Controlling P2P File-Sharing Networks Traffic

Since the appearance of Peer-To-Peer (P2P) file-sharing networks some time ago, many Internet users have chosen this technology to share and search programs, videos, music, documents, etc. The total number of P2P file-sharing users has been increasing and decreasing in the last decade depending on the creation or end of some well known P2P file-sharing systems. P2P file-sharing networks traffic is currently overloading some data networks and it is a major headache for network administrators because it is difficult to control this kind of traffic (mainly because some P2P file-sharing networks encrypt their messages). This paper deals with the analysis, taxonomy and characterization of eight Public P2P file-sharing networks: Gnutella, Freeenet, Soulseek, BitTorrent, Opennap, eDonkey, MP2P and FastTrack. These eight most popular networks have been selected due to their different type of working architecture. Then, we will show the amount of users, files and the size of files inside these file-sharing networks. Finally, several network configurations are presented in order to control P2P file-sharing traffic in the network.García Pineda, M.; Hammoumi, M.; Canovas Solbes, A.; Lloret, J. (2011). Controlling P2P File-Sharing Networks Traffic. Network Protocols and Algorithms. 3(4):54-92. doi:10.5296/npa.v3i4.1365S54923

Designing incentives for peer-to-peer systems

Peer-to-peer systems, networks of egalitarian nodes without a central authority, can achieve massive scalability and fault tolerance through the pooling together of individual resources. Unfortunately, most nodes represent self-interested, or rational, parties that will attempt to maximize their consumption of shared resources while minimizing their own contributions. This constitutes a type of attack that can destabilize the system. The first contribution of this thesis is a proposed taxonomy for these rational attacks and the most common solutions used in contemporary designs to thwart them. One approach is to design the P2P system with incentives for cooperation, so that rational nodes voluntarily behave. We broadly classify these incentives as being either genuine or artificial , with the former describing incentives inherent in peer interactions, and the latter describing a secondary enforcement system. We observe that genuine incentives tend to be more robust to rational manipulations than artificial counterparts. Based on this observation, we also propose two extensions to BitTorrent, a P2P file distribution protocol. While this system is popular, accounting for approximately one-third of current Internet traffic, it has known limitations. Our extensions use genuine incentives to address some of these problems. The first extension improves seeding, an altruistic mode wherein nodes that have completed their download continue to provide upload service. We incentivize seeding by giving long-term identifiers to clients enabling seeding clients to be recognized and rewarded in subsequent downloads. Simulations demonstrate that our method is highly effective in protecting swarms from aggressive clients such as BitTyrant. Finally, we introduce The BitTorrent Anonymity Marketplace , wherein each peer simultaneously joins multiple swarms to disguise their true download intentions. Peers then trade one torrent for another, making the cover traffic valuable as a means of obtaining the real target. Thus, when a neighbor receives a request from a peer for blocks of a torrent, it does not know if the peer is really downloading that torrent, or only using it in trade. Using simulation, we demonstrate that nodes cannot determine peer intent from observed interactions

The urban real-time traffic control (URTC) system : a study of designing the controller and its simulation

The growth of the number of automobiles on the roads in China has put higher demands on the traffic control system that needs to efficiently reduce the level of congestion occurrence, which increases travel delay, fuel consumption, and air pollution. The traffic control system, urban real-time traffic control system based on multi-agent (MA-URTC) is presented in this thesis. According to the present situation and the traffic's future development in China, the researches on intelligent traffic control strategy and simulation based on agent lays a foundation for the realization of the system. The thesis is organized as follows: The first part focuses on the intersection' real-time signal control strategy. It contains the limitations of current traffic control systems, application of artificial intelligence in the research, how to bring the dynamic traffic flow forecast into effect by combining the neural network with the genetic arithmetic, and traffic signal real-time control strategy based on fuzzy control. The author uses sorne simple simulation results to testify its superiority. We adopt the latest agent technology in designing the logical structure of the MA-URTC system. By exchanging traffic flows information among the relative agents, MA-URTC provides a new concept in urban traffic control. With a global coordination and cooperation on autonomy-based view of the traffic in cities, MA-URTC anticipates the congestion and control traffic flows. It is designed to support the real-time dynamic selection of intelligent traffic control strategy and the real-time communication requirements, together with a sufficient level of fault-tolerance. Due to the complexity and levity of urban traffic, none strategy can be universally applicable. The agent can independently choose the best scheme according to the real-time situation. To develop an advanced traffic simulation system it can be helpful for us to find the best scheme and the best switch-point of different schemes. Thus we can better deal with the different real-time traffic situations. The second part discusses the architecture and function of the intelligent traffic control simulation based on agent. Meanwhile the author discusses the design model of the vehicle-agent, road agent in traffic network and the intersection-agent so that we can better simulate the real-time environment. The vehicle-agent carries out the intelligent simulation based on the characteristics of the drivers in the actual traffic condition to avoid the disadvantage of the traditional traffic simulation system, simple-functioned algorithm of the vehicles model and unfeasible forecasting hypothesis. It improves the practicability of the whole simulation system greatly. The road agent's significance lies in its guidance of the traffic participants. It avoids the urban traffic control that depends on only the traffic signal control at intersection. It gives the traffic participants the most comfortable and direct guidance in traveling. It can also make a real-time and dynamic adjustment on the urban traffic flow, thus greatly lighten the pressure of signal control in intersection area. To sorne extent, the road agent is equal to the pre-caution mechanism. In the future, the construction of urban roads tends to be more intelligent. Therefore, the research on road agent is very important. All kinds of agents in MA-URTC are interconnected through a computer network. In the end, the author discusses the direction of future research. As the whole system is a multi-agent system, the intersection, the road and the vehicle belongs to multi-agent system respectively. So the emphasis should be put on the structure design and communication of all kinds of traffic agents in the system. Meanwhile, as an open and flexible real-time traffic control system, it is also concerned with how to collaborate with other related systems effectively, how to conform the resources and how to make the traffic participants anywhere throughout the city be in the best traffic guidance at all times and places. To actualize the genuine ITS will be our final goal. \ud ______________________________________________________________________________ \ud MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Artificial Intelligence, Computer simulation, Fuzzy control, Genetic Algorithm, Intelligent traffic control, ITS, Multi-agent, Neural Network, Real-time

