Service-oriented computing: concepts, characteristics and directions

Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) is the computing paradigm that utilizes services as fundamental elements for developing applications/solutions. To build the service model, SOC relies on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), which is a way of reorganizing software applications and infrastructure into a set of interacting services. However, the basic SOA does not address overarching concerns such as management, service orchestration, service transaction management and coordination, security, and other concerns that apply to all components in a services architecture. In this paper we introduce an Extended Service Oriented Architecture that provides separate tiers for composing and coordinating services and for managing services in an open marketplace by employing grid services.

Experimental Biological Protocols with Formal Semantics

Both experimental and computational biology is becoming increasingly automated. Laboratory experiments are now performed automatically on high-throughput machinery, while computational models are synthesized or inferred automatically from data. However, integration between automated tasks in the process of biological discovery is still lacking, largely due to incompatible or missing formal representations. While theories are expressed formally as computational models, existing languages for encoding and automating experimental protocols often lack formal semantics. This makes it challenging to extract novel understanding by identifying when theory and experimental evidence disagree due to errors in the models or the protocols used to validate them. To address this, we formalize the syntax of a core protocol language, which provides a unified description for the models of biochemical systems being experimented on, together with the discrete events representing the liquid-handling steps of biological protocols. We present both a deterministic and a stochastic semantics to this language, both defined in terms of hybrid processes. In particular, the stochastic semantics captures uncertainties in equipment tolerances, making it a suitable tool for both experimental and computational biologists. We illustrate how the proposed protocol language can be used for automated verification and synthesis of laboratory experiments on case studies from the fields of chemistry and molecular programming

Effectiveness of school governing bodies in rural schools of Ngcobo district

This study focused on school governing bodies in the rural schools in Ngcobo. In this study, the researcher established that in rural schools, parent members of school governing bodies are still reluctant, or ill equipped to do their duty as governors of the schools. They rely on what the principals ask them to do. They need more training and empowerment to fulfill their duties as members of the school governing bodies. Most of the parents who are members of school governing bodies are older and their level of education is generally low. The principals are complaining that not enough training was being given to parent members to fulfill their task as school governors. However, it remains the principals’ responsibility to coach SGB parent-members in order for the school functionality to go on. The findings of this study show that much more need to be done to empower parental-members of SGBs in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape and most probably in most, if not all, rural areas of South Africa

Engaging stakeholders across a socio-environmentally diverse network of water research sites in North and South America

Maintaining and restoring freshwater ecosystem services in the face of local and global change requires adaptive research that effectively engages stakeholders. However, there is a lack of understanding and consensus in the research community regarding where, when, and which stakeholders should be engaged and what kind of researcher should do the engaging (e.g., physical, ecological, or social scientists). This paper explores stakeholder engagement across a developing network of aquatic research sites in North and South America with wide ranging cultural norms, social values, resource management paradigms, and eco-physical conditions. With seven sites in six countries, we found different degrees of engagement were explained by differences in the interests of the stakeholders given the history and perceived urgency of water resource problems as well as differences in the capacities of the site teams to effectively engage given their expertise and resources. We categorized engagement activities and applied Hurlbert and Gupta's split ladder of participation to better understand site differences and distill lessons learned for planning comparative socio-hydrological research and systematic evaluations of the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement approaches. We recommend research networks practice deliberate engagement of stakeholders that adaptively accounts for variations and changes in local socio-hydrologic conditions. This, in turn, requires further efforts to foster the development of well-integrated research teams that attract and retain researchers from multiple social science disciplines and enable training on effective engagement strategies for diverse conditions.Fil: Smyth, Robyn L.. Bard College; Estados UnidosFil: Fatima, Uroosa. Bard College; Estados UnidosFil: Segarra, Monique. Bard College; Estados UnidosFil: Borre, Lisa. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Zilio, Mariana Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Reid, Brian. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Pincetl, Stephanie. Institute of the Environment and Sustainability; Estados UnidosFil: Astorga, Anna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Huamantinco Cisneros, María Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geografía y Turismo; ArgentinaFil: Conde, Sergio Daniel. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Harmon, Thomas Christopher. University of California Merced; Estados UnidosFil: Hoyos, Natalia. Universidad del Norte; ColombiaFil: Escobar, Jaime. Universidad del Norte; Colombia. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; PanamáFil: Lozoya, Juan Pablo. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Perillo, Gerardo Miguel E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología; ArgentinaFil: Piccolo, Maria Cintia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geografía y Turismo; ArgentinaFil: Rusak, James A.. Dorset Environmental Science Centre; Canadá. Queens University; CanadáFil: Velez, Maria I.. University of Regina; Canad

Engaging stakeholders across a socio-environmentally diverse network of water research sites in North and South America

