Computer Sciences Commons^™

Distance Metric Learning From Uncertain Side Information For Automated Photo Tagging, Lei Wu, Steven C. H. Hoi, Rong Jin, Jianke Zhu, Nenghai Yu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Automated photo tagging is an important technique for many intelligent multimedia information systems, for example, smart photo management system and intelligent digital media library. To attack the challenge, several machine learning techniques have been developed and applied for automated photo tagging. For example, supervised learning techniques have been applied to automated photo tagging by training statistical classifiers from a collection of manually labeled examples. Although the existing approaches work well for small testbeds with relatively small number of annotation words, due to the long-standing challenge of object recognition, they often perform poorly in large-scale problems. Another limitation of the existing …

Evolution Of Developer Collaboration On The Jazz Platform: A Study Of A Large Scale Agile Project, Subhajit Datta, Renuka Sindhgatta, Bikram Sengupta

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Collaboration is a key aspect of the agile philosophy of software development. As a software system matures over iterations, trends of developer collaboration can offer valuable insights into project dynamics. In this paper, we study evolution of developer collaboration for a large scale agile project on the Jazz platform. We construct networks of collaboration based on developer affiliations across comments on work items and file changes; and then compare parameters of such networks with established results from networks of scientific collaborations. The comparisons illuminate interesting facets of developer collaboration on the Jazz platform. Such perception helps deeper understanding of the …

Fraud Detection In Online Consumer Reviews, Nan Hu, Ling Liu, Vallabh Sambamurthy

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Increasingly, consumers depend on social information channels, such as user-posted online reviews, to make purchase decisions. These reviews are assumed to be unbiased reflections of other consumers' experiences with the products or services. While extensively assumed, the literature has not tested the existence or non-existence of review manipulation. By using data from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, our study investigates if vendors, publishers, and writers consistently manipulate online consumer reviews. We document the existence of online review manipulation and show that the manipulation strategy of firms seems to be a monotonically decreasing function of the product's true quality or the …

Fraud Detection In Online Consumer Reviews, Nan Hu, Ling Liu, Vallbh Sambamurthy

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Increasingly, consumers depend on social information channels, such as user-posted online reviews, to make purchase decisions. These reviews are assumed to be unbiased reflections of other consumers' experiences with the products or services. While extensively assumed, the literature has not tested the existence or non-existence of review manipulation. By using data from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, our study investigates if vendors, publishers, and writers consistently manipulate online consumer reviews. We document the existence of online review manipulation and show that the manipulation strategy of firms seems to be a monotonically decreasing function of the product's true quality or the …

Database Access Pattern Protection Without Full-Shuffles, Xuhua Ding, Yanjiang Yang, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Privacy protection is one of the fundamental security requirements for database outsourcing. A major threat is information leakage from database access patterns generated by query executions. The standard private information retrieval (PIR) schemes, which are widely regarded as theoretical solutions, entail O(n) computational overhead per query for a database with items. Recent works propose to protect access patterns by introducing a trusted component with constant storage size. The resulting privacy assurance is as strong as PIR, though with O(1) online computation cost, they still have O(n) amortized cost per query due to periodically full database shuffles. In this paper, we …

A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Based Principal Component Analysis Framework For Computation Of Multi-Scale Modeling Of Protein And Its Interaction With Solvent, Tao Wu

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a new computational framework for calculating the normal modes and interactions of proteins, macromolecular assemblies and surrounding solvents. The framework employs a combination of molecular dynamics simulation (MD) and principal component analysis (PCA). It enables the capture and visualization of the molecules' normal modes and interactions over time scales that are computationally challenging. It also provides a starting point for experimental and further computational studies of protein conformational changes.

A protein's function is sometimes linked to its conformational flexibility. Normal mode analysis (NMA) and various extensions of it have provided insights into the conformational fluctuations associated with …

Face Recognition Using Multiple Features In Different Color Spaces, Zhiming Liu

Dissertations

Face recognition as a particular problem of pattern recognition has been attracting substantial attention from researchers in computer vision, pattern recognition, and machine learning. The recent Face Recognition Grand Challenge (FRGC) program reveals that uncontrolled illumination conditions pose grand challenges to face recognition performance. Most of the existing face recognition methods use gray-scale face images, which have been shown insufficient to tackle these challenges. To overcome this challenging problem in face recognition, this dissertation applies multiple features derived from the color images instead of the intensity images only.

