Databases and Information Systems Commons^™

A Systematic Literature Survey Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based Structural Health Monitoring, Sreehari Sreenath

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being employed in a multitude of civil applications owing to their ease of use, low maintenance, affordability, high-mobility, and ability to hover. UAVs are being utilized for real-time monitoring of road traffic, providing wireless coverage, remote sensing, search and rescue operations, delivery of goods, security and surveillance, precision agriculture, and civil infrastructure inspection. They are the next big revolution in technology and civil infrastructure, and it is expected to dominate more than $45 billion market value. The thesis surveys the UAV assisted Structural Health Monitoring or SHM literature over the last decade and categorize UAVs …

Mind The Gap: Understanding Stakeholder Reactions To Different Types Of Data Security, Audra Diers-Lawson, Amelia Symons

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Data security breaches are an increasingly common problem for organizations, yet there are critical gaps in our understanding of how different stakeholders understand and evaluate organizations that have experienced these kinds of security breaches. While organizations have developed relatively standard approaches to responding to security breaches that: (1) acknowledge the situation; (2) highlight how much they value their stakeholders’ privacy and private information; and (3) focus on correcting and preventing the problem in the future, the effectiveness of this response strategy and factors influencing it have not been adequately explored. This experiment focuses on a 2 (type of organization) x …

Automatic Distinction Between Twitter Bots And Humans, Jeremiah Stubbs

All Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Weak artificial intelligence uses encoded functions of rules to process information. This kind of intelligence is competent, but lacks consciousness, and therefore cannot comprehend what it is doing. In another view, strong artificial intelligence has a mind of its own that resembles a human mind. Many of the bots on Twitter are only following a set of encoded rules. Previous studies have created machine learning algorithms to determine whether a Twitter account was being run by a human or a bot. Twitter bots are improving and some are even fooling humans. Creating a machine learning algorithm that differentiates a bot …

Technical Strategies Database Managers Use To Protect Systems From Security Breaches, Leonard Ogbonna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare organizations generate massive amounts of data through their databases that may be vulnerable to data breaches due to extensive user privileges, unpatched databases, standardized query language injections, weak passwords/usernames, and system weaknesses. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore technical strategies database managers in Southeast/North Texas used to protect database systems from data breaches. The target population consisted of database managers from 2 healthcare organizations in this region. The integrated system theory of information security management was the conceptual framework. The data collection process included semistructured interviews with 9 database managers, including a review of …

Creating A Sample Of Off-Color Galaxies Using Big Data Tools, Christopher Becker

Honors Program Theses

This thesis begins an investigation into the presence of off-colored galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Through establishing the emergence and history of Astroinformatics, the thesis introduces the concepts surrounding both off-color galaxies and the Big Data tools helpful in analyzing the data to find them. A discussion of initial implementation methods and revised implementation due to difficulties with previous plans follows. Results are presented, with well in excess of 500,000 candidates for off-color galaxies present in the sample. Conclusions are then drawn regarding such a large sample and the implications this may have on the conventional understanding of …

Building Something With The Raspberry Pi, Richard Kordel

Harrisburg University Presidential Research Grants

In 2017 Ryan Korn and I submitted a grant proposal in the annual Harrisburg University President’s Grant process. Our proposal was to partner with a local high school to install a classroom of 20 Raspberry Pi’s, along with the requisite peripherals. In that classroom students would be challenged to design something that combined programming with physical computing. In our presentation to the school we suggested that this project would give students the opportunity to be “amazing.”

