Digital Commons Network^™

Identification And Ranking Of Relevant Image Content, Mustafa I. A. Jaber

Theses

The work in this thesis proposes an image understanding algorithm for automatically identifying and ranking different image regions into several levels of importance. Given a color image, specialized maps for classifying image content namely: weighted similarity, weighted homogeneity, image contrast and memory color maps are generated and combined to provide a perceptual importance map. Further analysis of this map yields a region ranking map which sorts the image content into different levels of significance.

The algorithm was tested on a large database that contains a variety of color images. Those images were acquired from the Berkeley segmentation dataset as well …

Artfully Concealed, Athesia V. Benjamin

Theses

The following document is a summary of the development of my work during two years in the MFA painting program at Rochester Institute of Technology. The process intrinsic to thesis development eventually brought me to my final concept of obscuring my identity as a way to develop a body of figurative paintings. Along with the eleven pieces created during this two-year period, I have thoroughly studied this specific topic within the context of contemporary and historical art and identified artists with like concepts and images.

Ieee Compliant Double-Precision Fpu And 64-Bit Alu With Variable Latency Integer Divider, Ryan D. Williams

Theses

Together the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and floating-point unit (FPU) perform all of the mathematical and logic operations of computer processors. Because they are used so prominently, they fall in the critical path of the central processing unit - often becoming the bottleneck, or limiting factor for performance. As such, the design of a high-speed ALU and FPU is vital to creating a processor capable of performing up to the demanding standards of today's computer users.

In this paper, both a 64-bit ALU and a 64-bit FPU are designed based on the reduced instruction set computer architecture. The ALU performs …

Beetle Blasphemy, Ferris Webby

Theses

A descriptive narration of a project to create a 3D animated short comedy film, "Beetle Blasphemy," featuring a beetle who believes himself to be the Messiah. Includes original proposal, timeline, budget, original script, original storyboards, and film stills.

Communication Issues And Processes At The Rit Inn And Conference Center, Wayne J. Pater

Theses

This study focuses on communication issues at The RIT Inn and Conference Center, (the Inn). Effective communication is crucial to nearly everything. Communication is the learned skill that makes the difference between an average organization and a great one. A great organization's management can fully engage staff in operations at a company that achieves maximum efficiency (Williford, 2002).

This study is important because it will identify the root causes of communication gaps between management and staff. In addition, it will identify problems related to disconnects between service staff and management that have caused several service recovery issues. These disconnects may …

Identification Of Trans-Splicing Sites In Leishmania Major Using Probabilistic Methods, Lukas Habegger

Theses

Leishmania major, a member of the Kinetoplastida family, is a primitive protozoan that causes a human disease, called leishmaniases, affecting numerous people worldwide. The identification of new drug targets to combat leishmaniases necessitates a thorough understanding of how genomic instructions are transformed into functional proteins. It requires not only the prediction and categorization of all the genes, but also a profound understanding of their regulation. Much of gene regulation may occur through a process known as frarcs-splicing. Trans-splicing, which is mechanistically similar to cissplicing, is the process of cleaving a large polycistronic transcript into smaller monocistronic components.

The goal of …

Performance Evaluation Of Extended Sparse Linearization In Gf(2) And Gf(28), Tigin Kaptanoglu

Theses

XSL (eXtended Sparse Linearization) is a recent algebraic attack aimed at the Advanced Encryption Standard. In order to shed some light into the behavior of the algorithm, which is largely unknown, we have studied XSL on equation systems with variables interpreted either as bits or bytes. The algorithm solves byte-systems much faster than it does bit-systems, which promts us to suggest that if a more compact representation of equation systems can be found, such as one where the variables are 8-byte blocks, or even a more generalized form of 8n-byte blocks, it may be possible to increase the speed of …

Effective Approaches To Minimize The Problem Of Pharmaceuticals And Other Personal Care Products In The Environment, Papun Pramanick

Theses

Studies have shown that pharmaceuticals and other personal care products (PPCPs) are present in the environment, especially in water, due to different human activities. Some of these compounds are toxic to our eco-system. Although there is no evidence of adverse human health effect from the presence of PPCPs in the environment to date , some adverse effects on aquatic life cycle already have been found. Therefore, protecting our environment as well as human health from adverse effect(s) of PPCPs is a growing concern. The objective of this thesis work was to collect information about the principal approaches available to pharmaceutical …

Using Eye Tracking To Understand Banner Blindness And Improve Website Design, Chad Lapa

Theses

Banners, as a form of advertising on the web, are important for businesses. Conversely customers want to navigate the site without being distracted by irrelevant or annoying ads. Design and placement of banners is not well understood and "banner blindness", which occurs when users overlook the banner entirely, is what causes the ineffectiveness of the banner. This study employs eye tracking to investigate how banner background color and the banner’s relevance to users’ tasks influence banner blindness. Eye movements were collected for users performing several tasks and viewing banners in a task-free context. Different banners were counterbalanced with task order. …

Rook Polynomials For Chessboards Of Two And Three Dimensions, Benjamin Zindle

Theses

Not provided.

