When I was first introduced to photography, I was mainly drawn to landscape imagery. I enjoyed being a solitary spectator. Over time, inclusions of figurative elements became more and more apparent in my work. I purposefully began to incorporate a figure into my landscapes, ascribing to it a certain nostalgia and a sense of isolation I was experiencing on many levels at that time. Before long, I felt disconnected from these images because of their ambiguity and generalization. I found myself craving more content and personal commitment in my photography. At the end 2003, I started experimenting with a 4" x 5" format camera, which forced me, to some extent, to change my way of photographing and seeing. That is how the beginning of this new body of work was born. I was accustomed to shooting with a 35 mm camera, which allowed me to be spontaneous, quick and immediate. I permanently switched to a large format. I could see myself benefiting from this change. I lost some of the spontaneity that a 35 mm format offers but I gained the beauty of working with larger negatives and the endless possibilities of view camera movements. Thanks to this technical transformation, …

This problem in lieu of thesis is a discussion of two topics: Brownian movement and quantum computers. Brownian movement is a physical phenomenon in which the particle velocity is constantly undergoing random fluctuations. Chapters 2, 3 and 4, describe Brownian motion from three different perspectives. The next four chapters are devoted to the subject of quantum computers, which are the signal of a new era of technology and science combined together. In the first chapter I present to a reader the two topics of my problem in lieu of thesis. In the second chapter I explain the idea of Brownian motion, its interpretation as a stochastic process and I find its distribution function. The next chapter illustrates the probabilistic picture of Brownian motion, where the statistical averages over trajectories are related to the probability distribution function. Chapter 4 shows how to derive the Langevin equation, introduced in chapter 1, using a Hamiltonian picture of a bath with infinite number of harmonic oscillators. The chapter 5 explains how the idea of quantum computers was developed and how step-by-step all the puzzles for the field of quantum computers were created. The next chapter, chapter 6, discus the basic quantum unit of information …

Peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) was the first automated method for protein identification in proteomics, and it remains in common usage today because of its simplicity and the low equipment costs for generating fingerprints. However, one of the problems with PMF is its limited specificity and sensitivity in protein identification. Here I present a method that shows potential to significantly enhance the accuracy of peptide mass fingerprinting, using a machine learning approach based on a hidden Markov model (HMM). This method is applied to improve differentiation of real protein matches from those that occur by chance. The system was trained using 300 examples of combined real and false-positive protein identification results, and 10-fold cross-validation applied to assess model discrimination. The model can achieve 93% accuracy in distinguishing correct and real protein identification results versus false-positive matches. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve area for the best model was 0.833.

The body of work originating from this Problem in Lieu of Thesis consists of paintings on canvas that incorporate representations of plant material. The impetus for the paintings was black and white photocopies created from mounds of plant material placed on a copy machine. The resulting copies contained forms that were organic in appearance, but unrecognizable as known objects. Parts of the most interesting and ambiguous copies were used to develop the imagery of the paintings. The new forms served the purpose of creating visual interest from unexpected images. Combined with traditional painting techniques, the selected forms produced paintings of mysterious and playful worlds similar to those parts of the environment not readily accessed, such as galactic space, microscopic organisms, and ocean depths.

The electronic voting machine (EVM) plays a very important role in a country where government officials are elected into office. Throughout the world, a specific operating system that tends to the specific requirement of the EVM does not exist. Existing EVM technology depends upon the various operating systems currently available, thus ignoring the basic needs of the system. There is a compromise over the basic requirements in order to develop the systems on the basis on an already available operating system, thus having a lot of scope for error. It is necessary to know the specific details of the particular device for which the operating system is being developed. In this document, I evaluate existing EVMs and identify flaws and shortcomings. I propose a solution for a new operating system that meets the specific requirements of the EVM, calling it Voting Operating System (VOS, pronounced 'voice'). The identification technique can be simplified by using the fingerprint technology that determines the identity of a person based on two fingerprints. I also discuss the various parts of the operating system that have to be implemented that can tend to all the basic requirements of an EVM, including implementation of the memory manager, …

The first objective for this problem in lieu of thesis project was to gather, identify to the lowest practical taxonomic level and organize all available aquatic insects collected from high altitude Colorado aquatic systems during the summers of 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2002 for the University of North Texas Environmental Science Field Course (BIOL 5650). The curated collection will be housed in the Elm Fork Natural History Museum, located at the University of North Texas. The second objective was to provide a summary and discussion of the occurrence and distribution of the aquatic insects collected from Mt. Blanca in 1994, 1996, and 1998 and to create a taxa list of aquatic insects collected from Cochetopa Creek during the summer of 2002.

