How we share our good news with people can have a significant effect on our lives. Sharing good news on social media sites involves a process called capitalization. Capitalization has been shown to increase well-being when others provide appropriate responses in face-to-face interactions. To see if this effect on well-being extends to our online presence, this study utilized the social media site Facebook to observe if capitalization predicted well-being and relationship satisfaction. This study used data collected from 137 participants recruited from an undergraduate participant pool and from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Consistent with hypotheses, participants who reported receiving active and constructive responses after sharing a positive event on Facebook also reported greater personal well-being and relationship satisfaction. Although future experimental research is needed to establish causality, the current results suggest that the ways in which friends respond to social media posts are associated with personal and relationship well-being. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is a wireless ad-hoc network that provides communications among vehicles with on-board units and between vehicles and nearby roadside units. The success of a VANET relies on the ability of a routing protocol to ful ll the throughput and delivery requirements of any applications operating on the network. Currently, most of the proposed VANET routing protocols focus on urban or highway environments. This dissertation addresses the need for an adaptive routing protocol in VANETs which is able to tolerate low and high-density network tra c with little throughput and delay variation. This dissertation proposes three Geographic Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (GEOADV) protocols. These three GEOADV routing protocols are designed to address the lack of exibility and adaptability in current VANET routing protocols. The rst protocol, GEOADV, is a hybrid geographic routing protocol. The second protocol, GEOADV-P, enhances GEOADV by introducing predictive features. The third protocol, GEOADV-PF improves optimal route selection by utilizing fuzzy logic in addition to GEOADV-P's predictive capabilities. To prove that GEOADV and GEOADV-P are adaptive their performance is demonstrated by both urban and highway simulations. When compared to existing routing protocols, GEOADV and GEOADV-P lead to less average delay and a higher average delivery ratio in various scenarios. These advantages allow GEOADV- P to outperform other routing protocols in low-density networks and prove itself to be an adaptive routing protocol in a VANET environment. GEOADV-PF is introduced to improve GEOADV and GEOADV-P performance in sparser networks. The introduction of fuzzy systems can help with the intrinsic demands for exibility and adaptability necessary for VANETs. An investigation into the impact adaptive beaconing has on the GEOADV protocol is conducted. GEOADV enhanced with an adaptive beacon method is compared against GEOADV with three xed beacon rates. Our simulation results show that the adaptive beaconing scheme is able to reduce routing overhead, increase the average delivery ratio, and decrease the average delay. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Les objectifs de la thèse concernent l’optimisation du rendement énergétique, la minimisation de l’empreinte et du coût de l’alimentation en tension d’amplificateurs audio pour l’application casque des plateformes mobiles. Après une présentation du contexte des plateformes mobiles et des caractéristiques principales des amplificateurs audio dédiés, l’introduction conclut sur la nécessité d’une alimentation en tensions bipolaires, symétriques et donne les spécifications principales d’une telle alimentation en énergie électrique. Le chapitre d’état de l’art présente dans un premier temps les architeture les plus compétitves permettant de générer deux tensions symétriques. Une figure de mérite englobe le rendement énergétique, l’empreinte sur la plateforme et le coût en composants passifs externes de chacune des solutions présentées. Une architecture de convertisseur utilisant une seule inductance pour obtenir des tensions régulées symétriques se révelle etre un candidat interessant pour l’alimentation des amplificateurs dédiés aux casques audio. Cette architecture à été démontrée mais cependant loin des spécifications de l’application casque audio. Basée sur cette architecture, le chapitre troisième présente un étage de puissance et ses modes de conduction correspondant