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International Review on Computers and Software - July 2006 - Papers

Ultra-Low Power Computing System for Wireless Devices
A Swarm Quality of Service Based Multi-Path Routing Algorithm (SAMRA) for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks
An Introduction to High-Level Stochastic Activity Networks
Toward Peer to Peer Platform Integration based on OWL Ontology and Roaming Service
A Proactive Network Surveillance Framework for Improving Network Security across Information Value Chain
OntoWer: An Ontology based Web Application Reverse-Engineering approach
A Comparative Analysis of Website Features in the Healthcare Sector
Selling Culture: Implementation of e-Commerce and WAP-based Prototypes
Performance of Java and C++ in Numerical Computing
The Future Computing and CyberHome 2015
Classification Techniques Applied to Hydrocarbon Data

International Review on Computers and Software - Papers

Ultra-Low Power Computing System for Wireless Devices
by P. J. Hawrylak, L. Mats, J. T. Cain, A. K. Jones, S. Tung, M. H. Mickle

Abstract - Wireless battery-powered devices require an active receiver in order to receive and decode incoming messages. An active receiver consumes the majority of the power, limiting the time between battery changes. In many cases, particularly, sensor networks, automatic meter reading, and RFID tags, battery replacement is impossible or inconvenient. This work describes a hardware and software system, called a software receiver that replaces the active receiver. The software receiver consumes almost no power when not decoding a message. The software receiver increases the lifetime of wireless battery-powered device, to more than that of the average person.

Keywords: RFID, Active RFID, Radio Frequency, Low Power Security, Sensor Network, Wireless Communications.

A Swarm Quality of Service Based Multi-Path Routing Algorithm (SAMRA) for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

by A. Mellouk, S. Ziane, P. Lorenz

Abstract - With a widespread development of multimedia applications in mobile ad hoc networks, there is an increasing needs for QoS guarantees. Therefore protocols that are designed for these networks should be more greatly involved in satisfying application needs while optimizing network resources. This task is rather difficult due to the highly dynamic topology of mobile ad hoc networks and their limited resources. Actually, different routing algorithms are proposed in order to route various kinds of sources (such as voice, video, or data) with diverse traffic characteristics and Quality of Service Requirements (QoS). The goals of QoS routing are in general twofold: selecting routes with satisfied QoS requirement, and achieving global efficiency in resource utilization. The prediction of these goals in real time is quite difficult, making the effectiveness of “traditional” protocols based on analytical models questionable. In this paper we first discuss some key design considerations in providing QoS routing support, and present a review of previous work addressing the problem of route selection in interaction with QoS constraints. We then devise a solution based on swarm intelligence paradigm based on reinforcement learning approach that we find more adapted for this kind of problems. Finally, we discuss some possible future directions for providing efficient QoS routing mechanisms in wireless ad hoc networks.

Keywords: Reinforcement learning, Adaptive Routing, Swarm intelligence, Manets, Multimedia traffic, Quality of Service.

An Introduction to High-Level Stochastic Activity Networks
by M. A. Azgomi, A. Movaghar

Abstract - Stochastic activity networks (SANs) are a powerful and flexible extension of Petri nets. However, SANs facilities are not enough high-level for modelling and analysis of complex and large-scale systems. In order to provide such high-level modelling facilities, we have defined high-level extensions for SANs. We intend to preserve all capabilities of SANs for performance and dependability evaluations in these new extensions. In this paper, we present a brief introduction to these high-level extensions, including hierarchical stochastic activity networks (HSANs), coloured stochastic activity networks (CSANs), and object stochastic activity networks (OSANs). Some properties, examples and applications of these models and their analysis methods will also be presented.

Keywords: Performance and Dependability Evaluation, Petri Nets, Stochastic Activity Networks.

Toward Peer to Peer Platform Integration based on OWL Ontology and Roaming Service
by Y. Djaghloul, Z. Boufaida

Abstract - In this paper, we present our approach to build a semantic profile for the peer in order to integrate the peer-to-peer platforms. Our approach combines the use of a semantic peer profile and a specific roaming service. The semantic profile uses the well-known notations in the P2P area, and provides a global ontology that puts a clear separation between the platform specific characteristics and the logical ones. In order to enable the navigation of the peer across platforms, a roaming service is added. The latter deals with the platform specification and ensure a transparency navigation between platforms by managing the proposed ontology. In addition, the profile uses the ontology paradigm to give a semantic presentation and enhances the semantic of the Peer structure. The ontology is created by using an ontology development process that produces a validate OWL document. Our approach is validated and tested by extending two P2P platforms with our implementation.

Keywords: OWL ontology, Peer to peer, integration.

A Proactive Network Surveillance Framework for Improving Network Security across Information Value Chain

by M. Singh, S. Bawa, S.C. Saxena

Abstract - This research analyzes trends in network security through an investigation of reactive and proactive network security strategies. Many of common practices have been studied, analyzed, compared and reported in this work. A proactive network surveillance framework is proposed. The framework consists of five layers addressing security at various levels following the onion model of defense. Successive layers of defense use different technologies. The inner layers of defense can support the outer layer and an attacker must breach each line of defense in turn. This gives an engineering solution, which emphasizes redundancy - a system that keeps working even when a single component fails. This will lead to self-healing and self-defending network infrastructure thus emphasizing preventive mode of security.

Keywords: Network Security, Network Surveillance, Proactive Security, Honeynets.

