Self-configuring data mining for ubiquitous computing

Ubiquitous computing software needs to be autonomous so that essential decisions such as how to configure its particular execution are self-determined. Moreover, data mining serves an important role for ubiquitous computing by providing intelligence to several types of ubiquitous computing applications. Thus, automating ubiquitous data mining is also crucial. We focus on the problem of automatically configuring the execution of a ubiquitous data mining algorithm. In our solution, we generate configuration decisions in a resource aware and context aware manner since the algorithm executes in an environment in which the context often changes and computing resources are often severely limited. We propose to analyze the execution behavior of the data mining algorithm by mining its past executions. By doing so, we discover the effects of resource and context states as well as parameter settings on the data mining quality. We argue that a classification model is appropriate for predicting the behavior of an algorithm?s execution and we concentrate on decision tree classifier. We also define taxonomy on data mining quality so that tradeoff between prediction accuracy and classification specificity of each behavior model that classifies by a different abstraction of quality, is scored for model selection. Behavior model constituents and class label transformations are formally defined and experimental validation of the proposed approach is also performed

Education as the power of partnership: The context of co-labor-ation

This paper discusses the changing use of the concept of ‘partnership’ in three contexts: community partnership; partnership as part of public-private partnerships (PPP), and; partnership as the co-production of public goods. The paper introudces the politics of partnership as an aspect of the liberal democratic theory of governance and examines the notion in the context of devolution and deregulation. The paper finds the first two senses lacking in substance and more of a political strategy of neoliberal cooptation. The paper briefly examines the third sense of partnership as co-labor-ation as a means of enhancing democratic governance

An investigation into the use of existing public-private partnerships models in the Zambian water and sanitation sector

A PPP concept has become one of the preferred strategic option used world over in the delivery of public services though still considered as a developing concept. In this study, it has been used as a tool for value addition and enhancement of service delivery as opposed to it being a financing strategy. The aim of the research was “to investigate into the use of existing PPP Models in the Zambian Water and Sanitation Sector (WSS) for increased effectiveness.” A quantitative research methodology was used to investigate the extent to which existing PPP Models could increase effectiveness through dimensions of cost, time and quality. Descriptive statistics and content analysis methods were used to analyse the data. Results indicate that all the existing PPP Models can be used to increase effectiveness of dimensions of cost, time and quality though at different levels of impact based on mean values. A Conceptual Beta Model has been developed based on the adopted existing PPP Models, the independent factors of cost, time and quality and peripheral aspects that arose from the interview survey. The sample was drawn from existing water utility companies, councils and other related stakeholders in Zambia. The data collection included literature review, questionnaires and follow up semi-structured interviews with PPP experts in Zambia. A Conceptual Alpha Model was first developed and subjected to further research prior to developing a Conceptual Beta Model. The Conceptual Beta Model aims to provide a basis for existing PPP Model increased effectiveness in the Water and Sanitation Sector and has been proposed for operationalization. The study provides a greater understanding of how existing PPP Models can be used to increase effectiveness through dimensions of cost, time and quality thereby providing tangible benefits in as far as the provision of water and sanitation services in Zambia is concerned

A multi-technique hierarchical X-ray phase-based approach for the characterization and quantification of the effects of novel radiotherapies

