Digital Commons Network^™

Software Flexibility In A Web Environment, Michael Layng

Theses : Honours

Flexible software systems are designed to be able to adapt to changes in their environment without the need for programmer intervention. This allows companies and institutions to avoid the cost of hiring a programmer every time a business rule changes or a data structure is modified. The techniques of designing and implementing flexible 3GL software systems have been proven as a means of reducing the high cost of software maintenance caused by the changing of systems requirements. Such systems have been in operation in the European finance sector since the early 1980's. Edith Cowan University is participating in current research …

Good Software Development Processes Lead To Harmonious Project Teams Which In Turn Lead To Effective Project Performance, Rweyunga Kazaura

Theses : Honours

The modem world relies on computers in almost every facet of life. With the explosion of Information Technology, software development has become an important process. However, from the beginning, this process has suffered and continues to suffer from a number of problems. If these problems are not rectified, they can jeopardise projects and lead to project failure. Project failure results in a project being delivered: • without satisfying the functional and non-functional requirements requested by the user or customer • beyond the agreed schedule and/or • over budget. Research indicates that practising good software development processes (SDPs) can override these …

Measurement Of The Axial-Vector Τ Spectral Functions And Determination Of Αs (M2Τ) From Hadronic Τ Decays, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An analysis based on 124 000 selected ττ pairs recorded by the ALEPH detector at LEP provides the vector (V)(V) and axial-vector (A)(A) spectral functions of hadronic ττ decays together with their total widths. This allows the evaluation of finite energy chiral sum rules that are weighted integrals over the (V−A)(V−A) spectral functions. In addition, a precise measurement of αsαs along with a determination of nonperturbative contributions at the ττ mass scale is performed. The experimentally and theoretically most robust determination of αs(M2τ)αs(Mτ2) is obtained from the (V+A)(V+A) fit that yields αs(M2τ)=0.334±0.022αs(Mτ2)=0.334±0.022 giving αs(M2Z)=0.1202±0.0027αs(MZ2)=0.1202±0.0027 after the extrapolation to the mass …

Study Of B0s Oscillations And Lifetime Using Fully Reconstructed D̄S Decays, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A search for B0sBs0 oscillations is performed using approximately 4 million Z→qq¯Z→qq¯ events collected by the ALEPH experiment during 1991–1995. B0sBs0 candidates are partially reconstructed by combining tracks with fully reconstructed D−sDs− candidates. The B0sBs0 production flavour is estimated from the sign of the opposite hemisphere charge, a fragmentation kaon in the same hemisphere, or a lepton in the opposite hemisphere. From a total sample of 1620 candidates, with a B0sBs0 purity estimated to be 22%, all values of ΔmsΔms below 3.9 ps−1−1 and between 6.5 and 8.8 ps−1−1 are excluded at 95% CL. From the same sample, the B0sBs0 …

An Integrated Web-Based Ill System For Singapore Libraries, Schubert Foo, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The paper proposes an integrated Web-based inter-library loan (ILL) system to replace and enhance the existing manual-based ILL system used by Singapore libraries. It describes the system requirements that must be supported in order to make it a viable and acceptable solution to all participating libraries. Subsequently, it presents the client-server Web-based system architecture, database design and Java development platform that are used to implement the system. The new system exhibits a host of advantages over the manual system including the minimising of human resource by eliminating form-filling and other forms of paper work completely, improving the access and speed …

A Complex-Systems Perspective On The “Computation Vs. Dynamics” Debate In Cognitive Science, Melanie Mitchell

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

I review the purported opposition between computational and dynamical approaches in cognitive science. I argue that both computational and dynamical notions will be necessary for a full explanatory account of cognition, and give a perspective on how recent research in complex systems can lead to a much needed rapprochement between computational and dynamical styles of explanation.

Stackguard: Automatic Adaptive Detection And Prevention Of Buffer-Overflow Attacks, Crispin Cowan, Calton Pu, David Maier, Heather Hinton, Jonathan Walpole, Peat Bakke, Steve Beattie, Aaron Grier, Perry Wagle, Qian Zhang

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper presents a systematic solution to the persistent problem of buffer overflow attacks. Buffer overflow attacks gained notoriety in 1988 as part of the Morris Worm incident on the Internet. While it is fairly simple to fix individual buffer overflow vulnerabilities, buffer overflow attacks continue to this day. Hundreds of attacks have been discovered, and while most of the obvious vulnerabilities have now been patched, more sophisticated buffer overflow attacks continue to emerge.

