Computer Sciences Commons^™

Automatic Conversation Review For Intelligent Virtual Assistants, Ian R. Beaver

Computer Science ETDs

When reviewing the performance of Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs), it is desirable to prioritize conversations involving misunderstood human inputs. These conversations uncover error in natural language understanding and help prioritize and expedite improvements to the IVA. As human reviewer time is valuable and manual analysis is time consuming, prioritizing the conversations where misunderstanding has likely occurred reduces costs and speeds improvement. A system for measuring the posthoc risk of missed intent associated with a single human input is presented. Numerous indicators of risk are explored and implemented. These indicators are combined using various means and evaluated on real world data. …

Essential Feature - Cooperative Gameplay, Thanh Bui, Hung Nguyen

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Although single player and multiplayer is very important in today game, cooperative mode is an essential part of a great game. There are a lot of benefits of playing co-op mode in a game such as education and joy. Communicating, solving problems, handling stress, managing time, making decision, following instructions, acting fast as well as working in a team are skills that students can learn and practice while they are playing cooperative games. These skills are valuable for students to use in education and even in careers.

A Multiple Classifier System For Predicting Best-Selling Amazon Products, Michael Kranzlein

Master of Science in Computer Science Theses

In this work, I examine a dataset of Amazon product metadata and propose a heterogeneous multiple classifier system for the task of identifying best-selling products in multiple categories. This system of classifiers consumes the product description and the featured product image as input and feeds them through binary classifiers of the following types: Convolutional Neural Network, Na¨ıve Bayes, Random Forest, Ridge Regression, and Support Vector Machine. While each individual model is largely successful in identifying best-selling products from non best-selling products and from worst-selling products, the multiple classifier system is shown to be stronger than any individual model in the …

Why Certified Iot Devices Remain Untrustworthy, Donald Privitera

Master of Science in Information Technology Theses

Digital networked devices also known as Internet of Things (IoT) are ubiquitous today and are now a fundamental part of the functioning of the US digital economy and comprise a significant part of people’s daily activities. These devices have been shown to be insecure in general especially at categories that include any of the following: low-cost, home use, small business, and factory automation. There are continuing research and news reports showing Internet connected devices contain backdoors of various origins whether they be placed intentionally or are discovered as vulnerabilities. These types of devices are of concern because they are critical …

Less-Java, More Learning: Language Design For Introductory Programming, Zamua Nasrawt

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Less-Java is a new procedural programming language with static, strong, and inferred typing, native unit testing, and support for basic object-oriented constructs. These features make programming in Less-Java more intuitive than traditional introductory languages, which will allow professors to dedicate more class time to overarching computer science concepts and less to syntax and language-specific quirks.

The Future Possibility Of Consumer-Grade Quantum Computers, Peter Dolan

Missouri S&T’s Peer to Peer

Quantum computers are rapidly evolving and are on the edge of becoming useful for the first time. The theoretical limit of computational speed for quantum computers would put even small-scale quantum computers well ahead of any classical computer. With more researchers attempting to build their own, it has become a race to see who can create the first truly useful quantum computer. Once such computers become both useful and prevalent, massive advancements in many fields of science can be achieved, leading to a scientific revolution. Advances in quantum computing lead some researchers and consumers to question whether the technology can …

The Viability Of Quantum Computing, Brennan Michael King

Missouri S&T’s Peer to Peer

Quantum computing is an upcoming computational technology that could be the key to advancing the field and ushering in a new era of innovation. In this paper examines the viability of quantum computing extensively using only highly credible peer-reviewed articles from the last few years. These peer-reviewed articles will provide relevant facts and data from prominent researchers in the field of computer engineering. A growing problem in the field of electronics and computers is the concept of Moore’s law. Moore’s law refers to the doubling of transistors every two years in integrated circuits. Recent research has suggested that electronics may …

The Dangers Of Human-Like Bias In Machine-Learning Algorithms, Daniel James Fuchs

Missouri S&T’s Peer to Peer

Machine learning algorithms (MLAGs), frequently used in artificial intelligence (AI), rely on using patterns across sets of data to derive decision-making intelligence. In recent years, as society continues to give increasing authority to ML-driven AIs, these algorithms have demonstrated the ability to take on human-like discriminatory biases. Microsoft's "Tay," for example, a social media-based chatbot, went from resembling a normal teenage girl to displaying racist and sexist attitudes in a mere sixteen hours). Tay and many other ML-driven implementations across a wide variety of fields have replicated numerous human biases. In most cases, these human-like biases originated due to improper …

