Reinterpreting the transport protocol stack to embrace ossification

Ubiquitous deployment of middleboxes has resulted in ossification of the transport layer, with TCP and UDP becoming part of the narrow waist of the Internet. This is a necessary stage in the evolution of the network, caused by its progression from research, to production, to increasingly critical infrastructure. New transport layer protocols will be needed in future, but since we are working with essential infrastructure, we cannot expect to have scope to make wholesale rapid changes. Future development must be done using the existing protocols as substrates, always maintaining on-the-wire compatibility. To advance, we must embrace the ossification of the network, and learn to reinterpret and extend the existing protocols

The social construction of executive remuneration in the UK: elite competition around codification and legitimation

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect theoretically on a quarter-century of attempts to codify "best practice" standards related to oversight of and reporting on executive remuneration. Issues around the regulation of UK executive remuneration are analysed focussing on decision making by elite actors, informed by corporate governance codification artefacts and theoretical considerations inspired by notions of the social construction of reality. Design/methodology/approach: Using documentary materials to trace evolution of executive remuneration regulation in the UK, consideration is given to the social antecedents of processes governing corporate board remuneration committee practices. The paper reconstructs the social construction of the UK Corporate Governance Code and draws on relevant theoretically inclined literature to help make sense of processes involved. Findings: Shaping the problems, to be addressed as “legitimate problems”, is core to efforts intended to create “persuasive narratives” around how UK executive remuneration should be regulated. Research limitations/implications – The paper sketches an agenda for subsequent empirical “field” investigation to assess the social antecedents of UK executive remuneration outcomes. Practical implications: Offering an alternative way of thinking about executive reward and on-going controversy as to how it may be legitimately regulated, informed by contextual considerations. Originality/value: A novel look at executive remuneration from a social construction of reality perspective. Adding value to public debate on organisational effectiveness at a time of warnings from luminaries such as the Bank of England governor about the adverse social impact of "stateless companies" and calls for action against unfairness in income distribution

Consolidating Streams to Improve DASH Cache Utilisation

Existing HTTP caches interact poorly with multiple Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) streams of the same content: time and quality differences prevent a complete representation from being cached, reducing hit-ratios. We propose to consolidate near-simultaneous streams based on time or quality, where the improved cache performance makes this worthwhile. We estimate that there is a sufficient number of near-simultaneous streams for our proposed techniques to improve cache hit-ratios

Consolidating Streams to Improve DASH Cache Utilisation

Existing HTTP caches interact poorly with multiple Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) streams of the same content: time and quality differences prevent a complete representation from being cached, reducing hit-ratios. We propose to consolidate near-simultaneous streams based on time or quality, where the improved cache performance makes this worthwhile. We estimate that there is a sufficient number of near-simultaneous streams for our proposed techniques to improve cache hit-ratios

Transcutaneous Skin-Muscle Flap Suspension Lower-Eyelid Blepharoplasty

The transcutaneous lower-eyelid blepharoplasty is a commonly performed surgical technique and an important tool in the armamentarium of facial plastic surgeons. The facets of lower-eyelid blepharoplasty begin with proper patient selection and rely on several technical subtleties that are crucial to achieve an excellent cosmetic and functional result while avoiding potential complications. The senior author (S.W.P) has been using the transcutaneous approach with orbicularis oculi muscle suspension for 30 years to address redundant or excessive skin and muscle while gaining wide exposure to treat pseudoherniation of the orbital fat compartments

Student satisfaction, league tables and university applications: evidence from Britain

We investigate the impact of information about student satisfaction on university choice, using data from the UK's National Student Survey (NSS) and on applications to undergraduate degrees. We show that NSS scores have a small statistically significant effect on applications at the university-subject level. This effect operates via the influence of the NSS on a university's position in separately published, subject-specific league tables, suggesting that information contained in the league table rankings is more salient. The impact of rankings is greater for more able students, for universities with entry standards in the upper-middle tier, and for subject-departments facing more competition

Student satisfaction, league tables and University applications

We investigate the impact of information about student satisfaction on university choice, using data from the UK’s National Student Survey (NSS) and on applications to undergraduate degree courses. We show that the NSS has a small, statistically significant effect on applications at the university-subject level. This effect operates primarily through the influence of the NSS scores on a university’s position in separately published, subject-specific, league tables, implying greater salience of league table rankings. The impact of rankings is greater amongst the most able students, for universities with entry standards in the upper-middle tier, and for subject-departments facing more competition

TCP Goes to Hollywood

Real-time multimedia applications use either TCP or UDP at the transport layer, yet neither of these protocols offer all of the features required. Deploying a new protocol that does offer these features is made difficult by ossification: firewalls, and other middleboxes, in the network expect TCP or UDP, and block other types of traffic. We present TCP Hollywood, a protocol that is wire-compatible with TCP, while offering an unordered, partially reliable messageoriented transport service that is well suited to multimedia applications. Analytical results show that TCP Hollywood extends the feasibility of using TCP for real-time multimedia applications, by reducing latency and increasing utility. Preliminary evaluations also show that TCP Hollywood is deployable on the public Internet, with safe failure modes. Measurements across all major UK fixed-line and cellular networks validate the possibility of deployment