Energy aware routing protocols in ad hoc wireless networks

In Mobile Ad hoc Network, communication at mobile nodes can be achieved by using multi-hop wireless links. The architecture of such a network is based, not on a centralized base station but on each node acting as a router to forward data packets to other nodes in the network. The aim of each protocol, in an ad hoc network, is to find valid routes between two communicating nodes. These protocols must be able to handle high mobility of the nodes which often cause changes in the network topology. Every ad hoc network protocol uses some form of a routing algorithm to transmit between nodes based on a mechanism that forwards packets from one node to another in the network. These algorithms have their own way of finding a new route or modifying an existing one when there are changes in the network. The novel area of this research is a proposed routing algorithm which improves routing and limits redundant packet forwarding, especially in dense networks. It reduces the routing messages and consequently power consumption, which increases the average remaining power and the lifetime of the network. The first aim of this research was to evaluate various routing algorithms in terms of power. The next step was to modify an existing ad hoc routing protocol in order to improve the power consumption. This resulted in the implementation of a dynamic probabilistic algorithm in the route request mechanism of an ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector protocol which led to a 3.0% improvement in energy consumption. A further extension of the approach using Bayesian theory led to 3.3% improvement in terms of energy consumption as a consequence of a reduction in MAC Load for all network sizes, up to 100 nodes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

OLDER WOMEN'S VIEWS ON THEIR PARTICIPATION IN A BLENDED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM USING FB ROOM PLATFORM

Several studies have found that elderly people have a difficulty in using social media platforms and smartphone apps due to a number of barriers that discourage them from engaging with technology. This study presents older women’s views regarding a two-month blended (synchronous and asynchronous) learning course on using apps and social media on smartphones in their daily life. The design of the educational course was based on older adult women’s needs. The findings of the qualitative research indicate that older people’s educational needs are better met when they participate in an asynchronous e-learning environment, where they are given the opportunity to proceed at their own pace. Moreover, the results suggest that designers and educators can incorporate video tutorials (narration and subtitles) in the learning programs as an effective educational mean and use Facebook as a learning platform so as to engage learners and facilitate communication between educators and learners

Potential Effects on Human Safety and Health from Infrasound and Audible Frequencies Generated by Vibrations of Diesel Engines Using Biofuel Blends at the Workplaces of Sustainable Engineering Systems

Employees involved in various occupational environments that include vibration machines and any kind of vehicles are adversely subjected to multiple source noise. Thus, the corresponding noise frequencies (and mainly the infrasound ones) present high interest, especially from the viewpoint of sustainability, due to the potential effects on human safety and health (H_S&H) in sustainable engineering projects. Moreover, the occupational safety and health (OSH) visualization (a fact of unveiling the social dimension of sustainability) of occupational workplaces (by evaluating the infrasound and audible noise frequencies generated by diesel engines) could help a safety officer to lessen crucial risk factors in the OSH field and also to protect, more efficiently, the employees by taking the most essential safety measures. This study (i) suggests a technique to determine the infrasound and audible sound frequencies produced due to vibrations of diesel engines, by using biofuels (i.e., sustainable utilization of resources), in order to evaluate potential effects on human safety and health at the workplaces of sustainable engineering projects, and (ii) it ultimately aims to contribute to the improvement of the three “sustainability pillars” (economy, social, and environmental). Therefore, it provides experimental results of the frequency of the noise (regarding the infrasound and audible spectrum) that a diesel motor generates by vibration, in the frame of using different engine rpms (850, 1150, and 2000) and a variety of biofuel mixtures (B20-D80, B40-D60, B60-D40, and B80-D20). The article shows that the fuel blend meaningfully affects the generated noise, and more particularly, the usage of biofuel blends coming from mixing diesel oil with biodiesel (a fact of the emerging environmental dimension of sustainability) can produce various noise frequencies, which are determined in the infrasound and audible spectra (~10–23 Hz). The suggested technique, by ameliorating the OSH situation, doubtless will help enterprises to achieve the finest allocation of limited financial resources (a fact corresponding to the economic dimension of sustainability), allowing financial managers to have more available budget for implementing other risk-reduction projects