An enhanced Web robot for the CINDI system

With the explosion of the Web, traditional general purpose web crawlers are not sufficient for many web traversing and mining applications. Consequently, focused web crawlers are gaining attention. Focused web crawlers aim at finding web pages only related to the pre-defined topic at much less storage and computing cost. It is inherently suitable for the construction of digital libraries. As an essential part of Concordia INdexing and DIscovering system (CINDI) digital library project, CINDI Robot is a focused web crawler digging and collecting online academic and scientific documents in computer science and software engineering field. In this thesis, we discuss the details of building a multi-threaded, large-scale, intelligence-based focused web crawler, CINDI Robot. To enhance CINDI Robot, some state-of-the-arts techniques are exploited or modified to accommodate our task. The naïve Bayes classifier and the Support Vector Machine classifier are utilized to contribute to the classification; a revised context graph algorithm and a special tunneling strategy are employed to increase recall; URL ordering policies are set up to sort all crawling web pages. Other heuristics obtained during the experimental stage are also incorporated into the final version of the CINDI Robot. Finally we form a multi-level inspection infrastructure to efficiently traverse the Web. Through this multi-level inspection scheme, text features of web page contents, URL patterns and anchor texts are considered together to guide crawling processes. Our experiments demonstrate that the final version of our CINDI Robot outperforms traditional web crawlers in terms of precision, recall and crawling speed

ConfSys3: An Online Academic Conference System

As an important component of Concordia INdexing and DIscovering system (CINDI), Conference System (ConfSys) aims to provide useful functionalities and services to help both organizers and participants of any roles in an academic conference and eJouranl. All processes of auction, debate, decision, final version upload and so on associated with such events and issues are supported and facilitated by ConfSys. After more than ten years development and improvement upon practical academic conference management experience, the second generation of ConfSys (ConfSys2) not only possesses a lot of strong and applied features such as user-group management, privilege system, context sensitive help system and smart daemon and database maintenance mechanism, but also be able to support multi-series academic conference. The experience with ConfSys2 pointed to some of its shortcoming which in turn pointed to the need for additional features that were needed in conference management and to incorporate the management of eJournal. This has resulted in the third generation of ConfSys – ConfSys3. In this version, we have focused on the flexibility, extensibility and customization. ConfSys3 is based on the same platform as its previous version -- Tomcat, java/jsp and MySQL. In addition to the interface improvement and many new useful features such as automatic email management, automated verification of uploaded files, incorporation of special features needed for eJournal management, introduction of concurrent track feature and associate editor, and a major upgrade to make it possible for organizers to customize their conferences. Hence, ConfSys3 is extending the advantages of ConfSys for better configuration to address specific requirements fo supporting peer review based academic events in various domains

Queering The Future: Examining Queer Identity In Afrofuturism

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF CALEB MCKINLEY-PORTEE for the MASTER OF ARTS degree in COMMUNICATION STUDIES, presented on JULY 5TH, 2017 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: QUEERING THE FUTURE: EXAMINING QUEER IDENTITY IN AFROFUTURISM. MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Craig Gingrich-Philbrook This thesis examines the art aesthetic known as Afrofuturism. The research provided examines Afrofuturism in music, art, and literature. This thesis provides an example of applying Afrofuturism to performance studies within Communication Studies. This thesis contains the script to a solo performance art piece which attempts to build a bridge between performance studies and Afrofuturism, while also examining Black, Queer identity

C3S2E-2008-2016-FinalPrograms

This document records the final programs for each of the 9 meetings of the C* Conference on Computer Science & Software Engineering, C 3S2E which were organized in various locations on three continents. The papers published during these years are accessible from the digital librariy of ACM(2008-2016

America in the Age of Information

A forum on Federal Information and Communications R & D. Sponsored by National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Information and Communication. Held July 6-7, 1995 in Lister Hill Center, Bethesda, MD. It is well known that selectivity leaves a lot to be desired in searching for information resources on the Internet with existing search systems[DESA4]. This has prompted a number of researchers to turn their attention to the development and implementation of models for indexing and searching information resources on the Internet. In this white paper 2 we examine briefly the results of a simple query on a number of existing search systems and then discuss two proposed index metadata structures for indexing and supporting search and discovery: the Dublin Core Elements List and the Semantic Header

Development of Learning Modules for Sustainable Life Cycle Product Design: A Constructionist Approach

Constructionism is an approach to learning in which learners construct their own understanding and knowledge through making a meaningful product. A cyberlearning environment for sustainable life cycle engineering design has been developed based upon this approach through a multi-university research project funded by the NSF entitled “Constructionism in Learning: Sustainable Life Cycle Engineering (CooL:SLiCE).” The pedagogic significance of CooL:SLiCE is to better enable university students to learn about sustainable product life cycle engineering design by realizing effective learning modules for personalized environmentally-responsible product design. The CooL:SliCE platform has developed a web-based portal with three learning modules: 1) Sustainable product architecture and supplier selection (S-PASS), 2) Visualization and CAD design, and 3) Manufacturing analysis. To test these modules, students from three different universities with different engineering backgrounds were asked to design sustainable multi-copters through the developed web-based portal. A case study of this intercollegiate collaborative pilot project is developed from multiple data sources to describe the effectiveness of constructionism to engage students in learning sustainable life-cycle engineering

IDEAS-1997-2021-Final-Programs

This document records the final program for each of the 26 meetings of the International Database and Engineering Application Symposium from 1997 through 2021. These meetings were organized in various locations on three continents. Most of the papers published during these years are in the digital libraries of IEEE(1997-2007) or ACM(2008-2021)

Cyber-Narrative in Opera: Three Case Studies

This dissertation looks at three newly composed operas that feature what I call cyber-narratives: a work in which the story itself is inextricably linked with digital technologies, such that the characters utilize, interact with, or are affected by digital technologies to such a pervasive extent that the impact of said technologies is thematized within the work. Through an analysis of chat rooms and real-time text communication in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys (2011), artificial intelligence in Søren Nils Eichberg’s Glare (2014), and mind uploading and digital immortality in Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers (2010), a nexus of ideologies surrounding voice, the body, gender, digital anthropology, and cyber-culture are revealed. I consider the interpretive possibilities that emerge when analyzing voice and musical elements in conjunction with cultural references within the libretti, visual design choices in the productions, and directorial decisions in the evolution of each work. I theorize the expressive power of the operatic medium in dramatizing and personifying new forms of technology, while simultaneously exposing how these technologically oriented narratives reinforce and rely upon operatic tropes of the past. Recurring themes of misogyny and objectification of women across all three works are addressed, as is the framing of digital technology as a mechanism of dehumanization. This analysis also focuses on the unique sung and embodied aspect of opera, and how the human voice shapes concepts of identity, agency, and individuality in the digital age. All three case studies demonstrate how opera gives the cyber-narrative every possible mode of expression to explore the complexities and anxieties of human-machine relationships in the digital era, as all three operas question how the thematized technologies may come to re-define our perception and experience of humanity itself