232 research outputs found
Open semantic service networks
Online service marketplaces will soon be part of the economy to scale the provision of specialized multi-party services through automation and standardization. Current research, such as the *-USDL service description language family, is already deïŹning the basic building blocks to model the next generation of business services. Nonetheless, the developments being made do not target to interconnect services via service relationships. Without the concept of relationship, marketplaces will be seen as mere functional silos containing service descriptions. Yet, in real economies, all services are related and connected. Therefore, to address this gap we introduce the concept of open semantic service network (OSSN), concerned with the establishment of rich relationships between services. These networks will provide valuable knowledge on the global service economy, which can be exploited for many socio-economic and scientiïŹc purposes such as service network analysis, management, and control
Gaussian-based Probabilistic Deep Supervision Network for Noise-Resistant QoS Prediction
Quality of Service (QoS) prediction is an essential task in recommendation
systems, where accurately predicting unknown QoS values can improve user
satisfaction. However, existing QoS prediction techniques may perform poorly in
the presence of noise data, such as fake location information or virtual
gateways. In this paper, we propose the Probabilistic Deep Supervision Network
(PDS-Net), a novel framework for QoS prediction that addresses this issue.
PDS-Net utilizes a Gaussian-based probabilistic space to supervise intermediate
layers and learns probability spaces for both known features and true labels.
Moreover, PDS-Net employs a condition-based multitasking loss function to
identify objects with noise data and applies supervision directly to deep
features sampled from the probability space by optimizing the Kullback-Leibler
distance between the probability space of these objects and the real-label
probability space. Thus, PDS-Net effectively reduces errors resulting from the
propagation of corrupted data, leading to more accurate QoS predictions.
Experimental evaluations on two real-world QoS datasets demonstrate that the
proposed PDS-Net outperforms state-of-the-art baselines, validating the
effectiveness of our approach
Context Aware Computing for The Internet of Things: A Survey
As we are moving towards the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of sensors
deployed around the world is growing at a rapid pace. Market research has shown
a significant growth of sensor deployments over the past decade and has
predicted a significant increment of the growth rate in the future. These
sensors continuously generate enormous amounts of data. However, in order to
add value to raw sensor data we need to understand it. Collection, modelling,
reasoning, and distribution of context in relation to sensor data plays
critical role in this challenge. Context-aware computing has proven to be
successful in understanding sensor data. In this paper, we survey context
awareness from an IoT perspective. We present the necessary background by
introducing the IoT paradigm and context-aware fundamentals at the beginning.
Then we provide an in-depth analysis of context life cycle. We evaluate a
subset of projects (50) which represent the majority of research and commercial
solutions proposed in the field of context-aware computing conducted over the
last decade (2001-2011) based on our own taxonomy. Finally, based on our
evaluation, we highlight the lessons to be learnt from the past and some
possible directions for future research. The survey addresses a broad range of
techniques, methods, models, functionalities, systems, applications, and
middleware solutions related to context awareness and IoT. Our goal is not only
to analyse, compare and consolidate past research work but also to appreciate
their findings and discuss their applicability towards the IoT.Comment: IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials Journal, 201
AN ADAPTABILITY-DRIVEN ECONOMIC MODEL FOR SERVICE PROFITABILITY
Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH
Security and trust in cloud computing and IoT through applying obfuscation, diversification, and trusted computing technologies
Cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) are very widely spread and commonly used technologies nowadays. The advanced services offered by cloud computing have made it a highly demanded technology.
Enterprises and businesses are more and more relying on the cloud to deliver services to their customers. The prevalent use of cloud means that more data is stored outside the organizationâs premises, which raises concerns about the security and privacy of the stored and processed data. This highlights the significance of effective security practices to secure the cloud infrastructure.
The number of IoT devices is growing rapidly and the technology is being employed in a wide range of sectors including smart healthcare, industry automation, and smart environments. These devices collect and exchange a great deal of information, some of which may contain critical and personal data of the users of the device. Hence, it is highly significant to protect the collected and shared data over the network; notwithstanding, the studies signify that attacks on these devices are increasing, while a high percentage of IoT devices lack proper security measures to protect the devices, the data, and the privacy of the users.
