Computer Sciences Commons^™

Extremal H-Colorings Of Graphs With Fixed Minimum Degree, John Engbers

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

For graphs G and H, a homomorphism from G to H, or H-coloring of G, is a map from the vertices of G to the vertices of H that preserves adjacency. When H is composed of an edge with one looped endvertex, an H-coloring of G corresponds to an independent set in G. Galvin showed that, for sufficiently large n, the complete bipartite graph K_δ,n-δ is the n-vertex graph with minimum degree δ that has the largest number of independent sets.

In this paper, we begin the project of generalizing this …

Lexical And Prosodic Indicators Of Importance In Spoken Dialog, Nigel G. Ward, Karen A. Richart-Ruiz

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

This technical report complements the paper, Patterns of Importance Variation in Spoken Dialog (Ward and Richart-Ruiz, 2013), providing additional evidence for the claims, additional findings, and more analysis. In particular, we report more on inter-annotator disagreement, on words that correlate with importance, on prosodic features and patterns that correlate with importance, and on how our predictive model of importance might be improved.

Solving Interval Linear Systems Is Np-Hard Even When All Inputs Are Known With The Same Accuracy, Ralph Kelsey, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

It is known that in general, solving interval linear systems is NP-hard. There exist several proofs of this NP-hardness, and all these proofs use examples with intervals of different width -- corresponding to different accuracy in measuring different coefficients. For some classes of interval linear systems with the same accuracy, feasible algorithms are known. We show, however, that in general, solving interval linear systems is NP-hard even when all inputs are known with the same accuracy.

Knowledge Extraction From Survey Data Using Neural Networks, Imran Ahmed Khan

Computer Science Theses

Surveys are an important tool for researchers. Survey attributes are typically discrete data measured on a Likert scale. Collected responses from the survey contain an enormous amount of data. It is increasingly important to develop powerful means for clustering such data and knowledge extraction that could help in decision-making. The process of clustering becomes complex if the number of survey attributes is large. Another major issue in Likert-Scale data is the uniqueness of tuples. A large number of unique tuples may result in a large number of patterns and that may increase the complexity of the knowledge extraction process. Also, …

Signal Space Cosamp For Sparse Recovery With Redundant Dictionaries, Mark A. Davenport, Deanna Needell, Michael B. Wakin

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

Compressive sensing (CS) has recently emerged as a powerful framework for acquiring sparse signals. The bulk of the CS literature has focused on the case where the acquired signal has a sparse or compressible representation in an orthonormal basis. In practice, however, there are many signals that cannot be sparsely represented or approximated using an orthonormal basis, but that do have sparse representations in a redundant dictionary. Standard results in CS can sometimes be extended to handle this case provided that the dictionary is sufficiently incoherent or well conditioned, but these approaches fail to address the case of a truly …

Dynamic Near Field Communication Pairing For Wireless Sensor Networks, Steven Charles Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless sensor network (WSN) nodes communicate securely using pre-installed cryptographic keys. Although key pre-installation makes nodes less expensive, the technical process of installing keys prevents average users from deploying and controlling their own WSNs. Wireless pairing enables users to set up WSNs without pre-installing keys, but current pairing techniques introduce numerous concerns regarding security, hardware expense, and usability. This thesis introduces dynamic Near Field Communication (NFC) pairing, a new pairing technique designed for WSNs. This pairing overcomes the limitations of both key pre-installation and current pairing techniques. Dynamic NFC pairing is as secure as using pre-installed keys, requires only inexpensive …

A Study Of Mongodb And Oracle In An E-Commerce Environment, Aaron Ploetz

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

As worldwide e-commerce expands, businesses continue to look for better ways to meet their evolving needs with web solutions that scale and perform adequately. Several online retailers have been able to address scaling challenges through the implementation of NoSQL databases. While architecturally different from their relational database counterparts, NoSQL databases typically achieve performance gains by relaxing one or more of the essential transaction processing attributes of atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability (ACID). As with any emerging technology, there are both critics and supporters of NoSQL databases. The detractors claim that NoSQL is not safe and is at a greater risk …

Performance Measurement Design For A Parcel Delivery Company, Junyu Choy, Nang Laik Ma, Ping Shung Koo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

There were extensive researches on the topic of performance management in various organizations across multiple fields. Literature on performance measurements in logistics can be divided into specific measures and their application in the context or complete framework for performance measurements. In this paper, the focus of the discussion will be the formulation of the framework which handles performance measurements for package delivery service and how the metrics measure the performance and their application in the context of package delivery service.