A Critical Analysis Of Mystery In Videogames, Ali Alkhafaji

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Historically, videogame research has focused on how different videogame attributes (like challenge, fantasy, control, goals, etc.) impact the player experience. This type of research is important because it can provide insight into how to design more enjoyable videogames. However, very little exists within the current literature that focuses on mystery and its impact on the player experience. This dissertation is concerned with providing the research community with a better understanding of how mystery manifests in videogames and consequently impacts the player experience, specifically curiosity and motivation. To this end, the research questions are: 1. How do players experience mystery in …

Evaluation Of Routing Protocols With Ftp And P2p, Tyler Wilson, Eman Abdelfattah, Samir Hamada

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the decisions that need to be made when designing and configuring a computer network in which routing protocol should be used. This paper presents a simulation of a high load File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Application and a high load Peer to Peer (P2P) Application using Riverbed Academic Modeler 17.5. The simulation is configured and run in a World environment to replicate a global network. Each simulation employs either RIP, OSPF, or EIGRP routing protocol. The queuing delay, throughput, link utilization, and IP packets dropped are used as performance parameters to determine which routing protocol is the most efficient …

Assessment Of Observed Increases In Extreme Warm Exceedances In Locations With Short Warm Side Tails, Jacob S. Hunter, Paul C. Loikith, J. David Neelin

Student Research Symposium

Regions of shorter-than-Gaussian temperature distribution tails have been shown to occur in spatially coherent patterns in the current climate using reanalysis. Under such conditions, future changes in extremes due to global warming may manifest in more complex ways than if the underlying distribution were closer to Gaussian. For instance, under a uniform warm shift, the simplest prototype for future warming, a location with a short warm side tail would experience a greater increase in exceedances than if the distribution were Gaussian. This carries meaningful societal and environmental implications including but not limited to negative impacts on human and ecosystem health, …

Using Reservoir Computing To Build A Robust Interface With Dna Circuits In Determining Genetic Similarities Between Pathogens, Christopher Neighbor, Christof Teuscher

Student Research Symposium

As computational power increases, the field of neural networks has advanced exponentially. In particular recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are being utilized to simulate dynamic systems and to learn to predict time series data. Reservoir computing is an architecture which has the potential to increase training speed while reducing computational costs. Reservoir computing consists of a RNN with a fixed connections “reservoir” while only the output layer is trained. The purpose of this research is to explore the effective use of reservoir computing networks with the eventual application towards use in a DNA based molecular computing reservoir for use in pathogen …

Designing Smart Applications Using Ar (Augmented Reality), Kimberly A. De La Santa

Publications and Research

Augmented Reality is rapidly developing in popularity because it brings elements of the virtual world, into our real world. Augmented Reality (AR) is a variation of Virtual Reality (VR). VR technologies immerses a user inside an imaginary environment. While immersed, the user cannot see the real world around them. In contrast, AR allows the user to see the real world, with virtual objects and information intertwined. Therefore, AR supplements reality and enhances the things we see, hear, and feel. This research project will implement a Web page that gives the user the opportunity to experiment with AR.

Ai-Human Collaboration Via Eeg, Adam Noack

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

As AI becomes ever more competent and integrated into our lives, the issue of AI-human goal misalignment looms larger. This is partially because there is often a rift between what humans explicitly command and what they actually mean. Most contemporary AI systems cannot bridge this gap. In this study we attempted to reconcile the goals of human and machine by using EEG signals from a human to help a simulated agent complete a task.

Tamscript - High Level Programming Interface For The Abstract Tile Assembly Model, Perry Mills

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper describes a programming interface, TAMScript, for use with the PyTAS simulator. The interface allows for the dynamic generation of tile types as the simulation progresses, with the goal of reducing complexity for researchers. This paper begins with an introduction to the PyTAS software and a description of the 3D model which it simulates. Next, the changes made to support a dynamic generation scheme are detailed, and some of the potential benefits of this scheme are outlined. Then several of the example scripts which have been written using the TAMScript interface are reviewed. Finally, the potential for future research …

An Agent-Based Approach To Simulating The Minimum Wage Market, Luke Snyder

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to identify and describe the economic impacts of adjusting the minimum wage on employment. The approach taken is constructing an agent-based simulation using the well-known software suite NetLogo. The simulation models business and consumer behavior through a set of governing economic principles, yet also provides randomization to more accurately account for occasional outliers and human irrationality. The results of the simulation indicate relatively small changes in employment among minimum wages between $7.25 and $10.00, with a gradual decrease thereafter.