In this dissertation, we study the security of cloud computing and IoT and propose software-based security approaches supported by the hardware-based technologies to provide robust measures for enhancing the security of these environments. To achieve this goal, we use obfuscation and diversification as the potential software security techniques. Code obfuscation protects the software from malicious reverse engineering and diversification mitigates the risk of large-scale exploits. We study trusted computing and Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) as the hardware-based security solutions. Trusted Platform Module (TPM) provides security and trust through a hardware root of trust, and assures the integrity of a platform. We also study Intel SGX which is a TEE solution that guarantees the integrity and confidentiality of the code and data loaded onto its protected container, enclave.
More precisely, through obfuscation and diversification of the operating systems and APIs of the IoT devices, we secure them at the application level, and by obfuscation and diversification of the communication protocols, we protect the communication of data between them at the network level. For securing the cloud computing, we employ obfuscation and diversification techniques for securing the cloud computing software at the client-side. For an enhanced level of security, we employ hardware-based security solutions, TPM and SGX. These solutions, in addition to security, ensure layered trust in various layers from hardware to the application.
As the result of this PhD research, this dissertation addresses a number of security risks targeting IoT and cloud computing through the delivered publications and presents a brief outlook on the future research directions.Pilvilaskenta ja esineiden internet ovat nykyÀÀn hyvin tavallisia ja laajasti sovellettuja tekniikkoja. Pilvilaskennan pitkÀlle kehittyneet palvelut ovat tehneet siitÀ hyvin kysytyn teknologian. Yritykset enenevÀssÀ mÀÀrin nojaavat pilviteknologiaan toteuttaessaan palveluita asiakkailleen. Vallitsevassa pilviteknologian soveltamistilanteessa yritykset ulkoistavat tietojensa kÀsittelyÀ yrityksen ulkopuolelle, minkÀ voidaan nÀhdÀ nostavan esiin huolia taltioitavan ja kÀsiteltÀvÀn tiedon turvallisuudesta ja yksityisyydestÀ. TÀmÀ korostaa tehokkaiden turvallisuusratkaisujen merkitystÀ osana pilvi-infrastruktuurin turvaamista.
Esineiden internet -laitteiden lukumÀÀrÀ on nopeasti kasvanut. Teknologiana sitÀ sovelletaan laajasti monilla sektoreilla, kuten ÀlykkÀÀssÀ terveydenhuollossa, teollisuusautomaatiossa ja Àlytiloissa. Sellaiset laitteet kerÀÀvÀt ja vÀlittÀvÀt suuria mÀÀriÀ informaatiota, joka voi sisÀltÀÀ laitteiden kÀyttÀjien kannalta kriittistÀ ja yksityistÀ tietoa. TÀstÀ syystÀ johtuen on erittÀin merkityksellistÀ suojata verkon yli kerÀttÀvÀÀ ja jaettavaa tietoa. Monet tutkimukset osoittavat esineiden internet -laitteisiin kohdistuvien tietoturvahyökkÀysten mÀÀrÀn olevan nousussa, ja samaan aikaan suuri osuus nÀistÀ laitteista ei omaa kunnollisia teknisiÀ ominaisuuksia itse laitteiden tai niiden kÀyttÀjien yksityisen tiedon suojaamiseksi.
TÀssÀ vÀitöskirjassa tutkitaan pilvilaskennan sekÀ esineiden internetin tietoturvaa ja esitetÀÀn ohjelmistopohjaisia tietoturvalÀhestymistapoja turvautumalla osittain laitteistopohjaisiin teknologioihin. Esitetyt lÀhestymistavat tarjoavat vankkoja keinoja tietoturvallisuuden kohentamiseksi nÀissÀ konteksteissa. TÀmÀn saavuttamiseksi työssÀ sovelletaan obfuskaatiota ja diversifiointia potentiaalisiana ohjelmistopohjaisina tietoturvatekniikkoina. Suoritettavan koodin obfuskointi suojaa pahantahtoiselta ohjelmiston takaisinmallinnukselta ja diversifiointi torjuu tietoturva-aukkojen laaja-alaisen hyödyntÀmisen riskiÀ. VÀitöskirjatyössÀ tutkitaan luotettua laskentaa ja luotettavan laskennan suoritusalustoja laitteistopohjaisina tietoturvaratkaisuina. TPM (Trusted Platform Module) tarjoaa turvallisuutta ja luottamuksellisuutta rakentuen laitteistopohjaiseen luottamukseen. PyrkimyksenÀ on taata suoritusalustan eheys. TyössÀ tutkitaan myös Intel SGX:ÀÀ yhtenÀ luotettavan suorituksen suoritusalustana, joka takaa suoritettavan koodin ja datan eheyden sekÀ luottamuksellisuuden pohjautuen suojatun sÀiliön, saarekkeen, tekniseen toteutukseen.