We describe StackGuard: a simple compiler technique that virtually eliminates buffer overflow vulnerabilities with only modest performance penalties. Privileged programs that are recompiled with the StackGuard …

Using Multimedia Microworlds To Motivate And Engage Adult Learners, Susan B. Stoney

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As educational institutions come under increasing pressure from outside forces to restructure the way students learn, efforts are being made by researchers to find ways to assist students to learn through independent thought and to solve problems in a resource-based, self-paced environment. Such an environment needs to be sufficiently interesting and novel to motivate students who begin to use it, and to continue to engage them as they progress through it. This study has sought to identify what such a learning environment needs to encompass in order to motivate and engage adult learners so that they will not only want …

Performing Cooperative Work And Conferencing On An Intranet Using Java, Thaveeporn Limpanyalers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The process of organising, preparing and conducting a meeting is a time consuming one. Additionally, geographic separation compounds the amount of effort required. Within this study, an electronic conferencing system in an Intranet environment is designed and implemented, thus enabling employees in the same organisation to meet up electronically without the dual constraints of time and space. Specifically, the study investigates incorporation of facial expressions and an ongoing polling system. The results demonstrate that a presence of facial expressions helps users to better engage in on-line discussion and that users find an ongoing poll to be useful in determining direction …

Module Embedding, Atanas Radenski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This paper proposes a code reuse mechanism called module embedding that enables the building of new modules from existing ones through inheritance, overriding of procedures, and overriding of types; the paper also describes an implementation scheme for this mechanism. Module embedding is beneficial when modules and classes are used in combination and need to be extended together, or when modules are more appropriate medium than classes.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 13, Number 10, December 1997, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

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

Ta Da! - The Text Adventure Design Assistant A Visual Tool For The Development Of Adventure Games, Sean Molley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this paper, I survey past and present tools available to text adventure game authors, and then describe a new product: the Text Adventure Design Assistant (TA DA!), a visual programming system for creating text adventure games. My system consists of two parts: an abstract framework which defines an archetypical game, and a user interface which allows for the construction of games in a visual manner by manipulating the elements of the abstract game to produce a concrete design. The two most popular contemporary programming languages for creating text adventure games, TADS and Inform, are compared and contrasted, and my …

The Platonic Spheroids, Jörg Peters, Leif Kobbelt

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Interactive Visualization Of Multi- Dimensional Scientific Data (Ph.D. Thesis), Daniel R. Schikore

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Data Model, System And Task Characteristics On User Query Performance – An Empirical Study, Hock Chan, Keng Siau, Kwok-Kee Wei

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the proliferation of end-user computing and empowerment of end users in the organizations, the user-database interface is increasingly being recognized as an important research area. A user-database interface consists of two key components: the data model and the query language. Database management system designers can manipulate these two components to produce an effective database interface to maximize user task performance. However, in order to do this, the designers first need to know the effect of the two components on end users and the interaction effect of the two components. Despite the acknowledgment of user-database interface as a cornerstone in …

An Examination Of Multi-Tier Designs For Legacy Data Access, Michael L. Acker

Theses and Dissertations

This work examines the application of Java and the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) to support access to remote databases via the Internet. The research applies these software technologies to assist an Air Force distance learning provider in improving the capabilities of its World Wide Web-based correspondence system. An analysis of the distance learning provider's operation revealed a strong dependency on a non-collocated legacy relational database. This dependency limits the distance learning provider's future web-based capabilities. A recommendation to improve operation by data replication is proposed, and the implementation details are provided for two alternative test systems that support …

Visualization And Animation Of A Missile/Target Encounter, Jeffrey T. Bush

Theses and Dissertations

Existing missile/target encounter modeling and simulation systems focus on improving probability of kill models. Little research has been done to visualize these encounters. These systems can be made more useful to the engineers by incorporating current computer graphics technology for visualizing and animating the encounter. Our research has been to develop a graphical simulation package for visualizing both endgame and full fly-out encounters. Endgame visualization includes showing the interaction of a missile, its fuze cone proximity sensors, and its target during the final fraction of a second of the missile/target encounter. Additionally, this system displays dynamic effects such as the …

Breast Cancer Mass Detection Using Difference Of Gaussians And Pulse Coupled Neural Networks, Donald A. Cournoyer

Theses and Dissertations

CAD, serving as a second reader, has been shown to improve the success of radiologists at detecting breast cancer. This thesis will develop a new algorithm to identify masses in mammograms. The system developed for this thesis will be capable of assisting a radiologist in making decisions.

