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Description
The original version of Helix, the one I pitched when first deciding to make a video game
for my thesis, is an action-platformer, with the intent of metroidvania-style progression
and an interconnected world map.

The current version of Helix is a turn based role-playing game, with the intent of roguelike
gameplay and a dark

The original version of Helix, the one I pitched when first deciding to make a video game
for my thesis, is an action-platformer, with the intent of metroidvania-style progression
and an interconnected world map.

The current version of Helix is a turn based role-playing game, with the intent of roguelike
gameplay and a dark fantasy theme. We will first be exploring the challenges that came
with programming my own game - not quite from scratch, but also without a prebuilt
engine - then transition into game design and how Helix has evolved from its original form
to what we see today.
ContributorsDiscipulo, Isaiah K (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
The purpose of our research was to develop recommendations and/or strategies for Company A's data center group in the context of the server CPU chip industry. We used data collected from the International Data Corporation (IDC) that was provided by our team coaches, and data that is accessible on the

The purpose of our research was to develop recommendations and/or strategies for Company A's data center group in the context of the server CPU chip industry. We used data collected from the International Data Corporation (IDC) that was provided by our team coaches, and data that is accessible on the internet. As the server CPU industry expands and transitions to cloud computing, Company A's Data Center Group will need to expand their server CPU chip product mix to meet new demands of the cloud industry and to maintain high market share. Company A boasts leading performance with their x86 server chips and 95% market segment share. The cloud industry is dominated by seven companies Company A calls "The Super 7." These seven companies include: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu. In the long run, the growing market share of the Super 7 could give them substantial buying power over Company A, which could lead to discounts and margin compression for Company A's main growth engine. Additionally, in the long-run, the substantial growth of the Super 7 could fuel the development of their own design teams and work towards making their own server chips internally, which would be detrimental to Company A's data center revenue. We first researched the server industry and key terminology relevant to our project. We narrowed our scope by focusing most on the cloud computing aspect of the server industry. We then researched what Company A has already been doing in the context of cloud computing and what they are currently doing to address the problem. Next, using our market analysis, we identified key areas we think Company A's data center group should focus on. Using the information available to us, we developed our strategies and recommendations that we think will help Company A's Data Center Group position themselves well in an extremely fast growing cloud computing industry.
ContributorsJurgenson, Alex (Co-author) / Nguyen, Duy (Co-author) / Kolder, Sean (Co-author) / Wang, Chenxi (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
A Guide to Financial Mathematics is a comprehensive and easy-to-use study guide for students studying for the one of the first actuarial exams, Exam FM. While there are many resources available to students to study for these exams, this study is free to the students and offers an approach to

A Guide to Financial Mathematics is a comprehensive and easy-to-use study guide for students studying for the one of the first actuarial exams, Exam FM. While there are many resources available to students to study for these exams, this study is free to the students and offers an approach to the material similar to that of which is presented in class at ASU. The guide is available to students and professors in the new Actuarial Science degree program offered by ASU. There are twelve chapters, including financial calculator tips, detailed notes, examples, and practice exercises. Included at the end of the guide is a list of referenced material.
ContributorsDougher, Caroline Marie (Author) / Milovanovic, Jelena (Thesis director) / Boggess, May (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
This paper provides evidence through an event study, portfolio simulation, and regression analysis that insider trading, when appropriately aggregated, has predictive power for abnormal risk-adjusted returns on some country and sector exchange traded funds (ETFs). I examine ETFs because of their broad scope and liquidity. ETF markets are relatively efficient

This paper provides evidence through an event study, portfolio simulation, and regression analysis that insider trading, when appropriately aggregated, has predictive power for abnormal risk-adjusted returns on some country and sector exchange traded funds (ETFs). I examine ETFs because of their broad scope and liquidity. ETF markets are relatively efficient and, thus, the effects I document are unlikely to appear in ETF markets. My evidence that aggregated insider trading predicts abnormal returns in some ETFs suggests that aggregated insider trading is likely to have predictive power for financial assets traded in less efficient markets. My analysis depends on specialized insider trading data covering 88 countries is generously provided by 2iQ.
ContributorsKerker, Mackenzie Alan (Author) / Coles, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Mcauley, Daniel (Committee member) / Licon, Wendell (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
A primary goal in computer science is to develop autonomous systems. Usually, we provide computers with tasks and rules for completing those tasks, but what if we could extend this type of system to physical technology as well? In the field of programmable matter, researchers are tasked with developing synthetic

