Rania HodhodColumbus State University | CSU · TSYS School of Computer Science
Rania Hodhod
PhD in Computer Science
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70
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Publications (70)
Entrepreneurship has long been recognized as a key driver of economic development, traditionally centered on business creation and the strategic actions of individuals aiming to realize their entrepreneurial visions. Central to this process has been the business plan, often viewed as a critical blueprint that outlines the vision, strategies, and op...
The lack of cybersecurity awareness among everyday users is a significant issue that can have detrimental effects on individuals and organizations alike. Traditional training methods such as slideshows and presentations have proven to be ineffective and can cause trainees to feel overwhelmed, overloaded, confused, or bored. To address this issue, t...
Cancer is considered the second lethal disease in the world, with estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Early detection of cancer can increase the survival rate and decrease both treatment costs and patients suffering. At the national level, this can reduce total annual economic cost of healthcare expenditure and loss of productivity. Predictive an...
Recently, many works have been carried out to find effective ways that can allow for plausibly effective interactions of social intelligent agents (SIAs) in unpredictable environments in a reasonable time. Behavior trees (BTs) allow for knowledge to be modeled as a graph representation and provide a way for SIAs to effectively interact with the rec...
Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular deep learning, has proven to be efficient in medical diagnosis. This paper introduces a new hybrid deep learning model for pneumonia diagnosis based on chest CT scans. At the core of the model, a Gaussian mixture is combined with the expectation-maximization algorithm (EMGMM) to extract the regions of int...
This research examines how dynamic course goal-setting can affect students’ enterprise systems learning and career choice, through a university alliance program. It also explores the learners’ cognitive and affective responses in this industry-academia collaboration. Applying the grounded theory method, we interpret the action-interaction among ins...
Hepatitis C is a viral infection (HCV) that causes liver inflammation, and it was found that it affects over 170 million people around the world, with Egypt having the highest rate in the world. Unfortunately, serial liver biopsies, which can be invasive, expensive, risky, and inconvenient to patients, are typically used for the diagnosis of liver...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is on a global scale and that wearing a face mask at work is the only effective way to avoid becoming infected with the virus. The pandemic made governments worldwide stay under lock-downs to prevent virus transmissions. Reports show that wearing face masks...
The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in course settings provides a solution to reduce the textbook barrier. Several published studies have concluded that high textbook costs may influence students' educational choices. However, there are other student characteristics that may be relevant to OER. In this work, we study various factors that ma...
The process of optimization is approached as a searching problem, where an optimization algorithm attempts to find the best possible solution to a given objective function within a permissible search domain. Such problems are complicated since we attempt to find the best possible solution to a given objective function. The problem becomes harder wh...
Software engineering has been one of the highly researched sub-fields in computer science in the past years. Software engineering utilizes engineering approaches to develop software. Developing software has been facing several challenges like producing high quality software while meeting strict project time schedules with minimum resources hence ma...
A common approach to interactive narrative involves imbuing the computer with all of the potential story pre-authored story experiences (e.g. as beats, plot points, planning operators, etc.). This has resulted in an accepted paradigm where stories are not created by or with the user; rather, the user is given piecemeal access to the story from the...
Procedural game generation is the automatic creation of all aspects of a playable computer game. Procedural game generation systems require specialized knowledge, virtual worlds, and art assets. In this paper, we show how 3D graphical scenes for interactive fictions can be automatically generated with only knowledge that is readily available in exi...
There has been an increased interest in the creation of AI social agents who possess complex behaviors that allow them to perform social interactions. Behavior trees provide a plan model execution that has been widely used to build complex behaviors for AI social agents. Behavior trees can be represented in the form of a memory structure known as c...
Glaucoma is a serious eye disease characterized by dysfunction and loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) which can eventually lead to loss of vision. Robust mass screening may help to extend the symptom-free life for the affected patients. The retinal optic nerve fiber layer can be assessed using optical coherence tomography, scanning laser polarim...
Optimization problems can be found in many aspects of our lives. An optimization problem can be approached as searching problem where an algorithm is proposed to search for the value of one or more variables that minimizes or maximizes an optimization function depending on an optimization goal. Multi-objective optimization problems are also abundan...
