Feasibility study of the new Bluetooth 5.1 location functions and the development of a business plan based on the application of this technology as a form of indoor positioning.

The objective of this final Master's thesis is to carry out a feasibility study, both at a technical and commercial level, of the new Bluetooth Direction Finding technology based on the novelties provided by the Bluetooth 5.1 version. The specifications of the Bluetooth 5.1 version improve location services with a direction finding feature that makes it possible to detect the direction of a Bluetooth signal. Using this new function, the idea of the project is to make a study of this function at the technical level and in addition to developing a possible business plan based on this technology with the idea of indoor positioning or even item finding. Including a study of the ecosystem of competent RTLS systems implemented in the market at the national level. In addition to doing a review of the state of the art of IoT and in particular of RTLS technologies and the evolution that this can bring to current logistics. Taking into account that logistics is a key area in the Industry 4.0 environment and that the application of an RTLS system on it can result in an optimization of processes and time

Regionally distributed architecture for dynamic e-learning environment (RDADeLE)

e-Learning is becoming an influential role as an economic method and a flexible mode of study in the institutions of higher education today which has a presence in an increasing number of college and university courses. e-Learning as system of systems is a dynamic and scalable environment. Within this environment, e-learning is still searching for a permanent, comfortable and serviceable position that is to be controlled, managed, flexible, accessible and continually up-to-date with the wider university structure. As most academic and business institutions and training centres around the world have adopted the e-learning concept and technology in order to create, deliver and manage their learning materials through the web, it has become the focus of investigation. However, management, monitoring and collaboration between these institutions and centres are limited. Existing technologies such as grid, web services and agents are promising better results. In this research a new architecture has been developed and adopted to make the e-learning environment more dynamic and scalable by dividing it into regional data grids which are managed and monitored by agents. Multi-agent technology has been applied to integrate each regional data grid with others in order to produce an architecture which is more scalable, reliable, and efficient. The result we refer to as Regionally Distributed Architecture for Dynamic e-Learning Environment (RDADeLE). Our RDADeLE architecture is an agent-based grid environment which is composed of components such as learners, staff, nodes, regional grids, grid services and Learning Objects (LOs). These components are built and organised as a multi-agent system (MAS) using the Java Agent Development (JADE) platform. The main role of the agents in our architecture is to control and monitor grid components in order to build an adaptable, extensible, and flexible grid-based e-learning system. Two techniques have been developed and adopted in the architecture to build LOs' information and grid services. The first technique is the XML-based Registries Technique (XRT). In this technique LOs' information is built using XML registries to be discovered by the learners. The registries are written in Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) format. The second technique is the Registered-based Services Technique (RST). In this technique the services are grid services which are built using agents. The services are registered with the Directory Facilitator (DF) of a JADE platform in order to be discovered by all other components. All components of the RDADeLE system, including grid service, are built as a multi-agent system (MAS). Each regional grid in the first technique has only its own registry, whereas in the second technique the grid services of all regional grids have to be registered with the DF. We have evaluated the RDADeLE system guided by both techniques by building a simulation of the prototype. The prototype has a main interface which consists of the name of the system (RDADeLE) and a specification table which includes Number of Regional Grids, Number of Nodes, Maximum Number of Learners connected to each node, and Number of Grid Services to be filled by the administrator of the RDADeLE system in order to create the prototype. Using the RST technique shows that the RDADeLE system can be built with more regional grids with less memory consumption. Moreover, using the RST technique shows that more grid services can be registered in the RDADeLE system with a lower average search time and the search performance is increased compared with the XRT technique. Finally, using one or both techniques, the XRT or the RST, in the prototype does not affect the reliability of the RDADeLE system.Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu - Directorate General For Jubail Project Kingdom of Saudi Arabi