Market-Based Resource Control For Mobile Agents, Jonathan Bredin, David Kotz, Daniela Rus

Computer Science Technical Reports

Mobile agents are programs that can migrate from machine to machine in a heterogeneous, partially disconnected network. As mobile agents move across a network, they consume resources. We discuss a system for controlling the activities of mobile agents that uses electronic cash, a banking system, and a set of resource managers. We describe protocols for transactions between agents. We present fixed-pricing and dynamic-pricing policies for resources. We focus on and analyze the sealed-bid second-price auction as a mechanism for dynamic pricing.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 13, Number 9, November 1997, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

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

Simulation Study Of Learning Automata Games In Automated Highway Systems, Cem Unsal, Pushkin Kachroo, John S. Bay

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

One of the most important issues in Automated Highway System (AHS) deployment is intelligent vehicle control. While the technology to safely maneuver vehicles exists, the problem of making intelligent decisions to improve a single vehicle’s travel time and safety while optimizing the overall traffic flow is still a stumbling block. We propose an artificial intelligence technique called stochastic learning automata to design an intelligent vehicle path controller. Using the information obtained by on-board sensors and local communication modules, two automata are capable of learning the best possible (lateral and longitudinal) actions to avoid collisions. This learning method is capable of …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Software Product Metrics For Cobol Systems, Richard E. Boone

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated several hypotheses that specific product measures could be used to predict later software lifecycle process or product measures. It collected software product and process measures from four consecutive major releases of a large Cobol legacy system (400K LOC). The types of product measures used were size and specific complexity measures. A statistical software package was used to calculate sample correlation coefficients between the measures. A 95% confidence interval was computed for each sample correlation coefficient that showed a strong or moderate linear correlation. The maintenance process measures provided were manhours used for each program changed or added, …

Task Scheduling In Networks, Cynthia Phillips, Clifford Stein, Joel Wein

Dartmouth Scholarship

Scheduling a set of tasks on a set of machines so as to yield an efficient schedule is a basic problem in computer science and operations research. Most of the research on this problem incorporates the potentially unrealistic assumption that communication between the different machines is instantaneous. In this paper we remove this assumption and study the problem of network scheduling, where each job originates at some node of a network, and in order to be processed at another node must take the time to travel through the network to that node.

Our main contribution is to give approximation algorithms …

An Integrated Environment For Problem Solving And Program Development, Fadi Pierre Deek

Dissertations

A framework for an integrated problem solving and program development environment that addresses the needs of students learning programming is proposed. Several objectives have been accomplished: defining the tasks required for program development and a literature review to determine the actual difficulties involved in learning those tasks. A comprehensive Study of environments and tools developed to support the learning of problem solving and programming was then performed, covering programming environments, debugging aids, intelligent tutoring systems, and intelligent programming environments. This was followed by a careful analysis and critique of these systems, which uncovered the limitations that have prevented them from …

Structured Document Comparison And Scientific Data Mining On The World Wide Web, Philip B. Johnson

Theses

The usefulness and accessibility of programs and systems have become important issues for users and researchers alike. A program's usefulness can lw measured by the frequency with which it is used. From the author's or maintainer's point of view, the frequency of usage can be determined by how often a request for the software is received. In the past, a user became aware of a particular tool through various means, and contacted the author or maintainer to obtain a copy of it. This presented difficulties, ranging from language barriers to machine incompatibilities to control of the use of the program. …

Analysis Of The Protocol For The Handover In A Micro-Cell Packet Switched Mobile Network, Anna M. Thomas

Theses

The overlay of microcells over macrocells offers new opportunities and is cost effective, which makes the handover in such a micro-cellular environment an important issue. The objective of this study is to analyze and prove the truthfulness of a new protocol proposed, which guarantees no packet loss during the handoff. The study here emphasizes on the data integrity issue, since it is the key factor affecting the throughput performance of the transport layer. It is shown that usage of the Internet Protocol leads to packet loss in the presence of handover. Simulation results reveal that the proposed new protocol preserves …

Outbreak Agent: Intelligent Wearable Technology For Hazardous Environments, Erika Rogers, Robin R. Murphy, Chris Thompson

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The topic of this paper is a project to design an intelligent agent which supports humans in the domain of hazardous site investigation. This software agent will be integrated into wearable technology which is embedded in the protective clothing worn by the humans. An overview of some of the design issues is presented, with a particular emphasis on the visual problem solving component.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 13, Number 8, October 1997, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

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

Purdue-On-Line: A Facility And Distributed Learning Framework To Develop And Deliver Internet Based Education, Elias N. Houstis, Ahmed K. Elmagarmid, Sanjiva Weerawarana, Anthony L. Peiris, Nitesh D. Dhanjani, Gordon L. Coppoc, Abdalfattah Y.M. Nour, Lefteris H. Tsoukalas, Don Jones

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Formal Specification Of Fragmentation And Reassembly In Ipv6, Ibrahim Sahin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Development and implementation of a networking standard such as the new Internet Protocol (IPv6) is a very difficult process. Different implementations of the standard must be fully compatible to allow different computers to communicate with each other. However, standards are often ambiguous, frequently a result of providing specifications in the English language. A more formal specification could assist in the design of systems. This thesis demonstrates that capability using the Prototype Verification System (PVS).

In this thesis study, a formal specification for fragmentation and reassembly in IPv6 was created to provide a tool for the standardization of IPv6 using PVS. …