Workflow Partitioning and Deployment on the Cloud using Orchestra

Orchestrating service-oriented workflows is typically based on a design model that routes both data and control through a single point - the centralised workflow engine. This causes scalability problems that include the unnecessary consumption of the network bandwidth, high latency in transmitting data between the services, and performance bottlenecks. These problems are highly prominent when orchestrating workflows that are composed from services dispersed across distant geographical locations. This paper presents a novel workflow partitioning approach, which attempts to improve the scalability of orchestrating large-scale workflows. It permits the workflow computation to be moved towards the services providing the data in order to garner optimal performance results. This is achieved by decomposing the workflow into smaller sub workflows for parallel execution, and determining the most appropriate network locations to which these sub workflows are transmitted and subsequently executed. This paper demonstrates the efficiency of our approach using a set of experimental workflows that are orchestrated over Amazon EC2 and across several geographic network regions.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM 7th International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing (UCC 2014

A Dataflow Language for Decentralised Orchestration of Web Service Workflows

Orchestrating centralised service-oriented workflows presents significant scalability challenges that include: the consumption of network bandwidth, degradation of performance, and single points of failure. This paper presents a high-level dataflow specification language that attempts to address these scalability challenges. This language provides simple abstractions for orchestrating large-scale web service workflows, and separates between the workflow logic and its execution. It is based on a data-driven model that permits parallelism to improve the workflow performance. We provide a decentralised architecture that allows the computation logic to be moved "closer" to services involved in the workflow. This is achieved through partitioning the workflow specification into smaller fragments that may be sent to remote orchestration services for execution. The orchestration services rely on proxies that exploit connectivity to services in the workflow. These proxies perform service invocations and compositions on behalf of the orchestration services, and carry out data collection, retrieval, and mediation tasks. The evaluation of our architecture implementation concludes that our decentralised approach reduces the execution time of workflows, and scales accordingly with the increasing size of data sets.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of the IEEE 2013 7th International Workshop on Scientific Workflows, in conjunction with IEEE SERVICES 201

A CCD search for distant satellites of asteroids 3 Juno and 146 Lucina

The results of CCD searches for satellites of asteroids 146 Lucina and 3 Juno are reported. Juno is one of the largest asteroids (D = 244 km); no previous deep imaging search for satellites around it has been reported. A potential occultation detection of a small satellite orbiting 146 Lucina (D = 137 km) km was reported by Arlot et al. (1985), but has not been confirmed. Using the 2.1 m reflector at McDonald Observatory in 1990 and 1991 with a CCD camera equipped with a 2.7 arc-sec radius occulting disk, limiting magnitudes of m(sub R) = 19.5 and m(sub R) = 21.4 were achieved around these two asteroids. This corresponds to objects of 1.6 km radius at Juno's albedo and distance, and 0.6 km radius at Lucina's albedo and distance. No satellite detections were made. Unless satellites were located behind our occultation mask, these two asteroids do not have satellites larger than the radii given above

The Study of Muscle Metabolism in Young People using 31P-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The purpose of this thesis is to extend understanding of the muscle metabolic responses of children and adolescents during exercise using the non-invasive technique of 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS). The first experimental paper examined the reliability of measuring parameters of muscle metabolism in 11-12 year old children over three exhaustive incremental tests using a single-legged quadriceps ergometer. Exercise performance (peak power: ~ 10% coefficient of variation [CV]) and metabolic variables (muscle phosphate and pH intracellular thresholds [IT]: ~ 10% CV, and pH: ~ 1% CV at exhaustion) demonstrated good reliability, whereas the ratio of inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine (Pi/PCr) at exhaustion had poor reproducibility (~ 50% CV). The second paper examined the influence of age and sex on the muscle metabolic responses during incremental exercise in 9-12 year old children and young adults. The Pi/PCr and pH responses before and at the ITs were independent of age and sex, although during exercise above the ITs, the anaerobic energy contribution (increase in Pi/PCr, fall in pH) was higher in adults than children and in females compared with males, indicating an intensity dependence on age- and sex-related differences in muscle energetics. The third paper examined the relationship between the dynamics of muscle PCr, a putative controller of muscle respiration, and pulmonary oxygen uptake (pVO2) in 9-10 year old children during moderate intensity quadriceps and cycling exercise respectively. No differences were found between the PCr and phase II VO2 time constants at the onset (PCr 23 s [SD 5] vs. pVO2 23 s [SD 4]; P=1.000) or offset (PCr 28 s [SD 5] vs. pVO2 29 s [SD 5]; P=1.000) of exercise, suggesting an age-related slowing of the phosphate linked controller(s) of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation may underlie the faster pVO2 kinetics found in children compared to adults. The final experimental chapter tested this hypothesis, but no age or sex related differences were found in the PCr kinetic time constant at the onset (boys: 21 s [SD 4]; girls: 24 s [SD 5]; men: 26 s [SD 9]; women: 24 s [SD 7], P>0.200) or offset (boys: 26 s [SD 5]; girls: 29 s [SD 7]; men: 23 s [SD 9]; women: 29 s [SD 7], P>0.070) of exercise. In conclusion, this thesis has demonstrated that muscle metabolic parameters determined by 31P-MRS are suitable for the study of developmental exercise metabolism. During exercise below the metabolic ITs, the phosphate-linked regulation of muscle respiration is comparable between children and adults, although during exercise above the ITs children are characterised by a lower ‘anaerobic’ energy turnover than adults, indicating an age-related modulation of metabolic control during high intensity exercise

