Quality of service in optical burst switching networks

Tese dout., Engenharia Electrónica e Computação, Universidade do Algarve, 2009Fundação para e Ciência e a Tecnologi

Minimizing Resource Blocking Rate in GoOBS

The state of the resources at a destination in Grid computing over OBS architecture (GoOBS) may change between a task’s selection of a destination and its arrival at the destination. These changes in the availability of the resources requested at the destination may lead to blocking of tasks, and thus increase the resource blocking rate. In this paper, we investigate the resource scheduling problem in GoOBS. Our objective is to minimize the resource blocking rate by containing the impact of the changes in the availability of the resources at a destination. We propose a non-selfish destination selection paradigm to minimize the resource blocking rate. The selection of a destination by a request is called non-selfish, if the selected destination has sufficient resources available to simultaneously process one or more additional requests. Extensive simulations were performed to validate the effectiveness of the heuristics based on the non-selfish destination selection paradigm. Among the proposed heuristics, the NFFD heuristic is most effective in minimizing the resource blocking rate. Compared to the best existing approach, the NFFD heuristic reduces the resource blocking rate by 21% to 73% in our experiments

Is It Who Am I or Who Do You Think I Am? Identity Development of Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders

The purpose of this study was to unearth how adolescents with substance use disorders achieve the task of identity formation and the construction of self-concept in the midst of the drug culture and society that exists. It sought to uncover the social constructs designed to ignore and/or remove human complexities and allow an intersectional approach to be brought to a study on this population. Historically, there has been a failure to investigate the underlying social attitudes and behaviors that impact the very delicate and vulnerable process of finding self. Psychosocial and relational adjustment are strongly influenced by the extent to which adolescents successfully develop a coherent and structured sense of identity. One’s life pathways and decisions are guided by a consolidated sense of self. An understanding of key identity literature led to a methodological design using both Grounded Theory Methodology and Situational Analysis to provide a thorough description and understanding of the entire situation around identity development for adolescents with substance use disorders. The detailed analysis of the interviews provided by 20 adolescent females served as the basis for the development of a theoretical model depicting the findings from both the dimensional analysis and situational analysis. The research provided empirical evidence that adolescents in this situation form a pseudo-identity to achieve a sense of belonging that has pervaded their existence due to familial, social, and cultural factors. This pseudo-identity is reinforced by acceptance into drug-seeking and substance-using groups, as well as by leadership and practices in treatment, therapy, healthcare, criminal justice, and other macro forces. The research provides practical implications for prevention and intervention practices, as well as leadership practice. Recommendations for future research invite further exploration into whether the situation for the participants in this study hold true across diverse sampling. An animated version of the theoretical model is provided as a supplemental file (mp4). It is embedded in this text, as well as, provided on the AURA link following. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.ed

Is It Who Am I or Who Do You Think I Am? Identity Development of Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders

The purpose of this study was to unearth how adolescents with substance use disorders achieve the task of identity formation and the construction of self-concept in the midst of the drug culture and society that exists. It sought to uncover the social constructs designed to ignore and/or remove human complexities and allow an intersectional approach to be brought to a study on this population. Historically, there has been a failure to investigate the underlying social attitudes and behaviors that impact the very delicate and vulnerable process of finding self. Psychosocial and relational adjustment are strongly influenced by the extent to which adolescents successfully develop a coherent and structured sense of identity. One’s life pathways and decisions are guided by a consolidated sense of self. An understanding of key identity literature led to a methodological design using both Grounded Theory Methodology and Situational Analysis to provide a thorough description and understanding of the entire situation around identity development for adolescents with substance use disorders. The detailed analysis of the interviews provided by 20 adolescent females served as the basis for the development of a theoretical model depicting the findings from both the dimensional analysis and situational analysis. The research provided empirical evidence that adolescents in this situation form a pseudo-identity to achieve a sense of belonging that has pervaded their existence due to familial, social, and cultural factors. This pseudo-identity is reinforced by acceptance into drug-seeking and substance-using groups, as well as by leadership and practices in treatment, therapy, healthcare, criminal justice, and other macro forces. The research provides practical implications for prevention and intervention practices, as well as leadership practice. Recommendations for future research invite further exploration into whether the situation for the participants in this study hold true across diverse sampling. An animated version of the theoretical model is provided as a supplemental file (mp4). It is embedded in this text, as well as, provided on the AURA link following. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.ed