Computer Sciences Commons^™

Applied Hypergame Theory For Network Defense, Alan S. Gibson

Theses and Dissertations

Cyber operations are the most important aspect of military conflicts in the 21st century, but unfortunately they are also among the least understood. The continual battle for network dominance between attackers and defenders is considered to be a complex game. Hypergame theory is an extension of game theory that addresses the kind of games where misperception exists, as is often the case in military engagements. Hypergame theory, like game theory, uses a game model to determine strategy selection, but goes beyond game theory by examining subgames that exist within the full game. The inclusion of misperception and misinformation in the …

Search Engine Optimization, Meriton Beqaj

Theses and Dissertations

Analiza e mega-sistemeve, çfarë është Google, paraqitet duke ngërthyer në vetë shqyrtimin e pjesëve që e përbëjnë, atyre në të cilat sistemi mbështetet, dhe rrethinave tjera që i mundësojnë sistemit të funksionojë pa problem apo të përtrihet lehtë nga ndonjë dështim eventual.

Përgjegjësisht makina kërkuese Google paraqitet si sistem i komjuterëve të projektuar për kërkimin e informacioneve në ueb. Google mundohet t’i kuptojë kërkesat e njerëzve në mënyrë “njerëzore”, dhe t’iu kthej atyre përgjigjien në formë të qartë. Por, ky synim nuk është as afer ideales dhe realizimi i tijë sa vjen e vështirsohet me zgjerimin eksponencial që sot po …

Message Protector: Demonstrating That Manual Encryption Improves Usability, Nathan I. Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Billions of people currently use the Internet. Many Internet users share sensitive information through online services. Several secure data sharing tools have been developed to protect this sensitive information. A common practice in the design of usable security is to provide automatic data encryption that is transparent to users. We hypothesize that automatic encryption can decrease usability and comprehensibility, increasing the likelihood that users will unknowingly disclose sensitive information. This thesis presents Message Protector (MP), a novel Internet secure data sharing tool design that through manual encryption, purposely exposes technical details in a usable manner to increase usability and reduce …

Complex Network Growing Model Using Downlink Motifs, Ahmad Al-Musawi Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the underlying architecture of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) has been one of the major goals in systems biology and bioinformatics as it can provide insights in disease dynamics and drug development. Such GRNs are characterized by their scale-free degree distributions and existence of network motifs, which are small subgraphs of specific types and appear more abundantly in GRNs than in other randomized networks. In fact, such motifs are considered to be the building blocks of GRNs (and other complex networks) and they help achieve the underlying robustness demonstrated by most biological networks. The goal of this thesis is to …

Geometric Approach To Support Vector Machines Learning For Large Datasets, Robert Strack

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation introduces Sphere Support Vector Machines (SphereSVM) and Minimal Norm Support Vector Machines (MNSVM) as the new fast classification algorithms that use geometrical properties of the underlying classification problems to efficiently obtain models describing training data. SphereSVM is based on combining minimal enclosing ball approach, state of the art nearest point problem solvers and probabilistic techniques. The blending of the three speeds up the training phase of SVMs significantly and reaches similar (i.e., practically the same) accuracy as the other classification models over several big and large real data sets within the strict validation frame of a double (nested) …

The Use Of Relation Valued Attributes In Support Of Fuzzy Data, Larry Ritchie Williams Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

In his paper introducing fuzzy sets, L.A. Zadeh describes the difficulty of assigning some real-world objects to a particular class when the notion of class membership is ambiguous. If exact classification is not obvious, most people approximate using intuition and may reach agreement by placing an object in more than one class. Numbers or ‘degrees of membership’ within these classes are used to provide an approximation that supports this intuitive process. This results in a ‘fuzzy set’. This fuzzy set consists any number of ordered pairs to represent both the class and the class’s degree of membership to provide a …

E-Platforma Për Turizmin Në Kosovë, Fatlum Latifi

Theses and Dissertations

Në këtë punim do të bëhet implementimi i një algoritmi, i cili duke marrë parasysh parapëlqimet personale të shfrytëzuesit të sistemit, pa e ndërlidhur atë me pëlqimet e një tjetër shfrytëzuesi, sygjeron pikat të cilat potencialisht klasifikohen me mundësi pëlqimi nga turisti. Zhvillimi i këtij algoritmi bëhet si pjesë e një sistemi ekzsitues turistik, në të cilin vizitori ka mundësi të ketë prezentimin e parë me atraksionet turistike vendore. Me anë të kësaj pune, sistemit i jepet një natyrë e thjeshtë rekomanduese që merr parasysh preferencat e turistit dhe kontekstin e tij(në aspektin e zgjedhjes së qytetit të përshtatshëm për …

