Digital Commons Network^™

Ibm Power Systems And Service Oriented Architecture At Bank Of America’S Foreign Items Systems Office, Keng Siau, D. Dewester

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This is a teaching case on a real life scenario in an organization involving IT solution evaluation and selection. This case involves the Bank of America’s Foreign Items Systems office in Toronto. The officers from the Bank of America’s Foreign Items Systems office in Toronto were discussing how to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) from a major U.S. bank to provide foreign currency services. The case discusses three options: Standard J2EE Web Application Global Foreign Currency, Modified J2EE Web Application with Single Sign On, and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) via Web Services. The case can be used to complement …

Chosen-Ciphertext Secure Bidirectional Proxy Re-Encryption Schemes Without Pairings, Jian Weng, Huijie, Robert Deng, Shengli Liu, Kefei Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Proxy re-encryption realizes delegation of decryption rights, enabling a proxy holding a re-encryption key to convert a ciphertext originally intended for Alice into an encryption of the same message for Bob. Proxy re-encryption is a very useful primitive, having many applications in distributed file systems, outsourced filtering of encrypted spam, access control over network storage, and so on. Lately, Weng et al. proposed the first unidirectional proxy re-encryption scheme without using bilinear pairs. However, Weng et al.'s construction does not possess collusion resilience, in the sense that a coalition of the proxy and the delegatee can recover the delegator's private …

Protecting And Restraining The Third Party In Rfid-Enabled 3pl Supply Chains, Shaoying Cai, Chunhua Su, Yingjiu Li, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

“Symmetric secret”-based RFID systems are widely adopted in supply chains. In such RFID systems, a reader’s ability to identify a RFID tag relies on the possession of the tag’s secret which is usually only known by its owner. If a “symmetric secret”-based RFID system is deployed in third party logistics (3PL) supply chains, all the three parties (the sender of the goods, the receiver of the goods and the 3PL provider) should have a copy of those tags’ secrets to access the tags. In case the three parties in 3PL supply chain are not all honest, sharing the secrets among …

Exploiting Intensity Inhomogeneity To Extract Textured Objects From Natural Scenes, Jundi Ding, Jialie Shen, Hwee Hwa Pang, Songcan Chen, Jingyu Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Extracting textured objects from natural scenes is a challenging task in computer vision. The main difficulties arise from the intrinsic randomness of natural textures and the high-semblance between the objects and the background. In this paper, we approach the extraction problem with a seeded region-growing framework that purely exploits the statistical properties of intensity inhomogeneity. The pixels in the interior of potential textured regions are first found as texture seeds in an unsupervised manner. The labels of the texture seeds are then propagated through their respective inhomogeneous neighborhoods, to eventually cover the different texture regions in the image. Extensive experiments …

Map Estimation For Graphical Models By Likelihood Maximization, Akshat Kumar, Shlomo Zilberstein

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Computing a maximum a posteriori (MAP) assignment in graphical models is a crucial inference problem for many practical applications. Several provably convergent approaches have been successfully developed using linear programming (LP) relaxation of the MAP problem. We present an alternative approach, which transforms the MAP problem into that of inference in a finite mixture of simple Bayes nets. We then derive the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm for this mixture that also monotonically increases a lower bound on the MAP assignment until convergence. The update equations for the EM algorithm are remarkably simple, both conceptually and computationally, and can be implemented …

Opportunistic Routing In Wireless Sensor Networks Powered By Ambient Energy Harvesting, Zhi Ang Eu, Hwee-Pink Tan, Winston K. G. Seah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Energy consumption is an important issue in the design of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) which typically rely on portable energy sources like batteries for power. Recent advances in ambient energy harvesting technologies have made it possible for sensor nodes to be powered by ambient energy entirely without the use of batteries. However, since the energy harvesting process is stochastic, exact sleep-and-wakeup schedules cannot be determined in WSNs Powered solely using Ambient Energy Harvesters (WSN–HEAP). Therefore, many existing WSN routing protocols cannot be used in WSN–HEAP. In this paper, we design an opportunistic routing protocol (EHOR) for multi-hop WSN–HEAP. Unlike traditional …

Review: Biribi: Les Bagnes Coloniaux De L'Armee Francaise, Leonard V. Smith

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Grand Jury Innovation: Toward A Functional Makeover Of The Ancient Bulwark Of Liberty, Roger Fairfax

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The grand jury is a "much maligned" organ of the criminal justice system.' Regularly employed in only about half of the states and grudgingly tolerated in the federal system,2 the American grand jury for two centuries has been criticized as costly, ineffective, overly-compliant, and redundant. Prescriptions have ranged from reforms designed to improve the grand jury's performance of its traditional filtering and charging functions to the outright abolition of the grand jury. Consequently, much of the scholarly defense of the grand jury seemingly has done little more than attempt to justify its very existence.

