Case study: Applied Digital Solutions I3 services platform

The purpose of this project is to analyze whether i3 Strategy of Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) was necessary to meet the fast-moving IT industry. i3 Services Strategy is an integrated corporate strategy to reengineer the organizational structure of ADS

Report on the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3)

This report records and discusses the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3). The report includes a description of the keynote presentation of the workshop, which served as an overview of sustainable scientific software. It also summarizes a set of lightning talks in which speakers highlighted to-the-point lessons and challenges pertaining to sustaining scientific software. The final and main contribution of the report is a summary of the discussions, future steps, and future organization for a set of self-organized working groups on topics including developing pathways to funding scientific software; constructing useful common metrics for crediting software stakeholders; identifying principles for sustainable software engineering design; reaching out to research software organizations around the world; and building communities for software sustainability. For each group, we include a point of contact and a landing page that can be used by those who want to join that group's future activities. The main challenge left by the workshop is to see if the groups will execute these activities that they have scheduled, and how the WSSSPE community can encourage this to happen

Mapping Digital Media: Mexico

Analyzes trends in Mexico's media and media consumption, including the digital divide and the effects of digital media, if any, on market share, the state of public or community media, quality of journalism, and policies and laws

Intention to use RFID-enabled services : theoretical review and case study

This thesis attempts to shed some light over the antecedents of customer’s intention to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-enabled services. Former research has primarily been concerned with the acceptance and implementation of RFID systems in cost-conscious businesses mainly focusing on enhancing efficiency in supply managements or the logistics process. As RFID-technology is increasingly introduced into the world of the consumers, little research has been conducted in the pursuit to understand these intention and adoption processes. A research model is proposed. Theoretically founded on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the model is extended with three additional direct determinants namely; Perceived Risk Harm, Emotions, and Experience. The extension is based on empirical studies and additional affective theories. In addition, situational context and perception of control are selected as moderators. The potential influences of moderating variables have up until now been poorly investigated, and by adding these to the model a more holistic picture of the adoption processes is suggested. 560 independent survey respondents make up the data material from which the conclusions have been drawn. The results indicate that extending UTAUT with the suggested antecedents of intention does not significantly add to the predictive validity of the model, with only experience as an added antecedent posing any influence on intention. Only two UTAUT determinants were reported to exert any significant influence on intention. Performance expectancy (system characteristic) and anxiety (personality trait) were found to be robust determinants of intention unaffected by both situational context and perception of control

End-to-end network service orchestration in heterogeneous domains for next-generation mobile networks