Cancer is the first or second leading cause of premature deaths worldwide with an overall rapidly growing burden. Standard cancer therapies include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) and often a combination of the three is applied to improve the probability of tumour control. Standard therapy protocols have been established for many types of cancers and new approaches are under study especially for treating radio-resistant tumours associated to an overall poor prognosis, as for brain and lung cancers. Follow up techniques able to monitor and investigate the effects of therapies are important for surveying the efficacy of conventionally applied treatments and are key for accessing the curing capabilities and the onset of acute and late adverse effects of new therapies. In this framework, this doctoral Thesis proposes the X-ray Phase Contrast Im-aging - Computed Tomography (XPCI-CT) technique as an imaging-based tool to study and quantify the effects of novel RTs, namely Microbeam and Minibeam Radiation therapy (MRT and MB), and to compare them to the standard Broad Beam (BB) induced effects on brain and lungs. MRT and MB are novel radiotherapies that deliver an array of spatially fractionated X-ray beamlets issued from a synchrotron radiation source, with widths of tens or hundreds of micrometres, respectively. MRT and MB exploit the so-called dose-volume effect: hundreds of Grays are well tolerated by healthy tissues and show a preferential effect on tumour cells and vasculature when delivered in a micrometric sized micro-plane, while induce lethal effects if applied over larger uniform irradiation fields. Such highly collimated X-ray beams need a high-resolution and a full-organ approach that can visualize, with high sensitivity, the effects of the treatment along and outside the beamlets path. XPCI-CT is here suggested and proven as a powerful imaging technique able to determine and quantify the effects of the radiation on normal and tumour-bearing tissues. Moreover, it is shown as an effective technique to complement, with 3D information, the histology findings in the follow-up of the RT treatments. Using a multi-scale and multi-technique X-ray-based approach, I have visualized and analysed the effects of RT delivery on healthy and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)-bearing rat brains as well as on healthy rat lungs. Ex-vivo XPCI-CT datasets acquired with isotropic voxel sizes in the range 3.253 – 0.653 μm3 could distinguish, with high sensitivity, the idiopathic effects of MRT, MB and BB therapies. Histology, immunohistochemistry, Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering and X-ray Fluorescence experiments were also carried out to accurately interpret and complement the XPCI-CT findings as well as to obtain a detailed structural and chemical characterization of the detected pathological features. Overall, this multi-technique approach could detect: i) a different radio-sensitivity for the MRT-treated brain areas; ii) Ca and Fe deposits, hydroxyapatite crystals formation; iii) extended and isolated fibrotic contents. Full-organ XPCI-CT datasets allowed for the quantification of tumour and mi-crocalcifications’ volumes in treated brains and the amount of scarring tissue in irradiated lungs. Herein, the role of XPCI-CT as a 3D virtual histology technique for the follow-up of ex-vivo RT effects has been assessed as a complementary method for an accurate volumetric investigation of normal and pathological states in brains and lungs, in a small animal model. Moreover, the technique is proposed as a guidance and auxiliary tool for conventional histology, which is the gold standard for pathological evaluations, owing to its 3D capabilities and the possibility of virtually navigating within samples. This puts a landmark for XPCI-CT inclusion in the pre-clinical studies pipeline and for advancing towards in-vivo XPCI-CT imaging of treated organs.Weltweit gilt Krebs als häufigste bzw. zweithäufigste Ursache eines zu früh erfolgenden Todes, wobei die Zahlen rasch ansteigen. Standardmäßige Krebstherapien umfassen chirurgische Eingriffe, Chemotherapie und Strahlentherapie (radiotherapy, RT); oft kommt eine Kombination daraus zur Anwendung, um