Digital Commons Network^™

Weighting Unusual Feature Types, Nicholas Howe, Claire Cardie

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Feature weighting is known empirically to improve classification accuracy for k-nearest neighbor classifiers in tasks with irrelevant features. Many feature weighting algorithms are designed to work with symbolic features, or numeric features, or both, but cannot be applied to problems with features that do not fit these categories. This paper presents a new k-nearest neighbor feature weighting algorithm that works with any kind of feature for which a distance function can be defined. Applied to an image classification task with unusual set-like features, the technique improves classification accuracy significantly. In tests on standard data sets from the UCI repository, the …

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 15, Number 1, January 1999, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

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

Graphics + Robotics + Ai = Fast, 3d Scene Construction, Brian C. Mashburn, Doug S. Blank

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

Sceneconstruction is the process of building realis- tic, three-dimensionalrepresentations, or models,of real world environments, such as rooms, landsacpes or buildings. Because of the realistic quality of images being produced, current scene construction algorithms require manualprocessing by humanexperts. However, the benefits of having such 3Dmodelsare great. Con- sider a situation where a three-dimensional modelof an evironment must be created in real-time. Existing scene construction algorithms will not su~ce. There- fore we have outlined a newarea of quick and dirty scene construction whereusable, lowresolution, three- dimensional models of real world environments can be created in real time. This paper describes the need …

The World Wide Web, H. Berghel, Doug Blank

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Radical Artificial Intelligence: A Postmodern Approach, Doug Blank

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Feature Library Approach To On-Line Image Querying And Retrieval For Topographic Applications, James Carswell

Conference papers

In this paper we address the problem of content-based image retrieval using queries on shape and topology. We focus on the particularities of image databases encountered in typical topographic applications, and present the development of a spatial data management system that enables such queries. The query uses as input user-provided sketches of the shape and spatial configuration of the object (or objects) which should appear in the images to be retrieved. The objective of the search is to retrieve images that contain a configuration of objects sufficiently similar to the one specified in the query. Our novel approach introduces the …

Multi-User Domain Object Oriented (Moo) As A High School Procedure For Foreign Language Acquisition, James A. Backer

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Foreign language students experience added difficulty when they are isolated from native speakers and from the culture of the target language. It has been posited that MOOs (Multiuser domain Object Oriented) may help to overcome the geographical isolation of these students. MOOs are Internet-based virtual worlds in which people from all over the real world meet for synchronous textual conversations and can interact with asynchronous textual objects found there. Students who enjoy a MOO site may identify with its virtual target language community and find integrative motivation which the literature suggests is necessary for advanced language acquisition.

This study focused …

The Use Of Cooperative Groups In Learning How To Use New Software Programs, James R. Grunwald

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Many teachers lament the fact that they often need to spend too much classroom time training students how to use a particular software program before their students can use it effectively as a tool to complete other course work. Also, after completing the training process, too many students still have not mastered the basics of how to use the program effectively. The purpose of this research was to increase understanding of how the use of cooperative groups during new software training affects both the mastery of the basics of program use, as well as the amount of time needed to …

International Usability, Design Guidelines And Effectiveness Of A World Wide Web-Based Instructional Program For High School Students In A Cross-Culture Learning Environment, Hajime Hayakawa

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

The recent growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has resulted in a vast array of on-line courseware and educational Web sites. Unfortunately, as a large percentage of this information is written in English, non-English speakers are unable to access it. Information written in other languages is likewise unavailable to many native English speakers. Therefore, in order to maximize the usefulness of educational material on the Web, it is necessary to design and implement cross-cultural, bilingual or multilingual Web sites and instructional programs.

This study was designed to contribute to the area of bilingual learning on the …

A Theoretical Model For A Prescription Drug Public Key Cryptographic System, Donald R. Lemma

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

A critical component of a physician's duties is prescribing medication to his or her patients. This process is handled by the physician writing a prescription for a medication and having the medication dispensed to the named patient. A review of federal law reveals no requirement that the prescription be issued on any type of specific written instrument such as safety paper, multi-part forms, or other standardized documents.