How Ehs Managers Can Influence Environmental Excellence Within Their Organization, Joseph Whitaker

Theses

The objective of this work is to evaluate the various management styles and systems applicable to the Environmental, Health, and Safety ('EHS') profession; furthermore, it will present ways in which managers will discover how to understand and evaluate projects from a 'business' point of view, allowing them to compete within their organization for capital and human resources. ... This paper will also discuss various evaluations used to ensure proper buy-in from management -- a process that will facilitate the allocation of human and financial resources to environment, health, and safety projects. The evaluation will focus on two primary elements. The …

Situational Awareness In The Marine Towing Industry, Boris Towns

Theses

Loss of situational awareness has been cited as the most common cause of accidents in the maritime industry. However, current research has not proven beneficial in determining the factors that underpin situational awareness. This study examined situational awareness among licensed captains and pilots of the inland towing industry. Twenty towboat captains, who operate on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) from New Orleans, LA to Houston, TX and who represented 16 towing vessel companies, were interviewed and participated in an integrated survey that explored fatigue, communication, dangerous drugs and alcohol, social stress, and mental workload. These factors were believed to have …

Point Seeking: A Family Of Dynamic Path Finding Algorithms, Andrew Fanton

Theses

In the field of Artificial Intelligence, calculating the best route from one point to another, known as “path finding,” has become a common problem. If an agent cannot effectively navigate through an environment – be it real or virtual – it will often not be able to perform even the most routine tasks. For example, a Martian rover can't collect samples if it can't get to them; meanwhile, a computer game is not much of a challenge if your opponents can't find their way around. The problem of path finding has three basic aspects: map representation, path generation, and locomotion. …

Visualization Analysis Of Astrophysics N-Bodied Problem Using Image Morphological Processing Techniques, Thomas J. Borrelli

Theses

This project’s primary goal is to detect points of interest within the output data resulting from running a simulation of the Astrophysics N-Bodied problem (GRAPEcluster). Morphological Image Processing techniques will be applied to the visualized data in order to detect areas of interest within the original data. Several Morphological Image Processing techniques will be used and the results compared in the analysis. The final output of the VRAD (Visualization of Raw Astrophysics Data) System will be two-fold: first, the VRAD system will output a text file that contains the x, y and z coordinates of each region of interest in …

The Performance Of Group Diffie-Hellman Paradigms: A Software Framework And Analysis, Kieran S. Hagzan

Theses

A mobile computing environment typically involves groups of small, low-power devices interconnected through a mobile and dynamic network. Attempts to secure communication over these “ad-hoc” networks must be scalable to conserve the minimal resources of mobile devices as network sizes grow. In this project, the scalability of differing Group Diffie-Hellman security key generation implementations is examined. In theory, the implementation utilizing a data structure with the lowest theoretical run-time complexity for building the Diffie-Hellman group should prove the most scalable experimentally. A common modular framework was implemented to support generic Group Diffie-Hellman key agreement implementations abstracted from the underlying data …

Audio Watermarking Techniques Using Singular Value Decomposition, Joseph Kardamis

Theses

In an increasingly digital world, proving ownership of files is more and more difficult. For audio files, many schemes have been put into place to attempt to protect the rights of the digital content owners. In general, these techniques fall under the classification of Digital Rights Management (DRM). Audio watermarking is one of the less invasive schemes which embeds security into the data itself instead of in an outside layer meant to encapsulate and protect the data. There are many domains in which an audio watermark can be applied. The simplest is that of the time domain; often, however, other …

Ivee: Interesting Video Event Extraction, Jeremy Paskali

Theses

The Video Exploitation and Novelty Understanding in Streams (VENUS) system is a complete software solution for video surveillance, which consists of motion detection, motion tracking, novel event detection, missed expected event detection, object recognition, scene description, and database mining. This research focuses on the assignment of degrees of interest for events in motion and at rest for the VENUS system. The Interesting Video Event Extraction (IVEE) system is the second module in the processing pipeline of the VENUS system. The novel features of the IVEE sysem include the ability to assign a degree of interest to an event, to develop …

Biologically-Inspired Translation, Scale, And Rotation Invariant Object Recognition Models, Myung Woo

Theses

The ventral stream of the human visual system is credited for processing object recognition tasks. There have been a plethora of models that are capable of doing some form of object recognition tasks. However, none are perfect. The complexity of our visual system is so great that models currently available are only able to recognize a small set of objects. This thesis revolves analyzing models that are inspired by biological processing. The biologically inspired models are usually hierarchical, formed after the division of the human visual system. In such a model, each level in the hierarchy performs certain tasks related …

Approximation And Elections, Eric Brelsford

Theses

Any culture that requires that a decision be made within a group necessarily creates methods for aggregating each individual’s preferences. For instance, we see such a need in political elections, committees, and businesses. With the Internet and the increasing use of multiagent software systems, the general need for means of aggregating differing preferences has increased dramatically. Voting is one way to come to a single option (or small group of options) out of a larger pool of candidate options. Many voting systems exist, and criteria exist (within the field of social choice theory) for deciding which most fairly and accurately …

Challenges Of Implementing Rss Barcodes On Hospital Unit Dose Blisters, Rolando Quiles

Theses

Not provided.