As part of the grant, the top three students would be given scholarships to HU and the top five finalists would all be permitted …

The Concept Of Representation Capability Of Databases And Its Application In Is Development, Lishuan Qin, Junkang Feng

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The representation capability of an information system in general and a database in particular seems an important and yet elusive concept, which is concerned with, in our view, how a database ever becomes capable of representing real-world objects accurately or otherwise. To explore how to approach and then define this concept, we explore what is meant and required by the statement that a database connection (i.e., a connection between database constructs such as entities in an Entity-relationship (ER) diagram and relations in a relational schema that are made available by a database) refers to, represents and accurately represents a …

Measuring Differential Forest Growth In The Sheepscot River Headwaters With Bitemporal Lidar, Soren Denlinger

Honors Theses

In recent years, lidar has proven itself as a forestry tool capable of accurate, large- scale inventories. Lidar has even shown utility in multitemporal analysis and growth assessment, given high-resolution or small-scale point clouds. However, lidar’s efficacy as a multitemporal tool with relatively low-resolution, large-scale datasets is comparatively unknown. In this study, I compared forest in Midcoast Maine bitemporally, with publicly available datasets from the years 2007 and 2012. Specifically, I compared differences in growth characteristics of riparian, wetland, and upland forests. Although the 2007 dataset (created for geomorphological research) and the 2012 dataset (statewide, general-purpose) possess varying point densities …

Page-Net: Interpretable And Integrative Deep Learning For Survival Analysis Using Histopathological Images And Genomic Data, Jie Hao, Sai Chandra Kosaraju, Nelson Zange Tsaku, Dae Hyun Song, Mingon Kang

Computer Science Faculty Research

The integration of multi-modal data, such as histopathological images and genomic data, is essential for understanding cancer heterogeneity and complexity for personalized treatments, as well as for enhancing survival predictions in cancer study. Histopathology, as a clinical gold-standard tool for diagnosis and prognosis in cancers, allows clinicians to make precise decisions on therapies, whereas high-throughput genomic data have been investigated to dissect the genetic mechanisms of cancers. We propose a biologically interpretable deep learning model (PAGE-Net) that integrates histopathological images and genomic data, not only to improve survival prediction, but also to identify genetic and histopathological patterns that cause different …

Exploring Strategies For Recruiting And Retaining Diverse Cybersecurity Professionals, Vivian Lyon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cyber threat landscape has led some cybersecurity leaders to focus on a holistic approach encompassing people, processes, and technology to make their government agencies and organizations more responsive to a more diverse and inclusive cyber workforce to protect critical infrastructure from hackers or cybercriminals intent on causing harm. This qualitative multiple case study used Schein’s organizational culture theory to explore strategies used by cybersecurity leaders to attract, recruit, and retain diverse cybersecurity professionals to effectively and efficiently protect sensitive systems from rising cyber threats. The study's population consisted of cybersecurity leaders from 3 government agencies and 9 organizations in …

Strategies For The Development Of It Disaster Recovery Plans In The Manufacturing Industry, Michael Landry Sartwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology (IT) leaders have reported technology disruptions because of natural disasters, terror attacks, or adversarial threats. Information technology leaders are concerned with technology disruptions, as these disruptions are costing organizations as much as $22,000 per minute. Grounded in Zachman’s framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies IT managers in the manufacturing industry use to develop IT disaster recovery (DR) plans to support business operations. The participants included 3 manufacturing IT professionals, 2 Department of Defense manufacturing infrastructure specialists, and 1outsourcing contractor, each from firms located in the central United States who successfully developed …

Factors Influencing Cloud Computing Adoption By Small Firms In The Payment Card Industry, Marie Njanje Tambe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology acceptance is increasingly gaining attention in research considering the continuous exploits of innovation and various derived advantages. Cloud computing (CC) has shown to be the ideal solution for aligning information technology with business strategies. However, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the payment card industry are reluctantly adopting this technology despite the benefits. This correlational study aims at investigating whether security, cost effectiveness, or regulatory compliance influence CC adoption by U.S. SMEs in the payment card sector. The study builds on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and uses a previously validated instrument to assess CC adoption by decision-makers in U.S. …

Exploring Software Testing Strategies Used On Software Applications In The Government, Angel Diane Cross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developing a defect-free software application is a challenging task. Despite many years of experience, the intense development of reliable software remains a challenge. For this reason, software defects identified at the end of the testing phase are more expensive than those detected sooner. The purpose of this multiple case study is to explore the testing strategies software developers use to ensure the reliability of software applications in the government contracting industry. The target population consisted of software developers from 3 government contracting organizations located along the East Coast region of the United States. Lehman’s laws of software evolution was the …