Detecting Student Dropouts Using Fuzzy Inferencing, Shahriar Husainy

Theses and Dissertations

Fuzzy logic provides a methodology for reasoning using imprecise rules and assertions. Fuzzy inference is the process of formulating the mapping from a given input to an output using fuzzy logic. The mapping then provides a basis from which decisions can be made, or patterns discerned. This study concerns the development of a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) for identifying likely student dropouts at Columbus State University (CSU). The fuzzy inference based model uses a hybrid knowledge extraction process to predict how likely each freshman student will be to drop their program of study at the end of their first semester. …

Developing A Mobile-Commerce Financial Transaction Processing Model, Edward Nathaniel Thomas Charles Williams Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The topic for this Master’s Thesis is selected in compliance with the guidelines to complete a Master of Science in Applied Computer Science at Columbus State University. The problem to be addressed by this thesis is to produce an open standard for an m-commerce financial transaction processing system based on current e-commerce standards and mobile technology. This solution was to be specifically designed to build upon the strengths of a mobile platform using current smartphone and tablet technology.

An open source software stack in combination with a cloud computing solution was used to create a working example of the specification. …

Automated Midline Shift Detection On Brain Ct Images For Computer-Aided Clinical Decision Support, Xuguang Qi

Theses and Dissertations

Midline shift (MLS), the amount of displacement of the brain’s midline from its normal symmetric position due to illness or injury, is an important index for clinicians to assess the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this dissertation, an automated computer-aided midline shift estimation system is proposed. First, a CT slice selection algorithm (SSA) is designed to automatically select a subset of appropriate CT slices from a large number of raw images for MLS detection. Next, ideal midline detection is implemented based on skull bone anatomical features and global rotation assumptions. For the actual midline detection algorithm, a window …

Exploiting Rogue Signals To Attack Trust-Based Cooperative Spectrum Sensing In Cognitive Radio Networks, David Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive radios are currently presented as the solution to the ever-increasing spectrum shortage problem. However, their increased capabilities over traditional radios introduce a new dimension of security threats. Cooperative Spectrum Sensing (CSS) has been proposed as a means to protect cognitive radio networks from the well known security threats: Primary User Emulation (PUE) and Spectrum Sensing Data Falsification (SSDF). I demonstrate a new threat to trust-based CSS protocols, called the Rogue Signal Framing (RSF) intrusion. Rogue signals can be exploited to create the illusion of malicious sensors which leads to the framing of innocent sensors and consequently, their removal from …

Actual Entities: A Control Method For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Erica Absetz

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is on Actual Entities, a concept created by the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and how the concept can be applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as a behavioral control method. Actual Entities are vector based, atomic units that use a method called prehension to observe their environment and react with various actions. When combining multiple Actual Entities a Colony of Prehending Entities is created; when observing their prehensions an intelligent behavior emerges. By applying the characteristics of Actual Entities to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, specifically in a situation where they are searching for targets, this emergent, intelligent …

Prevalence Of Reflexivity And Its Impact On Success In Open Source Software Development: An Empirical Study, Brandon D. Foushee

Theses and Dissertations

Conventional wisdom, inspired in part by Eric Raymond, suggests that open source developers primarily develop software for developers like themselves. In our studies we distinguish between reflexive software (software written primarily for other developers) and irreflexive software (software written primarily for passive users). In the first study, we present four criteria which we then use to assess project reflexivity in SourceForge. These criteria are based on three specific indicators: intended audience, relevant topics, and supported operating systems. Based on our criteria, we find that 68% of SourceForge projects are reflexive (in the sense described by Raymond). In the second study, …

Improving Crowd Simulation With Optimal Acceleration Angles, Movement On 3d Surfaces, And Social Dynamics, Brian C. Ricks

Theses and Dissertations

Crowd simulation plays a critical role in modern films, games, and architectural design. However, despite decades of algorithmic improvements, crowds use sub-optimal heuristics, are primarily constrained to 2D surfaces, and show few if any social dynamics. This dissertation proposes that a solution to these problems lies in altering how each agent perceives its environment as opposed to new obstacle avoidance algorithms. First, this dissertation presents a theoretical look at optimal agent movement. Next, in order to place crowds on arbitrary 3D manifolds, algorithms are proposed that change how each agent perceives its environment. The resulting crowds move naturally across a …