Because of the lack of adequate controls, there is a serious problem with false and altered prescriptions being issued within the United States. A 1994 study by the White House Office of National …

A Study Of The Computerized Reading Management Program, Accelerated Reader, And Its Effect On Reading Among Primary Grade Students, Mitchell O. Pratt

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the computerized reading management program, Accelerated Reader and its effect on primary grade students. The purpose of the study was to test Accelerated Reader's effect on reading comprehension among two student populations that were demographically similar. Two schools were chosen, Orem Elementary, School A, where the researcher is employed, and School B, another elementary school in Alpine School District. An ex post facto, non-randomized control group design was used. Data from the Utah Core Assessment Series End-of-Level, Reading, Level 3 Form A, (1989) and the Stanford Achievement Test (1990) was used. Students who attended either School A …

Linking Printed Books To Computerized Speech, Edward D. Crook

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Adult students who experience difficulties in comprehending written (printed) language frequently are limited in their scholastic development and possible employment opportunities. These individuals, who represent a growing segment of the learning disabled population, include poor readers and dyslexics and they routinely seek help and remediation through various educational techniques. One remediation technique often used is "books on tape". Through books on tape, recorded spoken text is presented in a sequential manner to the remedial reader as he or she is reading the corresponding printed document. This dissertation reviewed the books on tape paradigm, and through the use of current computer …

High-Performance Bus-Based Architectures - Guest Editorial, Stephan Olariu, Rong Lin

Computer Science Faculty Publications

(First paragrapg) This special issue of VLSI Design presents a collection of seven papers selected out of more than 35 submissions received following the Call for Papers. Each submission was sent to three referees, all of them experts in the area of bus-based architectures. The result is impressive. The papers featured in this Special Issue cover a wide range of topics from sorting to string matching, to load balancing, to simulation, matrix operations, to robotics, to the design of high-performance scalable architectures.

On The P-Connectedness Of Graphs – A Survey, Luitpold Babel, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

A graph is said to be p-connected if for every partition of its vertices into two non-empty, disjoint, sets some chordless path with three edges contains vertices from both sets in the partition. As it turns out, p-connectedness generalizes the usual connectedness of graphs and leads, in a natural way, to a unique tree representation for arbitrary graphs.

This paper reviews old and new results, both structural and algorithmic, about p-connectedness along with applications to various graph decompositions.

Smart Objects, Dumb Archives: A User-Centric, Layered Digital Library Framework, Kurt Maly, Michael L. Nelson, Mohammad Zubair

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Discusses digital libraries, interoperability, and interfaces to access them, and proposes one universal protocol for communication for simple archives based on the hypertext transfer protocol (http). Describes the creation of a special class of digital objects called buckets, archives based on a NASA collection, and a set of digital library services. (Author/LRW)

A Digital Library For The National Advisory Committee For Aeronautics, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We describe the digital library (DL) for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the NACA Technical Report Server (NACATRS). The predecessor organization for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NACA existed from 1915 until 1958. The primary manifestation of NACA's research was the NACA report series. We describe the process of converting this collection of reports to digital format and making it available on the World Wide Web (WWW) and is a node in the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS). We describe the current state of the project, the resulting DL technology developed from the project, and the …

Reconfigurable Shift Switching Parallel Comparators, R. Lin, S. Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We present novel asynchronous VLSI comparator schemes which are based on recently proposed reconfigurable shift switch logic and the traditional (precharged) CMOS domino logic. The schemes always produce a semaphore as a by-product of the process to indicate the end of domino process, which requires no additional delay and a minimal number of additional devices. For a large percentage of inputs the computations are much faster than traditional synchronous comparators due to the full utilization of the inherent speed of the circuits. Also the schemes are simple, area compact and stable.