Tarkemmin ilmaistuna työssÀ turvataan kÀyttöjÀrjestelmÀ- ja sovellusrajapintatasojen obfuskaation ja diversifioinnin kautta esineiden internet -laitteiden ohjelmistokerrosta. Soveltamalla samoja tekniikoita protokollakerrokseen, työssÀ suojataan laitteiden vÀlistÀ tiedonvaihtoa verkkotasolla. Pilvilaskennan turvaamiseksi työssÀ sovelletaan obfuskaatio ja diversifiointitekniikoita asiakaspuolen ohjelmistoratkaisuihin. Vankemman tietoturvallisuuden saavuttamiseksi työssÀ hyödynnetÀÀn laitteistopohjaisia TPM- ja SGX-ratkaisuja. Tietoturvallisuuden lisÀksi nÀmÀ ratkaisut tarjoavat monikerroksisen luottamuksen rakentuen laitteistotasolta ohjelmistokerrokseen asti.
TÀmÀn vÀitöskirjatutkimustyön tuloksena, osajulkaisuiden kautta, vastataan moniin esineiden internet -laitteisiin ja pilvilaskentaan kohdistuviin tietoturvauhkiin. TyössÀ esitetÀÀn myös nÀkemyksiÀ jatkotutkimusaiheista
Blueprint model and language for engineering cloud applications
Abstract: The research presented in this thesis is positioned within the domain of engineering CSBAs. Its contribution is twofold: (1) a uniform specification language, called the Blueprint Specification Language (BSL), for specifying cloud services across several cloud vendors and (2) a set of associated techniques, called the Blueprint Manipulation Techniques (BMTs), for publishing, querying, and composing cloud service specifications with aim to support the flexible design and configuration of an CSBA.
Molecular phylogenetic analysis: design and implementation of scalable and reliable algorithms and verification of phylogenetic properties
El tĂ©rmino bioinformĂĄtica tiene muchas acepciones, una gran parte referentes a la bioinformĂĄtica molecular: el conjunto de mĂ©todos matemĂĄticos, estadĂsticos y computacionales que tienen como objetivo dar soluciĂłn a problemas biolĂłgicos, haciendo uso exclusivamente de las secuencias de ADN, ARN y proteĂnas y su informaciĂłn asociada. La filogenĂ©tica es el ĂĄrea de la bioinformĂĄtica encargada del estudio de la relaciĂłn evolutiva entre organismos de la misma o distintas especies. Al igual que sucedĂa con la definiciĂłn anterior, los trabajos realizados a lo largo de esta tesis se centran en la filogenĂ©tica molecular: la rama de la filogenĂ©tica que analiza las mutaciones hereditarias en secuencias biolĂłgicas (principalmente ADN) para establecer dicha relaciĂłn evolutiva. El resultado de este anĂĄlisis se plasma en un ĂĄrbol evolutivo o filogenia. Una filogenia suele representarse como un ĂĄrbol con raĂz, normalmente binario, en el que las hojas simbolizan los organismos existentes actualmente y, la raĂz, su ancestro comĂșn. Cada nodo interno representa una mutaciĂłn que ha dado lugar a una divisiĂłn en la clasificaciĂłn de los descendientes. Las filogenias se construyen mediante procesos de inferencia en base a la informaciĂłn disponible, que pertenece mayoritariamente a organismos existentes hoy en dĂa. La complejidad de este problema se ha visto reflejada en la clasificaciĂłn de la mayorĂa de mĂ©todos propuestos para su soluciĂłn como NP-duros [1-3].El caso real de aplicaciĂłn de esta tesis ha sido el ADN mitocondrial. Este tipo de secuencias biolĂłgicas es relevante debido a que tiene un alto Ăndice de mutaciĂłn, por lo que incluso filogenias de organismos muy cercanos evolutivamente proporcionan datos significativos para la comunidad biolĂłgica. AdemĂĄs, varias mutaciones del ADN mitocondrial humano se han relacionado directamente con enfermedad y patogenias, la mayorĂa mortales en individuos no natos o de corta edad. En la actualidad hay mĂĄs de 30000 secuencias disponibles de ADN mitocondrial humano, lo que, ademĂĄs de su utilidad cientĂfica, ha permitido el anĂĄlisis de rendimiento de nuestras contribuciones para datos masivos (Big Data). La reciente incorporaciĂłn de la bioinformĂĄtica en la categorĂa Big Data viene respaldada por la mejora de las tĂ©cnicas de digitalizaciĂłn de secuencias biolĂłgicas que sucediĂł a principios del siglo 21 [4]. Este cambio aumentĂł drĂĄsticamente el nĂșmero de secuencias disponibles. Por ejemplo, el nĂșmero de secuencias de ADN mitocondrial humano pasĂł de duplicarse cada cuatro años, a hacerlo en menos de dos. Por ello, un gran nĂșmero de mĂ©todos y herramientas usados hasta entonces han quedado obsoletos al no ser capaces de procesar