Overcoming Bandwidth Fluctuations in Hybrid Networks with QoS-Aware Adaptive Routing

With an escalating reliance on sensor-driven scientific endeavors in challenging terrains, the significance of robust hybrid networks, formed by a combination of wireless and wired links, is more noticeable than ever. These networks serve as essential channels for data streaming to centralized data centers, but their efficiency is often degraded by bandwidth fluctuations and network congestion. Especially in bandwidth-sensitive hybrid networks, these issues present demanding challenges to Quality of Service (QoS). Traditional network management solutions fail to provide an adaptive response to these dynamic challenges, thereby underscoring the need for innovative solutions. This thesis introduces a novel approach leveraging the concept of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) to establish a dynamic, congestion-aware routing mechanism. This proposed mechanism stands out by comprising a unique strategy of using bandwidth-based measurements, which help accurately detect and localize network congestion. Unlike traditional methodologies that rely on rigid route management, our approach demonstrates dynamic data flow route adjustment. Experimental data indicate promising outcomes with clear improvements in network utilization and application performance. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm exhibits remarkable scalability, providing quick route-finding solutions for various data flows, without impacting system performance. Thus, this thesis contributes to the ongoing discourse on enhancing hybrid network efficiency in challenging conditions, setting the stage for future explorations in this area

Poverty, Growth and Income Distribution in Lebanon

This Country Study is based on a full national report that is the first to draw a profile of poverty in Lebanon based on money-metric poverty measurements of household expenditures. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of the poor and estimates the extent of poverty and the degree of inequality in the country. It finds that nearly 28 per cent of the Lebanese population can be considered poor and eight per cent can be considered extremely poor. However, the most important finding of the report is that regional disparities are striking. For example, whereas poverty rates are insignificant in the capitol, Beirut, they are very high in the Northern city of Akkar. In general, the North governorate has been lagging behind the rest of the country and thus its poverty rate has become high. Levels of poverty are above-average in the South but are not as severe as expected. There are three other major results that have notable implications for a poverty-reduction programme in Lebanon. First, with few exceptions, measures of human deprivation, such as that provided by an Unsatisfied Basic Needs methodology, are generally commensurate with those for money-metric measures based on household expenditures. Second, the projected cost of halving extreme poverty is very modest, namely, a mere fraction of the cost of the country?s large external debt obligations. However, such a cost would rise dramatically if inequality were to worsen (i.e., if future growth were anti-poor). Also, the cost of reducing overall poverty would be substantially higher. Third, the poor are heavily concentrated among the unemployed and among unskilled workers, with the latter concentrated in sectors such as agriculture and construction. This places a priority on a broad-based, inclusive pattern of economic growth that could stimulate employment in such sectors. Based on such findings, the report concentrates on providing general policy recommendations on issues of directing public expenditures to poor households. One of its major recommendations is to concentrate on channelling resources to poor regions below the governorate level, such as to four ?strata? where two-thirds of the poor in Lebanon are concentrated. However, the report notes that macroeconomic policies, particularly fiscal policies, will have to be redesigned to mobilize the reources necessary to finance the increases in public expenditures on the social safety nets and public investment in social services that should be part of a major poverty-reduction programme.Poverty, Growth and Income Distribution in Lebanon

Aural Contract: Investigations at the Threshold of Audibility

There are many studies dedicated to speech politics, yet the politics of listening remains an underdeveloped area of research. The conditions by which judges, lawyers, police, legislators, and witnesses listen—especially given the increasing employment of forensic audio technologies— deserve closer inspection. This practice-based PhD thesis investigates the political and legal implications of radically new modes of listening, recording, and audio analysis that have emerged since the mid-1980s. It borrows strategies from forensic audio analysis and art to map out the contemporary thresholds of audibility—both human and machinic—as new cultural and political frontiers where issues of subjecthood, citizenship, and testimony are being defined. This thesis is situated at the intersection of art, science, and advocacy, and as such each of the three chapters, together with the methodological introduction, develop their argumentation through a variety of means. The written component develops a historical and theoretical analysis of the ways in which we listen, while in the practice portfolio I test these propositions through both audiovisual artworks and investigative sonic experiments. The textual and practical dimensions are thus mutually constitutive: the historical and theoretical enquiry feeds into the practice, while the practice interrogates and attempts to materially implement these critical assumptions as political audio investigations for human and civil rights. In analysing the thresholds of sound and voice, we recurrently encounter forms of border-crossing, be they material, juridical, sensorial, or conceptual. In Chapter 1 we see the ways in which the voice transgresses the borders between states, both national and ontological. Chapter 2 discusses the blur between foreground and background, sound and noise. In Chapter 3 the way sounds bleed through the walls of a building leads us to the seepage between sound, sight, and touch. The title Aural Contract refers to a shift from the oral to the aural, and from a contract between speaking subjects towards a new set of propositions for the conditions by which we listen to one another and can produce audible evidence. With this shift of analysis from speaking to listening, new modes of political subjectivity emerge; a new spectrum of sounds and silences by which we can make audible those at the threshold of politics—the political prisoner, the colonised, the ghettoised, and the migrant

