Digital Commons Network^™

Illumination By Floodlights, William Steiger, Ileana Streinu

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

We consider three problems about the illumination of planar regions with floodlights of prescribed angles. Problem 1 is the decision problem: given a wedge W of angle φ ≤ π, n points p1 . . . . . pn in the plane and n angles α1 . . . . . αn such that ∑ni=1 αi ≤ θ, decide whether W can be illuminated by floodlights of angles α1 , . . . , αn placed in some order at the points p1 , . . . , pn and then rotated appropriately. We show that this problem is the …

[Introduction To] Schaum's Outlines Fundamentals Of Computing With C++, John R. Hubbard

Bookshelf

This book is intended to be used primarily for self study, preferably in conjunction with a regular course in the fundamentals of computer science using the new ANSI/ISO Standard C++. The book covers topics from the fundamental units of the 1991 A.C.M. computing curricula.

On Circulant Weighing Matrices, K. T. Arasu, Jennifer Seberry

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Algebraic techniques are employed to obtain necessary conditions for the existence of certain circulant weighing matrices. As an application we rule out the existence of many circulant weighing matrices. We study orders n = 82 +8+1, for 10 ~ 8 ~ 25. These orders correspond to the number of points in a projective plane of order 8.

A Methodology For The Selection Of A Paradigm Of Reasoning Under Uncertainty In Expert System Development, Vivian Campbell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this thesis is to develop a methodology for the selection of a paradigm of reasoning under uncertainty for the expert system developer. This is important since practical information on how to select a paradigm of reasoning under uncertainty is not generally available. The thesis explores the role of uncertainty in an expert system and considers the process of reasoning under uncertainty. The possible sources of uncertainty are investigated and prove to be crucial to some aspects of the methodology. A variety of Uncertainty Management Techniques (UMTs) are considered, including numeric, symbolic and hybrid methods. Considerably more information …

Automatic Flowchart Displays For Software Visualisation, Paul R. Schurmann

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Understanding large software projects and maintaining them can be a time consuming process. For instance, when changes are made to source code, corresponding changes have to be made to any related documentation. One large section of the documentation process is the creation and management of diagrams. Currently there are very few automated diagramming systems that can produce diagrams from source code, and the majority of these diagramming systems require a significant amount of time to generate diagrams. This research aims at investigating the process of creating flowchart diagrams from source code and how this process can be fully automated. Automating …

Parametric Software Project Estimating: An Analysis Of Current Practice, Stuart Hope

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As society and the world economy moves into the second millennium. the service industries involving knowledge workers will continue to increase. Software is the enabling technology that is driving the knowledge industry. As the development of software is mostly a design process, where new artefacts are conceived and built, the prediction of outcomes in the process is fraught with difficulties. Software project estimating is one of the essential Software Engineering techniques that will enable the rationalisation of decision-making regarding software development. Estimates that are more accurate will increase the probability of success and lower the risk. This thesis analyses the …

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 …

Computational Geometry Column 34, Pankaj K. Agarwal, Joseph O'Rourke

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Problems presented at the open-problem session of the 14th Annual ACM Symposium on Computational Geometry are listed.

An Experimental Study Into The Effect Of Varying The Join Selectivity Factor On The Performance Of Join Methods In Relational Databases, Ada Mallet

Theses : Honours

Relational database systems use join queries to retrieve data from two relations. Several join methods can be used to execute these queries. This study investigated the effect of varying join selectivity factors on the performance of the join methods. Experiments using the ORACLE environment were set up to measure the performance of three join methods: nested loop join, sort merge join and hash join. The performance was measured in terms of total elapsed time, CPU time and the number of I/O reads. The study found that the hash join performs better than the nested loop and the sort merge under …

Vector Geometry And Applications To Three-Dimensional Computer Graphics, Rory Morrison

Theses : Honours

The mathematics behind algorithms involved in generating three-dimensional images on a computer has stemmed from the analysis of the processes of sight and vision. These processes have been modeled to provide methods of visualising three-dimensional data sets. The applications of such visualisations are varied. This project will study some of the mathematics that IS used in three-dimensional graphics applications

