Engineering Commons^™

Significance Of Semantic Reconciliation In Digital Forensics, Nickson M. Karie, H. S. Venter

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Digital forensics (DF) is a growing field that is gaining popularity among many computer professionals, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders who must always cooperate in this profession. Unfortunately, this has created an environment replete with semantic disparities within the domain that needs to be resolved and/or eliminated. For the purpose of this study, semantic disparity refers to disagreements about the meaning, interpretation, descriptions and the intended use of the same or related data and terminologies. If semantic disparity is not detected and resolved, it may lead to misunderstandings. Even worse, since the people involved may not be from the …

System-Generated Digital Forensic Evidence In Graphic Design Applications, Enos Mabuto, Hein Venter

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Graphic design applications are often used for the editing and design of digital art. The same applications can be used for creating counterfeit documents such as identity documents (IDs), driver’s licences, passports, etc. However, the use of any graphic design application leaves behind traces of digital information that can be used during a digital forensic investigation. Current digital forensic tools examine a system to find digital evidence, but they do not examine a system specifically for the creating of counterfeit documents created through the use of graphic design applications. The paper in hand reviews the system-generated digital forensic evidence gathered …

Money Laundering Detection Framework To Link The Disparate And Evolving Schemes, Murad Mehmet, Duminda Wijesekera, Miguel F. Buchholtz

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Money launderers hide traces of their transactions with the involvement of entities that participate in sophisticated schemes. Money laundering detection requires unraveling concealed connections among multiple but seemingly unrelated human money laundering networks, ties among actors of those schemes, and amounts of funds transferred among those entities. The link among small networks, either financial or social, is the primary factor that facilitates money laundering. Hence, the analysis of relations among money laundering networks is required to present the full structure of complex schemes. We propose a framework that uses sequence matching, case-based analysis, social network analysis, and complex event processing …

Identifying Peer-To-Peer Traffic On Shared Wireless Networks, Simon Piel, Ej Jung

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Tracing contraband downloads leads investigators to an IP address, and in turn Internet Service Providers (ISP) can provide a physical location using this IP address. However, most homes and offices share this IP address among many computers using wireless networks. In other words, there needs to be another investigation to find out which computer was responsible for contraband downloads. To make matters worse, these shared wireless networks often have vulnerabilities in access control such as using WEP or using weak passwords. In such cases, any computer in range, not necessarily at the given physical address, could be responsible. We use …

On Resolving The Cloud Forensics Conundrum, John Bagby

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The “cloud” is idiom for an ill-defined set of online services. The cloud simultaneously offers IT savings and promises advances in functionality (e.g., ubiquity). However, the cloud also imposes poorly understood burdens on security and it may provoke injustice. Thus, the cloud presents a durable and seemingly irreconcilable conundrum for the digital forensics communit(ies). First, cloud proponents make efficiency promises for cloud services (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS). These translate well into the digital forensics domain. Indeed, the cloud may enable crowd sourcing of investigatory data vastly lowering costs of dispute resolution. For example, cloud-based litigation war rooms may reduce electronic discovery …

Cybercrime And Punishment: An Analysis Of The Deontological And Utilitarian Functions Of Punishment In The Information Age, Karim Jetha

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This conceptual piece analyzes the role of criminal punishment and the nature of cyber crime to investigate whether the current punishment schemes are appropriate given the deontological and utilitarian goals of punishment: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. The research has implications for policymaking in cybercriminal law.

Keywords: cybercrime, criminal law, punishment, retribution, deterrence, information economics

The Development Of Computer Forensic Legal System In China, Yonghao Mai, K. P. Chow, Rongsheng Xu, Gang Zhou, Fei Xu, Jun Zhang

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The computer forensic discipline was established around 2000 in China, which was further developed along with Chinese judicial appraisal system in 2005. The new criminal and civil procedure laws of the People’s Republic of China was enacted on 1 Jan 2013. The new laws specified electronic data is legal evidence and has great impact on the current practice on handling electronic evidence. This paper introduces the electronic data and electronic evidence examination procedure in mainland China, the general concept of computer forensic legal system, the management of computer judicial experts, the management of computer judicial expertise institutions.