Assessment And Prediction Of Cardiovascular Status During Cardiac Arrest Through Machine Learning And Dynamical Time-Series Analysis, Sharad Shandilya

Theses and Dissertations

In this work, new methods of feature extraction, feature selection, stochastic data characterization/modeling, variance reduction and measures for parametric discrimination are proposed. These methods have implications for data mining, machine learning, and information theory. A novel decision-support system is developed in order to guide intervention during cardiac arrest. The models are built upon knowledge extracted with signal-processing, non-linear dynamic and machine-learning methods. The proposed ECG characterization, combined with information extracted from PetCO2 signals, shows viability for decision-support in clinical settings. The approach, which focuses on integration of multiple features through machine learning techniques, suits well to inclusion of multiple physiologic …

How To Gauge Accuracy Of Measurements And Of Expert Estimates: Beyond Normal Distributions, Christian Servin, Aline Jaimes, Craig Tweedie, Aaron A. Velasco, Omar Ochoa, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

To properly process data, we need to know the accuracy of different data points, i.e., accuracy of different measurement results and expert estimates. Often, this accuracy is not given. For such situations, we describe how this accuracy can be estimated based on the available data.

How To Explain (And Overcome) 2% Barrier In Teaching Computer Science: Fuzzy Ideas Can Help, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Computer science educators observed that in the present way of teaching computing, only 2% of students can easily handle computational concepts -- and, as a result, only 2% of the students specialize in computer science. With the increasing role of computers in the modern world, and the increasing need for computer-related jobs, this 2% barrier creates a shortage of computer scientists. We notice that the current way of teaching computer science is based on easiness of using two-valued logic, on easiness of dividing all situations, with respect to each property, into three classes: yes, no, and unknown. The fact that …

How To Detect Linear Dependence On The Copula Level?, Vladik Kreinovich, Hung T. Nguyen, Songsak Sriboonchitta

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many practical situations, the dependence between the quantities is linear or approximately linear. Knowing that the dependence is linear simplifies computations; so, is is desirable to detect linear dependencies. If we know the joint probability distribution, we can detect linear dependence by computing Pearson's correlation coefficient. In practice, we often have a copula instead of a full distribution; in this case, we face a problem of detecting linear dependence based on the copula. Also, distributions are often heavy-tailed, with infinite variances, in which case Pearson's formulas cannot be applied. In this paper, we show how to modify Pearson's formula …

Computing With Words: Towards A New Tuple-Based Formalization, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich, Ariel Garcia, Felipe Jovel, Luis A. Torres Escobedo, Thavatchai Ngamsantivong

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

An expert opinion describes his or her opinion about a quantity by using imprecise ("fuzzy") words from a natural language, such as "small", "medium", "large", etc. Each of these words provides a rather crude description of the corresponding quantity. A natural way to refine this description is to assign degrees to which the observed quantity fits each of the selected words. For example, an expert can say that the value is reasonable small, but to some extent it is medium. In this refined description, we represent each quantity by a tuple of the corresponding degrees.

Once we have such a …

Images Are Easier To Restore Than 1-D Signals: A Theoretical Explanation Of A Surprising Empirical Phenomenon, Christian Servin, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Similar techniques are often used to restore 1-D signals and 2-D images from distorted ("blurred") observations. From the purely mathematical viewpoint, 1-D signals are simpler, so it should be easier to restore signals than images. However, in practice, it is often easier to restore a 2-D image than to restore a 1-D signal. In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation for this surprising empirical phenomenon.

Is Langrangian Formalism Adequately Describing Energy Conservation?, Vladik Kreinovich, Olga Kosheleva

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In most physical theories, total energy is conserved. For example, when the kinetic energy of a particle decreases, the potential energy increase accordingly. For some physical systems, energy is not conserved. For example, if we consider a particle moving with friction, the energy of the particle itself is not conserved: it is transformed into thermal energy of the surrounding medium. For simple systems, energy is easy to define. For more complex physical systems, such a definition is not easy. To describe energy of generic systems, physicists came up with a general notion of energy based on the Lagrangian formalism -- …

Sroiq Syntax Approximation By Using Nominal Schemas, Cong Wang, David Carral, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Nominal schemas is a recently introduced extension of description logics which makes it possible to express rules which generalize DL-safe ones. A tractable description logic, ELROV_n, has been identified. This leads us to the question: can we improve approximate reasoning results by employing nominal schemas? In this paper, we investigate how to approximately cast SROIQ into ELROV_n. Using a datalog-based tractable algorithm, a preliminary evaluation shows that our approach can indeed do approximate SROIQ-reasoning with a high recall.