Complexity can emerge from extremely simple rules. A paradigmatic example of this is the model of ballistic deposition (BD), a simple model of sedimentary rock growth. In two separate Problem-in-Lieu-of Thesis studies, BD was investigated numerically in (1+1)-D on a lattice. Both studies are combined in this document. For problem I, the global interface roughening (IR) process was studied in terms of effective scaling exponents for a generalized BD model. The model used incorporates a tunable parameter B to change the cooperation between aggregating particles. Scaling was found to depart increasingly from the predictions of Kardar-Parisi-Zhang theory both with decreasing system sizes and with increasing cooperation. For problem II, the local single column evolution during BD rock growth was studied via statistical analysis of time series. Connections were found between single column time series properties and the global IR process.

This paper describes the general architecture and function of a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) system implemented with ASP.NET and C#. Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and XML Web Services provide a flexible, standards-based model that allows clients to access data. Web Form Pages offer a powerful programming model for Web-enabled user interface. The system provides a variety of mechanisms and services related to story retrieval and adaptation. Users may browse and search a library of text stories. More advanced CBR capabilities were also implemented, including a multi-factor distance-calculation for matching user interests with stories in the library, recommendations on optimizing search, and adaptation of stories to match user interests.

Many organic materials have been studied to be used as semiconductors, few of them being pentacene and polythiophene. Organic semiconductors have been investigated to make organic thin film transistors. Pentacene has been used in the active region of the transistors. Transistors fabricated with pentacene do not have very high mobility. But in some applications, high mobility is not needed. In such application other properties of organic transistors are used, such as, ease of production and flexibility. Organic thin film transistors (OTFT) can find use as low density storage devices, such as smart cards or I.D. tags, and displays. OTFT are compatible with polymeric substrates and hence can find use as flexible computer screens. This project aims at making 'smart clothes', the cheap way, with pentacene based OTFT. This problem in lieu of thesis describes a way to deposit pentacene films and characterize it. Pentacene films were deposited on substrates and characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The substrate used was ~1500Å platinum on silicon wafer or bare silicon wafer. was used. A deposition system for vacuum deposition of pentacene was assembled. The XRD data for deposited pentacene films shows the presence of two phases, single …

The use of copper in my work has opened up an entirely new conceptual and esthetic world. I have expanded my vocabulary of visual imagery based on the nature of how copper reacts with fire. The organic beauty harmonizes so gracefully with the manufactured material. This new material has certainly opened up a refreshing platform on which to further develop my ideas.

Through this body of work and this paper the possibilities of using Fashion Design to express the concepts of the circle has been explored. This was done with three questions in mind: How can I use the shape of the circle as inspiration for fashion design? How can I express related words and phrases in my design? and How can I use the colors black and white to emphasize the concept of my design. To answer these questions I have created two groups of garments: one was inspired by circular objects, such as cherries and drops, and the other starting from words and phrases such as "study circle" and "circle the wagons." In the first group the emphasis was on the aesthetics of the garment while the second group was more focused on meaning. All garments are black and white.

Machine Learning is the ability of a machine to perform better at a given task, using its previous experience. Various algorithms like decision trees, Bayesian learning, artificial neural networks and instance-based learning algorithms are used widely in machine learning systems. Current applications of machine learning include credit card fraud detection, customer service based on history of purchased products, games and many more. The application of machine learning techniques to natural language processing (NLP) has increased tremendously in recent years. Examples are handwriting recognition and speech recognition. The problem we tackle in this Problem in Lieu of Thesis is applying machine-learning techniques to improve the performance of a conversational agent. The OpenMind repository of common sense, in the form of question-answer pairs is treated as the training data for the machine learning system. WordNet is interfaced with to capture important semantic and syntactic information about the words in the sentences. Further, k-closest neighbors algorithm, an instance based learning algorithm is used to simulate a case based learning system. The resulting system is expected to be able to answer new queries with knowledge gained from the training data it was fed with.

On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a very interesting platform to provide analytical power to the data present in the database. This paper discusses the system designed which handles integration of data from two remote legacy reservation systems to merge as one Integrated database server and also the design of an OLAP database and building an OLAP cube for the data warehousing. OLAP cube is useful for analysis of data and also for making various business decisions. The Data Transformation Services (DTS) in the Microsoft® SQL Server 2000 is used to integrate as a package the collection of data and also for refreshing data in the databases. On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) cube is designed using Microsoft® Analysis Server.

The body of work created during this exploration indicates that painting approach can actively integrate with the clay element. The main point is the surface manipulation during this process. There are four factors relate to this manipulation: timing, action, style, and size. Overall, the painting approach can be modified to create a truly active relationship with clay element. The final touch by the fire and glazing techniques reflect paintings approach may be used in a variety way to decorate the clay element without any limits. Moreover, the painting approach need not be subordinate to the clay element. It can be used not only to complement the clay, but also to enhance any given clay pieces no matter what the shape is.

Not many artists have made a successful connection between art and text. In this installation of four works of art, I have given a new perspective on commerce by combining my poetry with common products. The content of my work is based on experiences I have had throughout my life. I believe that I have successfully combined my poems and art into cohesive works that break through the conventional understanding of products and their packaging.

