Digital Commons Network^™

Visual Learning Styles Among Digital Natives, Eric Palmer

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

This study explored the concept of digital nativity and its educational implications, including application of the learning styles hypothesis. The concept of digital natives, first put forth by Marc Prensky, introduced the notion that individuals raised in a technological environment have developed in such a way as to utilize information differently than the non-native generations before them. This study examined the possibility that these differences may include an increased efficiency in the utilization of narrative imagery versus textual information. The potential benefit of utilizing narrative imagery as an instructional tool is discussed. An experimental test application was developed for the …

Development Of Visualization Facility At The Gis And Remote Sensing Core Lab, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Haroon Stephen, William J. Smith, Zhongwei Liu

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Presentations

Visualization using advanced computational and graphic equipment has become a standard way of present day research. Availability of low cost and fast processing units, high resolution displays with graphic processing units, and specialized software has brought complex visualization capabilities to an office desktop. Nevertheless, when dealing with large datasets such as, global climate, geospatial, and social data the office desktop falls short and calls for a centralized visualization facility with high end computing and graphics equipment.

Visualization Facility at GIS and Remote Sensing Core Lab would be a useful and important addition to the UNLV IT infrastructure. It would provide …

Rich Internet Geoweb For Spatial Data Infrastructure, Tin Seong Kam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this information age, more and more public statistical data such as population census, household living, local economy and business establishment are distributed over the internet within the framework of spatial data infrastructure. By and large, these data are organized geographically such as region, province as well as district. Usually, they are published in the form of digital maps over the internet as simple points, lines and polygons markers limited or no analytical function available to transform these data into useful information. To meet the analytical needs of casual public data users, we contribute RIGVAT, a rich internet geospatial visual …

Show Me The Numbers: Visual Analytics For Insights, Tin Seong Kam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this highly volatile and fast-paced financial market, traders and managers working in banking and financial organizations must struggle to cope with large and complex data from multi-sources, that move throughout the market at increasingly high speed. The cost of making poor business and investment decisions is very high. This places great demands on data analysts, who are responsible for providing process information, to support the activities of traders and managers. Static reports and traditional business intelligence tools simply cannot keep up with a market that is changing on a second-to-second basis. By the time the traders and bankers have …

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 …

A Visualization Approach For Message Passing In Parallel Computing Systems, Arunkumar Sadasivan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Information Visualization has been used as an effective method in transforming textual information into a visual form that enables users to effectively communicate and understand the information. MPI (Message Passing Interface) usually involves a large amount of data, which necessitates exploring innovative ideas to visualize such data effectively.

In this thesis, we implement a graph visualization tool called MPROV to effectively visualize communication patterns of message passing using log files from MPI applications. The tool provides several interaction techniques to effectively reduce the amount of data displayed on the screen. We have also developed protocol conformance checking, which verifies the …

Applying Information Visualization To Computer Security Applications, Robert Bruce Whitaker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis presents two phases of research in applying visualization to network security challenges. The first phase included discovering the most useful and powerful features in existing computer security visualizations and incorporating them into the AdviseAid visualization platform, an existing software package. The incorporation of such a complete feature set required novel resolution of software engineering, human factors, and computer graphics issues. We also designed additional novel features, such as plugin interfaces, allowing for rapid prototyping and experimentation with novel visualization features and capabilities. The second phase of the research focused on the development of novel visualization techniques themselves. These …

A Location Aware P2p Voice Communication Protocol For Networked Virtual Environments, Gabor Papp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multiparty voice communication, where multiple people can communicate in a group, is an important component of networked virtual environments (NVEs), especially in many types of online games. While most research has been conducted on one-to-one communication, we focus on group communication. In this dissertation, we present the first measurement study on the characteristics of multiparty voice communications and develop a model of the talking and silence periods observed during multiparty communication. Over a total of 5 months, we measured over 11,000 sessions on an active multi-party voice communication server to quantify the characteristics of communication generated by game players, including …

