Computer Sciences Commons^™

Open Workflows: Context-Dependent Construction And Execution In Mobile Wireless Settings, Louis Thomas, Justin Wilson, Grui-Catalin Roman, Christopher Gill

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Existing workflow middleware executes tasks orchestrated by rules defined in a carefully handcrafted static graph. Workflow management systems have proved effective for service-oriented business automation in stable, wired infrastructures. We introduce a radically new paradigm for workflow construction and execution called open workflow to support goal-directed coordination among physically mobile people and devices that form a transient community over an ad hoc wireless network. The quintessential feature of the open workflow paradigm is dynamic construction and execution of custom, context-specific workflows in response to unpredictable and evolving circumstances by exploiting the knowledge and services available within a given spatiotemporal context. …

Administrative Support For Online Teaching Faculty, John David Meyer

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

When administrators make decisions about the infrastructure support needs of a current or planned online teaching program, these decisions are often based on external expert advice rather than on the advice of experienced ground level faculty who are living with the dynamic nature of the technology and support needed to develop and maintain an effective online teaching program. Online teaching faculty are the best source of advice and information on what works and what does not.

Faculty at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) were surveyed to find out what elements are important to the development of an effective online …

A Cryptanalysis Methodology For The Reverse Engineering Of Encrypted Information In Images, Allan Anthony Rwabutaza

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Security is an important issue related to the storage and communication of data and information. In data and information security, cryptography and steganography are two of the most common security techniques. On one hand, there is cryptography, which is the secret communication between two parties by message scrambling on the sender's side and message unscrambling on the receiver's side so that only the intended receiver gets the secret message. On the other hand, there is steganography, which is the hiding of information in a medium in such a way that no one other than the sender or the intended receiver …

Radon - Repair And Diagnosis In Ontology Networks, Qiu Ji, Peter Haase, Guilin Qi, Pascal Hitzler, Steffen Stadtmuller

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the major challenges in managing networked and dynamic ontologies is to handle inconsistencies in single ontologies, and inconsistencies introduced by integrating multiple distributed ontologies. Our RaDON system provides functionalities to repair and diagnose ontology networks by extending the capabilities of existing reasoners. The system integrates several new debugging and repairing algorithms, such as a relevance-directed algorithm to meet the various needs of the users.

Service Level Agreement In Cloud Computing, Pankesh Patel, Ajith H. Ranabahu, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Cloud computing that provides cheap and pay-as-you-go computing resources is rapidly gaining momentum as an alternative to traditional IT Infrastructure. As more and more consumers delegate their tasks to cloud providers, Service Level Agreements(SLA) between consumers and providers emerge as a key aspect. Due to the dynamic nature of the cloud, continuous monitoring on Quality of Service (QoS) attributes is necessary to enforce SLAs. Also numerous other factors such as trust (on the cloud provider) come into consideration, particularly for enterprise customers that may outsource its critical data. This complex nature of the cloud landscape warrants a sophisticated means of …

Determining The Best K For Clustering Transactional Datasets: A Coverage Density-Based Approach, Hua Yan, Keke Chen, Ling Liu

Kno.e.sis Publications

The problem of determining the optimal number of clusters is important but mysterious in cluster analysis. In this paper, we propose a novel method to find a set of candidate optimal number Ks of clusters in transactional datasets. Concretely, we propose Transactional-cluster-modes Dissimilarity based on the concept of coverage density as an intuitive transactional inter-cluster dissimilarity measure. Based on the above measure, an agglomerative hierachical clustering algorithm is developed and the Merge Dissimilarity Indexes, which are generated in hierachical cluster merging processes, are used to find the candidate optimal number Ks of clusters of transactional data. Our experimental results on …

New Algorithms For Optimal Portfolio Selection, Tanja Magoc

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over the past four thousand years, numerous techniques have been developed and used to address problems in Finance. These techniques include simple arithmetic calculations and probabilistic methods as well as intelligent systems techniques such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, multi-agent systems, and support vector machines. The techniques have been developed to accurately and quickly collect, validate, analyze, and integrate data that change dynamically.