Maintaining and restoring freshwater ecosystem services in the face of local and global change requires adaptive research that effectively engages stakeholders. However, there is a lack of understanding and consensus in the research community regarding where, when, and which stakeholders should be engaged and what kind of researcher should do the engaging (e.g., physical, ecological, or social scientists). This paper explores stakeholder engagement across a developing network of aquatic research sites in North and South America with wide ranging cultural norms, social values, resource management paradigms, and eco-physical conditions. With seven sites in six countries, we found different degrees of engagement were explained by differences in the interests of the stakeholders given the history and perceived urgency of water resource problems as well as differences in the capacities of the site teams to effectively engage given their expertise and resources. We categorized engagement activities and applied Hurlbert and Gupta's split ladder of participation to better understand site differences and distill lessons learned for planning comparative socio-hydrological research and systematic evaluations of the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement approaches. We recommend research networks practice deliberate engagement of stakeholders that adaptively accounts for variations and changes in local socio-hydrologic conditions. This, in turn, requires further efforts to foster the development of well-integrated research teams that attract and retain researchers from multiple social science disciplines and enable training on effective engagement strategies for diverse conditions

IMPLEMENTATION OF WIRELESS LAN IN UTP

This paper, entitled Implementation ofWireless LAN in UTP environment, looks into the way to implement wireless network in UTP. The main objectives ofthis project are to provide mobile network and internet access using university's network system to students and lecturers and to make it easier and convenient for student to download lecture notes and for lecturers to upload them. Currently, there is no wireless LAN access in UTP environment that can be use by students and staff as alternative opportunity to access and share instant information. Therefore, this project research area is to find out the way to implement wireless LAN using secure Wi-Fi in UTP external environment. For this study, the scope is narrow down to the architecture and design ofwireless LAN network and its developing methodology. Anetwork simulation tool called Network Simulator version 2, or simply known as ns-2, is used to test the efficiency and functionality ofthe designed network. The outcome ofthis project is a good network architecture design that will give high network performance to all users in UTP

The role of full service schools in promoting educational and psycho-social well-being of orphans and vulnerable children in the Pinetown education district of Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract : Studies have been conducted on the role of public schools in providing psycho-social support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) with respect to the range and nature of interventions provided for them to promote their psycho-social well-being. However, relatively few studies have been documented on the role of Full-Service Schools (FSS), which is a care and support resource introduced by the South African Education Ministry within the public schooling system in an effort to mainstream psycho-social and educational support for orphan and vulnerable children. This qualitative multiple case study contributes to the understanding of the role of Full- Service Schools in promoting psycho-social and educational well-being of orphans and vulnerable children. Three Full-Service Schools within the Pinetown Education District participated in this study. In total, the participants from the three schools comprised of 13 School Based Support Team members, 11 School Governing Body Members, 12 representatives from the school’s network of support providers, 30 orphan and vulnerable children, 2 School Counsellors, 3 Learner Support Educators, 4 Learner Support Assistants, 2 District FSS Programme Co-ordinators, and 1 Provincial FSS Programme Co-ordinator. The Atlas-ti software programme was used to conduct content analysis of the data collected. Data from each school was analysed with respect to identifying in-vivo quotes related to the school’s roles and responsibilities to provide educational and psycho-social support for orphans and vulnerable children. Thereafter, the identified in-vivo-quotes from all three schools were integrated using the Atlas-ti software along the six objectives of the study. These were to explore: the influence of the Full-Service School selection criteria on its OVC support roles and responsibilities; how budgets were managed for care and support programme provision for OVCs; the provision of the range of support programmes and services for OVCs; how the training and development programme for Full-Service Schools influenced it’s support role; the role of support structures and specialist personnel in promoting care and support at Full-Service Schools; and the collaboration between the FSS and its network of support providers to strengthen its role as a care and support resource for OVCs. Findings of this study indicated that there were enabling factors at the FSSs to promote their role to deliver psycho-social and educational support for OVCs. Firstly, at all three schools there was a culture of care and support for orphans and vulnerable children. Secondly, all participants were confident about the FSS programme objectives and were positive about its Role of FSS in Promoting educational and psychological wellbeing of OVCs vi role to be a care and support resource for OVCs. Thirdly, FSSs received additional care and support provisioning from the KZN Department of Education, to facilitate their role as a support resource for OVCs. However, all three schools reported numerous challenges to implementing psycho-social and educational support interventions for orphans and vulnerable children that threatened the sustainability, quality and range of the support interventions provided. These included factors such as challenges with selection criteria of FSSs, issues with care and support budget allocations, implementation concerns related to the FSS support model, inadequacies in the training and development programme, the functionality of support structures, shortage and role confusion of support staff and inadequate collaborations. Based on the findings, suggestions were made as to what the KwaZulu Department of Education could do (if necessary) to further strengthen, refine and design new roles or programmes to promote educational and psycho-social support for OVCs at FSSs in the Pinetown District of KwaZulu Natal.D.Ed. (Educational Psychology

Implementation evaluation of the universal primary education policy at Khomasdal Primary School and Gammams Primary School in the Khomas Region, Namibia

