3,366 research outputs found

    Configuration Management of Distributed Systems over Unreliable and Hostile Networks

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    Economic incentives of large criminal profits and the threat of legal consequences have pushed criminals to continuously improve their malware, especially command and control channels. This thesis applied concepts from successful malware command and control to explore the survivability and resilience of benign configuration management systems. This work expands on existing stage models of malware life cycle to contribute a new model for identifying malware concepts applicable to benign configuration management. The Hidden Master architecture is a contribution to master-agent network communication. In the Hidden Master architecture, communication between master and agent is asynchronous and can operate trough intermediate nodes. This protects the master secret key, which gives full control of all computers participating in configuration management. Multiple improvements to idempotent configuration were proposed, including the definition of the minimal base resource dependency model, simplified resource revalidation and the use of imperative general purpose language for defining idempotent configuration. Following the constructive research approach, the improvements to configuration management were designed into two prototypes. This allowed validation in laboratory testing, in two case studies and in expert interviews. In laboratory testing, the Hidden Master prototype was more resilient than leading configuration management tools in high load and low memory conditions, and against packet loss and corruption. Only the research prototype was adaptable to a network without stable topology due to the asynchronous nature of the Hidden Master architecture. The main case study used the research prototype in a complex environment to deploy a multi-room, authenticated audiovisual system for a client of an organization deploying the configuration. The case studies indicated that imperative general purpose language can be used for idempotent configuration in real life, for defining new configurations in unexpected situations using the base resources, and abstracting those using standard language features; and that such a system seems easy to learn. Potential business benefits were identified and evaluated using individual semistructured expert interviews. Respondents agreed that the models and the Hidden Master architecture could reduce costs and risks, improve developer productivity and allow faster time-to-market. Protection of master secret keys and the reduced need for incident response were seen as key drivers for improved security. Low-cost geographic scaling and leveraging file serving capabilities of commodity servers were seen to improve scaling and resiliency. Respondents identified jurisdictional legal limitations to encryption and requirements for cloud operator auditing as factors potentially limiting the full use of some concepts

    Integrating forecasting in metaheuristic methods to solve dynamic routing problems: evidence from the logistic processes of tuna vessels

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    The multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (mTSP) is a widespread phenomenon in real-life scenarios, and in fact it has been addressed from multiple perspectives in recent decades. However, mTSP in dynamic circumstances entails a greater complexity that recent approaches are still trying to grasp. Beyond time windows, capacity and other parameters that characterize the dynamics of each scenario, moving targets is one of the underdeveloped issues in the field of mTSP. The approach of this paper harnesses a simple prediction method to prove that integrating forecasting within a metaheuristic evolutionary-based method, such as genetic algorithms, can yield better results in a dynamic scenario than their simple non-predictive version. Real data is used from the retrieval of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) by tuna vessels in the Indian Ocean. Based on historical data registered by the GPS system of the buoys attached to the devices, their trajectory is firstly forecast to feed subsequently the functioning of a genetic algorithm that searches for the optimal route of tuna vessels in terms of total distance traveled. Thus, although valid for static cases and for the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), the main contribution of this method over existing literature lies in its application as a global search method to solve the multiple TSP with moving targets in many dynamic real-life optimization problems.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. ECO2016-76625-RXunta de Galicia | Ref. GRC2014/02

    Multidisciplinary perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the law

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    This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics – and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI. As the debate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Cycling Through the Pandemic : Tactical Urbanism and the Implementation of Pop-Up Bike Lanes in the Time of COVID-19

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    Provides an international overview on how tactical urbanism was implemented to give more space to cycling Demonstrates the conceptual framework surrounding tactical urbanism and how it plays out theoretically Proposes new methodological insights to understand the effects of tactical urbanism intervention

    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    Beam scanning by liquid-crystal biasing in a modified SIW structure

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    A fixed-frequency beam-scanning 1D antenna based on Liquid Crystals (LCs) is designed for application in 2D scanning with lateral alignment. The 2D array environment imposes full decoupling of adjacent 1D antennas, which often conflicts with the LC requirement of DC biasing: the proposed design accommodates both. The LC medium is placed inside a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) modified to work as a Groove Gap Waveguide, with radiating slots etched on the upper broad wall, that radiates as a Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA). This allows effective application of the DC bias voltage needed for tuning the LCs. At the same time, the RF field remains laterally confined, enabling the possibility to lay several antennas in parallel and achieve 2D beam scanning. The design is validated by simulation employing the actual properties of a commercial LC medium

    Systemic Circular Economy Solutions for Fiber Reinforced Composites

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    This open access book provides an overview of the work undertaken within the FiberEUse project, which developed solutions enhancing the profitability of composite recycling and reuse in value-added products, with a cross-sectorial approach. Glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymers, or composites, are increasingly used as structural materials in many manufacturing sectors like transport, constructions and energy due to their better lightweight and corrosion resistance compared to metals. However, composite recycling is still a challenge since no significant added value in the recycling and reprocessing of composites is demonstrated. FiberEUse developed innovative solutions and business models towards sustainable Circular Economy solutions for post-use composite-made products. Three strategies are presented, namely mechanical recycling of short fibers, thermal recycling of long fibers and modular car parts design for sustainable disassembly and remanufacturing. The validation of the FiberEUse approach within eight industrial demonstrators shows the potentials towards new Circular Economy value-chains for composite materials

    Marine Data Fusion for Analyzing Spatio-Temporal Ocean Region Connectivity

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    This thesis develops methods to automate and objectify the connectivity analysis between ocean regions. Existing methods for connectivity analysis often rely on manual integration of expert knowledge, which renders the processing of large amounts of data tedious. This thesis presents a new framework for Data Fusion that provides several approaches for automation and objectification of the entire analysis process. It identifies different complexities of connectivity analysis and shows how the Data Fusion framework can be applied and adapted to them. The framework is used in this thesis to analyze geo-referenced trajectories of fish larvae in the western Mediterranean Sea, to trace the spreading pathways of newly formed water in the subpolar North Atlantic based on their hydrographic properties, and to gauge their temporal change. These examples introduce a new, and highly relevant field of application for the established Data Science methods that were used and innovatively combined in the framework. New directions for further development of these methods are opened up which go beyond optimization of existing methods. The Marine Science, more precisely Physical Oceanography, benefits from the new possibilities to analyze large amounts of data quickly and objectively for its exact research questions. This thesis is a foray into the new field of Marine Data Science. It practically and theoretically explores the possibilities of combining Data Science and the Marine Sciences advantageously for both sides. The example of automating and objectifying connectivity analysis between marine regions in this thesis shows the added value of combining Data Science and Marine Science. This thesis also presents initial insights and ideas on how researchers from both disciplines can position themselves to thrive as Marine Data Scientists and simultaneously advance our understanding of the ocean

    Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management

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    This book is a reprint of the Special Issue 'Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management' that was published in the journal Buildings
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