Exploring the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN\u27s) National Program Development in Biodiversity Conservation: A Comparative Study of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh

This dissertation investigates IUCN\u27s role in global biodiversity conservation policy as well as in national program development in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It explores how nature protection priorities and approaches are promoted or addressed by IUCN, an international organization, and how environment conservation policies are created and maintained in states with different capacities of South Asia. This study is the first detailed scholarly study on the IUCN as an organization as well as on its efforts in biodiversity conservation. This research adds to our knowledge firstly by contributing to a small but growing body of work on the sociology of international organizations. IOs, especially International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), have long been the subject of mostly political science. Secondly, it applies a fuller sociological imagination to the study of IOs by critically exploring one of the largest and most active nature conservation organizations in the world. Thirdly, it also explores how IUCN actually goes about building protectoral programs with individual member nations. Through the use of networks; institutional, stakeholder and governance theory and qualitative research methods, this research explores IUCN\u27s procedures to prepare both international and national biodiversity conservation related programs with specific examination of four South Asian countries [India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh]. The research outlines how the conservation objectives have been created and enhanced through state-IO engagements. It examines national conservational actions and policies that have been co-constructed as well as the skills and approaches that have been used. This research also defines where in IUCN network conservation innovation comes from and how they produce and adapt that innovation to global and national situations. Finally, the research also shows the historical development of global institutions and IUCN\u27s activities with member nations in helping to define or redefine the concept of global governance. This dissertation makes use of and hopefully adds to our understanding of organizations as well as organizational theory. Additionally, the dissertation also explores the recent development of the green economy (GE) concepts into IUCN\u27s program planning today. The green economy initiative applies a people-first approach. Although the concept is relatively new, this research explores the theoretical development of a green economy and illustrates how this theory is applied in IUCN\u27s program planning to program implementation. Additionally, the research results may be helpful in illuminating some of the advantages and drawbacks of international membership organizations themselves, which may be helpful in future organizational policy formation and implementation efforts. Findings from this research will be useful hopefully to IUCN itself. The outcomes of this research will also be beneficial for global collaboration, networking, and for the identification of common concerns among the many environmental and conservational organizations at the international and national levels. In this broader sense the research outcomes might be beneficial to constituencies of the global North as well as global South because of the nature and coverage of IUCN and its role in conservation policy formation. This effort may serve as a model for additional research on international organizations

The influence of illicit wildlife trafficking in security matters. The case of illicit trafficking of elephant ivory and rhino horn in Africa.

Threatened wildlife is being poached at an alarming rate to feed the global illicit wildlife trafficking (IWT). Poachers and armed non-state actors – including rebel forces such as the Lord's Resistance Army – are targeting elephants and rhinos across Africa in order to meet growing global demand. This thesis places a particular emphasis on the worldwide security implications of the IWT in a time span from 2010 to 2017. The majority of study regarding the IWT’s influence tends to focus on biodiversity and endangered species conservation issues. The thesis examines the security implications of poaching in IWT, focusing on the African elephant tusk and rhino horn illicit trafficking. 65 sources, including book chapters, journal articles, news items, data from multinational environmental agencies, and transcripts of high-level debates from which 37 documents and short films were studied using actor-based discourse analysis. The analysis considered the presence of organized crime groups and armed non-state actors that take part in IWT and influences security concerns. One of the thesis’ key findings is that Think Tanks have contributed to the securitization discourse about IWT, stressing how the lucrative ivory trafficking fuels conflict in Africa and feeds international terrorist groups and crime syndicates. While poaching of elephants and rhinos may have increased recently because to increased demand for illicit wildlife products, instability and armed non-state actors in source countries have made large-scale poaching possible. Through a discourse analysis of 37 documents, the thesis shows how in recent times, the work of Think Tanks has contributed to shifting focus towards how poaching in IWT and suspected links to other unlawful (possibly terrorist) activities threaten long-term peace. Keywords: Africa, poaching, illicit wildlife trafficking, elephant ivory, rhino horn, security, securitization, terroris

1994 NASA-HU American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

Since 1964, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has supported a program of summer faculty fellowships for engineering and science educators. In a series of collaborations between NASA research and development centers and nearby universities, engineering faculty members spend 10 weeks working with professional peers on research. The Summer Faculty Program Committee of the American Society for Engineering Education supervises the programs. Objectives: (1) To further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) To stimulate and exchange ideas between participants and NASA; (3) To enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participants' institutions; (4) To contribute to the research objectives of the NASA center

Critical success factors for e-government in G.C.C

The citizens of the Gulf Cooptation Cancel (G.C.C.) countries have been facing an increasing problem in recent years relating to the difficulties in obtaining public services. The time taken to receive a public service has been increasing, and the quos at public organizations have been increasing. Citizen is also having to shuttle between many public organizations in order to complete a service. The finding of the exploratory study conducted at the General Traffic Department (GTD) showed that citizens want services to be provided online instead of traditional means, which means implementing e-Government initiatives.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo