Digital Commons Network^™

Riverland 2.0: Blending Of Multiple User-Defined Slopes In A Procedurally Modeled Terrain, Jeffrey Jensen

Master's Projects

This writing project attempts to improve on and add features to the current program called RiverLand originally designed and implemented by Dr. Soon Tee Teoh. I discuss the original methods used by RiverLand to create procedurally generated terrain. I then explore the weaknesses of the original RiverLand which include having only linear ridges and undesirable medial axis cells. I then tackle the problem of recurring patterns when texturizing a surface with very few textures. I propose how to solve these problems and explain the methods used to accomplish this. I discuss the user interfaces that were designed to accommodate the …

Mapping Of Indian Science And Technology Output In A National And Global Context, 1997-2007, B. M. Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examines India’s performance in S&T based on country publication share in various subjects in the national context and in the global context. It also compares similarities of Indian research profile with top other 19 top productive countries, particularly with China, South Korea, and Brazil. The study uses 11 years publications data in science and technology on India and other top 19 productive countries, drawn from Scopus database covering the period 1997 to 2007. The findings of the study should be of special significance to the planners & policy-makers.

Rumbling In The Benthos: Acoustic Ecology Of The California Mantis Shrimp Hemisquilla Californiensis, E. Staaterman, C. Clark, A. Gallagher, M. Devries, T. Claverie, S. Patek

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Although much research has focused on acoustic mapping and exploration of the benthic environment, little is known about the acoustic ecology of benthic organisms, particularly benthic crustaceans. Through the use of a coupled audio–video system, a hydrophone array, and an autonomous recording unit, we tested several hypotheses about the field acoustics of a benthic marine crustacean, Hemisquilla califor­niensis. Living in muddy burrows in southern California, these large mantis shrimp produce low frequency ‘rumbles’ through muscle vibrations. First, we tested whether acoustic signals are similar in the field and in the laboratory, and discovered that field-produced rumbles are more acoustically and …

Class, Race, Gender And The Elite University: A Noncognitive Assessment Of Academic Adjustment, Megan Thiele

Faculty Publications, Sociology

The most trusted mechanism of upward social mobility is education. One of the surest paths to success is an elite education. Studying class at an elite university is important because of our dependence on this site as a justification of social stratification. Are elite universities truly meritocratic? Based on non-participant observation and in-depth interviews with forty-three students at a highly selective, private university, this article addresses how class, race and gender matter for academic adjustment to an elite university. This research employs non-cognitive assessors to show how class, race and gender matter for academic adjustment at an elite university. Policy …

Analytic And Continental Philosophy, Science, And Global Philosophy, Richard Tieszen

Comparative Philosophy

Although there is no consensus on what distinguishes analytic from Continental philosophy, I focus in this paper on one source of disagreement that seems to run fairly deep in dividing these traditions in recent times, namely, disagreement about the relation of natural science to philosophy. I consider some of the exchanges about science that have taken place between analytic and Continental philosophers, especially in connection with the philosophy of mind. In discussing the relation of natural science to philosophy I employ an analysis of the origins of natural science that has been developed by a number of Continental philosophers. Awareness …

Comparative Philosophy Vol 2 No 2 Whole Set, Comparative Philosophy

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Learning Author’S Writing Pattern System By Automata, Qun Yu

Master's Projects

The purpose of the report is to document our project’s theory, implementation and test results. The project works on an automata-based learning system which models authors’ writing characters with automatons. Since there were pervious works done by Dr. T.Y. Lin and Ms. S.X. Zhang, we continue on ALERGIA algorithm analysis and initial common pattern study in this project. Although every author has his/her own writing style, such as sentence length and word frequency etc, there are always some similarities in writing style. We hypothesize that common strings fogged the expected test result, just like the noise in radio wave. This …

Improving Performance Of Bittorrent Network Through Incentive Mechanism, Mingzhe Li

