A survey of QoS-aware web service composition techniques

Web service composition can be briefly described as the process of aggregating services with disparate functionalities into a new composite service in order to meet increasingly complex needs of users. Service composition process has been accurate on dealing with services having disparate functionalities, however, over the years the number of web services in particular that exhibit similar functionalities and varying Quality of Service (QoS) has significantly increased. As such, the problem becomes how to select appropriate web services such that the QoS of the resulting composite service is maximized or, in some cases, minimized. This constitutes an NP-hard problem as it is complicated and difficult to solve. In this paper, a discussion of concepts of web service composition and a holistic review of current service composition techniques proposed in literature is presented. Our review spans several publications in the field that can serve as a road map for future research

Adaptive service discovery on service-oriented and spontaneous sensor systems

Service-oriented architecture, Spontaneous networks, Self-organisation, Self-configuration, Sensor systems, Social patternsNatural and man-made disasters can significantly impact both people and environments. Enhanced effect can be achieved through dynamic networking of people, systems and procedures and seamless integration of them to fulfil mission objectives with service-oriented sensor systems. However, the benefits of integration of services will not be realised unless we have a dependable method to discover all required services in dynamic environments. In this paper, we propose an Adaptive and Efficient Peer-to-peer Search (AEPS) approach for dependable service integration on service-oriented architecture based on a number of social behaviour patterns. In the AEPS network, the networked nodes can autonomously support and co-operate with each other in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner to quickly discover and self-configure any services available on the disaster area and deliver a real-time capability by self-organising themselves in spontaneous groups to provide higher flexibility and adaptability for disaster monitoring and relief

Transforming Physical Therapy Education Through the Use of Social Network Analysis

PURPOSE Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a quantitative method to study the patterning and effect of relationships and how individual connections form into social structures that influence outcomes of the group. The purpose of this study is to explain the underpinnings of SNA and its application to PT education for student success and faculty development. This study is innovative and will be beneficial to the profession because there is currently no published literature exploring how PT education is influenced by social structures. METHODS/DESCRIPTION The aims of this study are to describe SNA and outline its potential to transform PT education. A literature search to identify studies that provide a theoretical framework and uses of SNA was performed using the following databases: CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE, Scopus and ProQuest. Studies in education, organizational management, and sociology were reviewed. RESULTS/OUTCOMES Only recently has SNA been identified as relevant in medical education despite wide use in the business and military sectors. Social Network Analysis focuses on relational data that explores 1) influences of direct and indirect ties, 2) structures and composition for enhancing or constraining information spread, and 3) impact of one’s position in the network. There is evidence network size is just as important as the depth and breadth of experiences each member-connection brings. Given that education and teaching are social in nature, opportunities for the use of SNA in PT education are abundant. It could shed light on the relationships between students, faculty and even entities on social media platforms. Early network analysis of a PT cohort could transform the PT educational experience through early identification to remediate students with ineffective networks for collaboration, information sharing and support. Another application includes measuring the flow of information and noting which students are brokering information that aids in maximizing the collaborations for team-based care. An effective network could also positively impact PT faculty and may reduce tension between the requirements of teaching, scholarly activity and service for progress toward goals of promotion and tenure. Network collaboration was shown by medicine faculty to provide vital knowledge and maximizing scholarly activity. Exploring aspects of PT faculty professional networks could lead to valuable information to balance the composition of network members’ expertise and leverage connections. CONCLUSIONS/RELEVANCE The value of SNA includes the ability to quantify relationships between people and explore how connections emerge as an asset or constraint. Adding measurement of relational factors to individual information could significantly increase the evidence to guide our understanding of actions for PT students and faculty success. Currently, SNA has not been reported in PT education literature but is a methodology that will produce substantial insights to transforming PT education. FUNDING SOURCE Funding provided by the College of Allied Health Professions, University of Nebraska Medical Center and Education Section of the American Physical Therapy Associatio

Digital Ecosystems: Ecosystem-Oriented Architectures

We view Digital Ecosystems to be the digital counterparts of biological ecosystems. Here, we are concerned with the creation of these Digital Ecosystems, exploiting the self-organising properties of biological ecosystems to evolve high-level software applications. Therefore, we created the Digital Ecosystem, a novel optimisation technique inspired by biological ecosystems, where the optimisation works at two levels: a first optimisation, migration of agents which are distributed in a decentralised peer-to-peer network, operating continuously in time; this process feeds a second optimisation based on evolutionary computing that operates locally on single peers and is aimed at finding solutions to satisfy locally relevant constraints. The Digital Ecosystem was then measured experimentally through simulations, with measures originating from theoretical ecology, evaluating its likeness to biological ecosystems. This included its responsiveness to requests for applications from the user base, as a measure of the ecological succession (ecosystem maturity). Overall, we have advanced the understanding of Digital Ecosystems, creating Ecosystem-Oriented Architectures where the word ecosystem is more than just a metaphor.Comment: 39 pages, 26 figures, journa

Middleware Technologies for Cloud of Things - a survey

The next wave of communication and applications rely on the new services provided by Internet of Things which is becoming an important aspect in human and machines future. The IoT services are a key solution for providing smart environments in homes, buildings and cities. In the era of a massive number of connected things and objects with a high grow rate, several challenges have been raised such as management, aggregation and storage for big produced data. In order to tackle some of these issues, cloud computing emerged to IoT as Cloud of Things (CoT) which provides virtually unlimited cloud services to enhance the large scale IoT platforms. There are several factors to be considered in design and implementation of a CoT platform. One of the most important and challenging problems is the heterogeneity of different objects. This problem can be addressed by deploying suitable "Middleware". Middleware sits between things and applications that make a reliable platform for communication among things with different interfaces, operating systems, and architectures. The main aim of this paper is to study the middleware technologies for CoT. Toward this end, we first present the main features and characteristics of middlewares. Next we study different architecture styles and service domains. Then we presents several middlewares that are suitable for CoT based platforms and lastly a list of current challenges and issues in design of CoT based middlewares is discussed.Comment: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352864817301268, Digital Communications and Networks, Elsevier (2017

Middleware Technologies for Cloud of Things - a survey

The next wave of communication and applications rely on the new services provided by Internet of Things which is becoming an important aspect in human and machines future. The IoT services are a key solution for providing smart environments in homes, buildings and cities. In the era of a massive number of connected things and objects with a high grow rate, several challenges have been raised such as management, aggregation and storage for big produced data. In order to tackle some of these issues, cloud computing emerged to IoT as Cloud of Things (CoT) which provides virtually unlimited cloud services to enhance the large scale IoT platforms. There are several factors to be considered in design and implementation of a CoT platform. One of the most important and challenging problems is the heterogeneity of different objects. This problem can be addressed by deploying suitable "Middleware". Middleware sits between things and applications that make a reliable platform for communication among things with different interfaces, operating systems, and architectures. The main aim of this paper is to study the middleware technologies for CoT. Toward this end, we first present the main features and characteristics of middlewares. Next we study different architecture styles and service domains. Then we presents several middlewares that are suitable for CoT based platforms and lastly a list of current challenges and issues in design of CoT based middlewares is discussed.Comment: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352864817301268, Digital Communications and Networks, Elsevier (2017