Sediment phosphorus flux in Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas

Internal phosphorus (P) loading may influence primary production in lakes, but the influence of sediment-derived P has not been well studied in Beaver Lake of Northwest Arkansas. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), dissolved organic P (DOP), and total dissolved P (TDP) sediment-water fluxes were determined using intact sediment cores collected from deepwater environments in the riverine, transition zone, and lacustrine zones of Beaver Lake. The SRP, DOP, and TDP fluxes were also estimated from cores collected from shallow locations in the transition zone. There was a net positive SRP (0.001 – 0.005 µg P cm-2 h-1), DOP (0.005 – 0.01 µg P cm-2 h-1), and TDP (0.005 – 0.01 µg P cm-2 h-1) flux from deepwater sediments into the water column. However, DOP and TDP flux in shallow sediments were net negative (-0.004 and -0.002 µg P cm-2 h-1, respectively), suggesting that the majority of P was moving from water into sediment. The SRP flux from shallow sediments in the transition zone was similar to rates observed in deepwater sediments (0.002 µg P cm-2 h-1). However, the variability among flux rates, sites and depths was high, and therefore no statistical differences were found. Sediment oxygen demand was positively correlated with SRP and DOP flux rates from shallow transition zone sediments suggesting that microbial biomass and activity may have influenced sediment P flux. The P flux from shallow sediments supports approximately 1% to 5% of the daily P demand of phytoplankton. When compared to other lakes, sediment P flux in Beaver Lake appears minimal and is probably not an effective avenue to manage eutrophication in this system

Burnout among workers in emergency Departments in Palestinian hospitals: prevalence and associated factors

Background: Working in Emergency Departments (EDs) entails high work pressure and stress due to witnessing human suffering and the unpredictable nature of the work. This environment puts personnel at risk of burnout. This analysis aims to assess burnout levels and associated risk factors among health workers in EDs in Palestinian hospitals. Also, it examines the association between burnout and workplace violence, as well as with job turnover. Methods: Cross-sectional design utilising a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from all workers at 14 EDs; 8 from the West Bank and 6 from the Gaza Strip. Burnout was measured using Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey. Results: A total of 444 workers (response rate 74.5%) participated: 161(36.3%) nurses, 142(32.0%) physicians and 141(31.7%) administrative personnel. Results showed high levels of burnout among EDs workers; 64.0% suffered from high emotional exhaustion, 38.1% from high depersonalization and 34.6% from low personal accomplishment. In addition, high levels of emotional exhaustion (72.3%) was significantly prevalent among physicians compared to nurses (69.8%) and administrative workers (51.4%) (p < 0.05). In comparison, high levels of depersonalization was significantly prevalent among nurses (48.8%) compared to physicians (32.1%) and administrative workers (31.9%) (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the levels of personal accomplishment burnout among the three groups (p > 0.05). Moreover, high degree of burnout was more prevalent among EDs workers in the West Bank than among those working in the Gaza Strip (OR 2.02, 95% CI = 1.11–3.69, p = 0.019), and higher among younger workers (aged ≤30 years old) than their older counterparts (OR 2.4, 95% CI = 1.302–4.458, p = 0.005). Exposure to physical violence was significantly associated with having a high degree of burnout (OR 2.017 95% CI = 1. 121–3.631, p = 0.019), but no association was observed with regards to exposure to verbal violence (p > 0.05). Finally, burnout was significantly associated with workers’ intention to leave work at EDs (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Burnout is considerably prevalent among EDs’ workers, especially nurses and physicians. Burnout is positively associated with job turnover intention and also with exposure to workplace violence. Therefore, there is a need for prevention and management strategies to address occupational burnout and reduce negative consequences on workers, patients and organisations

Alignment of Intended Learning Outcomes with Quellmalz Taxonomy and Assessment Practices in Early Childhood Education Courses