Master's Projects

Content Distribution via Internet has become increasingly popular right now. Compared with centralized file distribution system using FTP and HTTP protocols, P2P (Peer to Peer) is more cost-effective. Furthermore, it could help save on bandwidth costs and to handle pick demands. Among many P2P protocols, BitTorrent is one of the most popular protocols right now. The BitTorrent network uses tit-for-tat as a method of seeking Pareto efficiency. However, seeders who contribute more to BitTorrent network than leechers are not incentivized to stay online and upload to others. This paper discusses an incentive mechanism which rewards seeder, who stays in a …

Social Network Leverage Search, Payal Gupta

Master's Projects

Social networks are at an all time high, nowadays. They make the world a smaller place to live in. People can stay in touch with friends and can make new friends on these social networks which traditionally were not possible without internet service. The possibilities provided by social networks enable vast and immediate contact. People tend to spend lot of time on the social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter peeping into their friend‟s accounts and trying to stay connected with the world.
However, recently people have started closing their accounts on these famous social networks after having been irritated …

Algorithms Analysis System: Recurrences, Anchit Sharma

Master's Projects

Algorithms which are recursive have running times which can be described by

recurrence equations or recurrences. These equations determine the overall running time complexity of the algorithm. This project intends to create a mechanism for

• auto generating recurrence equations of the form T(n) = a(T(n)/b) + f(n)

• creating a computational method for solving them and generating running times

  i.e. O (f(n)) or Ω (f(n)).

• presenting students with a way to verify their manually computed answers with

  the solution generation by the project

• generating grading and feedback for their solution

  The exercises will utilize the ‘Substitution Method’ and the ‘Master Method’ …

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Bibliometric Analysis Of The Indian Journal Of Chemistry, S. Thanuskodi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present study deals with bibliometric analysis of articles and references provided at the end of each article contributed in Indian Journal of Chemistry from 2005-2009. The analysis cover mainly the number of articles, authorship pattern, forms of document cited, etc. All the studies point towards the merit and weakness of the journal which will be helpful for its further development. This study showed that most of the contributions are India. The authorship pattern of the articles published during the period of study. Maximum number of articles were contributed by two authors. This study also showed that majority of the …

Efficient Unfolding Pattern Recognition In Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy Data, Bill Andreopoulos, Dirk Labudde

Faculty Publications, Computer Science

BackgroundSingle-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is a technique that measures the force necessary to unfold a protein. SMFS experiments generate Force-Distance (F-D) curves. A statistical analysis of a set of F-D curves reveals different unfolding pathways. Information on protein structure, conformation, functional states, and inter- and intra-molecular interactions can be derived.ResultsIn the present work, we propose a pattern recognition algorithm and apply our algorithm to datasets from SMFS experiments on the membrane protein bacterioRhodopsin (bR). We discuss the unfolding pathways found in bR, which are characterised by main peaks and side peaks. A main peak is the result of the pairwise …

Assessment Of First Year Experiences At Sjsu, Patricia Backer, Emily Allen, Janet Sundrud

Faculty Publications

With nearly 5,000 students, the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering (CoE) at San José State University (SJSU) is the largest provider of engineers to Silicon Valley companies and is ranked 12th among engineering programs for master’s-level institutions in the 2009 U.S. News &World Report's listing of "America’s Best Colleges. “Our overarching theoretical model for student retention is based on Tinto’s model. We adapted this model, based on additional research, to address the needs of students at SJSU. According to this model, effective and positive interactions in college should increase the student’s commitment and effort in college, and thereby, increase …

Patron-Driven Purchase On Demand Programs For Printed Books And Similar Materials: A Chronological Review And Summary Of Findings, David C. Tyler

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

There has been a flurry of interest in patron-driven acquisitions in the library literature of late, but there has also been some suggestion that libraries are hesitant to incorporate patron-driven acquisitions into their collection development models. This article reviews the findings of the several case studies in the literature in the hopes that this will aid librarians who are still considering whether or not to implement a purchase on demand program for books and similar materials requested by patrons.