Beneath the Golden Facade: A History of the Early Years on the Thames Goldfields

The story of Thames has been told and retold by many authors since the area was proclaimed a goldfield in 1867. These histories often glamourise the prosperity and wealth that gold brought to the town and its people. This thesis argues that this was not the case. In fact, the goldfields struggled for many years because the area lacked the necessary equipment to extract the gold. By 1870, machinery was steadily introduced and implemented, leading to short period of prosperity in the town, but it was temporary. Throughout the late 1860s and 1870s, locals experienced many financial hardships, which have been neglected by historians in favour of more positive portrayals of life on the goldfields. This thesis explores the economic situation of the town during this period, highlighting the experiences of those that failed to strike it rich on the goldfields. By examining their stories, it is clear that the romantic portrayal of life in early Thames was in the most part fiction compared to the harsh realities of those actually living on the goldfields. Additionally, this thesis examines the role that the community played in improving the economic situation in Thames. The efforts of locals helped to develop and foster a diverse array of industries, which lessened the town’s reliance on the success of the goldfields. These improvements came at a time when Thames was suffering considerable economic pressures, thanks in large part to the decline in gold production after 1871. This thesis utilises a range of primary and secondary sources to investigate the economic situation of Thames during this early period. It makes thorough use of newspaper articles, which highlight what information was readily available to local and external observers pertaining to the condition of the town. Government reports are used to show the role that officials played in the development of Thames and what actions they took to improve the local economy. This thesis also examines personal accounts from residents, which illustrate the harsh realities of life on the goldfields

Gaps in the IFRS Conceptual Framework

The stated purpose of the IFRS Conceptual Framework is to assist the IASB to develop Standards that are based on consistent concepts, and also to assist preparers to develop consistent accounting policies when Standards either do not apply or allow a choice of accounting policy. Yet, the Framework actually does surprisingly little to help the IASB (or preparers) determine which assets, liabilities, income and expenses should be recognised, and how they should be measured. The Framework’s focus on assets and liabilities implies that the accounting can, and should, be determined from the balance sheet. Yet, many current financial reporting requirements focus initially on the income statement, and so they are not so much derived from the Framework as instead in need of being reconciled back to it. At its heart, the problem here is that, while the Framework states that accrual accounting provides a better basis for assessing past and future performance than cash-based information, it does not explain why. To do so would require a conceptualisation of how entities’ business models are employed to create value, and of the strengths and limitations of accounting data in enhancing investors’ understanding of that value-creation. The lack of explanation of the purpose and informational objectives of accruals, how they relate to business models and how they cause the income statement and the balance sheet to interact are gaps in the Framework. Filling those gaps would provide a more robust, and natural, way for the IASB to develop recognition and measurement requirements in its Standards

Village polytechnics in central Kenya : progress, problems and prospects

This paper gives the overall findings of a study designed to assess the performance of village polytechnics in Central Kenya in terms of the promotion of rural development, the attitude of trainees to employment prospects in the rural areas and the city and the extent to which the success of village polytechnics is dependent on the standard of living in the rural areas. In the sample of 23 VPs, most had been successful in placing their leavers in employment in their local areas although no consistent monitoring of leavers had been done at the time of the survey. Although most of the 175 trainees interviewed expressed a desire to work in their home area a sizeable minority expressed a preference to work in a town, particularly Nairobi, although the general image of Nairobi is a vague one. The role of VPs in promoting rural development is seen as over-ambitious since the success of the VPs tends to depend highly on the pre-existing levels of rural prospects. Several problems restricting the development of VPs are identified and solutions suggested. The greatest danger to the development of VPs appears to be the growing lack of flexibility in organization which prevents VPs from reacting quickly enough to changes in the local economy