The particular problem that we address in this Dissertation is the construction of efficient algorithms for the problem of an optimal portfolio selection, that is, algorithms that would accurately and in real time determine the best distribution …

An Optimization Approach For The Cascade Vulnerability Problem, Christian Servin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In inter-connected systems, where several computers share information with each other, problems may arise when inappropriate information starts to flow through. For example, let us consider a simple scenario of a university composed of three departments: payroll, financial aid, and academic services. We know that the payroll department deals with sensitive information, such as social security numbers, dates of birth, amounts of wages, etc. The financial aid department may use information that payroll owns. Similarly, the academic department communicates with the financial aid department. An intruder can take advantage of this network connectivity and create an inappropriate flow of information …

Improving Throughput Of Simultaneous Multithreaded (Smt) Processors Using Shareable Resource Signatures And Hardware Thread Priorities, Mitesh Ramesh Meswani

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Simultaneous multithreading (SMT) allows multiple hardware threads to execute concurrently on a processor core, potentially increasing the utilization and throughput of the processor core by a factor of the degree of multithreading. However, such performance gains may not be achieved due to contention for resources shared by the threads. Hardware thread priorities can be used to control the ratio of decode cycles allocated to the hardware threads of a processor core and, therefore, the degree of resource contention among the threads. The IBM POWER5, which has two hardware threads associated with each of its two cores, supports hardware thread priorities. …

Runtime Assertion Checking For Jml On The Eclipse Platform Using Ast Merging, Amritam Sarcar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Java Modeling Language (JML) is a formal behavioral interface specification language for Java. It is used for detailed design documentation of Java program modules such as classes and interfaces. JML has been used extensively by many researchers across various projects and has a large and varied spectrum of tool support. It extends from runtime assertion checking (RAC) to theorem proving.

Amongst these tools, RAC and ESC/Java has been used as a common tool for many research projects. RAC for JML is a tool that checks at runtime for possible violations of any specifications. However, lately there has been a …

Scheduling And Resource Management For Complex Systems: From Large-Scale Distributed Systems To Very Large Sensor Networks, Chen Yu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we focus on multiple levels of optimized resource management techniques. We first consider a classic resource management problem, namely the scheduling of data-intensive applications. We define the Divisible Load Scheduling (DLS) problem, outline the system model based on the assumption that data staging and all communication with the sites can be done in parallel, and introduce a set of optimal divisible load scheduling algorithms and the related fault-tolerant coordination algorithm. The DLS algorithms introduced in this dissertation exploit parallel communication, consider realistic scenarios regarding the time when heterogeneous computing systems are available, and generate optimal schedules. Performance …

Autonomic Trust Management In Dynamic Systems, Brent Lagesse

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Research in pervasive computing is aimed at creating environments where users can seamlessly benefit from ubiquitous computing resources despite the complexity of the environment. Providing security in such systems is a difficult task since traditional security mechanisms often require significant user attention and do not scale well to large, mobile, and open environments. To combat this problem, distributed trust has been proposed to provide security in pervasive systems. While much research has been performed in the area, many vulnerabilities and insufficiencies still exist, especially in mobile ad-hoc systems that cannot support distributed trust mechanisms requiring pre-existing infrastructure and cooperation. Dynamic …

A Straightforward Path Routing In Wireless Ad Hoc Sensor Networks, Zhen Jiang, Junchao Ma, Wei Lou, Jie Wu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Composing Analysis Patterns To Build Complex Models: Flight Reservation, Zhen Jiang, Eduardo B. Fernandez

Computer Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sink-Anonymity Mobility Control In Wireless Sensor Networks, Qijun Gu, Xiao Chen, Zhen Jiang, Jie Wu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Improved Upfc Control For Oscillation Damping, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Mariesa Crow, Jianjun Guo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a new control approach for a unified power flow controller (UPFC) for power system oscillation damping. This control is simple to implement, yet is valid over a wide range of operating conditions. It is also effective in the presence of multiple modes of oscillation. The proposed control is implemented in several test systems and is compared against a traditional PI control.

