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(1 - 8 of 8)
- Title
- WHEN TO STRIKE: EXPLORING THE VARIABLES THAT LEAD TO SUCCESSFUL DECAPITATION STRIKES.
- Creator
-
Pierres, Renzo, Boutton, Andrew, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of this thesis is to determine how different variables can affect a terrorist group's reaction to a targeted leadership strike, known as a decapitation strike. Decapitation strikes often produce unwanted results, such as a splintering of the terrorist group, or a failure to destroy the group. It is important that we understand which variables can lead to a group's destruction after a decapitation strike, to maximize the decapitation's effectiveness. In my research I have...
Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to determine how different variables can affect a terrorist group's reaction to a targeted leadership strike, known as a decapitation strike. Decapitation strikes often produce unwanted results, such as a splintering of the terrorist group, or a failure to destroy the group. It is important that we understand which variables can lead to a group's destruction after a decapitation strike, to maximize the decapitation's effectiveness. In my research I have determined that group size, group ideological extremism, and the role of the leader targeted all have a substantial impact on the success of the decapitation strike. Using these three variables, I will examine three groups which have varying size, extremism, and leadership, and determine whether the decapitation strikes were successful and how these variables affected the results.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFH2000488, ucf:45848
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000488
- Title
- BASIC STUDY OF MICROMACHINED DEP (DIELECTROPHORETIC) MANIPULATOR.
- Creator
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Sundaram, Vivek, , K.B.Sundaram, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The capability of manipulating microparticle in small volumes is fundamental to many biological and medical applications, including separation and detection of cells. The development of microtools for effective sample handling and separation in such volumes is still a challenge. DEP (dielectrophoresis) is one of the most widely used methods in handling the microparticles. In this thesis we show that forces generated by nonuniform electric field (DEP) can be used for trapping and separating...
Show moreThe capability of manipulating microparticle in small volumes is fundamental to many biological and medical applications, including separation and detection of cells. The development of microtools for effective sample handling and separation in such volumes is still a challenge. DEP (dielectrophoresis) is one of the most widely used methods in handling the microparticles. In this thesis we show that forces generated by nonuniform electric field (DEP) can be used for trapping and separating the microparticles (latex beads). This work further explores the DEP force based on different electrode geometries and medium conductivity. A micromanipulator for latex bead separation was designed, fabricated and characterized. For the development of DEP manipulator, the fabrication and packaging of microfluidic structure with the microelectrode is crucial for reliable analysis. A combination of SU-8 photoresist and polydimethylsiloxane polymer was used for this purpose. Besides, the DEP manipulator, preliminary study on a Coulter counter was conducted. The Coulter counter works on the principle of resistive pulse sensing. This counter is used for counting the beads as they pass through the microfluidic channel. Its possible integration with the manipulator was also explored.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- Identifier
- CFE0000121, ucf:46178
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000121
- Title
- A Wolf in Military Clothing: A Case Study Examination of Lone Wolf Terrorism and the Roles and Responsibilities of Government Agencies.
- Creator
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Bandel, Peter, Sadri, Houman, Houghton, David, Kapucu, Naim, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Since the fall of September, 2011, there has been a major increase in awareness and study of global terrorism. Academia, the media, politicians, and the average citizen all have varying definitions, ideas, and concerns about terrorism. The focus has mainly been on international terrorism. Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda have permeated the discussion. However, there is a growing concern of the (")lone wolf terrorist.(") A lone wolf terrorist acts without a terrorist organization and is...
Show moreSince the fall of September, 2011, there has been a major increase in awareness and study of global terrorism. Academia, the media, politicians, and the average citizen all have varying definitions, ideas, and concerns about terrorism. The focus has mainly been on international terrorism. Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda have permeated the discussion. However, there is a growing concern of the (")lone wolf terrorist.(") A lone wolf terrorist acts without a terrorist organization and is capable of having his/her own radical agenda with the audacity and simplicity to carry it out solely and enact great damage. The focus in the United States and globally has been on international lone wolf terrorists. This is important, but a longstanding concern (that often goes without much conversation) is the domestic lone wolf terrorist. Using Gustav Freytag's Triangle and Rational Choice theory, it is shown that lone wolf terrorism must be examined by the United States government to ensure safety of its citizens. A lone wolf terrorist is characterized as a United States citizen who enacts a terrorist action without being part of an organization or terror group. His motives are extremist in nature. This thesis examines the growing phenomena of the domestic lone wolf terrorist. In doing so, the primary function is to look at an even starker reality: that some lone wolf terrorists have served in the military, and during service have shown to portray radical thoughts and actions. Furthermore, these lone wolf terrorists used their military training and weapon insight to enact their catastrophic aims. This thesis uses a case study methodology to examine three lone wolf actors. From the Oklahoma City Bombing, to the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta and on to the Ft. Hood shootings the studies find that in all cases the actors did have radical beliefs, military training and used that training in concert with their attacks. This thesis can be used as a discussion about lone wolf terrorism, but also about governance. The findings show an increased need for the Department of Defense to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security and seek greater advice from organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to conduct better psychological studies and examinations of military personnel. A disclaimer must be made that this thesis does not, in any way, seek to disparage the amazing amount of work and sacrifice of United States government personnel and agencies. This thesis aims to provide research towards improved understanding and combating of lone wolf terrorism.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004507, ucf:49266
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004507
- Title
- Valuation of Over-The-Counter (OTC) Derivatives with Collateralization.
- Creator
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Guerrero, Leon, Yong, Jiongmin, Li, Xin, Brennan, Joseph, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Collateralization in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets has grown rapidly overthe past decade, and even faster in the past few years, due to the impact of the recentfinancial crisis and the particularly important attention to the counterparty credit risk in derivatives contracts. The addition of collateralization to such contracts significantly reduces the counterparty credit risk and allows to offset liabilities in case of default.We study the problem of valuation of OTC derivatives...
Show moreCollateralization in over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets has grown rapidly overthe past decade, and even faster in the past few years, due to the impact of the recentfinancial crisis and the particularly important attention to the counterparty credit risk in derivatives contracts. The addition of collateralization to such contracts significantly reduces the counterparty credit risk and allows to offset liabilities in case of default.We study the problem of valuation of OTC derivatives with payoff in a single currencyand with single underlying asset for the cases of zero, partial, and perfect collateralization. We assume the derivative is traded between two default-free counterparties and analyze the impact of collateralization on the fair present value of the derivative. We establish a uniform generalized derivative pricing framework for the three cases of collateralization and show how different approaches to pricing turn out to be consistent. We then generalize the results to include multi-asset and cross-currency arguments, where the underlyingand the derivative are in some domestic currency, but the collateral is posted in a foreign currency. We show that the results for the single currency, multi-asset case are consistent with those obtained for the single currency, single asset case.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004855, ucf:49688
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004855
- Title
- COUNTER-TERRORISM: WHEN DO STATES ADOPT NEW ANTI-TERROR LEGISLATION?.
- Creator
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Clesca, Princelee, Dolan, Thomas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The intent of this thesis is to research the anti-terror legislation of 15 countries and the history of terrorist incidents within those countries. Both the anti-terror legislation and the history of terrorist incidents will be researched within the time period of 1980 to 2009, a 30 year span. This thesis will seek to establish a relationship between the occurrence of terrorist events and when states change their anti-terror legislation. Legislation enacted can vary greatly. Common changes in...
Show moreThe intent of this thesis is to research the anti-terror legislation of 15 countries and the history of terrorist incidents within those countries. Both the anti-terror legislation and the history of terrorist incidents will be researched within the time period of 1980 to 2009, a 30 year span. This thesis will seek to establish a relationship between the occurrence of terrorist events and when states change their anti-terror legislation. Legislation enacted can vary greatly. Common changes in legislation seek to undercut the financing of terrorist organizations, criminalize behaviors, or empower state surveillance capabilities. A quantitative analysis will be performed to establish a relationship between terrorist attacks and legislative changes. A qualitative discussion will follow to analyze specific anti-terror legislation passed by states in response to terrorist events.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004851, ucf:45451
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004851
- Title
- PRICE DISCOVERY IN THE U.S. BOND MARKETS: TRADING STRATEGIES AND THE COST OF LIQUIDITY.
- Creator
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Shao, Haimei, Yong, Jiongmin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The world bond market is nearly twice as large as the equity market. The goal of this dissertation is to study the dynamics of bond price. Among the liquidity risk, interest rate risk and default risk, this dissertation will focus on the liquidity risk and trading strategy. Under the mathematical frame of stochastic control, we model price setting in U.S. bond markets where dealers have multiple instruments to smooth inventory imbalances. The difficulty in obtaining the optimal trading...