This Article seeks to take the …

An Exploration Of Elementary School Counselors' Perceptions Of Students' Exposure To Violent Video Games, Tammy Lynn Woody

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study explored elementary school counselors' perceptions of working with students exposed to violent video games. Certified elementary school counselors participated in both an online survey and individual interviews, revealing their observations regarding elementary school children and the phenomenon of gaming. An emphasis was placed on information about violent video games and how playing these games appear to impact the students in their schools.;The study addressed the overarching question of whether or not elementary school counselors have concerns about student exposure to violent video games and how they respond to student generated discussions of playing violent video games. The study …

Development And Evolution Of Higher Brain Centers In Insects, Xiangyi Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Brain structures within an individual can change during development through modification of individual neuron morphology together with alteration of neuron numbers. Differences in the same or analogous brain structures from different species can reflect behavioral pattern variation among these species fixed by natural selection. This study used insects from two different taxonomic groups to address such brain structure changes at these two time scales: developmental and evolutionary. Mushroom bodies, as an integrative sensory center involved in learning and memory in insects, were the main structure surveyed to illustrate changes in higher brain centers in both projects. In the developmental study, …

Hardware, Software, And Low-Level Control Scheme Development For A Real-Time Autonomous Rover, Brenton K. Wilburn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this research is to develop a low-cost autonomous rover platform for experiments in autonomous navigation. This thesis describes the design, development, and testing of an autonomous rover platform, based on the commercial, off-the-shelf Tamiya TXT-1 radio controlled vehicle. This vehicle is outfitted with an onboard computer based on the Mini-ITX architecture and an array of sensors for localization and obstacle avoidance, and programmed with Matlab/SimulinkRTM Real-Time Workshop (RTW) utilizing the Linux Real-Time Application Interface (RTAI) operating system.;First, a kinematic model is developed and verified for the rover. Then a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback controller is developed for translational …

Four Trinity Sunday Cantatas By J. S. Bach: An Examination And Comparison, Jeffry Blake Johnson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

While the four cantatas presented on Trinity Sunday during Bach's Leipzig years -- BWV 194, 176, 165, and 129 -- were all intended for the same liturgical day, a significant diversity exists among the four compositions. This diversity results from the variety of source material on which the cantatas were based, including material composed during the Leipzig years as well as material re-worked from previous Bach cantatas. The diversity also results from the different librettos and librettists that were utilized for the cantatas. Other factors include the variety of the cantatas' movement structures, performing forces, and the theological/philosophical themes that …

Psychometric Properties Of The Arabic Version Of The Depressive Cognition Scale In First-Year Adolescent Egyptian Nursing Students, Abir K. Bekhet, Jaclene Zauszniewski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Identifying depressive cognitions in adolescent nursing students can be an important step to prevent the development of clinical depression, which is positively associated with suicide. Purpose: This study focused on the psychometric testing of the Arabic version of the Depressive Cognition Scale (A-DCS) among 170 first-year adolescent Egyptian nursing students. Methods: The questionnaire was assessed for internal consistency, homogeneity, and construct validity using factor analysis and convergent validity. Results: Cronbach's alpha for (A-DCS) was .86. The homogeneity of the instrument was supported by item-to-total correlations between .30 and .70. Factor extraction generated only one factor with eigenvalues greater than …

Avid Through Student Perspectives: A Qualitative Study On Avid Students' Experiences In The Program, Aidee Vasquez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this research was to examine how Hispanic high school students represent their experiences in one college readiness program, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), which is designed to prepare students in the academic middle for four-year college. Utilizing social and cultural capital theories, I examined student perspectives on the supports AVID provided for them to gain the social and cultural capital needed for success in school and entry to college. I conducted eight forty-five minute semistructured interviews grounded in an ethnographic perspective. Eight participating AVID students came from low socioeconomic backgrounds, were Hispanics in the academic middle (GPA …

Ecos De Barro De La Memoria A La Imagen De La Imagen Al Poema, Rossy Evelin Lima-Padilla

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

En este trabajo se analizarán los factores que guían hacia la realización de mi escritura creativa. Se explorará el papel de la memoria como vehículo que reproduce las imágenes después de haber sido transformadas por los sentidos para representar las experiencias personales y el registro que se obtiene por medio de la observación. Se considerará también el aspecto de identidad inmigrante que se obtiene de la percepción que se va adquiriendo de sí mismo de acuerdo a la relación que se tiene con el entorno. Este trabajo resulta de suma importancia porque incorpora la idea de que el poeta escribe …

A Critical Analysis Of The Identification, Placement, And Assessment Policies For Achieving Educational Parity Of Bilingual Learners, Lilia Rocio Estrada

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study analyzed the process of proper identification, placement, and assessment of Bilingual Learners (BLs) by investigating the perceptions of members in the Texas Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). The findings focused on LPAC perceptions of their decisions to identify, place, and assess BLs as well as how these compared among members with different positions. Also, the LPAC members’ perceptions from schools that followed a dual language education program were compared to those schools that followed a transitional bilingual education program. It was found that majority of LPAC members lacked the confidence in assessing BLs, LPAC members holding higher positions …

False Positive Rates In The Neuropsychological Assessment Of Neurologically Intact Bilingual Hispanic American Adults, Cassandra Dayanira Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Hispanic Americans perform more poorly than White Americans on neuropsychological tests, leading to a higher misclassification rate of brain injury (false positives) among Hispanics when using the 50th percentile of published norms as the estimate of preexisting neuropsychological skill. This study aimed to determine if using an individual comparison standard to estimate preexisting skill levels would reduce the number of false positives in a sample of 20 bilingual Hispanic American adults. Two individual comparison standards were used: (a) WMLS-R Picture Vocabulary scores, and (b) WMLS-R Picture Vocabulary scores and WAIS-III Matrix Reasoning scores combined. Both individual comparison standards were found …

Estampas De Mi Tierra- Vignettes Of My Land, Angel Berrios

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

With the intention of expressing my heritage, I have recalled all of my artistic knowledge in order to create this series of art works. I am very much in agreement with the route of artistic expression that I have followed in order to capture these images. I have given form to my message by following a technique involving the application of a combination of strokes and dots of color. I do not have, nor did I use photographs or any other visual resource to aid me in the creation of these paintings. I am solely inspired by my ideals as …

The Impact Of Caesar Augustus On Roman Trade, William Edwin Wilson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper studies Gaius Julius Octavian Caesar (Augustus) who combined the military/political expertise of a Roman Patrician with the practical business sense of the upper middle class (Equites) and as a consequence, his administration revived Rome’s economic fortunes and launched a new period of economic prosperity for the Empire. It also explores the specific actions of Augustus and those near to him that led directly to the revival of Rome’s economic fortunes and the remodeling of Rome and its many celebrated monuments and essential buildings. It concludes with a final summation of the man and his contributions to Rome’s success …

Gentility And Gender Roles Within The 18th-Century Merchant Class Of Newport, Rhode Island, Nicki Hise

Graduate Masters Theses

The Capt. Thomas Richardson household rose to prominence in Newport, Rhode Island during the community’s golden age of prosperity in the 18th century when Newport quickly became one of the leading seaports in the New World. However, all prosperity halted due to the hardships and damage Newport suffered during the American Revolutionary War. Much of the city’s property and economic success was destroyed at the hands of occupying British troops, and the Rhode Island community was never able to fully recover. Like others in colonial Newport, Capt. Thomas Richardson achieved genteel status as a merchant, distiller, and slave ship owner …

Class, Class Mobility, And The Consumption Of Household Technology In Salem, Massachusetts, 1890-1914, Candace Stephens

Graduate Masters Theses

This study looks at the rise of household technologies available in Salem, Massachusetts from 1890-1914, and examines how these technologies, from importation to sale and consumption, defined class and class aspirations in the city and reflect transformations seen throughout the United States during the turn of the twentieth century. So that we can best understand how technology was used within individual homes, this research centers almost exclusively around four families whose businesses, and residences are dissected to better identify how their consumption of goods and technology created new opportunities, as well as problems, for household members and domestic servants employed …

Product Technical Information, Steel Stud Manufacturers Association

CCFSS Library (1939 - present)

No abstract provided.

