Abstractions to support dynamic adaptation of communication frameworks for user-centric communication

The convergence of data, audio and video on IP networks is changing the way individuals, groups and organizations communicate. This diversity of communication media presents opportunities for creating synergistic collaborative communications. This form of collaborative communication is however not without its challenges. The increasing number of communication service providers coupled with a combinatorial mix of offered services, varying Quality-of-Service and oscillating pricing of services increases the complexity for the user to manage and maintain ‘always best’ priced or performance services. Consumers have to manually manage and adapt their communication in line with differences in services across devices, networks and media while ensuring that the usage remain consistent with their intended goals. This dissertation proposes a novel user-centric approach to address this problem. The proposed approach aims to reduce the aforementioned complexity to the user by (1) providing high-level abstractions and a policy based methodology for automated selection of the communication services guided by high-level user policies and (2) providing services through the seamless integration of multiple communication service providers and providing an extensible framework to support the integration of multiple communication service providers. The approach was implemented in the Communication Virtual Machine (CVM), a model-driven technology for realizing communication applications. The CVM includes the Network Communication Broker, the layer responsible for providing a network-independent API to the upper layers of CVM. The initial prototype for the NCB supported only a single communication framework which limited the number, quality and types of services available. Experimental evaluation of the approach show the additional overhead of the approach is minimal compared to the individual communication services frameworks. Additionally the automated approach proposed out performed the individual communication services frameworks for cross framework switching.

A domain specific modeling approach for coordinating user-centric communication services

Rapid advances in electronic communication devices and technologies have resulted in a shift in the way communication applications are being developed. These new development strategies provide abstract views of the underlying communication technologies and lead to the so-called user-centric communication applications. One user-centric communication (UCC) initiative is the Communication Virtual Machine (CVM) technology, which uses the Communication Modeling Language (CML) for modeling communication services and the CVM for realizing these services. In communication-intensive domains such as telemedicine and disaster management, there is an increasing need for user-centric communication applications that are domain-specific and that support the dynamic coordination of communication services commonly found in collaborative communication scenarios. However, UCC approaches like the CVM offer little support for the dynamic coordination of communication services resulting from inherent dependencies between individual steps of a collaboration task. Users either have to manually coordinate communication services, or reply on a process modeling technique to build customized solutions for services in a specific domain that are usually costly, rigidly defined and technology specific. ^ This dissertation proposes a domain-specific modeling approach to address this problem by extending the CVM technology with communication-specific abstractions of workflow concepts commonly found in business processes. The extension involves (1) the definition of the Workflow Communication Modeling Language (WF-CML), a superset of CML, and (2) the extension of the functionality of CVM to process communication-specific workflows. The definition of WF-CML includes the meta-model and the dynamic semantics for control constructs and concurrency. We also extended the CVM prototype to handle the modeling and realization of WF-CML models. A comparative study of the proposed approach with other workflow environments validates the claimed benefits of WF-CML and CVM.^

Differential Impacts of Information Technology Services in the Korean Hotel Industry: A Study of Management Perceptions

Successful introduction of information technology applications in various operations of hotel management is vital to most service firms. In recent decades, technologies of information, automation, and communication are increasingly recognized as essential components of a hotel company’s strategic plan. In this study, 62 super-deluxe hotels (5 star), deluxe hotels (4 star), and tourist hotels (3 star) in Korea are examined for differences in the impact of information technology services on guest’ satisfaction, guest convenience, and operational efficiency. The findings generally suggest that the impacts of information technology-enhanced services vary according to the category of hotels in Korea. The results of the study are expected to assist managers in the selections and implementation of information technology systems in their hotel.

Valutazione delle prestazioni di reti ad accesso multiplo basate su visible light communication

Nella società odierna, le telecomunicazioni costituiscono un’esigenza fondamentale della vita quotidiana. Difatti, il mercato della ICT (Information and Communications Technology) è in costante espansione, e viene accompagnato da un rapido sviluppo di nuove tecnologie. In particolare, si assiste a un sempre più rilevante ruolo svolto dalle comunicazioni ottiche, ovvero sfruttanti la luce: in questo contesto, il quale comprende diversi rami ingegneristici, si stanno progressivamente affermando nuove forme di comunicazione basate sulla luce visibile, la cosiddetta Visible Light Communication (VLC). Con questa Tesi ci si propone di implementare con Simulink e stateflow di Matlab il livello MAC (Medium Access Control), basato sullo standard IEEE 802.15.7 per le VLC e valutarne le prestazioni. Prescinde da questa Tesi la parte di implementazione su scheda stessa che è lasciata per sviluppi futuri. Nel capitolo uno si introducono le VLC e si discutono i principali scenari attuali dove possono diffondersi. Nel capitolo 2, si mostrano le principali linee guida afferenti agli standard che sono risultate necessarie per sviluppare lo strato MAC. Nei capitoli 3 e 4 si mostra come il layer sviluppato possa essere utilizzato in due principali situazioni: nel capitolo 3 è descritta la realizzazione di una comunicazione punto-punto, ovvero con un trasmettitore e un ricevitore; nel capitolo 4 è descritta l’implementazione di una rete di nodi, ambito in cui il livello MAC risulta indispensabile. Per ognuna delle situazioni si illustrano scelte e caratteristiche dei sistemi simulati e i risultati ottenuti, cercando di coprire diverse eventualità che intercorrono, più in generale, nella gestione e implementazione di sistemi di telecomunicazione wireless.