The Next Step In Librarianship: Is The Traditional Library Dead?, L. A. Ogunsola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This article provides a history of libraries from their founding in the ancient world through the later half of the 20th century, when both technological and political forces radically reshaped library development. According to Encyclopedia Britannica Online 2007, the paper identifies the series of technological developments with which both librarians and traditional libraries have had to contend. The impression that the global technological revolution now taking place has "murdered" traditional libraries as well as the librarians working in them was critically assessed. It was later concluded that both digital and traditional libraries will co-exist side by side and they will …

Open Access, African Scholarly Publishing, And Cultural Rights: An Exploratory Usage And Accessibility Study, Natalia Taylor Bowdoin

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The Open Access (OA) Movement has been praised by proponents as a way to reverse the unsustainability of traditional scholarly publishing economic models and to aid in the equalization of the flow of information between industrialized and less industrialized nations. The OA Movement is thus also seen as a means of helping achieve both Articles 19 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which jointly articulate the basic human rights to seek, receive and impart information, to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts, and to share in scientific advancement. Historically however, …

Spartan Daily April 26, 2011, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 136, Issue 44

Spartan Daily April 18, 2011, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 136, Issue 39

Making Connections Between Science And Equity: A Motivation To Teach Science In Elementary Grades, Grinell Smith, Colette Rabin

Faculty Publications

Teacher quality is among the strongest correlates of student outcomes. However, only about a quarter of the nation’s elementary teachers consider themselves qualified to teach science. In this descriptive and exploratory study, we investigated whether helping pre-service teacher candidates explore connections between science and issues of equity, particularly around sustainability issues, could help them see the importance of teaching science to their students more often. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 59 students enrolled in revised science methods courses at a large public university. Our findings suggest that positioning science instruction thusly was perceived as a strong motivator to …

Bridging Professional Development And Context: Integrating Mathematics And Academic Language In A District Facing Takeover, Patricia Swanson, David Whitenack

Faculty Publications

This quasi-experimental, multi-phase study uses mixed methods to evaluate a professional development initiative focused on integrating mathematics and academic language. The context is a highly diverse urban district facing state takeover. The professional development focused on the understanding of key mathematics concepts and developing content-specific academic language. It linked explicitly to district-adopted texts and prescribed lesson formats. Teachers perceived the strategies to be feasible and beneficial to student learning, and had high rates of implementation. Nonetheless, pacing guides pressuring teachers to quickly cover content pose challenges for continued implementation. Implications for (1) professional development focusing on integrating subject-matter content and …

Spartan Daily April 6, 2011, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 136, Issue 33

Thermodynamics Of The Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg Model On The Checkerboard Lattice, Ehsan Khatami, Maros Rigol

Faculty Publications

Employing numerical linked-cluster expansions (NLCEs) along with exact diagonalizations of finite clusters with periodic boundary condition, we study the energy, specific heat, entropy, and various susceptibilities of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the checkerboard lattice. NLCEs, combined with extrapolation techniques, allow us to access temperatures much lower than those accessible to exact diagonalization and other series expansions. We show that the high-temperature peak in specific heat decreases as the frustration increases, consistent with the large amount of unquenched entropy in the region around maximum classical frustration, where the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor exchange interactions (J and J′, respectively) have the same …

Bicycling Access And Egress To Transit: Informing The Possibilities, Kevin J. Krizek

Mineta Transportation Institute

When effectively integrated with transit services, considerable room exists for bicycling to realize various benefits to communities. A successful marriage between bicycling and transit will likely increase the use and efficiency of both modes. A core problem, however, exists in that the predominant approach for integrating bicycles and transit—bicycles aboard transit vehicles—frequently runs up against capacity restraints. Integrating bicycling and transit requires analysis of a broad range of alternatives that considers both the travel patterns and needs of individuals but also accompanying urban form characteristics. What are the most cost effective strategies likely to generate the largest number of cyclists …

