Denise Case | Northwest Missouri State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Denise Case

Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, May 1, 2017

This paper describes the process for developing a sharable lessons library to support cross-cutti... more This paper describes the process for developing a sharable lessons library to support cross-cutting concerns in a computer science curriculum. The approach supports the creation of lessons that can be shared across courses, that can be updated quickly as new technologies are introduced, that allow new faculty the benefits of tested lessons, and that allow the lessons to be taught in courses with students employing different operating systems, technology stacks, and development environments. Focusing on core outcomes, the lessons can be adapted as the field evolves. The paper applies the process to the development of a lesson library for teaching collaborative coding with Git, a distributed version control system, across a variety of courses.

As sensor prices drop and computing devices continue to become more compact and powerful, computi... more As sensor prices drop and computing devices continue to become more compact and powerful, computing capabilities are being embedded throughout our physical environment. Connecting these devices in cyber-physical systems (CPS) enables applications with significant societal impact and economic benefit. However, engineering CPS poses modeling, architecture, and engineering challenges and, to fully realize the desired benefits, many outstanding challenges must be addressed. For the cyber parts of CPS, two decades of work in the design of autonomous agents and multiagent systems (MAS) offers design principles for distributed intelligent systems and formalizations for agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE). MAS foundations offer a natural fit for enabling distributed interacting devices. In some cases, complex control structures such as holarchies can be advantageous. These can motivate complex organizational strategies when implementing such systems with a MAS, and some designs may require agents to act in multiple groups simultaneously. Such agents must be able to manage their multiple associations and assignments in a consistent and unambiguous way. This thesis shows how designing agents as systems of intelligent subagents offers a reusable and practical approach to designing complex systems. It presents a set of flexible, reusable components developed for OBAA++, an organization-based architecture for single-group MAS, and shows how these components were used to develop the Adaptive Architecture for Systems of Intelligent Systems (AASIS) to enable multigroup agents suitable for complex, multigroup MAS. This work illustrates the reusability and flexibility of the approach by using AASIS to simulate a CPS for an intelligent power distribution system (IPDS) operating two multigroup MAS concurrently: one providing continuous voltage control and a second conducting discrete power auctions near sources of distributed generation. Keywords: Complex systems; Cyber-physical systems; Agent architectures; Distributed artificial Intelligence; Multiagent systems; Power distribution systems URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2097/19045

Attraction and retention of underrepresented groups continues to be a daunting challenge. Our pan... more Attraction and retention of underrepresented groups continues to be a daunting challenge. Our panel explores the research and current efforts to address these issues. It includes a unique group of partners from high school and higher education, as well as specialists in the field and community. This panel seeks to: • summarize the current state of the pipeline for members of traditionally underrepresented groups in computer science • review why it is crucial to have adequate representation from underrepresented groups • discuss opportunities to improve engagement in computer science throughout the pipeline • look at methods to improve recruitment among underrepresented groups • review ways to improve interest, retention, and success for these students, their institutions, and communities.

Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2020

Learn how to design and create powerful new progressive web apps (PWA). This workshop introduces ... more Learn how to design and create powerful new progressive web apps (PWA). This workshop introduces the computer science principles that enable modern web sites to be converted into installable apps. This course starts with an example web site (built with HTML/CSS/JavaScript) and shows in just two easy steps how to create an engaging app that can be installed on mobile devices, including Android phones, iPhones, iPads, tablets, and more. The course illustrates the principles by converting an open source, cloud-hosted, client-side app. It introduces manifest files and JSON, then introduces the powerful new JavaScript service workers. The course employs Google's free Workbox libraries and shows how service workers enable web apps to interact with device APIs and alter requests before and after sending. You can easily install (and uninstall) the apps on mobile devices - and even use an app while your device is offline. The course illustrates how engaging tools like Lighthouse provide critical feedback on performance, accessibility, best practices, and more. As a bonus, a PWA syllabus is provided that can be customized to your courses. Skills for developing these apps are in demand and quite accessible to students. Laptop Required. Presenters are most familiar with Windows, but another OS should be fine. Internet access and the ability to create and edit files is required. Chrome browser is required to run the Lighthouse audits. All software and libraries are free and open source.

Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2019

College Teaching, 2019

A positive, pre-speech self-talk experience was used to assess the influence on student performan... more A positive, pre-speech self-talk experience was used to assess the influence on student performance anxiety in a variety of disciplines. The findings suggest that having students recite aloud a self-affirming statement in unison immediately prior to delivery of a required speech or presentation provides a greater reduction in performance anxiety than not doing so. However, repeated use of the recited positive affirmation experience over multiple assignments within the same course and academic term did not result in significant additional reduction in performance anxiety over classes in which only one speech or presentation was performed during the term.

