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Coastal Hurricane Damage Assessment Via Wavelet Transform Of Remotely Sensed Imagery, Ricky Carl Crowsey

Dissertations

This dissertation uses post storm imagery processed using wavelet transforms to investigate the capability of wavelet transform-based methods to classify post storm damage of residential areas. Five level Haar, Meyer, Symlets, and Coiflets wavelet transform decompositions of the post storm imagery are inputs to damage classification models of post hurricane and tornado damage. Hurricanes Ike, Rita, Katrina, and Ivan are examined as are the 2011 Joplin and Tuscaloosa tornadoes.

Wavelet transform-based classification methods yielded varying classification accuracies for the four hurricanes examined, ranging from 67 percent to 89 percent classification accuracy for classification models informed by samples from the storms …

A Location-Aware Architecture Supporting Intelligent Real-Time Mobile Applications, Sean J. Barbeau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents LAISYC, a modular location-aware architecture for intelligent real-time mobile applications that is fully-implementable by third party mobile app developers and supports high-precision and high-accuracy positioning systems such as GPS. LAISYC significantly improves device battery life, provides location data authenticity, ensures security of location data, and significantly reduces the amount of data transferred between the phone and server. The design, implementation, and evaluation of LAISYC using real mobile phones include the following modules: the GPS Auto-Sleep module saves battery energy when using GPS, maintaining acceptable movement tracking (approximately 89% accuracy) with an approximate average doubling of battery life. …

North Central Region Soil Survey Conference Field Tour

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Data Driven Approach To Multi-Agent Low Level Behavior Generation In Medical Simulations, Manan Gupta

All Theses

A multi-agent scenario generation framework is designed, implemented and evaluated in the context of a preventive medicine education virtual reality system with data collected from a sensor network at the University of Iowa Hospital. An agent in the framework is a virtual human that represents a healthcare worker. The agent is able to make certain decisions based on the information it gathers from its surroundings in the virtual environment. Distributed sensor networks are becoming very commonplace in public areas for public safety and surveillance purposes. The data collected from these sensors can be visualized in a multi-agent simulation. The various …

Comparative Study Of Various Data Collection Software Used For Seat-Belt Observation Surveys, Atul Sancheti, Puneet Lakhanpal, Sergio Contreras, Pushkin Kachroo, Masha Wilson

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

Every year, Click It or Ticket (CIOT) mobilization is held in U.S. which aims at increasing seat-belt usage awareness among the people. Data collection for assessing current seat-belt usage rates and campaign design for influencing mass audience are the two most important components of the mobilization. This paper presents a comparative study of various data collections software used for seat-belt observational surveys. The comparison is based on the speed and accuracy of the data collected from different software at the same locations and at the same time of the day.

Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, John Brophy, Fred Culick, Louis Friedman, Pedro Llanos, Et Al.

Publications

This report describes the results of a study sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) to investigate the feasibility of identifying, robotically capturing, and returning an entire Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) to the vicinity of the Earth by the middle of the next decade. The KISS study was performed by people from Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Langley Research Center, the California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard University, the Naval Postgraduate School, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of Southern …

Section Abstracts: Computer Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Computer Science Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, 2012, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Mathematical Modeling Of Pipeline Features For Robotic Inspection, Yang Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

Underground pipeline systems play an indispensable role in transporting liquids in both developed and developing countries. The associated social and economic cost to repair a pipe upon abrupt failure is often unacceptable. Regular inspection is a preventative action that aims to monitor pipe conditions, catch abnormalities and reduce the chance of undesirable surprises. Robots with CCTV video cameras have been used for decades to inspect pipelines, yielding only qualitative information. It is becoming necessary and preferable for municipalities, project managers and engineers to also quantify the 3-D geometry of underground pipe networks. Existing robots equipped specialized hardware and software algorithms …

Section Abstracts: Chemistry

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Chemistry Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, 2012, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.

The Impacts Of Population Density, And State & National Litter Prevention Programs On Marine Debris, Melissa Rose Brogle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marine debris is improperly disposed of solid waste, also called litter, which is deposited in the marine environment (NOAA, 2010). Litter prevention techniques such as fines, cleanups, incentives, and others, can help to decrease litter, and ultimately decrease marine debris. This research analyzed 2000 and 2010 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) data obtained from The Ocean Conservancy to ascertain whether certain litter prevention techniques did reduce amounts and types of marine debris found in coastal areas. The litter prevention techniques analyzed included state bottle bills, voluntary monofilament fishing line recycling programs, and the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) cigarette butt litter prevention …

Evaluation Of Traditional Security Solutions In The Scada Environment, Robert D. Larkin

