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Articles 1 - 30 of 33
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Improving Library Searches Using Word-Correlation Factors And Folksonomies, Maria Soledad Pera
Improving Library Searches Using Word-Correlation Factors And Folksonomies, Maria Soledad Pera
Theses and Dissertations
Libraries, private and public, offer valuable resources to library patrons; however, formulating library queries to retrieve relevant results can be difficult. This occurs because when using a library catalog for library searches, patrons often do not know the exact keywords to be included in a query that match the rigid subject terms (chosen by the Library of Congress) or terms in other fields of a desired library catalog record. These improperly formulated queries often translate into a high percentage of failed searches that retrieve irrelevant results or no results at all. This explains why frustrated library patrons nowadays rely on …
Ontology Generation, Information Harvesting And Semantic Annotation For Machine-Generated Web Pages, Cui Tao
Ontology Generation, Information Harvesting And Semantic Annotation For Machine-Generated Web Pages, Cui Tao
Theses and Dissertations
The current World Wide Web is a web of pages. Users have to guess possible keywords that might lead through search engines to the pages that contain information of interest and browse hundreds or even thousands of the returned pages in order to obtain what they want. This frustrating problem motivates an approach to turn the web of pages into a web of knowledge, so that web users can query the information of interest directly. This dissertation provides a step in this direction and a way to partially overcome the challenges. Specifically, this dissertation shows how to turn machine-generated web …
Dynamic Load Balancing Of Virtual Machines Hosted On Xen, Terry Clyde Wilcox
Dynamic Load Balancing Of Virtual Machines Hosted On Xen, Terry Clyde Wilcox
Theses and Dissertations
Currently systems of virtual machines are load balanced statically which can create load imbalances for systems where the load changes dynamically over time. For throughput and response time of a system to be maximized it is necessary for load to be evenly distributed among each part of the system. We implement a prototype policy engine for the Xen virtual machine monitor which can dynamically load balance virtual machines. We compare the throughput and response time of our system using the cpu2000 and the WEB2005 benchmarks from SPEC. Under the loads we tested, dynamic load balancing had 5%-8% higher throughput than …
Real-Time Automatic Price Prediction For Ebay Online Trading, Ilya Igorevitch Raykhel
Real-Time Automatic Price Prediction For Ebay Online Trading, Ilya Igorevitch Raykhel
Theses and Dissertations
While Machine Learning is one of the most popular research areas in Computer Science, there are still only a few deployed applications intended for use by the general public. We have developed an exemplary application that can be directly applied to eBay trading. Our system predicts how much an item would sell for on eBay based on that item's attributes. We ran our experiments on the eBay laptop category, with prior trades used as training data. The system implements a feature-weighted k-Nearest Neighbor algorithm, using genetic algorithms to determine feature weights. Our results demonstrate an average prediction error of 16%; …
An Analysis Of Document Retrieval And Clustering Using An Effective Semantic Distance Measure, Nathan Scott Davis
An Analysis Of Document Retrieval And Clustering Using An Effective Semantic Distance Measure, Nathan Scott Davis
Theses and Dissertations
As large amounts of digital information become more and more accessible, the ability to effectively find relevant information is increasingly important. Search engines have historically performed well at finding relevant information by relying primarily on lexical and word based measures. Similarly, standard approaches to organizing and categorizing large amounts of textual information have previously relied on lexical and word based measures to perform grouping or classification tasks. Quite often, however, these processes take place without respect to semantics, or word meanings. This is perhaps due to the fact that the idea of meaningful similarity is naturally qualitative, and thus difficult …
A See-Ability Metric To Improve Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator Awareness Using Video Georegistered To Terrain Models, Cameron Howard Engh
A See-Ability Metric To Improve Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator Awareness Using Video Georegistered To Terrain Models, Cameron Howard Engh
Theses and Dissertations
Search and rescue operations conducted in wilderness environments can be greatly aided by the use of video filmed from mini-UAVs. While lightweight, inexpensive and easily transportable, these small aircraft suffer from wind buffeting and may produce video that is difficult to search. To aid in the video search process, we have created a system to project video frames into a 3D representation of the search region. This projection allows us to tie each frame of video to a real-world location, enabling a myriad of novel views, mosaics and metrics that can be used to guide the search including a new …