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2019.ENGLISH SUMMARY : This thesis evaluates the implementation process of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) policy at Khomasdal Primary School and Gammams Primary School in the Khomas Region of Namibia. The literature review addresses the discourse of public policy, with a focus on implementation, and examines the complexities of policy implementation and how certain variables can directly affect the process of implementation. As a result, the different approaches and models of implementation that are discussed in the literature gives rise to a consensus regarding important variables that policy makers and implementers need to consider in order to ensure that successful policy implementation is realised. The variables referred to here are the 7 C’s (content, context, capacity, commitment, clients and coalitions, communication, and coordination), which should be considered by policy makers and implementers in order to ensure a policy’s success. The 7 C’s were used by the researcher to formulate the data-collection tool, as well as for analysing and making sense of challenges facing the UPE policy. The research findings relating to the UPE policy illustrate that the policy has not been updated since its initiation in 2013, which could prove to be problematic as it has become outdated. Stakeholders, such as teachers and principals, were also not involved in the formulation of the UPE policy. In addition, the tool used to achieve the policy is ineffective, as the UPE funds are allocated to schools too late. Data collected from the fieldwork further shows that some resources needed for implementation of the policy are inadequate. Furthermore, findings indicate an absence of a monitoring and evaluation system to track the progress of the implementation process of the UPE policy. The research concludes that there are indeed multiple factors hindering the implementation of the UPE policy at Khomasdal Primary school and Gammams Primary school. The thesis makes the following recommendations: Making the UPE fund tool used to achieve the goal of the UPE policy more effective; updating the content of the UPE policy; provision of adequate resources needed to successfully implement the UPE policy; closer engagement with internal stakeholders and the external private sector; and the development of an effective monitoring and evaluation system. These stated recommendations will improve the effectiveness of the UPE policy only if the variables that affect policy implementation are acknowledged and taken into account in the future. Although the main aim of the study was to evaluate the implementation process of the UPE policy, collection of empirical data has shown that, through its implementation and in achieving universal access to primary education, it has created a new challenge relating to “quality” of education.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Hierdie thesis evalueer die implimenteringsproses van die Universele Primêre Onderrig (UPO) beleid by Khomasdal Primêre Skool en Gammams Primêre Skool in die Khomas Gebied van Namibië. Die literatuuroorsig spreek die diskoers oor publieke beleid aan, met ‘n fokus op implimentering, en ondersoek dan ook die kompleksiteite wat gepaard gaan met beleidsimplimentering en hoe sekere veranderlikes ‘n direkte invloed kan hê op die proses van implimentering. As gevolg hiervan, word die verskillende benaderings en modele van implimentering bespreek in die literatuur wat gevolg gee tot ‘n konsensus ten opsigte van belangrike veranderlikes wat deur beleidmakers. en -implimenteerders in ag geneem moet word om suksesvolle beleidsimplimentering te realiseer. Die veranderlikes waarna hier verwys word is die sogenaamde 7 C’s (inhoud, konteks, kapasiteit, toewyding, kliënte en koalisies, kommunikasie en koördinasie) wat deur beleidsmakers en -implimenteerders in ag geneem sal moet word om die sukses van ‘n beleid te verseker. Die 7C’s is gebruik deur die navorser as ‘n data invorderingsmeganisme, sowel as om die data te analiseer en sin te maak van die uitdagings wat deur die UPO beleid ondervind mag word. Die bevindinge van die navorsing in verband met die UPO beleid illustreer dat die beleid nie opgedateer is vanaf aanvangs in 2013 nie. Hierdie bevinding mag problematies wees omdat die beleid verouderd is. Belanghebbendes, soos onderwysers en skoolhoofde, was ook nie betrokke by die opstel van die beleid nie. Ook die instrument wat gebruik word om die doelwit van die beleid te bereik is nie effektief nie, omdat UPO fondse te laat aan skole toegewys word. Data ingewin deur die veldwerk wys verder dat sommige hulpbronne benodig vir die implimentering van die beleid onvoldoende is. Verder dui bevindinge daarop dat daar ‘n afwesigheid is van ‘n moniterings- en evaluasie stelsel wat die vordering van die implimenteringsproses van die UPO beleid sou kon naspoor. Die navorsing kom dan tot die gevolgtrekking dat daar veelvuldige faktore is wat daartoe bydra om die implimentering van die UPO beleid by Khomasdal Primêre Skool en Gammams Primêre Skool te belemmer. Die thesis stel dan die volgende aanbevelings voor: Die instrument wat gebruik word om die doel van die UPO te bereik moet meer effektief aangewend word; die opdatering van die inhoud van die UPO beleid; voorsiening van genoegsame hulpbronne om die UPO beleid suksesvol te implimenteer; nouer betrokkenheid van interne belanghebbendes en die eksterne private sektor; en die ontwikkeling van ‘n effektiewe moniterings- en evaluasie stelsel. Hierdie aanbevelings sal slegs die effektiwiteit van die UPO beleid verbeter as al die veranderlikes wat beleidsimplimentering affekteer, erken word en in die toekoms in ag geneem word. Alhoewel die hoof doelwit van hierdie studie was om die implimenteringsproses van die UPO beleid te evalueer, het die invordering van empiriese data getoon dat, deur die implimentering en bereiking van universele toegang tot primêre onderwys, daar ‘n nuwe uitdaging geskep is naamlik “kwaliteit” van onderrig.Master