On The Global Stabilization Of Nonlinear Systems Via Switching Manifolds, Stephen P. Banks, Meti̇n U. Salamci, M. Kemal Özgören

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The global stabilization of nonlinear systems is investigated by using switching surfaces. The nonlinear system is forced to a lower order switching manifold, which is designed to be stable by construction. Thus, the stability of the reduced-order system is guaranteed and parameter selection for the switching surface is avoided. The method is extended to a class of uncertain nonlinear systems and exemplified with some fictitious dynamic models.

A Simple Formula Obtained Using Tabu Search Algorithm For The Radiation Efficiency Of A Resonant Rectangular Microstrip Antenna, Dervi̇ş Karaboğa, Keri̇m Güney

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

A new simple formula for the radiation efficiency of a resonant rectangular microstrip patch antenna is presented. The formula is obtained by using a tabu search algorithm, which is a quite new optimization technique based on the principles of intelligent problem solving. The formula is valid for substrates with relative permittivities between 1 and 12.8 and for the complete range of thicknesses normally used. The results obtained by using this new simple formula are in conformity with those reported elsewhere. The formula can also be used in the calculation of the radiation efficiency of dipoles.

Effects Of Parasitic Elements On Oscillation Frequency Of Ota-C Sinusoidal Oscillators, Ari̇f Nacaroğlu, Ergun Erçelebi̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

An oscillator circuit which incorporates Operational Transconductance Amplifiers is presented. The circuit is designed using three OTAs and two grounded capacitors. The frequency of oscillation is tunable over a wide frequency range. The effects of the parasitic elements on the oscillation frequency and the oscillation condition are studied. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental results for a practical oscillator circuit.

Emediator: A Next Generation Electronic Commerce Server, Tuomas Sandholm

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper presents eMediator, a next generation electronic commerce server that demonstrates some ways in which AI, algorithmic support, and game theoretic incentive engineering can jointly improve the efficiency of ecommerce. First, its configurable auction house includes a variety of generalized combinatorial auctions, price setting mechanism, novel bid types, mobile agents, and user support for choosing an auction type. Second, its leveled commitment contract optimizer determines the optimal contract price and decommitting penalties for a variety of leveled commitment contracting protocols, taking into account that rational agents will decommit insincerely in taking into account that rational agents will decommit insincerely …

Algorithms For Optimizing Leveled Commitment Contracts, Thomas Sandholm, Sandeep Sikka, Samphel Norden

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

In automated negotiation systems consisting of self-interested agents, contracts have traditionally been binding. Leveled commitment contracts - i.e. contracts where each party can decommit by paying a predetermined penalty - were recently shown to improve Pareto efficiency even if agents rationally decommit in Nash equilibrium using inflated thresholds on how good their outside offers must be before they decommit. This paper operationalizes the four leveled commitment contracting protocols by presenting algorithms for using them. Algorithms are presented for computing the Nash equilibrium decomitting thresholds and decommitting probabilities given the contract price and the penalties. Existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium …

Auctions Without Common Knowledge, Sviatoslav B. Brainov, Tuomas W. Sandholm

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper proves that the revenue equivalence theorem ceases to hold for auctions without common knowledge about the agents' prior beliefs. That is, different auction forms yield different expected revenue. To prove this, an auction game is converted to a Bayesian decision problem with an infinite hierarchy of beliefs. A general solution for such Bayesian decision problems is proposed. The solution is a generalization of the standard Bayesian solution and coincides with it for finite belief trees and for trees representing common knowledge. It is shown how the solution generalizes the frequently used technique of backward induction for infinite belief …

Assembly And Analysis Of Extended Human Genomic Contig Regions, Eric C. Rouchka, David J. States