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) have proven their added value in the modern distributed computing era. Well-established systems for managing SLAs represent a challenging aspect in cloud computing. Certainly, proper design of such systems can save a lot of costs that are spent in paying SLA violation penalties. A managed SLA can be accomplished thro...
Optimization problems can be found in many aspects of our lives. An optimization problem can be approached as searching problem where an algorithm is proposed to search for the value of one or more variables that minimizes or maximizes an optimization function depending on an optimization goal. Multi-objective optimization problems are also abundan...
The digital transformation revolution has been crawling toward almost all aspects of our lives. One form of the digital transformation revolution appears in the transformation of our routine everyday tasks into computer executable programs in the form of web, desktop and mobile applications. The vast field of software engineering that has witnessed...
Phishing attacks are a type of social engineering attacks which trick the user into sharing sensitive and personally identifiable information. With the use of machine learning techniques attackers are implementing new methods to scheme more convincing socially engineered messages making it harder for the victims to identify them. With about 3.8 bil...
Program transformation is a process in which an input program is transformed into another program that achieves a specific goal. Such transformation is done by applying a sequence of transformation rules on the input program to generate another program as the output. Such transformations can be done manually with human intervention (software develo...
Envisaging massive opportunities student would benefit from an enterprise systems company's university alliance program, we examined the influence of goal-setting, i.e., passing the certification exam, on students learning and performance in class. Also, we explored and elucidated the student cognitive and emotional responses to the collaborative p...
Unauthorized access to confidential information with malicious intent has become a growing challenge to individuals, businesses and governments. Recent media reports of attempted foreign interference in the domestic politics highlights the threat to data security from both within as well as outside the country. Adequate protection of information sy...
The growing number of reported cyber-attacks pose a difficult challenge to individuals, governments and organizations. Adequate protection of information systems urgently requires a cybersecurity-educated workforce trained using a curriculum that covers the essential skills required for different cybersecurity work roles. The goal of the CyberMaste...
Text classification plays a vital role today especially with the intensive use of social networking media. Recently, different architectures of convolutional neural networks have been used for text classification in which one-hot vector, and word embedding methods are commonly used. This paper presents a new language independent word encoding metho...
Text mining has been successfully used to discover interesting patterns and extract useful information from analyzing massive text data exists on the internet, books and other text sources. Computer science education has become an initiative for The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)...
In the coffee industry, "cupping" is the process of sensorial evaluation of coffee beans, also known as Sample Evaluation. This process is done for three major reasons: 1. to determine the actual sensory differences between coffee samples; 2. to describe the flavors of the samples; and 3. to determine preference of product. In totality, cupping tar...
This paper presents a fuzzy expert system, an enterprise system designed and developed under the category of software as a service (SaaS) to grade specialty coffees from several countries. The system uses approximate reasoning and inner libraries to dynamically construct fuzzy rules, making the system capable of learning as cupping data flows throu...
This paper proposes a new formal approach for negotiating shared mental models between humans and computational improvisational agents (improv agents) based on our sociocognitive studies of human improvisers. Negotiation of shared mental models serves as a core mechanism for improv agents to co-create stories with each other and with human interact...
Computational thinking (CT), which encompasses strategies for problem analysis and solution design, is highly applicable in all STEM disciplines, including computer science, for learning concepts as well as solving problems. Yet, the exposure of K-12 students to CT in many schools is practically non-existent. For students to acquire this important...
The education of a nation is a critical component of economic growth. Education is itself shaped by economic, political, historical, technological, and other cultural factors. Society today is increasingly dependent on computers and technology. However, computer science (CS) continues to be viewed as an optional specialization rather than a core su...
![Fig. 1: The Army Risk Management Process [1] Although different systems...](profile/Rania-Hodhod/publication/276344843/figure/fig1/AS:315682177732608@1452275904062/The-Army-Risk-Management-Process-1-Although-different-systems-are-in-use-for-RM-such_Q320.jpg)
A risk management process is most effective when the users are properly educated on the process and the process itself promotes a uniform perception of risk. Every soldier in the US Army is expected to be capable of managing risk— eliminating it when possible or mitigating it to an acceptable level through the principles and application a formal, m...