Keywords: China legal …

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Survey Stats), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Sheet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Booklet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Website), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Collection Creation And Administration: A New Role For Libraries (White Paper), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

The Problem/Opportunity: To define, identify, and guide design-based materials collections in academic settings and foster community among those with existing collections and/or those considering creating and supporting one.

Contents and topics:

1. What is a materials collection?
2. Why have a materials collection?
3. Acquisition strategies
4. Organizational approaches
5. Programming possibilities
6. Symposium summary
7. Resources

Computational Capabilities Of Leaky Integrate-And-Fire Neural Networks For Liquid State Machines, Amin Almassian, Christof Teuscher

Student Research Symposium

We analyze the computational capability of Leaky Integrate-and-Fire (LIF) Neural Networks used as a reservoir (liquid) in the framework of Liquid State Machines (LSM). Maass et. al. investigated LIF neurons in LSM and their results showed that they are capable of noise-robust, parallel, and real-time computation. However, it still remains an open question how the network topology affects the computational capability of a reservoir. To address that question, we investigate the performance of the reservoir as a function of the average reservoir connectivity. We also show that the dynamics of the LIF reservoir is sensitive to changes in the average …

Designing A Low Cost Prosthetic Arm Device, Samira Rezaei, Frank Fields, Tamara J. Depue

Student Research Symposium

The goal of the project is to build a functional low-cost prosthetic arm that is easily maintained. The focus is on prostheses that attach to the forearm. This design must perform daily life tasks such as picking up, holding and carrying objects while playing and working. To begin the design, a mechanical finger was built with wooden tongue depressors as bone material; rubber bands, string, and drinking straws as muscle material; and masking tape as ligament and tendon material. The length of each joint was set to the golden ratio. Using this method, a basic "hand" was created that could …

Longitudinal Growth Of Vex Robotic Competitions In Utah And The Rocky Mountain Region, Trevor P. Robinson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Utah State University VEX Robotics Team (USUVRT) is in its fifth year of promoting the VEX Robotics Competition in the Utah and Rocky Mountain Region. The Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (RECF) annually hosts the VEX World Championships to identify and award the best middle school, high school, and college robotics teams. The USUVRT has partnered with the Rocky Mountain NASA Space Grant Consortium to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities via VEX Robotics to middle and high school students in the Utah and Rocky Mountain Region. This paper discusses the outreach methods qualifying system used by …

Middle Atmosphere Temperature Results From A New, High-Powered, Large-Aperture Rayleigh Lidar, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron

Utah Space Grant Consortium

In June–July 2012, observations were carried out using the recently upgraded, large-aperture, Rayleigh-scatter lidar system located at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the campus of Utah State University, in Logan, UT (41.7 N, 111.8 W). This time period was significant because it enabled us to observe the annual temperature minimum in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere region. The data collected during the campaign were analyzed for temperatures between ~70–109 km. The results above ~95 km are the first obtained with a Rayleigh-scatter lidar, extending the technique well into the lower thermosphere. A great deal of variability from night-to-night is evident …

Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis For Photothermal Radiometry Measurements Using A Curve Fit Process, Kyle Horne, Austin Fleming, Heng Ban

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Photothermal Radiometry (PTR) has become a popular method to measure thermal properties of layered materials. Much research has been done to determine the capabilities of PTR, but with little uncertainty analysis. This study performs a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis to quantify uncertainty of film diffusivity and effusivity measurements, presents a sensitivity study for each input parameter, compares linear and logarithmic spacing of data points on frequency scans, and investigates the validity of a 1-D heat transfer assumption.

Evaluation Of Liquefaction Potential Of An Earth Dam Foundation Using In Situ Tests, Ikram Guettaya, Mohamed Ridha El Ouni

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This paper presents a case study of liquefaction potential assessment carried out under an earth dam foundation in Tunisia. An emphasis was made on the exploration of geotechnical conditions and the interpretation of field tests results collected before and after soil densification using the vibrocompaction technique. The assessment of soil liquefaction susceptibility was made using deterministic and probabilistic simplified procedures developed from several case histories. Conclusively, the obtained results show that before vibrocompaction the soil was prone to the liquefaction hazard. However, after vibrocompaction, a significant improvement of the soil resistance reduces the liquefaction potential of the sandy foundation. Indeed, …

