Digital Commons Network^™

A New Biometric Identity Recognition System Based On A Combination Of Superior Features In Finger Knuckle Print Images, Hadis Heidari, Abdolah Chalechale

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Biometric methods are among the safest and most secure solutions for identity recognition and verification. One of the biometric features with sufficient uniqueness for identity recognition is the finger knuckle print (FKP). This paper presents a new method of identity recognition and verification based on FKP features, where feature extraction is combined with an entropy-based pattern histogram and a set of statistical texture features. The genetic algorithm (GA) is then used to find the superior features among those extracted. After extracting superior features, a support vector machine-based feedback scheme is used to improve the performance of the biometric system. Two …

Development Of A Supervised Classification Method To Construct 2d Mineral Mapson Backscattered Electron Images, Mahmut Camalan, Mahmut Çavur

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) can be used to obtain mineral maps from backscattered electron (BSE) images of particles. This paper proposes an alternative methodology that includes random forest classification, a prospective machine learning algorithm, to develop mineral maps from BSE images. The results show that the overall accuracy and kappa statistic of the proposed method are 97% and 0.94, respectively, proving that random forest classification is accurate. The accuracy indicators also suggest that the proposed method may be applied to classify minerals with similar appearances under BSE imaging. Meanwhile, random forest predicts fewer middling particles with binary and ternary …

Performance Analysis Of A Fuzzy Disparity Selector For Stereo Matching Of Imagesegments Under Radiometric Variations, Akhil Appu Shetty, Vadakekara Itty George, Chempi Gurudas Nayak, Raviraj Shetty

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Stereo matching algorithms generate disparity maps, which contain the depth information of the environment, from two or more images of a scene taken from different viewpoints. The process of obtaining dense disparity maps is a problem which is still being actively researched. The presence of radiometric differences in the images only further complicates the stereo matching problem. In the present research work, the images are initially split into small patches of pixels, such that pixels in each patch have similar intensities. The authors attempt to study the effect of the parameters, namely, tuning parameter `?? and the number of segments, …

First-Semester Organic Chemistry During Covid-19: Prioritizing Group Work, Flexibility, And Student Engagement, Leslie A. Nickerson, Kevin M. Shea

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Our first-semester organic chemistry class focused on structured group work to enable active learning in class. When Smith College switched to online learning after spring break, the class was adapted to fit into an online learning model while retaining active learning. Using feedback from students, we implemented two tracks, one focused on independent work and one focused on group work. Using Zoom’s breakout rooms, we were able to simulate the full class and small group experiences of our in-person class with the help of student learning assistants to facilitate group learning. Slack was introduced for class questions and communications. Student …

Transformative Education In Agroecology: Student, Teacher, And Client Involvement In Co-Learning, Charles A. Francis, Anna Marie Nicolaysen, Geir Lieblein, Tor Arvid Breland

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Educational methods have evolved rapidly in agroecology, which is a complex and holistic field without a long history or the formal tradition of any single academic discipline. Definitions of agroecology have evolved from its initial conception as a marriage of agriculture with ecology, to an aggregation of different paths including science, practices, and movements, and recently as a broad appreciation of the ecology of food systems. In contrast with traditional courses that begin with a history of the discipline and review the contributions of early leaders, we have embraced phenomenology to firmly establish roots in students’ learning through their experiences …

Human Face Sketch To Rgb Image With Edge Optimization And Generative Adversarial Networks, Feng Zhang, Huihuang Zhao, Wang Ying, Qingyun Liu, Alex Noel Joseph Raj, Bin Fu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Generating an RGB image from a sketch is a challenging and interesting topic. This paper proposes a method to transform a face sketch into a color image based on generation confrontation network and edge optimization. A neural network model based on Generative Adversarial Networks for transferring sketch to RGB image is designed. The face sketch and its RGB image is taken as the training data set. The human face sketch is transformed into an RGB image by the training method of generative adversarial networks confrontation. Aiming to generate a better result especially in edge, an improved loss function based on …

Development Of A Modeling Algorithm To Predict Lean Implementation Success, Richard Charles Barclay

Doctoral Dissertations

”Lean has become a common term and goal in organizations throughout the world. The approach of eliminating waste and continuous improvement may seem simple on the surface but can be more complex when it comes to implementation. Some firms implement lean with great success, getting complete organizational buy-in and realizing the efficiencies foundational to lean. Other organizations struggle to implement lean. Never able to get the buy-in or traction needed to really institute the sort of cultural change that is often needed to implement change. It would be beneficial to have a tool that organizations could use to assess their …