One More Decidable Class Of Finitely Ground Programs, Yuliya Lierler, Vladimir Lifschitz

Computer Science Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

When a logic program is processed by an answer set solver, the first task is to generate its instantiation. In a recent paper, Calimeri et el. made the idea of efficient instantiation precise for the case of disjunctive programs with function symbols, and introduced the class of “finitely ground” programs that can be efficiently instantiated. Since that class is undecidable, it is important to find its large decidable subsets. In this paper, we introduce such a subset—the class of argumentrestricted programs. It includes, in particular, all finite domain programs, ω-restricted programs, and λ-restricted programs.

Knowledge Management And Organizational Learning, William R. King, Sajda Qureshi, Mehruz Kamal, Peter Keen

Faculty Books and Monographs

Editor: William R. King

Chapter, Knowledge Networking to Overcome the Digital Divide, co-authored by Sajda Qureshi, UNO faculty member.

As organizations become increasingly extended across global boundaries, their reliance on information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support their processes increases. The use of ICTs to activate dispersed knowledge within complex webs of human networks can enable the gap between the information rich and information poor to be overcome. This paper develops a new concept called knowledge networking and investigates how this process enables the digital divide to be overcome. Following a phenomenological analysis of knowledge networking using a selection of …

How Can Information And Communication Technology Bring About Development? An Information Architecture For Guiding Interventions In Developing Regions, Mehruz Kamal, Sajda Qureshi

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

While a great deal is known about how Information and Communication Technologies are used in developing and underserved communities, there are still gaps as to how ICTs may enable development outcomes to be achieved. It appears that the majority of businesses in developing regions are micro-enterprises which employ between 1-5 people and face challenges of limited resources. This research investigates what is known about how ICTs bring about development and uses these insights to develop an information architecture adapted from the Zachman Framework that integrates the different perspectives. In this research, the key stakeholders are the micro-entrepreneurs who adopt technology …

Automatic Graphics And Game Content Generation Through Evolutionary Computation, Erin Hastings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Simulation and game content includes the levels, models, textures, items, and other objects encountered and possessed by players during the game. In most modern video games and simulation software, the set of content shipped with the product is static and unchanging, or at best, randomized within a narrow set of parameters. However, ideally, if game content could be constantly and automatically renewed, players would remain engaged longer in the evolving stream of content. This dissertation introduces three novel technologies that together realize this ambition. (1) The first, NEAT Particles, is an evolutionary method to enable users to quickly and easily …

Detecting Malicious Software By Dynamicexecution, Jianyong Dai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional way to detect malicious software is based on signature matching. However, signature matching only detects known malicious software. In order to detect unknown malicious software, it is necessary to analyze the software for its impact on the system when the software is executed. In one approach, the software code can be statically analyzed for any malicious patterns. Another approach is to execute the program and determine the nature of the program dynamically. Since the execution of malicious code may have negative impact on the system, the code must be executed in a controlled environment. For that purpose, we have …

Attacks On Difficult Instances Of Graph Isomorphism: Sequential And Parallel Algorithms, Greg Tener

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The graph isomorphism problem has received a great deal of attention on both theoretical and practical fronts. However, a polynomial algorithm for the problem has yet to be found. Even so, the best of the existing algorithms perform well in practice; so well that it is challenging to find hard instances for them. The most efficient algorithms, for determining if a pair of graphs are isomorphic, are based on the individualization-refinement paradigm, pioneered by Brendan McKay in 1981 with his algorithm nauty. Nauty and various improved descendants of nauty, such as bliss and saucy, solve the graph isomorphism problem by …

Concept Learning By Example Decomposition, Sameer Joshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For efficient understanding and prediction in natural systems, even in artificially closed ones, we usually need to consider a number of factors that may combine in simple or complex ways. Additionally, many modern scientific disciplines face increasingly large datasets from which to extract knowledge (for example, genomics). Thus to learn all but the most trivial regularities in the natural world, we rely on different ways of simplifying the learning problem. One simplifying technique that is highly pervasive in nature is to break down a large learning problem into smaller ones; to learn the smaller, more manageable problems; and then to …