die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Tumorkontrolle zu erhöhen. Es wurden Standardtherapieprotokolle für zahlreiche Krebsarten eingerichtet und es wird vor allem in der Behandlung von strahlenresistenten Tumoren mit allgemein schlechter Prognose wie bei Hirn- und Lungentumoren an neuen Ansätzen geforscht. Nachverfolgungstechniken, welche die Auswirkungen von Therapien überwachen und ermitteln, sind zur Überwachung der Wirksamkeit herkömmlich angewandter Behandlungen wichtig und auch maßgeblich am Zugang zu den Fähigkeiten zur Heilung sowie zum Auftreten akuter und verzögerter Nebenwirkungen neuer Therapien beteiligt. In diesem Rahmenwerk unterbreitet diese Doktorarbeit die Technik der Röntgen-Phasenkontrast-Bildgebung über Computertomographie (X-ray Phase Contrast Imaging - Computed Tomography, XPCI‑CT) als bildverarbeitungs-basiertes Tool zur Untersuchung und Quantifizierung der Auswirkungen neuartiger Strahlentherapien, nämlich der Mikrobeam- und Minibeam-Strahlentherapie (MRT und MB), sowie zum Vergleich derselben mit den herkömmlichen durch Breitstrahlen (Broad Beam, BB) erzielten Auswirkungen auf Gehirn und Lunge. MRT und MB sind neuartige Strahlentherapien, die ein Array räumlich aufgeteilter Röntgenstrahlenbeamlets aus einer synchrotronen Strahlenquelle mit einer Breite von Zehnteln bzw. Hundersteln Mikrometern abgeben. MRT und MB nutzen den sogenannten Dosis-Volumen-Effekt: Hunderte Gray werden von gesundem Gewebe gut vertragen und wirken bei der Abgabe in einer Mikroebene im Mikrometerbereich vorrangig auf Tumorzellen und Blutgefäße, während sie bei einer Anwendung über größere gleichförmige Strahlungsfelder letale Auswirkungen aufweisen. Solche hoch kollimierten Röntgenstrahlen erfordern eine hohe Auflösung und einen Zugang zum gesamten Organ, bei dem die Auswirkungen der Behandlung entlang und außerhalb der Beamletpfade mit hoher Empfindlichkeit visualisiert werden können. Hier empfiehlt und bewährt sich die XPCI‑CT als leistungsstarke Bildverarbeitungstechnik, welche die Auswirkungen der Strahlung auf normale und tumortragende Gewebe feststellen und quantifizieren kann. Außerdem hat sich gezeigt, dass sie durch 3‑D-Informationen eine effektive Technik zur Ergänzung der histologischen Erkenntnisse in der Nachverfolgung der Strahlenbehandlung ist. Anhand eines mehrstufigen und multitechnischen röntgenbasierten Ansatzes habe ich die Auswirkungen der Strahlentherapie auf gesunde und von Glioblastomen (GBM) befallene Rattenhirne sowie auf gesunde Rattenlungen visualisiert und analysiert. Mit isotropen Voxelgrößen im Bereich von 3,53 bis 0,653 μm3 erfasste Ex-vivo-XPCI-CT-Datensätze konnten die idiopathischen Auswirkungen der MRT-, MB- und BB‑Behandlung mit hoher Empfindlichkeit unterscheiden. Es wurden auch Experimente zu Histologie, Immunhistochemie, Röntgenklein- und ‑weitwinkelstreuung und Röntgenfluoreszenz durchgeführt, um die XPCI‑CT-Erkenntnisse präzise zu interpretieren und zu ergänzen sowie eine detaillierte strukturelle und chemische Charakterisierung der nachgewiesenen pathologischen Merkmale zu erhalten. Im Allgemeinen wurde durch diesen multitechnischen Ansatz Folgendes ermittelt: i) eine un-terschiedliche Strahlenempfindlichkeit der mit MRT behandelten Gehirnbereiche; ii) Ca- und Fe-Ablagerungen und die Bildung von Hydroxylapatitkristallen; iii) ein ausgedehnter und isolierter Fibrosegehalt. XPCI‑CT-Datensätze des gesamten Organs ermöglichten die Quantifizierung der Volume von Tumoren und Mikroverkalkungen in den behandelten Gehirnen und der Menge des Narbengewebes in bestrahlten Lungen. Dabei wurde die Rolle der XPCI‑CT als virtuelle 3‑D-Histologietechnik für die Nachverfolgung von Ex-vivo-RT‑Auswirkungen als ergänzende Methode für eine präzise volumetrische Untersuchung des normalen und pathologischen Zustands von Gehirnen und Lungen im Kleintiermodell untersucht. Darüber hinaus wird die Technik aufgrund ihrer 3‑D-Fähigkeiten und der Möglichkeit zur virtuellen Navigation in den Proben als Leitfaden und Hilfstool für die herkömmliche Histologie vorgeschlagen, die der Goldstandard für die pathologische Evaluierung ist. Dies markiert einen Meilenstein für die Übernahme der XPCI‑CT in die Pipeline präklinischer Studien und für den Übergang zur In-vivo-XPCI‑CT von behandelten Organen

