The Impact of the Internet on Telecommunication Architectures

The ever-growing popularity of the Internet is dramatically changing the landscape of the communications market place. The two separate worlds of the Internet and Telecommunications are converging. The respective advantages of the two environments are being integrated to fulfill the promise of the information super-highways. In this paper, we examine the impact of the Internet on the main telecommunication architectures, namely the IN, the TMN and TINA. There are two new tendencies for implementing telephony services in combination with the Internet: running part of the control sys tem over the Internet, or conveying both the user data and the control information over the Internet. We examine these two trends, and elaborate on possible ways of salvaging the best parts of the work achieved by the TINA-Consortium in the Internet context

Modelling and Testing Object-Oriented Distributed Systems with Linear-time Temporal Logic

Numerous proposals for applying temporal logic to the specification and verification of object-oriented systems have appeared in the past several years. Although various temporal models have been proposed for the requirements analysis of object-oriented distributed systems, there is no similar amount of work for the design- and implementation phase. We present a formal model for the design- and implementation stage which reflects practical requirements and is yet sufficiently general to be applied to a wide range of systems. In our model, which relies on event-based behavioral abstraction, we use linear-time temporal logic as the underlying formalism for the specification of behavioral constraints. We show that although temporal logic is a powerful tool for behavior specifications, it does not have the expressive power required for non-trivial object systems. Specifically, in an object-system it is often essential to express procedural dependencies rather than simple temporal relationships for which we introduce two novel operators. In a case study we demonstrate the practical relevance and applicability of our model

Run-time monitoring of distributed applications

n this paper we present a method to perform run-time monitoring of distributed applications built on top of a distributed object oriented processing environment. For this, we instrument the code at the compilation time in order to send notifications to an Observer when relevant events occur in the system, the instrumentation is done in an automated manner, requiring a minimum of programmer interactions. One advantage of our run-time monitoring approach is that it does not hinder the development process already adopted. In our proposal, the choice of the information to select for observation is made simple by the definition of events which are generic and useful for all distributed applications, the user does not need to specify them. We apply our run-time monitoring method to a telecommunication services implemented on top of the distributed processing environment CORBA Orbix from IONA

Testing Temporal Logic Properties in Distributed Systems

Based on the notion of event-based behavioral abstraction (EBBA) we specify properties of object-oriented distributed systems in linear time temporal logic. These properties are then observed at system run-time and it is checked whether or not the system violates the specified behavioral constraints. In our approach, several steps in the testing process can be automized: instrumenting the source code, constructing test-oracles and generating an observer. Taking an industrial example as basis, we discuss how our proposal can be integrated into the software design- and testing process

Effectiveness of a Clinically Integrated e-Learning Course in Evidence-Based Medicine for Reproductive Health Training A Randomized Trial

Context For evidence-based practice to embed culturally in the workplace, teaching of evidence-based medicine(EBM) should be clinically integrated. In low-middle-in come countries (LMICs) there is a scarcity of EBM-trained clinical tutors, lack of protected time for teaching EBM, and poor access to relevant databases in languages other than English. Objective To evaluate the effects of a clinically integrated e-learning EBM course incorporating the World Health Organization( WHO) Reproductive Health Library(RHL) on knowledge, skills, and educational environment compared with traditional EBM teaching. Design, Setting, and Participants International cluster randomized trial conducted between April 2009 and November 2010 among postgraduate trainees in obstetrics-gynecology in 7 LMICs (Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand). Each training unit was randomized to an experimental clinically integrated course consisting of e-modules using the RHL for learning activities and trainee assessments (31 clusters, 123 participants) or to a control self-directed EBM course incorporating the RHL (29 clusters, 81 participants). A facilitator with EBM teaching experience was available at all teaching units. Courses were administered for 8 weeks, with assessments at baseline and 4 weeks after course completion. The study was completed in 24 experimental clusters (98 participants) and 22 control clusters (68 participants). Main Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were change in EBM knowledge (score range, 0-62) and skills (score range, 0-14). Secondary outcome was educational environment (5-point Likert scale anchored between 1 [strongly agree] and 5 [strongly disagree]). Results At baseline, the study groups were similar in age, year of training, and EBM-related attitudes and knowledge. After the trial, the experimental group had higher mean scores in knowledge (38.1 [95% CI, 36.7 to 39.4] in the control group vs 43.1 [95% CI, 42.0 to 44.1] in the experimental group; adjusted difference, 4.9 [95% CI, 2.9 to 6.8]; P<.001) and skills (8.3 [95% CI, 7.9 to 8.7] vs 9.1 [95% CI, 8.7 to 9.4]; adjusted difference, 0.7 [95% CI, 0.1 to 1.3]; P=.02). Although there was no difference in improvement for the overall score for educational environment (6.0 [95% CI, -0.1 to 12.0] vs 13.6 [95% CI, 8.0 to 19.2]; adjusted difference, 9.6 [95% CI, -6.8 to 26.1]; P=.25), there was an associated mean improvement in the domains of general relationships and support (-0.5 [95% CI, -1.5 to 0.4] vs 0.3 [95% CI, -0.6 to 1.1]; adjusted difference, 2.3 [95% CI, 0.2 to 4.3]; P=.03) and EBM application opportunities (0.5[95% CI, -0.7 to 1.8] vs 2.9 [95%, CI, 1.8 to 4.1]; adjusted difference, 3.3 [95% CI, 0.1 to 6.5]; P=.04). Conclusion In a group of LMICs, a clinically integrated e-learning EBM curriculum in reproductive health compared with a self-directed EBM course resulted in higher knowledge and skill scores and improved educational environment.3082122182225UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health OrganizationEuropean Union Leonardo da Vinci Vocational Training Action Programme [UK/05/B/F/PP-162_349]European Union [101377, 247613]Canadian Institutes of Health Researc