eficientemente estos nuevos volĂșmenes de datos.Este es motivo por el que todas las aportaciones de esta tesis han sido desarrolladas para poder tratar grandes volĂșmenes de datos. La contribuciĂłn principal de esta tesis es un framework que permite diseñar y ejecutar automĂĄticamente flujos de trabajo para la inferencia filogenĂ©tica: PhyloFlow [5-7]. Su creaciĂłn fue promovida por el hecho de que la mayorĂa de sistemas de inferencia filogenĂ©tica existentes tienen un flujo de trabajo fijo y no se pueden modificar ni las herramientas software que los componen ni sus parĂĄmetros. Esta decisiĂłn puede afectar negativamente a la precisiĂłn del resultado si el flujo del sistema o alguno de sus componentes no estĂĄ adaptado a la informaciĂłn biolĂłgica que se va a utilizar como entrada. Por ello, PhyloFlow incorpora un proceso de configuraciĂłn que permite seleccionar tanto cada uno de los procesos que formarĂĄn parte del sistema final, como las herramientas y mĂ©todos especĂficos y sus parĂĄmetros. Se han incluido consejos y opciones por defecto durante el proceso de configuraciĂłn para facilitar su uso, sobre todo a usuarios nĂłveles. AdemĂĄs, nuestro framework permite la ejecuciĂłn desatendida de los sistemas filogenĂ©ticos generados, tanto en ordenadores de sobremesa como en plataformas hardware (clusters, computaciĂłn en la nube, etc.). Finalmente, se han evaluado las capacidades de PhyloFlow tanto en la reproducciĂłn de sistemas de inferencia filogenĂ©tica publicados anteriormente como en la creaciĂłn de sistemas orientados a problemas intensivos como el de inferencia del ADN mitocondrial humano. Los resultados muestran que nuestro framework no solo es capaz de realizar los retos planteados, sino que, en el caso de la replicaciĂłn de sistemas, la posibilidad de configurar cada elemento que los componen mejora ampliamente su aplicabilidad.Durante la implementaciĂłn de PhyloFlow descubrimos varias carencias importantes en algunas bibliotecas software actuales que dificultaron la integraciĂłn y gestiĂłn de las herramientas filogenĂ©ticas. Por este motivo se decidiĂł crear la primera biblioteca software en Python para estudios de filogenĂ©tica molecular: MEvoLib [8]. Esta biblioteca ha sido diseñada para proveer una sola interfaz para los conjuntos de herramientas software orientados al mismo proceso, como el multialineamiento o la inferencia de filogenias. MEvoLib incluye ademĂĄs configuraciones por defecto y mĂ©todos que hacen uso de conocimiento biolĂłgico especĂfico para mejorar su precisiĂłn, adaptĂĄndose a las necesidades de cada tipo de usuario. Como Ășltima caracterĂstica relevante, se ha incorporado un proceso de conversiĂłn de formatos para los ficheros de entrada y salida de cada interfaz, de forma que, si la herramienta seleccionada no soporta dicho formato, este es adaptado automĂĄticamente. Esta propiedad facilita el uso e integraciĂłn de MEvoLib en scripts y herramientas software.El estudio del caso de aplicaciĂłn de PhyloFlow al ADN mitocondrial humano ha expuesto los elevados costes tanto computacionales como econĂłmicos asociados a la inferencia de grandes filogenias. Por ello, sistemas como PhyloTree [9], que infiere un tipo especial de filogenias de ADN mitocondrial humano, recalculan sus resultados con una frecuencia mĂĄxima anual. Sin embargo, como ya hemos comentado anteriormente, las tĂ©cnicas de secuenciaciĂłn actuales permiten la incorporaciĂłn de cientos o incluso miles de secuencias biolĂłgicas nuevas cada mes. Este desfase entre productor y consumidor hace que dichas filogenias queden desactualizadas en unos pocos meses. Para solucionar este problema hemos diseñado un nuevo algoritmo que permite la actualizaciĂłn de una filogenia mediante la incorporaciĂłn iterativa de nuevas secuencias: PHYSER [10]. AdemĂĄs, la propia informaciĂłn evolutiva se utiliza para detectar posibles mutaciones introducidas artificialmente por el proceso de secuenciaciĂłn, inexistentes en la secuencia original. Las pruebas realizadas con ADN mitocondrial han probado su eficacia y eficiencia, con un coste temporal por secuencia inferior a los 20 segundos.El desarrollo de nuevas herramientas para el anĂĄlisis de filogenias tambiĂ©n ha sido una parte importante de esta tesis. En concreto, se han realizado dos aportaciones principales en este aspecto: PhyloViewer [11] y una herramienta para el anĂĄlisis de la conservaciĂłn [12]. PhyloViewer es un visualizador de filogenias extensivas, es decir, filogenias que poseen al menos un millar de hojas. Esta herramienta aporta una novedosa interfaz en la que se muestra el nodo seleccionado y sus nodos hijo, asĂ como toda la informaciĂłn asociada a cada uno de ellos: identificador, secuencia biolĂłgica, ... Esta decisiĂłn de diseño ha sido orientada a evitar el habitual âborrĂłnâ que se produce en la mayorĂa de herramientas de visualizaciĂłn al mostrar este tipo de filogenias enteras por pantalla. AdemĂĄs, se ha desarrollado en una arquitectura clienteservidor, con lo que el procesamiento de la filogenia se realiza una Ășnica vez por parte el servidor. AsĂ, se ha conseguido reducir significativamente los tiempos de carga y acceso por parte del cliente. Por otro lado, la aportaciĂłn principal de nuestra herramienta para el anĂĄlisis de la conservaciĂłn se basa en la paralelizaciĂłn de los mĂ©todos clĂĄsicos aplicados en este campo, alcanzando speed-ups cercanos al teĂłrico sin pĂ©rdida de precisiĂłn. Esto ha sido posible gracias a la implementaciĂłn de dichos mĂ©todos desde cero, incorporando la paralelizaciĂłn a nivel de instrucciĂłn, en vez de paralelizar implementaciones existentes. Como resultado, nuestra herramienta genera un informe que contiene las conclusiones del anĂĄlisis de conservaciĂłn realizado. El usuario puede introducir un umbral de conservaciĂłn para que el informe destaque solo aquellas posiciones que no lo cumplan. AdemĂĄs, existen dos tipos de informe con distinto nivel de detalle. Ambos se han diseñado para que sean comprensibles y Ăștiles para los usuarios.Finalmente, se ha diseñado e implementado un predictor de mutaciones patĂłgenas en ADN mitocondrial desarollado en mĂĄquinas de vectores de soporte (SVM): Mitoclass.1 [13]. Se trata del primer predictor para este tipo de secuencias biolĂłgicas. Tanto es asĂ, que ha sido necesario crear el primer repositorio de mutaciones patĂłgenas conocidas, mdmv.1, para poder entrenar y evaluar nuestro predictor. Se ha demostrado que Mitoclass.1 mejora la clasificaciĂłn de las mutaciones frente a los predictores mĂĄs conocidos y utilizados, todos ellos orientados al estudio de patogenicidad en ADN nuclear. Este Ă©xito radica en la novedosa combinaciĂłn de propiedades a evaluar por cada mutaciĂłn en el proceso de clasificaciĂłn. AdemĂĄs, otro factor a destacar es el uso de SVM frente a otras alternativas, que han sido probadas y descartadas debido a su menor capacidad de predicciĂłn para nuestro caso de aplicaciĂłn.REFERENCIAS[1] L. Wang and T. Jiang, âOn the complexity of multiple sequence alignment,â Journal of computational biology, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 337â348, 1994.[2] W. H. E. Day, D. S. Johnson, and D. Sankoff, âThe Computational Complexity of Inferring Rooted Phylogenies by Parsimony,â Mathematical Biosciences, vol. 81, no. 1, pp. 33â42, 1986.[3] S. Roch, âA short proof that phylogenetic tree reconstruction by maximum likelihood is hard,â IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (TCBB), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 92, 2006.[4] E. R. Mardis, âThe impact of next-generation sequencing technology on genetics,â Trends in genetics, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 133â141, 2008.[5] J. Ălvarez-Jarreta, G. de Miguel Casado, and E. Mayordomo, âPhyloFlow: A Fully Customizable and Automatic Workflow for Phylogeny Estimation,â in ECCB 2014, 2014.[6] J. Ălvarez-Jarreta, G. de Miguel Casado, and E. Mayordomo, âPhyloFlow: A Fully Customizable and Automatic Workflow for Phylogenetic Reconstruction,â in IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM), pp. 1â7, IEEE, 2014.[7] J. Ălvarez, R. Blanco, and E. Mayordomo, âWorkflows with Model Selection: A Multilocus Approach to Phylogenetic Analysis,â in 5th International Conference on Practical Applications of Computational Biology & Bioinformatics (PACBB 2011), vol. 93 of Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing, pp. 39â47, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2011.[8] J. Ălvarez-Jarreta and E. Ruiz-Pesini, âMEvoLib v1.0: the First Molecular Evolution Library for Python,â BMC Bioinformatics, vol. 17, no. 436, pp. 1â8, 2016.