Usability Of Sound-Driven User Interfaces, Zachary T. Roth, Dale R. Thompson

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The model for interacting with computing devices remains primarily focused on visual design. However, sound has a unique set of advantages. In this work, an experiment was devised where participants were tasked with identifying elements in an audio-only computing environment. The interaction relied on mouse movement and button presses for navigation. Experiment trials consisted of variations in sound duration, volume, and distinctness according to both experiment progress and user behavior. Participant interactions with the system were tracked to examine the usability of the interface. Preliminary results indicated the majority of participants mastered every provided test, but the total time spent …

Dynamic 3d Network Data Visualization, Brok Stafford

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Monitoring network traffic has always been an arduous and tedious task because of the complexity and sheer volume of network data that is being consistently generated. In addition, network growth and new technologies are rapidly increasing these levels of complexity and volume. An effective technique in understanding and managing a large dataset, such as network traffic, is data visualization. There are several tools that attempt to turn network traffic into visual stimuli. Many of these do so in 2D space and those that are 3D lack the ability to display network patterns effectively. Existing 3D network visualization tools lack user …

Dartdraw: The Design And Implementation Of Global State Management, User Interaction Management, And Text In A React-Redux Drawing Application, Collin M. Mckinney

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

This paper outlines the design and implementation of DartDraw, a drawing application which closely emulates the user interface of the original MacDraw application and supports the importing of MacDraw files.

Full And Dense Cyclic Gray Codes In Mixed Radices, Devina Kumar

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

The Gray code is a sequence of n consecutive binary numbers arranged so that adjacent numbers in the sequence differ in a single digit and that each number appears in the sequence exactly once. A Gray code is considered cyclic if the first and last numbers in the sequence differ in only one digit position, and those digits have a difference of exactly 1. In this thesis, numbers in a Gray-code sequence may be modular cyclic, meaning that in radix r, two consecutive numbers may vary in a digit with values 0 and r-1. This thesis focuses on methods to …

Computer Vision Evidence Supporting Craniometric Alignment Of Rat Brain Atlases To Streamline Expert-Guided, First-Order Migration Of Hypothalamic Spatial Datasets Related To Behavioral Control, Arshad Khan, Jose Perez, Claire Wells, Olac Fuentes

Selected Works Temporary Series

The rat has arguably the most widely studied brain among all animals, with numerous reference atlases for rat brain having been published since 1946. For example, many neuroscientists have used the atlases of Paxinos and Watson (PW, first published in 1982) or Swanson (S, first published in 1992) as guides to probe or map specific rat brain structures and their connections. Despite nearly three decades of contemporaneous publication, no independent attempt has been made to establish a basic framework that allows data mapped in PW to be placed in register with S, or vice versa. Such data migration would allow …

Epoca House: The Implementation Strategy, Courtney Thomas, Yaffa Fain, Shuxiao Teng, Mingjun Xie

School of Professional Studies

This capstone report provides a written strategic implementation plan for EPOCA House. EPOCA, Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, is a non-profit dedicated to creating better resources and opportunities for prisoners and ex-prisoners in Worcester. The organization’s most recent initiative, EPOCA House, is a transitional facility that will provide reentry services and temporary housing to ex-offenders in and around the Worcester area. Recently, Massachusetts passed a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill that will dramatically reduce the number of people being incarcerated; however, little attention is focused on what will happen to individuals after they leave prison. At the same …

A Guide For Hiring Mature Employees At Ascentria, Binghe Change, Calleigh Leach, Elsie Lu, Hongquiang You, Mengge Wang, Nina Mariotti

School of Professional Studies

This paper will explore existing literature on aspects of an intergenerational workplace in a nonprofit organization and provide recommendations for recruiting and retaining older employees for a human service organization, Ascentria Care Alliance, in Worcester, MA. The paper will review research on trends in the nonprofit industry, a comprehensive breakdown of generational workplace values, reasons people are returning to work and effective marketing strategies that appeal to older generations. Marketing strategies specifically will explore best practices for website design, social media usage, and job descriptions. Additionally, this paper will research case studies of nonprofits with successful intergenerational workforce initiatives, as …

The Key To Cryptography: The Rsa Algorithm, Clifton Paul Robinson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Cryptography is the study of codes, as well as the art of writing and solving them. It has been a growing area of study for the past 40 years. Now that most information is sent and received through the internet, people need ways to protect what they send. Some of the most commonly used cryptosystems today include a public key. Some public keys are based around using two large, random prime numbers combined together to help encrypt messages.