aux spécifications de l’application casque audio. Des détails concernent en particulier la conception des interrupteurs ainsi que la stratégie d’asservissement et de régulation. Des premières estimations de rendement sont évaluées dans les pires cas de fonctionnement. Très tôt dans le déroulement de la thèse, il y a eu une opportunité de tester l’étage de puissance en technologie CMOS 130nm. Le chapitre 4 présente l’implémentation du convertisseur sur un circuit de test. Le convertisseur est embarqué notamment à côté d’un amplificateur audio dédié, autorisant des tests plus proches de la réalité d’usage. Les campagnes de mesures ont concerné les aspects fonctionnels et les valeurs de rendement. Les résultats sont encourageants mais confirment les éléments non optimaux du dispositif. Dans l’idée d’un second silicium, le chapitre cinquième décrit plus théoriquement l’approche d’asservissement et de régulation et met en évidence des cas critiques, peu probables mais concrets, liés à l’évaluation sur des profils de charge réelle du convertisseur. Des simulations permettent de transformer un flux audio en courbe de courant absorbé par l’amplificateur audio, c’est-à-dire la charge réelle vue par le convertisseur de tensions symétriques. Le chapitre sixième décrit des améliorations à propos des modes de conduction, à savoir l’introduction des modes discontinu ou d’élimination d’impulsion (pulse skipping). Malheureusement une crise économique a barré l’accès à un silicium de validation finale. Le manuscrit est conclu par un rappel des résultats principaux et des perspectives. Les travaux ont fait l’objet de publications à des conférences internationales. / The objectives of this thesis were the optimization of the power efficiency and the minimization of the footprint area and cost of the integrated power supply of headset audio amplifiers on mobile platforms (fig. 1). The thesis took place in the Analog System Design group at ST Ericsson in strong collaboration with Ampere laboratory at INSA de Lyon. The french agency ANRT provided part of the project funding. The first chapter presents the current mobile platform context as well as the main characteristics of audio amplifiers driving headphones. This chapter concludes giving the need of a symmetrical power supply for the headset audio amplifiers and giving a set of electrical specifications for this power supply. The second chapter presents the state-of-the-art in terms of symmetrical power supply architectures able to fit the previously given characteristics and specifications. A set of key parameters based on the power efficiency, the relative silicon area, the relative external bill of material, the number of Input/Output pins and the external passive components area, is employed to benchmark all existing architectures to supply such audio amplifiers. This benchmark reveals the novel Single Inductor Bipolar Output (SIBO) converter as very promising. The similar existing circuits are also detailed and pros and cons of each one of them are discussed to define the most suited architecture. The third chapter proposes a dedicated power stage architecture and related conduction schemes. The design of the power stage is described as well as its dedicated control strategy. Some ideal efficiency estimations are given. The fourth chapter presents the realization of a first prototype, designed in a 130 nm ST Microelectronics CMOS process to be an early demonstrator of the architecture in chapter 3. Measurements on efficiency, control and transient performances are presented and discussed. This circuit embedded on the same die as an audio amplifier proves its effectiveness in supplying such a circuit. The fifth chapter presents a theoretical analysis of the feedback control of this SIBO converter. Mathematical linear model of the converter is derived to obtain its transfer function matrix, then the feedback structure design is defined thanks to dedicated mathematical tools. A set of classical PID controllers is proposed and validated with piecewise linear model while playing different audio popular songs. The sixth chapter describes the design of improvements of the first test chip as well as simulation results about these improvements. The main improvements presented in this chapter are a Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM) as well as a Pulse Skipping Mode (PSM). No silicon result can be presented here due to a budget restriction that impacted the course of the thesis. The final chapter is a discussion about the proposed solutions and some perspectives to the present work.

A modelagem computacional tem se tornado uma poderosa ferramenta utilizada mundialmente em pesquisas sobre sistemas de comunicação móvel. Em tais sistemas, a modelagem do canal é fator indispensável, pois as características de mobilidade e propagação presentes nesse tipo de sistema são responsáveis por distorções ocorridas sobre o sinal transmitido. O presente trabalho reúne os principais modelos matemáticos e computacionais de canal de comunicação móvel. Realiza-se uma abordagem histórica sobre o assunto, apresentado a natureza do problema do desvanecimento e a forma como foi modelado inicialmente. Por outro lado, apresentam-se modelos recentes, considerados eficazes do ponto de vista matemático e eficientes do ponto de vista computacional. O trabalho traz como contribuição a proposta de um novo modelo de canal com desvanecimento. Os modelos apresentados foram analisados do ponto de vista matemático por meio de suas propriedades estatísticas. Do ponto de vista numérico e computacional a análise se deu por meio de simulações. A principal conclusão obtida mostra que dois modelos com filtragem no domínio da freqüência, sendo um deles o novo modelo proposto, são os mais indicados para simular formas de onda que representem um canal com desvanecimento Rayleigh. Este trabalho tem a pretensão de ser útil para pesquisadores atuantes na área de modelagem e simulação de sistemas atuais de comunicação móvel. / Computational modelling is a powerful and widely used tool for research in mobile communication systems. In such systems, the communication channel modelling is an indispensable factor, because its mobility and propagation characteristics can cause distortion over the transmitted waveform. This work contains the main mathematical and computing communication channel models. A historical cover is provided, which presents the nature of the problem and the initial modelling of the fading phenomenon. On the other hand, recent models are presented, which are mathematically effective and computationally efficient. One contribution of this work is the proposal of a new fading channel computational model, which was suitably tested and validated. The presented models were mathematically analyzed through its statistical properties. From numerical and computational point of view, the models were analyzed through several simulations. The main conclusion, from analytical and simulated results, shows that two models using frequency filtering are the best choice for the generation of multiple uncorrelated Rayleigh fading waveforms, where one of them is the new proposed model. This work can help mobile communications researchers to suitably model the communication channel in a computer simulation.

A modelagem computacional tem se tornado uma poderosa ferramenta utilizada mundialmente em pesquisas sobre sistemas de comunicação móvel. Em tais sistemas, a modelagem do canal é fator indispensável, pois as características de mobilidade e propagação presentes nesse tipo de sistema são responsáveis por distorções ocorridas sobre o sinal transmitido. O presente trabalho reúne os principais modelos matemáticos e computacionais de canal de comunicação móvel. Realiza-se uma abordagem histórica sobre o assunto, apresentado a natureza do problema do desvanecimento e a forma como foi modelado inicialmente. Por outro lado, apresentam-se modelos recentes, considerados eficazes do ponto de vista matemático e eficientes do ponto de vista computacional. O trabalho traz como contribuição a proposta de um novo modelo de canal com desvanecimento. Os modelos apresentados foram analisados do ponto de vista matemático por meio de suas propriedades estatísticas. Do ponto de vista numérico e computacional a análise se deu por meio de simulações. A principal conclusão obtida mostra que dois modelos com filtragem no domínio da freqüência, sendo um deles o novo modelo proposto, são os mais indicados para simular formas de onda que representem um canal com desvanecimento Rayleigh. Este trabalho tem a pretensão de ser útil para pesquisadores atuantes na área de modelagem e simulação de sistemas atuais de comunicação móvel. / Computational modelling is a powerful and widely used tool for research in mobile communication systems. In such systems, the communication channel modelling is an indispensable factor, because its mobility and propagation characteristics can cause distortion over the transmitted waveform. This work contains the main mathematical and computing communication channel models. A historical cover is provided, which presents the nature of the problem and the initial modelling of the fading phenomenon. On the other hand, recent models are presented, which are mathematically effective and computationally efficient. One contribution of this work is the proposal of a new fading channel computational model, which was suitably tested and validated. The presented models were mathematically analyzed through its statistical properties. From numerical and computational point of view, the models were analyzed through several simulations. The main conclusion, from analytical and simulated results, shows that two models using frequency filtering are the best choice for the generation of multiple uncorrelated Rayleigh fading waveforms, where one of them is the new proposed model. This work can help mobile communications researchers to suitably model the communication channel in a computer simulation.

The purpose of this research was to determine what type of correlations existed between student and parent attitudes towards using smartphones in school and the resulting impact on achievement, specifically for low-achieving students. Participants in the study were third-grade students and their parents from a primary school in Singapore. The study employed a quantitative analysis to understand the correlations among the different participant groups. The instruments used were Likert-based surveys, along with scores from mid-year and end-of-year achievement exams in English and science. The three most relevant major findings showed that (a) low-achieving students show a positive attitude toward completing science activities, which correlates with an increase in science achievement; (b) the parents of low-achieving students appear to provide their children with autonomy in using their smartphones, which correlates with an increase in science achievement; and (c) having a smartphone and using the smartphone to complete school work is important to low-achieving students and their parents.

