussion around key issues relating to the comprehension, reengineering, and maintenance of multi-language software applications. Such issues include, but are not limited to, the formalization, management, exploration, and presentation of multi-language program dependencies, as well as the development of practical toolsets for automating and easing the comprehension and …