Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Resource Efficiency In Cloud Computing, Jiayi Song

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Customers inside the cloud computing market are heterogeneous in several aspects, e.g., willingness to pay and performance requirement. By taking advantage of trade-offs created by these heterogeneities, the service provider can realize a more efficient system. This thesis is concerned with methods to improve the utilization of cloud infrastructure resources, and with the role of pricing in realizing those improvements and leveraging heterogeneity. Towards improving utilization, we explore methods to optimize network usage through traffic engineering. Particularly, we introduce a novel optimization framework to decrease the bandwidth required by inter-data center networks through traffic scheduling and shaping, and then propose …

Undersea Cables: The Ultimate Geopolitical Chokepoint, Bert Chapman

FORCES Initiative: Strategy, Security, and Social Systems

This work provides historical and contemporary overviews of this critical geopolitical problem, describes the policy actors addressing this in the U.S. and selected other countries, and provides maps and information on many undersea cable work routes. These cables are chokepoints with one dictionary defining chokepoints as “a strategic narrow route providing passage through or to another region."

Hydrology And Water Quality Analysis In The Big Black River Watershed, Mississippi, Moniba Shabbir

Theses and Dissertations

Evaluating hydrology and water quality for the Big Black River Watershed in Mississippi was accomplished by using the Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Source (BASINS 4.5), Loading Simulation Program in C++ (LSPC), and Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) models. The watershed model calibration was originally accomplished by using historical data collected from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The watershed model was calibrated using data from 2000 through 2018 in order to quantify stream flow and point source discharges under a variety of hydrologic conditions. The model predicted response of hydrology was consistent with the observed data range. The …

Social Inflation: Rising Tides In The Insurance Markets, Noah E. Heim

University Honors Program

Social inflation, despite its relative recency, has been a strong concern for some of the largest insurance carriers in the world. With claims costs increasing across broad markets, especially in casualty markets, insurers are racing to find the reason why. Increased claims costs can result in a number of negative effects on both insurance carriers as well as insurances buyers. Social inflation seems to be a key driver of these increased costs. Doing a deep dive into the validity of this claim and studying some potential causes as well as markets in which social inflation is occurring has led to …

Retrospective Analysis Of Impacts Of Highway Bypass And Widening Projects, Sanjeev Bhurtyal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Community members often worry that highway projects may have negative impacts on their local economies. This is typical for highway bypass and widening projects in small cities (population less than 50,000). It is a challenge for planners to balance public concerns of economic decline with desired project outcomes of mobility and safety. Much of this challenge stems from a lack of information on post-project outcomes related to economic and safety impacts of new construction projects. Thus, there is a need for an evidence-based framework to help planners with the decision-making process and better inform the community on potential outcomes. This …

One Step At A Time: Improving The Fidelity Of Geospatial Agent-Based Models Using Empirical Data, Amy A. Marusak

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Theses - Archive

Agent-based modeling is frequently used to produce geospatial models of transportation systems. However, reducing the computational requirements of these models can require a degree of abstraction that can compromise the fidelity of the modeled environment. The purpose of the agent-based model presented in this thesis is to explore the potential of a volunteer-based crowd-shipping system for rescuing surplus meals from restaurants and delivering them to homeless shelters in Arlington, Texas. Each iteration of the model’s development has sought to improve model realism by incorporating empirical data to strengthen underlying assumptions. This thesis describes the most recent iteration, in which a …

Understanding The Behavior Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Using Data Analytics, Mohammad Reza Davahli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In December 2019, China announced the breakout of a new virus identified as coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), which soon grew exponentially and became a global pandemic. Despite strict actions to mitigate the spread of the virus in various countries, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant loss of human life in 2020 and 2021. To better understand the pandemic, this doctoral research incorporated data analytics to evaluate the behavior and impacts of the virus. The doctoral research contributed to the scientific body of the knowledge in different ways including (1) presenting a systematic literature review of current research and topics about …

Effect Of Various Speed Management Strategies On Bicycle Crashes For Urban Roads In Central Florida, Jorge Ugan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In recent years, cycling has become an increasingly popular transportation mode around the world. In contrast to other popular modes of transportation, cycling is more economic and energy efficient. While many studies have been conducted for the bicycle safety analysis, most of them were limited in terms of bicycle exposure data and on-street data. This study tries to improve the current safety performance functions for bicycle crashes at urban corridors by utilizing crowdsource data from STRAVA and on-street speed management strategies data. Speed management strategies are any roadway alterations that causes a change in motorists' driving behavior. In Florida, these …