5G marks the beginning of a deep revolution in the mobile network ecosystem, transitioning to a network of services to satisfy the demands of new players, the vertical industries. This revolution implies a redesign of the overall mobile network architecture where complexity, heterogeneity, dynamicity, and flexibility will be the rule. Under such context, automation and programmability are essential to support this vision and overcome current rigid network operation processes. Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Network slicing are key enabling techniques to provide such capabilities. They are complementary, but they are still in its infancy and the synergies between them must be exploited to realise the mentioned vision. The aim of this thesis is to further contribute to its development and integration in next generation mobile networks by designing an end-to-end (E2E) network service orchestration (NSO) architecture, which aligned with some guidelines and specifications provided by main standardization bodies, goes beyond current management and orchestration (MANO) platforms to fulfil network service lifetime requirements in heterogeneous multi-technology/administrative network infrastructures shared by concurrent instances of diverse network services. Following a bottom-up approach, we start studying some SDN aspects related to the management of wireless network elements and its integration into hierarchical control architectures orchestrating networking resources in a multi-technology (wireless, optical, packet) infrastructure. Then, this work is integrated in an infrastructure manager module executing the joint resource abstraction and allocation of network and compute resources in distributed points of presence (PoPs) connected by a transport network, aspect which is not (or lightly) handled by current MANO platforms. This is the module where the integration between NFV and SDN techniques is executed. This integration is commanded by a Service Orchestrator module, in charge of automating the E2E lifecycle management of network services implementing network slices (NS) based on the vertical requirements, the available infrastructure resources, and, while fulfilling service level agreement (SLA) also during run-time operation. This architecture, focused on single administrative domain (AD) scenarios, constitutes the first group of contributions of this thesis. The second group of contributions evolves this initial architecture to deal with the orchestration and sharing of NS and its network slice subnet instances (NSSIs) involving multiple ADs. The main differential aspect with current state-of-the-art solutions is the consideration of resource orchestration aspects during the whole orchestration process. This is fundamental to achieve the interconnection of NSSIs, hence making the E2E multi-domain orchestration and network slicing a reality in practice. Additionally, this work also considers SLA management aspects by means of scaling actions during run-time operation in such complex scenarios. The third group of contributions demonstrate the validity and applicability of the resulting architectures, workflows, and interfaces by implementing and evaluating them in real experimental infrastructures featuring multiple ADs and transport technologies interconnecting distributed computing PoPs. The performed experimentation considers network service definitions close to real vertical use cases, namely automotive and eHealth, which help bridging the gap between network providers and vertical industries stakeholders. Experimental results show that network service creation and scaling times in the order of minutes can be achieved for single and multi-AD scenarios, in line with 5G network targets. Moreover, these measurements serve as a reference for benchmarking the different operations involved during the network service deployment. Such analysis are limited in current literature.5G marca el inicio de una gran revolución en las redes móviles, convirtiéndose en redes orientadas a servicios para satisfacer las demandas de nuevos actores, las industrias verticales. Esta revolución supone un rediseño total de la arquitectura de red donde la complejidad, heterogeneidad, dinamicidad y flexibilidad serán la norma. En este contexto, la automatización y programabilidad serán esenciales para superar los rígidos procesos actuales de operación de red. Las redes definidas por software (SDN), la virtualización de funciones de red (NFV) y el particionamiento de redes son técnicas clave para proporcionar dichas capacidades. Éstas son complementarias, pero aún recientes y sus sinergias se deben explotar para realizar la nueva visión. El objetivo de esta tesis es contribuir a su desarrollo e integración en la nuevas generaciones de redes móviles mediante el diseño de una arquitectura de orquestación de servicios de red (NSO) extremo a extremo (E2E), que alineada con algunas pautas y especificaciones de los principales organismos de estandarización, va más allá de los actuales sistemas de gestión y orquestación (MANO) para instanciar y garantizar los requisitos de los diversos servicios de red desplegados concurrentemente en infraestructuras heterogéneas compartidas que combinan múltiples tecnologías y dominios administrativos (AD). Siguiendo un enfoque ascendente, comenzamos a estudiar aspectos de SDN relacionados con la gestión de elementos de red inalámbricos y su integración en arquitecturas jerárquicas de orquestación de recursos de red en infraestructuras multi tecnología (inalámbrica, óptica, paquetes). Luego, este trabajo se integra en un módulo de administración de infraestructura que ejecuta de forma conjunta la abstracción y la asignación de recursos de red y computación en múltiples puntos de presencia (PoP) distribuidos conectados por una red de transporte, aspecto que no está (o ligeramente) considerado por los actuales sistemas MANO. Este módulo ejecuta la integración de las técnicas NFV y SDN. Esta integración está dirigida por el módulo Orquestador de Servicios, que automatiza la gestión E2E del ciclo de vida de los servicios de red implementando las diferentes particiones de red en base a los requisitos de los verticales, los recursos de infraestructura disponibles y mientras cumple los acuerdos de nivel de servicio (SLA) durante la operación del servicio. Esta arquitectura, centrada en escenarios con un único AD, forma el primer grupo de contribuciones de esta tesis. El segundo grupo de contribuciones evoluciona esta arquitectura abordando la orquestación y compartición de particiones de red y sus componentes (NSSIs) en escenarios con múltiples AD. La consideración detallada de aspectos de orquestación de recursos es el principal aspecto diferencial con la literatura. Esto es fundamental para la interconexión de NSSIs, haciendo realidad la orquestación E2E y el particionamiento de red en escenarios con múltiples AD. Además, se considera la gestión de SLA mediante acciones de escalado durante la operación del servicio en los escenarios mencionados. El tercer grupo de contribuciones valida las arquitecturas, procedimientos e interfaces resultantes pues se han implementado y evaluado sobre infraestructuras experimentales reales que presentan múltiples AD y tecnologías de transporte interconectando PoP distribuidos. Esta experimentación considera definiciones de servicios de red cercanos a casos de uso de verticales reales, como automoción y eHealth, ayudando a cubrir la brecha entre los proveedores de red y los verticales. Los resultados experimentales muestran que la creación y el escalado de servicios de red se pueden realizar en pocos minutos en escenarios con un único o múltiples ADs, en línea con los indicadores de red objetivos de 5G. Estas medidas, escasas en la literatura actual, sirven como referencia para caracterizar las diferentes operaciones involucradas durante el despliegue de servicios.Postprint (published version