Computational thinking is an essential skill for everyone in today's world. It is a problem solving skill that incorporates problem decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, logical and algorithmic thinking. Yet the exposure of students in K-12 curriculum to computational thinking is minimal in most schools. There are various opportunities f...
This research considers whether a person's demographic and experiential attributes play a significant role in how they perceive the presence or absence of hazards in a given situation. The goal of the research is to show that participants with enlisted military experience, prior to being commissioned as a junior officer, would be more successful at...
Improvisational acting is a creative group performance where actors co-construct stories on stage in real-time based on actors' perceptions of the environment. The Digital Improv Project has been engaged in a multi-year study of the cognitive processes involved in improvisational acting. This better understanding of human cognition and creativity h...
Improvisational acting is a creative group performance where actors co-construct stories on stage in real-time based on actors' perceptions of the environment. The Digital Improv Project has been engaged in a multi-year study of the cognitive processes involved in improvisational acting. This better understanding of human cognition and creativity h...
Procedural game generation is the automatic creation of all aspects of a playable computer game. Procedural game generation systems require specialized knowledge, virtual worlds, and art assets. In this paper, we show how 3D graphical scenes for interactive fictions can be automatically generated with only knowledge that is readily available in exi...
Procedural game generation is the automatic creation of all aspects of a playable computer game. Procedural game generation systems require specialized knowledge, virtual worlds, and art assets. In this paper, we show how 3D graphical scenes for interactive fictions can be automatically generated with only knowledge that is readily available in exi...
Conceptual blending (CB) is a basic mental operation that plays a fundamental role in the construction of meaning in our everyday life. The core of CB is the partial matching of two input mental spaces and the selective projection from those inputs into a novel 'blended' mental space, which then dynamically develops an emergent structure. Improvisa...
This paper describes the design of an adaptive intelligent augmented reality serious game which aims to foster problem solving skills in young learners. Studies show that our students lack computational thinking skills in high school, which raises the need to establish new methods to develop these skills in our younger learners. We believe that pro...
A major problem for researchers in medical informatics is the presence of ‘useful’ Electronic Patient Record (EPR) and its use in providing important information to and about the patient’s diseases and treatment. This paper discusses the importance of medical informatics and its role in health procurement branch. It also proposes an Artificial Inte...
In this paper, we have developed a hybrid expert system prototype used for supporting diagnosis of heart diseases. The system merges uncertainty management techniques and case-based reasoning. The system is able to give appropriate diagnosis for 4 heart diseases namely; mitral stenosis, left-sided heart failure, stable angina pectoris and essential...
Cognitive scripts can act as a basis for representing behavioral tasks and domain knowledge in cognitive systems. Each event in a cognitive script is either temporally or causally linked with preceding and succeeding events. This temporal progression of events is what provides context to a particular cognitive script. In other words, it is this lin...
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) relational database is considered to be a major component of any medical care information system. A major problem for researchers in medical informatics is finding the best way to use these databases to extract valued useful information to and about the patient’s diseases and treatments. Integrating different EMR dat...
This paper proposes a formal approach of constructing shared mental models between computational improvisational agents (improv agents) and human interactors based on our socio-cognitive studies of human improvisers. Creating shared mental models helps improv agents co-create stories with each other and interactors in real-time interactive narrativ...
A common approach to interactive narrative involves imbuing the computer with all of the potential story pre-authored story experiences (e.g. as beats, plot points, planning operators, etc.). This has resulted in an accepted paradigm where stories are not created by or with the user; rather, the user is given piecemeal access to the story from the...
Promoting ethical, responsible, and caring young people is a perennial aim of education. Efforts have been made to find ways of teaching other than traditional ones like games and role play. Narrative-based computer games are engaging learning platforms that allow collaboration of humans and computers in the creation of innovative experiences. In t...
Interactive Narrative in game environments acts as the main catalyst to provide a motivating learning experience. In previous
work, we have described how the use of a dual narrative generation technique could help to resolve the conflict between allowing
high player student agency and also the track of the learning process. In this paper, we define...