Show moreThe world bond market is nearly twice as large as the equity market. The goal of this dissertation is to study the dynamics of bond price. Among the liquidity risk, interest rate risk and default risk, this dissertation will focus on the liquidity risk and trading strategy. Under the mathematical frame of stochastic control, we model price setting in U.S. bond markets where dealers have multiple instruments to smooth inventory imbalances. The difficulty in obtaining the optimal trading strategy is that the optimal strategy and value function depend on each other, and the corresponding HJB equation is nonlinear. To solve this problem, we derived an approximate optimal explicit trading strategy. The result shows that this trading strategy is better than the benchmark central symmetric trading strategy.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003633, ucf:48858
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003633
- Title
- Designing Calorie Counter Smartphone Applications for Effective Weight Loss.
- Creator
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Milliard, Sharlin, Fanfarelli, Joseph, Bockelman, Patricia, Hartshorne, Richard, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Poor dietary choices and lack of physical activity are two main contributing factors for the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States. Overweight and obese individuals are at risk for developing major life-threatening diseases. Weight loss is an effective means for reversing these adverse health effects, and smartphone applications (apps) may be an effective means for supporting weight loss outside of formal clinical settings. This study involved identifying...
Show morePoor dietary choices and lack of physical activity are two main contributing factors for the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States. Overweight and obese individuals are at risk for developing major life-threatening diseases. Weight loss is an effective means for reversing these adverse health effects, and smartphone applications (apps) may be an effective means for supporting weight loss outside of formal clinical settings. This study involved identifying factors that contribute to effective weight loss to compare with functionality commonly found in a sample of calorie counter apps. A content analysis was performed using a design framework that included a conceptual model describing the interaction of behaviors for effective weight loss and functional design requirements based upon behavior change and motivation to achieve weight loss. The requirements were used to analyze the presence of features in a sample of popular calorie counting apps, to infer their capability in supporting users' motivation to achieve weight loss. Results indicated that app features might not provide sufficient support to facilitate effective weight loss. Lack of supportive features affects perceived autonomy, relatedness, and competence, reducing motivation. This study provided guidelines to improve the design of calorie counter apps to include more features that support users as they engage in weight loss behaviors. The guidelines may become practical for use in mHealth apps used as part of formal and informal weight management strategies. Implications for future research involving wearable technologies and the use of gamified design strategies are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007838, ucf:52824
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007838
- Title
- ARCHITECTURAL SUPPORT FOR IMPROVING COMPUTER SECURITY.
- Creator
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Kong, Jingfei, Zhou, Huiyang, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Computer security and privacy are becoming extremely important nowadays. The task of protecting computer systems from malicious attacks and potential subsequent catastrophic losses is, however, challenged by the ever increasing complexity and size of modern hardware and software design. We propose several methods to improve computer security and privacy from architectural point of view. They provide strong protection as well as performance efficiency. In our first approach, we propose a new...
Show moreComputer security and privacy are becoming extremely important nowadays. The task of protecting computer systems from malicious attacks and potential subsequent catastrophic losses is, however, challenged by the ever increasing complexity and size of modern hardware and software design. We propose several methods to improve computer security and privacy from architectural point of view. They provide strong protection as well as performance efficiency. In our first approach, we propose a new dynamic information flow method to protect systems from popular software attacks such as buffer overflow and format string attacks. In our second approach, we propose to deploy encryption schemes to protect the privacy of an emerging non-volatile main memory technology – phase change memory (PCM). The negative impact of the encryption schemes on PCM lifetime is evaluated and new methods including a new encryption counter scheme and an efficient error correct code (ECC) management are proposed to improve PCM lifetime. In our third approach, we deconstruct two previously proposed secure cache designs against software data-cache-based side channel attacks and demonstrate their weaknesses. We propose three hardware-software integrated approaches as secure protections against those data cache attacks. Also we propose to apply them to protect instruction caches from similar threats. Furthermore, we propose a simple change to the update policy of Branch Target Buffer (BTB) to defend against BTB attacks. Our experiments show that our proposed schemes are both security effective and performance efficient.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003211, ucf:48589
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003211
