Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2005, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

Openws-Transaction: Enabling Reliable Web Service Transactions, Ivan Vasquez, John A. Miller, Kunal Verma, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

OpenWS-Transaction is an open source middleware that enables Web services to participate in a distributed transaction as prescribed by the WS-Coordination and WS-Transaction set of specifications. Central to the framework are the Coordinator and Participant entities, which can be integrated into existing services by introducing minimal changes to application code. OpenWS-Transaction allows transaction members to recover their original state in case of operational failure by leveraging techniques in logical logging and recovery at the application level. Depending on transaction style, system recovery may involve restoring key application variables and replaying uncommitted database activity. Transactions are assumed to be defined in …

Obesity, Self-Complexity, And Compartmentalization: On The Implications Of Obesity For Self-Concept Organization, Bruce E. Blaine, C. E. Johnson

Statistics Faculty/Staff Publications

The relationship between obesity and structural aspects of the self-concept was examined in adult women. Participants were 119 adult women [age range: 18-73, M=26.9; body mass index (BMI) range: 16.2-54.7, M=27.3] who completed measures of self-esteem, self-complexity, and the spontaneous self-concept. BMI was associated with less complex and more compartmentalized self-knowledge and more frequent mention of weight-stereotypic traits as self-descriptive. The findings are discussed in the context of research on obesity- related stigma.

Demonstrating Dynamic Configuration And Execution Of Web Processes, Karthik Gomadam, Kunal Verma, Amit P. Sheth, John A. Miller

Kno.e.sis Publications

Web processes are next generation workflows on the web, created using Web services. In this paper we demonstrate the METEOR-S Configuration and Execution Environment (MCEE) system. It will illustrate the capabilities of the system to a) Discover partners b) Optimize partner selection using constraint analysis, c) Perform interaction protocol and data mediation. A graphical execution monitor to monitor the various phases of execution will be used to demonstrate various aspects of the system.

Spatial Autocorrelation Of Deer-Vehicle Accidents In Vigo County, J. Scott Horn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deer-vehicle accidents (DV As) are a problem in many areas. They cause millions of dollars in property damage, personal injury, and loss of life each year. This thesis examines whether DVAs in Vigo County, Indiana during the year 2000 were spatially autocorrelated; and whether DV As selected by deer habitat were spatially autocorrelated. Specifically using Moran's I to test for spatial autocorrelation this study determined if and to what degree spatial autocorrelation existed among these DVAs. A Moran's I value of .0023 shows that the accidents occurred randomly. These DV A data were then used to plot a map which …

Biomass Estimation Using Statistical And Neural Network Analysis Of Aster Data, Vijay O. Lulla

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the performance of different biomass estimation methods using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) lll data in a temperate forest. Multiple linear regression statistics of spectral band data and derived indices with biomass values were compared with advanced neural network models created with spectral band data and indices to model biomass values. Biomass for the study area was estimated using both of these methods and the results were discussed. The data were analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were employed to understand the relationship of biomass to the spectral data and …

Message From The Provost, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Mcnair Scholars Program, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Discovering Informative Connection Subgraphs In Multi-Relational Graphs, Cartic Ramakrishnan, William Milnor, Matthew Perry, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Discovering patterns in graphs has long been an area of interest. In most approaches to such pattern discovery either quantitative anomalies, frequency of substructure or maximum flow is used to measure the interestingness of a pattern. In this paper we introduce heuristics that guide a subgraph discovery algorithm away from banal paths towards more "informative" ones. Given an RDF graph a user might pose a question of the form: "What are the most relevant ways in which entity X is related to entity Y?" the response to which is a subgraph connecting X to Y. We use our heuristics to …

Notes From The Director, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgements, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Radar - A Novel Admission Control And Handoff Management Scheme For Multimedia Leo Satellite Networks, Syed Rashidali Rizvi

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are deployed as an enhancement to terrestrial wireless networks in order to provide broadband services to users regardless of their location. In addition to global coverage, these satellite systems support communications with hand-held devices and offer low cost-per-minute access cost, making them promising platforms for Personal Communication Services (PCS). LEO satellites are expected to support multimedia traffic and to provide their users with some form of Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees. However, the limited bandwidth of the satellite channel, satellite rotation around the Earth and mobility of end-users makes QoS provisioning and mobility management …

Autism And Parental Marital Satisfaction: The Role Of Adequacy Of Resources, Geneeta Kaliah Chambers

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The goal of the present study was to expand on the existing literature exploring families with children who have developmental disabilities, particularly autism. Previous studies have been constrained by univariate approaches that have failed to adequately capture the nuances of family functioning. Using an ecological/context approach, stemming from an ongoing research program conducted within a university-based treatment center, the present study attempted to improve on the conceptualization of interrelationships among family members and the role that contextual factors play within that dynamic. Specifically, the present study explored the influence of children’s level of autism on parents’ reports of their marital …

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Updates: December 2005, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2005

LSUHSC Daily Facilities Updates from December 1 to December 22, 2005. These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: December 2005, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2005

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Update from December 9 and 22, 2005.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Ontoqa: Metric-Based Ontology Quality Analysis, Samir Tartir, I. Budak Arpinar, Michael Moore, Amit P. Sheth, Boanerges Aleman-Meza

Kno.e.sis Publications

As the Semantic Web gains importance for sharing knowledge on the Internet this has lead to the development and publishing of many ontologies in different domains. When trying to reuse existing ontologies into their applications, users are faced with the problem of determining if an ontology is suitable for their needs. In this paper, we introduce OntoQA, an approach that analyzes ontology schemas and their populations (i.e. knowledgebases) and describes them through a well defined set of metrics. These metrics can highlight key characteristics of an ontology schema as well as its population and enable users to make an informed …

Semantics For Scientific Experiments And The Web: The Implicit, The Formal And The Powerful, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Statistical Tests In Logistic Regression: The Case Of Hypernatreamia, Stylianos Katsaragakis, Christos Koukouvinos, Stella Stylianou, Eleni-Maria Theodoraki, Eleni-Maria Theodoraki

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The logistic regression has become an integral component of any medical data analysis concerning binary responses. The main issue rising after the adaptation of the final model is its goodness-of-fit. The fit of the model is assessed via the overall measures and summary statistics and comparing them in the case of hypernateamia.