OntoWer: An Ontology based Web Application Reverse-Engineering approach

by S. M. Benslimane, M. Mimoun, D. Bouchiha, D. Benslimane

Abstract - Most Web applications are developed under tight schedules and in a rapidly evolving environment. The maintenance of such applications becomes problematic as the complexity of the Web application grows. Creating appropriate design and architecture models is the key for efficiently managing and supporting the evolution of Web applications. Researchers have identified the need to apply reverse engineering techniques to already existing Web applications to create abstract design models. The reverse engineering of Web sites has been addressed in various ways. In this paper, we propose OntoWer, an ontology-based Web application reverse engineering approach to deduce the conceptual schema of Web application. Starting from an analysis Web HTML pages, it uses domain ontology to generate a conceptual schema for modeling the corresponding Web application. It consists of three phases: i) the extraction of candidate elements, ii) the identification of relevant ontological constructs, and iii) the generation of conceptual schema of the Web application.

Keywords: Reverse-engineering, Web application, Ontology, Conceptual schema, Conceptual modeling.

A Comparative Analysis of Website Features in the Healthcare Sector

by Z. Tanrıkulu

Abstract - Healthcare is one of the most essential states in every part of our daily lives. Therefore, healthcare business getting more complex every day and the needs of the information systems are becoming more crucial.
Is it possible to introduce a new information technology into inpatient care settings in an attempt to improve access to information and communication? Are there any technical and usability limitations of having your health status monitored on the Internet, or being able to consult a specialist without having to go to a health center? Therefore, what are the criteria for having a good website?
This research aims to provide comparative analysis of current websites in the healthcare sector. To achieve that, twenty hospitals have been compared according to their utilization of the Internet. Websites of top five hospitals have also been used in the analysis to represent standardized service quality.
In this paper, you can find the details of technical specifications being used to automate some time-consuming jobs and the websites of reputable healthcare organizations.

Keywords: Health Information Systems, Internet Technologies, Website Design.

Selling Culture: Implementation of e-Commerce and WAP-based Prototypes

by K. Zafeiri, D. Gavalas, A. Balla

Abstract - Museum stores represent integral parts of the museums that have also a lot to benefit from a successful presence on the web arena. In addition to traditional web sites, carefully designed electronic commerce (e-commerce) sites may increase the potential of museum stores offering possibilities for on-line shopping and other commercial functions. In parallel, the recent convergence of the traditionally separate technologies of the Internet and mobile telephony has brought the concept of ‘wireless Internet’ into the spotlight. Within this context, ‘mobile commerce’ (m-commerce) is a relatively new trend that represents a natural extension of e-commerce into the wireless world. M-commerce refers to electronic business transactions and differentiates from e-commerce since it involves the use of mobile devices and wireless medium rather than wired. The unique characteristics of mobile computing bring forward new challenges and opportunities for museum stores. This article presents the design and implementation of an e-commerce and an m-commerce museum shop application. The aim is to evaluate and compare the two applications in terms of several parameters, such as available technologies, strengths and limitations, design requirements, usability, interaction speed, usage cost, etc and also to identify ways for enhancing the potential of such applications and designing successful and profitable business models.

Keywords: Museum shop, e-commerce, m-commerce, wireless Internet, WAP.

Performance of Java and C++ in Numerical Computing
by K. Zotos

Abstract - This paper surveys a number of benchmarks and finds that Java performance on numerical code is comparable to that of C++, with hints that Java's relative performance is continuing to improve. We describe clear theoretical reasons why these benchmark results should be expected.

Keywords: C++ versus Java, Numerical Computation, Java and C++ performance.

The Future Computing and CyberHome 2015
by E. Babulak

Abstract - The Telecommunications and Internet Technologies have evolved dramatically during the last decade, laying solid foundation for the future generation of the Ubiquitous Internet access, omnipresent web technologies and ultimate automated information cyberspace. As a result, the current efforts in the research and development in the areas of Next Generation of Internet and Telecommunications Technologies promotes formation of inter-disciplinary international teams of experts, scientists, researchers and engineers to create a new generation of applications and technologies that will facilitate the fully-automated information cyberspace systems, such as Cyber-Home 2015. The author discusses the current state of the art in the world of Telecommunications and Internet Technologies, new technological trends directions in the Internet and Automation Industries, E-manufacturing, Ubiquity, Convergence, as well as the concept of the Fully-automated Cyber Home 2015, 2006 Web Report with the Microsoft project on Easy Living, while promoting research and development in the interdisciplinary projects conducting by multinational team world-wide.

Keywords: Future Computing, Cyber Home, Automation, Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing.

Classification Techniques Applied to Hydrocarbon Data
by J. G. Sumrall, R. R. Chakravarthy, B. B. Joshi

Abstract - This project compares the efficiency of various current classification techniques on hydrocarbons retrieved from oil wells and also isolates features that can give good classification. The classification of samples from oil wells is one of the major classification problems in the oil industry and contributes significantly to the estimation of the nature of output of an oil well. Classification is based on certain physical and chemical properties. Ideally, it is desired to obtain a high number of Black Oil samples as that shows if the oil well is potentially a good strike. If the classification is not done accurately, it leads to inaccurate estimation of the production and hence, has its own economic and financial implications.
In this project, we attempt classification in two parts – classify the data into two major groups – Black Oil and Non Black Oil, classify Non Black Oil group into 3 sub-groups – Wet gas, Dry gas and Volatile oil. We determine which features of the hydrocarbons have the best discriminatory power and use these to test various classifiers. We show how some linear classifiers consistently perform better than the others and determine the best classification technique for these types of data.

Keywords: Classification, Techniques, Hydrocarbons, Pattern recognition, Matlab, Features.