Communications And Methodologies In Crime Geography: Contemporary Approaches To Disseminating Criminal Incidence And Research, Mitchell Ogden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many tools exist to assist law enforcement agencies in mitigating criminal activity. For centuries, academics used statistics in the study of crime and criminals, and more recently, police departments make use of spatial statistics and geographic information systems in that pursuit. Clustering and hot spot methods of analysis are popular in this application for their relative simplicity of interpretation and ease of process. With recent advancements in geospatial technology, it is easier than ever to publicly share data through visual communication tools like web applications and dashboards. Sharing data and results of analyses boosts transparency and the public image of …

Facial Expression Synthesis Using Mals-Based Bilinear Factorization Model, Jiaci Guo, Shuling Dai

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Study on the facial expression synthesis is a constructive and creative subject in the field of virtual reality technology. The bilinear model is used for facial expression synthesis by separating the identity factor and the expression factor. The translation procedure in the bilinear model always requires a repetitive computation of matrix inverse operations to reach the identity factor and the expression factor. This computation may be instable when the observation data has the correlation or noisy information. In order to increase the stability of the bilinear model for expression synthesis, the modified iterative least square (MALS) regression is introduced …

Organic Agriculture Teaching And Learning In 2025: Transforming The Future Learning Landscape, Randa Jabbour, Charles A. Francis, Mary Barbercheck, Katharina S. Ullman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

University instructors are compelled to anticipate future changes in farming and food systems that will impact their students. Sixteen educators met in 2018 to envision the future of organic agriculture courses needed by 2025. Likely future global issues include food access, especially for people of limited economic means; climate change; and fossil fuel costs. Changes that will impact education are increasing demand for quality food, more organic production, and globalization of food systems due to consolidation. Probable course content changes are increasing focus on whole farm systems; designing for resilience in changing physical, economic, environmental, and political climates; and increasing …

Visualizing The Invisible: Occluded Vehicle Segmentation And Recovery, Xiaosheng Yan, Feigege Wang, Wenxi Liu, Yuanlong Yu, Shengfeng He, Jia Pan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we propose a novel iterative multi-task framework to complete the segmentation mask of an occluded vehicle and recover the appearance of its invisible parts. In particular, firstly, to improve the quality of the segmentation completion, we present two coupled discriminators that introduce an auxiliary 3D model pool for sampling authentic silhouettes as adversarial samples. In addition, we propose a two-path structure with a shared network to enhance the appearance recovery capability. By iteratively performing the segmentation completion and the appearance recovery, the results will be progressively refined. To evaluate our method, we present a dataset, Occluded Vehicle …

Characterization And Longitudinal Assessment Of Daily Quality Assurance For An Mr-Guided Radiotherapy (Mrgrt) Linac, Kathryn Mittauer

All Publications

No abstract provided.

Experiences Of Using Intelligent Virtual Assistants By Visually Impaired Students In Online Higher Education, Michele R. Forbes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today’s world, the attainment of higher education impacts the acquisition of competitive employment and, thus, quality of life. As a group, persons with disabilities continually fall behind others in such academic progress, requiring new efforts to support their earning of advanced credentials. Though highly beneficial for these individuals, obtaining a degree comes with elevated levels of stress. As enrollment of students with disabilities grows in all formats of higher education, those involved must understand the stress endured by these students and how to diminish it. Theories speculate that technology, such as intelligent virtual assistants, may be a viable tool …

Big-Data Talent Analytics In The Public Sector: A Promotion And Firing Model Of Employees At Federal Agencies, Rabih Neouchi

Operations Research and Engineering Management Theses and Dissertations

Talent analytics is a relatively new area of focus to researchers working in analytics and data science. Talent Analytics has the potential to help companies make many informed critical decisions around talent acquisition, promotion and retention. This work investigates data science to predict “shiny star” employees in the U.S. public sector, defined as top-notch performers over the years of a given time span. Its scope falls within talent analytics, also called people analytics, a relatively new research area.

We clean a data set made available by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and present two models to predict the …

An Accelerated Hierarchical Approach For Object Shape Extraction And Recognition, Mahmoud K. Quweider, Bassam Arshad, Hansheng Lei, Liyu Zhang, Fitratullah Khan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We present a novel automatic supervised object recognition algorithm based on a scale and rotation invariant Fourier descriptors algorithm. The algorithm is hierarchical in nature to capture the inherent intra-contour spatial relationships between the parent and child contours of an object. A set of distance metrics are introduced to go along with the hierarchical model. To test the algorithm, a diverse database of shapes is created and used to train standard classification algorithms, for shape-labeling. The implemented algorithm takes advantage of the multi-threaded architecture and GPU efficient image-processing functions present in OpenCV wherever possible, speeding up the running time and …

Exploring Eye Tracking Data On Source Code Via Dual Space Analysis, Li Zhang

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Eye tracking is a frequently used technique to collect data capturing users' strategies and behaviors in processing information. Understanding how programmers navigate through a large number of classes and methods to find bugs is important to educators and practitioners in software engineering. However, the eye tracking data collected on realistic codebases is massive compared to traditional eye tracking data on one static page. The same content may appear in different areas on the screen with users scrolling in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Hierarchically structured content and fluid method position compose the two major challenges for visualization. We present a …