Factors Influencing Service Robot Adoption: A Comparative Analysis Of Hotel-Specific Service Robot Acceptance Models, Ying Dong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The market for service robots is expected to expand significantly owing to the increasing relevance of service automation under the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the growing managerial interest in robotic applications in the hotel industry, current robotic research has been mostly conceptual with limited robot data on hand. In light of this issue, this paper will conduct a comparative analysis of hotel-specific service robot acceptance models between the Service Robot Acceptance Model (sRAM) and the Service Robot Integration Willingness (SRIW) framework. By identifying key elements of each service robot acceptance model, this paper puts an emphasis on investigating …

Identification Of Resilience Dimensions And Development Of A Decision-Making System To Measure The Resilience Level Of Highway Networks, Thahomina Jahan Nipa

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Local as well as national economy and safety depend on the network characteristics of the transportation infrastructures. Destruction of transportation infrastructures causes the direct cost of the reconstruction as well as indirect cost due to loss of mobility. In addition, emergency response and recovery cannot be rendered if access to the affected community is hampered due to a damaged transportation network. Hence, researchers as well national and international organizations are focusing more on a resilience-based approach instead of a traditional recovery-based approach for the transportation infrastructures recently. As a result, there exist a high number of research articles that developed …

Long Haulers: The Us Airline Industry And Moving Forward From The Covid-19 Pandemic, James Norman

Aviation Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Gis-Based Model To Assess On-Site Sewage Facility (Ossf) Contamination Risk To Local Water Resources, Alvaro Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

In a collaborative effort between Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), Cameron County Public Health (CCPH), Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (TAMAE), and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a GIS database that includes relevant OSSF information, such as location, system age, lot size, and other important parameters was created.

This OSSF database, along with publicly available GIS data, was used to create an integrative GIS-based risk assessment model where OSSF risk parameters were assigned a risk factor and combined into a spatial contamination risk for surrounding areas and their receiving waterbodies. Parameters were broken down into two categories: environmental …

Data-Driven Operational And Safety Analysis Of Emerging Shared Electric Scooter Systems, Qingyu Ma

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The rapid rise of shared electric scooter (E-Scooter) systems offers many urban areas a new micro-mobility solution. The portable and flexible characteristics have made E-Scooters a competitive mode for short-distance trips. Compared to other modes such as bikes, E-Scooters allow riders to freely ride on different facilities such as streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes. However, sharing lanes with vehicles and other users tends to cause safety issues for riding E-Scooters. Conventional methods are often not applicable for analyzing such safety issues because well-archived historical crash records are not commonly available for emerging E-Scooters.

Perceiving the growth of such a micro-mobility …

Theoretical Development And Numerical Validation Of An Asymmetric Linear Bilateral Control Model For An Automated Truck Platoon, M Sabbir Salek

All Theses

In this study, the author theoretically develops and numerically validates an asymmetric linear bilateral control model (LBCM) for an automated truck platoon, in which the motion information (i.e., position and speed) from the immediate leading truck and the immediate following truck are weighted differently. The novelty of the asymmetric LBCM is that using this model, all the follower trucks in a platoon can adjust their acceleration and deceleration to closely follow a constant desired time headway at all times to improve platoon operational efficiency while maintaining local and string stability. The author theoretically proves the local stability of the asymmetric …

Preferential Flow In Riparian Buffers: Current Research And Future Needs., Derek M. Heeren, Lucie Guertault, Kyle Mankin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Preferential flow in riparian buffers can substantially compromise their effectiveness in reducing contaminants from overland runoff. The objective of this article is to introduce a collection of five articles on current research into subsurface preferential flow measurement, visualization, modeling, and impacts on contaminant fate and transport at scales ranging from the subsurface pore scale to the plot scale to the watershed scale. This collection presents selected works from a broader invited session on “Preferential flow and piping in riparian buffers” at the 2020 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Major findings include: new methodologies, such as light transmission and geophysics, to characterize …

Corn Fiber As A Biomass Feedstock For Production Of Succinic Acid, Lisbeth Vallecilla-Yepez, Divya Ramchandran, Dianna Long, Rajib Saha, Mark R. Wilkins

