Digital Commons Network^™

The Centerpiece To Real Reform? Political, Legal, And Social Barriers To Reentry In California,, Eumi Lee

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Resource Nationalism And Energy Security In Latin America: Implication For Global Oil Supplies, David R. Mares

Latin American Energy Dialogue, White Papers and Reports

Energy policy is usefully characterized by the degree to which resource nationalism and energy security are pursued. The balance achieved between these two key concepts dramatically affects global energy supplies. Over the past century, both of these ideas have played particularly significant roles in Latin America, where the oil industry first developed outside the US, and an area that continues to draw the attention of the world market. Because Latin America is a growing source of hydrocarbons for the world market, its energy policies are of increasing importance. The challenge is to understand why a country works with or against …

Issue No. 82: January 2010, Historical Society Of New Mexico

La Crónica de Nuevo México

1 New Mexico's Cowboy in the Roundhouse: Governor Bruce King, 1924-2009
1 Winslow J. Howard: A Founder, Found
4 Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Typewriter
4 Society for the History of Discoveries Call for Papers
4 The Adventure of Learning and Teaching New Mexico History
4 Clifford and Barbara Copeland Receive Buck Ramsay Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fostering the Ranching and Cowboy Way of Life
5 Books, Buried Treasures: Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History
5 Historical Society of New Mexico Announces 2010 Teachers' Scholarship Program
5 Route 66 Preservation Program
5 Statehood Centennial
5 NM Statehood Centennial …

Workshop Report From Web2se: First Workshop On Web 2.0 For Software Engineering, Christoph Treude, Margaret-Anne Storey, Kate Ehrlich, Arie Van Deursen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis, blogs, tags and feeds have been adopted and adapted by software engineers. With Web2SE, we provide a venue for pertinent work by highlighting current state-of-the-art research, by identifying research areas, and by discussing implications of Web 2.0 on software engineering. This paper reports on the paper presentations and the discussions among participants at Web2SE 2010 as well as on future directions of the Web2SE community.

Representations Of Keypoint-Based Semantic Concept Detection: A Comprehensive Study, Yu-Gang Jiang, Jun Yang, Chong-Wah Ngo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Based on the local keypoints extracted as salient image patches, an image can be described as a "bag-of-visual-words (BoW)" and this representation has appeared promising for object and scene classification. The performance of BoW features in semantic concept detection for large-scale multimedia databases is subject to various representation choices. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive study on the representation choices of BoW, including vocabulary size, weighting scheme, stop word removal, feature selection, spatial information, and visual bi-gram. We offer practical insights in how to optimize the performance of BoW by choosing appropriate representation choices. For the weighting scheme, we …

Information Technology Diffusion With Influentials, Imitators, And Opponents: Model And Preliminary Evidence, Hasan Cavusoglu, Nan Hu, Yingjiu Li, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Information technology (IT) innovations follow a diverse set of diffusion patterns. Early diffusion models explaining technology diffusion patterns assumed that there is a single homogeneous segment of potential adopters. It was later shown that a two-segment model considering two groups of adopters explains variations in diffusion patterns better than the existing one-segment models. While the two-segment model considers a group of adopters promoting adoption by exerting a positive influence on prospective adopters, it does not consider the members of society who aim to inhibit the adoption process by exerting a negative influence on prospective adopters. In fact, most IT innovations …

A Review Of The Professionalization Of The Software Industry: Has It Made Software Engineering A Real Profession?, Heng Ngee Mok

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Every industry strives to be called a "profession", and software engineering is no exception. This paper attempts to define "profession" from three different perspectives and provides a chronological narration of the professionalization efforts of major IT bodies such as the IEEE Computer Society, Association of Computing Machinery and British Computer Society to promote software engineering from "occupation" to "profession". The outcome of this professionalization process is then examined against the three vastly different definitions of "profession" to qualitatively gauge the success of the professionalization process.

Do Online Reviews Reflect A Product's True Perceived Quality? An Investigation Of Online Movie Reviews Across Cultures, Noi Sian Koh, Nan Hu, Eric K. Clemons

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

When does the reported average of online ratings match perceived average assessment? We apply behavioral theory to capture intentions in rating online movie reviews in two dissimilar countries - China and the United States. We argue that consumers' rating behaviors are affected by cultural influences. Based on data collected from imdb.com and douban.com, we found significant differences across raters from these two different cultures. Additionally, we examined how cultural elements influence rating behavior for a hybrid culture - Singapore. Under-reporting bias occurs when consumers with extreme opinions are more likely to report their opinions than consumers with moderate reviews, resulting …

