Delivering video services over IP networks

The main goal pursued in this Thesis is to contribute towards the design and development of an end-to-end solution/system that would assist in reliable, consistence, less packet-loss delivery of high-quality video signals of pre-recorded presentations, training lectures, live events such as seminars over standard IP networks. This Thesis will focus on the existing Internet Service Provider, Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) and its best delivery of high-bandwidth data such as video to its Local and regional offices and departments over IP networks. This video-over-IP system aims to accumulate the technical scientific knowledge required to be able to offer high-quality video, which is fully scalable over IP networks. It aims to convert this knowledge into experimental prototypes, which, after the Thesis, can be developed into an integrated generic environment for Video-over-IP service development and content production. The objective is to initially define the functionality of content Services that can be incorporated into the operations of Oman telecommunications company networks. Then define the functional characteristics and system requirements necessary for the deployment of content streaming services over Omantel IP based networks. The design of this system would be combined with streaming high-quality video, while maintaining scalability and bandwidth efficiencies required for large-scale enterprise deployment. The design would encompass various components that are needed to capture, store and deliver streaming video to desktops. It will investigate on what is required to deliver quality video over Omantel IP networks and will recommend the actual products and solutions for achieving the end result

Information Technologies for the Healthcare Delivery System

That modern healthcare requires information technology to be efficient and fully effective is evident if one spends any time observing the delivery of institutional health care. Consider the observation of a practitioner of the discipline, David M. Eddy, MD, PhD, voiced in Clinical Decision Making, JAMA 263:1265-75, 1990, . . .All confirm what would be expected from common sense: The complexity of modern medicine exceeds the inherent limitations of the unaided human mind. The goal of this thesis is to identify the technological factors that are required to enable a fully sufficient application of information technology (IT) to the modern institutional practice of medicine. Perhaps the epitome of healthcare IT is the fully integrated, fully electronic patient medical record. Although, in 1991 the Institute of Medicine called for such a record to be standard technology by 2001, it has still not materialized. The author will argue that some of the technology and standards that are pre-requisite for this achievement have now arrived, while others are still evolving to fully sufficient levels. The paper will concentrate primarily on the health care system in the United States, although much of what is contained is applicable to a large degree, around the world. The paper will illustrate certain of these pre-requisite IT factors by discussing the actual installation of a major health care computer system at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in Rochester, New York. This system is a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). As the name implies, PACS is a system of capturing health care images in digital format, storing them and communicating them to users throughout the enterprise

Communications

The communications sector of an economy comprises a range of technologies, physical media, and institutions/rules that facilitate the storage of information through means other than a society\u27s oral tradition and the transmission of that information over distances beyond the normal reach of human conversation. This chapter provides data on the historical evolution of a disparate range of industries and institutions contributing to the movement and storage of information in the United States over the past two centuries. These include the U.S. Postal Service, the newspaper industry, book publishing, the telegraph, wired and cellular telephone service, radio and television, and the Internet

A framework for business process integration to achieve fulfillment excellence

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004."June 2004."Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-72).Process integration has become more and more important in today's world where companies' supply chains have become more complex. Companies around the world are beginning to realize the importance of integrating their supply chain business processes to achieve fulfillment excellence. Unfortunately, process integration is still somewhat a novel concept and relatively little research has been conducted in examining how companies can effectively implement successful process integration across their supply chains. To complicate matters further, many companies still confuse the concept of business process integration with that of mere data integration. The primary motivation for this research study is to provide a framework on how best to implement process integration to achieve fulfillment excellence. The methodology employed in this particular study comprises the use of two case studies with real-life companies, which provide real-world examples of how companies try to "integrate" their complex supply chain processes. A deep and thorough analysis is then conducted to identify the challenges presented by the firm's current practices from a business process integration perspective. Further analysis then provides an overall view of what is done right and what could have been improved. Last but not least, a generalized framework of best practices and a prescription of how best to implement successful process integration to achieve fulfillment excellence are presented.co-authored by Marcos Buelvas [and] Sonita Lontoh.M.Eng.in Logistic

A Framework to assess the value of web services

Large organizations often begin to adopt new software technologies prior to establishing appropriate value frameworks. This approach may produce sub-optimal investment decisions and technology adoption rates, and introduce excessive risk. In this thesis, a value-based framework is developed for assessing the impact of Web Services technology investments on business systems development. The value factors included in the framework are data management, application development and deployment, system integration, and response time to market opportunities