A primary goal in computer science is to develop autonomous systems. Usually, we provide computers with tasks and rules for completing those tasks, but what if we could extend this type of system to physical technology as well? In the field of programmable matter, researchers are tasked with developing synthetic materials that can change their physical properties \u2014 such as color, density, and even shape \u2014 based on predefined rules or continuous, autonomous collection of input. In this research, we are most interested in particles that can perform computations, bond with other particles, and move. In this paper, we provide a theoretical particle model that can be used to simulate the performance of such physical particle systems, as well as an algorithm to perform expansion, wherein these particles can be used to enclose spaces or even objects.
ContributorsLaff, Miles (Author) / Richa, Andrea (Thesis director) / Bazzi, Rida (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Covering subsequences with sets of permutations arises in many applications, including event-sequence testing. Given a set of subsequences to cover, one is often interested in knowing the fewest number of permutations required to cover each subsequence, and in finding an explicit construction of such a set of permutations that has

Covering subsequences with sets of permutations arises in many applications, including event-sequence testing. Given a set of subsequences to cover, one is often interested in knowing the fewest number of permutations required to cover each subsequence, and in finding an explicit construction of such a set of permutations that has size close to or equal to the minimum possible. The construction of such permutation coverings has proven to be computationally difficult. While many examples for permutations of small length have been found, and strong asymptotic behavior is known, there are few explicit constructions for permutations of intermediate lengths. Most of these are generated from scratch using greedy algorithms. We explore a different approach here. Starting with a set of permutations with the desired coverage properties, we compute local changes to individual permutations that retain the total coverage of the set. By choosing these local changes so as to make one permutation less "essential" in maintaining the coverage of the set, our method attempts to make a permutation completely non-essential, so it can be removed without sacrificing total coverage. We develop a post-optimization method to do this and present results on sequence covering arrays and other types of permutation covering problems demonstrating that it is surprisingly effective.
ContributorsMurray, Patrick Charles (Author) / Colbourn, Charles (Thesis director) / Czygrinow, Andrzej (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor)
Created2014-12
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Description
Bots tamper with social media networks by artificially inflating the popularity of certain topics. In this paper, we define what a bot is, we detail different motivations for bots, we describe previous work in bot detection and observation, and then we perform bot detection of our own. For our bot

Bots tamper with social media networks by artificially inflating the popularity of certain topics. In this paper, we define what a bot is, we detail different motivations for bots, we describe previous work in bot detection and observation, and then we perform bot detection of our own. For our bot detection, we are interested in bots on Twitter that tweet Arabic extremist-like phrases. A testing dataset is collected using the honeypot method, and five different heuristics are measured for their effectiveness in detecting bots. The model underperformed, but we have laid the ground-work for a vastly untapped focus on bot detection: extremist ideal diffusion through bots.
ContributorsKarlsrud, Mark C. (Author) / Liu, Huan (Thesis director) / Morstatter, Fred (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Over the course of six months, we have worked in partnership with Arizona State University and a leading producer of semiconductor chips in the United States market (referred to as the "Company"), lending our skills in finance, statistics, model building, and external insight. We attempt to design models that hel