An Aspect-Oriented Approach to Design and Develop Hypermedia Documents

Hypermedia applications can be defined as collections of interactive multimedia documents that are organized as a hypertext net. The variety of application domains and the complexity of the relationship among the application components make the design and development of these hypermedia applications a difficult process. Hypermedia design models help designers to complete their conceptualization tasks, provide a conceptual understanding of hypermedia systems and defining the relationships among system components. However, when existing document models are used, features such as logging, error handling, access control and personalized view generation are notoriously difficult to implement in a modular way. The result is that the code related to these features is tangled across a system, which leads to quality, productivity and maintenance problems. In this thesis, we provided an aspect-oriented approach to design and develop hypermedia documents. A general aspect-based document model is defined to support the separation of concerns related to the features previously described. As a result, each feature is modularized as a different aspect and, in this way, the "tangling code" problem is solved. We have also applied the general document model in a concrete case study combining DOM and AspectJ. The resulting implementation provided a new prototype dealing with many features defined as aspects such as access control, logging, view generation, annotation and dynamic event handling

EFFICIENT RUNTIME SECURITY SYSTEM FOR DECENTRALISED DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS

Distributed systems can be defined as systems that are scattered over geographical distances and provide different activities through communication, processing, data transfer and so on. Thus, increasing the cooperation, efficiency, and reliability to deal with users and data resources jointly. For this reason, distributed systems have been shown to be a promising infrastructure for most applications in the digital world. Despite their advantages, keeping these systems secure, is a complex task because of the unconventional nature of distributed systems which can produce many security problems like phishing, denial of services or eavesdropping. Therefore, adopting security and privacy policies in distributed systems will increase the trustworthiness between the users and these systems. However, adding or updating security is considered one of the most challenging concerns and this relies on various security vulnerabilities which existing in distributed systems. The most significant one is inserting or modifying a new security concern or even removing it according to the security status which may appear at runtime. Moreover, these problems will be exacerbated when the system adopts the multi-hop concept as a way to deal with transmitting and processing information. This can pose many significant security challenges especially if dealing with decentralized distributed systems and the security must be furnished as end-to-end. Unfortunately, existing solutions are insufficient to deal with these problems like CORBA which is considered a one-to-one relationship only, or DSAW which deals with end-to-end security but without taking into account the possibility of changing information sensitivity during runtime. This thesis provides a proposed mechanism for enforcing security policies and dealing with distributed systems’ security weakness in term of the software perspective. The proposed solution utilised Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP), to address security concerns during compilation and running time. The proposed solution is based on a decentralized distributed system that adopts the multi-hop concept to deal with different requested tasks. The proposed system focused on how to achieve high accuracy, data integrity and high efficiency of the distributed system in real time. This is done through modularising the most efficient security solutions, Access Control and Cryptography, by using Aspect-Oriented Programming language. The experiments’ results show the proposed solution overcomes the shortage of the existing solutions by fully integrating with the decentralized distributed system to achieve dynamic, high cooperation, high performance and end-to-end holistic security

Wireless communication, sensing, and REM: A security perspective

The diverse requirements of next-generation communication systems necessitate awareness, flexibility, and intelligence as essential building blocks of future wireless networks. The awareness can be obtained from the radio signals in the environment using wireless sensing and radio environment mapping (REM) methods. This is, however, accompanied by threats such as eavesdropping, manipulation, and disruption posed by malicious attackers. To this end, this work analyzes the wireless sensing and radio environment awareness mechanisms, highlighting their vulnerabilities and provides solutions for mitigating them. As an example, the different threats to REM and its consequences in a vehicular communication scenario are described. Furthermore, the use of REM for securing communications is discussed and future directions regarding sensing/REM security are highlighted

Database development and intranet based image included database management system for ballistic firearm identification system

The process of imaging, collecting and searching a cartridge case to identifying its suspected firearm is a time consuming procedure. Within this study, a cartridge case identification database management system in an Intranet environment is designed and implemented, thus enabling firearm examiners from different forensic laboratories to engage firearm identification without the constraints of time and location. Specifically, the study investigates appropriate database management system for image involved and Intranet secured ballistics firearm identification database. The results demonstrated that a computerized firearm identification system could be implemented in Intranet with a secure, scalable, performable Intranet database management system

