QuakeSim 2.0

QuakeSim 2.0 improves understanding of earthquake processes by providing modeling tools and integrating model applications and various heterogeneous data sources within a Web services environment. QuakeSim is a multisource, synergistic, data-intensive environment for modeling the behavior of earthquake faults individually, and as part of complex interacting systems. Remotely sensed geodetic data products may be explored, compared with faults and landscape features, mined by pattern analysis applications, and integrated with models and pattern analysis applications in a rich Web-based and visualization environment. Integration of heterogeneous data products with pattern informatics tools enables efficient development of models. Federated database components and visualization tools allow rapid exploration of large datasets, while pattern informatics enables identification of subtle, but important, features in large data sets. QuakeSim is valuable for earthquake investigations and modeling in its current state, and also serves as a prototype and nucleus for broader systems under development. The framework provides access to physics-based simulation tools that model the earthquake cycle and related crustal deformation. Spaceborne GPS and Inter ferometric Synthetic Aperture (InSAR) data provide information on near-term crustal deformation, while paleoseismic geologic data provide longerterm information on earthquake fault processes. These data sources are integrated into QuakeSim's QuakeTables database system, and are accessible by users or various model applications. UAVSAR repeat pass interferometry data products are added to the QuakeTables database, and are available through a browseable map interface or Representational State Transfer (REST) interfaces. Model applications can retrieve data from Quake Tables, or from third-party GPS velocity data services; alternatively, users can manually input parameters into the models. Pattern analysis of GPS and seismicity data has proved useful for mid-term forecasting of earthquakes, and for detecting subtle changes in crustal deformation. The GPS time series analysis has also proved useful as a data-quality tool, enabling the discovery of station anomalies and data processing and distribution errors. Improved visualization tools enable more efficient data exploration and understanding. Tools provide flexibility to science users for exploring data in new ways through download links, but also facilitate standard, intuitive, and routine uses for science users and end users such as emergency responders

Abmash: Mashing Up Legacy Web Applications by Automated Imitation of Human Actions

Many business web-based applications do not offer applications programming interfaces (APIs) to enable other applications to access their data and functions in a programmatic manner. This makes their composition difficult (for instance to synchronize data between two applications). To address this challenge, this paper presents Abmash, an approach to facilitate the integration of such legacy web applications by automatically imitating human interactions with them. By automatically interacting with the graphical user interface (GUI) of web applications, the system supports all forms of integrations including bi-directional interactions and is able to interact with AJAX-based applications. Furthermore, the integration programs are easy to write since they deal with end-user, visual user-interface elements. The integration code is simple enough to be called a "mashup".Comment: Software: Practice and Experience (2013)

A Methodology for Engineering Collaborative and ad-hoc Mobile Applications using SyD Middleware

Today’s web applications are more collaborative and utilize standard and ubiquitous Internet protocols. We have earlier developed System on Mobile Devices (SyD) middleware to rapidly develop and deploy collaborative applications over heterogeneous and possibly mobile devices hosting web objects. In this paper, we present the software engineering methodology for developing SyD-enabled web applications and illustrate it through a case study on two representative applications: (i) a calendar of meeting application, which is a collaborative application and (ii) a travel application which is an ad-hoc collaborative application. SyD-enabled web objects allow us to create a collaborative application rapidly with limited coding effort. In this case study, the modular software architecture allowed us to hide the inherent heterogeneity among devices, data stores, and networks by presenting a uniform and persistent object view of mobile objects interacting through XML/SOAP requests and responses. The performance results we obtained show that the application scales well as we increase the group size and adapts well within the constraints of mobile devices

Mobile support in CSCW applications and groupware development frameworks

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is an established subset of the field of Human Computer Interaction that deals with the how people use computing technology to enhance group interaction and collaboration. Mobile CSCW has emerged as a result of the progression from personal desktop computing to the mobile device platforms that are ubiquitous today. CSCW aims to not only connect people and facilitate communication through using computers; it aims to provide conceptual models coupled with technology to manage, mediate, and assist collaborative processes. Mobile CSCW research looks to fulfil these aims through the adoption of mobile technology and consideration for the mobile user. Facilitating collaboration using mobile devices brings new challenges. Some of these challenges are inherent to the nature of the device hardware, while others focus on the understanding of how to engineer software to maximize effectiveness for the end-users. This paper reviews seminal and state-of-the-art cooperative software applications and development frameworks, and their support for mobile devices

A service-oriented technical framework for the development of integrated education management information system

