Computer Sciences Commons^™

Software Interoperability And The Pods Openhds System, Benjamin S. Heasly Ms

All Student Scholarship

This work addressed challenges of software system interoperability faced by the Open Health and Demographics Surveillance System (OpenHDS). OpenHDS is a distributed application for demographic data collection which was used during a public health intervention in Equatorial Guinea. Specific challenges faced during this intervention included offline data collection and synchronization, changing data collection and software requirements, data size and system performance, and correction of software and data collection errors. This work produced in a new system, the PODS OpenHDS System, which applied four design themes in order to address these challenges: Polymorphism, developer Operations, Declarative style, and Self-description.

Creating A Better World With Information And Communication Technologies: Health Equity, Sajda Qureshi

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

When news broke on 23rd July 2014, that a case of the deadly virus Ebola had been confirmed in Lagos, home to about 21 million people and a major transportation hub, the World held its breath. If not contained, this virus could spread quickly killing a multitude of people around the World. By 15th October, cases of Ebola had been recorded around the World: Liberia reported 4249 cases with 2458 deaths, Sierra Leone reported 3252 cases with 1183 deaths, Guinea 1472 cases with 843 deaths, Nigeria reported 20 cases with 8 deaths, the USA reported 3 cases and 1 death, …

Girl’S Cybersecurity Camp, Sarah Cunha, Dale Rowe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 2015, the BYU Cybersecurity Research Lab (CSRL) held its first annual summer camp for Girls aged 14-18. A total of 38 girls attended the week’s activities and workshops. While over 75% of girls indicated they had taken a computing-related class, only 40% reported any significant interest in cybersecurity prior to the summercamp with 10% believing they had some experience in the field. At the conclusion of the camp, 80% of attendees reported a significant interest in the field with 100% of attendees interested in attending a similar event again.

Streamlining The 3d Animation Process, Dylan Hoffman, Kelly Loosli

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I knew from the beginning that this project – centered around improving the collaborative process of making a 3D animated film across several “stages” and made by several artists of different specialties, temperaments, and backgrounds – would be two-fold. The first phase was learning more about the process itself, and how each phase related to another. The second, zoning in on an area that has been a weakness for BYU Animated Films in the past – character effects and cloth simulation. The project evolved much over the course of the year, with far more time and value being placed in …

A Polyglot Approach To Bioinformatics Data Integration: A Phylogenetic Analysis Of Hiv-1, Steven Reisman, Thomas Hatzopoulous, Konstantin Läufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Catherine Putonti

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

As sequencing technologies continue to drop in price and increase in throughput, new challenges emerge for the management and accessibility of genomic sequence data. We have developed a pipeline for facilitating the storage, retrieval, and subsequent analysis of molecular data, integrating both sequence and metadata. Taking a polyglot approach involving multiple languages, libraries, and persistence mechanisms, sequence data can be aggregated from publicly available and local repositories. Data are exposed in the form of a RESTful web service, formatted for easy querying, and retrieved for downstream analyses. As a proof of concept, we have developed a resource for annotated HIV-1 …

Signal Flow Graph Approach To Efficient Dst I-Iv Algorithms, Sirani M. Perera

Publications

In this paper, fast and efficient discrete sine transformation (DST) algorithms are presented based on the factorization of sparse, scaled orthogonal, rotation, rotation-reflection, and butterfly matrices. These algorithms are completely recursive and solely based on DST I-IV. The presented algorithms have low arithmetic cost compared to the known fast DST algorithms. Furthermore, the language of signal flow graph representation of digital structures is used to describe these efficient and recursive DST algorithms having (n�1) points signal flow graph for DST-I and n points signal flow graphs for DST II-IV.

Generalized Transmuted Family Of Distributions: Properties And Applications, Morad Alizadeh, Faton Merovci, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

We introduce and study general mathematical properties of a new generator of continuous distributions with two extra parameters called the Generalized Transmuted Family of Distributions. We investigate the shapes and present some special models. The new density function can be expressed as a linear combination of exponentiated densities in terms of the same baseline distribution. We obtain explicit expressions for the ordinary and incomplete moments and generating function, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves, asymptotic distribution of the extreme values, Shannon and R´enyi entropies and order statistics, which hold for any baseline model. Further, we introduce a bivariate extension of the new …

Benchmarking Deep Networks For Predicting Residue-Specific Quality Of Individual Protein Models In Casp11, Tong Liu, Yiheng Wang, Jesse Eickholt, Zheng Wang

