5G & SLAs: Automated proposition and management of agreements towards QoS enforcement

Efficient Service Level Agreements (SLA) management and anticipation of Service Level Objectives (SLO) breaches become mandatory to guarantee the required service quality in software- defined and 5G networks. To create an operational Network Service, it is highly envisaged to associate it with their network-related parameters that reflect the corresponding quality levels. These are included in policies but while SLAs target usually business users, there is a challenge for mechanisms that bridge this abstraction gap. In this paper, a generic black box approach is used to map high-level requirements expressed by users in SLAs to low-level network parameters included in policies, enabling Quality of Service (QoS) enforcement by triggering the required policies and manage the infrastructure accordingly. In addition, a mechanism for determining the importance of different QoS parameters is presented, mainly used for “relevant” QoS metrics recommendation in the SLA template

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT): Acquiring and Transforming Data into HL7 FHIR through 5G Network Slicing

The Healthcare 4.0 era is surrounded by challenges varying from the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices’ data collection, integration and interpretation. Several techniques have been developed that however do not propose solutions that can be applied to different scenarios or domains. When dealing with healthcare data, based on the severity and the application of their results, they should be provided almost in real-time, without any errors, inconsistencies or misunderstandings. Henceforth, in this manuscript a platform is proposed for efficiently managing healthcare data, by taking advantage of the latest techniques in Data Acquisition, 5G Network Slicing and Data Interoperability. In this platform, IoMT devices’ data and network specifications can be acquired and segmented in different 5G network slices according to the severity and the computation requirements of different medical scenarios. In sequel, transformations are performed on the data of each network slice to address data heterogeneity issues, and provide the data of the same network slices into HL7 FHIR-compliant format, for further analysis

Blockchain Technology Applied in IoV Demand Response Management: A Systematic Literature Review

Energy management in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is becoming more prevalent as the usage of distributed Electric Vehicles (EV) grows. As a result, Demand Response (DR) management has been introduced to achieve efficient energy management in IoV. Through DR management, EV drivers are allowed to adjust their energy consumption and generation based on a variety of parameters, such as cost, driving patterns and driving routes. Nonetheless, research in IoV DR management is still in its early stages, and the implementation of DR schemes faces a number of significant hurdles. Blockchain is used to solve some of them (e.g., incentivization, privacy and security issues, lack of interoperability and high mobility). For instance, blockchain enables the introduction of safe, reliable and decentralized Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading. The combination of blockchain and IoV is a new promising approach to further improve/overcome the aforementioned limitations. However, there is limited literature in Demand Response Management (DRM) schemes designed for IoV. Therefore, there is a need for a systematic literature review (SLR) to collect and critically analyze the existing relevant literature, in an attempt to highlight open issues. Thus, in this article, we conduct a SLR, investigating how blockchain technology assists the area of DRM in IoV. We contribute to the body of knowledge by offering a set of observations and research challenges on blockchain-based DRM in IoV. In doing so, we allow other researchers to focus their work on them, and further contribute to this area

Development and implementation of green chemistry educational material aiming at sustainability focusing on the use of renewable feedstocks