Personal Storytelling : Using Natural Language Generation for Children with Complex Communication Needs, in the Wild...

Acknowledgements The authors thank the children, their parents and school staff, who participated in this research, and who so willingly gave us their time, help and support. They also thank Steven Knox and Alan Clelland for their work on programming the mobile phone application. Additional thanks to DynaVox Inc. for supplying the Vmax communication devices to run our system on and Sensory Software Ltd for supplying us with their AAC software. This research was supported by the Research Council UKs Digittal Economy Programme and EPSRC (Grant numbers EP/F067151/1, EP/F066880/1, EP/E011764/1, EP/H022376/1, and EP/H022570 /1).

Processus d’appropriation des technologies de l’information et de la communication par les enseignants : le cas des tablettes

L’intégration des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) en contexte éducatif représente un moyen concret d’action et de réflexion en sciences de l’éducation. Les scientifiques et les acteurs de terrain se questionnent sur l’intégration des technologies et sur les moyens à mettre en place afin de réussir ce processus parfois complexe. De fait, la pénétration des outils technologiques dans les établissements scolaires a été exponentielle ces dernières années. Il est aujourd’hui nécessaire de comprendre selon quelles perspectives ces outils s’intègrent en salle de classe. Un exemple marquant est celui de la tablette tactile, récemment intégrée massivement dans les écoles d’Amérique du Nord et d’Europe. Cet outil, relativement récent dans la sphère scolaire, demande une réflexion précise vis-à-vis des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et des processus d’intégration inhérents. Afin de répondre à ces questionnements, nous avons élaboré une recherche en trois temps. Dans un premier temps, nous avons dressé un portrait exhaustif des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants utilisant quotidiennement la tablette tactile en salle de classe. Ce portrait nous permet d’esquisser une synthèse des usages et réalités pédagogiques qui entourent cet outil. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons répertorié, analysé et classifié les modèles d’intégration des TIC présents dans la littérature. L’analyse de ces modèles nous a permis d’en extraire les forces et les lacunes intrinsèques. Ensuite, nous avons créé un modèle synthèse rassemblant les réflexions issues de ces analyses. En parallèle, nous avons créé une typologie permettant d’identifier et de classifier ces modèles. Dans un troisième temps, nous sommes partis des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et du modèle général d’intégration des TIC que nous avons conçu afin de comprendre quel était le processus d’intégration de la tablette en salle de classe. Les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence que l’utilisation de la tablette induit des usages pédagogiques novateurs qui facilitent l’enseignement et qui favorisent l’apprentissage des élèves. Cependant, nous constatons que la tablette n’est pas utilisée à son plein potentiel et que certains usages devraient être envisagés selon une perspective plus efficiente et adaptée. En ce qui concerne les processus d’intégration, nous avons identifié plusieurs éléments indispensables: ces processus doivent être itératifs et constructifs, des facteurs internes et externes doivent être considérés et des niveaux d’intégration doivent être identifiés. Le modèle ainsi conçu spécifie le modèle à privilégier et les aboutissants à considérer. À la suite de cette étape, nous avons conçu un modèle d’intégration spécifiquement dédié à la tablette. Celui-ci met en évidence, au-delà des caractéristiques définies dans le modèle général, une nécessaire formation, une implication des acteurs, un ajustement constant des pratiques pédagogiques et une itération indispensable. À la suite de ces considérations, nous constatons que le processus d’appropriation de la tablette est en cours de construction et que les nouvelles implantations, comme les existantes, doivent procéder à une analyse minutieuse des tenants et aboutissants des pratiques médiées par l’intégration de l’outil. En fin de document, une synthèse des résultats et des recommandations est proposée afin de favoriser l’intégration de la tablette tactile - et des TIC en général – dans la salle de classe.