2016 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), 2016

The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but thei... more The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but their energy offerings are often based on alternative sources which may be dependent on transient weather conditions. Power market auction behavior is a typical large-scale system characterized by huge amounts of data and information that have to be taken into consideration to make decisions. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) offer a method for using the knowledge and experience of domain experts to describe the behavior of a complex system. This paper discusses FCM representation and development, and describes the use of FCM to develop a behavioral model of the system. This paper then presents the soft computing approach of FCM for modeling complex power market behavior. The resulting FCM models a variety of factors that affect individual participant behaviors during power auctions and provides an abstract conceptual model of the interacting entities for a specific case problem.

2016 Annual Conference of the North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society (NAFIPS), 2016

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, 2016

Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, ... more Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, collaborative framework that allows software engineers to work together effectively. VCS allow users to track changes and merge ongoing work into concurrently evolving software projects. Distributed VCS such as Git, allow a great degree of flexibility, and provide powerful options for managing personal code and evolving collaborative content. Power incurs responsibility, and introducing collaborative coding and version control tools to new developers can create many challenges. Yet these tools, once mastered, are crucial skills for professional developers. In this paper, the authors introduce VCS to computer science students both in a custom environment specifically designed to support new developers and in a commercially-available native environment suitable for more experienced students. Results show that proper introduction of these powerful tools can make early exposure a positive and valued experience.

adaptive agents and multi-agents systems, May 5, 2014

Intelligent agents and multiagent systems (MAS) provide a scalable approach to distributed artifi... more Intelligent agents and multiagent systems (MAS) provide a scalable approach to distributed artificial intelligence [3]. Analogous to intelligent biological entities, agent-based computational systems may become quite complex. Some may consist of multiple cooperating groups, each providing a specialized subset of the total required functionality [4, 6]. My work focuses on engineering multigroup agents in cooperative intelligent systems. A reusable multigroup agent architecture has been developed, along with a simulation framework and recommended software engineering practices, to support the implementation of multigroup applications. The architecture is being used to evaluate power quality control algorithms for electrical power distribution systems (PDS).

adaptive agents and multi-agents systems, May 5, 2014

2017 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 2017

Predicting the desirability and number of student applications to universities is a challenging a... more Predicting the desirability and number of student applications to universities is a challenging and dynamic undertaking. Student applications are affected by a variety of factors ranging from those related to the university itself and its surrounding community, to factors up to the national level, including perceptions of international relations. This paper proposes a way of modeling this complex task and the related decision-making using fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM). The process includes determination of the key concepts and factors affecting the desirability of a university for a representative set of cohort groups. Cohort groups allow us to reuse model concepts and linguistic variables while customizing the relationships to create a custom, dynamic model based on a variety of target population subsets. This paper introduces a reusable process for developing models based on cohort groups, and presents three customized FCM models that can be used to explore a range of possibilities a...

This paper describes new interactive mental models applied to the pursuit of Construction Managem... more This paper describes new interactive mental models applied to the pursuit of Construction Management (CM) project opportunities using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM). The CM-FCM models provide a basis for new decision support tools capable of providing Construction Industry Practitioners (CIP) support throughout the Project Life Cycle (PLC). It presents two novel CM-FCM models based on real-world construction engineering and management experience, specifically designed to support key decisions in the PLC. The interactive CM-FCM validates the application of FCM to this domain and demonstrate a method capable of helping manage the complexity and uncertainty inherent in construction management. The models offer a foundation for interactive intelligent decision support tools to assist with construction management.

Fuzzy Hybrid Computing in Construction Engineering and Management, 2018

Abstract This chapter discusses the application of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) modelling to constru... more Abstract This chapter discusses the application of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) modelling to construction management (CM) challenges and problems. It focuses on the critical issue of managing the complexity and uncertainty inherent in CM by providing a new intelligent layer that enhances classical approaches to construction modelling and management. It investigates how the myriad types of internal and external factors affecting the feasibility and performance of construction projects can be modelled using a fuzzy hybrid method that explores the complex relationships among many contributing factors and assesses and evaluates their impacts on past and future projects. This chapter proposes a hybrid modelling approach in the traditional context of cost, schedule and risk management and describes how augmenting and enhancing existing state-of-the-art tools and processes in CM can assist construction managers. This chapter provides a background on the theory of FCMs, presents foundational and current research, and explains how to apply this approach in the CM domain. This chapter also provides a detailed description of how to develop, modify and employ interactive models to specific CM challenges and problems. It includes a customisable, interactive base model and demonstrates how the model has been applied to specific CM events and issues. Examples are presented that highlight the interplay between project-specific goals and characteristics and the way these impact the interrelated and often opposing triad of cost, schedule and risk. The presented examples and practical applications make this state-of-the-art approach useful to both academic and industry practitioners.

