An approach to the semantic intelligence cloud

Cloud computing is a disruptive technology that aims to provide a utility approach to computing, where users can obtain their required computing resources without investment in infrastructure, computing platforms or services. Cloud computing resources can be obtained from a number internal or external sources. The heterogeneity of cloud service provision makes comparison of services difficult, with further complexity being introduced by a number of provision approaches such as reserved purchase, on-demand provisioning and spot markets.The aim of the research was to develop a semantic framework for cloud computing services which incorporated Cloud Service Agreements, requirements, pricing and Benefits Management.The proposed approach sees the development of an integrated framework where Cloud Service Agreements describe the relationship between cloud service providers and cloud service users. Requirements are developed from agreements and can use the concepts, relationships and assertions provided as requirements. Pricing in turn is established from requirements. Benefits Management is pervasive across the semantic framework developed.The methods used were to provide a comprehensive review of literature to establish a good theoretical basis for the research undertaken. Then problem solving ontology was developed that defined concepts and relationships for the proposed semantic framework. A number of case studies were used to populate the developed ontology with assertions. Reasoning was used to test the framework was correct.The results produced were a proposed framework of concepts, relationships and assertions for a cloud service descriptions, which are presented as ontology in textual and graphical form. Several parts of the ontology were published on public ontology platforms and, in journal and conference papers.The original contribution to knowledge is seen in the results produced. The proposed framework provides the foundations for development of a unified semantic framework for cloud computing service description and has been used by other researchers developing semantic cloud service description.In the area of Cloud Service Agreements a full coverage of the documents described by major standards organisations have been encoded into the framework. Requirements have been modelled as a unique multilevel semantic representation. Pricing of cloud services has been developed using semantic description that can be mapped to requirements. The existing Benefits Management approach has been reimplemented using semantic description.In conclusion a proposed framework has been developed that allows the semantic description of cloud computing services. This approach provides greater expression than simplistic frameworks that use mathematical formulas or models with simple relationships between concepts. The proposed framework is limited to a narrow area of service description and requires expansion to be viable in a commercial setting.Further work sees the development of software toolsets based on the semantic description developed to realise a viable product for mapping high level cloud service requirements to low level cloud resources

Large-Scale Geo-Facial Image Analysis

While face analysis from images is a well-studied area, little work has explored the dependence of facial appearance on the geographic location from which the image was captured. To fill this gap, we constructed GeoFaces, a large dataset of geotagged face images, and used it to examine the geo-dependence of facial features and attributes, such as ethnicity, gender, or the presence of facial hair. Our analysis illuminates the relationship between raw facial appearance, facial attributes, and geographic location, both globally and in selected major urban areas. Some of our experiments, and the resulting visualizations, confirm prior expectations, such as the predominance of ethnically Asian faces in Asia, while others highlight novel information that can be obtained with this type of analysis, such as the major city with the highest percentage of people with a mustache

Benefits management of cloud computing investments

This paper examines investments in cloud computing using the Benefits Management approach. The major contribution of the paper is to provide a unique insight into how organizations derive value from cloud computing investments. The motivation for writing this paper is to consider the business benefits generated from utilizing cloud computing in a range of organizations. Case studies are used to describe a number of organizations approaches to benefits exploitation using cloud computing. It was found that smaller organizations can generate rapid growth using strategies based on cloud computing. Larger organizations have used utility approaches to reduce the costs of IT infrastructur

An Upper Ontology for Benefits Management of Cloud Computing

Benefits Management provides an established approach for decision making and value extraction for IT/IS investments and, can be used to examine cloud computing investments. The motivation for developing an upper ontology for Benefits Management is that the current Benefits Management approaches do not provide a framework for capturing and representing semantic information. There is also a need to capture benefits for cloud computing developments to provide existing and future users of cloud computing with better investment information for decision making. This paper describes the development of an upper ontology to capture greater levels of knowledge from stakeholders and IS professionals in cloud computing procurement and implementation. Complex relationships are established between cloud computing enablers, enabling changes, business changes, benefits and investment objectives

Failure Analysis Study and Long-Term Reliability of Optical Assemblies with End-Face Damage

In June 2005, the NESC received a multi-faceted request to determine the long term reliability of fiber optic termini on the ISS that exhibited flaws not manufactured to best workmanship practices. There was a lack of data related to fiber optic workmanship as it affects the long term reliability of optical fiber assemblies in a harsh environment. A fiber optic defect analysis was requested which would find and/or create various types of chips, spalls, scratches, etc., that were identified by the ISS personnel. Once the defects and causes were identified the next step would be to perform long term reliability testing of similar assemblies with similar defects. The goal of the defect analysis would be for the defects to be observed and documented for deterioration of fiber optic performance. Though this report mostly discusses what has been determined as evidence of poor manufacturing processes, it also concludes the majority of the damage could have been avoided with a rigorous process in place

Behavioural modes in butterflies: their implications for movement and searching behaviour

Animals move in ‘modes’ where movement patterns relate to specific behaviours. Despite much work on the movement of butterflies, their behavioural modes are relatively unexplored. Here we analysed the behaviour of the model butterfly species the meadow brown, Maniola jurtina. We identified modes in both sexes and across habitats varying in resource density. We found that, in nectar-rich habitats, males had more diverse behaviour than females, engaging in a unique ‘high-flight’ mode associated with mate search, whereas females were primarily nectaring or inactive. In nectar-poor habitats, both sexes were similar, switching between flight and inactivity. We also identified the movement parameters of the modes, finding that, for both sexes, movements associated with nectaring were slower and more tortuous and, for males, the mode associated with mate searching was straighter and faster. Using an individual-based random-walk model, we investigated the effects of behaviour on movement predictions by comparing a mode-switching model with a version including intraspecific variation and another assuming homogeneity between individuals. For both sexes, including modes affected the mean and shape of the displacement rate compared to models assuming homogeneity, although for females modes increased displacement 1.5 times while for males they decreased it by a third. Both models also differed substantially from models assuming intraspecific variation. Finally, using a new model of search behaviour we investigated the general conditions under which individuals should engage in an exclusive search for host plants or receptive females. Parameterized for M. jurtina, the model predicted males should engage exclusively in mate search, but females only when searching is very efficient. The model provides a framework for analysing the searching behaviour of other butterfly species

Prolonged systemic inflammation and damage to the vascular endothelium following intratracheal instillation of air pollution nanoparticles in rats

BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollution is associated with cardiovascular disease, including increased morbidity and mortality rates. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this investigation was to assess the effect, in rats, of intratracheal instillation of particulate air pollution on biomarkers of leucocyte activation and vascular endothelial damage. METHODS: Air pollution particles (PM10) were instilled into rats, and blood samples were taken three days and six weeks post instillation. Plasma neutrophil elastase and VonWillebrand factor were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Plasma neutrophil elastase increased from 175±44 ng/ml at baseline to 288±26 ng/ml 3 days post instillation (p=0.038). vWF increased from 0.160±0.015 IU/ml at baseline to 0.224±0.015 IU/ml at 3 days post and 0.208±0.01 IU/ml at 6 weeks post (p=0.006, ANOVA). sICAM-1 increased from 17.75±0.70 ng/ml at baseline to 19.03±0.33 ng/ml at 3 days post and 21.72±1.16 ng/ml at 6 weeks post (p=0.009, ANOVA). CONCLUSION: Instillation caused prolonged systemic inflammation, activation of blood leucocytes and damage to the vascular endothelium