Visual Inspection Of Railroad Tracks, Pavel Babenko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we have developed computer vision methods for measurement of rail gauge, and reliable identification and localization of structural defects in railroad tracks. The rail gauge is the distance between the innermost sides of the two parallel steel rails. We have developed two methods for evaluation of rail gauge. These methods were designed for different hardware setups: the first method works with two pairs of unaligned video cameras while the second method works with depth maps generated by paired laser range scanners. We have also developed a method for detection of rail defects such as damaged or missed …

Design And Analysis Of Effective Routing And Channel Scheduling For Wavelength Division Multiplexing Optical Networks, Xingbo Gao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Optical networking, employing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), is seen as the technology of the future for the Internet. This dissertation investigates several important problems affecting optical circuit switching (OCS) and optical burst switching (OBS) networks. Novel algorithms and new approaches to improve the performance of these networks through effective routing and channel scheduling are presented. Extensive simulations and analytical modeling have both been used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in achieving lower blocking probability, better fairness as well as faster switching. The simulation tests were performed over a variety of optical network topologies including the ring and …

Modeling Scenes And Human Activities In Videos, Arslan Basharat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we address the problem of understanding human activities in videos by developing a two-pronged approach: coarse level modeling of scene activities and fine level modeling of individual activities. At the coarse level, where the resolution of the video is low, we rely on person tracks. At the fine level, richer features are available to identify different parts of the human body, therefore we rely on the body joint tracks. There are three main goals of this dissertation: (1) identify unusual activities at the coarse level, (2) recognize different activities at the fine level, and (3) predict the …

Geometric Invariance In The Analysis Of Human Motion In Video Data, Yuping Shen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human motion analysis is one of the major problems in computer vision research. It deals with the study of the motion of human body in video data from different aspects, ranging from the tracking of body parts and reconstruction of 3D human body configuration, to higher level of interpretation of human action and activities in image sequences. When human motion is observed through video camera, it is perspectively distorted and may appear totally different from different viewpoints. Therefore it is highly challenging to establish correct relationships between human motions across video sequences with different camera settings. In this work, we …

Predicting Inter -Organizational Knowledge Satisfaction Through Knowledge Conversion And Task Characteristics In A Minority -Owned Business, Terrence L. Ward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge management has been extensively studied from the single organization (intra-organizational) perspective for many years. Although the literature on intra-organizational knowledge is extensive, there still exist gaps in the literature with regards to knowledge being shared by multiple organizations (inter-organizational knowledge). Inter-organizational knowledge satisfaction is gained when the organizations successfully embody the knowledge gained via the cooperation and crystallizes that knowledge within the organization. The problem addressed in this study is the lack of a model for predicting inter-organizational knowledge satisfaction utilizing task characteristics and the knowledge conversion process. The purpose of the study was to predict inter-organizational knowledge satisfaction …

Multiple Dataset Visualization (Mdv) Framework For Scalar Volume Data, Gaurav Khanduja

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many applications require comparative analysis of multiple datasets representing different samples, conditions, time instants, or views in order to develop a better understanding of the scientific problem/system under consideration. One effective approach for such analysis is visualization of the data. In this PhD thesis, we propose an innovative multiple dataset visualization (MDV) approach in which two or more datasets of a given type are rendered concurrently in the same visualization. MDV is an important concept for the cases where it is not possible to make an inference based on one dataset, and comparisons between many datasets are required to reveal …

A Modular Approach To Lung Nodule Detection From Computed Tomography Images Using Artificial Neural Networks And Content Based Image Representation, Omer Muhammet Soysal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal cancer types. Research in computer aided detection (CAD) and diagnosis for lung cancer aims at providing effective tools to assist physicians in cancer diagnosis and treatment to save lives. In this dissertation, we focus on developing a CAD framework for automated lung cancer nodule detection from 3D lung computed tomography (CT) images. Nodule detection is a challenging task that no machine intelligence can surpass human capability to date. In contrast, human recognition power is limited by vision capacity and may suffer from work overload and fatigue, whereas automated nodule detection systems can …