Research in Computing Science, 2014

The increasing penetration of distributed renewable generation brings new power producers to the ... more The increasing penetration of distributed renewable generation brings new power producers to the market [1]. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels allow home owners to generate more power than personally needed and this excess production could be voluntarily sold to nearby homes, alleviating additional transmission costs especially in rural areas [2]. Power is sold as a continuous quantity and power markets involve pricing that may change on a minute-to-minute basis. Forward markets assist with scheduling power in advance [3]. The speed and complexity of the calculations needed to support online distributed auctions is a good fit for intelligent agents [4]. This paper describes the simulation of a two-tier double auction for short-term forward power exchanges between participants at the outer edges of a power distribution system (PDS). The paper describes the double auction algorithms and demonstrates online auction execution in a simulated distributed system of intelligent agents assisting with voltage/var control near distributed renewable generation [5]. The agents were enhanced to autonomously create local power market organizations and execute the series of online power auctions using Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP).

2016 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), 2016

The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but thei... more The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but their energy offerings are often based on alternative sources which may be dependent on transient weather conditions. Power market auction behavior is a typical large-scale system characterized by huge amounts of data and information that have to be taken into consideration to make decisions. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) offer a method for using the knowledge and experience of domain experts to describe the behavior of a complex system. This paper discusses FCM representation and development, and describes the use of FCM to develop a behavioral model of the system. This paper then presents the soft computing approach of FCM for modeling complex power market behavior. The resulting FCM models a variety of factors that affect individual participant behaviors during power auctions and provides an abstract conceptual model of the interacting entities for a specific case problem.

2016 Annual Conference of the North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society (NAFIPS), 2016

Project management is a complex process impacted by numerous factors either from the external env... more Project management is a complex process impacted by numerous factors either from the external environment and/or internal factors completely or partially under the project manager's control. Managing projects successfully involves a complex amalgamation of comprehensive, informed planning, dynamic assessment and analysis of changes in external and internal factors, and the development and communication of updated strategies over the life of the project. Project management involves the interaction and analysis of many systems and requires the continuous integration and evaluation of large amounts of information. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) allow us to encode project management knowledge and experiential results to create a useful model of the interacting systems. This paper covers the representation and development of a construction project management FCM that provides an integrated view of the most important concepts affecting construction project management and risk management. This paper then presents the soft computing approach of FCM to project management (PM) modeling and analysis. The resulting PM-FCM models the interaction of internal and external factors and offers an abstract conceptual model of interacting concepts for construction project management application.

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, 2016

Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, ... more Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, collaborative framework that allows software engineers to work together effectively. VCS allow users to track changes and merge ongoing work into concurrently evolving software projects. Distributed VCS such as Git, allow a great degree of flexibility, and provide powerful options for managing personal code and evolving collaborative content. Power incurs responsibility, and introducing collaborative coding and version control tools to new developers can create many challenges. Yet these tools, once mastered, are crucial skills for professional developers. In this paper, the authors introduce VCS to computer science students both in a custom environment specifically designed to support new developers and in a commercially-available native environment suitable for more experienced students. Results show that proper introduction of these powerful tools can make early exposure a positive and valued experience.

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, 2016

Version control systems (VCS), such as Subversion and Git, are pervasive in industry; they are in... more Version control systems (VCS), such as Subversion and Git, are pervasive in industry; they are invaluable tools for collaborative development that allow software engineers to track changes, monitor issues, merge work from multiple people, and manage releases. These tools are most effective when they are a part of a developer's habitual workflow. Unfortunately, the use of these powerful tools is often taught much later in a developer's educational career than other tools like programming languages or databases. Even an experienced student's first experience with version control can be unpleasant. In this paper, the authors analyze the workflow of two common Version Control Systems with different version controls (Subversion and Git) to build a common visual language for these systems (Version Control Visual Language, or VeCVL), and show that the same visual language applies to other version control systems.

Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, May 1, 2017

This paper describes the process for developing a sharable lessons library to support cross-cutti... more This paper describes the process for developing a sharable lessons library to support cross-cutting concerns in a computer science curriculum. The approach supports the creation of lessons that can be shared across courses, that can be updated quickly as new technologies are introduced, that allow new faculty the benefits of tested lessons, and that allow the lessons to be taught in courses with students employing different operating systems, technology stacks, and development environments. Focusing on core outcomes, the lessons can be adapted as the field evolves. The paper applies the process to the development of a lesson library for teaching collaborative coding with Git, a distributed version control system, across a variety of courses.

As sensor prices drop and computing devices continue to become more compact and powerful, computi... more As sensor prices drop and computing devices continue to become more compact and powerful, computing capabilities are being embedded throughout our physical environment. Connecting these devices in cyber-physical systems (CPS) enables applications with significant societal impact and economic benefit. However, engineering CPS poses modeling, architecture, and engineering challenges and, to fully realize the desired benefits, many outstanding challenges must be addressed. For the cyber parts of CPS, two decades of work in the design of autonomous agents and multiagent systems (MAS) offers design principles for distributed intelligent systems and formalizations for agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE). MAS foundations offer a natural fit for enabling distributed interacting devices. In some cases, complex control structures such as holarchies can be advantageous. These can motivate complex organizational strategies when implementing such systems with a MAS, and some designs may require agents to act in multiple groups simultaneously. Such agents must be able to manage their multiple associations and assignments in a consistent and unambiguous way. This thesis shows how designing agents as systems of intelligent subagents offers a reusable and practical approach to designing complex systems. It presents a set of flexible, reusable components developed for OBAA++, an organization-based architecture for single-group MAS, and shows how these components were used to develop the Adaptive Architecture for Systems of Intelligent Systems (AASIS) to enable multigroup agents suitable for complex, multigroup MAS. This work illustrates the reusability and flexibility of the approach by using AASIS to simulate a CPS for an intelligent power distribution system (IPDS) operating two multigroup MAS concurrently: one providing continuous voltage control and a second conducting discrete power auctions near sources of distributed generation. Keywords: Complex systems; Cyber-physical systems; Agent architectures; Distributed artificial Intelligence; Multiagent systems; Power distribution systems URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2097/19045

Attraction and retention of underrepresented groups continues to be a daunting challenge. Our pan... more Attraction and retention of underrepresented groups continues to be a daunting challenge. Our panel explores the research and current efforts to address these issues. It includes a unique group of partners from high school and higher education, as well as specialists in the field and community. This panel seeks to: • summarize the current state of the pipeline for members of traditionally underrepresented groups in computer science • review why it is crucial to have adequate representation from underrepresented groups • discuss opportunities to improve engagement in computer science throughout the pipeline • look at methods to improve recruitment among underrepresented groups • review ways to improve interest, retention, and success for these students, their institutions, and communities.

Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2020

Learn how to design and create powerful new progressive web apps (PWA). This workshop introduces ... more Learn how to design and create powerful new progressive web apps (PWA). This workshop introduces the computer science principles that enable modern web sites to be converted into installable apps. This course starts with an example web site (built with HTML/CSS/JavaScript) and shows in just two easy steps how to create an engaging app that can be installed on mobile devices, including Android phones, iPhones, iPads, tablets, and more. The course illustrates the principles by converting an open source, cloud-hosted, client-side app. It introduces manifest files and JSON, then introduces the powerful new JavaScript service workers. The course employs Google's free Workbox libraries and shows how service workers enable web apps to interact with device APIs and alter requests before and after sending. You can easily install (and uninstall) the apps on mobile devices - and even use an app while your device is offline. The course illustrates how engaging tools like Lighthouse provide critical feedback on performance, accessibility, best practices, and more. As a bonus, a PWA syllabus is provided that can be customized to your courses. Skills for developing these apps are in demand and quite accessible to students. Laptop Required. Presenters are most familiar with Windows, but another OS should be fine. Internet access and the ability to create and edit files is required. Chrome browser is required to run the Lighthouse audits. All software and libraries are free and open source.

Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2019

College Teaching, 2019

A positive, pre-speech self-talk experience was used to assess the influence on student performan... more A positive, pre-speech self-talk experience was used to assess the influence on student performance anxiety in a variety of disciplines. The findings suggest that having students recite aloud a self-affirming statement in unison immediately prior to delivery of a required speech or presentation provides a greater reduction in performance anxiety than not doing so. However, repeated use of the recited positive affirmation experience over multiple assignments within the same course and academic term did not result in significant additional reduction in performance anxiety over classes in which only one speech or presentation was performed during the term.