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The selection of an economical carbon source is a fundamental parameter to establish a successful industrial succinic acid (SA) bioprocess. In this work, corn fiber (CF), a renewable and an inexpensive source of carbohydrates, was successfully used for bioproduction of SA. Optimized liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis were used to obtain corn fiber hydrolysate (CFH). Results in batch fermentation with Actinobacillus succinogenes showed that a control solution mimicking CFH produced 28.7 g/L of SA with a yield of 0.67 g SA/g sugars, while fermentation of CFH produced 27.8 g/L of SA with a yield of 0.61 …

On The Mobility Of Small Aperture Telescopes For Initial Orbit Determination And Apparent Magnitude Derivation Of Low Earth Satellites, Jonathan Ian Hernandez

Master's Theses

Maintaining Space Domain Awareness (SDA) of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) requires effective methods of tracking and characterization. Optical measurements of these objects are generally sparse due to limited access intervals and high angular rates. Light pollution and geographic obstructions may also preclude consistent observations. However, a mobile small aperture telescope grants the ability to minimize such environmental effects, thereby increasing capture likelihoods for objects within this regime. By enhancing LEO satellite visibility in this way, extensive orbital and visual data are obtainable.

An 8-inch Meade LX200GPS telescope equipped with a Lumenera SKYnyx2-0M CCD camera comprises the system that …

Identification And Evaluation Of Critical Transportation Infrastructure Resilience After Hydro-Meteorological Event, Herman Serrato

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Modern civilization is dependent on essential infrastructure assets that allow society to function in today’s standards. Critical interdependent infrastructure such as transportation, communication, security, and public health are marvels of human innovation and an important aspect of civilization's evolution. Recent world events such as climate change have underlined the necessity to develop strategic plans to enhance the resilience of infrastructure. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the flooding potential of critical transportation infrastructure that will influence traffic flow and impact the economy. The technical workflow is based on observations, predictions, experiments, testing, and analysis to derive a resilience score …

Applications In Multi-Band Isolation Of Spectra With Data-Adaptive Sub-Banding (Midas): Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis To Optimize Midas-Based De-Noising Methods When Processing Infrasound And Other Signals Of Interest, Everett Raymond Coots

Theses and Dissertations

The ever-present challenge faced by the signal processing analyst is to get more from the available data, whether it be exploiting the same data in new ways to garner new information, or simply to increase the confidence in existing qualitative metrics. Traditional techniques include filtering (to improve the signal to noise ratio of detected signals or images or to isolate and possibly remove interfering signals), feature detection/extraction (identifying key characteristics within the signal) and signal decomposition (identification of dominant signals of interest relative to noise terms). Current research by our team began with an emphasis on the filtering of signals …

The Factors Influencing The Acceptance Of Web-Based E-Learning System Among Academic Staffs Of Saudi Arabia, Ikhlas Zamzami

Future Computing and Informatics Journal

It is possible to learn more quickly and effectively with e-learning software development because it provides learners with convenient and flexible learning environments. This allows them to progress further in their careers. Reports on web-based e-learning systems for in-service education have frequently neglected to include the viewpoint of the instructor. In order to conduct quantitative research, a sample of 50 academic staff members was selected. The purpose of this study was to investigate various factors that influence the intention to use web-based e-learning, with the theoretical foundation being provided by university lecturers. According to the findings of the study, the …

Timing, Latency, And Live Performance, Robert Klimek, Catherine Skokan

Symposium on Education in Entertainment and Engineering

How important is synchronous timing in a performance? In the world of science, engineering and the arts, we cannot avoid it. In the arts, it is a living and vital concept between composer, performer and audience. During the Pandemic, with an increase in virtual meetings and performances, made us more aware of timing issues and introduced us to a path with many questions about latency and affect between audience and performer. The hand waving, head nodding and eye gestures of Renaissance musicians led eventually to the classic conductor’s baton. These all helped ensembles of dissimilar instruments and/or voices, conquer problems …

The Air Littoral: Another Look, Maximilian K. Bremer, Kelly A. Grieco

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Assessing threats to the air littoral, the airspace between ground forces and high-end fighters and bombers, requires a paradigm change in American military thinking about verticality. This article explores the consequences of domain convergence, specifically for the Army and Air Force’s different concepts of control. It will assist US military and policy practitioners in conceptualizing the air littoral and in thinking more vertically about the air and land domains and the challenges of domain convergence.