Since the publication of the ‘‘Our common future’’ report (WCED 1987) and the Rio Summit in 1992, sustainable development has become the overarching political objective globally. As indicated in Agenda 21, appropriate multi and interdisciplinary education is required. The idea of a strong shift to Education for Environment and Sustainability clearly recommends the introduction and permeation of sustainability principles in all “sectoral” educations.Green Chemistry is a new approach of chemistry that emphasizes on prevention. The need to incorporate the principles of Green Chemistry in education, in combination to the lack of educational material which focuses on the use of renewable materials formed the basis for this dissertation. The main goal of this dissertation was the development and implementation of educational material for secondary education focusing on the seventh principle of Green Chemistry concerning the utilisation of renewable raw materials. Part of the educational material was tested at 414 students of 8th and 9th grades aiming to investigate its effect on their knowledge and perceptions about renewable feedstocks and their utilization in the context of Green Chemistry. Previous knowledge and perceptions of students were also investigated. Data were collected via an anonymous closed-type questionnaire. The method of pretest and meta-test control using experimental group was used to examine the effect of educational material. Statistical analysis showed that students' previous knowledge on the issue is rather limited, incomplete and sometimes wrong. Gender and the previous participation in environmental education activities seem to have significant impact on students’ knowledge and perceptions. School location of the students as well as their parents educational background also seem to have significant impact on their knowledge, while they have no significant effect on their perceptions. The conducted educational intervention resulted in statistically significant increase of students' knowledge on renewable raw materials. It also had a positive impact on their perceptions. In particular, the intervention seemed to have greater impact on knowledge and perceptions of boys, those who had previous participation in environmental education activities and those who live in suburban areas. Differentiation on intervention effect on students’ knowledge and attitudes was also observed on parents’ educational background.Given the connection of green chemistry to everyday life the need to integrate Green Chemistry’s principles to secondary curricula seems of great importance. The findings highlight the need for green chemistry diffusion in all relevant disciplines in combination with the development of educational materials in the context of Education for the Environment and Sustainability. The educational material which was developed for the purposes of this research can be an effective tool for educators capable to inspire and help them to design similar activities focusing on sustainability.Από τη δημοσίευση της έκθεσης «Το κοινό μας μέλλον» το 1987 και τη Διακήρυξη του Ρίο το 1992, η αειφορία εμφανίζεται να είναι πρωταρχικός πολιτικός στόχος σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο. Στο βασικό καθοδηγητικό κείμενο της συνδιάσκεψης του Ρίο, την Ατζέντα 21, αναφέρεται ότι η διεπιστημονική εκπαίδευση αποτελεί απαραίτητο όχημα για την πραγμάτωση της αειφορίας. Η στροφή προς την Εκπαίδευση για το Περιβάλλον και την Αειφορία διεθνώς, δίνει έμφαση στη εισαγωγή και διείσδυση των αρχών της αειφορίας σε όλα τα επίπεδα της εκπαίδευσης.Η Πράσινη Χημεία (Green Chemistry) είναι μία νέα φιλοσοφία της Χημείας η οποία δίνει έμφαση στην πρόληψη. Η αναγκαιότητα ενσωμάτωσής της στην εκπαίδευση, σε συνδυασμό με την έλλειψη εκπαιδευτικού υλικού που εμφαίνει στην εκμετάλλευση και χρήση των ανανεώσιμων πρώτων υλών αποτέλεσε την αφορμή για την εκπόνηση της παρούσας διατριβής. Βασικός σκοπός της διατριβής ήταν η ανάπτυξη και εφαρμογή πρωτότυπου εκπαιδευτικού υλικού για τη δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση με κύριο άξονα την έβδομη αρχή της Πράσινης Χημείας που αφορά στην εκμετάλλευση και χρήση των ανανεώσιμων πρώτων υλών. Μέρος του εκπαιδευτικού υλικού που αναπτύχθηκε εφαρμόστηκε με κατάλληλα διαμορφωμένο τρόπο σε 414 μαθητές Β΄ και Γ΄ Γυμνασίου με βασική επιδίωξη να εξεταστεί η επίδραση του στις γνώσεις και στις αντιλήψεις τους για το θέμα. Παράλληλα διερευνήθηκαν και οι πρότερες γνώσεις και αντιλήψεις των μαθητών για το συγκεκριμένο ζήτημα. Η συλλογή των δεδομένων έγινε μέσω ενός ερωτηματολογίου κλειστού τύπου. Η επίδραση του εκπαιδευτικού υλικού εξετάστηκε με τη μέθοδο του προελέγχου και μεταελέγχου με τη χρήση πειραματικής ομάδας.Η στατιστική επεξεργασία των δεδομένων έδειξε ότι οι πρότερες γνώσεις των μαθητών για το συγκεκριμένο θέμα είναι μάλλον περιορισμένες, ατελείς και πολλές φορές λανθασμένες. Το φύλο, όπως και η πρότερη συμμετοχή σε Πρόγραμμα Περιβαλλοντικής Εκπαίδευσης φάνηκε να προκαλεί διαφοροποίηση στις γνώσεις και αντιλήψεις των μαθητών. Διαφοροποίηση στις γνώσεις των μαθητών προκαλούν ο τόπος διαμονής και το επίπεδο εκπαίδευσης των γονέων, ενώ δεν φαίνεται να επιδρούν στις αντιλήψεις τους. Η διδακτική παρέμβαση που πραγματοποιήθηκε επέφερε στατιστικά σημαντική αύξηση των γνώσεων των μαθητών για τις ανανεώσιμες πρώτες ύλες και επέδρασε θετικά στις αντιλήψεις τους. Ειδικότερα, η διδακτική παρέμβαση φαίνεται να είχε μεγαλύτερη επίδραση στις γνώσεις και αντιλήψεις των αγοριών, σε όσους δεν είχαν πρότερη συμμετοχή σε ΠΠΕ, καθώς και σε όσους προέρχονταν από περιοχές εκτός Αθήνας. Διαφοροποίηση στην επίδραση της παρέμβασης στις γνώσεις και στις αντιλήψεις παρατηρήθηκε και ανάλογα με το επίπεδο εκπαίδευσης των γονέων. Με δεδομένη την σύνδεση της πράσινης χημείας με την καθημερινή ζωή φαντάζει ως επιτακτική η ανάγκη για ενσωμάτωση των αρχών της στα αναλυτικά προγράμματα της δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης. Τα αποτέλεσματα της έρευνας υπογραμμίζουν την ανάγκη αυτής της διάχυσης σε συνδυασμό με την ανάπτυξη ανάλογων εκπαιδευτικών υλικών στο πλαίσιο της εκπαίδευσης για το Περιβάλλον και την αειφορία. Το υλικό που δημιουργήθηκε μπορεί να αποτελέσει ένα εργαλείο για τους εκπαιδευτικούς, πηγή έμπνευσης για το «πρασίνισμα» της χημείας στην Δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση αλλά και να τους διευκολύνει στον σχεδιασμό παρόμοιων δραστηριοτήτων με άξονα την αειφορία

Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of secondary school students on renewable feedstocks/biomass: The case of Greece

Green Chemistry is a new approach of chemistry that aims to satisfy the global concerns and demand for sustainability. Green Chemistry is guided by twelve very specific principles of chemical practice. Among them, the seventh one promotes the use of renewable raw materials and feedstock, such as biomass. The widespread application of Green Chemistry principles in everyday life can be achieved by incorporating its paradigm into simple experiments and activities at regular school courses. Thus, an exploration of the students' background is required. The aim of this study is to provide baseline data on Greek student's knowledge, beliefs and attitudes related to the seventh Green Chemistry principle namely the use of renewable feedstocks, in order to facilitate introduction of appropriate provision in the school curricula and practice in Greece. Our results indicate that there is a serious knowledge gap among secondary school students regarding the main biomass formation mechanism and the connection of biomass to the global food supply in addition to the almost complete lack of knowledge of the main Green Chemistry principles. Regarding their attitudes, students are positive towards the use of biomass and express a very strong will to be environmentally informed. A logical conclusion of our research is that the development of relevant material that will focus on the application of Green Chemistry principles in everyday life in combination with a training of a core group of educators could be considered as the first steps towards the introduction of Green Chemistry principles in the secondary education system of Greece. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Blockchain Application in Internet of Vehicles: Challenges, Contributions and Current Limitations

Blockchain technology is highly coupled with cryptocurrencies; however, it provides several other potential use cases, related to energy and sustainability, Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, smart mobility and more. Blockchain can offer security for Electric Vehicle (EV) transactions in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) concept, allowing electricity trading to be performed in a decentralized, transparent and secure way. Additionally, blockchain provides the necessary functionalities for IoV decentralized application development, such as data exchange, personal digital identity, sharing economy and optimized charging pattern. Moreover, blockchain technology has the potential to significantly increase energy efficiency, decrease management costs and guarantee the effective use of the energy recourses. Therefore, its application in the IoV concept provides secure, autonomous and automated energy trading between EVs. While several studies on blockchain technology in smart grids have been conducted, insufficient attention has been given to conducting a detailed review and state-of-the-art analysis of blockchain application in the IoV domain. To this end, this work provides a systematic literature review of blockchain-based applications in the IoV domain. The aim is to investigate the current challenges of IoV and to highlight how blockchain characteristics can contribute to this emerging paradigm. In addition, limitations and future research directions related to the integration of blockchain technology within the IoV are discussed. To this end, this study incorporates the theoretical foundations of several research articles published in scientific publications over the previous five years, as a method of simplifying our assessment and capturing the ever-expanding blockchain area. We present a comprehensive taxonomy of blockchain-enabled applications in the IoV domain, such as privacy and security, data protection and management, vehicle management, charging optimization and P2P energy trading, based on a structured, systematic review and content analysis of the discovered literature, and we identify key trends and emerging areas for research. The contribution of this article is two-fold: (a) we highlight the limitations presented in the relevant literature, particularly the barriers of blockchain technology and how they influence its integration into the IoV and (b) we present a number of research gaps and suggest future exploratory areas

Blockchain Application in Internet of Vehicles: Challenges, Contributions and Current Limitations