SALSA: A Formal Hierarchical Optimization Framework for Smart Grid

The smart grid, by the integration of advanced control and optimization technologies, provides the traditional grid with an indisputable opportunity to deliver and utilize the electricity more efficiently. Building smart grid applications is a challenging task, which requires a formal modeling, integration, and validation framework for various smart grid domains. The design flow of such applications must adapt to the grid requirements and ensure the security of supply and demand. This dissertation, by proposing a formal framework for customers and operations domains in the smart grid, aims at delivering a smooth way for: i) formalizing their interactions and functionalities, ii) upgrading their components independently, and iii) evaluating their performance quantitatively and qualitatively.The framework follows an event-driven demand response program taking no historical data and forecasting service into account. A scalable neighborhood of prosumers (inside the customers domain), which are equipped with smart appliances, photovoltaics, and battery energy storage systems, are considered. They individually schedule their appliances and sell/purchase their surplus/demand to/from the grid with the purposes of maximizing their comfort and profit at each instant of time. To orchestrate such trade relations, a bilateral multi-issue negotiation approach between a virtual power plant (on behalf of prosumers) and an aggregator (inside the operations domain) in a non-cooperative environment is employed. The aggregator, with the objectives of maximizing its profit and minimizing the grid purchase, intends to match prosumers' supply with demand. As a result, this framework particularly addresses the challenges of: i) scalable and hierarchical load demand scheduling, and ii) the match between the large penetration of renewable energy sources being produced and consumed. It is comprised of two generic multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming models for prosumers and the aggregator. These models support different scheduling mechanisms and electricity consumption threshold policies.The effectiveness of the framework is evaluated through various case studies based on economic and environmental assessment metrics. An interactive web service for the framework has also been developed and demonstrated

How Design Science Research Helps Improve Learning Efficiency in Online Conversations

In this design science research paper, we report on our constructing and evaluating an attention-guidance system that we integrated into a computer-supported collaborative learning system. Drawing on social constructivist literature, our proposed design focuses on attracting, retaining, and, if necessary, reacquiring users’ attention on task-relevant information in online collaborative literature processing. The investigation involved an experiment across two sections of students in a human-computer interaction course. Results show that the new design allowed users to consistently reflect and evaluate the content of a text as they capitalized on one another’s reasoning to resolve misconceptions. Moreover, we found that the new system increased users’ perceptions of learning. However, the difference in knowledge gain scores was marginally significant and represented a medium effect size. Interestingly, we found that the attention-guidance system supported more efficient learning. Finally, we discovered that task-oriented reading of text, revisions of incomplete or incorrect ideas, and perceptions of learning mediated the relationship between software system and learning efficiency. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications

User response and organisational fit for information systems in Earth observation

A group of seventy six scientists and data managers in the Australian research agency CSIRO were surveyed to establish their needs and preferences in relation to information systems for Earth observation data. After study of available alternatives, three prototype Earth observation information management systems were installed and the user response was evaluated through interview of fifteen of the group. The prototypes consisted of web-based client servers which permitted users to interrogate databases of Earth observation datasets; to search for information about sensor or satellite performance, and to retrieve data and information products. The chosen systems were CILS, the CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites) Information Location System; IDN, the CEOS International Directory Network; and JMS, NASA\u27s Information Management System of EOSDIS, the Earth Observing System Data and Information System. For this study, no special effort was taken to populate the system directories and inventories with local data holdings, and the prototypes were essentially mirror sites of operational data management systems used in other parts of the world. While some of the interviewed scientists expressed enthusiasm for web based spatial information management approaches, all indicated that improvements should be sought in the prototypes to make them more user-oriented, intuitive, and responsive. Most of the interview group were experienced remote sensing researchers who had developed their own contacts with overseas peers and data providers. Several in this category expressed the vithem, unless the scientists changed discipline, application or geographic area of interest. On the other hand, several individual research projects or organisational units of CSIRO, as a result of these trials, were considering utilising one of more of the prototypes - particularly the IMS - to address their current unfulfilled requirements for data management. The study also found that while all fifteen of the interviewees felt they could benefit in some way from electronic information retrieval and spatial data management systems of the type assessed, it seemed unlikely that the target organisation would ever assign a sufficient priority to implement any of them in a systematic manner. The biggest impediment to an organisation-wide approach to spatial data management for Earth observation was the low priority assigned to information management, because this activity was considered supporting or non-core in relation to the central objective of scientific research. Results indicated that a piecemeal, decentralised or federated approach was the only means by which systems of this type could feasibly be introduced into the operating environment of CSIRO, in the absence of a major external forcing mechanism. This observation was compared to the evolution of EOSDIS, which had demonstrated a marked change from a centralised to a federated paradigm due to user preferences similar to those observed in the CSIRO case