Towards An Efficient Algorithm To Reason Over Description Logics Extended With Nominal Schemas, David Carral, Cong Wang, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Extending description logics with so-called nominal schemas has been shown to be a major step towards integrating description logics with rules paradigms. However, establishing efficient algorithms for reasoning with nominal schemas has so far been a challenge. In this paper, we present an algorithm to reason with the description logic fragment ELROV_n, a fragment that extends EL⁺⁺ with nominal schemas. We also report on an implementation and experimental evaluation of the algorithm, which shows that our approach is indeed rather efficient.

Stochastic Causality Is Inconsistent With The Lorentz Group, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

According to modern physics, all physical processes are described by quantum theory. In particular, due to quantum fluctuations, even in the empty space, the causal relation is, in general, slightly different from the usual Minkowski one. Since quantum effects are probabilistic, to properly represent the corresponding stochastic causality, we need to describe, for every two events e and e', the probability p(e,e') that e can causally influence e'. Surprisingly, it turns out that such a probability functions cannot be Lorentz-invariant. In other words, once we take into account quantum effects in causality, Lorentz-invariance is violated -- similarly to the fact …

Integration Schemas For Constraint Answer Set Programming: A Case Study, Marcello Balduccini, Yuliya Lierler

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Recently, researchers in answer set programming and constraint programming spent significant efforts in the development of hybrid languages and solving algorithms combining the strengths of these traditionally separate fields. These efforts resulted in a new research area: constraint answer set programming (CASP). CASP languages and systems proved to be largely successful at providing efficient solutions to problems involving hybrid reasoning tasks, such as scheduling problems with elements of planning. Yet, the development of CASP systems is difficult, requiring non-trivial expertise in multiple areas. This suggests a need for a study identifying general development principles of hybrid systems. Once these principles …

Student Interaction With Content In Online And Hybrid Courses: Leading Horses To The Proverbial Water, Meg Murray, Jorge Perez, Debra Geist, Alison Hedrick

Faculty Articles

Permutations of traditional and online learning are rapidly advancing along a blended continuum, prompting conjecture that learning and e-learning will soon be indistinguishable. As variations of blended learning evolve, educators worldwide must develop better understanding of how effective interaction with course content impacts engagement and learning. This study compares patterns of access to instructional content in online and hybrid courses offered at a regional university in the United States. Frequency counts and access rates were examined for course content in four categories: core materials, direct support, indirect support, and ancillary materials. Observed results were echoed in responses to a survey …

Minimization Of Average Sensitivity As A Method Of Selecting Fuzzy Functions And Operations: Successes And Limitations, Riya George, Suresh Subramanian, Alejandro Vega, Olga Kosheleva

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Fuzzy logic is an extension of the standard 2-valued logic -- with two possible truth values 0 ("false") and ("true") -- to values (degrees of certainty) represented by arbitrary numbers from the interval [0,1]. One of the main challenges in fuzzy logic is that we need to extend the usual logical operations from the set {0,1} to the entire interval, and there are many possible extensions. One promising technique for selecting a reasonable extension is to take into account that the fuzzy degrees of certainty are themselves only known with uncertainty; so, it makes sense to select an operation which …

Towards Discrete Interval, Set, And Fuzzy Computations, Enrique Portillo, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many applications, we know the function f(x1,...,xn), we know the intervals [xi] of possible values of each quantity xi, and we are interested in the range of possible values of y=f(x1,...,xn); this problem is known as the problem of interval computations. In other applications, we know the function f(x1,...,xn), we know the fuzzy sets Xi that describe what we know about each quantity xi, and we are interested in finding the fuzzy set Y corresponding to the quantity y=f(x1,...,xn); this problem is known as the problem of fuzzy computations. There are many efficient algorithms for solving these problems; however, …

Towards A Localized Version Of Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, Vladik Kreinovich, Hung T. Nguyen, Berlin Wu

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Pearson's correlation coefficient is used to describe dependence between random variables X and Y. In some practical situations, however, we have strong correlation for some values X and/or Y and no correlation for other values of X and Y. To describe such a local dependence, we come up with a natural localized version of Pearson's correlation coefficient. We also study the properties of the newly defined localized coefficient.

