The study compared delay discounting in adult humans using two different methods of adjustments. Both methods used hypothetical choices of monetary outcomes. One involved adjustments using a fixed sequence of ascending or descending amounts, the other used a bisection algorithm in which the changes in amounts varied as a function of the subjects' choices. Two magnitudes of delayed outcomes were used: $1,000 and $10,000. A within subject design was used to compare indifference curves and discounting measures across the two adjusting procedures. Twenty four subjects were divided in two groups and exposed to the procedures in opposite order, to account for sequence effects. Results from within subject comparisons showed no systematic differences between procedures.

C4.5 is a decision tree learning algorithm that was developed by Ross Quinlan based on his earlier algorithm ID3. C4.5 is one of the most popular algorithms used to solve classification problems. Classification problems are problems of interest in a variety of disciplines. C4.5 is a supervised learning algorithm which uses a set of training patterns to build a decision tree. The algorithm uses the patterns and analyzes their individual attributes to partition the pattern data. The popularity of C4.5 stems from the fact that it can handle both continuous and categorical attributes, and it can deal with missing attribute values, while at the same time providing an easy interpretation for the answers that it produces. There are two objectives of this thesis. The first is to implement C4.5 in C++ within a generic architecture to allow for additional modules to be added. The second is to use this generic architecture to implement an innovative post induction phase which adjusts splits to minimize the error of the C4.5 tree. The C4.5 code and the post induction phase will be compiled into a MEX DLL for use as functions within MATLAB. Experimentation is performed using MATLAB to verify the advantages of this post induction phase.

Wireless mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) have come into prominence due to potentially rapid and infrastructure-less deployment in military operations and also in emergency and disaster-relief situations. However, the unreliability of wireless links between nodes, possibility of mobile nodes being captured or compromised, break down of cooperative algorithms, all lead to increased vulnerability. No matter how supposedly secure a system is, unrelenting attackers eventually succeed in infiltrating it. This underscores the need to monitor what is taking place in a system and look for suspicious behavior. An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) does just that: monitors audit data, looks for intrusions in the system, and initiates a proper response. Bandwidth constraints of MANETs necessitate the need for efficiency of any security scheme in order to prevent the overloading of the network. In this thesis, we have proposed an effective and efficient IDS for MANETs that aims to combine misuse detection with anomaly detection. Experimental validation has provided significant results about not only the accuracy and robustness of the scheme but also the non-degradability of network performance upon induction of our security scheme. It is not affected by factors such as node density, node mobility, traffic load and percentage of malicious nodes. On an average, our IDS, implemented using Destination-Sequenced Distance-Vector (DSDV) protocol, detects intrusions with an accuracy of over 90% and is generally insensitive to false alarms. Moreover, performance metrics such as end-to-end delay, packet delivery ratio and normalized routing load are only marginally affected (about 2% decrease in performance). / Master of Science

Master´s thesis proposes a Directives for Creation and Billing od Adjusting Items in Mikita Fashion s. r. o. company. Indispensable is amount of assets in company and that is account of adjusting entry important part. The Directives for Creation and Billing od Adjusting Items consolidate rules their account in company.

U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses are one of the pillars of the U.S. economy, providing employment, innovation, and productivity. However, these businesses are constantly faced with challenges resulting from limited resources and continuous technological advances. This qualitative multiple-case study was performed to explore the strategies that small business owners (SBOs) in Maryland use to acquire capital to sustain their businesses financially for more than 5 years. The study's framework, the strategic management theory, was applied to determine the most effective approaches for the small businesses. Face-to-face interviews with 6 recruited SBOs were performed. A qualitative thematic analysis was then used to analyze the interviews. The main strategies to sustain capital were to create a business plan focusing on long-term goals and invest in employee knowledge and skills. In the process of measuring success, participants mostly determined their success by their ability to acquire customers based on feedback and good service. The interviewees managed their cash by minimizing debt, maximizing the use of technology, and keeping track of cash flows. The SBOs also shared that the challenges in business were endured by staying debt-free, adjusting their strategies with the market changes, and conserving cash and expenses. Contributions to social change include helping small businesses sustain by leveraging strategic planning, management, and implementation in their businesses, thereby providing jobs and contributing to the overall economic vitality of the community.