Chatterbox, Clayton Crispim, Jacqueline Siquiera De Medeiros, Joao Pedro Haddad Oliveira, Kleyton Soares, Maria Fabiana Nunes Dos Santos

ICT

In the market, there are not many options or tools for people that once could speak. However, due to an accident or stroke, not only lost their voices and even some of their movements, but also sign language is not an option either. The issue is that whichever communication alternative that is available is either too expensive to use or too complicated for their actual situation such as google voice, notepads, general writing tools, etc. as each of them requires a little bit of work to manage.

Therefore we intended to ease speech-impaired people’s lives by designing and developing an …

Transparency And Communication Patterns In Human-Robot Teaming, Shan Lakhmani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In anticipation of the complex, dynamic battlefields of the future, military operations are increasingly demanding robots with increased autonomous capabilities to support soldiers. Effective communication is necessary to establish a common ground on which human-robot teamwork can be established across the continuum of military operations. However, the types and format of communication for mixed-initiative collaboration is still not fully understood. This study explores two approaches to communication in human-robot interaction, transparency and communication pattern, and examines how manipulating these elements with a robot teammate affects its human counterpart in a collaborative exercise. Participants were coupled with a computer-simulated robot to …

Robust Adaptive Rate Control Algorithm And Its Simulation For P2p-Tv Streaming Media Systems, Fengjie Yin, Yang Hui, Zhang Ying

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: A control algorithm proposed to control the upstream rate based on sliding mode control in P2P-TV streaming media node. Through the rational design of sliding mode controller, the algorithm can adaptively control the numbers of signaling threads between neighbor pairs connected simultaneously and then control the upload rate. Further, it can achieve the fair use of resources. Due to the sliding mode control has strong robust with modeling uncertainties, time varying parameter fluctuations and external disturbances, it can avoid the system congestion under network condition change. Simulation results demonstrate that it can lead to the convergence of the …

Decolonizing Design, Repair, And Mapping Indigenous Futures | A Conversatoin With Tristan Schultz, Liberal Arts Division, Risd Museum, Ncss Graduate Program

Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies (NCSS) Lectures

Lecture, March 21, 2019. 6:30 pm, Metcalf Auditorium, Chace Center/RISD Museum. In this discussion, Tristan Schultz will discuss his work with the decolonizing design group. He will also discuss his research on repair and maintenance as radical eco-design strategies and consider the role that indigenous futuring could play in expanding our understanding of sustainable futures.

Tristan Schultz is a Lecturer and Convenor of Visual Communication Design in the Design Futures Program at Griffith University, Tristan is an Australian/Aboriginal interdisciplinary designer, strategist and researcher with a Master of Design Futures (Hons) and PhD Candidate. Recent research has focused on how design …

Flashlight In A Dark Room: A Grounded Theory Study On Information Security Management At Small Healthcare Provider Organizations, Gerald Auger

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to protect patient’s privacy and a business motivation to properly secure their assets. These providers encounter barriers to achieving these objectives and limited academic research has been conducted to examine the causes and strategies to overcome them. A subset of this demographic, businesses with less than 10 providers, compose a majority 57% of provider organizations in the United States. This grounded theory study provides exploratory findings, discovering these small healthcare provider organizations (SHPO) have limited knowledge on information technology (IT) and information security that results in assumptions and misappropriations of information security implementation, who is …

Report Of The Workshop Evaluating The Nature Of Midwater Mining Plumes And Their Potential Effects On Midwater Ecosystems, Jeffrey C. Drazen, Craig R. Smith, Kristina Gjerde, Whitlow Au, Jesse Black, Glenn Carter, Malcolm Clark, Jennifer M. Durden, Pierre Dutrieux, Erica Goetze, Steven Haddock, Mariko Hatta, Chris Hauton, Paul Hill, Julian Koslow, Astrid B. Leitner, Chris Measures, Audre Pacini, Frank Parrish, Thomas Peacock, Jessica Perelman, Tracey T. Sutton, Celine Taymans, Verena Tunnicliffe, Les Watling, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Emily Young, Amanda F. Ziegler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is developing regulations to control the future exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources including sulphide deposits near hydrothermal vents, polymetallic nodules on the abyssal seafloor, and cobalt crusts on seamounts. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea the ISA is required to adopt are taking measures to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects arising from mining-related activities. Contractors are required to generate environmental baselines and assess the potential environmental consequences of deep seafloor mining. Understandably, nearly all environmental research has focused on the seafloor where the most direct …