2016 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), 2016

The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but thei... more The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but their energy offerings are often based on alternative sources which may be dependent on transient weather conditions. Power market auction behavior is a typical large-scale system characterized by huge amounts of data and information that have to be taken into consideration to make decisions. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) offer a method for using the knowledge and experience of domain experts to describe the behavior of a complex system. This paper discusses FCM representation and development, and describes the use of FCM to develop a behavioral model of the system. This paper then presents the soft computing approach of FCM for modeling complex power market behavior. The resulting FCM models a variety of factors that affect individual participant behaviors during power auctions and provides an abstract conceptual model of the interacting entities for a specific case problem.

2016 Annual Conference of the North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society (NAFIPS), 2016

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, 2016

Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, ... more Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, collaborative framework that allows software engineers to work together effectively. VCS allow users to track changes and merge ongoing work into concurrently evolving software projects. Distributed VCS such as Git, allow a great degree of flexibility, and provide powerful options for managing personal code and evolving collaborative content. Power incurs responsibility, and introducing collaborative coding and version control tools to new developers can create many challenges. Yet these tools, once mastered, are crucial skills for professional developers. In this paper, the authors introduce VCS to computer science students both in a custom environment specifically designed to support new developers and in a commercially-available native environment suitable for more experienced students. Results show that proper introduction of these powerful tools can make early exposure a positive and valued experience.

adaptive agents and multi-agents systems, May 5, 2014

Intelligent agents and multiagent systems (MAS) provide a scalable approach to distributed artifi... more Intelligent agents and multiagent systems (MAS) provide a scalable approach to distributed artificial intelligence [3]. Analogous to intelligent biological entities, agent-based computational systems may become quite complex. Some may consist of multiple cooperating groups, each providing a specialized subset of the total required functionality [4, 6]. My work focuses on engineering multigroup agents in cooperative intelligent systems. A reusable multigroup agent architecture has been developed, along with a simulation framework and recommended software engineering practices, to support the implementation of multigroup applications. The architecture is being used to evaluate power quality control algorithms for electrical power distribution systems (PDS).

adaptive agents and multi-agents systems, May 5, 2014

2017 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 2017

Predicting the desirability and number of student applications to universities is a challenging a... more Predicting the desirability and number of student applications to universities is a challenging and dynamic undertaking. Student applications are affected by a variety of factors ranging from those related to the university itself and its surrounding community, to factors up to the national level, including perceptions of international relations. This paper proposes a way of modeling this complex task and the related decision-making using fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM). The process includes determination of the key concepts and factors affecting the desirability of a university for a representative set of cohort groups. Cohort groups allow us to reuse model concepts and linguistic variables while customizing the relationships to create a custom, dynamic model based on a variety of target population subsets. This paper introduces a reusable process for developing models based on cohort groups, and presents three customized FCM models that can be used to explore a range of possibilities a...

This paper describes new interactive mental models applied to the pursuit of Construction Managem... more This paper describes new interactive mental models applied to the pursuit of Construction Management (CM) project opportunities using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM). The CM-FCM models provide a basis for new decision support tools capable of providing Construction Industry Practitioners (CIP) support throughout the Project Life Cycle (PLC). It presents two novel CM-FCM models based on real-world construction engineering and management experience, specifically designed to support key decisions in the PLC. The interactive CM-FCM validates the application of FCM to this domain and demonstrate a method capable of helping manage the complexity and uncertainty inherent in construction management. The models offer a foundation for interactive intelligent decision support tools to assist with construction management.

Fuzzy Hybrid Computing in Construction Engineering and Management, 2018

Abstract This chapter discusses the application of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) modelling to constru... more Abstract This chapter discusses the application of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) modelling to construction management (CM) challenges and problems. It focuses on the critical issue of managing the complexity and uncertainty inherent in CM by providing a new intelligent layer that enhances classical approaches to construction modelling and management. It investigates how the myriad types of internal and external factors affecting the feasibility and performance of construction projects can be modelled using a fuzzy hybrid method that explores the complex relationships among many contributing factors and assesses and evaluates their impacts on past and future projects. This chapter proposes a hybrid modelling approach in the traditional context of cost, schedule and risk management and describes how augmenting and enhancing existing state-of-the-art tools and processes in CM can assist construction managers. This chapter provides a background on the theory of FCMs, presents foundational and current research, and explains how to apply this approach in the CM domain. This chapter also provides a detailed description of how to develop, modify and employ interactive models to specific CM challenges and problems. It includes a customisable, interactive base model and demonstrates how the model has been applied to specific CM events and issues. Examples are presented that highlight the interplay between project-specific goals and characteristics and the way these impact the interrelated and often opposing triad of cost, schedule and risk. The presented examples and practical applications make this state-of-the-art approach useful to both academic and industry practitioners.