An Estimator Of Intervention Effect On Disease Severity, David Siev

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

When a medical intervention prevents a dichotomous outcome, the size of its effect is often estimated with the prevented fraction. Some interventions may reduce the severity of an outcome without entirely preventing it. To quantify the effect of a severity-moderating intervention, a measure termed the mitigated fraction (MF) is proposed. MF has broad applicability, because it measures the overlap of two empirical distributions based on their stochastic ordering. It is also useful in the specific context of medical interventions, because it shares certain structural and functional features with the prevented fraction. The two measures may be applied together …

Bootstrap Intervals Of The Parameters Of Lognormal Distribution Using Power Rule Model And Accelerated Life Tests, Mohammed Al-Haj Ebrahem

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Assumed that the distribution of the lifetime of any unit follows a lognormal distribution with parameters μ and σ . Also, assume that the relationship between μ and the stress level V is given by the power rule model. Several types of bootstrap intervals of the parameters were studied and their performance was studied using simulations and compared in term of attainment of the nominal confidence level, symmetry of lower and upper error rates and the expected width. Conclusions and recommendations are given.

Large Sample And Bootstrap Intervals For The Gamma Scale Parameter Based On Grouped Data, Ayman Baklizi, Amjad Al-Nasser

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Interval estimation of the scale parameter of the gamma distribution using grouped data is considered in this article. Exact intervals do not exist and approximate intervals are needed Recently, Chen and Mi (2001) proposed alternative approximate intervals. In this article, some bootstrap and jackknife type intervals are proposed. The performance of these intervals is investigated and compared. The results show that some of the suggested intervals have a satisfactory statistical performance in situations where the sample size is small with heavy proportion of censoring.

A Comparison Of The Spearman-Brown And Flanagan-Rulon Formulas For Split Half Reliability Under Various Variance Parameter Conditions, David A. Walker

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Differences between the Spearman-Brown and Flanagan-Rulon formulas are examined when the variance parameters for two halves of a test had the following ratios: 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0 and also had a correlation between the two halves of a test at 1.00, .95, .90, .80, .70, .60, .50, .40, .30, .20, .10, .05. It was found that use of the Spearman-Brown formula to estimate the population ρ when the ratio between the standard deviations on two halves of a test is disparate, or beyond .9 to 1.1, was not warranted. Applied and theoretical examples …

Restricted Quasi-Independent Model Resolves Paradoxical Behaviors Of Cohen’S Kappa, Vicki Stover Hertzberg, Frank Xu, Michael Haber

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Cohen’s kappa, an index of inter-rater agreement, behaves paradoxically in 2×2 tables. λ_A is derived, an index from the restricted quasi-independent model for 2×2 tables. Simulation studies are used to demonstrate λ_A has superior performance compared to Scott’s pi. Moreover, λ_A does not show paradoxical behavior for 2×2 tables.

Maximum Tests Are Adaptive Permutation Tests, Markus Neuhäeuser, Ludwig A. Hothorn

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

In some areas, e.g., statistical genetics, it is common to apply a maximum test, where the maximum of several competing test statistics is used as a new statistic, and the permutation distribution of the maximum is used for inference. Here, it is shown that maximum tests are special cases of adaptive permutation tests. The 30-year old idea of adaptive statistical tests is more flexible than previously thought when permutation tests are used, and the selector statistic is calculated for every permutation. Because the independence between the selector and the test statistics is no longer needed, the test statistics themselves can …

Inferences About The Components Of A Generalized Additive Model, Rand R. Wilcox

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A method for making inferences about the components of a generalized additive model is described. It is found that a variation of the method, based on means, performs well in simulations. Unlike many other inferential methods, switching from a mean to a 20% trimmed mean was found to offer little or no advantage in terms of both power and controlling the probability of a Type I error.

The Individuals Control Chart In Case Of Non-Normality, BetüL Kan, Berna Yazici

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

This article examines the effects of non-normality as measured by skewness and provides an alternative method of designing individuals control chart with non-normal distributions. A skewness correction method for constructing the individuals control chart is provided. An example of thickness of biscuit process is presented to illustrate the individuals control chart limits.

An Alternative To Warner’S Randomized Response Model, Sat Gupta, Javid Shabbir

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A modification to Warner’s (1965) Randomized Response Model is suggested. The suggested model is more efficient than the original model.

Inference For P(Y, Vee Ming Ng

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Some tests and confidence bounds for the reliability parameter R=P(Y

Determining Parallel Analysis Criteria, Marley W. Watkins

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Determining the number of factors to extract is a critical decision in exploratory factor analysis. Simulation studies have found the Parallel Analysis criterion to be accurate, but it is computationally intensive. Two freeware programs that implement Parallel Analysis on Macintosh and Windows operating systems are presented.