The Hybrid Game Architecture: Distributing Bandwidth For Mmogs While Maintaining Central Control, Jared L. Jardine
The Hybrid Game Architecture: Distributing Bandwidth For Mmogs While Maintaining Central Control, Jared L. Jardine
Theses and Dissertations
Current Massively Multi-player Online Games (MMOGs) have enormous server-side bandwidth requirements. The costs of providing this bandwidth is in turn passed on to the consumer in the form of high monthly subscription fees. Prior work has primarily focused on distributing this bandwidth using peer-to-peer architectures, but these architectures have difficulty preventing cheating, overwhelming low resource peers, and maintaining consistent game state. We have developed a hybrid game architecture that combines client-server and peer-to-peer technologies to prevent cheating, maintain centralized and consistent game state, significantly reduce central server bandwidth, and prevent lower capacity players from being overwhelmed. By dramatically reducing the …
Biologically Relevant Multiple Sequence Alignment, Hyrum D. Carroll
Biologically Relevant Multiple Sequence Alignment, Hyrum D. Carroll
Theses and Dissertations
Researchers use multiple sequence alignment algorithms to detect conserved regions in genetic sequences and to identify drug docking sites for drug development. In this dissertation, a novel algorithm is presented for using physicochemical properties to increase the accuracy of multiple sequence alignments. Secondary structures are also incorporated in the evaluation function. Additionally, the location of the secondary structures is assimilated into the function. Multiple properties are combined with weights, determined from prediction accuracies of protein secondary structures using artificial neural networks. A new metric, the PPD Score is developed, that captures the average change in physicochemical properties. Using the physicochemical …
An Infrastructure For Performance Measurement And Comparison Of Information Retrieval Solutions, Gary Saunders
An Infrastructure For Performance Measurement And Comparison Of Information Retrieval Solutions, Gary Saunders
Theses and Dissertations
The amount of information available on both public and private networks continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. This information is contained within a wide variety of objects, including documents, e-mail archives, medical records, manuals, pictures and music. To be of any value, this data must be easily searchable and accessible. Information Retrieval (IR) is concerned with the ability to find and gain access to relevant information. As electronic data repositories continue to proliferate, so too, grows the variety of methods used to locate and access the information contained therein. Similarly, the introduction of innovative retrieval strategies—and the optimization of …
Autonomous And Intelligent Radio Switching, Quiyi Duan
Autonomous And Intelligent Radio Switching, Quiyi Duan
Theses and Dissertations
With the proliferation of mobile applications and the abundance of wireless devices, it is increasingly common for devices to support multiple radios. When two devices are communicating they should choose the best available radio based on user preference and application requirements. This type of “radio switching” should happen automatically, so that the system optimizes performance dynamically. To achieve this objective, we design an Autonomous and Intelligent Radio Switching (AIRS) system to leverage the radio heterogeneity common in today's wireless devices. The AIRS system consists of three key components. First, we design a radio preference evaluation module to dynamically select the …
On Autonomous Multi-Agent Control In Wilderness Search And Rescue: A Mixed Initiative Approach, Benjamin C. Hardin
On Autonomous Multi-Agent Control In Wilderness Search And Rescue: A Mixed Initiative Approach, Benjamin C. Hardin
Theses and Dissertations
Searching for lost people in a Wilderness Search and Rescue (WiSAR) scenario is a task that can benefit from large numbers of agents, some of whom may be robotic. These agents may have differing levels of autonomy, determined by the set of tasks they are performing. In addition, the level of autonomy that results in the best performance may change due to varying workload or other factors. Allowing a supervisor and a searcher to jointly decide the correct level of autonomy for a given situation (“mixed initiative”) results in better overall performance than giving an agent absolute control over their …
Simple, Secure, Selective Delegation In Online Identify Systems, Bryant Gordon Cutler
Simple, Secure, Selective Delegation In Online Identify Systems, Bryant Gordon Cutler
Theses and Dissertations
The ability to delegate privileges to others is so important to users of online identity systems that users create ad hoc delegation systems by sharing authentication credentials if no other easy delegation mechanism is available. With the rise of internet-scale relationship-based single sign-on protocols like OpenID, the security risks of password sharing are unacceptable. We therefore propose SimpleAuth, a simple modification to relationship-based authentication protocols that gives users a secure way to selectively delegate subsets of their privileges, making identity systems more flexible and increasing user security. We also present a proof-of-concept implementation of the SimpleAuth pattern using the sSRP …
Predicting The Longevity Of Dvdr Media By Periodic Analysis Of Parity, Jitter, And Ecc Performance Parameters, Daniel Patrick Wells
Predicting The Longevity Of Dvdr Media By Periodic Analysis Of Parity, Jitter, And Ecc Performance Parameters, Daniel Patrick Wells
Theses and Dissertations
For the last ten years, DVD-R media have played an important role in the storage of large amounts of digital data throughout the world. During this time it was assumed that the DVD-R was as long-lasting and stable as its predecessor, the CD-R. Several reports have surfaced over the last few years questioning the DVD-R's ability to maintain many of its claims regarding archival quality life spans. These reports have shown a wide range of longevity between the different brands. While some DVD-Rs may last a while, others may result in an early and unexpected failure. Compounding this problem is …
Using Live Sequence Chart Specifications For Formal Verification, Rahul Kumar
Using Live Sequence Chart Specifications For Formal Verification, Rahul Kumar
Theses and Dissertations
Formal methods play an important part in the development as well as testing stages of software and hardware systems. A significant and often overlooked part of the process is the development of specifications and correctness requirements for the system under test. Traditionally, English has been used as the specification language, which has resulted in verbose and difficult to use specification documents that are usually abandoned during product development. This research focuses on investigating the use of Live Sequence Charts (LSCs), a graphical and intuitive language directly suited for expressing communication behaviors of a system as the specification language for a …
Adapting Adtrees For Improved Performance On Large Datasets With High Arity Features, Robert D. Van Dam
Adapting Adtrees For Improved Performance On Large Datasets With High Arity Features, Robert D. Van Dam
Theses and Dissertations
The ADtree, a data structure useful for caching sufficient statistics, has been successfully adapted to grow lazily when memory is limited and to update sequentially with an incrementally updated dataset. However, even these modified forms of the ADtree still exhibit inefficiencies in terms of both space usage and query time, particularly on datasets with very high dimensionality and with high arity features. We propose five modifications to the ADtree, each of which can be used to improve size and query time under specific types of datasets and features. These modifications also provide an increased ability to precisely control how an …
Arbitrary Degree T-Splines, Gordon Thomas Finnigan
Arbitrary Degree T-Splines, Gordon Thomas Finnigan
Theses and Dissertations
T-Splines is a freeform surface type similar to NURBS, that allows partial rows of control points. Up until now, T-Splines have only been formally defined for the degree three case. This paper extends the definition to support all odd, even, and mixed degree T-Spline surfaces, making T-Splines a proper superset of all standard NURBS surfaces.
Reducing Seed Load In The Bittorrent File Sharing System, Brian T. Sanderson
Reducing Seed Load In The Bittorrent File Sharing System, Brian T. Sanderson
Theses and Dissertations
BitTorrent is an attractive peer-to-peer technology that attempts to reduce load on file sharers by allowing downloaders to share content between themselves. BitTorrent's current focus is to provide users with a fast download, which requires the file sharer to serve a disproportionate amount of the file. We present a modification to the BitTorrent seeding algorithm that reduces the load on BitTorrent file sharers. Essentially, if a block of a file is already available from a significant number of peers, the file sharer refuses to share that block, forcing peers to get it from each other. Using this modification, we show …
Interactive Part Selection For Mesh And Point Models Using Hierarchical Graph-Cut Partitioning, Steven W. Brown
Interactive Part Selection For Mesh And Point Models Using Hierarchical Graph-Cut Partitioning, Steven W. Brown
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis presents a method for interactive part selection for mesh and point set surface models that combines scribble-based selection methods with hierarchically accelerated graph-cut segmentation. Using graph-cut segmentation to determine optimal intuitive part boundaries enables easy part selection on complex geometries and allows for a simple, scribble-based interface that focuses on selecting within visible parts instead of precisely defining part boundaries that may be in difficult or occluded regions. Hierarchical acceleration is used to maintain interactive speeds with large models and to determine connectivity when extending the technique to point set models.