Culturtainment - a new interactive entertainment genre: assessment of Cultural Heritage digital content in leisure software games

European Master in Multimedia and Audiovisual AdministrationOrganized in Brussels with the support of the European Union’s MEDIA II Programme and in co-operation with the University of Metz, the New University of Lisbon, the University of Athens, the University of Paris 8, Kemi-Tornio Polytechnic, the Lapland University

Assessment of capacity development through public-private partnership: a case study of the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs in the Eastern Cape

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a capacity development programme initiated by the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEA) as a mechanism to enhance the performance of the employees in order to improve service delivery to the people of the Eastern Cape. The public service is enjoined by the Constitution to provide services that citizens need, and for this reason it is in need of educated, trained and professional public servants, especially in the technical, professional and managerial categories. The department also recognized the potential of public–private partnerships (PPPs) to improve performance in the areas of transformation and service delivery, and that it required investments aimed at developing and strengthening public management capacity. However, the effectiveness of the PPP as a mechanism for capacity development, remained unknown. The literature reviewed overwhelmingly supported the assertion that human capital development is critical for performance in the public service. The review also highlighted the importance of partnerships, especially the role of the private sector in the area of capacity development, advancing the argument that PPPs should be pursued in order to leverage ideas, resources, and capabilities to achieve public service goals. Various research tools, namely interviews, questionnaires and document analysis were used to conduct the study. Data collected and analysed provided empirical evidence of improved performance of both the individual managers and the department in the functional areas of financial governance and management; programme and project management; as well as ethics and professionalism. It suggested a strong correlation between training, capacity development and service delivery. This research found the DEDEA/National Business Initiative (NBI) PPP initiative, as a capacity development mechanism to enhance the performance of the department‟s employees, effective. On strength of the overwhelming evidence gathered through this research, it strongly recommends that the programme be rolled out to other employees

Governance of community forest areas in mainland Portugal over the last 40 years: results, current trends and future perspectives

Doutoramento em Engenharia Florestal e dos Recursos Naturais - Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Universidade de LisboaIn 2016, common forest areas celebrated 40 years of community management. These were mostly planted during the occupation of community lands (known as baldios) by the Estado Novo and during the development of the Forest Regime, via the National Afforestation Plan. The return of the common lands to the people and the decentralisation of forest governance in the 1970s paved the way for the development of multiple baldios management models. Although the term "community forest management" has many interpretations, they are all based on the assumption that the transfer of forest tenure rights to communities results in sustainable forest management and improvements in key environmental, social and economic outcomes at the local scale. The goal of this investigation was an analysis of 40 years of governance of community lands and they resource. Specifically, to study and compare the results of the four main baldio forest management models, to determine whether the level of autonomy in management and the type of actors involved affected management quality in these lands and their resources. In addition, we carried out a historical review of the development of this land occupation type and of the institutionalization of community forest management. We also studied the present state of the baldio resources, as well as the capabilities and strategies defined. The necessary information for this study was collected from: the published literature on the theme, two surveys based on tools developed by FAO and more than 600 Land Use Plans. The overall result showed that, in the case of baldio resource management, the social value attached to the resources, as well as their quantity and quality, determines the system in force in these community lands, as opposed to their management type. Additionally, this study showed that most baldios intend to give continuity to classic forest management, although there is a growing demand for new activities. Further legislative changes and research are needed to increase the sustainability of community land governanceN/

Political risk and success factors in public-private partnerships at the subnational level: the case of road infrastructure concessions

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are contractual figures through which the public and private sectors participate together in the provision of public goods and services, with multiple degrees of involvement and allocation of responsibilities, and multiple types of arrangements such as concessions (PPP in Infrastructure Resource Center [PPPIRC], 2015). Thus, an adequate risk distribution among the parties is required to ensure the success of a project. Although there is extensive research to understand risk in PPP at the national level, it has been found that there is a lack of research on the role of political risk and critical success factors coming from subnational spheres, on PPP success. Therefore, the current study related perceptions on political risk, and critical success factors with the probability of success or failure of an infrastructure project performed under concessions at the subnational level. The types of political risk included were: (a) currency inconvertibility, (b) breach of contract, (c) expropriation, (d) political violence, (e) legal and bureaucratic risk, and (f) non-governmental actions. Meanwhile, the critical success factors involved were: (a) favourable economic conditions, (b) available financial markets, (c) effective procurement and (d) government guarantee (Hardcastle et al., 2005). These factors were related through structural equation modelling (SEM). Results showed that both critical success factors and political risk factors were found to have a significant relationship with the success or failure of PPP in infrastructure projects at the subnational levels. There was a statistically significant, positive relationship, between critical success factors and success of public-private partnership infrastructure projects. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant, positive, indirect effect of political risk factors on success, following the idea that properly identified critical success factors and political success factors influence the final outcome of a project at the subnational level. In turn, political risk factors had a statistically significant effect on critical success factors, thus proving the relationship between both constructs found in the literature. These results confirmed the importance of both political risk and critical success factors on PPP success or failure, as well as remarking the need of taking subnational factors into account when dealing with such projects.Tesi