Blockchain technology is highly coupled with cryptocurrencies; however, it provides several other potential use cases, related to energy and sustainability, Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, smart mobility and more. Blockchain can offer security for Electric Vehicle (EV) transactions in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) concept, allowing electricity trading to be performed in a decentralized, transparent and secure way. Additionally, blockchain provides the necessary functionalities for IoV decentralized application development, such as data exchange, personal digital identity, sharing economy and optimized charging pattern. Moreover, blockchain technology has the potential to significantly increase energy efficiency, decrease management costs and guarantee the effective use of the energy recourses. Therefore, its application in the IoV concept provides secure, autonomous and automated energy trading between EVs. While several studies on blockchain technology in smart grids have been conducted, insufficient attention has been given to conducting a detailed review and state-of-the-art analysis of blockchain application in the IoV domain. To this end, this work provides a systematic literature review of blockchain-based applications in the IoV domain. The aim is to investigate the current challenges of IoV and to highlight how blockchain characteristics can contribute to this emerging paradigm. In addition, limitations and future research directions related to the integration of blockchain technology within the IoV are discussed. To this end, this study incorporates the theoretical foundations of several research articles published in scientific publications over the previous five years, as a method of simplifying our assessment and capturing the ever-expanding blockchain area. We present a comprehensive taxonomy of blockchain-enabled applications in the IoV domain, such as privacy and security, data protection and management, vehicle management, charging optimization and P2P energy trading, based on a structured, systematic review and content analysis of the discovered literature, and we identify key trends and emerging areas for research. The contribution of this article is two-fold: (a) we highlight the limitations presented in the relevant literature, particularly the barriers of blockchain technology and how they influence its integration into the IoV and (b) we present a number of research gaps and suggest future exploratory areas

An Integrated SLA Management Framework in a 5G Environment

A key feature of fifth generation (5G) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) is the assurance of high levels of the quality of service (QoS). To this end, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are introduced in order to fulfill the gap between network operators and their customers. An SLA is a contract between the operator and the internal or external customer, which determines what Network Services (NSs) are offered and the guaranteed level of performance. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned needs, in this paper, we are introducing a fully integrated SLA management framework in a real 5G environment. In this demonstration we aim to bind business requirements as Service Level Objectives (SLOs) between network operators and the customers, with measurable recourse attributes. To achieve this, we allow network operators to choose between different SLOs during the SLA Template generation, and then automatically formulate an Agreement, based on each network slice instantiation and the corresponding NS. Finally, we provide a monitoring system in order to detect and alert for any violations.Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other work

Blockchain application in P2P energy markets: social and legal aspects

Flexible and distributed energy markets are a reality that is progressively reaching many regions. Despite their clear benefits, they should be accepted by the prosumers. Additionally, blockchain technology and smart contracts have been characterised as a technological enabler for the energy sector and P2P Energy Markets (PEM). However, little research has been done to explore blockchain's user-centred perspective. Therefore, this paper analyses the reluctance and/or concerns of prosumers regarding smart contracts, and investigates their perception on blockchain within PEMs. The authors present the results of a survey conducted across several European countries addressing the implementation of automated trading systems and analysing the adoption of smart contracts. Considering that the main survey outcomes are related to the regulation and legislation uncertainty around blockchain usage, this paper explores also the fit of smart contracts from a legal perspective. Additionally, a set of recommendations to be used as the basis for the design and development of PEMs is delivered, aiming to adopt blockchain and smart contracts. As a key take-away, the authors confirm the crucial role that blockchain will play in the deployment of fair, secure, flexible and distributed energy markets by ensuring transparency in the exchange of information between prosumers and energy stakeholders

ISLAND: An Interlinked Semantically-Enriched Blockchain Data Framework

Blockchain is currently one of the most popular technologies, providing privacy, transparency and trust. However, until now, it does not take into consideration the large amount of existing data and standards for decentralized data distribution and processing on the Web, that would leash new opportunities and business innovations for this emerging technology. Moreover, according to the vision of the Semantic Web, a key concept lies on data (semantic) annotations, querying and interlinking. Nevertheless, exporting knowledge resulting from different and possible interlinked blockchain networks, is still a major challenge. To address the aforementioned challenges, we propose ISLAND, a modular framework that is set to expose a unified abstraction layer to any data consumer that aims to infer meaningful knowledge from blockchain generated data, while at the same time enabling the semantic interoperability of them. In addition, a smart manufacturing use case scenario is presented as well as the potential business impacts are discussed. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG