View All Items

Title: Distributed Extremum Seeking and Cooperative Control for Mobile Cooperative Communication Systems.
Creator: Alabri, Said, Qu, Zhihua, Wei, Lei, Vosoughi, Azadeh, Atia, George, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this thesis, a distributed extremum seeking and cooperative control algorithm is designed for mobile agents to dispersethemselves optimally in maintaining communication quality and maximizing their coverage. The networked mobile agentslocally form a virtual multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, and they cooperatively communicateamong them by using the decode and forward cooperative communication technique. The outage probability is usedas the measure of communication...
Show moreIn this thesis, a distributed extremum seeking and cooperative control algorithm is designed for mobile agents to dispersethemselves optimally in maintaining communication quality and maximizing their coverage. The networked mobile agentslocally form a virtual multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, and they cooperatively communicateamong them by using the decode and forward cooperative communication technique. The outage probability is usedas the measure of communication quality, and it can be estimated real-time. A general performance index balancing outageprobability and spatial dispersion is chosen for the overall system. The extremum seeking control approachis used to estimate and optimize the value of the performance index, and the cooperative formation control is applied tomove the mobile agents to achieve the optimal solution by using only the locally-available information. Through theintegration of cooperative communication and cooperative control, network connectivity and coverage of the mobile agentsare much improved when compared to either non-cooperative communication approaches or other existing control results.Analytical analysis is carried out to demonstrate the performance and robustness of the proposal methodology, andsimulation is done to illustrate its effectiveness.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005082, ucf:50744
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005082

Title: cooperative control and advanced management of distributed generators in a smart grid.
Creator: Maknouninejad, Ali, Qu, Zhihua, Lotfifard, Saeed, Haralambous, Michael, Wu, Xinzhang, Kutkut, Nasser, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Smart grid is more than just the smart meters. The future smart grids are expected to include ahigh penetration of distributed generations (DGs), most of which will consist of renewable energysources, such as solar or wind energy. It is believed that the high penetration of DGs will resultin the reduction of power losses, voltage profile improvement, meeting future load demand, andoptimizingthe use of non-conventionalenergy sources. However, more serious problems will ariseif a decent control...
Show moreSmart grid is more than just the smart meters. The future smart grids are expected to include ahigh penetration of distributed generations (DGs), most of which will consist of renewable energysources, such as solar or wind energy. It is believed that the high penetration of DGs will resultin the reduction of power losses, voltage profile improvement, meeting future load demand, andoptimizingthe use of non-conventionalenergy sources. However, more serious problems will ariseif a decent control mechanism is not exploited. An improperly managed high PV penetration maycause voltage profile disturbance, conflict with conventional network protection devices, interferewith transformer tap changers, and as a result, cause network instability.Indeed, it is feasible to organize DGs in a microgrid structure which will be connected to the maingrid through a point of common coupling (PCC). Microgrids are natural innovation zones for thesmart grid because of their scalability and flexibility. A proper organization and control of theinteraction between the microgrid and the smartgrid is a challenge.Cooperative control makes it possible to organize different agents in a networked system to actas a group and realize the designated objectives. Cooperative control has been already appliedto the autonomous vehicles and this work investigates its application in controlling the DGs in amicro grid. The microgrid power objectives are set by a higher level control and the application ofthe cooperative control makes it possible for the DGs to utilize a low bandwidth communicationnetwork and realize the objectives.Initially, the basics of the application of the DGs cooperative control are formulated. This includesorganizing all the DGs of a microgrid to satisfy an active and a reactive power objective. Then, thecooperative control is further developed by the introduction of clustering DGs into several groupsto satisfy multiple power objectives. Then, the cooperative distribution optimization is introducedto optimally dispatch the reactive power of the DGs to realize a unified microgrid voltage profileand minimizethelosses. Thisdistributedoptimizationis agradient based techniqueand itis shownthat when the communication is down, it reduces to a form of droop. However, this gradient baseddroop exhibits a superior performance in the transient response, by eliminating the overshootscaused by the conventional droop.Meanwhile, the interaction between each microgrid and the main grid can be formulated as aStackelberg game. The main grid as the leader, by offering proper energy price to the micro grid,minimizes its cost and secures the power. This not only optimizes the economical interests ofboth sides, the microgrids and the main grid, but also yields an improved power flow and shavesthe peak power. As such, a smartgrid may treat microgrids as individually dispatchable loads orgenerators.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004712, ucf:49817
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004712

Title: Modern farming--Soviet style.
Creator: Strong, Anna Louise
Date Issued: 1930
Identifier: 367842, CFDT367842, ucf:5349
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/367842

Title: Summary of the world federation plan: An outline of a practical and detailed plan for world settlement.
Creator: Culbertson, Ely, World federation, inc
Date Issued: 1943
Identifier: 2700028, CFDT2700028, ucf:5153
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2700028

Title: AN INVESTIGATION IN JOURNAL WRITING AND COOPERATIVE LEARNING WITH 8TH GRADE GEOMETRY STUDENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PROOF.
Creator: Wojcik, Paul, Haciomeroglu, Erhan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This action research study summarizes the investigation of journal writing and cooperative grouping with 8th grade geometry students in the construction of proof. Students written responses to prompts in journals were analyzed over the course of twelve weeks. Case studies of four students were developed from the researchers' three geometry classes. All four students in the study participated in an academic program called Pre International Baccalaureate Preparation. Standardized test scores...
Show moreThis action research study summarizes the investigation of journal writing and cooperative grouping with 8th grade geometry students in the construction of proof. Students written responses to prompts in journals were analyzed over the course of twelve weeks. Case studies of four students were developed from the researchers' three geometry classes. All four students in the study participated in an academic program called Pre International Baccalaureate Preparation. Standardized test scores and an attitude scale categorized the four students. The ATMAT survey (Appendix A) measured each student's attitude toward mathematics. Writing prompts focused on the students' perceptions of the group process in constructing proofs and the development of geometric proof. The results suggested the students were engaged in learning within their cooperative groups but they also desired individual time before coming to a group setting. In addition, students' written responses to journal prompts may provide an informal assessment and help students convey their own understanding of proof before any formal assessments.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003625, ucf:48865
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003625

Title: A COMPARTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES IN GENERAL, WITH A FOCUS ON OREGON, NORTH CAROLINA AND FLORIDA.
Creator: kelly , patrick, Kiel, Dwight, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the evolution of forest management practices in the United States. The paper discusses the trends in forest management that have occurred within the United States in general, and specifically within the western (Oregon) and southern (North Carolina and Florida) United States. The trends discussed include the three (3) to four (4) epochs of management and use that are generally accepted within the forest management literature, with...
Show moreABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the evolution of forest management practices in the United States. The paper discusses the trends in forest management that have occurred within the United States in general, and specifically within the western (Oregon) and southern (North Carolina and Florida) United States. The trends discussed include the three (3) to four (4) epochs of management and use that are generally accepted within the forest management literature, with the exception of North Carolina that is in the process of a fifth (5). The comparative analysis within the paper discusses the western model of management which tends to be distinctly different from the southern model in terms of regulatory approaches. The western model (i.e. Oregon) tends to be highly regulated, while the southern model is primarily voluntary, and quasi-regulatory in terms of using alternative mechanisms of regulation (i.e. Best Management Practices that regulate water quality). The paper also discusses the role of professionalism within the various forest services in each state, although the regulatory mechanism is the most important explanatory variable. In general, each state's forest services tend to be highly professional with licensing requirements, educational services and cooperative management. The two models are also distinctly different in terms of ownership, with Oregon being owned (nearly 50%) by the public, whereas the southern states are dominated by Nonindustrial Private Forest Owners (NIPF).
Show less
Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001074, ucf:46770
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001074

Title: ACCESS GAMES: A GAME THEORETIC FRAMEWORK FOR FAIR BANDWIDTH SHARING IN DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS.
Creator: Rakshit, Sudipta, Guha, Ratan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this dissertation, the central objective is to achieve fairness in bandwidth sharing amongst selfish users in a distributed system. Because of the inherent contention-based nature of the distributed medium access and the selfishness of the users, the distributed medium access is modeled as a non-cooperative game; designated as the Access Game. A p-CSMA type medium access scenario is proposed for all the users. Therefore, in the Access Game, each user has two actions to choose from: ...
Show moreIn this dissertation, the central objective is to achieve fairness in bandwidth sharing amongst selfish users in a distributed system. Because of the inherent contention-based nature of the distributed medium access and the selfishness of the users, the distributed medium access is modeled as a non-cooperative game; designated as the Access Game. A p-CSMA type medium access scenario is proposed for all the users. Therefore, in the Access Game, each user has two actions to choose from: "transmit" and "wait". The outcome of the Access Game and payoffs to each user depends on the actions taken by all the users. Further, the utility function of each user is constructed as a function of both Quality of Service (QoS) and Battery Power (BP). Various scenarios involving the relative importance of QoS and BP are considered. It is observed that, in general the Nash Equilibrium of the Access Game does not result into fairness. Therefore, Constrained Nash Equilibrium is proposed as a solution. The advantage of Constrained Nash Equilibrium is that it can be predicated on the fairness conditions and the solution will be guaranteed to result in fair sharing of bandwidth. However, Constrained Nash Equilibrium is that it is not self-enforcing. Therefore, two mechanisms are proposed to design the Access Game in such a way that in each case the Nash Equilibrium of the Access Game satisfies fairness and maximizes throughput. Hence, with any of these mechanisms the solution of the Access Game becomes self-enforcing.
Show less
Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000700, ucf:46603
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000700

Title: EFFECTS OF GAMIFICATION ON SPEED AND ACCURACY ON AN INTERDEPENDENT PAPER SORTING TASK.
Creator: Tinkle, Davis, Salas, Eduardo, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examined the effects of gamification, i.e. (what makes games challenging, engaging and fun), and its effects on speed and accuracy on an interdependent paper sorting task. Undergraduate students (N=42) at the University of Central Florida participated by working interdependently in groups to sort numbered pieces of paper into piles before and after either playing video games or doing back-to-back drawing(basic team building exercises). It was hypothesized that participants who...
Show moreThis study examined the effects of gamification, i.e. (what makes games challenging, engaging and fun), and its effects on speed and accuracy on an interdependent paper sorting task. Undergraduate students (N=42) at the University of Central Florida participated by working interdependently in groups to sort numbered pieces of paper into piles before and after either playing video games or doing back-to-back drawing(basic team building exercises). It was hypothesized that participants who played video games would sort pieces of paper into the piles faster and more accurate than those who did back-to-back team exercises. Results showed that playing video games was not better than doing basic team exercises, but that the two tasks were relatively equal. Although groups were formed and dissolved quickly, there was improvement between the pre and posttests. While the experiment did not yield significant results, it is possible that using different video games or different interdependent tasks could foster increases in speed and accuracy compared to back-to-back drawing.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004797, ucf:45331
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004797

Title: APPLICATION AND COMPARISON OF ACTIVE LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION METHODS IN BIOCHEMISTRY EDUCATION.
Creator: Thibaut, Dylan, Borgon, Robert, Caranto, Jonathan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Biochemistry has continued to be one of the most complex and important subjects in science education. The purpose of this research is to investigate active learning implementation methods in a Biochemistry I context to determine the most effective means of preparing current science undergraduates. Two Biochemistry I classes over two semesters were analyzed in this study, with class A using a variable active learning schedule and class B using a consistent active learning schedule. Four...
Show moreBiochemistry has continued to be one of the most complex and important subjects in science education. The purpose of this research is to investigate active learning implementation methods in a Biochemistry I context to determine the most effective means of preparing current science undergraduates. Two Biochemistry I classes over two semesters were analyzed in this study, with class A using a variable active learning schedule and class B using a consistent active learning schedule. Four aspects were analyzed to determine active learning validity: perception of different active learning properties, standardized final exam grades, class grade, and teaching implementation. The consistent schedule of daily active learning in class B showed an increase in mean final exam score by 12.72%, significantly improved mean student grade in the class from a high C to a low B (p= 0.0038), and comparing student perception of active learning data, showed a significant decrease in student desire for passive learning (p= 0.025), increased desire for active learning (p= 0.022), and increased desire for flipped classrooms (p= 0.042) after first experiencing opposite results in the first semester of implementation which had increased desire for passive learning (p= 0.003) and teacher-centric learning (p= 0.026). A variable active learning schedule showed no significant values besides an increase in individual learning desire (p= 0.037) and a marginally significant increase in desire for passive learning (p= 0.053) both in its second semester of implementation. This research supports that a consistent, daily active learning curriculum making up approximately 40-50% of daily instruction is preferable compared to a variable lecture schedule with active learning days in between lecture days in undergraduate Biochemistry I large-class instruction given that professors perform it over multiple semesters.
Show less
Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFH2000578, ucf:45662
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000578

Title: ROBUST DIALOG MANAGEMENT THROUGH A CONTEXT-CENTRIC ARCHITECTURE.
Creator: Hung, Victor, Gonzalez, Avelino, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation presents and evaluates a method of managing spoken dialog interactions with a robust attention to fulfilling the human user's goals in the presence of speech recognition limitations. Assistive speech-based embodied conversation agents are computer-based entities that interact with humans to help accomplish a certain task or communicate information via spoken input and output. A challenging aspect of this task involves open dialog, where the user is free to converse in an...
Show moreThis dissertation presents and evaluates a method of managing spoken dialog interactions with a robust attention to fulfilling the human user's goals in the presence of speech recognition limitations. Assistive speech-based embodied conversation agents are computer-based entities that interact with humans to help accomplish a certain task or communicate information via spoken input and output. A challenging aspect of this task involves open dialog, where the user is free to converse in an unstructured manner. With this style of input, the machine's ability to communicate may be hindered by poor reception of utterances, caused by a user's inadequate command of a language and/or faults in the speech recognition facilities. Since a speech-based input is emphasized, this endeavor involves the fundamental issues associated with natural language processing, automatic speech recognition and dialog system design. Driven by Context-Based Reasoning, the presented dialog manager features a discourse model that implements mixed-initiative conversation with a focus on the user's assistive needs. The discourse behavior must maintain a sense of generality, where the assistive nature of the system remains constant regardless of its knowledge corpus. The dialog manager was encapsulated into a speech-based embodied conversation agent platform for prototyping and testing purposes. A battery of user trials was performed on this agent to evaluate its performance as a robust, domain-independent, speech-based interaction entity capable of satisfying the needs of its users.
Show less
Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003230, ucf:48556
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003230

