A Graph Theoretic Perspective on Internet Topology Mapping

Understanding the topological characteristics of the Internet is an important research issue as the Internet grows with no central authority. Internet topology mapping studies help better understand the structure and dynamics of the Internet backbone. Knowing the underlying topology, researchers can better develop new protocols and services or fine-tune existing ones. Subnet-level Internet topology measurement studies involve three stages: topology collection, topology construction, and topology analysis. Each of these stages contains challenging tasks, especially when large-scale backbone topologies of millions of nodes are studied. In this dissertation, I first discuss issues in subnet-level Internet topology mapping and review state-of-the-art approaches to handle them. I propose a novel graph data indexing approach to to efficiently process large scale topology data. I then conduct an experimental study to understand how the responsiveness of routers has changed over the last decade and how it differs based on the probing mechanism. I then propose an efficient unresponsive resolution approach by incorporating our structural graph indexing technique. Finally, I introduce Cheleby, an integrated Internet topology mapping system. Cheleby first dynamically probes observed subnetworks using a team of PlanetLab nodes around the world to obtain comprehensive backbone topologies. Then, it utilizes efficient algorithms to resolve subnets, IP aliases, and unresponsive routers in the collected data sets to construct comprehensive subnet-level topologies. Sample topologies are provided at http://cheleby.cse.unr.edu

Effect of single or multiple injection of platelet-rich plasma in comparison with hyaluronic acid on knee osteoarthritis

Aim: To compare the effect of administration of 2 different doses of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and a single dose of hyaluronic acid (HA) preparation on pain and daily life activities of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients. Method: In this nonrandomized comparative study, three groups of patients who received either a single dose of intraarticular (IA) PRP (PRP1 group), three doses of IA PRP (PRP3 group), or single dose IA HA (HA group) were included. Assessments were before treatment, and in the 3rd week and 6th week after treatment (after the final injection). The pain-visual analog scale (VAS), Euro-Qol (EQ)-5D-3L, EQVAS, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) were used. Results: In the 3rd week, there were statistically significant differences between the PRP1-HA groups in all parameters except EQ5; between PRP3-HA groups in all parameters except EQ5 and WOMAC stiffness; and between PRP3-PRP1 groups in all parameters except EQVAS, WOMAC pain and WOMAC stiffness. In the 6th week, there were statistically significant differences between the PRP1-HA groups in all parameters except WOMAC stiffness; between PRP3-HA groups in all parameters; and between PRP3-PRP1 groups in all parameters except WOMAC pain. Conclusion: Intraarticular PRP injections (single or three doses) were found to be more beneficial in the short term in terms of pain and functional improvement than HA injection and administration of three consecutive doses of PRP may be more effective compared to single-dose PRP administration in KOA patients

The Effects of Omitting-Then-Revealing Product Attribute Information: an Information Revelation Effect

Three experiments investigate the evaluative effect of revealing previously omitted information. In short, attributes were weighed more heavily when omitted-then-revealed (versus not omitted). Additionally, this revelation effect was mediated by changes in affect toward the product and bounded to those open (versus resistant) to change. The implications are discussed

Why We Decide Not to Decide? Decision Avoidance As a Means of Cognitive Closure

We propose decision avoidance is a collection of choice strategies motivated by the need for cognitive closure. This need, driven by the bothersome nature of a decision, offers a novel mechanism for decision avoidance effects and novel hypotheses regarding individuals' reliance on decision avoidance as a choice strategy

Activating a Mental Simulation Mind-Set through Generation of Alternatives: Implications for Debiasing in Related and Unrelated Domains

Encouraging people to consider multiple alternatives appears to be a useful debiasing technique for reducing many biases (explanation, hindsight, and overconfidence), if the generation of alternatives is experienced as easy. The present research tests whether these alternative generation procedures induce a mental simulation mind-set (cf. Galinsky & Moskowitz, 2000), such that debiasing in one domain transfers to debias judgments in unrelated domains. The results indeed demonstrated that easy alternative generation tasks not only debiased judgments in the same domain but also generalized to debias judgments in unrelated domains, provided that participants were low in the need for structure. The alternative generation tasks (even when they were easy to perform) showed no evidence of activating a mental simulation mind-set in individuals high in need for structure, as these individuals displayed no transfer effects. Implications of the results for understanding the role of the need for structure, ease of generation, and mental simulation mind-set activation for debiasing are discussed

Risk identification framework in construction of Egyptian mega housing projects

Egypt's population is increasing and expected to exceed 120 million by 2050. Egypt constructed mega housing projects (M.H.P) to cater with that escalation in population. The Egyptian strategy 2030 prioritized the construction of M.H.P. Contractors’ in Egypt have struggled to manage construction risks and deliver housing projects successfully. The aim of the paper is to develop a conceptual risk identification framework to improve contractors’ risk identification practices during the construction of mega housing projects in Egypt. The objectives of the paper are to analyse risk management practices in Egyptian M.H.P and to develop a risk identification framework (CRIF). The paper reviewed the literature of identified risks in construction of mega projects. Through a constructivism paradigm, the paper adopted the interview technique and allocated contractors’ recent risk practice. Qualitative risk information is analysed using NVivo tool for qualitative analysis. The paper used the ISO 31,000 as a backdrop to design a conceptual risk identification framework (CRIF), and a computerized risk identification database (CRID) using visual basic programming. The paper further produced generic guidelines to support the use of the CRIF during construction of M.H.P. Availability of resources, poor financial status, and weak technical training were the most common risks in construction of mega projects worldwide. The paper presented a risk breakdown structure (R.B.S) that included M.H.P common opportunities and challenges in Egypt. Egypt’s main challenges in construction of M.H.P included Management of Resources, Project Management, and Cash flow issues. The CRIF guides contractors’ in Egypt to improve risk knowledge, and management. The CRID improves the management of identified risks by providing a database for future M.H.P. The guidelines support contractors’ in using the conceptual risk identification framework. The paper updates risk identification process by adding multidisciplinary risk elements including risk communication, risk knowledge, and considering the context in building frameworks. The paper enhances contractors’ capability in management and identification of risks in construction of M.H.P. The paper allowed researchers to manage challenges and opportunities in construction of mega housing project in Egypt

The Impact of Name-Matching and Blocking on Author Disambiguation

In this work, we address the problem of blocking in the context of author name disambiguation. We describe a framework that formalizes different ways of name-matching to determine which names could potentially refer to the same author. We focus on name variations that follow from specifying a name with different completeness (i.e. full first name or only initial). We extend this framework by a simple way to define traditional, new and custom blocking schemes. Then, we evaluate different old and new schemes in the Web of Science. In this context we define and compare a new type of blocking schemes. Based on these results, we discuss the question whether name-matching can be used in blocking evaluation as a replacement of annotated author identifiers. Finally, we argue that blocking can have a strong impact on the application and evaluation of author disambiguation

Influences on the Illusory Truth Effect in Consumer Judgment

The Illusory Truth Effect: Exploring Implicit and Explicit Memory Influences on Consumer JudgmentsMaria L. CronleyMiami UniversityFrank R. KardesUniversity of CincinnatiScott A. HawkinsUniversity of TorontoRepetition does not seem like a sound basis for determining truth, but researchers have consistently found that people rate repeated statements as more true than non-repeated statements. This effect is known as the illusory truth effect and appears to be quite persistent. Following on previous work in memory and judgment, additional moderators of attention, exclusion, and subliminal exposure are investigated in two experiments to assess their effects on repetition-induced beliefs of validity for product claims. Results provide new insights into the processes of incidental learning and implicit memory use by which consumers form judgments based on repetitive persuasive messages