Over the course of six months, we have worked in partnership with Arizona State University and a leading producer of semiconductor chips in the United States market (referred to as the "Company"), lending our skills in finance, statistics, model building, and external insight. We attempt to design models that help predict how much time it takes to implement a cost-saving project. These projects had previously been considered only on the merit of cost savings, but with an added dimension of time, we hope to forecast time according to a number of variables. With such a forecast, we can then apply it to an expense project prioritization model which relates time and cost savings together, compares many different projects simultaneously, and returns a series of present value calculations over different ranges of time. The goal is twofold: assist with an accurate prediction of a project's time to implementation, and provide a basis to compare different projects based on their present values, ultimately helping to reduce the Company's manufacturing costs and improve gross margins. We believe this approach, and the research found toward this goal, is most valuable for the Company. Two coaches from the Company have provided assistance and clarified our questions when necessary throughout our research. In this paper, we begin by defining the problem, setting an objective, and establishing a checklist to monitor our progress. Next, our attention shifts to the data: making observations, trimming the dataset, framing and scoping the variables to be used for the analysis portion of the paper. Before creating a hypothesis, we perform a preliminary statistical analysis of certain individual variables to enrich our variable selection process. After the hypothesis, we run multiple linear regressions with project duration as the dependent variable. After regression analysis and a test for robustness, we shift our focus to an intuitive model based on rules of thumb. We relate these models to an expense project prioritization tool developed using Microsoft Excel software. Our deliverables to the Company come in the form of (1) a rules of thumb intuitive model and (2) an expense project prioritization tool.
ContributorsAl-Assi, Hashim (Co-author) / Chiang, Robert (Co-author) / Liu, Andrew (Co-author) / Ludwick, David (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) in many ways are similar to more traditional closed-end mutual funds, although thee differ in a crucial way. ETFs rely on a creation and redemption feature to achieve their functionality and this mechanism is designed to minimize the deviations that occur between the ETF’s listed price

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) in many ways are similar to more traditional closed-end mutual funds, although thee differ in a crucial way. ETFs rely on a creation and redemption feature to achieve their functionality and this mechanism is designed to minimize the deviations that occur between the ETF’s listed price and the net asset value of the ETF’s underlying assets. However while this does cause ETF deviations to be generally lower than their mutual fund counterparts, as our paper explores this process does not eliminate these deviations completely. This article builds off an earlier paper by Engle and Sarkar (2006) that investigates these properties of premiums (discounts) of ETFs from their fair market value. And looks to see if these premia have changed in the last 10 years. Our paper then diverges from the original and takes a deeper look into the standard deviations of these premia specifically.

Our findings show that over 70% of an ETFs standard deviation of premia can be explained through a linear combination consisting of two variables: a categorical (Domestic[US], Developed, Emerging) and a discrete variable (time-difference from US). This paper also finds that more traditional metrics such as market cap, ETF price volatility, and even 3rd party market indicators such as the economic freedom index and investment freedom index are insignificant predictors of an ETFs standard deviation of premia when combined with the categorical variable. These findings differ somewhat from existing literature which indicate that these factors should have a significant impact on the predictive ability of an ETFs standard deviation of premia.
ContributorsZhang, Jingbo (Co-author, Co-author) / Henning, Thomas (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Licon, L. Wendell (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) in many ways are similar to more traditional closed-end mutual
funds, although thee differ in a crucial way. ETFs rely on a creation and redemption feature to
achieve their functionality and this mechanism is designed to minimize the deviations that occur
between the ETF’s listed price and the net

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) in many ways are similar to more traditional closed-end mutual
funds, although thee differ in a crucial way. ETFs rely on a creation and redemption feature to
achieve their functionality and this mechanism is designed to minimize the deviations that occur
between the ETF’s listed price and the net asset value of the ETF’s underlying assets. However
while this does cause ETF deviations to be generally lower than their mutual fund counterparts,
as our paper explores this process does not eliminate these deviations completely. This article
builds off an earlier paper by Engle and Sarkar (2006) that investigates these properties of
premiums (discounts) of ETFs from their fair market value. And looks to see if these premia
have changed in the last 10 years. Our paper then diverges from the original and takes a deeper
look into the standard deviations of these premia specifically.
Our findings show that over 70% of an ETFs standard deviation of premia can be
explained through a linear combination consisting of two variables: a categorical (Domestic[US],
Developed, Emerging) and a discrete variable (time-difference from US). This paper also finds
that more traditional metrics such as market cap, ETF price volatility, and even 3rd party market
indicators such as the economic freedom index and investment freedom index are insignificant
predictors of an ETFs standard deviation of premia. These findings differ somewhat from
existing literature which indicate that these factors should have a significant impact on the
predictive ability of an ETFs standard deviation of premia.
ContributorsHenning, Thomas Louis (Co-author) / Zhang, Jingbo (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Wendell, Licon (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05