First, this dissertation presents two face recognition methods, which operate in different …

Information Assurance; Small Business And The Basics, William Samuel Fleming Iv

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Business is increasingly dependent on information systems to allow decision makers to gather process and disseminate information. As the information landscape becomes more interconnected, the threats to computing resources also increase. While the Internet has allowed information to flow, it has also exposed businesses to vulnerabilities. Whereas large businesses have information technology (IT) departments to support their security, small businesses are at risk because they lack personnel dedicated to addressing, controlling and evaluating their information security efforts. Further complicating this situation, most small businesses IT capabilities have evolved in an ad hoc fashion where few employees understand the scope of …

Aminormotiffinder - A Graph Grammar Based Tool To Effectively Search A Minor Motifs In 3d Rna Molecules, Ankur Malhotra

Theses

RNA Motifs are three dimensional folds that play important role in RNA folding and its interaction with other molecules. They basically have modular structure and are composed of conserved building blocks dependent upon the sequence. Their automated in silico identification remains a challenging task. Existing motif identification tools does not correctly identify motifs with large structure variations. Here a “graph rewriting” based method is proposed to identify motifs in real three dimensional structures. The unique encoding of A Minor Searcher takes into consideration the non canonical base pairs and also multipairing of RNA structural motifs. The accuracy is demonstrated by …

Risk Considerations When Determining Network In Infrastructure Upgrade Methodology, Gene Brandt

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Risk considerations when determining network infrastructure upgrade methodology have been interesting in areas of cost, time, and path. This paper evolved from a concrete look at upgrading a specific network to a more abstract investigation of the dangers inherent to upgrading large scale networks based on the form the upgrade took. Personal experience had suggested a remove and replace strategy might be most cost effective but planning, scope creep and other factors combined to show risk mitigation is best practiced on a small scale implementation when possible to reduce the consequences of even partial failure. A study of the cost …

On The Effect Of Criticality And Topology On Learning In Random Boolean Networks, Alireza Goudarzi

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Random Boolean networks (RBN) are discrete dynamical systems composed of N automata with a binary state, each of which interacts with other automata in the network. RBNs were originally introduced as simplified models of gene regulation. In this presentation, I will present recent work done conjointly with Natali Gulbahce (UCSF), Thimo Rohlf (MPI, CNRS), and Christof Teuscher (PSU). We extend the study of learning in feedforward Boolean networks to random Boolean networks (RBNs) and systematically explore the relationship between the learning capability, the network topology, the system size N, the training sample T, and the complexity of the computational task. …

The (1,2)-Step Competition Graph Of A Tournament, Kim A. S. Factor, Sarah Merz

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

The competition graph of a digraph, introduced by Cohen in 1968, has been extensively studied. More recently, in 2000, Cho, Kim, and Nam defined the m-step competition graph. In this paper, we offer another generalization of the competition graph. We define the (1,2)-step competition graph of a digraph D, denoted C_1,2(D), as the graph on V(D) where {x,y}∈E(C_1,2(D)) if and only if there exists a vertex z≠x,y, such that either d_D−y( …

Using Hotspots As A Novel Method For Accessing Key Events In A Large Multi-Modal Corpus, Catherine Oertel, Celine De Looze, Brian Vaughan, Emer Gilmartin, Petra Wagner

Conference papers

n 2009 we created the D64 corpus, a multi-modal corpus which consists of roughly eight hours of natural, non-directed spontaneous interaction in an informal setting. Five participants feature in the recordings and their conversations were captured by microphones (room, body mounted and head mounted), video cameras and a motion capture system. The large amount of video, audio and motion capture material made it necessary to structure and make available the corpus in such a way that it is easy to browse and query for various types of data that we term primary, secondary and tertiary. While users are able to …

Relationships Among Learning Algorithms And Tasks, Jun Won Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Metalearning aims to obtain knowledge of the relationship between the mechanism of learning and the concrete contexts in which that mechanisms is applicable. As new mechanisms of learning are continually added to the pool of learning algorithms, the chances of encountering behavior similarity among algorithms are increased. Understanding the relationships among algorithms and the interactions between algorithms and tasks help to narrow down the space of algorithms to search for a given learning task. In addition, this process helps to disclose factors contributing to the similar behavior of different algorithms. We first study general characteristics of learning tasks and their …

