A local call admission control (CAC) algorithm for third generation wireless networks was designed and implemented, which allows for the simulation of network throughput for different spreading factors and various mobility scenarios. A global CAC algorithm is also implemented and used as a benchmark since it is inherently optimized; it yields the best possible performance but has an intensive computational complexity. Optimized local CAC algorithm achieves similar performance as global CAC algorithm at a fraction of the computational cost. Design of a dynamic channel assignment algorithm for IEEE 802.11 wireless systems is also presented. Channels are assigned dynamically depending on the minimal interference generated by the neighboring access points on a reference access point. Analysis of dynamic channel assignment algorithm shows an improvement by a factor of 4 over the default settings of having all access points use the same channel, resulting significantly higher network throughput.

Wireless sensor networks are ad hoc networks of tiny battery powered sensor nodes that can organize themselves to form self-organized networks and collect information regarding temperature, light, and pressure in an area. Though the applications of sensor networks are very promising, sensor nodes are limited in their capability due to many factors. The main limitation of these battery powered nodes is energy. Sensor networks are expected to work for long periods of time once deployed and it becomes important to conserve the battery life of the nodes to extend network lifetime. This work examines non-uniform grid-based routing protocol as an effort to minimize energy consumption in the network and extend network lifetime. The entire test area is divided into non-uniformly shaped grids. Fixed source and sink nodes with unlimited energy are placed in the network. Sensor nodes with full battery life are deployed uniformly and randomly in the field. The source node floods the network with only the coordinator node active in each grid and the other nodes sleeping. The sink node traces the same route back to the source node through the same coordinators. This process continues till a coordinator node runs out of energy, when new coordinator nodes …

Traditional Public Health decision-support can benefit from the Web and social media revolution. This dissertation presents approaches to mining social media benefiting public health epidemiology. Through discovery and analysis of trends in Influenza related blogs, a correlation to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) influenza-like-illness patient reporting at sentinel health-care providers is verified. A second approach considers personal beliefs of vaccination in social media. A vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 2006. The virus is present in nearly all cervical cancers and implicated in many throat and oral cancers. Results from automatic sentiment classification of HPV vaccination beliefs are presented which will enable more accurate prediction of the vaccine's population-level impact. Two epidemic models are introduced that embody the intimate social networks related to HPV transmission. Ultimately, aggregating these methodologies with epidemic and social network modeling facilitate effective development of strategies for targeted interventions.