Searching for Supersymmetry with the ATLAS detector

This thesis presents a new method by which one may use data from the ATLAS detector of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN to measure the parameters of the theory of supersymmetry (SUSY). The technique uses a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling algorithm to combine measurements of exclusive variables, in the form of kinematic endpoints that arise in the invariant mass distributions of leptons and jets given out in sparticle decay chains, with inclusive data, in the form of the cross-section of events passing a missing transverse energy cut. This improves the precision of sparticle mass measurements (beyond that obtained using exclusive data alone), whilst also enabling experimental uncertainties to be handled in an intuitive fashion. The method is demonstrated on an mSUGRA benchmark model, and is also used to constrain a model with a greater number of parameters. Throughout, an attempt is made to break some of the unrealistic assumptions that characterise current SUSY search techniques, and to this end it is successfully demonstrated that one can use the Markov Chain method to obtain precise results even if it is not possible to precisely determine which sparticles produced the endpoints in the invariant mass distributions. This decay chain ambiguity is extended by looking at a sample SUSY model with non-universal Higgs masses, in which cascade decays featuring three body decays become more prominent. The positions of the associat ed endpoints are calculated for a squark cascade decay, and are subsequently studied with the aid of a benchmark model. In addition, this thesis presents work relating to the development of an online monitoring package for the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT). A tool for the calculation of noise occupancies is developed and tested against existing calibration data, prior to its application to various data sets obtained during the SR1 cosmic commissioning tests at CERN in the summer of 2006. It is found that the modules of the SCT included in the test have an average noise occupancy of less than $5 \times 10^{-4}$ per strip per event, and thus meet the design specification

Modeling end-user adoption of e-government services in Abu Dhabi

A number of recent reports indicate that many governments around the world are increasingly using internet technologies to provide public services. However little is known about the factors that influence end-users’ adoption of these services, particularly in a non-western context. This study used mixed research methods to build, empirically test and validate an e-government adoption model. The findings will be useful to both e-government researchers and practitioners interested in promoting e-government

Determining the Mediating Effects of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy on the Relationship between Organizational Antecedents and Entrepreneurial Orientation

A considerable literature points to entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as an essential component in fostering organizational performance. In order to advance theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field of EO, this article undertakes an empirical inquiry into the extent to which entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the relationship between organizational antecedents and EO at public hospitals in South Africa. Results support the study hypotheses insofar as organizational structure and performance rewards explain a significant amount of variation in EO, while entrepreneurial self-efficacy partially mediates this relationship. The study makes a novel contribution by highlighting the significance of the connection between different organizational antecedents and EO, while additionally interpreting the mediating effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, in an under-researched industry and country context

The inner and inter construct associations of the quality of data warehouse customer relationship data for problem enactment