Probabilistic Explicit Topic Modeling, Joshua Aaron Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) is widely used for automatic discovery of latent topics in document corpora. However, output from analysis using an LDA topic model suffers from a lack of identifiability between topics not only across corpora, but across runs of the algorithm. The output is also isolated from enriching information from knowledge sources such as Wikipedia and is difficult for humans to interpret due to a lack of meaningful topic labels. This thesis introduces two methods for probabilistic explicit topic modeling that address these issues: Latent Dirichlet Allocation with Static Topic-Word Distributions (LDA-STWD), and Explicit Dirichlet Allocation (EDA). LDA-STWD …

Multiple-Instance And One-Class Rule-Based Algorithms, Dat Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

In this work we developed rule-based algorithms for multiple-instance learning and one-class learning problems, namely, the mi-DS and OneClass-DS algorithms. Multiple-Instance Learning (MIL) is a variation of classical supervised learning where there is a need to classify bags (collection) of instances instead of single instances. The bag is labeled positive if at least one of its instances is positive, otherwise it is negative. One-class learning problem is also known as outlier or novelty detection problem. One-class classifiers are trained on data describing only one class and are used in situations where data from other classes are not available, and also …

Probability Of Belonging To A Language, Kevin Michael Brooks Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Conventional language models estimate the probability that a word sequence within a chosen language will occur. By contrast, the purpose of our work is to estimate the probability that the word sequence belongs to the chosen language. The language of interest in our research is comprehensible well-formed English. We explain how conventional language models assume what we refer to as a degree of generalization, the extent to which a model generalizes from a given sequence. We explain why such an assumption may hinder estimation of the probability that a sequence belongs. We show that the probability that a word sequence …

Warping-Based Approach To Offline Handwriting Recognition, Douglas J. Kennard

Theses and Dissertations

An enormous amount of the historical record is currently trapped in non-indexed handwritten format. Even after being scanned into images, only a minute fraction of the existing records can be manually transcribed / indexed with reasonable amounts of time and cost. Although progress continues to be made with automatic handwriting recognition (HR), it is not yet good enough to replace manual transcription or indexing. Much of the recent HR work has focused on incremental improvements to methods based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and other similar probabilistic approaches. In this dissertation we present a fundamentally new approach to HR based …

Nosql(Not Only Sql), Valon Dauti

Theses and Dissertations

Sistemet e NoSQL-it janë gjithnjë e më të vendosur, si përfundimi I infrastrukturës për shkallën e gjerë të platformave të shpërndara online si Google, Amazon ose Facebook. Megjithatë, sistemet NoSQL nuk mbështesin në mënyrë efikase shërbimet që i referohen më shumë se një objekt të dhënave, p.sh. Termi i bazuar kërkimit për objekte e të dhënave. Për të adresuar këtë çështje ne propozojmë arkitekturën e bazuar në një indeks kthyer në majën e një sistemi NoSQL. Për pyetje që përbëjnë për më shumë se një term, indekset e shpërndara japin një përformancë të kufizuar në sisteme e mëdha të shpërndara. …

An Investigation And Analysis Of The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex In A Vibration Environment, Daniel J. Uribe

Theses and Dissertations

Forty years of innovations have greatly improved Helmet-Mounted Displays (HMDs) and their integration into military systems. However, a significant issue with HMDs is the effect of vibration and the associated Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR). When a human’s head is subject to low-frequency vibration, the VOR stabilizes the eye with respect to objects in the external environment. However, this response is inappropriate in HMDs as the display moves with the user’s head and the VOR blurs the image as it is projected on the human retina. Current compensation techniques suggest increasing the size of displayed graphics or text to compensate for the …

Modeling Cyber Situational Awareness Through Data Fusion, Evan L. Raulerson

Theses and Dissertations

Cyber attacks are compromising networks faster than administrators can respond. Network defenders are unable to become oriented with these attacks, determine the potential impacts, and assess the damages in a timely manner. Since the observations of network sensors are normally disjointed, analysis of the data is overwhelming and time is not spent efficiently. Automation in defending cyber networks requires a level of reasoning for adequate response. Current automated systems are mostly limited to scripted responses. Better defense tools are required. This research develops a framework that aggregates data from heterogeneous network sensors. The collected data is correlated into a single …

Rootkit Detection Using A Cross-View Clean Boot Method, Bridget N. Flatley

Theses and Dissertations

In cyberspace, attackers commonly infect computer systems with malware to gain capabilities such as remote access, keylogging, and stealth. Many malware samples include rootkit functionality to hide attacker activities on the target system. After detection, users can remove the rootkit and associated malware from the system with commercial tools. This research describes, implements, and evaluates a clean boot method using two partitions to detect rootkits on a system. One partition is potentially infected with a rootkit while the other is clean. The method obtains directory listings of the potentially infected operating system from each partition and compares the lists to …

Semantic Modeling Of Requirements: Leveraging Ontologies In Systems Engineering, Masood S. Mir