2-D Path Planning For Direct Laser Deposition Process, Swathi Routhu, Divya Kanakanala, Jianzhong Ruan, Xiaoqing Frank Liu, Frank Liou

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The zigzag and offset path have been the two most popular path patterns for tool movement in machining process. Different from the traditional machining processes, the quality of parts produced by the metal deposition process is much more dependent upon the choice of deposition paths. Due to the nature of the metal deposition processes, various tool path patterns not only change the efficiency but also affect the deposition height, a critical quality for metal deposition process. This paper presents the research conducted on calculating zigzag pattern to improve efficiency by minimizing the idle path. the deposition height is highly dependent …

Perceptions Of Adjunct Faculty About Their Experiences At Selected Universities In The Upper Midwest Of The United States, Penelope Simons

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Three Essays On The Foreign Exchange And Equity Returns, Alina F. Klein

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation contains three essays dealing with current issues in the foreign exchange and equity exchange markets. The first essay observes that both markets display behaviors akin to momentum and mean reversion. This essay implements a trading strategy combining mean reversion and momentum in foreign exchange markets. The strategy was originally designed for equity markets, but it also generates abnormal returns when applied to uncovered interest parity deviations for five countries. I find that the pattern for the positions thus created in the foreign exchange markets is qualitatively similar to that found in the equity markets. Quantitatively, this strategy performs …

Mandatory Reporting In The Context Of Home Visitation Programs, Danielle Marie Davidov

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Each year in the United States, 4.8 million physical assaults and rapes are committed against 1.5 million women by an intimate partner. An estimated 3.3 to 10 million children are exposed to some form of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their own homes annually. Although mandatory reporting laws regarding child abuse and/or neglect are implemented in all 50 U.S. states, the extent to which these laws are appropriate for IPV between adults and children exposed to IPV is undetermined. A comprehensive examination of the perspectives of those required to report abuse is critical, as their roles as mandated reporters often …

Understanding Plasmas Through Ion Velocity Distribution Function Measurements, Saikat Chakraborty Thakur

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This work concerns measurements of ion velocity distribution functions (IVDF) using three different diagnostic techniques in expanding argon plasmas generated by two different helicon plasma sources. A theoretical prediction by Lieberman et al., of enhanced upstream ionization by electrons accelerating upstream, due to the formation of a stable electrostatic current-free double layer (DL) in an expanding plasma, was verified through laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and retarding field energy analyzer (RFEA) measurements of the IVDF and Langmuir probe measurements of the plasma density. Keeping all other external source parameters constant and varying only the operating frequency of the helicon source HELIX, …

Spectral Approaches To Natural Mesh Processing, Takamitsu Kawai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mesh design is a major bottleneck in the creation of computer games and animation. Therefore simplifying the process of mesh editing is an important problem. Natural mesh processing is generally difficult to perform since natural meshes often have nontrivial surface shapes and high degrees of freedom. In this study I present novel approaches to natural mesh processing utilizing spectral methods based on the manifold harmonic basis.;Geometric scaling transformations do not respect the biological processes which govern the size and shape of living creatures. I describe an approach to scaling which can be related to biological function. Known biological laws of …

Mythscapes: Violent Spaces In Postmodern Literature And Culture, Jonathan R. Harvey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project focuses on British and American speculative novels written between the 1960s and the 2000s that position the reader to critique the contemporary world. Depictions of violent, fictional spaces, or what I call mythscapes, are playing an influential role in literary, political, religious, and even scientific discourses. The mythscape can initiate introspection on real issues by suggesting possible alternatives, conjecturing about potential consequences, and posing compelling comparisons. I define "mythscape" as an imagined space that features: a setting that is nonrealistic and radically different from, yet implicitly contrastive with, material reality; a rhetorical stance, which is inevitably grounded in …

Priming In Interpersonal Contexts: Implications For Affect And Behavior., Na Wyer, G Calvini, A Nash, N Miles

School of Psychology

Priming stereotypes can lead to a variety of behavioral outcomes, including assimilation, contrast, and response behaviors. However, the conditions that give rise to each of these outcomes are unspecified. Furthermore, theoretical accounts posit that prime-to-behavior effects are either direct (i.e., unmediated) or mediated by cognitive processes, whereas the role of affective processes has been largely unexplored. The present research directly investigated both of these issues. Three experiments demonstrated that priming a threatening social group ("hoodies") influences both affect and behavior in an interpersonal context. Hoodie priming produced both behavioral avoidance and several affective changes (including social apprehension, threat sensitivity, and …