Research in Computing Science, 2014

The increasing penetration of distributed renewable generation brings new power producers to the ... more The increasing penetration of distributed renewable generation brings new power producers to the market [1]. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels allow home owners to generate more power than personally needed and this excess production could be voluntarily sold to nearby homes, alleviating additional transmission costs especially in rural areas [2]. Power is sold as a continuous quantity and power markets involve pricing that may change on a minute-to-minute basis. Forward markets assist with scheduling power in advance [3]. The speed and complexity of the calculations needed to support online distributed auctions is a good fit for intelligent agents [4]. This paper describes the simulation of a two-tier double auction for short-term forward power exchanges between participants at the outer edges of a power distribution system (PDS). The paper describes the double auction algorithms and demonstrates online auction execution in a simulated distributed system of intelligent agents assisting with voltage/var control near distributed renewable generation [5]. The agents were enhanced to autonomously create local power market organizations and execute the series of online power auctions using Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP).

2016 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), 2016

The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but thei... more The power market is becoming more complex as independent small producers are entering it but their energy offerings are often based on alternative sources which may be dependent on transient weather conditions. Power market auction behavior is a typical large-scale system characterized by huge amounts of data and information that have to be taken into consideration to make decisions. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) offer a method for using the knowledge and experience of domain experts to describe the behavior of a complex system. This paper discusses FCM representation and development, and describes the use of FCM to develop a behavioral model of the system. This paper then presents the soft computing approach of FCM for modeling complex power market behavior. The resulting FCM models a variety of factors that affect individual participant behaviors during power auctions and provides an abstract conceptual model of the interacting entities for a specific case problem.

2016 Annual Conference of the North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society (NAFIPS), 2016

Project management is a complex process impacted by numerous factors either from the external env... more Project management is a complex process impacted by numerous factors either from the external environment and/or internal factors completely or partially under the project manager's control. Managing projects successfully involves a complex amalgamation of comprehensive, informed planning, dynamic assessment and analysis of changes in external and internal factors, and the development and communication of updated strategies over the life of the project. Project management involves the interaction and analysis of many systems and requires the continuous integration and evaluation of large amounts of information. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) allow us to encode project management knowledge and experiential results to create a useful model of the interacting systems. This paper covers the representation and development of a construction project management FCM that provides an integrated view of the most important concepts affecting construction project management and risk management. This paper then presents the soft computing approach of FCM to project management (PM) modeling and analysis. The resulting PM-FCM models the interaction of internal and external factors and offers an abstract conceptual model of interacting concepts for construction project management application.

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, 2016

Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, ... more Version control systems (VCS) are widely-used in the software industry. They provide a powerful, collaborative framework that allows software engineers to work together effectively. VCS allow users to track changes and merge ongoing work into concurrently evolving software projects. Distributed VCS such as Git, allow a great degree of flexibility, and provide powerful options for managing personal code and evolving collaborative content. Power incurs responsibility, and introducing collaborative coding and version control tools to new developers can create many challenges. Yet these tools, once mastered, are crucial skills for professional developers. In this paper, the authors introduce VCS to computer science students both in a custom environment specifically designed to support new developers and in a commercially-available native environment suitable for more experienced students. Results show that proper introduction of these powerful tools can make early exposure a positive and valued experience.

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Multimedia Systems, 2016

Version control systems (VCS), such as Subversion and Git, are pervasive in industry; they are in... more Version control systems (VCS), such as Subversion and Git, are pervasive in industry; they are invaluable tools for collaborative development that allow software engineers to track changes, monitor issues, merge work from multiple people, and manage releases. These tools are most effective when they are a part of a developer's habitual workflow. Unfortunately, the use of these powerful tools is often taught much later in a developer's educational career than other tools like programming languages or databases. Even an experienced student's first experience with version control can be unpleasant. In this paper, the authors analyze the workflow of two common Version Control Systems with different version controls (Subversion and Git) to build a common visual language for these systems (Version Control Visual Language, or VeCVL), and show that the same visual language applies to other version control systems.