In general, the goal of the track is to bring together an international group of scientists to present current research, design, and empirical evaluations of their tutoring systems. This track is meant to inform researchers on current projects and studies that identify, investigate, and (begin to) resolve issues that relate to intelligent tutoring...
Promoting ethical, responsible, and caring young people is a perennial aim of education. Efforts have been made to find ways of teaching other than traditional ones like games and role play. Narrative-based computer games are engaging learning platforms that allow collaboration of humans and computers in the creation of innovative experiences. In t...
Promoting ethical, responsible, and caring young people is a perennial aim of education. Schools are invited to include moral teaching in every possible curriculum, such as the core subjects and sports teams and clubs. Efforts have been done to find other teaching ways other than traditional ones such as games or role play or engaging students in m...
Promoting ethical, responsible, and caring behavior in young people is a perennial aim of education. Schools are invited to include moral teaching in every possible curriculum. Efforts have been made to find non-traditional ways of teaching such as games or role play or engaging students in moral dilemmas. However, classroom environments need to co...
This paper presents AEINS, an educational system to teach ethics using the Socratic Method pedagogy [1]. AEINS is based on an architecture that marriages interactive narrative and intelligent tutoring. The idea is centered around involving students in different moral dilemmas (teaching moments). AEINS provides individualized story-paths and a perso...
This paper introduces an adaptive narrative-based learning environment (AEINS) which supports teaching in the domain of ethics and citizenship [1]. AEINS is an inquiry-based teaching system that adopts educational theories and classroom strategies, such as the Socratic Method. AEINS targets students aged 8 to 11 years. The idea is centered around p...
Ill-defined domains offer many challenges to computer scientists. Developing intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) in these domains is a very challenging task due to the difficulty in modeling these domains, answers to ill-defined problems are ambiguously identified as right or wrong, and no generally accepted architecture is currently existed. This...
Educational computer-based games (edugames) are games that promote the acquisition of skills and knowledge in a pleasant interactive way. It is well known that not all the users share the same preferences or styles when interacting with a game and solving game-problems. This leads to the importance of adaptation in the sense that behavior of each p...
In the era of mass higher education and lifelong learning, online education is becoming more and more popular. E-learning offers the student more flexibility and freedom in time, and pace of learning. Switching to, or embedding e-learning in existing educational systems poses important issues for institutions. Delivering the students an online cour...
Using Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) poses important educational issues for Universities. Quality of course design, use of appropriate tools, and the context in which learning takes place are prime factors affecting success in the era of mass higher education and lifelong learning. We believe also that the students' feedback and comments risi...
In this paper, we have used the Case Based Reasoning methodology to develop a case-based expert system prototype for supporting diagnosis of heart diseases. 110 cases were collected for 4 heart diseases namely; mitral stenosis, left-sided heart failure, stable angina pectoris and essential hypertension. Each case contains 207 attributes concerning...
In this paper, we have developed a hybrid expert system prototype used for supporting diagnosis of heart diseases. The system merges uncertainty management techniques and case-based reasoning. The system is able to give appropriate diagnosis for 4 heart diseases namely; mitral stenosis, left-sided heart failure, stable angina pectoris and essential...
In this paper, we are focusing on digital serious games (edugames) and how they can be utilized in teaching in the ethics and citizenship domain. Our aim is to combine narrative techniques with intelligent tutoring techniques in a single model that adopts and based on educational theories and classroom educational strate-gies. The model has been us...
This thesis presents AEINS, Adaptive Educational Interactive Narrative System, that supports teaching ethics for 8-12 year old children. AEINS is designed based on Keller's and Gagné's learning theories. The idea is centered around involving students in moral dilemmas (called teaching moments) within which the Socratic Method is used as the teachin...
Questions
Questions (2)
This paper introduces Pharaoh (new context-based retrieval technique for cognitive scripts). Pharaoh allows the retrieval of a group of cognitive scripts that share structural similarities with a query script. In the mean time, Pharaoh performance time is reasonable because of the small number of scripts in our database (9 scripts). When number of scripts increases, a smart indexing technique is required to narrow the search space. I wonder if you have some ideas for such indexing method.
For example, assume we have a frame representation for a castle, how can we tell the computer to draw the castle from that knowledge?