Title: MITIGATING MISBEHAVIOR IN WIRELESS NETWORKS: A GAME THEORETIC APPROACH.
Creator: Wang, Wenjing, Chatterjee, Mainak, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In a distributed wireless system, multiple network nodes behave cooperatively towards a common goal. Though such assumptions on cooperation are desirable (e.g., controlling the transmit power level, reducing interference for each other, revealing private information, adhering to network policies) for analyzing and modeling, certain nodes belonging to a real-world system have often shown to deviate. These nodes, known as misbehaving nodes, bring more challenges to the design of the wireless...
Show moreIn a distributed wireless system, multiple network nodes behave cooperatively towards a common goal. Though such assumptions on cooperation are desirable (e.g., controlling the transmit power level, reducing interference for each other, revealing private information, adhering to network policies) for analyzing and modeling, certain nodes belonging to a real-world system have often shown to deviate. These nodes, known as misbehaving nodes, bring more challenges to the design of the wireless network because the unreliable channel makes the actions of the nodes hidden from each other. In this dissertation, we analyze two types of misbehavior, namely, selfish noncooperation and malicious attacking. We apply game theoretic techniques to model the interactions among the nodes in the network. First, we consider a homogeneous unreliable channel and analyze the necessary and sufficient conditions to enforce cooperative packet forwarding among a node pair. We formulate an anti-collusion game and derive the conditions that achieve full cooperation when the non-cooperative nodes collude. In addition, we consider multi-hop communication with a heterogeneous channel model. We refine our game model as a hidden action game with imperfect private monitoring. A state machine based strategy is proposed to reach Nash Equilibrium. The strategy attains cooperative packet forwarding with heterogeneous channel and requires only partial and imperfect information. Furthermore, it also enforces cooperation in multi-hop packet forwarding. To tackle the malicious attacks, we use Bayesian game analysis to show the existence of equilibrium in the detection game and argue that it might not be profitable to isolate the malicious nodes upon detection. We propose the concept of "coexistence with malicious nodes" by proving the co-existence equilibrium and derive the conditions that achieve the equilibrium. This research is further accomplished by extensive simulation studies. Simulation results illustrate the properties of the games and the derived equilibria. The results validate our design philosophy and clearly indicate that the proposed game theoretic solutions can be effectively used to enforce cooperation and mitigate attacks.
Show less
Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003080, ucf:48294
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003080

Title: MARKETING PARTNERSHIPS: IMPACT OF MONITORING SCHEMES AND COOPERATIVE ADVERTISING AGREEMENTS.
Creator: Chennamaneni, Pavan, Desiraju, Ramarao, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Marketing partnerships may involve either horizontal relationships (e.g., a co-marketing alliance between firms selling different products) or vertical relationships (e.g., between an upstream manufacturer and its downstream retailers). Either type of partnership often includes multiple members and the marketing efforts (e.g., level of advertising) of any member typically affect the profitability of the other members. When selecting their effort levels, however, the individual members of the...
Show moreMarketing partnerships may involve either horizontal relationships (e.g., a co-marketing alliance between firms selling different products) or vertical relationships (e.g., between an upstream manufacturer and its downstream retailers). Either type of partnership often includes multiple members and the marketing efforts (e.g., level of advertising) of any member typically affect the profitability of the other members. When selecting their effort levels, however, the individual members of the partnership do not account for such externalities. Consequently, the overall effort on behalf of the partnership is not optimal. This dissertation investigates the value of contractual mechanisms such as monitoring schemes (for horizontal partnerships) and cooperative advertising programs (for vertical partnerships) that may provide better incentives to the partners to invest into the relationship. The first part of this dissertation focuses on horizontal marketing partnerships and examines the relative effectiveness of outcome- and action-based contracts in providing the alliance partners with the incentives to invest appropriately. A mathematical model is developed in which a focal firm (e.g., Sony) contracts with two partners (e.g., McDonald's and Old Navy), when each of these partners is privately informed about the impact of the alliance on its demand. The analysis evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of outcome- (or output-) and action- (or input-) based contracts in several settings including those with no demand externality, a positive externality and a negative externality. The analysis shows that when there is (a) no externality, (b) negative externality, or (c) a relatively weak positive externality, there is a strict preference for output-based contracts; that preference, however, is reversed with a sufficiently strong positive externality. The rationale for these findings, along with the implications and directions for further work are discussed. The second part of this dissertation focuses on a vertical marketing relationship where multiple retailers sell the products from a common manufacturer. Here, each retailer's level of advertising affects the demand for the other retailers. This positive externality, however, allows any retailer to free-ride on the other retailers' efforts and leads to an overall reduction in the level of advertising by all the retailers. In this context, a manufacturer can use a cooperative advertising contract to reimburse part of the advertising expenses of its retailers in order to induce them to raise their levels of advertising. Observed terms in a cooperative advertising contract include either a participation rate, a participation rate and a variable accrual rate, or a participation rate and a fixed accrual rate. This dissertation analyzes the relative effectiveness of the above three types of cooperative advertising contracts in minimizing or eliminating the free-riding problem. More specifically, a mathematical model is developed to analyze the relative impact of these contractual terms when the downstream retailers face either symmetric or asymmetric demand and cost structures. The analysis shows that with symmetric retailers, the three types of contracts are equally effective. With asymmetric retailers, though, including some form of accrual stipulations typically adds value to a contract that specifies only a participation rate. Further, using a variable accrual stipulation may be preferred to the fixed accrual stipulation under certain conditions and vice versa. The two types of accrual stipulations affect retail prices and efforts in distinct ways and these differences may tip the scale in favor of one contract versus the other under the appropriate circumstances. These conditions and the intuition behind the results are discussed. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the literature on horizontal and vertical marketing relationships and enhances our understanding of distinct contractual mechanisms that can help align the actions of various members involved in such partnerships.
Show less
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002770, ucf:48122
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002770

Title: CONTROL OF NONHOLONOMIC SYSTEMS.
Creator: Yuan, Hongliang, Qu, Zhihua, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Many real-world electrical and mechanical systems have velocity-dependent constraints in their dynamic models. For example, car-like robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and hopping robots, etc. Most of these systems can be transformed into a chained form, which is considered as a canonical form of these nonholonomic systems. Hence, study of chained systems ensure their wide applicability. This thesis studied the problem of continuous feed-back control of the...
Show moreMany real-world electrical and mechanical systems have velocity-dependent constraints in their dynamic models. For example, car-like robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and hopping robots, etc. Most of these systems can be transformed into a chained form, which is considered as a canonical form of these nonholonomic systems. Hence, study of chained systems ensure their wide applicability. This thesis studied the problem of continuous feed-back control of the chained systems while pursuing inverse optimality and exponential convergence rates, as well as the feed-back stabilization problem under input saturation constraints. These studies are based on global singularity-free state transformations and controls are synthesized from resulting linear systems. Then, the application of optimal motion planning and dynamic tracking control of nonholonomic autonomous underwater vehicles is considered. The obtained trajectories satisfy the boundary conditions and the vehicles' kinematic model, hence it is smooth and feasible. A collision avoidance criteria is set up to handle the dynamic environments. The resulting controls are in closed forms and suitable for real-time implementations. Further, dynamic tracking controls are developed through the Lyapunov second method and back-stepping technique based on a NPS AUV II model. In what follows, the application of cooperative surveillance and formation control of a group of nonholonomic robots is investigated. A designing scheme is proposed to achieves a rigid formation along a circular trajectory or any arbitrary trajectories. The controllers are decentralized and are able to avoid internal and external collisions. Computer simulations are provided to verify the effectiveness of these designs.
Show less
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002683, ucf:48220
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002683

Title: COOPERATIVE EDUCATION AS A PREDICTOR OF BACCALAUREATE DEGREE COMPLETION.
Creator: Pacheco, Amanda, Tubbs, LeVester, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Baccalaureate degree completion statistics are surprisingly low. National four-year graduation rates hover around 38%, and six-year graduation rates have remained steady at approximately 63% (Berkner, He, & Cataldi, 2002). At the University of Central Florida, as at many public research institutions, the numbers are even lower. Literature has emerged, however, which suggests that students who participate in cooperative education programs may experience increased motivation to continue the...
Show moreBaccalaureate degree completion statistics are surprisingly low. National four-year graduation rates hover around 38%, and six-year graduation rates have remained steady at approximately 63% (Berkner, He, & Cataldi, 2002). At the University of Central Florida, as at many public research institutions, the numbers are even lower. Literature has emerged, however, which suggests that students who participate in cooperative education programs may experience increased motivation to continue the formal education process (Avenoso & Totoro, 1994; Schambach & Dirks, 2002; Somers, 1986). This study investigated the effect of co-op participation on undergraduate degree completion in the context of several risk factors for attrition. The population for this study was the cohort of full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking undergraduate students who entered the University of Central Florida as first-time-in-college (FTIC) students in the fall semester of 1999. Group One (Co-op Students) consisted of full-time FTIC students who successfully participated in the University of Central Florida Cooperative Education program and Group Two (Non-Participants) included full-time FTIC students with at least 20 credit hours completed and consistent grade point averages of at least 2.5 who did not participate in the University of Central Florida Cooperative Education program. The additional parameters on the Non-Participant group were included to control for any potential differences between the two groups due to increased requirements for participation in the co-op program. The two groups arrived at the University of Central Florida with nearly identical high school grade point averages and standardized test scores, and also were remarkably similar in age, ethnic composition, and college at entry. Results indicated that students who graduated within four years seemed to do so regardless of co-op participation, but for those who took longer, there was a correlation between co-op and degree completion. There was also some evidence to suggest that internships are associated with degree completion as well. Further, some of the known risk factors for attrition (lower high school grade point average, male gender, and non-White/non-Asian ethnicity) may be mitigated by the student's participation in their institution's co-op program, though additional research in this area is suggested.
Show less
Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001856, ucf:47354
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001856

Title: IRAN-SAUDI DYNAMIC RELATIONS AND THE ROLE OF OMAN AS A NEGOTIATOR.
Creator: Ikerd, Natalie, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis analyzes Iran-Saudi relations in the context of growing regional hostility. This research encompasses the domestic and foreign policies enacted by both states since 1979, accompanying a discussion of the historical background of their ties. Moreover, the future prospects of their relations regarding the utilization of Oman as a neutral negotiator for regional conflicts are examined. The significant contributing factors of each state to such dynamic ties include: the leadership,...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes Iran-Saudi relations in the context of growing regional hostility. This research encompasses the domestic and foreign policies enacted by both states since 1979, accompanying a discussion of the historical background of their ties. Moreover, the future prospects of their relations regarding the utilization of Oman as a neutral negotiator for regional conflicts are examined. The significant contributing factors of each state to such dynamic ties include: the leadership, national security, religion- politics connection, and their reaction to global instability indicators. Recently, Iran- Saudi hostility has been worsening due to their policies in the region in reaction to regional events. Thus, some may argue that the outlook of success for Omani role in negotiating between the two is seemingly less likely. The relations of these two Persian Gulf regional powers need to be examined further for future prospects.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004900, ucf:45492
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004900

Title: THE EFFECT OF APPLYING WIKIS IN AN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) CLASS IN TAIWAN.
Creator: Chen, Yu-ching, Witta, Lea, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Incorporating technology into learning has brought major benefits to learners and has greatly changed higher education. Since there is limited number of experimental research investigating the effectiveness of applying wikis, this study collected experimental data to investigate its effectiveness. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of applying wikis in terms of students' learning outcomes, to investigate the changes regarding students' attitude towards language...
Show moreIncorporating technology into learning has brought major benefits to learners and has greatly changed higher education. Since there is limited number of experimental research investigating the effectiveness of applying wikis, this study collected experimental data to investigate its effectiveness. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of applying wikis in terms of students' learning outcomes, to investigate the changes regarding students' attitude towards language learning, to explore the communication channels in wikis that facilitate students' interaction in the e-learning environment as well as students' experience of using wikis. Results showed that there existed statistically significant difference between the group with and without wikis, which means the group applying wikis performed better in listening and reading abilities. When compared with the non-wiki group, the wiki group had a more favorable attitude towards the class, their English ability improvement, and cooperative learning. Moreover, the students agreed that wikis helped them complete their assignment, they felt comfortable in the wiki environment, and it was easy for them to use wikis. From the experiences of using wikis shared by the students, they provided recommendations about the interface and the edit functions in the wiki environment. Their interaction with other team members and the course material increased but they expressed that the main interaction was through face-to-face and instant message software. Finally, the wiki environment allowed students to fulfill their role duties, cooperate, negotiate, manage their contribution, and modeling from each other.
Show less
Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002227, ucf:47919
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002227

Title: A Contextual Approach to Real Time, Interactive Narrative Generation.
Creator: Hollister, James, Richie, Samuel, Weeks, Arthur, Wanielista, Martin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Oral story telling has become a lost art of family histories because social media and technology have taken over the personal interactions that once passed on the important stories and facts from generation to generation. This dissertation presents and evaluates a method of generating a narrative with input from the listener without actually forcing him or her to become an actual character in the narrative. This system is called CAMPFIRE Story Telling System (STS) and employs a contextual...
Show moreOral story telling has become a lost art of family histories because social media and technology have taken over the personal interactions that once passed on the important stories and facts from generation to generation. This dissertation presents and evaluates a method of generating a narrative with input from the listener without actually forcing him or her to become an actual character in the narrative. This system is called CAMPFIRE Story Telling System (STS) and employs a contextual approach to story generation. This system uses the Cooperating Context Method (CCM) to generate and tell dynamic stories in real time and can be modified by the listener. CCM was created to overcome the weaknesses found in other contextual approaches during story generation while still meeting the design criteria of 1) being able to plan out a story; 2) being able to create a narrative that is entertaining to the listener; and 3) being able to modify the story that could incorporate the listener's request in the story. The CCM process begins by creating a list of tasks by analyzing the current situation. A list of contexts is narrowed down through a series of algorithms into two lists: high priority and low priority lists. These lists are analyzed and a set of context best suited to handle the tasks are selected. The CAMPFIRE STS was rigorously assessed for its functionality, novelty, and user acceptance as well as the time needed to modify the knowledge base. These evaluations showed that the CAMPFIRE STS has the ability to create novel stories using the same knowledge base. A group of 38 test subjects used and evaluated CAMPFIRE STS with respect to its use for children, story entertainment, story creativity and the system's ease of use answering a extensive survey of 54 questions. The survey showed that CAMPFIRE STS can create stories appropriate for bedtime stories with some minor modifications and that the generated stories are novel and entertaining stories, and that it was an easy system to use.
Show less
Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006687, ucf:51923
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006687