Pathfinding In Vrml, Jason Richard Pearce

Theses : Honours

Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) is a scene description language which describes three dimensional (3D) space to a computer. Thus the three axis of space that is inherent in our dimension X Y and Z is represented inside a computer. To many people VRML represents a new beginning for the World Wide Web (WWW) because it behaves more like the real world. VRML is experimental, interactive, continuous and of course, three dimensional. Algorithms in computing have been designed for 2D problem solving and this does not necessarily translate to problem solving on a 3D level. The aim of this project …

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 …

The Hermite Cubic Collocation Approximation To The Eigenvalues And The Eigenfuntions Of The Laplace Operator, Wayne R. Dyksen

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Asymptotically Tight Bounds For Performing Bmmc Permutations On Parallel Disk Systems, Thomas H. Cormen, Thomas Sundquist, Leonard F. Wisniewski

Dartmouth Scholarship

This paper presents asymptotically equal lower and upper bounds for the number of parallel I/O operations required to perform bit-matrix-multiply/complement (BMMC) permutations on the Parallel Disk Model proposed by Vitter and Shriver. A BMMC permutation maps a source index to a target index by an affine transformation over GF(2), where the source and target indices are treated as bit vectors. The class of BMMC permutations includes many common permutations, such as matrix transposition (when dimensions are powers of 2), bit-reversal permutations, vector-reversal permutations, hypercube permutations, matrix reblocking, Gray-code permutations, and inverse Gray-code permutations. The upper bound improves upon the asymptotic …

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 …

Studies Of Quantum Chromodynamics With The Aleph Detector, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

No abstract provided.

An Upper Limit On The Τ Neutrino Mass From Three- And Five-Prong Tau Decays, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A bound on the tau neutrino mass is established using the data collected from 1991 to 1995 at s√≃mZ with the ALEPH detector. Two separate limits are derived by fitting the distribution of visible energy vs invariant mass in τ−→2π−π+ντ and τ−→3π−2π+(π0)ντ decays. The two results are combined to obtain a 95% confidence level upper limit of 18.2 MeV/c2 on the mass of the tau neutrino.

Measurement Of The Fraction Of Hadronic Z Decays Into Charm Quark Pairs, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The full statistics of hadronic Z decays collected with the ALEPH detector are analysed to measure, by three methods, the ratio, RcRc, of the partial decay width of the Z into cc¯cc¯ quarks to the total hadronic width. One method uses the inclusive pp and p⊥p⊥ spectra of electrons. The other two use a double-tagging technique to measure RcRc independently of the charm-tagging efficiency. In one, the tagging procedure uses the reconstruction of high momentum charmed mesons (D∗+D∗+, D+D+ and \({\rm D^0}$) to detect the charm quarks. In the other, a charm quark is tagged from the D∗D∗'s reconstructed in …

Observation Of Doubly-Charmed B Decays At Lep, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A search for doubly-charmed B decays with both charmed mesons reconstructed is performed, using about 3.8 million hadronic Z decays recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP. A clear signal is observed in the channels B→DsD¯(X)B→DsD¯(X) and B→DD¯(X)B→DD¯(X) (where D can be either a D00, a D++ or a D∗+∗+), providing the first direct evidence for doubly-charmed B decays involving no DsDs production. Evidence for associated K0SKS0 and K±K± production in the decays B→DD¯(X)B→DD¯(X) is also presented and some candidates for completely reconstructed decays B→DsD¯(nπ)B→DsD¯(nπ), B→DD¯K0SB→DD¯KS0 and B→DD¯K±B→DD¯K± are observed. Furthermore, candidates for the two-body Cabibbo suppressed decays B0→D∗−D∗+B0→D∗−D∗+ and …

Searches For Charginos And Neutralinos In E+E- Collisions At √S = 161 And 172 Gev, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The data recorded by the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies of 161, 170, and 172 GeV are analysed for signals of chargino and neutralino production. No evidence of a signal is found, although candidate events consistent with the expectations from Standard Model processes are observed. Limits at 95% C.L. on the production cross sections are derived and bounds on the parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model are set. The lower limit on the mass of the lightest ch is 85.5 GeV/c2GeV/c2 for gaugino-like charginos (μ=−500GeV/c2μ=−500GeV/c2), and 85.0 GeV/c2GeV/c2 for Higgsino-like charginos (M2=500GeV/c2M2=500GeV/c2), for heavy sneutrinos (Mν~≥200GeV/c2Mν~≥200GeV/c2) and tanβ=2–√tan⁡β=2. The …

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 …

Search For Evidence Of Compositeness At Lep I, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Extensive searches for evidence of compositeness of quarks and leptons have been made in the complete set of ALEPH data from LEP running at the Z peak. These include searches for radiative and weak decays of excited fermions, produced either in pairs or singly, and a scalar partner of the Z. Coupling and branching ratio limits deduced from these searches are presented.

Search For Supersymmetry With A Dominant R-Parity Violating Llē Coupling In E+E- Collisions At Centre-Of-Mass Energies Of 130 Gev To 172 Gev, R. Barate, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A search for pair-production of supersymmetric particles under the assumption that R-parity is violated via a dominant LLE¯LLE¯ coupling has been performed using the data collected by ALEPH at centre-of-mass energies of 130–172 GeV. The observed candidate events in the data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This is translated into lower limits on the mass of charginos, neutralinos, sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks. For instance, charginos with masses less than 73 GeV/c2c2 and neutralinos with masses less than 23 GeV/c2c2 are excluded at 95% confidence level for any generation structure of the LLE¯LLE¯ coupling, and for neutralino, slepton …

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 …

Evaluation Of Information Modeling Methods: A Review, Keng Siau, Matti Rossi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Hundreds of modeling methods are in existence today. Yet practitioners and researchers are zealously "producing" new modeling methods. The "blooming" of modeling methods is not the problem; the lack of standardize techniques for evaluating them is. To further complicate the matter, most of the modeling methods are introduced based on common sense and intuition. Theoretical foundations and empirical evidence are severely lacking. With the current state of affairs, evaluation of modeling methods has become necessary. Comparing modeling methods provides us with the necessary knowledge and understanding on the strengths and weaknesses of each method. This knowledge can also guide us …

Evaluating Information Modeling Methods – A Review, Keng Siau, M. Rossi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Hundreds of modeling methods are in existence today, yet practitioners and researchers are zealously “producing” new modeling methods. The “blooming” of modeling methods is not the problem; the lack of standardized techniques for evaluating them is. To further complicate the matter, most of the modeling methods are introduced based on common sense and intuition. Theoretical foundations and empirical evidence are severely lacking. With the current state of affairs, evaluation of modeling methods has become necessary. Comparing modeling methods provides us with the necessary knowledge and understanding on the strengths and weaknesses of each method. This knowledge can also guide us …

A Java Implementation Of A Portable Desktop Manager, Scott J. Griswold

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Computers equipped with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and connected to the Internet are common in both the business and educational communities. These computers, using a web browser, easily share programs written in the Java programming language that are able to execute on a variety of heterogeneous machines.

While programs written in many languages will not execute unmodified on different computing platforms because of portability restrictions, Java has overcome these limitations and provides a platform independent language. However, every programming language is limited, and no language provides all the features required for every program. Therefore, creation of any portable program …

An Interlibrary Loan System On The World Wide Web, Schubert Shou Boon Foo, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Inter-Library Loan (ILL) service is one of the services provided by libraries that offers users a way to access library resources beyond their affiliated libraries. Additionally, it allows participating libraries to share and maximize their resources. This work examines the ILL process used by libraries in Singapore and proposes that the existing paper-based manual system be replaced by a Web-based ILL system. Such a Web-based system has been successfully designed and implemented at the Nanyang Technological University. The paper presents an overview of the system requirements and architecture, implementation details and demonstrates the feasibility and advantages of the new system.

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 …

Adaptive Shape From Shading, Ati̇lla Gülteki̇n, Muhi̇tti̇n Gökmen

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Extracting surface orientation and surface depth from one or more images is one of the classic problems in computer vision. Shape-from-shading (SFS) deals with the recovery of 3-D shape from a single shaded image. The shape is recovered by minimizing an energy functional involving constraints such as smoothness. In this constrained problem, although the smoothness constraint helps to stabilize the minimization process, it pushes the reconstruction toward a smooth surface. In this paper, we present a new adaptive shape-from-shading method which reduces this oversmoothing by controlling the smoothness spatially over the image space. In order to improve the quality of …