[9] M. van Oven and M. Kayser, âUpdated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation,â Human Mutation, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. E386âE394, 2009.[10] J. Ălvarez-Jarreta, E. Mayordomo, and E. Ruiz-Pesini, âPHYSER: An Algorithm to Detect Sequencing Errors from Phylogenetic Information,â in 6th International Conference on Practical Applications of Computational Biology & Bioinformatics (PACBB 2012), pp. 105â112, 2012.[11] J. Ălvarez-Jarreta and G. de Miguel Casado, âPhyloViewer: A Phylogenetic Tree Viewer for Extense Phylogenies,â in ECCB 2014, 2014.[12] F. Merino-Casallo, J. Ălvarez-Jarreta, and E. Mayordomo, âConservation in mitochondrial DNA: Parallelized estimation and alignment influence,â in 2015 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM 2015), pp. 1434â1440, IEEE, 2015.[13] A. MartĂn-Navarro, A. Gaudioso-SimĂłn, J. Ălvarez-Jarreta, J. Montoya, E. Mayordomo, and E. Ruiz-Pesini, âMachine learning classifier for identification of damaging missense mutations exclusive to human mitochondrial DNA-encoded polypeptides,â BMC Bioinformatics, vol. 18, no. 158, pp. 1â11, 2017.<br /
Adaptive monitoring and control framework in Application Service Management environment
The economics of data centres and cloud computing services have pushed hardware and software requirements to the limits, leaving only very small performance overhead before systems get into saturation. For Application Service ManagementâASM, this carries the growing risk of impacting the execution times of various processes. In order to deliver a stable service at times of great demand for computational power, enterprise data centres and cloud providers must implement fast and robust control mechanisms that are capable of adapting to changing operating conditions while satisfying serviceâlevel agreements. In ASM practice, there are normally two methods for dealing with increased load, namely increasing computational power or releasing load. The first approach typically involves allocating additional machines, which must be available, waiting idle, to deal with high demand situations. The second approach is implemented by terminating incoming actions that are less important to new activity demand patterns, throttling, or rescheduling jobs. Although most modern cloud platforms, or operating systems, do not allow adaptive/automatic termination of processes, tasks or actions, it is administratorsâ common practice to manually end, or stop, tasks or actions at any level of the system, such as at the level of a node, function, or process, or kill a long session that is executing on a database server. In this context, adaptive control of actions termination remains a significantly
underutilised subject of Application Service Management and deserves further consideration. For example, this approach may be eminently suitable for systems with harsh
execution time Service Level Agreements, such as realâtime systems, or systems running
under conditions of hard pressure on power supplies, systems running under variable priority, or constraints set up by the green computing paradigm. Along this line of work,
the thesis investigates the potential of dimension relevance and metrics signals decomposition as methods that would enable more efficient action termination. These methods are integrated in adaptive control emulators and actuators powered by neural networks that are used to adjust the operation of the system to better conditions in environments with established goals seen from both system performance and economics perspectives. The behaviour of the proposed control framework is evaluated using complex load and service agreements scenarios of systems compatible with the requirements of onâpremises, elastic compute cloud deployments, serverâless computing, and microâservices architectures
Gamification Analytics: Support for Monitoring and Adapting Gamification Designs
Inspired by the engaging effects in video games, gamification aims at motivating people to show desired behaviors in a variety of contexts. During the last years, gamification influenced the design of many software applications in the consumer as well as enterprise domain. In some cases, even whole businesses, such as Foursquare, owe their success to well-designed gamification mechanisms in their product.