Faculty Publications

Quality assessment of a protein model is to predict the absolute or relative quality of a protein model using computational methods before the native structure is available. Single-model methods only need one model as input and can predict the absolute residue-specific quality of an individual model. Here, we have developed four novel single-model methods (Wang_deep_1, Wang_deep_2, Wang_deep_3, and Wang_SVM) based on stacked denoising autoencoders (SdAs) and support vector machines (SVMs). We evaluated these four methods along with six other methods participating in CASP11 at the global and local levels using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and ROC analysis. As for residue-specific quality …

Retrival Of Atmospheric Aerosol Size Distributions Using Stochastic Particle Swarm Optimization, Benjamin D. Nault-Maurer

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

A stochastic particle swarm optimization (SPSO) technique’s robustness is studied in regards to atmospheric aerosol size distribution estimations for a bimodal distribution that focuses on Aitken and accumulation mode aerosols. The SPSO method is used to calculate a set of 11 aerosol optical depth (AOD) values based on a size distribution and match them to an inputted set of AOD values. This method is tested using computer generated AOD values with fixed distribution parameters, generated AOD values with varying distribution parameters, two sets of AOD measurements in clear conditions, and one set of AOD values in hazy conditions. The SPSO …

Ibed: Combining Ibea And De For Optimal Feature Selection In Software Product Line Engineering, Yinxing Xue, Jinghui Zhong, Tian Huat Tan, Yang Liu, Wentong Cai, Manman Chen, Jun Sun

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Software configuration, which aims to customize the software for different users (e.g., Linux kernel configuration), is an important and complicated task. In software product line engineering (SPLE), feature oriented domain analysis is adopted and feature model is used to guide the configuration of new product variants. In SPLE, product configuration is an optimal feature selection problem, which needs to find a set of features that have no conflicts and meanwhile achieve multiple design objectives (e.g., minimizing cost and maximizing the number of features). In previous studies, several multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) were used for the optimal feature selection problem and …

Anchored Discussion: Development Of A Tool For Creativity In Online Collaboration, Georg J.P. Link, Dominik Siemon, Gert-Jan De Vreede, Susanne Robra-Bissantz

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

Open innovation and crowdsourcing rely on online collaboration tools to enable dispersed people to collaborate on creative ideas. Research shows that creativity in online groups is significantly influenced by the interaction between group members. In this paper, we demonstrate how theory can be effectively used to design and evaluate a tool for creative online collaboration. Specifically, we use the body of knowledge on creativity support systems to inform the development of a tool to support anchored discussions. Anchored discussions represent a new mode for creative interaction. In anchored discussion every comment is tied to some aspect of an idea. We …

Grafalgo - A Library Of Graph Algorithms And Supporting Data Structures (Revised), Jonathan Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This report provides an (updated) overview of Grafalgo, an open-source library of graph algorithms and the data structures used to implement them. The programs in this library were originally written to support a graduate class in advanced data structures and algorithms at Washington University. Because the code's primary purpose was pedagogical, it was written to be as straightforward as possible, while still being highly efficient. Grafalgo is implemented in C++ and incorporates some features of C++11. The library is available on an open-source basis and may be downloaded from https://code.google.com/p/grafalgo/. Source code documentation is at www.arl.wustl.edu/~jst/doc/grafalgo.

Distributed Attribute Based Access Control Of Aggregated Data In Sensor Clouds, Vimal Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Madria

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Sensor clouds are large scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs), built by connecting a number of smaller WSNs together. Each of these smaller individual WSNs may be owned by different owners. Sensor clouds are dynamic in nature, where wireless sensors can be provisioned and de-provisioned for the users on demand. In such a multi-user, multi-owner system, user access control is a significant problem. Previous user access control schemes have been centralized and designed for standalone sensors or smaller networks and do not take large networks into consideration. In large networks, data is generally aggregated in-network during data collection. In this paper, …

Improved Egt-Based Robustness Analysis Of Negotiation Strategies In Multiagent Systems Via Model Checking, Songzheng Song, Jianye Hao, Yang Liu, Jun Sun, Ho-Fung Leung, Jie Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Automated negotiations play an important role in various domains modeled as multiagent systems, where agents represent human users and adopt different negotiation strategies. Generally, given a multiagent system, a negotiation strategy should be robust in the sense that most agents in the system have the incentive to choose it rather than other strategies. Empirical game-theoretic (EGT) analysis is a game-theoretic analysis approach to investigate the robustness of different strategies based on a set of empirical results. In this study, we propose that model-checking techniques can be adopted to improve EGT analysis for negotiation strategies. The dynamics of strategy profiles can …