Ssnetviz: A Visualization Engine For Heterogeneous Semantic Social Networks, Ee Peng Lim, Maureen Maureen, Nelman Lubis Ibrahim, Aixin Sun, Anwitaman Datta, Kuiyu Chang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

SSnetViz is an ongoing research to design and implement a visualization engine for heterogeneous semantic social networks. A semantic social network is a multi-modal network that contains nodes representing di®erent types of people or object entities, and edges representing relationships among them. When multiple heterogeneous semantic social networks are to be visualized together, SSnetViz provides a suite of functions to store heterogeneous semantic social networks, to integrate them for searching and analysis. We will illustrate these functions using social networks related to terrorism research, one crafted by domain experts and another from Wikipedia.

Multilayer Image Inpainting Approach Based On Neural Networks, Quan Wang, Zhaoxia Wang, Che Sau Chang, Ting Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper describes an image inpainting approach based on the self-organizing map for dividing an image into several layers, assigning each damaged pixel to one layer, and then restoring these damaged pixels by the information of their respective layer. These inpainted layers are then fused together to provide the final inpainting results. This approach takes advantage of the neural network's ability of imitating human's brain to separate objects of an image into different layers for inpainting. The approach is promising as clearly demonstrated by the results in this paper.

Avatars, People, And Virtual Worlds: Foundations For Research In Metaverses, Alanah Davis, John D. Murphy, Dawn Owens, Deepak Khazanchi, Ilze Zigurs

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

Metaverses are immersive three-dimensional virtual worlds in which people interact as avatars with each other and with software agents, using the metaphor of the real world but without its physical limitations. The ubiquitous availability of high speed Internet access has spurred enormous interest in virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft, both in terms of user gaming and as a new technological platform for global virtual collaboration. These environments have potential for richer, more engaging collaboration, but their capabilities have yet to be examined in depth. Of particular interest in this paper is the use of metaverses for …

Administrative Perspectives On Technology Integration: The Globaloria: Myglife Program In West Virginia, William E. Chapman Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The reputed benefits of using technology in schools have been the topic of many research studies. When the World Wide Workshop Foundation implemented their Globaloria program into a group of pilot public secondary schools in West Virginia in the fall of 2008, another opportunity for study was created. The perceptions of principals relating to: 1) the effect(s) of the Globaloria program on students‘ academic outcomes; 2) the purpose(s) of the program; 3) the principal‘s role in the program 4) the benefits; and/or 5) the liabilities of having the program in their schools were examined in this mixed-method study. Analysis of …

Satellite Photography: Instrumental, Rhetorical, Affective?, Irangi Kaushalya Egodapitiya

Masters Theses

"This study examines how tsunami satellite images operate and could provoke various interpretations. The goal of this research project is to study whether the interpretation of tsunami satellite images could extend beyond scientific features to affective messages. Primarily based on the satellite images of Sri Lanka taken before and during the 2004 tsunami, this study analyses: How could mechanical satellite images, taken automatically by a machine in orbit, become an object of profound emotional meaning?; How do viewer's experiences, knowledge, and discourse affect their interpretations of mechanical artifacts?; How are tsunami satellite images connected to affective responses by viewers?; How …

Real-Time Image-Based Motion Detection Using Color And Structure, Manali Chakraborty

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Motion detection is an important problem in computer vision and has multiple applications in the real world, including surveillance-related activities, gaming, and human-robot interactions. These systems need to be robust enough to handle fluctuations in light intensity and other external factors like noise and compression artifacts. In this thesis a method is proposed for detecting the regions of motion from a video sequence in real time. The main idea of this work is to detect motion based on both structure and color. Structure-based detection is carried out using information from the Census Transform computed on gradient images obtained with Sobel …

Virtual World Affordances: Enhancing Brand Value, S. Park, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, D. Dewester, B. Eschenbrenner, S. Jeon

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional, computer-generated worlds that are a natural extension of the existing Internet. Although many businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to maintain a presence in virtual worlds, there is no well-established knowledge or theory to guide businesses in their involvement in these environments. In this paper, we identify affordances in the virtual worlds that can be used to increase the state of flow experienced in a business virtual site, which in turn may enhance brand equity, or the perceived added value of a brand to customers. We present a conceptual model that can be used to guide …