Dual Phase Learning For Large Scale Video Gait Recognition, Jialie Shen, Hwee Hwa Pang, Dacheng Tao, Xuelong Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Accurate gait recognition from video is a complex process involving heterogenous features, and is still being developed actively. This article introduces a novel framework, called GC2F, for effective and efficient gait recognition and classification. Adopting a ”refinement-and-classification” principle, the framework comprises two components: 1) a classifier to generate advanced probabilistic features from low level gait parameters; and 2) a hidden classifier layer (based on multilayer perceptron neural network) to model the statistical properties of different subject classes. To validate our framework, we have conducted comprehensive experiments with a large test collection, and observed significant improvements in identification accuracy relative to …

Introducing Communication In Dis-Pomdps With Locality Of Interaction, Makoto Tasaki, Yuichi Yabu, Yuki Iwanari, Makoto Yokoo, Janusz Marecki, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Milind Tambe

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The Networked Distributed POMDPs (ND-POMDPs) can model multiagent systems in uncertain domains and has begun to scale-up the number of agents. However, prior work in ND-POMDPs has failed to address communication. Without communication, the size of a local policy at each agent within the ND-POMDPs grows exponentially in the time horizon. To overcome this problem, we extend existing algorithms so that agents periodically communicate their observation and action histories with each other. After communication, agents can start from new synchronized belief state. Thus, we can avoid the exponential growth in the size of local policies at agents. Furthermore, we introduce …

Teleoph: A Secure Real-Time Teleophthalmology System, Yongdong Wu, Zhou Wei, Haixia Yao, Zhigang Zhao, Lek Heng Ngoh, Robert H. Deng, Shengsheng Yu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Teleophthalmology (TeleOph) is an electronic counterpart of today's face-to-face, patient-to-specialist ophthalmology system. It enables one or more ophthalmologists to remotely examine a patient's condition via a confidential and authentic communication channel. Specifically, TeleOph allows a trained nonspecialist in a primary clinic to screen the patients with digital instruments (e.g., camera, ophthalmoscope). The acquired medical data are delivered to the hospital where an ophthalmologist will review the data collected and, if required, provide further consultation for the patient through a real-time secure channel established over a public Internet network. If necessary, the ophthalmologist is able to further sample the images/video of …

On The Potential Of Limitation-Oriented Malware Detection And Prevention Techniques On Mobile Phones, Qiang Yan, Robert H. Deng, Yingjiu Li, Tieyan Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The malware threat for mobile phones is expected to increase with the functionality enhancement of mobile phones. This threat is exacerbated with the surge in population of smart phones instilled with stable Internet access which provides attractive targets for malware developers. Prior research on malware protection has focused on avoiding the negative impact of the functionality limitations of mobile phones to keep the performance cost within the limitations of mobile phones. Being different, this paper investigates the positive impact of these limitations on suppressing the development of mobile malware. We study the state-of-the-art mobile malware, as well as the progress …

Does Co-Opetition Change The Game? A Bayesian Analysis Of Participation Strategy In An Industry Standard-Setting Organization, Robert J. Kauffman, Benjamin B. M. Shao, Juliana Y. Tsai

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Across different industries, we observe the emergence of industry standard-setting organizations (SSO) that focus on the creation of industry-specific process standards. Firms adopt a strategy of co-opetition, the combination of cooperation and competition, during standards development. We propose that a firm's co-opetition strategy is revealed to some extent by when it elects to participate in an industry SSO. Bayesian information updating offers an effective empirical modeling perspective for studying firms' participation strategies when managers' beliefs and uncertainties are factored into their decision-making. We analyze a panel data set of 73 U.S. public firms over a 20-year period. These firms are …

Negative Intrusive Thoughts And Dissociation As Risk Factors For Self-Harm., Helen Batey, Jon May, Jackie Andrade

School of Psychology

Relationships between self-harm and vulnerability factors were studied in a general population of 432 participants, of whom 30% reported some experience of self-harm. This group scored higher on dissociation and childhood trauma, had lower self-worth, and reported more negative intrusive thoughts. Among the non-harming group, 10% scored similarly to the self-harmers on the dissociation and self-worth scales, and engaged in potentially maladaptive behaviors that are not defined as indicating clinical self-harm, but experienced fewer negative intrusive thoughts. This group may be at risk of future self-harm if they begin to experience negative intrusive thoughts. If negative intrusive thoughts are playing …

Development Of A Student Resource For Problem-Based Learning In Ecological Economics Informed By Student Experience And Reflection, Lynda Rodwell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Ecological Economics is concerned with linking human behaviour to the environment via the economy. An Ecological Economist aims to solve real life problems such as traffic congestion, excessive emissions levels and unsustainable consumption levels. This fellowship was needed in order to fill the gap in resources available to students by giving them active role in the creation of a resource to aid problem based learning (PBL) in the field of Ecological Economics.To develop a student resource to improve the learning and teaching experience for problem-based learning in Ecological Economics.To use student experience and reflection to inform the development of problem …