Gender And Equality In Transport. Proceedings Of The 2021 Travel Demand Management Symposium, Maria Chiara Leva, Augustus Ababio-Donkor, Ajeni Thimnu, Wafaa Saleh

Books/Book Chapters/ Proceedings

Proceedings of the 10^TH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM) SYMPOSIUM IN CONJUNCTION WITH TINNGO AND DIAMOND FINAL CONFERENCE titled: Gender and Equality in Transport

Virtual Reality As Pedagogical Tool To Enhance Experiential Learning: A Systematic Literature Review, Muhammad Mujtaba Asad, Aisha Naz Ansari, Prathamesh Churi, Mohammad Mehdi Tahanzadeh

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Since half of the century, technology has dominated the modern era. The rapid advancement of technology has reached generating artificial intelligence and artificial realities. So, virtual reality is an emerging technology and is applicable in education as well. Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation, where people can interact within an artificial environment. Moreover, in an educational setting, such an environment provides students with a chance to get experiential learning. This paper has a systematic literature review on emerging technologies, such as virtual reality as a pedagogical tool for enhancing students’ experiential learning. This review aims to explore and understand the …

Explorations And Developments In Multifunctionality, 3d Printing, And Accelerated Aging For Thermoplastics And Thermosets, Zachary Brounstein

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

If the world is to progress through the fourth industrial revolution, rapid advances in materials science must complement new technological feats in manufacturing, computation and device functionality, and a broader understanding of how materials behave as they age and degrade. To this effect, much effort has been directed towards polymeric materials to address and solve many problems in this new era. This includes developing polymer composites that incorporate fillers to imbue multifunctionality, fabricating novel formulations for additive manufacturing, and conducting aging studies to assess the performance of these materials over long time spans. Building and expanding on the latest research …

Pressure Retarded Osmosis: A Potential Technology For Seawater Desalination Energy Recovery And Concentrate Management, Joshua Benjamin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, a significant challenge with reverse osmosis-based desalination is reducing the energy consumption and environmental impacts of the process. This project analyzed the viability of using pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) for energy recovery in seawater desalination facilities using brine concentrate (the draw solution) and other water sources (the feed solution) such as wastewater effluent. The primary goal of this project is to decrease the cost and overall energy consumption of seawater desalination through PRO-based energy recovery. Process modeling, statistical and sensitivity analysis, energy and cost analysis, geospatial and GIS analysis, laboratory-scale testing, water quality analysis, SEM-EDS microscopy, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), …

A System Architecture For Water Distribution Networks, Noha Abdel-Mottaleb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines structure-function relationships of water distribution networks (WDNs), with focus on improving the decision-making process for water utilities. WDNs are lifeline infrastructure systems, necessary for the functioning of cities. Yet water utilities around the world struggle with emerging challenges that include but are not limited to aging infrastructure components, limited budgets, increased interdependencies between infrastructure systems, increased rates of urbanization, and increasing extreme weather conditions. This is why enhancing the performance of WDNs is a priority for water utilities around the world. This research begins to delineate a system architecture for WDNs and evaluates the use of various …

A Review Of Kentucky’S Extended-Weight Hauling Programs, P. Gayle Marks, Jon Wilcoxson, Bryan Gibson, Chris Van Dyke, Andrew Martin, Jennifer Walton, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky established its Extended Weight Coal or Coal By-products Haul Road System (EWCHRS) to increase the state’s competitiveness within the coal industry and reduce financial burdens on coal haulers. A new extended-weight haul system for unrefined petroleum products will come online in 2022. To facilitate enforcement of weight limits throughout Kentucky, this report surveys literature on how overweight vehicles affect roads and bridges, describes statutes and regulations governing weight limits in the state, discusses policies and strategies used throughout the US to handle overweight vehicles, and makes recommendations for improving extended-weight policies in Kentucky. It is apparent that pavements and …

Building Services Engineering November/December 2021

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Community Assessment Of Water Perceptions And Household Point-Of-Use Treatment Methods In Madagascar, Isabella Rose Silverman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One in four people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water, which means that two billion people globally lack access. In high-income countries, 0.02% of yearly deaths are attributed to unsafe water sources; however, an alarming 10.6% of deaths occur in Madagascar, for the same reason.

To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all, a collaboration between public health and engineering is critical. Within the public health sector, social marketing is commonly utilized to address a problem by using commercial marketing principles to change behavior for the good of society. …