Using Coding to Improve Localization and Backscatter Communication Performance in Low-Power Sensor Networks

Backscatter communication is an emerging wireless technology that recently has gained an increase in attention from both academic and industry circles. The key innovation of the technology is the ability of ultra-low power devices to utilize nearby existing radio signals to communicate. As there is no need to generate their own energetic radio signal, the devices can benefit from a simple design, are very inexpensive and are extremely energy efficient compared with traditional wireless communication. These benefits have made backscatter communication a desirable candidate for distributed wireless sensor network applications with energy constraints.

The backscatter channel presents a unique set of challenges. Unlike a conventional one-way communication (in which the information source is also the energy source), the backscatter channel experiences strong self-interference and spread Doppler clutter that mask the information-bearing (modulated) signal scattered from the device. Both of these sources of interference arise from the scattering of the transmitted signal off of objects, both stationary and moving, in the environment. Additionally, the measurement of the location of the backscatter device is negatively affected by both the clutter and the modulation of the signal return.

This work proposes a channel coding framework for the backscatter channel consisting of a bi-static transmitter/receiver pair and a quasi-cooperative transponder. It proposes to use run-length limited coding to mitigate the background self-interference and spread-Doppler clutter with only a small decrease in communication rate. The proposed method applies to both binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature-amplitude modulation (QAM) scheme and provides an increase in rate by up to a factor of two compared with previous methods.

Additionally, this work analyzes the use of frequency modulation and bi-phase waveform coding for the transmitted (interrogating) waveform for high precision range estimation of the transponder location. Compared to previous methods, optimal lower range sidelobes are achieved. Moreover, since both the transmitted (interrogating) waveform coding and transponder communication coding result in instantaneous phase modulation of the signal, cross-interference between localization and communication tasks exists. Phase discriminating algorithm is proposed to make it possible to separate the waveform coding from the communication coding, upon reception, and achieve localization with increased signal energy by up to 3 dB compared with previous reported results.

The joint communication-localization framework also enables a low-complexity receiver design because the same radio is used both for localization and communication.

Simulations comparing the performance of different codes corroborate the theoretical results and offer possible trade-off between information rate and clutter mitigation as well as a trade-off between choice of waveform-channel coding pairs. Experimental results from a brass-board microwave system in an indoor environment are also presented and discussed.

Processus d’appropriation des technologies de l’information et de la communication par les enseignants : le cas des tablettes

L’intégration des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) en contexte éducatif représente un moyen concret d’action et de réflexion en sciences de l’éducation. Les scientifiques et les acteurs de terrain se questionnent sur l’intégration des technologies et sur les moyens à mettre en place afin de réussir ce processus parfois complexe. De fait, la pénétration des outils technologiques dans les établissements scolaires a été exponentielle ces dernières années. Il est aujourd’hui nécessaire de comprendre selon quelles perspectives ces outils s’intègrent en salle de classe. Un exemple marquant est celui de la tablette tactile, récemment intégrée massivement dans les écoles d’Amérique du Nord et d’Europe. Cet outil, relativement récent dans la sphère scolaire, demande une réflexion précise vis-à-vis des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et des processus d’intégration inhérents. Afin de répondre à ces questionnements, nous avons élaboré une recherche en trois temps. Dans un premier temps, nous avons dressé un portrait exhaustif des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants utilisant quotidiennement la tablette tactile en salle de classe. Ce portrait nous permet d’esquisser une synthèse des usages et réalités pédagogiques qui entourent cet outil. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons répertorié, analysé et classifié les modèles d’intégration des TIC présents dans la littérature. L’analyse de ces modèles nous a permis d’en extraire les forces et les lacunes intrinsèques. Ensuite, nous avons créé un modèle synthèse rassemblant les réflexions issues de ces analyses. En parallèle, nous avons créé une typologie permettant d’identifier et de classifier ces modèles. Dans un troisième temps, nous sommes partis des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et du modèle général d’intégration des TIC que nous avons conçu afin de comprendre quel était le processus d’intégration de la tablette en salle de classe. Les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence que l’utilisation de la tablette induit des usages pédagogiques novateurs qui facilitent l’enseignement et qui favorisent l’apprentissage des élèves. Cependant, nous constatons que la tablette n’est pas utilisée à son plein potentiel et que certains usages devraient être envisagés selon une perspective plus efficiente et adaptée. En ce qui concerne les processus d’intégration, nous avons identifié plusieurs éléments indispensables: ces processus doivent être itératifs et constructifs, des facteurs internes et externes doivent être considérés et des niveaux d’intégration doivent être identifiés. Le modèle ainsi conçu spécifie le modèle à privilégier et les aboutissants à considérer. À la suite de cette étape, nous avons conçu un modèle d’intégration spécifiquement dédié à la tablette. Celui-ci met en évidence, au-delà des caractéristiques définies dans le modèle général, une nécessaire formation, une implication des acteurs, un ajustement constant des pratiques pédagogiques et une itération indispensable. À la suite de ces considérations, nous constatons que le processus d’appropriation de la tablette est en cours de construction et que les nouvelles implantations, comme les existantes, doivent procéder à une analyse minutieuse des tenants et aboutissants des pratiques médiées par l’intégration de l’outil. En fin de document, une synthèse des résultats et des recommandations est proposée afin de favoriser l’intégration de la tablette tactile - et des TIC en général – dans la salle de classe.