Formalizing And Verifying Stochastic System Architectures Using Monterey Phoenix, Songzheng Song, Jiexin Zhang, Yang Liu, Mikhail Auguston, Jun Sun, Jin Song Dong, Tieming Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The analysis of software architecture plays an important role in understanding the system structures and facilitate proper implementation of user requirements. Despite its importance in the software engineering practice, the lack of formal description and verification support in this domain hinders the development of quality architectural models. To tackle this problem, in this work, we develop an approach for modeling and verifying software architectures specified using Monterey Phoenix (MP) architecture description language. MP is capable of modeling system and environment behaviors based on event traces, as well as supporting different architecture composition operations and views. First, we formalize the syntax …

How Well Do Doodle Polls Do?, Danya Alrawi, Barbara M. Anthony, Christine Chung

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Web-based Doodle polls, where respondents indicate their availability for a collection of times provided by the poll initiator, are an increasingly common way of selecting a time for an event or meeting. Yet group dynamics can markedly influence an individual’s response, and thus the overall solution quality. Via theoretical worst-case analysis, we analyze certain common behaviors of Doodle poll respondents, including when participants are either more generous with or more protective of their time, showing that deviating from one’s “true availability” can have a substantial impact on the overall quality of the selected time. We show perhaps counter-intuitively that being …

The Application Of Big Data Analytics To Patent Litigation, Chloé Margulis

Undergraduate Honors College Theses 2016-

This research defines the current gap between big data analytics and patent litigation. It discovers how big data analytics can be applied to the patent industry in order to create more effective risk analysis, an early warning system, and preventative strategies for inside and outside of the courtroom. Big data has the potential to modify current practices in the patent industry, namely geared towards aiding patent examiners, attorneys, inventors, jurors, and judges. It also offers a solution to the threat that patent monetizers pose on smaller companies and inventors, who often lose rights to their patents and other assets in …

The Online Minimum Matching Problem On The Line, Maximillian Bender

Computer Science Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Creative Computation For Cs1 And K9-12, Dianna Xu, Ira Greenberg, Deepak Kumar, Ursula Wolz

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

We present the design and development of a new approach to teaching the introductory computing course (CS1), at both the college-level as well as K9-12, using the context of digital art and creative computation. Creative computation is a highly interdisciplinary area combining theory and methodology from computer science and engineering with aesthetic principles and creative practices from the arts. Using the Processing programming language, students create a portfolio of aesthetic visual designs that employ basic programming constructs and structures typically taught in traditional CS1 courses. The goal of this approach is to bring the excitement, creativity, and innovation fostered by …

Convex Hull For Probabilistic Points, F. Betul Atalay, Sorelle A. Friedler, Dianna Xu

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

We analyze the correctness of an O(n log n) time divide-and-conquer algorithm for the convex hull problem when each input point is a location determined by a normal distribution. We show that the algorithm finds the convex hull of such probabilistic points to precision within some expected correctness determined by a user-given confidence value phi. In order to precisely explain how correct the resulting structure is, we introduce a new certificate error model for calculating and understanding approximate geometric error based on the fundamental properties of a geometric structure. We show that this new error model implies correctness under a …

Uncommon Teaching Languages, Mark C. Lewis, Doug Blank, Kim Bruce, Peter-Michael Osera

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Creative Computation In High School, Dianna Xu, Aaron Cadle, Darby Thompson, Ursula Wolz, Ira Greenberg, Deepak Kumar

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

In this paper we describe the success of bringing Creative Computation via Processing into two very different high schools that span the range of possibilities of grades 9-12 in American education. Creative Computation is an emerging discipline that requires a thorough grounding in both media arts and computing. We report on how contextualized computing that supports integration of media arts, design, and computer science can successfully attract and motivate students to learn foundations of programming and come back for more. The work of two high school teachers with divergent pedagogical styles is presented. They successfully adapted a college-level Creative Computation …

My Avatar, My Self: A Posthuman Examination Of Video Games And Cyborg Bodies, Zachery Tyler Rakes

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

My Avatar, My Self is a project which seeks to examine cultural conceptions of the flesh-and-machine physical cyborg and to subsequently challenge these conceptions with a new idea of the cyborg: the conceptual cyborg. This thesis serves to discuss through posthuman theory what the conceptual cyborg is, how it has become a prevalent force in advanced technological societies, and what it means for human beings to be conceptual cyborgs. Beyond that, I also discuss the importance of the conceptual cyborg’s ability to be digitally embodied in virtual spaces, and this idea is expanded on through an examination of science-fiction television, …