An Investigation On The Stack Vibrations And Geotechnical Rehabilitation Solutions Case-Study: Khangiran Gas Refinery, Hadi Ghodrat, Abolfazl Yazdinejad, Javad Hosseini Masum, Mehdi Barjini Khabbaz, Arsalan Ghahramani

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The 75 (m) high stacks of the sulfur recovery units of Khangiran Gas Refinery in Iran exhibited significant levels of vibration in winds. Field observations reported that vibration occurred in the stacks 9 times during reel years. The longest vibration duration is 8 hours and maximum tip deflection is 1 (m). In most intensive vibration occurrence much amount of water exits from around of foundation and some crack is created in the structure. Stack diameter is 4.57 (m) at the bottom and 3.43 (m) at the top and its total weight is 182.3 (Ton). The octagonal foundation diameter is 14 …

Ground Improvement For The Smithland Hydroelectric Project, Thomas Andrews, Lin Zhao, Luling Yang, Abid Mirza

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

American Municipal Power is developing the Smithland Hydroelectric Project adjacent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ existing Smithland Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. The site geology is characterized by over 100 feet of variable alluvial deposits overlying karstic limestone. The investigation program revealed loose to medium dense sands and sandy gravels along with some interbedded clay. Large voids were encountered in rock and ground loss into solution features was believed to have created ‘chimneys’ of loosened soil. A project-specific seismic hazard evaluation determined that the maximum credible earthquake (MCE) is a 7.5M event associated with the New …

Estimation Of Site Effects In The Iranian Plateau Using The Quarter-Wavelength Method, Mohammad Ebrahim Fakhimnia, Hamid Zafarani, Shima Shams Rad

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The characteristics of strong ground motion at a given site depend upon the source mechanism, the transmission path together with the geological characteristics of source to the site, and the local soil conditions at the site, mostly known in the engineering and seismological literature as site effects. In the context of the stochastic simulation methods (e.g. Boore 1983), site effects play a significant rule in ground-motion studies. The objective of this paper is the assessment of site effects (both crustal amplification and near surface attenuation) in the Iran plateau. The effects in different parts of Iran were estimated based on …

Experimental Investigation Into Natural Base Isolation System For Earthquake Protection, Srijit Bandyopadhyay, Aniruddha Sengupta, G. R. Reddy

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This paper presents the results of experimental investigations into the performance of a well-designed layer of sand, and layer of sand mixed with shredded tire (rubber) as low cost base isolators. The building foundation is modeled by a 200 mm by 200 mm and 40 mm thick rigid plexi-glass block. The model footing is placed in the middle of a 1m by 1m tank filled with sand. The selected base isolator is placed between the footing and the sand foundation. The whole setup is mounted on the shake table and subjected to sinusoidal motion with varying amplitude and frequency. Acceleration …

Estimating Seismic Settlements From Liquefaction And Cyclic Softening And Their Impact To Design Of A School Building, James Wetenkamp, Jorge Meneses, Zia Zafir

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Estimation of static and seismic settlements is critical for the design of a structure to assess whether the structure can tolerate given levels of total and differential settlements and angular distortion. The design of a public school building required the estimation of both liquefaction-induced settlement due to the presence of a potentially liquefiable layer, and settlement from cyclic softening of soft clay layers. Tolerable levels of differential settlements for the proposed school building were not to exceed 2 inches across the building. The soft clay had a plasticity index of 12, a liquid limit of 32, and SPT blow counts …

Lessons From The Seismic Performance Of Pile-Supported Bridges Affected By Liquefaction During The M8.8 2010 Maule Chile Earthquake, Christian Ledezma

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Ground failure case studies have been the source of the most important advances in geotechnical earthquake engineering over the past 50 years. Documented case histories from the 2010 M8.8 Maule Chile earthquake will, if carefully studied, further advance this field. The 2010 M8.8 earthquake in Chile showed that liquefaction-induced soil-foundation-structure interaction problems are still far from being completely understood. The observed damage and partial collapse of pile-supported bridges like Juan Pablo II, Llacolén, Tubul, La Mochita, and Raqui, is most likely due to the effects of liquefaction-induced lateral and vertical ground displacement, which often causes large ground deformations that impose …

Performance Of Lightweight Structures During Liquefaction From Recent Earthquakes, Jorge F. Meneses, Yun Liao