The FrameNet database is being used in a variety of NLP research and applications such as word sense disambiguation, machine translation, information extraction and question answering. The database is currently available in XML format. The XML database though a wholesome way of distributing data in its entireness, is not practical for use unless converted to a more application friendly database. In light of this we have successfully converted the XML database to a relational MySQL™ database. This conversion reduced the amount of data storage amount to less than half. Most importantly the new database enables us to perform fast complex querying and facilitates use by applications and research. We show the steps taken to ensure relational integrity of the data during the refactoring process and a simple demo application demonstrating ease of use.

Finite functions (also called maps) are used to describe a number of key computations and storage mechanisms used in software and hardware interpreters. Their presence spread over various memory and speed hierarchies in hardware and through various optimization processes (algorithmic and compilation based) in software, suggests encapsulating dynamic size changes and representation optimizations in a unique abstraction to be used across traditional computation mechanisms. We developed a memory allocator for testing the finite functions. We have implemented some dynamic finite functions and performed certain experiments to see the performance speed of these finite functions. We have developed some simple but powerful application programming interfaces (API) for these finite functions.

Competition to lure corporations has become an enormous issue between states. Smaller communities feel unable to participate in economic development opportunities since their budgets do not provide the necessary funding. In 1979, the Texas state legislature passed the Development Corporation Act in an attempt to aid the smaller communities' quest for economic development. The Act allowed for the creation of local development corporations; however, it did not provide a sufficient funding source to assist the corporations. Therefore two local sales options were established. This paper reports the findings of an analysis of per capita income and employment changes after the adoption of an economic development sales tax. The analysis showed no statistically significant impacts on cities adopting an economic development sales tax when compared with non-adopting cities.

Library information systems use different software applications and automated systems to gain access to distributed information. Rapid application development, changes made to existing software applications and development of new software on different platforms can make it difficult for library information systems to interoperate. Web services are used to offer better information access and retrieval solutions and hence make it more cost effective for libraries. This research focuses on how web services are implemented with the standard protocols like SOAP, WSDL and UDDI using different programming languages and platforms to achieve interoperability for libraries. It also shows how libraries can make use of this new technology. Since web services built on different platforms can interact with each other, libraries can access information with more efficiency and flexibility.

This paper is an experiment using digital video to locate and identify the abstract in everyday life and nature. The abstract moment occurs when the image that is captured by video loses its connection with the original context, allowing the images to be viewed in an entirely new way. The abstract moment is initiated by a transformative instant, that instant in which perception is altered and the viewer sees the intended content of composition of light and sound. The project contains four digital videos that record the artist's progress and interests.

In software testing, it is often desirable to find test inputs that exercise specific program features. Finding these inputs manually, is extremely time consuming, especially, when the software being tested is complex. Therefore, there have been numerous attempts automate this process. Random test data generation consists of generating test inputs at random, in the hope that they will exercise the desired software features. Often the desired inputs must satisfy complex constraints, and this makes a random approach seem unlikely to succeed. In contrast, combinatorial optimization techniques, such as those using genetic algorithms, are meant to solve difficult problems involving simultaneous satisfaction of many constraints.

Regional population growth and increasing trade with Mexico are creating severe traffic congestion along Interstate 35 and at the Laredo bridge crossings. The construction of a new Interstate Highway 69 has been offered as one solution to this problem. This analysis examines the economic impacts of building Interstate 69 and its potential impact on job creation in the counties along its projected path. Using the IMPLAN input-output modeling system, construction of Interstate 69 will support $4.2 billion in economic activity in the counties through which it will pass. More importantly, based on an analysis of Interstate 27 in west Texas, it can be projected that Interstate 69 will spur a 2% gain in regional employment above any usual economic growth.

Chapter I describes the purpose of the project, which was to develop a body of work that exhibits all that I am at this point in time. The questions I presented to myself were the following: 1. A successful piece is defined by what parameters? 2. What visual qualities indicate my passion for clay and my enthusiasm for life? Chapter II lists and explains the five parameters of a successful piece, which are composition, firing, mark making, color contrast, and movement. Furthermore there is an explanation on how these parameters visually display my passion for clay and my enthusiasm for life. Chapter III is a summary concluding that by discovering my five parameters of a successful piece I now understand the elements that I am searching for in my work. My work will grow from this understanding as long as I have the same passion for clay and enthusiasm for life.

It has been noticed in the past five years that the Internet use has been troubled by the lack of sufficient security and a legal framework to enable electronic commerce to flourish. Despite these shortcomings, governments, businesses and individuals are using the Internet more often as an inexpensive and ubiquitous means to disseminate and obtain information, goods and services. The Internet is insecure -- potentially millions of people have access, and "hackers" can intercept anything traveling over the wire. There is no way to make it a secure environment; it is, after all, a public network, hence the availability and affordability. In order for it to serve our purposes as a vehicle for legally binding transactions, efforts must be directed at securing the message itself, as opposed to the transport mechanism. Digital signatures have been evolved in the recent years as the best tool for ensuring the authenticity and integrity of critical information in the so called "paperless office". A model using XML digital signatures is developed and the level of security provided by this model in the real world scenario is outlined.