Consuming Online Communities : Computer Operating Systems, Identity And Resistance, Gregory C. Stratton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A defining feature of the modern era of computer technologies has been a massive reliance upon the mass consumption of personal operating system software. Currently three products dominate how the world experiences computer operating system – Microsoft‘s Windows, Apple‘s Mac, and Linux. The near monopoly held by Windows has been a crucial enabler of the ICT revolution, while the small but significant markets held by Mac and Linux provide alternatives to Windows monoculture. Aside from their technical differences each offers distinct examples of modern-day branding, with individuals forming communities in which members signify their allegiance with these products. This thesis …

Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyurea Strengthening Of Reinforced Concrete, Courtney Elizabeth Greene

Masters Theses

"Wide varieties of concrete repair-retrofit and strengthening methods have been developed and are being widely implemented. In recent years, the need for such strengthening systems has become apparent with increasing demands on aging infrastructure. These strengthening systems need to be increasingly more adaptable, providing ease of construction as well as withstanding a variety of loading conditions and hazards. Exterior-applied fiber-reinforced polymer systems are increasingly being used to meet these demands. The research contained herein investigates the strengthening benefits and characteristics from a specific glass fiber-reinforced polyurea coating system applied externally to structures by means of spraying. This coating would allow …

Optimal Integrator-Less Tracking Controller For Uncertain Systems, Anusha Mannava

Masters Theses

"Tracking controllers are designed to drive the system on the desired trajectory with minimum error. In real life, all systems have uncertainties such as friction, modeling inaccuracies or damage that cause the performance to deviate from the ideal response. This research is aimed at addressing the tracking problem in the optimal context and a generalized method to handle the uncertainties is proposed. In the first paper, an optimal tracking controller without an integral component is formulated for a linear system. This design can handle time varying, non-zero references and effectively alleviates the risk of 'wind up'. A neural network based …

Impact Of Management Status, Gender, And Level Of Project Involvement On Corporate Governance In A Role-Based Enterprise Portal Environment, Daniel Augusto Pereira Brás Sequeira

Masters Theses

"The underlying objective of this research project is to investigate the impact of management status, gender, and level of project involvement on corporate governance in a role-based enterprise portal environment. This is achieved through a case study which included the development of a role-based enterprise portal site prototype assessed through surveys targeted at different stakeholders at the case company. Six hypotheses were formulated addressing the core research question. The outcomes of the hypotheses testing suggest employees' perceptions of role-based enterprise portal's effectiveness, usability, and corporate identity design are, in general, not influenced by the employees' management role, gender, and project …

Target Detection And Feature Evaluation Of Airborne Mine Target Images, Deepika Kamakshi Timmavajjula

Masters Theses

"Target segmentation and detection problem is one of the preliminary approaches in analyzing an image. Many edge, region and texture based techniques have been proposed in literature. These techniques often have limitations based on types of image data, kind of segmentation of interest and the problem domain. Mine detection problem dealt with for this thesis has mine target images which have a center target consisting of false alarm or mine patch which has to be detected and features evaluated to evaluate various parameter performances. Thus, segmenting the mine patch becomes the first step of analyzing these images. This thesis is …

Enhanced Photorefractivity In A Polymeric Composite Photosensitized With Modified Carbon Nanotubes, Naveen Kumar Lingam

Masters Theses

"This work involves the photosensitization of photorefractive polymeric composites through the inclusion of multiwalled and singlewalled carbon nanotubes grafted to poly(N-vinyl carbazole). The photorefractive nature of the holograms gratings was established using two-beam-coupling, yielding two-beam-coupling gain coefficients approaching 80 cm⁻¹. Degenerate-four-wave-mixing experiments exhibited diffraction efficiencies as high as 60% as well as over-modulation voltages as low as ~ 40 V/µm. These notable figures of merit indicate that the grafting of the various carbon nanotubes to the poly(N-vinyl carbazole) polymer resulted in enhanced photorefractive performance. The mechanism responsible for this enhancement in photorefractive performance is investigated using a variety of experimental …

Water Analysis For Emerging Environmental Contaminants, Xiaoliang Cheng

Masters Theses

"The presence of emerging environmental contaminants in water bodies used either as drinking water or for recreational purpose has received considerable attention in the recent years. The emerging environmental contaminants can be defined as a wide range of chemicals that have been determined in the environment which may present serious health risks for humans. The occurrence of these contaminants indicate that both household and industrial chemicals have been introduced to water resources, a wide variety of chemicals, such as disinfection byproducts, pharmaceutical and personal care products and so on, have been detected at cetiain levels in either water bodies or …

Automation Of Cad Model Based Assembly Simulations Using Motion Capture, Anup Madhav Vader