Effectiveness of a Clinically Integrated e-Learning Course in Evidence-Based Medicine for Reproductive Health Training A Randomized Trial

Context For evidence-based practice to embed culturally in the workplace, teaching of evidence-based medicine(EBM) should be clinically integrated. In low-middle-in come countries (LMICs) there is a scarcity of EBM-trained clinical tutors, lack of protected time for teaching EBM, and poor access to relevant databases in languages other than English. Objective To evaluate the effects of a clinically integrated e-learning EBM course incorporating the World Health Organization( WHO) Reproductive Health Library(RHL) on knowledge, skills, and educational environment compared with traditional EBM teaching. Design, Setting, and Participants International cluster randomized trial conducted between April 2009 and November 2010 among postgraduate trainees in obstetrics-gynecology in 7 LMICs (Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand). Each training unit was randomized to an experimental clinically integrated course consisting of e-modules using the RHL for learning activities and trainee assessments (31 clusters, 123 participants) or to a control self-directed EBM course incorporating the RHL (29 clusters, 81 participants). A facilitator with EBM teaching experience was available at all teaching units. Courses were administered for 8 weeks, with assessments at baseline and 4 weeks after course completion. The study was completed in 24 experimental clusters (98 participants) and 22 control clusters (68 participants). Main Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were change in EBM knowledge (score range, 0-62) and skills (score range, 0-14). Secondary outcome was educational environment (5-point Likert scale anchored between 1 [strongly agree] and 5 [strongly disagree]). Results At baseline, the study groups were similar in age, year of training, and EBM-related attitudes and knowledge. After the trial, the experimental group had higher mean scores in knowledge (38.1 [95% CI, 36.7 to 39.4] in the control group vs 43.1 [95% CI, 42.0 to 44.1] in the experimental group; adjusted difference, 4.9 [95% CI, 2.9 to 6.8]; P<.001) and skills (8.3 [95% CI, 7.9 to 8.7] vs 9.1 [95% CI, 8.7 to 9.4]; adjusted difference, 0.7 [95% CI, 0.1 to 1.3]; P=.02). Although there was no difference in improvement for the overall score for educational environment (6.0 [95% CI, -0.1 to 12.0] vs 13.6 [95% CI, 8.0 to 19.2]; adjusted difference, 9.6 [95% CI, -6.8 to 26.1]; P=.25), there was an associated mean improvement in the domains of general relationships and support (-0.5 [95% CI, -1.5 to 0.4] vs 0.3 [95% CI, -0.6 to 1.1]; adjusted difference, 2.3 [95% CI, 0.2 to 4.3]; P=.03) and EBM application opportunities (0.5[95% CI, -0.7 to 1.8] vs 2.9 [95%, CI, 1.8 to 4.1]; adjusted difference, 3.3 [95% CI, 0.1 to 6.5]; P=.04). Conclusion In a group of LMICs, a clinically integrated e-learning EBM curriculum in reproductive health compared with a self-directed EBM course resulted in higher knowledge and skill scores and improved educational environment