Parallel Particle Swarm Optimization And Large Swarms, Andrew W. Mcnabb

Theses and Dissertations

Optimization is the search for the maximum or minimum of a given objective function. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a simple and effective evolutionary algorithm, but it may take hours or days to optimize difficult objective functions which are deceptive or expensive. Deceptive functions may be highly multimodal and multidimensional, and PSO requires extensive exploration to avoid being trapped in local optima. Expensive functions, whose computational complexity may arise from dependence on detailed simulations or large datasets, take a long time to evaluate. For deceptive or expensive objective functions, PSO must be parallelized to use multiprocessor systems and clusters efficiently. …

Scireader Enables Reading Of Medical Content With Instantaneous Definitions, Patrick R. Gradie, Megan Litster, Rinu Thomas, Jay Vyas, Martin Schiller

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Background

A major problem patients encounter when reading about health related issues is document interpretation, which limits reading comprehension and therefore negatively impacts health care. Currently, searching for medical definitions from an external source is time consuming, distracting, and negatively impacts reading comprehension and memory of the material.

Methods

SciReader was built as a Java application with a Flex-based front-end client. The dictionary used bySciReader was built by consolidating data from several sources and generating new definitions with a standardized syntax. The application was evaluated by measuring the percentage of words defined in different documents. A survey was used …

Detecting Software Attacks By Monitoring Electric Power Consumption Patterns, Grant A. Jacoby, Nathaniel J. Davis Iv, Randolph C. Marchany

AFIT Patents

Software attacks such as worms and viruses are detected in an electronic device by monitoring power consumption patterns. In a first embodiment, software attacks are detected by an increase in power consumption. The increased power consumption can be caused by increased network traffic, or by increased activity in the microprocessor. Monitoring power consumption is particularly effective for detecting DOS/flooding attacks when the electronic device is in an idle state. In a second embodiment, a power consumption signal is converted to the frequency domain (e.g., by fast Fourier transform). The highest amplitude frequencies are identified. Specific software attacks produce characteristic frequencies …

Efficient Access To Non-Sequential Elements Of A Search Tree, Lubomir Stanchev

Computer Science and Software Engineering

This article describes how a search tree can be extended in order to allow efficient access to predefined subsets of the stored elements. This is achieved by marking some of the elements of the search tree with marker bits. We show that our approach does not affect the asymptotic logarithmic complexity for existing operations. At the same time, it is beneficial because the modified search tree can now efficiently support requests on predefined subsets of the search elements that it previously could not.

Efficient Access To Non-Sequential Elements Of A Search Tree, Lubomir Stanchev

Computer Science and Software Engineering

This article describes how a search tree can be extended in order to allow efficient access to predefined subsets of the stored elements. This is achieved by marking some of the elements of the search tree with marker bits. We show that our approach does not affect the asymptotic logarithmic complexity for existing operations. At the same time, it is beneficial because the modified search tree can now efficiently support requests on predefined subsets of the search elements that it previously could not.

Temperature 1 Self-Assembly: Deterministic Assembly In 3d And Probabilistic Assembly In 2d, Matthew Cook, Yunhui Fu, Robert Schweller

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We investigate the power of the Wang tile self-assembly model at temperature 1, a threshold value that permits attachment between any two tiles that share even a single bond. When restricted to deterministic assembly in the plane, no temperature 1 assembly system has been shown to build a shape with a tile complexity smaller than the diameter of the shape. In contrast, we show that temperature 1 self-assembly in 3 dimensions, even when growth is restricted to at most 1 step into the third dimension, is capable of simulating a large class of temperature 2 systems, in turn permitting the …

Polarity-Coincidence-Array Based Spectrum Sensing For Multiple Antenna Cognitive Radios In The Presence Of Non-Gaussian Noise, Thakshila Wimalajeewa, Pramod Varshney

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Technical Reports

One of the main requirements of the cognitive radio (CR) systems is the ability to perform spectrum sensing in a reliable manner in challenging environments that arise due to propagation channels which undergo multipath fading and non-Gaussian noise. While most existing literature on spectrum sensing has focused on impairments introduced by additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), this assumption fails to model the behavior of certain types of noise in practice. In this paper, the use of a non-parametric and easily implementable detection device, namely polarity-coincidence-array (PCA) detector, is proposed for the detection of weak primary signals with a cognitive radio …

Convex Polyhedra Realizing Given Face Areas, Joseph O'Rourke

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Given n ≥ 4 positive real numbers, we prove in this note that they are the face areas of a convex polyhedron if and only if the largest number is not more than the sum of the others.