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration and awarded by Brunel University on behalf of Henley Management College.The literature identifies perceptions of data quality as a key factor influencing a wide range of attitudes and behaviors related to data in organizational settings (e.g. decision confidence). In particular, there is an overwhelming consensus that effective customer relationship management, CRM, depends on the quality of customer data. Data warehouses, if properly implemented, enable data integration which is a key attribute of data quality. The literature highlights the relevance of formulating problem statements because this will determine the course of action. CRM managers formulate problem statements through a cognitive process known as enactment. The literature on data quality is very fragmented. It posits that this construct is of a high order nature (it is dimensional), it is contextual and situational, and it is closely linked to a utilitarian value. This study addresses all these disperse views of the nature of data quality from a holistic perspective. Social cognitive theory, SCT, is the backbone for studying data quality in terms of information search behavior and enhancements in formulating problem statements. The main objective of this study is to explore the nature of a data warehouse's customer relationship data quality in situations where there is a need for understanding a customer relationship problem. The research question is What are the inner and inter construct associations of the quality of data warehouse customer relationship data for problem enactment? To reach this objective, a positivistic approach was adopted complemented with qualitative interventions along the research process. Observations were gathered with a survey. Scales were adjusted using a construct-based approach. Research findings confirm that data quality is a high order construct with a contextual dimension and a situational dimension. Problem sense making enhancements is a dependent variable of data quality in a confirmed positive association between both constructs. Problem sense making enhancements is also a high order construct with a mastering experience dimension and a self-efficacy dimension. Behavioral patterns for information search mode (scanning mode orientation vs. focus mode orientation) and for information search heuristic (template heuristic orientation vs. trial-and-error heuristic orientation) have been identified. Focus is the predominant information search mode orientation and template is the predominant information search heuristic orientation. Overall, the research findings support the associations advocated by SCT. The self-efficacy dimension in problem sense making enhancements is a discriminant for information search mode orientation (focus mode orientation vs. scanning mode orientation). The contextual dimension in data quality (i.e. data task utility) is a discriminant for information search heuristic (template heuristic orientation vs. trial-and-error heuristic orientation). A data quality cognitive metamodel and a data quality for problem enactment model are suggested for research in the areas of data quality, information search behavior, and cognitive enhancements. iiiTeradata, NC

Self-regulated Learning (SRL) Microanalysis for Mathematical Problem Solving: a Comparison of a SRL Event Measure, Questionnaires, and a Teacher Rating Scale

The current dissertation examined the validity of a context-specific assessment tool, called Self-regulated learning (SRL) microanalysis, for measuring self-regulated learning (SRL) during mathematical problem solving. SRL microanalysis is a structured interview that entails assessing respondents\u27 regulatory processes as they engage with a task of interest. Participants for this dissertation consisted of 83 eighth grade students attending a large urban school district in Midwestern USA. Students were administered the SRL microanalytic interview while completing a set of mathematical word problems to provide a measure of their real-time thoughts and regulatory behaviors. The SRL microanalytic interview targeted the SRL processes of goal-setting, strategic planning, strategy use, metacognitive monitoring, attributions, and adaptive inferences. In addition, students completed two questionnaires measuring SRL strategy use, and one questionnaire measuring self-esteem. The participant\u27s mathematics teacher completed a teacher rating scale of SRL for each participant. Mathematical skill was measured with three measures including a three item measure of mathematical problem solving skill completed during the SRL microanalytic interview, a fifteen item posttest of mathematical problem solving skill completed two weeks after the SRL microanalytic interview, and a standardized test of mathematics skill. The primary objectives of this dissertation were to compare the newly developed SRL microanalytic interview to more traditional measures of SRL including two self-report questionnaires measuring adaptive and maladaptive SRL and a teacher rating scale of SRL. In addition, the current dissertation examined whether SRL microanalysis would diverge from a theoretically unrelated construct such as self-esteem. Finally, the primary interest of the current dissertation was to examine the relative predictive validity of SRL microanalysis and SRL questionnaires. The predictive validity was compared across three related but distinct mathematics outcomes including a short set of mathematical problem solving items, a more comprehensive posttest of MPS problem solving skill, and performance on a standardized mathematics test. The results of this study revealed that SRL microanalysis did not relate to self-report questionnaires measuring adaptive or maladaptive SRL or teacher ratings of SRL. The SRL microanalytic interview diverged from the theoretically unrelated measure of self-esteem. Finally, after controlling for prior achievement and SRL questionnaires, the SRL microanalytic interview explained a significant amount of unique variation for all three mathematics outcomes. Furthermore, the SRL microanalytic protocol emerged as a superior predictor of all three mathematics outcomes compared to SRL questionnaires