Ranking Search Results For Translated Content, Brian Edwin Hawkins
Ranking Search Results For Translated Content, Brian Edwin Hawkins
Theses and Dissertations
Translation Memory (TM) is a valuable tool that helps human translators in doing their job. TM consists of a collection of previously translated texts, called translation units, that may prove useful in the translation of new text. The main problem faced by translators who wish to take advantage of TM is that, although search tools do exist, there is no standardized way of effectively ranking search results. This thesis proposes a method for ranking TM search results together with a novel approach to efficiently finding common substrings that is used in the ranking process.
Machine Code Verification Using The Bogor Framework, Joseph R. Edelman
Machine Code Verification Using The Bogor Framework, Joseph R. Edelman
Theses and Dissertations
Verification and validation of embedded systems software is tedious and time consuming. Software model checking uses a tool-based approach automating this process. In order to more accurately model software it is necessary to provide hardware support that enables the execution of software as it should run on native hardware. Hardware support often requires the creation of model checking tools specific to the instruction set architecture. The creation of software model checking tools is non-trivial. We present a strategy for using an "off-the-shelf" model checking tool, Bogor, to provide support for multiple instruction set architectures. Our strategy supports key hardware features …
Automating Mini-Ontology Generation From Canonical Tables, Stephen G. Lynn
Automating Mini-Ontology Generation From Canonical Tables, Stephen G. Lynn
Theses and Dissertations
In this thesis work we develop and test MOGO (a Mini-Ontology GeneratOr.) MOGO automates the generation of mini-ontologies from canonicalized tables of data. This will help anyone trying to organize large amounts of existing data into a more searchable and accessible form. By using a number of different heuristic rules for selecting, enhancing, and modifying ontology elements, MOGO allows users to automatically, semi-automatically, or manually generate conceptual mini-ontologies from canonicalized tables of data. Ideally, MOGO operates fully automatically while allowing users to intervene to direct and correct when necessary so that they can always satisfactorily complete the translation of canonicalized …
Improving Spreadsheets For Complex Problems, Brian C. Whitmer
Improving Spreadsheets For Complex Problems, Brian C. Whitmer
Theses and Dissertations
Spreadsheets are one of the most frequently used applications. They are used because they are easy to understand and values can be updated easily. However, many people try to use spreadsheets for problems beyond their intended scope and end up with errors and miscalculations. We present a new spreadsheet system which uses complex-values and equation code reuse to overcome the limitations of spreadsheets for complex problems. We also discuss the features necessary in order to make these enhancements useful and effective.
Generalized Constrained Interpolation, Jacob Porter Merrell
Generalized Constrained Interpolation, Jacob Porter Merrell
Theses and Dissertations
Interpolation is essential in digital image processing, especially magnification. Many different approaches to interpolation specific to magnification have been developed in an effort to overcome the shortcomings of bilinear and bicubic interpolation. One of these approaches, Constraint-Based Interpolation, produces an image that is free of jaggies and has less blurring than bilinear or bicubic interpolation. Although Constraint-Based Interpolation produces a visually pleasing image, there are user-chosen parameters that make the algorithm difficult to use. In this thesis we propose a method for automatic selection of those parameters and an extension of Constraint-Based Interpolation to other forms of image manipulation, such …
Increasing Dogma Scaling Through Clustering, Nathan Hyrum Ekstrom
Increasing Dogma Scaling Through Clustering, Nathan Hyrum Ekstrom
Theses and Dissertations
DOGMA is a distributed computing architecture developed at Brigham Young University. It makes use of idle computers to provide additional computing resources to applications, similar to Seti@home. DOGMA's ability to scale to large numbers of computers is hindered by its strict client-server architecture. Recent research with DOGMA has shown that introducing localized peer-to-peer downloading abilities enhances DOGMA's performance while reducing the amount of network and server usage. This thesis proposes to further extend the peer-to-peer abilities of DOGMA to include peering client server communication by creating dynamic clusters of clients. The client clusters aggregate their communication with only one client …
A Tool To Support Ontology Creation Based On Incremental Mini-Ontology Merging, Zonghui Lian