The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate the alignment of the course intended learning outcomes with Quellmalz Taxonomy; and (2) to investigate the alignment of the course intended learning outcomes with assessment practices in early childhood education courses. Data have been gathered from different sources for the purpose of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data consisted of overall course outcomes, all formal assessment papers used in the mid-term, final – term assessment and in – depth interviews with the instructors who teach 8 randomly selected childhood education courses. The results of the study have shown poor reflection of Quellmalz Taxonomy in the learning outcomes and weak alignment between the intended learning outcomes and the assessment practices of the sample courses used at the end of the semester. A list of recommendations has been suggested to improve the alignment of intended learning outcomes with Quellmalz Taxonomy and assessment practices. Keywords: Alignment, Intended Learning Outcomes, Quellmalz Taxonomy, Assessment Practices, Early Childhood Education

Individual Coaching During Hospitalization Improves the Spirituality of Muslim Patients

Background: Inpatients who are attached in intravenous devices tend to experience physical discomfort. This condition can lead to the decrease in performing Salat as a Muslim prayer. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of individual coaching on knowledge, attitude, and practice of Salat among Muslim inpatient. This study used quasi-experimental design. Mehods: The samples were 36 Muslim inpatients. The data were collected by self-constructed questionnaire and analyzed by using Independent t-test and Mann Whitney test with α ≤ 0.05. Results: Before giving intervention, the means of pretest score in both groups were 14.33+2.17 and 14.39+2.28 for knowledge, 26.17+2.31 and 26.50+3.17 for attitude, and 10.00+2.91 and 10.50+3.45 for practice. There was no significant difference scores of knowledge (p=0.941), attitude (p=0.924), and practice (p=0.635) between two groups before giving intervention. However, after giving intervention, these scores have changed to 19.00+1.72 and 14.89+2.29 for knowledge, 26.97+2.25 and 26.61+2.81 for attitude, 15.33+3.80 and 10.50+3.45 for practice and there was higher significance scores of knowledge (p=0.000), attitude (p=0.003), and practice (p=0.000) after giving intervention. Conclusions: Coaching is the suitable method to increase Muslim inpatients knowledge, attitude, and ability to practice Salat. This study recommends the nurse to do coaching as a nursing intervention in helping patient to perform Sala

An improved artificial dendrite cell algorithm for abnormal signal detection

In dendrite cell algorithm (DCA), the abnormality of a data point is determined by comparing the multi-context antigen value (MCAV) with anomaly threshold. The limitation of the existing threshold is that the value needs to be determined before mining based on previous information and the existing MCAV is inefficient when exposed to extreme values. This causes the DCA fails to detect new data points if the pattern has distinct behavior from previous information and affects detection accuracy. This paper proposed an improved anomaly threshold solution for DCA using the statistical cumulative sum (CUSUM) with the aim to improve its detection capability. In the proposed approach, the MCAV were normalized with upper CUSUM and the new anomaly threshold was calculated during run time by considering the acceptance value and min MCAV. From the experiments towards 12 benchmark and two outbreak datasets, the improved DCA is proven to have a better detection result than its previous version in terms of sensitivity, specificity, false detection rate and accuracy

Indicator selection based on Rough Set Theory

A method for indicator selection is proposed in this paper.The method, which adopts the General Methodology and Design Research approach, consists of four steps: Problem Identification, Requirement Gathering, Indicator Extraction, and Evaluation. Rough Set approach also has been applied in the Indicator Extraction phase.This phase consists of 5 steps: Data selection, Data Preprocessing, Discretization, Split Data, Reduction, and Classification.A dataset of 427 records have been used for experimentation.The datasets which contains financial information from several companies consists of 30 dependant indicators and one independent indicator.The selection of indicators is based on rough set theory where sets of reducts are computed from a dataset.Based on the sets of reducts, indicators have been ranked and selected based on certain set of criteria.Indicators have been ranked through computation of frequencies in reduct sets.The major contribution of this work is the extraction method for identifying reduced indicators.Results obtained have shown competitive accuracies in classifying new cases, thus showing that the quality of knowledge is maintained through the use of a reduced set of indicators

Kajian Dalam Beberapa Aspek Industri Perikanan Airtawar Di Malaysia : Satu Kajian Contoh Di Mukim Lambor, Perak Tengah

Kajian ini adalah hasil dari kajian luar yang telah dijalankan dalam daerah Perak Tengah pada masa cuti panjang pada pertengahan 1983. Ia dibuat untuk mengkaji beberapa aspek dalam industri perikanan yang telah dijalankan di sebuah kawasan dalam daerah Perak Tengah sejak 1980. Kepentingannya ialah kerana ia dijalankan secara berkelompok yangg terbesar di Perak