Contributions To The Cuore Collaboration, Samuel Joseph Meijer

Physics

This paper describes work done between 2010 and 2013 to contribute to the CUORE collaboration, a physics collaboration searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay in tellurium. Measurement of this decay would indicate fundamental information about the nature of the neutrino. The implementation of a parylene-coated detector frame is described. Also, a temperature stabilization system for an automated gluing system was constructed. An image recognition algorithm is described for locating spots of glue and evaluating their acceptability.

Implementimi I Voice Over Ip (Voip) Në Ministrinë E Arsimit, Ibrahim Tolaj

Theses and Dissertations

Voice over IP, ndryshe i njohur si IP Telephony, deri tani është konsideruar si një teknologji e nënstandardizuar. Megjithatë, sot është teknologjia me zhvillimin më të shpejtë në botën e telekomunikacionit, Voice over IP po shfaqet si një konkurues i fuqishëm ndaj rrjetit tradicional të telefonisë. Për të zhvilluar këtë teknologji, si mekanizëm është integrimi i saj në rrjetin tradicional të telefonise. Në këtë temë të diplomës përshkruajmë implementimin e Voice over IP në Ministrinë e Arsimit të Kosovës dhe shpërndarjen e tij në të gjitha qytetet e saj, duke ofruar kualitet e shërbimeve n♪7 nivel të lartë dhe siguri …

Analiza Ndërmjet Mysql Dhe Postgresql, Festim Shyti

Theses and Dissertations

Synimi i kësaj teme është që të bëj krahasimin e funksionaliteteve në veglat e sistemit të menaxhimit të bazës së të dhënave në dy programet me famë botërore: PostgreSQL dhe MySQL duke i marrë në shqyrtim aspektet teknike dhe pikëpamjet se të dy aplikacionet janë komerciale. Për arsye se të dy programet së bashku kanë zënë një rol të rëndësishëm në fushën e sistemit për menaxhimin e bazës së të dhënave, prandaj, krahasimi i plotë (përgjithshëm) i kritereve të përzgjedhura nga të dy programet është bërë me kujdes të madh nga shfrytëzues të ndryshëm. Sipas tregut komercial të analizuar dhe …

Predicting Threat Potential Using Cyber Sensors, Mark Anthony Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations

The proliferation of the Internet has created a culture of a connected society dependent upon technology for communication and information sharing needs. In this dissertation, we hypothesize that attackers are increasingly using electronic resources that are capable of leaving a digital footprint, such as social media services, e-mail, text messages, blogs, and websites for the communication, planning, and coordination of attacks. In its current form, however, traffic analysis is primarily concerned with using communications volume to extract intelligence information, but largely ignores the content of communications transmissions that is needed to meet the security challenges and demands of continually emerging …

Filestream Enhancement To The Courseweb Grading System, Derrick Massey

All Capstone Projects

Data is sometimes unstructured, such as text documents, images, and videos. This unstructured data is regularly stored outside the database, different from its structured data. This separation can cause data management problems. Or, if the data is connected with regulated storage, the performance and the file streaming capabilities and can degrade.

FILESTREAM incorporates the SQL Server Database Engine with an NTFS file system by loading varbinary(max) BLOB data as files. And make them available to the file system. Transact-SQL statements can update, query, search, insert, and or back up FILESTREAM data. The Win32 file system interface affords streaming access to …

Portable Game Based Instruction Of American Sign Language, Christyna Wilson

All Theses

In this thesis, we address the effectiveness of portable gaming devices as a vehicle for learning American Sign Language. We begin by creating a multi-level game using a standard programming language, and use the game to illustrate various signed words. We translate the game to mobile devices using Kivy, a crossplatform framework. This allows the game to be compatible with multiple mobile devices and platforms. A secondary inspiration for creating a game as opposed to standard memorization techniques is to stimulate a quicker learning response as the user enjoys the sign learning process. In this thesis we provide a mobile …

Mining Direct Antagonistic Communities In Signed Social Networks, David Lo, Didi Surian, Philips Kokoh Prasetyo, Zhang Kuan, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Social networks provide a wealth of data to study relationship dynamics among people. Most social networks such as Epinions and Facebook allow users to declare trusts or friendships with other users. Some of them also allow users to declare distrusts or negative relationships. When both positive and negative links co-exist in a network, some interesting community structures can be studied. In this work, we mine Direct Antagonistic Communities (DACs) within such signed networks. Each DAC consists of two sub-communities with positive relationships among members of each sub-community, and negative relationships among members of the other sub-community. Identifying direct antagonistic communities …