Theses and Dissertations

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems control and monitor the electric power grid, water treatment facilities, oil and gas pipelines, railways, and other Critical Infrastructure (CI). In recent years, organizations that own and operate these systems have increasingly interconnected them with their enterprise network to take advantage of cost savings and operational benefits. This trend, however, has introduced myriad vulnerabilities associated with the networking environment. As a result, the once isolated systems are now susceptible to a wide range of threats that previously did not exist. To help address the associated risks, security professionals seek to incorporate mitigation solutions …

Real-Time Change And Damage Detection Of Landslides And Other Earth Movements Threatening Public Infrastructure, Michael J. Olsen, Shawn Butcher, Evon P. Silvia

TREC Final Reports

Geologic hazards such as coastal erosion, landslides, seismic loading, etc. constantly threaten public highway construction and maintenance. Repeat surveys using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, ground-based LiDAR) enable rapid 3D data acquisition to map, see, analyze, and understand the processes generating such problems. Previously, change detection and analysis between scan surveys was conducted during post-processing upon return to the office, instead of while collecting data in the field. Change detection in the field improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the field investigation. We have developed a new algorithm that quickly geo-references scans upon field acquisition and simultaneously performs change detection by …

Siting Study For A Hydrokinetic Energy Project Located Offshore Southeastern Florida: Protocols For Survey Methodology For Offshore Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Projects, Charles Vinick, Charles Messing, Brian K. Walker, John K. Reed, Stephanie Rogers

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Dehlsen Associates, LLC was awarded a grant by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Golden Field Office for a project titled “Siting Study Framework and Survey Methodology for Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Project in Offshore Southeast Florida,” corresponding to DOE Grant Award Number DE-EE0002655 resulting from DOE funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA- 0000069 for Topic Area 2, and it is referred to herein as “the project.”

The purpose of the project was to enhance the certainty of the survey requirements and regulatory review processes for the purpose of reducing the time, efforts, and costs associated with initial siting efforts …

How Can Conservation Organizations Help Development Go Where It “Should”?, Bradford S. Gentry, Evan F. Ray, Gina Schrader

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

Report of the 2011 Berkley Workshop

Held at the IslandWood Center, Bainbridge Island, Washington - July 2011

Monitoring The Health Of Glen Helen Nature Preserve: Spring 2012 Sediment And Water, Audrey E. Mcgowin Ph.D., Triet Minh Truong, David Kammler Ph.D., Joe Solch

Chemistry Student Publications

This poster presents the results for environmental testing in Glen Helen by the Special Topics in Analytical Chemistry course at Wright State University under the direction of Professor Audrey McGowin in Spring 2012. Water quality data are presented for the Yellow Spring in Yellow Springs, Ohio for April and May of 2012. Other test sites range from locations along Yellow Springs Creek to the covered bridge near Little Miami River.

This poster was created by Triet M. Truong.

Affecting Risk: Improving Hazard Communication In The Wildland-Urban Interface, Melissa Wright Dr., Destiny Aman

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Wildfire hazard is a growing problem in many areas of the United States, especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where homes and other structures border or intermingle with forests, shrubs and grasslands. Despite years of educational outreach by fire management officials promoting effective and affordable mitigation strategies, research shows that residents, especially seasonal residents and those new to an area, still tend to under-invest in mitigation, even when they perceive their risk to be high. Meanwhile, the social and economic costs of wildfire have increased with fire size and intensity and far exceed the costs of mitigation. This problem has …

A Fire Simulation Model For Heterogeneous Environments Using The Level Set Method, Shin-En Lo

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Wildfire hazard and its destructive consequences have become a growing issue around the world especially in the context of global warming. An effective and efficient fire simulation model will make it possible to predict the fire spread and assist firefighters in the process of controlling the damage and containing the fire area. Simulating wildfire spread remains challenging due to the complexity of fire behaviors. The raster-based method and the vector-based method are two major approaches that allow one to perform computerized fire spread simulation. In this thesis, we present a scheme we have developed that utilizes a level set method …

Eastern Ichigan University Graduate Catalog, 2012-2013, Office Of The Registrar

Graduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

To License Or Not To License Updated: An Examination Of State Statutes Regarding Private Investigators And Digital Examiners, Thomas Lonardo, Doug White, Alan Rea

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In this update to the 2009 year's study, the authors examine statutes that regulate, license, and enforce investigative functions in each US state. After identification and review of Private Investigator licensing requirements, the authors find that very few state statutes explicitly differentiate between Private Investigators and Digital Examiners, but do see a trend of more states making some distinction. The authors contacted all state regulatory agencies where statutory language was not explicit, and as a result, set forth the various state approaches to professional Digital Examiner licensing. As was the case in the previous two iterations of this research, the …

Study Of Human Activity In Video Data With An Emphasis On View-Invariance, Nazim Ashraf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The perception and understanding of human motion and action is an important area of research in computer vision that plays a crucial role in various applications such as surveillance, HCI, ergonomics, etc. In this thesis, we focus on the recognition of actions in the case of varying viewpoints and different and unknown camera intrinsic parameters. The challenges to be addressed include perspective distortions, differences in viewpoints, anthropometric variations, and the large degrees of freedom of articulated bodies. In addition, we are interested in methods that require little or no training. The current solutions to action recognition usually assume that there …

Constructing A Community Response Grid (Crg): The Dublin, Ohio Case Study, John Freund

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

During an emergency, information availability is critical to preserving life and minimizing damages. During the emergency response, however, information may not be available to those who need it. A community response grid (CRG) can help ameliorate this lack of availability by allowing people to document and distribute emergency information to professional emergency responders (PERs). A CRG combines mobile communications services, Internet technologies, e-government applications, and social network concepts with traditional emergency response systems.