Knowledge has always been a decisive factor of humankind's social evolutions. Collecting the world's knowledge is one of the greatest challenges of our civilization. Knowledge involves the use of information but information is not knowledge. It is a way of acquiring and understanding information. Improving the visibility and the accessibility of information requires to organize it efficiently. This thesis focuses on this general purpose. A fundamental objective of computer science is to store and retrieve information efficiently. This is known as the dictionary problem. A dictionary asks for a data structure which allows essentially the search operation. In general, information that is important and popular at a given time has to be accessed faster than less relevant information. This can be achieved by dynamically managing the data structure periodically such that relevant information is located closer from the search starting point. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the development and the understanding of self-adjusting dictionaries in various models of computation. In particular, we focus our attention on dictionaries which do not have any knowledge of the future accesses. Those dictionaries have to auto-adapt themselves to be competitive with dictionaries specifically tuned for a given access sequence. This approach, which transforms the information structure, is not always feasible. Reasons can be that the structure is based on the semantic of the information such as categorization. In this context, the search procedure is linked to the structure itself and modifying the structure will affect how a search is performed. A solution developed to improve search in static structure is the hotlink assignment. It is a way to enhance a structure without altering its original design. This approach speeds up the search by creating shortcuts in the structure. The first part of this thesis is devoted to this approach.

<p>Our main results are that splay trees are faster for sorted insertion, where AVL trees are faster for random insertion. For searching, skip lists are faster than single class top-down splay trees, but two-class and multi-class top-down splay trees can behave better than skip lists.</p>

This study proposes an application design for Stewart platform. The Stewart platform is selected to function as a mass center adjusting mechanism. The mechanism is attached to the chassis of a coaxial two-wheeled self-balancing car so that the mass center of the car can be shifted backward and forward to change the car speed. Besides, the mechanism can be applied to adjust the contacting forces between wheels and the ground if the mass center is shifted to the left and right of the car. In order to verify the feasibility of the design, the dynamic behavior of the car and the designing requirements for the Stewart platform are examined by using dynamic simulations on both sagittal plane and coronal plane. Therefore, the equation of motion of the car is derived from Lagrange mechanics. The driving torques to the wheels for balancing control, velocity control, and direction control are all determined by PID controllers. An algorithm for determining the displacement, that the mass center should be shifted to prevent losing contact force between wheels and the ground, is also introduced. The results of dynamic simulation show that the proposed application is feasible. Designing requirements for synthesizing the dimensions of the adjusting mechanism are also determined from the simulations. Finally, the dimensions of the desired Stewart platform are determined according to the designing requirements. The workspace of the Stewart platform is then investigated by inversed kinematic analysis method. Since the workspace includes the necessary space for the proposed application, which means the specified dimensions of the Stewart platform is valid.

This thesis is to develop a novel polishing tool system fitted for convex and concave symmetrical surface of combined surface. There are two design goals in this system. First, this system can be used to polish a concave or convex cone surface with various dimensions and angle cones by adjusting its geometric feature of structure. Second, this polishing tool is expected to have high life expectancy in real applications. Because of the advantages, an efficiency and controllable polishing system would be developed.An inference process, based on a top-down planning strategy, was used to obtain the concept design of polishing tool. There are two major parts in the structure of polishing tool system. The first one is its elastic structure. Both its geometric configuration and loading applied at work are adjustable. The second one is the polishing tool of cylindrical shape. With this specific geometric feature, the effect of tool wear on polishing rate is minimized. The finite element method was adopted to analyze the deformation characteristics of the elastic structure. Accordingly, an optimal design about the shape and dimension of elastic structure was determined. The experimental study showed that the developed polishing system had the property of high repeatability in machining rate. It was also demonstrated that the machining rate of system was insensitive to the tool wear during the polishing process. This advantage may allow this system to gain significant benefit in reducing the need of tool replacement. Finally, it was shown that the experimental trends of machining rate due to the change of applied load or polishing speed followed that of cylindrical polishing system. Both of them can be properly predicted based on the lubricating theories.

<p>Our main results are that splay trees are faster for sorted insertion, where AVL trees are faster for random insertion. For searching, skip lists are faster than single class top-down splay trees, but two-class and multi-class top-down splay trees can behave better than skip lists.</p>