Masters Theses

"The manufacturing industry often uses text and video as a supplement for worker training procedures. Unfortunately, text is often difficult to follow and video lends itself to occlusion issues. CAD based animations of assembly operations can overcome these shortcomings while offering greater potential for operations analysis and simulation flexibility. However, creating such CAD based training simulations manually is a time intensive task and many a times fail to reveal the practical assembly issues faced in the real world. Thus, it is highly beneficial to be able to automate these simulations using motion capture from a physical environment. This thesis research …

2-D Path Planning For Direct Laser Deposition Process, Swathi Routhu

Masters Theses

"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 thesis presents the research conducted on calculating zigzag pattern to improve efficiency by minimizing the idle path. The deposition height is highly dependent …

A Pilot Study In An Application Of Text Mining To Learning System Evaluation, Nitsawan Katerattanakul

Masters Theses

"Text mining concerns discovering and extracting knowledge from unstructured data. It transforms textual data into a usable, intelligible format that facilitates classifying documents, finding explicit relationships or associations between documents, and clustering documents into categories. Given a collection of survey comments evaluating the civil engineering learning system, text mining technique is applied to discover and extract knowledge from the comments. This research focuses on the study of a systematic way to apply a software tool, SAS Enterprise Miner, to the survey data. The purpose is to categorize the comments into different groups in an attempt to identify "major" concerns from …

Computational Intelligence Methods In Wireless Sensor Networks, Raghavendra V. Kulkarni

Doctoral Dissertations

"Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are networks of autonomous nodes that sense, compute and communicate in order to monitor an environment collectively. Ad hoc deployment, dynamic environment and resource constraints in nodes need to be considered while addressing WSN challenges such as deployment, localization, routing and scheduling. Adaptive mechanisms that exhibit intelligent behavior in complex and dynamic environments are desirable to address these challenges. The potential of computational intelligence ( CI) based approaches for addressing WSN challenges is investigated in this study. Contributions of this dissertation are in the following three areas: critical literature analysis, new architectures and approaches, and new …

Cretaceous/Paleogene Boundary Biostratigraphy And Palynofacies Of The Alo-1 Well, Southeastern Nigeria, Janet Diane Raymer

Masters Theses

"The Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary (K/Pg) has been studied in great detail because of the fascination most people have with the extinction of the dinosaurs. The response of the vegetation to this extinction event has been studied in detail in mid to high latitudes, but little is known about what happened in the tropics. Sixty-seven samples from the Nsukka and Imo formations in the Alo-1 well in the Anambra Basin, southeastern Nigeria have been studied for their palynological contents. The aims of the study was to use spores, pollen and dispersed organic matter components to interpret biostratigraphy, and evaluate depositional conditions across …

Graded-Index Fiber Collimator Enhanced Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer, Yinan Zhang

Masters Theses

"In this thesis, we studied a fringe visibility enhanced extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) by fusion splicing a quarter-pitch graded-index fiber (GIF) fiber to the lead-in single-mode fiber (SMF). The performance of the GIF collimator is theoretically analyzed using a ray matrix model and experimentally verified through beam divergence angle measurements. The fringe visibility of the GIF-collimated EFPI is measured as a function of the cavity length and compared with that of a regular SMF-EFPI. At the cavity length of 500µm, the fringe visibility of the GIF-EFPI is 0.8 while that of the SMF-EFPI is only 0.2. The visibility enhanced GIF-EFPI …

Borate Based Bioactive Glass Scaffolds For Hard And Soft Tissue Engineering, Steven B. Jung

Doctoral Dissertations

"The main objectives of this dissertation were to evaluate bioactive borate glass scaffolds for hard and soft tissue applications and determine the potential toxicity of the borate glasses on the adjacent and systemic tissues. Porous randomly oriented fiber scaffolds composed of bioactive borate glass were implanted in subcutaneous soft tissue sites and in calvaria defects of laboratory rats and no signs of toxicity (necrotic tissue, increase in macrophages or other immune cells) were detected in any of the adjacent tissues (hard or soft). Systemic organs (kidney and liver) of laboratory rats implanted with bioactive borate scaffolds were analyzed for possible …

Adaptive Resource Allocation For Cognitive Wireless Ad Hoc Networks, Behdis Eslamnour

Doctoral Dissertations

"Widespread use of resource constrained wireless ad hoc networks requires careful management of the network resources in order to maximize the utilization. In cognitive wireless networks, resources such as spectrum, energy, communication links/paths, time, space, modulation scheme, have to be managed to maintain quality of service (QoS). Therefore in the first paper, a distributed dynamic channel allocation scheme is proposed for multi-channel wireless ad hoc networks with single-radio nodes. The proposed learning scheme adapts the probabilities of selecting each channel as a function of the error in the performance index at each step.

Due to frequent changes in topology and …