我國在電信開放自由化後，行動通訊發展的腳步就一直以極快的速度成長，而第三代行動通訊則是目前行動通訊的大熱門，其擁有以往GSM系統所沒有的高速傳輸速度、以封包的方式傳輸資料等的特點、在搭配更優良的通訊品質，使得第三代行動通訊深受投資人的期待，而本論文則將針對我國未來第三代行動通訊市場，提出市場成形條件與關鍵成功因素。 本研究採定性分析之方法，除了探討相關文獻外，再以個案訪談之方式，希望能對第三代行動通訊市場做個完整的分析。個案對象包括行動通訊系統商、終端設備製造商、以及欲加入第三代行動通訊事業之新進入者。 本論文研究中，對於市場成形條件列出以下十點：傳輸技術的發展、消費者消費行為的了解、定價合理化、終端設備的出現、電信系統業者的存在、尋找適用於行動通訊網路的內容、行動整合平台的出現、網路安全問題的解決、行動通訊內容的蓬勃發展、網站使用者付費機制的形成。 而關鍵成功因素也列出下列十點，分別是找出殺手級應用服務、電信業者注意系統的穩定性、安全性及網路管理能力、行動終端設備的功能提升及與其他技術的整合、提供顧客個人化、客制化的第三代行動通訊服務、電信系統商與其他業者間拆帳問題的解決、政府的法令規定、行動終端供應速度必須滿足市場需求、針對企業用戶提供其所需要的服務內容、網路外部性的運用。 而市場成形條件與關鍵成功因素之間的關聯，則以兩者之關聯圖表做解釋。又未來的第三代行動通訊服務中，行動顧客關係管理(Mobile CRM)所扮演的角色將格外重要，這部份必須與行動整合平台間有著緊密的關聯，以行動顧客關係管理為基礎，結合未來WAP之PUSH機制的成熟，將更能夠達到主動行銷的概念，又利用行動終端設備屬於個人化產品的特性，將能夠讓一對一行銷的概念在未來第三代行動通訊中實現，再輔以本論文所提之市場關鍵成功因素，未來我國第三代行動通訊服務市場的發展將是值得期待的。

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Management and Marketing

Cryptography algorithms like the Advanced Encryption Standard, Elliptic Curve Cryptography algorithms etc are designed using algebraic properties of finite fields. Thus performance of these algorithms depend on performance of the underneath field operations. Moreover, different algorithms use finite fields of widely varying order. In order to cater to these finite fields of different orders in an area efficient manner, it is necessary to design solutions in the form of hardware-consolidations, keeping the performance requirements in mind. Due to their small area occupancy and high utilization, such circuits are less likely to stay idle and therefore are less prone to loss of energy due to leakage power dissipation. There is another class of applications that rely on finite field algebra namely the various error detection and correction techniques. Most of the classical block codes used for detection of bit-error in communications over noisy communication channels apply the algebraic properties of finite fields. Cyclic redundancy check is one such algorithm used for detection of error in data in computer network. Reed-Solomon code is most notable among classical block codes because of its widespread use in storage devices like CD, DVD, HDD etc. In this work we present the architecture of a polymorphic multiplier for operations over various extensions of GF(2). We evolved the architecture of a textbook shift-and-add multiplier to arrive at the architecture of the polymorphic multiplier through a generalized mathematical formulation. The polymorphic multiplier is capable of morphing itself in runtime to create data-paths for multiplications of various orders. In order to optimally exploit the resources, we also introduced the capability of sub-word parallel execution in the polymorphic multiplier. The synthesis results of an instance of such a polymorphic multipliershowsabout41% savings in area with 21% degradation in maximum operating frequency compared to a collection of dedicated multipliers with equivalent functionality. We introduced the multiplier as an accelerator unit for field operations in the coarse grained runtime reconfigurable platform called REDEFINE. We observed about 40-50% improvement in performance of the AES algorithm and about 52×improvement in performance of Karatsuba-Ofman multiplication algorithm.