Inside Unlv, Shane Bevell, Tony Allen, Karen Sharp, Mamie Peers, Cate Weeks

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

A Lightweight Buyer-Seller Watermarking Protocol, Yongdong Wu, Hwee Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The buyer-seller watermarking protocol enables a seller to successfully identify a traitor from a pirated copy, while preventing the seller from framing an innocent buyer. Based on finite field theory and the homomorphic property of public key cryptosystems such as RSA, several buyer-seller watermarking protocols (N. Memon and P. W. Wong (2001) and C.-L. Lei et al. (2004)) have been proposed previously. However, those protocols require not only large computational power but also substantial network bandwidth. In this paper, we introduce a new buyer-seller protocol that overcomes those weaknesses by managing the watermarks. Compared with the earlier protocols, ours is …

Virtual Aesthetics And Ethical Communication: Towards Virtuous Reality Design, David Williams

All Theses

This thesis argues that ethics can and should be applied to Second Life avatar design and behavior. Second Life is a unique virtual reality due to its connection to the physical world primarily through financial devices. Users buy and sell virtual and physical goods over these networks; the avatar, it is argued, is the primary instrument for persuasion in these contexts. Avatars facilitate a virtual aesthetic that is primarily 'natural.' By creating aesthetic avatars, the developers of Second Life enable audiences to affectively associate with other 'residents.' Not only is the avatar designed for aesthetic appeal, but it enables users …

I-Minds: A Multiagent System For Intelligent Computer- Supported Collaborative Learning And Classroom Management, Leen-Kiat Soh, Nobel Khandaker, Hong Jiang

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

I-MINDS provides a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) infrastructure and environment for learners in synchronous learning and classroom management applications for instructors, for large classroom or distance education situations. For supporting the instructor, I-MINDS includes a teacher agent. The teacher agent allows the instructor to interact with students, manage Q&A sessions, administer quizzes, post evaluations, form groups and monitor individual and group performances. For computer-supported collaborative learning, I-MINDS, which stands for Intelligent Multiagent Infrastructure for Distributed Systems in Education, provides a student agent for each student. Each student agent monitors and models its user and carries out group formation with other …

A Novel Mobile Wimax Solution For Higher Throughput, Iftekhar Ahmad, Daryoush Habibi

Research outputs pre 2011

The IEEE 802.16 standard, also known as WiMAX, has emerged as an exciting technology for broadband wireless communications with potentials to offer high throughput and support high bandwidth demanding applications. WiMAX, however, has yet to prove its effectiveness when the end terminals are not fixed and have the capacity to move from one place to another at different speeds. Recent studies suggest that while WiMAX (802.16e) has the potential to deliver a data rate up to 75 Mb/s for fixed wireless communications, it fails drastically for mobile wireless communications, often providing a data rate less than 1 Mb/s when the …

Does Mutual Knowledge Affect Virtual Team Performance? Theoretical Analysis And Anecdotal Evidence, Alanah Davis, Deepak Khazanchi

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

This paper describes the concept of mutual knowledge and its potential impact on virtual team performance. Based on an analysis of extant literature, we argue that there is a gap in our understanding of what is known about mutual knowledge as it impacts team dynamics and virtual team performance. Supporting literature, anecdotes, and case studies are used to discuss the importance of mutual knowledge for virtual team performance and the research issues that need to be addressed in the future.

Τέχνη And Quest-Oriented Learning, Sarah Matzko

All Dissertations

A new approach for teaching undergraduate computer science courses is presented. A general teaching approach that is its basis is also described. Summaries and guides to several introductory courses are provided. Results from the use of the curriculum are presented, and other applications of the approach are suggested.