Annual Report: 2009

I submit herewith the annual report from the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, for the period ending December 31, 2009. This is done in accordance with an act of Congress, approved March 2, 1887, entitled, “An act to establish agricultural experiment stations, in connection with the agricultural college established in the several states under the provisions of an act approved July 2, 1862, and under the acts supplementary thereto,” and also of the act of the Alaska Territorial Legislature, approved March 12, 1935, accepting the provisions of the act of Congress. The research reports are organized according to our strategic plan, which focuses on high-latitude soils, high-latitude agriculture, natural resources use and allocation, ecosystems management, and geographic information. These areas cross department and unit lines, linking them and unifying the research. We have also included in our financial statement information on the special grants we receive. These special grants allow us to provide research and outreach that is targeted toward economic development in Alaska. Research conducted by our graduate and undergraduate students plays an important role in these grants and the impact they make on Alaska.Financial statement -- Grants -- Students -- Research Reports: Partners, Facilities, and Programs; Geography; High-Latitude Agriculture; High-Latitude Soils; Management of Ecosystems; Natural Resources Use and Allocation; Index to Reports -- Publications -- Facult

Business process and technology lessons learned, recommendations and best practices for new adopters

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006."June 2006."Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-118).This thesis focuses on documenting learnings from a RFID data exchange pilot in the fast moving consumer goods industry. The pilot we studied is a collaborative effort between two of the largest retailers in the world and five of their major suppliers, facilitated by EPCglobal and the MIT Auto-ID labs. Currently, manufacturers and suppliers are building the infrastructure to exchange EPC data to validate standards and proof of concepts for RFID adoption. The outcome of these pilots will essentially set the stage for large scale RFID adoption worldwide. Our thesis attempts to document issues relating to data exchange from business process, organizational and technical perspectives. We have synthesized the findings and consolidated the lessons learned during the pilot in an attempt to form a set of actionable recommendations for new companies looking to start on RFID pilot projects.by Rida Chan [and] Sangeeth Ram.M.Eng.in Logistic

AI-AUGMENTED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS: APPLICATION IN MARITIME DECISION MAKING UNDER CONDITIONS OF METOC UNCERTAINTY

The ability for a human to overlay information from disparate sensor systems or remote databases into a common operational picture can enhance rapid decision making and implementation in a complex environment. This thesis focuses on operational uncertainty as a function of meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) effects on maritime route planning. Using an existing decision support system (DSS) with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed by New Jersey Institute of Technology and University of Connecticut, cognitive load and time to decision were assessed for users of an AI-augmented DSS, accounting for METOC conditions and their effects, and users of a baseline, 'as is,' DSS system. Scenario uncertainty for the user was presented in the relative number of Pareto-optimal routes from two locations. Key results were (a) users of an AI-augmented DSS with a simplified interface completed assigned tasks in significantly less time than users of an information-dense, complex-interface AI-augmented DSS; (b) users of simplified, AI-augmented DSS arrived at decisions with lower cognitive load than baseline DSS and complex-interface AI-augmented DSS users; and (c) users relied mainly on quantitative data presented in tabular form to make route decisions. The differences found in user performance and cognitive load between levels of AI augmentation and interface complexity serve as a starting point for further exploration into maximizing the potential of human-machine teaming.Office of Naval ResearchMajor, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release. distribution is unlimite

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2013

Topics include: Cryogenic Liquid Sample Acquisition System for Remote Space Applications; 5 Spatial Statistical Data Fusion (SSDF); GPS Estimates of Integrated Precipitable Water Aid Weather Forecasters; Integrating a Microwave Radiometer into Radar Hardware for Simultaneous Data Collection Between the Instruments; Rapid Detection of Herpes Viruses for Clinical Applications; High-Speed Data Recorder for Space, Geodesy, and Other High-Speed Recording Applications; Datacasting V3.0; An All-Solid-State, Room-Temperature, Heterodyne Receiver for Atmospheric Spectroscopy at 1.2 THz; Stacked Transformer for Driver Gain and Receive Signal Splitting; Wireless Integrated Microelectronic Vacuum Sensor System; Fabrication Method for LOBSTER-Eye Optics in Silicon; Compact Focal Plane Assembly for Planetary Science; Fabrication Methods for Adaptive Deformable Mirrors; Visiting Vehicle Ground Trajectory Tool; Workflow-Based Software Development Environment; Mobile Thread Task Manager; A Kinematic Calibration Process for Flight Robotic Arms; Magnetostrictive Alternator; Bulk Metallic Glasses and Composites for Optical and Compliant Mechanisms; Detection of Only Viable Bacterial Spores Using a Live/Dead Indicator in Mixed Populations; and Intravenous Fluid Generation System