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The Human Genome Project (HGP) has led to the deposit of human genomic sequence in the form of sequenced clones into various databases such as the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) (Tateno and Gojobori, 1997), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Nucleotide Sequence Database (Stoesser, et. al., 1999), and GenBank (Benson, et. al., 1998). Many of these sequenced clones occur in regions where sequencing has taken place either within the same sequencing center or other centers throughout the world. The assembly of extended segments of genomic sequence by looking at overlapping end segments is desired and is currently availabel …

A Proposal For A High-Performance Active Hardware Architecture, Tilman Wolf

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Current research in Active Networking is focused on developing software architectures and defining funtionality of Execution Environments. While active network systems show superior functionality compared to traditional networks, they only operate at substantially lower link speeds. To increase the acceptance of Active Network in environments where link speeds of several Gb/s are common, we propose a hardware architecture that performs high-speed packet handling while providing the same flexibility as a common software system. The design exploits the independence between data streams for parallel processing. To measure the impact of different design decisions on the performance of the system, we also …

Anmac: A Novel Architectural Framework For Network Management And Control Using Active Networks, Samphel Norden

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

In this paper, we propose a new framework called Active Network Management and Control (ANMAC) for the management and control of high speed networks. The software architecture in ANMAC allows routers to execute dynamically loadable kernel plug-in modules which perform diagnostic functions for network management. ANMAC uses mobile probe packets to perform efficient resource reservation (using our novel reservation scheme), facilitate feedback-based congestion control, and to provide "distributed debugging" of complex anomalous network behavior. ANMAC also provides security measures against IP spoofing, and other security attacks. The network manager has the flexibility to install custom scripts in routers for tracking …

Reliable Communication For Highly Mobile Agents, Amy L. Murphy, Gian Pietro Picco

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The provision of a reliable communication infrastructure for mobile agents is still an open research issue. The challenge to reliability we address in this work does not come from the possibility of faults, but rather from the mere presence of mobility, which slightly complicates the problem of ensuring the delivery of information even in a fault-free network. For instance, the asynchronous nature of message passing and agent migration may cause situations where messages forever chase a mobile agent that moves frequently from one host to another. Current solutions rely on conventional technologies that either do not provide a solution for …

Multiway Range Trees: Scalable Ip Lookup With Fast Updates, Subhash Suri, George Varghese, Piryank Ramesh Warkhede

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Internet routers forward packets based on the destination address of a packet. A packet's address is matched against the destination prefixes stored in the router's forwarding table, and the packet is sent to the output interface determined by the longest matching prefix. While some existing schemes work well for IPv4 addresses, we believe that none of the current schemes scales well to IPv6, especially when fast updates are required. As the Internet evolves into a global communication medium, requiring multiple addresses per user, the switch to longer addresses (e.g. IPv6) seems inevitable despite temporary measures such as network addres translation …

An Algorithm For Optimal Winner Determination In Combinatorial Auctions, Tuomas Sandholm

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Combinatorial auctions, i.e. auctions where bidders can bid on combinations of items, tend to lead to more efficient allocations than traditional auctions in multi-item auctions where the agents' valuations of the items are not additive. However, determining the winners so as to maximize revenue is NP-complete. First, existing approaches for tackling this problem are reviewed: exhaustive enumeration, dynamic programming, approximation algorithms, and restricting the alloable combinations. Then we present our search algorithm for optimal winner determination. Experiments are shown on several bid distributions. The algorithm allows combinatorial auctions to scale up to significantly larger numbers of items and bids than …

Terabit Burst Switching Progress Report (12/98-6-99), Jonathan S. Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This report summarizes progress on Washington University's Terabit Burst Switching Project, supported by DARPA and Rome Air Force Laboratory. This project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of Burst Switching, a new data communication service which can more effectively exploit the large bandwidths becoming available in WDM transmission systems, than conventional communication technologies like ATM and IP-based packet switching. Burst switching systems dynamically assign data bursts to channels in optical data links, using routing information carried in parallel control channels. The project will lead to the construction of a demonstration switch with throughput exceeding 200 Gb/s and scalable to over 10 …