The increasing demand for education, especially tertiary education, has triggered a lot of challenges within the university system, especially in developing nations like Nigeria. These challenges include management and administration of the following: students’ enrolment, staff and students profile information, tuition fees payment, course registration, examination, and result processing, among others. The development of various types of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) to alleviate these challenges has presented a more efficient means of optimising processes in the university systems. Thus, stakeholders within the university system: administrators, lecturers and students interact with the EMIS to ease their respective academic activities. However, these EMIS are designed, developed, and deployed with different application platforms and programming standards, which make it difficult for different EMIS to share information as they act as isolated information island. Thus, there is a challenge of data exchange in integrating different EMIS to achieve cross platform data exchange. Meanwhile, there are such initiatives on standard frameworks for the integration of disparate systems that are found in education institutions like the Education Management Information System Interoperability Framework (EMIF) and the School Interoperability Framework (SIF). However, the complexity in the mechanism for data exchange of these frameworks and the limited focus on the design structure of EMIS that can easily adapt and integrate limit their use in education institutions, especially those in developing countries with limited technical manpower and knowhow. In the search for a simplified framework that reconsider EMIS as an integrated system that can seamlessly exchange data, this research study involved the investigation, design, demonstration, and evaluation of a service-oriented technical framework for the development of integrated EMIS using the design science research methodology. This study, therefore, contributed to knowledge with the proposition of a technical framework that simplifies and standardizes the development of integrated EMIS that seamlessly exchange data among different functional modules. The technical framework is designed based on the identified layered conceptual components: a) Education Information Structure (EIS) that provides adaptable Central Information System (CIS) for handling the specific information requirements of different education systems with Access Control that provides a layer of security services to check and grant authorization and authentication access; b) Service-Oriented Design layer that handles integration of functional modules to connect with the EIS with service interfaces using Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface (REST API); c) Demonstration Logic layer that recognizes the development platform and the flexibility of the programming logic to scale with new information requirements; d) Data Exchange Mechanism that provides a layer of standard data serialization format using Java Script Object Notation (JSON) to exchange data, through the RESTful API services, among functional modules in the Service-Oriented Design layer and the CIS in the EIS layer; e) Database System layer that handles data storage and requests from services. Thus, the framework makes key contributions with provision for customisation and multi-tenant cloud approach for adaptability and standardisation of the development of integrated EMIS to fit into different education systems. It was demonstrated on a web-based platform using the Laravel development platform that offer framework for rapid application development. The demonstration considered a case study approach, and the evaluation was based on expert reviews and comparative analysis within the context of the key requirements from the research findings. These requirements are: a) Adaptability that consider the suitability to fit into the specific information requirement of the different education systems; b) Maintainability that underscore the use of simplified common technologies that can be delivered within the knowledge of the EMIS developer; c) Standardization that check for the use of standard technologies and techniques; d) Scalability that consider provision for extension of the CIS and the functional modules to respond to changes in information requirements of the education system; e) Connectivity that benchmark access to shared data sources by the different functional modules of the integrated EMIS; f) Accessibility that benchmark usability of the platform to deliver user expectations on cross-platform data for presentation. In essence, the technical framework is appropriate for the development of an integrated EMIS that uses simplified technologies and techniques for achieving EMIS integration. While the framework addressed the integrated EMIS development that achieve seamless data exchange and scalability using the service endpoint extensions, the issues of optimizing the framework for enhanced security and performance are open to further research.School of ComputingPh. D. (Computer Science

MADServer: An Architecture for Opportunistic Mobile Advanced Delivery

Rapid increases in cellular data traffic demand creative alternative delivery vectors for data. Despite the conceptual attractiveness of mobile data offloading, no concrete web server architectures integrate intelligent offloading in a production-ready and easily deployable manner without relying on vast infrastructural changes to carriers’ networks. Delay-tolerant networking technology offers the means to do just this. We introduce MADServer, a novel DTN-based architecture for mobile data offloading that splits web con- tent among multiple independent delivery vectors based on user and data context. It enables intelligent data offload- ing, caching, and querying solutions which can be incorporated in a manner that still satisfies user expectations for timely delivery. At the same time, it allows for users who have poor or expensive connections to the cellular network to leverage multi-hop opportunistic routing to send and receive data. We also present a preliminary implementation of MADServer and provide real-world performance evaluations

RAPID WEBGIS DEVELOPMENT FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

The use of spatial data during emergency response and management helps to make faster and better decisions. Moreover spatial data should be as much updated as possible and easy to access. To face the challenge of rapid and updated data sharing the most efficient solution is largely considered the use of internet where the field of web mapping is constantly evolving. ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action) is a non profit association founded by Politecnico di Torino and SITI (Higher Institute for the Environmental Systems) as a joint project with the WFP (World Food Programme). The collaboration with the WFP drives some projects related to Early Warning Systems (i.e. flood and drought monitoring) and Early Impact Systems (e.g. rapid mapping and assessment through remote sensing systems). The Web GIS team has built and is continuously improving a complex architecture based entirely on Open Source tools. This architecture is composed by three main areas: the database environment, the server side logic and the client side logic. Each of them is implemented respecting the MCV (Model Controller View) pattern which means the separation of the different logic layers (database interaction, business logic and presentation). The MCV architecture allows to easily and fast build a Web GIS application for data viewing and exploration. In case of emergency data publication can be performed almost immediately as soon as data production is completed. The server side system is based on Python language and Django web development framework, while the client side on OpenLayers, GeoExt and Ext.js that manage data retrieval and user interface. The MCV pattern applied to javascript allows to keep the interface generation and data retrieval logic separated from the general application configuration, thus the server side environment can take care of the generation of the configuration file. The web application building process is data driven and can be considered as a view of the current architecture composed by data and data interaction tools. Once completely automated, the Web GIS application building process can be performed directly by the final user, that can customize data layers and controls to interact with the