Gamification also attracted the interest of academics from fields, such as human-computer interaction, marketing, psychology, and software engineering. Scientific contributions comprise psychological theories and models to better understand the mechanisms behind successful gamification, case studies that measure the psychological and behavioral outcomes of gamification, methodologies for gamification projects, and technical concepts for platforms that support implementing gamification in an efficient manner.
Given a new project, gamification experts can leverage the existing body of knowledge to reuse previous, or derive new gamification ideas. However, there is no one size fits all approach for creating engaging gamification designs. Gamification success always depends on a wide variety of factors defined by the characteristics of the audience, the gamified application, and the chosen gamification design. In contrast to researchers, gamification experts in the industry rarely have the necessary skills and resources to assess the success of their gamification design systematically. Therefore, it is essential to provide them with suitable support mechanisms, which help to assess and improve gamification designs continuously. Providing suitable and efficient gamification analytics support is the ultimate goal of this thesis.
This work presents a study with gamification experts that identifies relevant requirements in the context of gamification analytics. Given the identified requirements and earlier work in the analytics domain, this thesis then derives a set of gamification analytics-related activities and uses them to extend an existing process model for gamification projects. The resulting model can be used by experts to plan and execute their gamification projects with analytics in mind. Next, this work identifies existing tools and assesses them with regards to their applicability in gamification projects. The results can help experts to make objective technology decisions. However, they also show that most tools have significant gaps towards the identified user requirements. Consequently, a technical concept for a suitable realization of gamification analytics is derived. It describes a loosely coupled analytics service that helps gamification experts to seamlessly collect and analyze gamification-related data while minimizing dependencies to IT experts. The concept is evaluated successfully via the implementation of a prototype and application in two real-world gamification projects. The results show that the presented gamification analytics concept is technically feasible, applicable to actual projects, and also valuable for the systematic monitoring of gamification success
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Cloud computing and context-awareness: A study of the adapted user experience
This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Today, mobile technology is part of everyday life and activities and the mobile
ecosystems are blossoming, with smartphones and tablets being the major growth drivers. The mobile phones are no longer just another device, we rely on their capabilities in work and in private. We look to our mobile phones for timely and updated information and we rely on this being provided any time of any day at any place. Nevertheless, no matter how much you trust and love your mobile phone the quality of the information and the user experience is directly associated with the sources and presentation of information. In this perspective, our activities, interactions and preferences help shape the quality of service, content and products we use. Context-aware systems use such information about end-users as input mechanisms for producing applications based on mobile, location, social, cloud and customized content services. This represents new possibilities for extracting aggregated user-centric information and includes novel
sources for context-aware applications. Accordingly, a Design Research based
approach has been taken to further investigate the creation, presentation and tailoring of user-centric information. Through user evaluated experiments findings show how multi-dimensional context-aware information can be used to create adaptive
solutions tailoring the user experience to the usersâ needs. Research findings in this
work; highlight possible architectures for integration of cloud computing services in
a heterogeneous mobile environment in future context-aware solutions. When it comes to combining context-aware results from local computations with those of cloud based services, the results provide findings that give users tailored and adapted experiences based on the collective efforts of the two
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