Title: Reliability and Robustness Enhancement of Cooperative Vehicular Systems: A Bayesian Machine Learning Perspective.
Creator: Nourkhiz Mahjoub, Hossein, Pourmohammadi Fallah, Yaser, Vosoughi, Azadeh, Yuksel, Murat, Atia, George, Eluru, Naveen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Autonomous vehicles are expected to greatly transform the transportation domain in the near future. Some even envision that the human drivers may be fully replaced by automated systems. It is plausible to assume that at least a significant part of the driving task will be done by automated systems in not a distant future. Although we are observing a rapid advance towards this goal, which gradually pushes the traditional human-based driving toward more advanced autonomy levels, the full...
Show moreAutonomous vehicles are expected to greatly transform the transportation domain in the near future. Some even envision that the human drivers may be fully replaced by automated systems. It is plausible to assume that at least a significant part of the driving task will be done by automated systems in not a distant future. Although we are observing a rapid advance towards this goal, which gradually pushes the traditional human-based driving toward more advanced autonomy levels, the full autonomy concept still has a long way before being completely fulfilled and realized due to numerous technical and societal challenges. During this long transition phase, blended driving scenarios, composed of agents with different levels of autonomy, seems to be inevitable. Therefore, it is critical to design appropriate driving systems with different levels of intelligence in order to benefit all participants. Vehicular safety systems and their more advanced successors, i.e., Cooperative Vehicular Systems (CVS), have originated from this perspective. These systems aim to enhance the overall quality and performance of the current driving situation by incorporating the most advanced available technologies, ranging from on-board sensors such as radars, LiDARs, and cameras to other promising solutions e.g. Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications. However, it is still challenging to attain the ideal anticipated benefits out of the cooperative vehicular systems, due to the inherent issues and challenges of their different components, such as sensors' failures in severe weather conditions or the poor performance of V2X technologies under dense communication channel loads. In this research we aim to address some of these challenges from a Bayesian Machine- Learning perspective, by proposing several novel ideas and solutions which facilitate the realization of more robust, reliable, and agile cooperative vehicular systems. More precisely, we have a two-fold contribution here. In one aspect, we have investigated the notion of Model-Based Communications (MBC) and demonstrated its effectiveness for V2X communication performance enhancement. This improvement is achieved due to the more intelligent communication strategy of MBC in comparison with the current state-of-the-art V2X technologies. Essentially, MBC proposes a conceptual change in the nature of the disseminated and shared information over the communication channel compared to what is being disseminated in current technologies. In the MBC framework, instead of sharing the raw dynamic information among the network agents, each agent shares the parameters of a stochastic forecasting model which represents its current and future behavior and updates these parameters as needed. This model sharing strategy enables the receivers to precisely predict the future behaviors of the transmitter even when the update frequency is very low. On the other hand, we have also proposed receiver-side solutions in order to enhance the CVS performance and reliability and mitigate the issues caused by imperfect communication and detection processes. The core concept for these solutions is incorporating other informative elements in the system to compensate for the lack of information which is lost during the imperfect communication or detection phases. For proof of concept, we have designed an adaptive FCW framework which considers the driver's feedbacks to the CVS system. This adaptive framework mitigates the negative impact of imperfectly received or detected information on system performance, using the inherent information of these feedbacks and responses. The effectiveness and superiority of this adaptive framework over traditional design has been demonstrated in this research.
Show less
Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007845, ucf:52807
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007845

Title: Academic Engagement through Experiential Learning: Building Transferable Skills within Undergraduate Education.
Creator: Lee, Shara, Cintron Delgado, Rosa, Laureano Fuentes, Gloria, Boyd, Karen, Okumus, Fevzi, Dressler, Sheri, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Presently, there is a national focus on the industry-benefitting skills developed through undergraduate education. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an experiential learning course on building three ability-based transferable skills: communication, emotional intelligence, and professional qualities. These skills have been determined to be important components to the skill set of graduates intending to enter any career, including one within the hospitality industry....
Show morePresently, there is a national focus on the industry-benefitting skills developed through undergraduate education. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an experiential learning course on building three ability-based transferable skills: communication, emotional intelligence, and professional qualities. These skills have been determined to be important components to the skill set of graduates intending to enter any career, including one within the hospitality industry. Results from an examination of three related instruments led to conclusions that an experiential learning course positively impacts self-perceived skill development among the three aforementioned skills as well as perception of overall performance. In addition, it was determined that experiential learning courses benefitted interns irrespective of self-reported learning style preference and that such courses may aid in narrowing the perceived gap between intern and employer perceptions of intern skill levels and thereby prepare graduates with increasing success for societal productivity.
Show less
Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004568, ucf:49189
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004568

