An Effective Dynamic Handoff Support for Mobile Media Network

Mobility is the most important feature of a wireless cellular communication system. Usually, continuous service is achieved by supporting handoff (or handover) from one cell to another. Handoff is the process of changing the channel associated with the current connection while a call is in progress. It is often initiated either by crossing a cell boundary or by deterioration in quality of the signal in the current channel. In this thesis, the different types of handoff controlled mechanisms are proposed and analyzed by passing the parameters offset address, Header information associated with the file, bit rate and bit resolution. The objective is to have an effective algorithm which provides a seamlessly migrate the session so that it stays close to the client, thus providing high quality video to the user. The implementation provides all the different types of hanoff techniques possible and a exclusive performance study has been done on all these techniques providing the benefit and the drawbacks of each approach

An Effective Dynamic Handoff Support for Mobile Media Network

Mobility is the most important feature of a wireless cellular communication system. Usually, continuous service is achieved by supporting handoff (or handover) from one cell to another. Handoff is the process of changing the channel associated with the current connection while a call is in progress. It is often initiated either by crossing a cell boundary or by deterioration in quality of the signal in the current channel. In this thesis, the different types of handoff controlled mechanisms are proposed and analyzed by passing the parameters offset address, Header information associated with the file, bit rate and bit resolution. The objective is to have an effective algorithm which provides a seamlessly migrate the session so that it stays close to the client, thus providing high quality video to the user. The implementation provides all the different types of hanoff techniques possible and a exclusive performance study has been done on all these techniques providing the benefit and the drawbacks of each approach

Democratic governance through intermediary bodies: a case study of third sector interfaces in Scotland

This research focuses on third sector interfaces (TSIs) as a site through which to examine the relationship between the third sector and the state in Scotland. The TSI model was instituted by the Scottish Government in 2011 in each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities with a remit to build sector capacity, support volunteerism, encourage social enterprise, and represent the sector in community planning. Through its participation in state-initiated local governance networks, like Community Planning Partnerships, the sector has a prominence that was unthinkable just twenty years ago. This research study explores the impact of a TSI’s participation in state-initiated local governance networks, focusing on the TSI’s independence from the state and its representation of the sector. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach, 44 semi-structured interviews were conducted (13 with national stakeholders, 19 with local stakeholders, and 12 with TSI staff) and 16 local governance meetings observed. A large urban TSI was selected for the case study. Four key themes emerged from an iterative thematic analysis. One, that local governance sits within a space, literal and figurative, where representative and participatory democracy meet. Through its participation, the TSI is brought closer to the state implicating it in statutory decision making. Two, the TSI model is an example of a “civil servant construct” channelling the sector’s participation in local governance networks through structures that mirror state priorities, compromising the independence of the TSI and complicating its representation role. Three, the TSI’s closeness to the state creates distrust within the third sector which in turn weakens its legitimacy in representing the sector. Four, local governance spaces embody a culture of “managed talk” compromising the TSI’s ability to be activist and shaping its participation through a state logic. The study suggests that there is an impact on both the TSI’s independence from the state and the ways in which it represents the third sector. The current state approach to engaging the third sector risks “manufacturing civil society” (Brandsen, et al., 2014) where the sector becomes a reflection of the state rather than an expression of civil society. Recommendations from the study include the need for democratic governance spaces to be shaped collaboratively by the state and civil society, the state to reconsider its instrumental approach to the third sector, the third sector to assert its independence, and intermediary bodies to act as facilitators rather than representatives

ALONG FOR THE RIDE: THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO PREPARE SECURITY STANDARDS NOW FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE TRAVEL

The concept of regulating the physical security of commercial spaceports has received little attention. Currently, no federal agency is responsible for developing physical security standards or enforcing regulatory compliance within the industry. This thesis examines the need to create and apply ground-based physical security standards to commercial space facilities within the United States. This thesis explores three policy options as potential paths forward if commercial space travel is designated as critical infrastructure and assesses their effectiveness, cost, political challenges, and viability. The analysis determines that taking proactive measures now will mitigate the potential costs and impacts of an attack and would save substantial amounts of money, keep a burgeoning market on track, and could save lives. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that implementing a regulatory approach like the one employed by the Transportation Security Administration’s surface transportation program would be effective if it prevents the explosion of one Falcon 9 rocket, or similar, every approximately 188 years.Civilian, Department of Homeland SecurityApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Assessing cross-cultural competence: evaluating the psychometric properties and the nomological network of a modified version of the cultural intelligence scale

Effectively interacting with individuals in or from an unfamiliar culture requires cross-cultural competence and adaptability. The Cultural Intelligence Scale (Ang et al., 2007) is designed to measure an individual’s ability to adapt in a culturally unfamiliar environment. Studies using the CQS have mixed results regarding its dimensionality, construct validity, and its distinctness from other intelligences. Additionally, the phrasing of some of the items in the CQS require respondents to have been to a foreign culture to be able to answer. To address these critiques, I modified the CQS to accommodate individuals who have never been to a foreign culture. I then explored the nomological network of the modified CQS by examining its correlation with scales that measure emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and personality. Results of this study provide evidence of the uniqueness of the CQS from other similar constructs and confirm Ang et al.’s four-factor model

A study of self-efficacy in a group of Hmong refugees

Social cognitive theorist Albert Bandura defined resilience as the ability to organize thoughts and actions to manage prospective and unknown situations. He called it the theory of perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 2010). The tool used to measure this construct is called the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), which assesses a broad stable sense of an individual\u27s personal competence to efficiently deal with a variety of stressful situations. Previous research suggested that due to its positive association with mental health and well being, the GSES and theory of self-efficacy are worthy of further examination in refugees (Sulaiman-Hill and Thompson, 2011). This study examines different variables in comparison to levels of General Perceived Self-Efficacy in a group of 49 Hmong refugee adults living in Minnesota and California. Results found language proficiency, education level, citizenship status, and years lived in the U.S. to be positive predictors of higher perceived self-efficacy. Those with higher self-efficacy reported less depressive and anxiety symptoms. Age, marital, gender, and employment statuses had no significant relationship with self-efficacy scores

Evaluating changes in driver behaviour for road safety outcomes: a risk profiling approach

Road safety continues to be an important issue with road crashes among the leading causes of death. Considerable effort has been put into improving our understanding of the factors that influence driving behaviour with a view to devising more effective road safety strategies. Within the literature, demographics, social norms, personality, enforcement and the road environment have all been identified as influencers of risky driving behaviour. What is missing is an integrated empirical approach which examines the relationship between these factors and drivers’ awareness of their speeding behaviour to a measure of day-to-day driving behaviour. This research employs demographic, psychological, vehicle, trip and Global Positioning System (GPS) driving data collected from 106 drivers in Sydney, Australia during a pay-as-you-drive study. The main contributions are three-fold. First, a methodology is developed to control for the influence of spatiotemporal characteristics on driver behaviour. This deals with the inherent variability introduced from road environment factors external to the driver which would otherwise lead to misleading results. Second, the creation of a composite measure of driver behaviour allows driver behaviour to be described using a single measure whilst accounting for the variability and multitude of aspects within the driving task. This allows drivers to be compared to each other and for the same driver to be compared across time and space permitting empirical testing of interventions in a before and after study. Lastly, this research reveals the potential for reducing the extent and magnitude of risky driving behaviour by making drivers aware of their own behaviour. The results indicate that drivers can be placed in three groups: drivers requiring a monetary incentive to change speeding behaviour, drivers requiring information alone to change their speeding behaviour and drivers that appear unresponsive to both monetary incentives and information