Investigating the Association Between Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and the Health of Canadian Young People: A Mixed Methods Study

Canadian young people are increasingly more connected through technological devices. This computer-mediated communication (CMC) can result in heightened connection and social support but can also lead to inadequate personal and physical connections. As technology evolves, its influence on health and well-being is important to investigate, especially among youth. This study aims to investigate the potential influences of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on the health of Canadian youth, using both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. This mixed-methods study utilized data from the 2013-2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey for Canada (n=30,117) and focus group data involving Ontario youth (7 groups involving 40 youth). In the quantitative component, a random-effects multilevel Poisson regression was employed to identify the effects of CMC on loneliness, stratified to explore interaction with family communication quality. A qualitative, inductive content analysis was applied to the focus group transcripts using a grounded theory inspired methodology. Through open line-by-line coding followed by axial coding, main categories and themes were identified. The quality of family communication modified the association between CMC use and loneliness. Among youth experiencing the highest quartile of family communication, daily use of verbal and social media CMC was significantly associated with reports of loneliness. The qualitative analysis revealed two overarching concepts that: (1) the health impacts of CMC are multidimensional and (2) there exists a duality of both positive and negative influences of CMC on health. Four themes were identified within this framework: (1) physical activity, (2) mental and emotional disturbance, (3) mindfulness, and (4) relationships. Overall, there is a high proportion of loneliness among Canadian youth, but this is not uniform for all. The associations between CMC and health are influenced by external and contextual factors, including family communication quality. Further, the technologically rich world in which young people live has a diverse impact on their health. For youth, their relationships with others and the context of CMC use shape overall influences on their health.

Secure & Trusted Communication in Emergency Situations

In this paper we propose SETS, a protocol with main aim to provide secure and private communication during emergency situations. SETS achieves security of the exchanged information, attack resilience and user's privacy. In addition, SETS can be easily adapted for mobile devices, since field experimental results show the effectiveness of the protocol on actual smart-phone platforms.

A Social Networking Strategy for Improving Knowledge Management and Communication in the Travel Industry

In today’s technology-driven marketplace, the adoption and management of corporate and customer-facing Social Networking Sites (SNs) is often viewed as a key success factor for Travel Industry (TI) organisations. Knowledge management and the sharing of expertise and experiences through communication between internal and external stakeholders via social networks is an activity which TI organisations are aiming to exploit in order to improve the open sharing, retrieval, organisation and leveraging of knowledge. Through a study of currently-available literature relating to social networking adoption within the TI and a case study analysis of corporate social networking practices at three multi-national TI organisations (British Airways, Thomas Cook and Marriott Hotels), it may be observed that correlations exist between the development of social networking and the processes TI organisations now use to manage knowledge. We explore how these companies are currently utilizing SNs to improve knowledge management practices inside and outside of their organisational boundaries. From our analysis, lessons may emerge as to how TI companies are gaining competitive advantage through the use of social networking; a proposed strategy is identified to determine how TI organisations may make best use of social networks.

The Use of Almost Linear Phase IIR filters In DFT Modulated Filter Banks for Communication Systems

This paper is on the use and performance of M-path polyphase Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filters for channelisation, conventionally where Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters are preferred. This paper specifically focuses on the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) modulated filter banks, which are known to be an efficient choice for channelisation in communication systems. In this paper, the low-pass prototype filter for the DFT filter bank has been implemented using an M-path polyphase IIR filter and we show that the spikes present at the stopband can be avoided by making use of the guardbands between narrowband channels. It will be shown that the channelisation performance will not be affected when polyphase IIR filters are employed instead of their counterparts derived from FIR prototype filters. Detailed complexity and performance analysis of the proposed use will be given in this article.

Diversity and television in Argentina: the case of the Audiovisual Technology Hub Programme

This paper describes and analyses the Audiovisual Technology Hub Programme (Programa Polos Audiovisuales Tecnológicos - PPAT), which has been implemented in Argentina between 2010 and 2015 as part of the public policy of former administration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The main goal was to promote a television industry that reflects the cultural diversity of Argentina by dividing the national territory in nine into nine audiovisual technology hubs, where national public universities acted as centres that gathered a range of regional stakeholders. Considering the 18 TV seasons that were produced for television between 2013 and 2014, the text analyses the diversity of sources and genres / subgenres and its restricted marketing. The article closes with a brief set of conclusions about this initiative.