The purpose of this project was to test the strength of the RSA cryptosystem public key. This public key is created by …

Clear The Air: Moving Towards A More Supportive, Welcoming, Tobacco-Free Clark University, Edward Aroko, Simon Elliot, Jackson Espe, Donovan Smith, Michael Spanos

School of Professional Studies

The deleterious health effects of the consumption of tobacco products, especially for youth, have been documented thoroughly and are nearly universally recognized. Numerous federal, state, and local regulations, coupled with health education and tobacco cessation initiatives have been launched to address these effects. Although these pushes have done much to reduce the rates of preventable health conditions and death due to the usage of tobacco, there remains much work to be done at the local level to discourage and disrupt patterns of substance use and abuse. The mission of Clark Clear the Air is to propose various and creative ways …

Inbound Marketing, Hasini Assiriyage, Isabelle Zoeckler, Emmanuel Aghado, Kefu Bu, Xiouyu Jiang, Rajesh Kamble, Yan Wang

School of Professional Studies

This study looks into inbound marketing practice through the process of secondary research. This insight on best practices and market examples have been employed in order to identify the benefits of Inbound Marketing for the School of Professional Studies at Clark University. Through the research, this team has consolidated a number of recommendations for the SPS marketing strategies moving forward. A focus has been placed on identifying solutions, which were effective and financially feasible. The primary solutions are internally sourced; with a future long term recommendation of seeking advice from a third party firm to automate the process.

Adult Learners: A Targeted Marketing Approach, Sarah Baldelli, Camilo Botero, Camille Ferreol, Caleb Horton, Xinyue Ma, Stefan Sprinkmoller

School of Professional Studies

The development of the Adult Learner Capstone Project started with a focus and need to learn more about affinity groups in the Worcester area in order to reach the potential adult learner demographic. Although some partnerships already existed, the Director of Marketing and Communications for Graduate Admissions, Tara Probeck, yearned to explore the potential partnerships and alternative uses of professional organizations to market to the current working professionals. From this idea, our capstone project was introduced in hopes of establishing a comprehensive and exhaustive list of potential organizational partnerships, specific for the School of Professional Studies.

My Choice Greens, Alina Zulfikarova, Amelia Mohr, Hesi Zhang, Ruiqi Huang, Sean Tatar, Yuhao Zhou, Zijun Zhou

School of Professional Studies

My Choice Programs for Independent Living is a nonprofit in Worcester, Massachusetts that helps individuals with special needs. In 2016, My Choice Programs added a branch to their organization called My Choice Greens. My Choice Greens is committed to growing fresh produce in their hydroponic farm. The profit generated from selling their vegetables is put back into direct programming for My Choice Programs. My Choice Greens is the first hydroponic farm in Worcester, but unfortunately not many people are aware of their program. Also, since they are a small nonprofit, they do not have sufficient funding or resources to market …

Optical Heritage Museum: An Interactive Touch, Connor Guerin, Ankur Halwai, Jinzhao Liu, Qi Liu, Yangjing Wang, Yashaswini Bharti

School of Professional Studies

Optical Heritage Museum (OHM) was established in 1983 with the aim to preserve, promote and display historical artifacts of the optics industry and educate all of its vital role optics has played in societal development. Over the years, the museum has grown in its physical space along with exhibit development to engage audiences in innovative, effective methods. Clark University’s School of Professional Studies department and curator of Optical Heritage Museum, Mr. Whitney’s Whitney, have establish a collaboration that has spanned over two semesters with the goal to support and aid in improving OHM. Our capstone group was assigned the task …

Leicester Research A Study In Effective Technology In Education, Jimeshkumar Chauhan, Anna Lakomy, Li Liu, Christina Mccarthy, Scott Mccarthy, Roman Pena, Emilie Smiley

School of Professional Studies

The LPS Research Team has been tasked with researching and recommending a technology plan for a new school that Leicester Public Schools is planning to build. In this paper, we present an overview of the our goals and our client’s goals, an introduction to industry trends, and discuss our findings based on research conducted via interviews with schools that have undergone similar projects. We also outline the conclusions drawn from this research and our analysis of the data we uncovered, and make specific recommendations for technology to be utilized in Leicester’s new school. Finally, we present a 3-part framework that …