A Tool To Support Ontology Creation Based On Incremental Mini-Ontology Merging, Zonghui Lian
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis addresses the problem of tool support for semi-automatic ontology mapping and merging. Solving this problem contributes to ontology creation and evolution by relieving users from tedious and time-consuming work. This thesis shows that a tool can be built that will take a “mini-ontology” and a “growing ontology” as input and make it possible to produce manually, semi-automatically, or automatically an extended growing ontology as output. Characteristics of this tool include: (1) a graphical, interactive user interface with features that will allow users to map and merge ontologies, and (2) a framework supporting pluggable, semi-automatic, and automatic mapping and …
Improving Liquid State Machines Through Iterative Refinement Of The Reservoir, R David Norton
Improving Liquid State Machines Through Iterative Refinement Of The Reservoir, R David Norton
Theses and Dissertations
Liquid State Machines (LSMs) exploit the power of recurrent spiking neural networks (SNNs) without training the SNN. Instead, a reservoir, or liquid, is randomly created which acts as a filter for a readout function. We develop three methods for iteratively refining a randomly generated liquid to create a more effective one. First, we apply Hebbian learning to LSMs by building the liquid with spike-time dependant plasticity (STDP) synapses. Second, we create an eligibility based reinforcement learning algorithm for synaptic development. Third, we apply principles of Hebbian learning and reinforcement learning to create a new algorithm called separation driven synaptic modification …
Approximations With Improving Error Bounds For Makespan Minimization In Batch Manufacturing, Whitney Samuel Weyerman
Approximations With Improving Error Bounds For Makespan Minimization In Batch Manufacturing, Whitney Samuel Weyerman
Theses and Dissertations
Multipurpose batch manufacturing systems allow a suite of job types to be processed with a fixed set of machines. These types of systems are commonly found in chemical processing, as well as in computer systems and the service industry. In this thesis we consider the problem of sequencing jobs entering the manufacturing system in order to minimize makespan, or total time to complete processing of the jobs. We formulate this problem as a dynamic programming problem and illustrate the computational difficulty of solving this problem. We give a method for simulation of the system by representing each machine in the …
Cpg: Closed Pseudonymous Groups, Reed S. Abbott
Cpg: Closed Pseudonymous Groups, Reed S. Abbott
Theses and Dissertations
Internet users generally feel their actions are anonymous, but this is often not the case. Users can be tracked and their actions logged for future analysis, which is not the desire of most users. Software and services exist which offer anonymity on the Internet when used correctly. Anonymity on the Internet is useful for many people including whistleblowers, dissidents, law enforcement, and the security conscious, but it can be abused. A user can act maliciously under the guise of anonymity without the fear of retribution. Thus, a level of administrative control over users is desirable, even in an anonymous system. …
Extending Web Application Development To The User-Editable Space, Brian S. Goodrich
Extending Web Application Development To The User-Editable Space, Brian S. Goodrich
Theses and Dissertations
The growth of the web increased dramatically when users were provided with applications that let them use just their browser to post and edit content on the World Wide Web. Offering users the ability to use their browser to create their own web applications, instead of just posting text and images, would cause another Internet evolution. This thesis describes the EXPPO system (Extensible Page Productions and Operations), a web application development environment for both end-users and technical-users. EXPPO leverages the end-user's previous experience with internet browsers by using a page based development experience or a Page Oriented Architecture. Because applications …
Putting The Web Services Specifications To Rest, Dan R. Olsen
Putting The Web Services Specifications To Rest, Dan R. Olsen
Theses and Dissertations
Web services have become a useful and effective way of sharing information over the World Wide Web. SOAP has become a popular way of providing Web services and has been the focus of the Web Services specifications. The Web Services specifications provide additional capabilities to Web Services such as security and policy exchange. Another popular form of Web services includes light-weight Web or RESTful Web services over HTTP. These light-weight Web services are currently not addressed by the Web Services specifications. In order to provide the same capabilities to RESTful Web services, the Web Services specifications will be used to …