The problem that this case study investigated was how to construct a CRG for the City of Dublin, Ohio, Division of Police that works in conjunction with …

Integrated Geophysical Investigation Of Karst Features – Inner Bluegrass Region Of Kentucky, Jamin C. Frommel

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

High-resolution electrical-resistivity, seismic-refraction, and seismic-reflection surveys were performed at three locations in the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky along coincident survey lines in order to correlate results and determine which method is most effective at locating karst features in this area. The first two survey locations at Slack’s Cave and the Kentucky Horse Park were chosen in order to investigate known karst features. High and low electrical-resistivity anomalies were correlated to air- and water-filled karst voids, respectively. Seismic velocity anomalies, including parabolic time suppressions, amplitude terminations, and surface-wave backscatters, were also observed and correlated to these karst voids. These findings …

Trap Efficiency Of A Silted Prairie Reservoir: Rapidan Reservoir, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Katherine Brosch Rassmussen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Rapidan Dam and Reservoir are located along the Blue Earth River south of Mankato, Minnesota. The dam was constructed in 1911 as a source of hydroelectric power to supplement the surroundings communities. Currently, the reservoir is heavily silted and provides little hydroelectric benefit while proving costly to maintain. This study (1) defines the sedimentary, geomorphic, stream flow and suspended load characteristics of the reservoir for 2008-2009 and (2) compares these parameters with those available from 1985 (23 years prior). Stream gauging and sediment sampling took place in 2008 and 2009 at three monitoring locations (two upstream and one downstream of …

Fiscal Review Of The Cleveland Public Library And Scan Of State And National Trends In Library Funding, Claudette Robey, Kevin O'Brien, Kyle Julien, Scott Winograd

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

The Next Steps Toward Consolidating Public Safety Dispatch Centers: Parma, Ohio, Daila Shimek, Scott Winograd, Kimberly Renee Vining, Eugene Kramer, Thomas Cozzens, Claudette Robey, Kevin E. O'Brien, Andrew Batson

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Operations Of Bay Village, Ohio, Daila Shimek, Kyle Julien, Scott Winograd, Claudette Robey, James Wyles, Kevin E. O'Brien

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

On The Effectiveness Of Intrusions Into Zigbee-Based Wireless Sensor Networks, Michael Johnstone, Jeremy Jarvis

Research outputs 2012

Wireless Sensor Networks are becoming popular as a means of collecting data by military organisations, public utilities, motor vehicle manufacturers and security firms. Unfortunately, the devices on such networks are often insecure by default, which creates problems in terms of the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted across such networks. This paper discusses attacks that were successful on a simple network consisting of nodes using the ZigBee protocol stack and proposes defences to thwart these attacks, thus leading to increased user confidence in the ability of organisations to provide secure and effective services. The outcomes were that it was possible …

Sci-Tech Book News Reviews, Susan Fingerman

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.

Atr-Ftir Studies On The Kinetics Of Dimethylarsinic Acid (Dma) Surface Complexation With Iron(Oxyhydr)Oxides, Julia Tofan-Lazar Miss

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) is an organoarsenical compound that, along with monomethylarsonic acid, poses a health and an environmental risk, and a challenge to the energy industry. Little is known about the surface chemistry of DMA at the molecular level with materials relevant to geochemical environments and industrial sectors. The surface chemistry of phosphorus and arsenic compounds in their organic and inorganic forms is of great interest due to its role in controlling their transport, bioaccessibility and speciation. This thesis reports the first in-situ and surface-sensitive rapid kinetic studies on the adsorption and desorption of DMA to and from Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide films …

Automatic Crash Recovery: Internet Explorer's Black Box, John Moran, Douglas Orr

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

A good portion of today's investigations include, at least in part, an examination of the user's web history. Although it has lost ground over the past several years, Microsoft's Internet Explorer still accounts for a large portion of the web browser market share. Most users are now aware that Internet Explorer will save browsing history, user names, passwords and form history. Consequently some users seek to eliminate these artifacts, leaving behind less evidence for examiners to discover during investigations. However, most users, and probably a good portion of examiners are unaware Automatic Crash Recovery can leave a gold mine of …