Strategies To Lower Security Risks Involving Medical Devices In Patient Care, Brittany Latonia Thigpen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Insufficient security and design strategies used during the analysis phase of medical device software development can lead to possible cybersecurity vulnerabilities with patient data. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to explore strategies software developers use to implement security measures to protect patient information collected, sent, and stored by medical devices. The population for this study included software developers whose primary focus was on the security aspect of medical software in three software companies in the Baton Rouge, LA, area. The data collection process included semistructured interviews with 10 software developers and reviewing 16 organizational documents. …

Strategies To Mitigate The Effects Of Identity Theft In The Hospitality Industry, Patricia Lee Jirsa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders in the U.S. hospitality industry experience significant losses in profitability, increased mitigation cost, and reduced revenues because of business and consumer identity theft. Grounded in the fraud triangle theory and the fraud diamond theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies leaders in the hospitality industry use to mitigate identity theft. A purposeful sample of 5 leaders of 5 different hospitality businesses in Montana participated in the study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, member checking, and a review of company documents. During data analysis using Yin’s 5-step process, 3 key themes emerged: a new …

Relationship Between Specific Security Concerns And Cio Intention To Adopt Cloud, Johnathan Francis Van Houten

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cloud computing adoption rates have not grown commensurate with several well-known and substantially tangible benefits such as horizontal distribution and reduced cost, the latter both in terms of infrastructure and specialized personnel. The lack of adoption presents a challenge to both service providers from a sales perspective and service consumers from a usability focus. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study utilizing the technological, organizational, and environmental framework was to examine the relationship between shared technology (ST), malicious insiders (MI), account hijacking, data leakage, data protection, service partner trust (SP), regulatory concerns and the key decision-makers intention to adopt cloud …

Strategies Used In Ehealth Systems Adoption, Joshua Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to adopt an interoperable eHealth system limits the accurate communication exchange of pertinent health-care-related data for diagnosis and treatment. Patient data are located in disparate health information systems, and the adoption of an interoperable eHealth system is complex and requires strategic planning by senior health care IT leaders. Grounded in DeLone and McLean’s information system success model, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies used by some senior information technology (IT) health care leaders in the successful adoption of an eHealth system. The participants were 8 senior health care IT leaders in the eastern United …

Strategies To Implement Big Data Analytics In Telecommunications Organizations, Delton Aneato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information Technology (IT) leaders who do not invest in big data projects may struggle to gain a competitive advantage and business insights to improve performance. Grounded in the Kotter’s change and Six Sigma models, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies IT leaders used to implement big data analytics successfully. The participants comprised 4 IT leaders from 2 telecommunication organizations in the United States of America, who effectively used strategies to promote and maximize competitive advantage using big data analytics. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company documents, and project-related documents and were analyzed using …

Exploring Strategies To Transition To Big Data Technologies From Dw Technologies, Mbah Johnas Fortem

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of innovation and technological improvements, organizations are now capable of capturing and storing massive amounts of data from various sources and domains. This increase in the volume of data resulted in traditional tools used for processing, storing, and analyzing large amounts of data becoming increasingly inefficient. Grounded in the extended technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies data managers use to transition from traditional data warehousing technologies to big data technologies. The participants included data managers from 6 organizations (medium and large size) based in Munich, Germany, who …

Innovation And Market Leadership In A Technology Industry, Wilson Zehr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Abernathy-Utterback (A-U) model, firms focus on technological product innovation early in the product lifecycle and then shift to process innovation as markets mature. However, there is no consensus on the forms that non-technological innovation can take. In addition, the A-U model, which guides innovators, does not include forms of non-technological innovation that are generally accepted by experts. In this study, a hybrid e-Delphi technique with an AHP decision model was used to evaluate the forms of innovation used to establish market leadership over the historical lifecycle of the personal computer industry in the United States. In Phase …