Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan: A Database Design Case

This teaching case addresses the design of a database that fulfills the complex requirements found at the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan, an actual entity. With the goal of challenging students to think analytically and to apply information systems concepts and tools to real world situations, the case study was appropriately structured to reflect the complexities they are likely to encounter in actual practice. Expected student deliverables from the case include data flow diagrams, the database design, a sample data dictionary, a flowchart, and pseudo-code. Student feedback from field trials in two sections of an upper division Systems Analysis and Design course reveal that the case is effective in teaching system analysis and data design skills. Teaching notes, a discussion of teaching strategies for the case, and an appropriate case solution, including data flow diagrams (DFDs), an entity-relationship diagram (ERD), and a sample data dictionary, are available through the Journal of Information Systems Education website

Directors Guild of America Health Plan Eligibility: An IS Analysis and Design Case

The value of case studies and other active learning methodologies for teaching systems analysis, database design and program design have been acknowledged and empirically demonstrated. Appropriate case studies challenge students to think analytically and apply information systems concepts and tools to real-world situations. This paper presents a case study that facilitates students to hone their skills in developing data flow diagrams, data modeling, normalized data design, user interface design and modular program design. The case is well suited for a course in Systems Analysis and Design, Database or a course dealing with information systems Applications Development. Students are required to utilize their data flow, modeling and design skills to develop an appropriate data and program structure for the Directors Guild of America Health Plan. While the case realistically details the requirements for health coverage eligibility at DGA Health Plan, other system requirements have been simplified so that the case is not overwhelming. Student feedback indicates that the case is realistic, engaging and challenging without being excessively complex. The case has been used successfully as both group and individual projects. Suggested student deliverables include data flow and normalized entity-relationship diagrams, screen and report layouts, program structure chart and sample pseudo code

Hybrid Cryptography security in public cloud using TwoFish and ECC algorithm

Cloud computing is a structure for rendering service to the user for free or paid basis through internet facility where we can access to a bulk of shared resources which results in saving managing cost and time for large companies, The data which are stored in the data center may incur various security, damage and threat issues which may result in data leakage, insecure interface and inside attacks. This paper will demonstrate the implementation of hybrid cryptography security in public cloud by a combination of Elliptical Curve Cryptography and Twofish algorithm, which provides an innovative solution to enhance the security features of the cloud so that we can improve the service thus results in increasing the trust over the technology.   

Effectiveness of Web-Based Instruction for ESL Students: An Empirical Study with Focus on Gender, Ethnicity, and Instructional Media

Students with English as a Second Language (ESL) make up a growing student population across the U.S. As Web-based instruction continues to gain wide acceptance, educators need to ensure that ESL students are not placed at a disadvantage due to language and cultural barriers. This study compared the performance of ESL students in three different settings - Web, lecture, and lecture with Web. The results showed that the lecture group performed significantly better than the Web group. Ethnicity contributed to a significant difference in performance in the lecture group. The study found no differences in performance due to gender. Students with PC ownership with Internet access and those with longer residency in the U.S. performed significantly better irrespective of the setting. The paper concludes with lessons learned and offers helpful suggestions in teaching Web courses to ESL and minority students

Analysis of audio fingerprinting techniques

Advisors: Lichuan Liu; Benedito Fonseca.Committee members: Benedito Fonseca; Lichuan Liu; Donald Zinger.Includes bibliographical references.Includes illustrations.The goal of this thesis is to compare various audio fingerprinting algorithms under a common framework. An audio fingerprint is a compact content-based signature that uniquely summarizes an audio recording. In this thesis, acoustic fingerprints are based on prominent peaks extracted from the spectrogram of the audio signal in question. A spectrogram is a visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies in an audio signal as it varies with time. Some of the applications of audio fingerprinting include but are not limited to music identification, advertisement detection, channel identification in TV and radio broadcasts. Currently, there are several fingerprinting techniques that employ different fingerprinting algorithms. However, there is no study or concrete proof that suggests one algorithm is better in comparison with the other algorithms. In this thesis, some of the feasible techniques employed in audio fingerprint extraction such as Same-Band Frequency analysis, Cross-Band Frequency analysis, use of Mel Frequency Banks, and use of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) are analyzed and compared under the same framework.M.S. (Master of Science

Discovery and analysis of iron export and iron import mechanisms of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and their roles in managing stress responses

Nutritional iron acquisition by bacteria is well described, but almost nothing is known about bacterial iron export. Here, we show that Bradyrhizobium japonicum MbfA (Blr7895) is an inner membrane protein expressed in cells specifically under high iron conditions. An mbfA deletion mutant is severely defective in iron export activity, contains >2-fold more intracellular iron than the parent strain, and displays an aberrant iron-dependent gene expression phenotype. The findings suggest that iron export plays an important role in bacterial iron homeostasis, and MbfA is responsible for the iron export activity of B. japonicum. The N-terminal Ferritin like domain (FLD) of MbfA is localized to the cytoplasmic side of the inner membrane and is required for export activity. Purified FLD is a dimer in solution implying that MbfA functions as a dimer. An mbfA mutant is sensitive to short term exposure to high levels iron or H2O2 but not when grown in elevated iron media, suggesting a stress response adaptation. The bfr gene encodes the iron storage protein bacterioferritin. An mbfA bfr double mutant showed a loss of stress adaptation, and had a severe growth phenotype in high iron media. The double mutant exhibits elevated intracellular iron content than the wild type, and displays aberrant gene expression even when grown in relatively low iron media. These results suggest that MbfA and Bfr work in concert to manage iron and oxidative stresses. In addition, the need for iron detoxification is not limited to extreme environments, but is also required for normal cellular function. B. japonicum cannot make siderophores for acquisition of iron in aerobic environments. The mechanism of iron uptake in the absence of xenosiderophores is unknown. Exploiting the synthetic lethal phenotype of the mbfA bfr double mutant, we identified suppressor strains that can grow in high iron concentrations. The suppressor strains harbor loss of function mutations in the feoAB operon, which is a ferrous iron transport system. Interestingly, FeoAB system is required for ferric iron utilization and is required for high affinity uptake of both ferric and ferrous iron by B. japonicum. feoB and feoA incited small, poorly developed, non-nitrogen fixing nodules on soybean plants suggesting the requirement of FeoAB system for establishment of symbiosis. A suppressor strain harboring a Glu-40 to Lys mutation in FeoA (feoAE40K ) has diminished but measurable iron uptake activity in free living cells. It elicited nitrogen fixing nodules on soybean but the bacteroids in the nodules displayed lower iron uptake activity compared to wildtype bacteroids. This strongly suggests that the FeoAB transport system is involved in iron uptake within symbiotic bacteroids. Thus our results indicate that B. japonicum employs a single iron transporter to adapt to diverse environmental conditions