Theses and Dissertations

The interdisciplinary nature of Systems Engineering (SE), having stakeholders from diverse domains with orthogonal facets, and need to consider all stages of lifecycle of system during conception, can benefit tremendously by employing Knowledge Engineering (KE) to achieve semantic agreement among all stakeholders for all stages of life cycle. Present practices in SE, such as using Vocabularies, Processes, Standards, and Modeling Languages are oriented towards manual reasoning of system concepts and relations to achieve semantic agreement. Semantic Web (SW) is being developed to provide KE and automated reasoning to the unstructured information, in huge amounts, present on the World Wide Web, …

New Algorithms For Frequent Sequential Pattern And Itemset Data Mining In Certain And Uncertain Databases, Erich Allen Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

items) which do not appear in the database. Given this taxonomy, there exist generalized items which do not appear in the uncertain database, but nevertheless, can be probabilistically frequent within. Thus, a new method is introduced which calculates the probability of a generalized item appearing within a transaction, and thus, one can then mine for PGFIs in an uncertain database.

Modeling And Analysis Of Information Product Maps, Christopher Harris Heien

Theses and Dissertations

Information Product Maps are visual diagrams used to represent the inputs, processing, and outputs of data within an Information Manufacturing System. A data unit, drawn as an edge, symbolizes a grouping of raw data as it travels through this system. Processes, drawn as vertices, transform each data unit input into various forms prior to delivery to consumers. These visual representations act as documentation for all processes, and data unit transformations, leading to the final construction and delivery of an Information Product. The science of Information Quality strives to measure the fitness for use of these products, expressed by consumer satisfaction. …

Mobile Network Defense Interface For Cyber Defense And Situational Awareness, James C. Hannan

Theses and Dissertations

Today's computer networks are under constant attack. In order to deal with this constant threat, network administrators rely on intrusion detection and prevention services (IDS) (IPS). Most IDS and IPS implement static rule sets to automatically alert administrators and resolve intrusions. Network administrators face a difficult challenge, identifying attacks against a vast number of benign network transactions. Also after a threat is identified making even the smallest policy change to the security software potentially has far-reaching and unanticipated consequences. Finally, because the administrator is primarily responding to alerts they may lose situational awareness of the network. During this research a …

A Graphical Approach To Drug Safety And Drug Repositioning, Halil Bisgin

Theses and Dissertations

The pharmaceutical industry has been experiencing diminishing returns in terms of newly approved drugs over a decade. Limited knowledge of target space and the safety issues that come along with newly discovered compounds have forced pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and academia to seek more practical solutions. Since there have been several cases of repurposing, research interests have emerged for existing drugs whose pharmacokinetics properties are already known and investigation of their potential to treat other cases has become a new direction in pharmacology. Recently, several in silico methodologies have been developed for drug repositioning. In this study, the same purpose …

Face Tracking User Interfaces Using Vision-Based Consumer Devices, Norman Villaroman

Theses and Dissertations

Some individuals have difficulty using standard hand-manipulated input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard effectively. For such users who at the same time have sufficient control over face and head movement, a robust perceptual or vision-based user interface that can track face movement can significantly help them. Using vision-based consumer devices makes such a user interface readily available and allows its use to be non-intrusive. Designing this type of user interface presents some significant challenges particularly with accuracy and usability. This research investigates such problems and proposes solutions to create a usable and robust face tracking user interface …

Online Survey System For Image-Based Clinical Guideline Studies Using The Delphi Method, Todd Martin Harper

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing use of health information technology (HIT) is due to a rising interest in improving the quality of health care. HIT has the potential to reduce cost and transform services. Proper clinical support systems will contribute to the meaningful use of HIT systems by providing a wide array of data to clinicians for the diagnosis and treatments. Clinical guidelines, created by a consensus of experts, can be put in place to assist physicians in making clinical decisions. Delphi methods are commonly used to create consensus from surveys completed by a team of experts. Image-based studies could create guidelines that …

Parallel_Dp: The Parallel Dynamic Programming Design Pattern As An Intel Threading Building Blocks Algorithm Template, Douglas Jack Serfass

Theses and Dissertations

Our work was composed of three parts, with the goal of selecting either the Cilk or Go languages or C++ Intel Threading Building Blocks (TBB) in order to create a template for parallel dynamic programming. Use of a template for parallel dynamic programming will enable programmers to attain increased speed from multiple-core processors without having be experts in synchronization, load balancing and cache optimization. In part one, we compared Cilk and Go performance. We created a scalable parallel algorithm based on parallelizing the merge sorting network algorithm. We implemented our scalable parallel algorithm using Go and Cilk. Both Cilk and …