Building Real-Time Collaborative Applications with a Federated Architecture

Real-time collaboration is being offered by multiple libraries and APIs (Google Drive Real-time API, Microsoft Real-Time Communications API, TogetherJS, ShareJS), rapidly becoming a mainstream option for webservices developers. However, they are offered as centralised services running in a single server, regardless if they are free/open source or proprietary software. After re-engineering Apache Wave (former Google Wave), we can now provide the first decentralised and federated free/open source alternative. The new API allows to develop new real-time collaborative web applications in both JavaScript and Java environments

Shelfaware: Accelerating Collaborative Awareness with Shelf CRDT

Collaboration has become a key feature of modern software, allowing teams to work together effectively in real-time while in different locations. In order for a user to communicate their intention to several distributed peers, computing devices must exchange high-frequency updates with transient metadata like mouse position, text range highlights, and temporary comments. Current peer-to-peer awareness solutions have high time and space complexity due to the ever-expanding logs that each client must maintain in order to ensure robust collaboration in eventually consistent environments. This paper proposes an awareness Conflict-Free Replicated Data Type (CRDT) library that provides the tooling to support an eventually consistent, decentralized, and robust multi-user collaborative environment. Our library is tuned for rapid iterative updates that communicate fine-grained user actions across a network of collaborators. Our approach holds memory constant for subsequent writes to an existing key on a shared resource and completely prunes stale data from shared documents. These features allow us to keep the CRDT\u27s memory footprint small, making it a feasible solution for memory constrained applications. Results show that our CRDT implementation is comparable to or exceeds the performance of similar data structures in high-frequency read/write scenarios

Research Report - October 2009. Elaboration of the Module: Definition of the Programme

Alternative innovative didactic methodology is needed to reduce premature school drop out,particularly of young people at risk of exclusion, such as migrants, ethnic groups and children/teenagers from difficult socio-economic background). The key point is to modify the way to deliver learning. Cultural enrichment through young interestas such as music and art, use of technologies, social competencies, problem-solving skills incomputer science, autonomy and sense of purpose may help childhood and adolescence to achieve an improved engagement in school and a sense of educational accomplishmen

Training for impact : the socio-economic impact of a fit for purpose health workforce on communities

Across the globe, a "fit for purpose" health professional workforce is needed to meet health needs and challenges while capitalizing on existing resources and strengths of communities. However, the socio-economic impact of educating and deploying a fit for purpose health workforce can be challenging to evaluate. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of six promising strategies and interventions that provide context-relevant health professional education within the health system. The strategies focused on in the paper are:1. Distributed community-engaged learning: Education occurs in or near underserved communities using a variety of educational modalities including distance learning. Communities served provide input into and actively participate in the education process.2. Curriculum aligned with health needs: The health and social needs of targeted communities guide education, research and service programmes.3. Fit for purpose workers: Education and career tracks are designed to meet the needs of the communities served. This includes cadres such as community health workers, accelerated medically trained clinicians and extended generalists.4. Gender and social empowerment: Ensuring a diverse workforce that includes women having equal opportunity in education and are supported in their delivery of health services.5. Interprofessional training: Teaching the knowledge, skills and attitudes for working in effective teams across professions.6. South-south and north-south partnerships: Sharing of best practices and resources within and between countries.In sum, the sharing of resources, the development of a diverse and interprofessional workforce, the advancement of primary care and a strong community focus all contribute to a world where transformational education improves community health and maximizes the social and economic return on investment

Examining Interdisciplinary Sustainability Institutes at Major Research Universities: Innovations in Cross-Campus + Cross-Disciplinary Models

This is a study of the distinctive characteristics, activities, challenges and opportunities of a specific type of sustainability institute, one that spans the many disciplines of the university and, to do so, reports to upper administration (provost or vice president of research). Among research universities within the Association of American Universities (AAU), 19 were identified, and 18 agreed to participate in this study. Directors are sent a 71-question survey in January 2017 that covered issues of Governance, Research, Education, Engagement, Campus Operations and Best Practices

Development of an integrative model for electronic vendor relationship management for improving technological innovation, social change and sustainability performance

Vendor relationship management (VRM) is a software tool that helps to provide seamless connectivity between buyer and supplier. With the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) most firms have migrated to electronic VRM (EVRM) capability. Only a few studies have examined how EVRM can impact the dynamic B2B capability of firms that combine technological and social innovation in support of transitions and the achievement of business goals. There are also very few interdisciplinary studies using a range of performance matrices to explore the relationship between firms' dynamic B2B capabilities and their sustainability performance, mediated through their various sustainable growth opportunities. In this context, this study aims to develop an integrative model for B2B EVRM capability and firm sustainability. With the help of dynamic capability view (DCV) theory and related literature, a theoretical model is proposed. This model was later validated using the covariance-based structural equation modeling technique (CB-SEM), in considering 378 responses from Indian firms. The study has three main findings. First, EVRM capability significantly and positively impacts B2B dynamic relationship capability between the firm and the vendors. Second, B2B dynamic relationship management capability has a significant and positive impact on firms' sustainability performance mediated through the financial, environmental, and operational performance of the firm. And third, Environmental dynamism (ED) plays a significant role as a moderator, influencing B2B dynamic relationship management capability

Pathways for the Development of Future Intelligent Distribution Grids

The next decade will bring several technical and organisational challenges to the electrical distribution grids, which are becoming an important pillar of the energy transition. Distribution system operators will play a crucial role and thus need to find innovative solutions that will prepare them for these changes. Allowing the variations in the size, organisation and technical characteristics of distribution grids, this paper presents the pathways for the distribution system operators developed within the scope of the UNITED-GRID project. These were developed in close cooperation with distribution grids and demonstration sites in the Netherlands, France and Sweden. Investment decision tools based on future scenarios and future-readiness assessment form the first step to steer the distribution system operators towards the necessary technical and digital innovations that increase the observability and controllability of the grid. Secondly, the guidelines present new types of business models that can be integrated into the operators’ portfolios. Thirdly, a workshop methodology is proposed to define the new internal requirements that make distribution system operators more agile to face the fast impacts of the energy transition. Case studies from the demonstration sites are used as examples in the paper

A Case Study of Organizational and Curricular Attributes for Interprofessional Education: A Model for Sustainable Curriculum Delivery

Background: In health and social care (HASC) professional education, interprofessional competencies are optimally developed by engaging in interprofessional education (IPE) activities that are delivered sustainably along a continuum. Ultimately, active engagement in IPE is meant to prepare future practitioners for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), which leads to improved patient/client and community-oriented outcomes. Methods and Findings: This qualitative case study explores how four Canadian post-secondary institutions deliver IPE within their HASC professional education programmatic structures. Data were collected from institutional websites, publicly available IPE relevant records and documents, and interviews with coordinators and faculty/facilitators of IPE curriculum. Data were inductively analyzed to generate relevant themes, followed by a deductive analysis guided by the five accreditation standards domains identified in the Accreditation of Interprofessional Health Education (AIPHE) projects. Analyses of the data resulted in five attributes: 1) central administrative unit, 2) longitudinal and integrative program, 3) theoretically informed curriculum design, 4) student-centred pedagogy, and 5) patient/client-oriented approach. Conclusions: Using these attributes and guided by AIPHE’s accreditation standards domains, an organizational-curricular model for sustainable IPE is proposed, through which we assert that IPE reinforced through these organizational and curricular supports reflects successful programming, leading to patient/client-oriented outcomes