Live Load Stack Testing Of Corrugated Shipping Containers Filled With 12 Hdpe Quart Oil Bottles, Christopher Wemett

Theses

A study was conducted to choose a new resin for the BP Castro( bottle-making process. Four resins were tested using the standard 10-week stack test: ExxonMobil HY A30 I (the control),

Chevron Marlex 9512H, Dow DMDA 6200, and BP Solvay HPS0-25-155. The study focused on five possible defects: bent neck, pushed up base, creased side wall, pushed in bumper, and creased label panel. The goal was to find a resin that performed as well as or better than the control resin. The test required bottles to be made and quality-checked for conformance to specification. The bottles were then put into …

In-Water Spectral Radiative Transfer Modeling Using Photon Mapping, Adam Arthur Goodenough

Theses

In contrast to spectroscopic observation of deep ocean waters, measurement of coastal waters is often influenced by inhomogeneous surroundings. An accurate model of light propagation in coastal regions must therefore take into account spatially variant phenomena, such as the distribution of inherent optical properties in the water, bottom structure, in-water objects, and wind-driven wave surfaces. In order to account for the influence of these multi-dimensional structures effectively, this work adapts and develops efficient Monte Carlo based ray tracing techniques to simulate radiative transfer in natural waters.

The basis of this work is a two-pass ray tracing process that generates a …

Applying User-Centered Design In The Development Of A Software Application For The Treatment Of A Mental Health Disorder, Stacey L. Meacham

Theses

The research that follows will provide a process for applying a user-centered design methodology to the development of a virtual environment software application for the treatment of a mental health disorder, specifically post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The goal is to create a screen-based virtual environment product that focuses on the end user rather than the technological aspects of the system. Moreover, past and present treatments in the mental health and healthcare fields and their effectiveness will be analyzed through an extensive literature review.

Implications Of Reading Assessments: Investigating The Developmental Reading Assessment And Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills - Oral Reading Fluency As Related To The Terranova 2nd Edition Vocabulary And Comprehension Tasks For Third-Grade Students, Courtney Wheeler

Theses

The present study investigated the relationship between Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency and the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) as related to the TerraNova 2nd Edition Vocabulary and Comprehension. Historical test data gained from 46 third grade participants during 2004- 2005 school year from an urban elementary school was utilized. The DRA protocols were coded and correlations were run to determine the relationship between the three tests. Significant correlations were found consistently between the DIBELS scores with DRA Phrasing and Fluency and DRA Story Level. Of particular interest, the overall best predictor for DIBELS scores …

Using Organic Modeling Techniques To Create Scientific Models For Flow Analysis In Biomechanical Research: Exploring 3-D Software Typically Used In Creative Media For Model Creation., Jessica L. Weisman

Theses

Biomedical Engineering research utilizes digital three-dimensional models of human anatomical systems that are used as components in specific types of simulation. The data collected from the simulations provide quantifiable information that has a physical basis. The use of the digital models allows engineers the freedom of experimentation that may not be possible in the real world and allows them to quickly change the parameters. Although these models can provide reliable information, the models represent a mechanical ideal and therefore do not accurately represent organic matter. The consequence of using an ideal model to represent tissue may give flawed data, since …

Images In Electronic Performance Support Systems (Epss): An Eye Tracking Study, Niyati N. Bedekar

Theses

Current forms of online help are increasingly making use of images (graphical illustrations or photographs), along with textual instructions to effectively assist users in performing a specific task. Users typically want to accomplish tasks quickly and devote limited attention to help systems. Hence, it is essential that these images facilitate efficient understanding of the task at hand and complement the instructions well. The first goal of the project was to create quick and inexpensive images that work better than or as well as existing graphical illustrations. The second goal was to conduct a usability test with eye tracking to compare …

School Psychologists' Perceived And Ideal Role In Grade Retention Decisions, Sean P. Scott

Theses

This study examined school psychologists' reports of their perceived and ideal roles in retention making decisions. A random national sample of 231 school psychologists completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the rates and trends of retention in their school, as well as their perceived and ideal role in grade retention decisions. The majority (86.6%) of respondents indicated that their school practices retention, whereas 1 9% noted an increase in the amount of retentions. The rate at which respondents agreed that school psychologists should be involved in retention decisions was significantly higher (91.5%) than the percentage of school psychologists that …

Loss Prevention In Retail: Evaluation Of Time Delay Shelf System, Pavan V. Raja

Theses

This thesis studies the effectiveness in theft detterence of an asset control system, called "Time Delay Shelf," in a case study in several CVS/Pharmacy stores

Captivated In Time, Melissa S. Newcomb

Theses

Not included.

Untitled, Shawn Kosmala

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between society and its depiction as art. The research will require a look into my own personal everyday life and that of my family and close friends. It will further deal with the emotional connection that is created between the viewer and the image. In art it is not only the subject matter that is important, but the materials and techniques that are used. Through the research of other artists such as Chuck Close, John Singer Sargent, Meriseo Lanzanski, Charles White, Billy Andrews, Philip Pearlstein, Rodin, Egon Schiele it is …