Export To Arduino: A Tool To Teach Processor Design On Real Hardware, Michael Black

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Many computer organization courses teach digital design and processor architecture without a hardware lab or physical equipment. This paper introduces a module to allow students to export digital designs as C programs that run on an inexpensive Arduino Uno, thereby allowing students to test and observe their designs in actual hardware with minimal setup time and equipment. The module runs within Emumaker86, an open-source digital design tool previously developed by the author for teaching microprocessor architecture, and can handle designs ranging from simple combinational circuits to a complete processor. Students were given this module in an undergraduate "Systems Computing" course, …

Factorized Runge-Kutta-Chebyshev Methods, Stephen O'Sullivan

Conference papers

The second-order extended stability Factorized Runge-Kutta-Chebyshev (FRKC2) class of explicit schemes for the integration of large systems of PDEs with diffusive terms is presented. FRKC2 schemes are straightforward to implement through ordered sequences of forward Euler steps with complex stepsizes, and easily parallelised for large scale problems on distributed architectures.

Preserving 7 digits for accuracy at 16 digit precision, the schemes are theoretically capable of maintaining internal stability at acceleration factors in excess of 6000 with respect to standard explicit Runge-Kutta methods. The stability domains have approximately the same extents as those of RKC schemes, and are a third longer …

General Solution Of The Wind Triangle Problem And The Critical Tailwind Angle, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

A general analytical solution of the navigational wind-triangle problem and the calculation of the critical tailwind angle are presented in this study among other findings. Any crosswind component will effectively create a headwind component on fixed course tracks. The meaning of a route track is lost with excessive crosswinds representing the bifurcation point between the possible and the impossible navigational solutions. Any wind of constant direction and speed will effectively reduce groundspeed and increase time-of-flight on closed-loop multi-segment flights. Effective wind track component consists, in general, of true and induced components. The average groundspeed of multiple-leg flights is a harmonic …

Artificially Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning System With Ai Student Component, Denee M. Mcclain

Capstone Research Projects

Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) systems follow an accepted format, which utilizes an artificially intelligent tutor. The systems allow the user to input a sentence in the target language and the AI tutor analyzes the sentence and provides error correction. This approach can be expensive, impractical, and inflexible. Inflexibility can result in a lower quality of learning for the users of these systems. Here I present an alternative format for ICALL systems that utilizes an artificially intelligent student. This alternative is cost effective and practical because it does not require extra development time to make the artificial intelligence an …

Improving Forensic Software Tool Performance In Detecting Fraud For Financial Statements, Brian Cusack, Tau’Aho Ahokov

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The use of computer forensics is important for forensic accounting practice because most accounting information is in digital forms today. The access to evidence is increasingly more complex and in far greater volumes than in previous decades. The effective and efficient means of detecting fraud are required for the public to maintain their confidence in the reliability of accounting audit and the reputation of accounting firms. The software tools used by forensic accounting can be called into question. Many appear inadequate when faced with the complexity of fraud and there needs to be the development of automated and specialist problem-solving …

Establishing Effective And Economical Traffic Surveillance In Tonga, Brian Cusack, George Maeakafa

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The Pacific Islands are seriously challenged by the growth in wealth and the expansion of international material possessions. On the roads traffic has grown dramatically and the types of vehicles now using Island roads has greatly changed. With the importation of cheap second hand vehicles designed for freeway speeds serious safety issues have grown proportionally with the increasing numbers. In this research we consider the prohibitive costs of traditional traffic controls to economy and propose a light weight highly mobile aerial surveillance system that integrates with ground policing capability. Our research question was: How can road safety and security be …

Educational Methods For Inverted-Lecture Computer Science And Engineering Classrooms To Overcome Common Barriers To Stem Student Success, Kathleen Timmerman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

New educational pedagogies are emerging in an effort to increase the number of new engineers available to enter the workforce in the coming years. One of the re-occurring themes in these pedagogies is variations of the flipped classroom. Often the additional classroom time gained from flipping is used to reinforce learning objectives. It is hypothesized that it might be more beneficial to students if a portion of that time is used to address common non-cognitive barriers that prevent students from succeeding in the major. In a freshman Introductory Computer Science course, three different pedagogies are compared: a hybrid lecture-active learning …