Asp-Based Problem Solving With Cutting-Edge Tools, Marcello Balduccini, Yuliya Lierler

Computer Science Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

In the development of practical applications of answer set programming (ASP), encodings that use well-established solvers such as CLASP and DLV are sometimes affected by scalability issues. In those situations, one can resort to more sophisticated ASP tools exploiting, for instance, incremental and constraint ASP. However, today there is no specific methodology for the selection or use of such tools. In this paper we describe how we used such cutting-edge ASP tools on challenging problems from the Third Answer Set Programming Competition, and outline the methodology we followed. We view this paper as a first step in the development of …

Punctuated Anytime Learning And The Xpilot-Ai Combat Environment, Phillip Fritzsche

Computer Science Honors Papers

In this paper, research is presented on an application of Punctuated Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing, a type of computational intelligence and evolutionary learning, for real-­time learning of autonomous agents controllers in the space combat game Xpilot. Punctuated Anytime Learning was originally developed as a means of effective learning in the field of evolutionary robotics. An analysis was performed on the game environment to determine optimal environmental settings for use during learning, and Fitness Biasing is employed using this information to learn intelligent behavior for a video game agent controller in real-­time. Xpilot-­AI, an Xpilot add-­on designed for testing learning …

Wireless Computers In Classrooms: Enhancing Interactive Physics Instruction With Tablet Pcs And Dyknow Software., Zdeslav Hrepic

Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Extending A Mips Simulator For Fpga Support, Pete Sanderson

Mathematics Faculty Scholarship

This project enriches computer organization education by providing another avenue for execution of MIPS code. The initial and existing avenue is the MARS simulator for MIPS code, a well-established open source product for educational environments, in use at universities and colleges worldwide (http://www.cs.missouristate.edu/MARS). The new avenue is a special adaptation of MIPS circuitry on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform. FPGAs such as the Altera DE2 are very attractive in an educational environment because of their flexibility, re-use, and low cost. The FPGA MIPS circuit includes VGA graphical output for real-time display of the MIPS machine state, including registers, …

Tr-2011007: Randomized And Derandomized Matrix Computations, Victor Y. Pan, Guoliang Qian, Ai-Long Zheng

Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Estimating Sample Mean Under Interval Uncertainty And Constraint On Sample Varience, Misha Koshelev, Ali Jalal-Kamali, Luc Longpre

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Traditionally, practitioners start a statistical analysis of a given sample x₁, … , x_n by computing the sample mean E and the sample variance V. The sample values x_i usually come from measurements. Measurements are never absolutely accurate and often, the only information that we have about the corresponding measurement errors are the upper bounds Δ_i on these errors. In such situations, after obtaining the measurement result , the only information that we have about the actual (unknown) value x_i of the ith quantity is that x_i belongs to the interval …

Individualised Responses To Vigilance Demands And Their Management, Fiona M. Donald, Craig Hm Donald

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

This research uses a task disengagement framework to examine how CCTV surveillance operators and novices respond to the vigilance demands of the detection process. Vigilance tasks are acknowledged as being high in mental workload, yet little is known about how operators deal with these demands in jobs where successful performance is reliant upon sustaining attention on a daily basis. Much vigilance research makes an implicit assumption that people perform tasks that require sustained attention in a passive manner. By contrast, this study examines how operators manage their levels of task engagement and attention resources. The sample consisted of 73 participants …

An Agile It Security Model For Project Risk Assessment, Damien Hutchinson, Heath Maddern, Jason Wells

Australian Information Security Management Conference

There are two fundamental challenges in effectively performing security risk assessment in today's IT projects. The first is the project manager's need to know what IT security risks face the project before the project begins. At this stage IT security staff are unable to answer this question without first knowing the system requirements for the project which are yet to be defined. Second organisations that deal with a large project throughput each year find the current IT security risk assessment process to be tedious and expensive, especially when the same process has to be repeated for each individual project. This …