Results of Using Frequency Banded SAFT for Examining Three Types of Defects

A multitude of concrete-based structures are typically part of a light water reactor (LWR) plant to provide the foundation, support, shielding, and containment functions. Concrete has been used in the construction of nuclear power plants (NPPs) because of three primary properties; its inexpensiveness, structural strength, and ability to shield radiation. Examples of concrete structures important to the safety of LWR plants include the containment building, spent fuel pool, and cooling towers. This use has made concrete’s long-term performance crucial for the safe operation of commercial NPPs. Extending reactor life to 60 years and beyond will likely increase susceptibility and severity of known forms of degradation. Additionally, new mechanisms of materials degradation are also possible. Specially designed and fabricated test specimens can provide realistic flaws that are similar to actual flaws in terms of how they interact with a particular Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) technique. Artificial test blocks allow the isolation of certain testing problems as well as the variation of certain parameters. Because conditions in the laboratory are controlled, the number of unknown variables can be decreased, making it possible to focus on specific aspects, investigate them in detail, and gain further information on the capabilities and limitations of each method. To minimize artifacts caused by boundary effects, the dimensions of the specimens should not be too compact. In this paper, we apply the frequency banded SAFT technique to a m x 2.134 m x 1.016 m concrete test specimen with twenty deliberately embedded defects. These twenty embedded defects simulate voids (honeycombs), delaminations, and embedded organic construction debris. Using the time-frequency technique of wavelet packet decomposition and reconstruction, the spectral content of the signal can be divided into two resulting children nodes. The resulting two nodes can then also be divided into two children nodes with each child node containing half of the bandwidth (spectral content) of its parent node. This process can be repeated until bandwidth of the children nodes is sufficiently small. Once the desired bandwidth has been obtained, the band limited signal can be analyzed using SAFT enabling the visualization of reflectivity of a frequency band and that band’s interaction with the contents of the concrete structure. In general, the analyzed nodes were selected based on:1. The knowledge that the ultrasonic array system used produces an ultrasonic pulse with a nominal center frequency of 50 kHz.2. The percentage of total signal energy contained in each node.3. Child nodes of parent nodes containing the nominal center frequency, so as to narrow frequency band around nominal center frequency or even divide the band containing the nominal center frequency.4. Child nodes of a parent node containing a high energy percentage. Even if the node did not contain the nominal center frequency

Performativity, subjectivity and gender: an inquiry into the applicability of theoretical concepts to "Muriel at metropolitan"

The dissertation presents and explores a mode of literary studies, which bypasses the question of literary value, and instead aims to assess how and where creative writing challenges hegemonic norms (that is, its political value). In so doing, it reflects on the practice of literary studies per se, and the mechanism(s) by which discourse can impact on subjecthood. The exploration entails the application of certain theoretical tools (concepts) in a reading of a literary work. The primary concepts employed are: performativity, subjectivity and gender. The dissertation seeks to read Muriel at Metropolitan (Tlali 1994) as a performative act, that is, a discursive event which re-enacts the practice of fictional writing and thereby extends (and possibly changes} the convention of crealive writing. If it is true that creative writing is performative, that it partake in the making of the individual, then it is important to study such writing in order to discover the consequences for the subjectEnglish StudiesM.A. (English

The Stern Review: an assessment of its methodology

This technical paper contains a detailed examination of key elements of the Review’s analytical approach. Originally prepared as an internal research memorandum following release of the Stern Review’s report, the paper is being made more widely available given its ongoing relevance in light of Australia’s Garnaut Review. The staff paper finds that the Stern Review made some important analytical advances. The Review sought to move beyond analysis based on the mean expected outcome to one that incorporates low probability, but potentially catastrophic, events at the tail of probability distributions. The Review also attempted a more comprehensive coverage of damage costs than most previous studies. The paper also finds that value judgements and ethical perspectives in key parts of the Stern Review’s analysis led to estimates of future economic damages being substantially higher, and abatement costs lower, than most previous studies. The paper notes that the report could usefully have included more sensitivity analysis to highlight to decisionmakers the consequences of alternative assumptions or judgements