Untangling Knots: Embodied Diagramming Practices In Knot Theory, Kate Mccallum

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The low visibility and specialised languages of mathematical work pose challenges for the ethnographic study of communication in mathematics, but observation-based study can offer a real-world grounding to questions about the nature of its methods. This paper uses theoretical ideas from linguistic pragmatics to examine how mutual understandings of diagrams are achieved in the course of conference presentations. Presenters use shared knowledge to train others to interpret diagrams in the ways favoured by the community of experts, directing an audience’s attention so as to develop a shared understanding of a diagram’s features and possible manipulations. In this way, expectations about …

A 3d Tree Visualization Of Network Data Based On Webvr, Lin Ding, Guoxin Huang, Xu Ying

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: A new method of three dimensional tree-style visualization of network data is proposed in this paper based on cluster computing, which maps the network structure of clustered data to hierarchical tree structure. The number of nodes of a community is treated as the weight to improve the PhylloTrees' phyllotactic layout algorithm and the 3D visualization of network data is implemented based on WebVR. Friendly interactive manipulations are achieved in the immersive VR scene such as rotation, zooming, pan, picking, and transparent fade / highlight enhancement of different displaying. The experimental results show that our method can show not only …

Variable Scale Point Cloud Registration Algorithm, Shuifa Sun, Zhun Li, Kun Xia, Yunfei Shi, Jiquan Yang, Fangmin Dong

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: To address the low registration accuracy issue caused by scale mismatch of two point clouds, a multi-scale point cloud registration algorithm is proposed based on the distance ratio invariance of the geometric center of gravity and centroid. The point cloud is firstly filtered. Then, the scale ratio calculation model of the point cloud data is established by computing the point cloud’s gravity center and centroid. Finally, according to the relationship between the registration error and the scale true value, the scale factor is refined step by step with ICP algorithm. For the noise and the inconsistent point in the …

Cloud Fraction Of Satellite Imagery Based On Convolutional Neural Networks, Xia Min, Maoyang Shen, Jianfeng Wang, Yangguang Wang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Cloud fraction is the basis for the application of meteorological satellite. Existing methods cannot use all the characteristics and optical parameters of the satellite cloud, which results in the inaccuracy of cloud detection and cloud fraction. In order to solve this problem, convolutional neural network is used for cloud detection. Based on the improved convolutional neural network, the satellite cloud image is divided into thin cloud, thick cloud and clear sky. Based on the cloud detection, an improved spatial correlation method is used for cloud fraction. The results for Chinese HJ-1A/B satellite imagery show that convolutional neural network can …

Quantifying Signpost Usage By Captive Male White-Tailed Deer, Cassie L. Auxt, Eric S. Michel, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) use rubbing of signpost structures to communicate during the breeding season. Rubbing of signpost structures allows deer to communicate via visual and chemical cues, which allows them to establish dominance hierarchies and maintain hierarchal status throughout the breeding season (Moore and Marchinton 1974, Miller et al. 1981, Hewitt 2011). Once a living tree is rubbed, the exposed light-colored sapwood creates a stark contrast in wooded areas, increasing visibility and further enticing deer to investigate the structure (Oehler et al. 1995). Anatomically, the tubular apocrine sudoriferous glands of white-tailed deer are located at the antler …

Presenting A Product Design From Computer-Generated Imagery (Cgi), Mirjeta Mustafa

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to determine a solution to overcome photography problems to present product design by using Computer Generated Imagery. CGI and virtual design now play a key role in the development of many materials, processes and products. Through this study has been explored, the impact of 3D render to exhibit the product design, as well as a brief history of photography and how it is used to present the product, the problems that have emerged during the use of photographs to present the product design have been discussed, and how new technologies have enabled us to …

Use Of Virtual Reality Technology In Medical Training And Patient Rehabilitation, Sankalp Mishra

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Coaching patients to follow the rehabilitation routines correctly and timely after surgery is often a challenge due to the limited medical knowledge of patients and limited availability of clinicians. Similarly, it is also a challenge to train medical professionals with both the technical and communication skills required in their practices. The recent emergence of VR technologies shines the light on improving the current training practices. In this thesis research, I will look at the development and application of VR-based immersive training games for two particular cases: 1. Post hand surgery rehab; and, 2. Training for Social determinants of health (SDOH) …

Spatial-Aware Global Contrast Representation For Saliency Detection, Dan Xu, Shucheng Huang, Xin Zuo

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Deep learning networks have been demonstrated to be helpful when used in salient object detection and achieved superior performance than the methods that are based on low-level hand-crafted features. In this paper, we propose a novel spatial-aware contrast cube-based convolution neural network (CNN) which can further improve the detection performance. From this cube data structure, the contrast of the superpixel is extracted. Meanwhile, the spatial information is preserved during the transformation. The proposed method has two advantages compared to the existing deep learning-based saliency methods. First, instead of feeding the deep learning networks with raw image patches or pixels, we …