Title: SPECTRUM SHARING AND SERVICE PRICING IN DYNAMIC SPECTRUM ACCESS NETWORKS.
Creator: Brahma, Swastik, Chatterjee, Mainak, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Traditionally, radio spectrum has been statically allocated to wireless service providers (WSPs). Regulators, like FCC, give wireless service providers exclusive long term licenses for using specific range of frequencies in particular geographic areas. Moreover, restrictions are imposed on the technologies to be used and the services to be provided. The lack of flexibility in static spectrum allocation constrains the ability to make use of new technologies and the ability to redeploy the...
Show moreTraditionally, radio spectrum has been statically allocated to wireless service providers (WSPs). Regulators, like FCC, give wireless service providers exclusive long term licenses for using specific range of frequencies in particular geographic areas. Moreover, restrictions are imposed on the technologies to be used and the services to be provided. The lack of flexibility in static spectrum allocation constrains the ability to make use of new technologies and the ability to redeploy the spectrum to higher valued uses, thereby resulting in inefficient spectrum utilization [23, 38, 42, 62, 67]. These limitations have motivated a paradigm shift from static spectrum allocation towards a more 'liberalized' notion of spectrum management in which secondary users can borrow idle spectrum from primary spectrum licensees, without causing harmful interference to the latter- a notion commonly referred to as dynamic spectrum access (DSA) or open spectrum access ,. Cognitive radio [30, 47], empowered by Software Defined Radio (SDR), is poised to promote the efficient use of spectrum by adopting this open spectrum approach. In this dissertation, we first address the problem of dynamic channel (spectrum) access by a set of cognitive radio enabled nodes, where each node acting in a selfish manner tries to access and use as many channels as possible, subject to the interference constraints. We model the dynamic channel access problem as a modified Rubinstein-Stahl bargaining game. In our model, each node negotiates with the other nodes to obtain an agreeable sharing rule of the available channels, such that, no two interfering nodes use the same channel. We solve the bargaining game by finding Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium (SPNE) strategies of the nodes. First, we consider finite horizon version of the bargaining game and investigate its SPNE strategies that allow each node to maximize its utility against the other nodes (opponents). We then extend these results to the infinite horizon bargaining game. Furthermore, we identify Pareto optimal equilibria of the game for improving spectrum utilization. The bargaining solution ensures that no node is starved of channels. The spectrum that a secondary node acquires comes to it at a cost. Thus it becomes important to study the 'end system' perspective of such a cost, by focusing on its implications. Specifically, we consider the problem of incentivizing nodes to provide the service of routing using the acquired spectrum. In this problem, each secondary node having a certain capacity incurs a cost for routing traffic through it. Secondary nodes will not have an incentive to relay traffic unless they are compensated for the costs they incur in forwarding traffic. We propose a path auction scheme in which each secondary node announces its cost and capacity to the routing mechanism, both of which are considered as private information known only to the node. We design a route selection mechanism and a pricing function that can induce nodes to reveal their cost and capacity honestly (making our auction truthful), while minimizing the payment that needs to be given to the nodes (making our auction optimal). By considering capacity constraint of the nodes, we explicitly support multiple path routing. For deploying our path auction based routing mechanism in DSA networks, we provide polynomial time algorithms to find the optimal route over which traffic should be routed and to compute the payment that each node should receive. All our proposed algorithms have been evaluated via extensive simulation experiments. These results help to validate our design philosophy and also illustrate the effectiveness of our solution approach.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004049, ucf:49125
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004049

Cooperation (4)	+ -
cooperative control (4)	+ -
cooperative learning (3)	+ -
experiential learning (3)	+ -
Coexistence (2)	+ -

Cooperative Control (2)	+ -
Cooperative Learning (2)	+ -
Taiwan (2)	+ -
artificial intelligence (2)	+ -
communication (2)	+ -
cooperative education (2)	+ -
cooperative systems (2)	+ -
Ad hoc networks (1)	+ -
Adaptive Control (1)	+ -
Adaptive Vehicular Systems (1)	+ -
Agriculture, Cooperative (1)	+ -
Algorithms (1)	+ -
Aphelocoma coerulescens (1)	+ -
Bayesian Machine Learning (1)	+ -
CAMPFIRE STS (1)	+ -
CCM (1)	+ -
CHANDRAYAAN (1)	+ -
CHINA COMMERCIAL SPACE PROGRAM (1)	+ -
CHINA GEOPOLITICS (1)	+ -
CHINA HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT (1)	+ -
CHINA LUNAR MISSION (1)	+ -
CHINA MANNED MISSION (1)	+ -
CHINA ROCKETS (1)	+ -
CHINA SATELLITES (1)	+ -
CHINA SPACE ACTIVITIES (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (28)	+ -
Honors Collection (5)	+ -
PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements (2)	+ -

University of Central Florida (33)	+ -
Qu, Zhihua (5)	+ -
Haralambous, Michael (3)	+ -
Vosoughi, Azadeh (3)	+ -
Xu, Yunjun (3)	+ -

Atia, George (2)	+ -
Behal, Aman (2)	+ -
Chatterjee, Mainak (2)	+ -
Gonzalez, Avelino (2)	+ -
Kutkut, Nasser (2)	+ -
Sadri, Houman (2)	+ -
Alabri, Said (1)	+ -
BHOLA, GAURAV (1)	+ -
Boote, David (1)	+ -
Borgon, Robert (1)	+ -
Boulware, Donald (1)	+ -
Bowers, Clint (1)	+ -
Boyd, Karen (1)	+ -
Brahma, Swastik (1)	+ -
Breininger, David (1)	+ -
Cannon-Bowers, Janis (1)	+ -
Caranto, Jonathan (1)	+ -
Chen, Yu-ching (1)	+ -
Chennamaneni, Pavan (1)	+ -
Cintron Delgado, Rosa (1)	+ -
Culbertson, Ely (1)	+ -
Derewiany, Andrew (1)	+ -
Desiraju, Ramarao (1)	+ -
Dressler, Sheri (1)	+ -
Eluru, Naveen (1)	+ -

Search In

Pages

Pages

Sort Results By:

Narrow results by:

Topical Subject

Collection

Geographic Subject

Genre

Type of Resource

Language

Creator

Format

Owner