Medical Analysis Question And Answering Application For Internet Enabled Mobile Devices, Loc Nguyen

Master's Projects

Mobile devices such as smart phones, the iPhone, and the iPad have become more popular in recent years. With access to the Internet through cellular or WIFI networks, these mobile devices can make use of the great source of information available on the Internet. Unlike a desktop or laptop computer, an Internet enabled mobile device is designed to be carried around and available to the owner almost instantly at any moment of the day. Despite having such great advantage and potential, searching for information with a mobile device remains a difficult task. Mobile device users have to juggle between different …

Users Positions In Social Networks, Jasim Qazi

Master's Projects

Social networks are a new phase in human interaction: using
technology to connect people online, the social nehvorks of today have
become a central part of the lives of millions of people. People use social
networks for sharing various infonrmation with their friends and family. This
information can take the forn of text, video, images, sound etc. and it is what
forms the collection of dats in social networks.

As social networks gain popularity and as more and more people start
using social networks, it has become more important now to understand the
inner structures of social networks and understand …

Model-Controller Interfacing Using Struts-Based Web Application, Deepti Bhardwaj

Master's Projects

StrutsHib IDE is an IDE for interfacing the model and controller of a MVC architecture based applications. It is developed using Java-based technologies such as the Struts framework, Hibernate and jQuery. The StrutsHib IDE is a web application. This project implements the part of StrutsHib IDE that makes it easy to create model and controller components. Moreover, it automates the process of database creation for web applications which means the user does not have to be a database expert when dealing with databases. Finally, StrutsHib IDE takes all the advantages of a web-based application and provides lot of flexibility to …

Ab Initio Protein Structure Prediction Algorithms, Maciej Kicinski

Master's Projects

Genes that encode novel proteins are constantly being discovered and added to databases, but the speed with which their structures are being determined is not keeping up with this rate of discovery. Currently, homology and threading methods perform the best for protein structure prediction, but they are not appropriate to use for all proteins. Still, the best way to determine a protein's structure is through biological experimentation. This research looks into possible methods and relations that pertain to ab initio protein structure prediction. The study includes the use of positional and transitional probabilities of amino acids obtained from a non-redundant …

Smart Search: A Firefox Add-On To Compute A Web Traffic Ranking, Vijaya Pamidi

Master's Projects

Search engines results are typically ordered according to some notion of importance of a web page as well as relevance of the content of a web page to a query. Web page importance is usually calculated based on some graph theoretic properties of the web. Another common technique to measure page importance is to make use of the traffic that goes to a particular web page as measured by a browser toolbar. Currently, there are some traffic ranking tools available like www.alexa.com, www.ranking.com, www.compete.com that give such analytic as to the number of users who visit a web site. Alexa …

Recipe Suggestion Tool, Sakuntala Padmapriya Gangaraju

Master's Projects

ABSTRACT
There is currently a great need for a tool to search cooking recipes based on ingredients. Current search engines do not provide this feature. Most of the recipe search results in current websites are not efficiently clustered based on relevance or categories resulting in a user getting lost in the huge search results presented.
Clustering in information retrieval is used for higher efficiency and better presentation of information to the user. Clustering puts similar documents in the same cluster. If a document is relevant to a query, then the documents in the same cluster are also relevant.
The goal …

Evaluation Of Classical Inter-Process Communication Problems In Parallel Programming Languages, Arunesh Joshi

Master's Projects

It is generally believed for the past several years that parallel programming is the future of computing technology due to its incredible speed and vastly superior performance as compared to classic linear programming. However, how sure are we that this is the case? Despite its aforesaid average superiority, usually parallel-program implementations run in single-processor machines, making the parallelism almost virtual. In this case, does parallel programming still remain superior?
The purpose of this document is to research and analyze the performance, in both storage and speed, of three parallel-programming language libraries: OpenMP, OpenMPI and PThreads, along with a few other …