Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Political Science, June 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 2001. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 61 p.; also contains graphics. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-60).

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed January 26, 2010). Thesis advisor: Dr. Cerry M. Klein. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. Örebro : Örebro universitet, 2009.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 2002. / Title from title page of source document. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) is a new theoretical framework that is designed to integrate cognitive psychology into measurement theories. The main purpose of CDA is to provide examinees with diagnostic information while traditional psychometric approaches focus on how latent variables are accurately measured. Many cognitive diagnostic models (CDM) have been developed for CDA. Three cognitive diagnostic models- namely the rule space method (RSM), the high-order deterministic inputs, noisy ‘and’ gate (HO-DINA) model, and the multidimensional latent trait model for diagnosis (MLTM-D) model were compared using simulated data and empirical data. For the simulation study, three methods of data generation are proposed. Each method was designed based on one of the three models. A total of 12 conditions was involved in the simulation study: 2 item designs X 2 level of test X 3 methods of data generation. The diagnostic results were compared by level of test difficulty, level of ability estimates, and level of dimensionality. The effect of number of attributes on accurate classification was also investigated. For the empirical study, a mathematics test data was used and the diagnostic results were compared.

Firewalls, packet filters placed at the boundary of a network in order to screen incoming packets of traffic (and discard any undesirable packets), are a prominent component of network security. In this dissertation, we make several contributions to the study of firewalls. 1. Current algorithms for verifying the correctness of firewall policies use O(n[superscrip d]) space, where n is the number of rules in the firewall (several thousand) and d the number of fields in a rule (about five). We develop a fast probabilistic firewall verification algorithm, which runs in time and space O(nd), and determines whether a firewall F satisfies a property P. The algorithm is provably correct in several interesting cases -- notably, for every instance where it states that F does not satisfy P -- and the overall probability of error is extremely small, of the order of .005%. 2. As firewalls are often security-critical systems, it may be necessary to verify the correctness of a firewall with no possibility of error, so there is still a need for a fast deterministic firewall verifier. In this dissertation, we present a deterministic firewall verification algorithm that uses only O(nd) space. 3. In addition to correctness, optimizing firewall performance is an important issue, as slow-running firewalls can be targeted by denial-of-service attacks. We demonstrate in this dissertation that in fact, there is a strong connection between firewall verification and detection of redundant rules; an algorithm for one can be readily adapted to the other task. We suggest that our algorithms for firewall verification can be used for firewall optimization also. 4. In order to help design correct and efficient firewalls, we suggest two metrics for firewall complexity, and demonstrate how to design firewalls as a battery of simple firewall modules rather than as a monolithic sequence of rules. We also demonstrate how to convert an existing monolithic firewall into a modular firewall. We propose that modular design can make firewalls easy to design and easy to understand. Thus, this dissertation covers all stages in the life cycle of a firewall -- design, testing and verification, and analysis -- and makes contributions to the current state of the art in each of these fields. / text

Dell Inc. has a long and storied history that started in a dorm room and through many highs, and some lows, became a $60 billion international powerhouse. Now that the U.S. PC market is so saturated it becomes increasingly important to build long term customer relationships. While Dell transforms itself into an end-to-end solutions provider that will deliver hardware and state of the art services and software it needs to also create a new way to cultivate relationships on the consumer level. Some of these customer relationships have been somewhat damaged due to the extremely rapid growth of the company, its departments, and the amount of customers served. Corporations around the world have been using the same departmental model that has made it easy to manage a company but difficult for a customer to navigate it. This report will analyze the problem with the current departmental model and suggest an alternative that is cost effective and customer centric. / text