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Several case histories of lightweight structures performance during liquefaction from recent earthquake are reviewed. The review is focused on performance of lightweight structures in terms of liquefaction-induced vertical settlement, tilting, lateral displacement and their effects on occupancy and functionality of the structures. These case histories were reported during the 1997 M_w 7.4 Caucete- Argentina, 2007 M_w 8.0 Pisco-Peru, 2010 M_w 8.8 Chile, 2010 M_w 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah, 2010-2011 New Zealand, and 2011 M_w 9.0 Great East Japan earthquakes. The review is performed to identify similarities, discuss conditions, and their effects on foundation and structures. Financial …

Seismic Hazard Assessment And Design Ground Motion: Lessons Learned From Recent Earthquakes, Zhenming Wang

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Recent earthquakes, the 2008 Wenchuan, 2009 L’Aquila, 2010 Haiti, and 2011 Christchurch and Japan in particular, have called attention to the probabilistic seismic hazard maps, particularly the ground motions with 10, 5, and 2 percent probabilities of exceedance in 50 years. As discussed in this paper, these ground motions are artifacts because they were produced from probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA). PSHA is a mathematical formulation derived from a rigorous probability analysis of the distribution of earthquake magnitudes, locations, and ground-motion attenuation. Some of the assumptions and distributions that PSHA is based on have been found to be invalid in …

Variation Of Intrinsic And Scattering Attenuation Of Seismic Waves With Depth In The Bam Region, East-Central Iran, Majid Mahood

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The attenuation properties of the lithosphere in the Bam region, East-Central Iran, have been investigated. For this purpose, 42 local earthquakes (aftershocks of Bam earthquake, M_w 6.5, 2003) having focal depths less than 25 km have been used. The quality factor of coda waves (Q_c) has been estimated using the single backscattering model. The quality factors Q_p, Q_d (P and direct S-waves) have been estimated using the extended-coda normalization method. Q_i and Q_s (the intrinsic and scattering attenuation parameters) have been estimated for the region. The values of Q_p, Q …

Evaluation Of Site Amplification Of Erbaa, Tokat (Turkey), Muge K. Akin, Steven L. Kramer, Tamer Topal

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The study area, Erbaa, is one of the largest towns of Tokat with a population of 47000 in the northern part of Turkey. Erbaa is in North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) and partly located on the Kelkit river plain, also referred to as the Erbaa basin. After the disastrous 1942 earthquake (M_s=7.2), the settlement area was seriously damaged and moved farther southwards of its old place in 1944. Dynamic properties of Erbaa soils were determined and shear wave velocity profiles were prepared to be used in site response analyses as part of a microzonation study. During this process, …

Geotechnical And Geophysical Evaluation Of The Near Surface Faults And Cracks In Residential Area Underlain By Semi-Arid Shale, Khaled Al-Mutairi, Muawia Dafalla, Fouzan Al Fouzan, Mosleh Al-Shamrani

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

This study was carried out following the development of abnormal faults and distresses that extend over more than two kilometers distance in an agricultural rural area to the North of Saudi Arabia. They appeared on the ground surface in the form of extended wide cracks and appeared across buildings, roads and green areas. Severe damages were inflicted to the existing structures and included cracks within the streets, the buildings and boundary walls. Geotechnical works carried out included advancing six boreholes to depths of 35 to 40 meters below grade. The subsurface soil profile was constructed and laboratory tests were carried …

Promotion Of Tunneling Performance In Locally Semi-Hard To Hard Conglomerate Lenses, Case Of Esfahan Historical City Subway Project, Amir Hossein Haghi, Ali Taheri, A. Ehsan Haghi

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The highly inhomogeneous nature of the river deposits in central Esfahan induced unforeseen problems for tunneling of 2×5 km long of middle section of the Esfahan Subway Project. A noticeable phenomenon in these course grained fluvial (river) deposits is the locally cementation of the soil particles by a calcium carbonate binder and formation of some semi-hard to hard conglomerate lenses. This unique phenomenon is named locally as “Sovord” rock and could be seen just in semi-aired regions as central Iran. Two 6.89 m diameter EPBTBM machines were employed to excavate shallow tunnels in the vicinity of fragile structures of the …