Virtual Classroom Extension For Effective Distance Education, Radu Dondera, Chun Jia, Voicu Popescu, Cristina Nita-Rotaru, Melissa Dark

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Sexual Dimorphism In The Human Face, Ashok Samal, Vanitha Subramani, David B. Marx

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Abstract Human beings can distinguish between a male and a female face without much difficulty. The science of recognizing and differentiating different faces by humans is not completely understood and is still under research. Sexual dimorphism is common in humans and indeed in other species of animals as well. Significant differences between males and females exist in many aspects like size, color, body shapes, and weight. In this research, we characterize and analyze the sexual dimorphism in the human face as a function of age and of face features. Features are grouped into six categories: head, eyes, orbits, nose, lips, …

A Gui For The Deaf-Blind: An Additional Concepts Paper, David Veal

Research outputs pre 2011

People with some residual vision though still classified as blind may be able to read on screen patterns presented via a computer program whereby such a pattern can represent a textual character and a presentation of sequences of such patterns can represent words. These patterns can be adjusted to utilize the user’s remaining vision capacity. Previous research has shown that volunteers who where legally classified as blind could read simple sentences via such a system. This system is known as the Dynamic Pattern System (DPS) and is a test bed for research. Although this research involved a single pattern represented …

Pre-Conference Proceedings Of The Focus Symposium On Advances In Intelligent Software Systems, Collaborative Agent Design Research Center

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

A very powerful new type of information systems technology is rapidly emerging, driven by government and commercial needs for expert decision-support and knowledge management. One very apparent result of this technology is increasingly intelligent software systems. Computer programs with collaborative agents that are capable of automatically reasoning about data and the dynamic changes in data that occur in real world decision-making situations are already in use by the military and are now transitioning to the commercial world.

Elements Of Human Decision-Making, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The purpose of this paper is to present some understandings of the human problem-solving activity that we have gained in the Collaborative Agent Design Research Center (CADRC) over the past two decades. Since we feel strongly that the human decision-maker should be an integral component of any computer-based decision-support system, it follows that we would have endeavored to incorporate many of the elements that appear to be important to the user in the design of these systems. The complexity of the human cognitive system is evidenced by the large body of literature that describes problem-solving behavior and the relatively fewer …

Semantic Analytics Visualization, Leonidas Deligiannidis, Amit P. Sheth, Boanerges Aleman-Meza

Kno.e.sis Publications

In this paper we present a new tool for semantic analytics through 3D visualization called “Semantic Analytics Visualization” (SAV). It has the capability for visualizing ontologies and meta-data including annotated web-documents, images, and digital media such as audio and video clips in a synthetic three-dimensional semi-immersive environment. More importantly, SAV supports visual semantic analytics, whereby an analyst can interactively investigate complex relationships between heterogeneous information. The tool is built using Virtual Reality technology which makes SAV a highly interactive system. The backend of SAV consists of a Semantic Analytics system that supports query processing and semantic association discovery. Using a …

Designing A Data Warehouse For Cyber Crimes, Il-Yeol Song, John D. Maguire, Ki Jung Lee, Namyoun Choi, Xiaohua Hu, Peter Chen

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

One of the greatest challenges facing modern society is the rising tide of cyber crimes. These crimes, since they rarely fit the model of conventional crimes, are difficult to investigate, hard to analyze, and difficult to prosecute. Collecting data in a unified framework is a mandatory step that will assist the investigator in sorting through the mountains of data. In this paper, we explore designing a dimensional model for a data warehouse that can be used in analyzing cyber crime data. We also present some interesting queries and the types of cyber crime analyses that can be performed based on …

Wmxml: A System For Watermarking Xml Data, Xuan Zhou, Hwee Hwa Pang, Kian-Lee Tan, Dhruv Mangla

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As increasing amount of data is published in the form of XML, copyright protection of XML data is becoming an important requirement for many applications. While digital watermarking is a widely used measure to protect digital data from copyright offences, the complex and flexible construction of XML data poses a number of challenges to digital watermarking, such as re-organization and alteration attacks. To overcome these challenges, the watermarking scheme has to be based on the usability of data and the underlying semantics like key attributes and functional dependencies. In this paper, we describe WmXML, a system for watermarking XML documents. …