Waterford Institute of Technology

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    1522 research outputs found

    Poster Abstract: Resource Aware Placement of Data Stream Analytics Operators on Fog Infrastructure for Internet of Things Applications

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    While cloud computing led the path towards a revolutionary change in the modern day computing aspects, further developments gave way to the Internet of Things and its own range of highly interactive applications. While such a paradigm is more distributed in reach, it also brings forth its own set of challenges in the form of latency sensitive applications, where a quick response highly contributes to efficient usage and QoS (Quality of Service). Fog computing, which is the answer to all such challenges, is rapidly changing the distributed computing landscape by extending the cloud computing paradigm to include widespread resources located at the network edge. While the fog paradigm makes use of edge-ward devices capable of computing, networking and storage, one of the key impending challenges is to determine where to place the data analytic operators for maximum efficiency and least costs for the network and its traffic, the efficient algorithmic solution to which we seek to propose by way of this work underway

    Archaeal ammonia oxidizers respond to soil factors at smaller spatial scales than the overall archaeal community does in a high Arctic polar oasis

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    Archaea are ubiquitous and highly abundant in Arctic soils. Because of their oligotrophic nature, archaea play an important role in biogeochemical processes in nutrient-limited Arctic soils. With the existing knowledge of high archaeal abundance and functional potential in Arctic soils, this study employed terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (t-RFLP) profiling and geostatistical analysis to explore spatial dependency and edaphic determinants of the overall archaeal (ARC) and ammonia-oxidizing archaeal (AOA) communities in a high Arctic polar oasis soil. ARC communities were spatially dependent at the 2–5 m scale (P < 0.05), whereas AOA communities were dependent at the �1 m scale (P < 0.0001). Soil moisture, pH, and total carbon content were key edaphic factors driving both the ARC and AOA community structure. However, AOA evenness had simultaneous correlations with dissolved organic nitrogen and mineral nitrogen, indicating a possible niche differentiation for AOA in which dry mineral and wet organic soil microsites support different AOA genotypes. Richness, evenness, and diversity indices of both ARC and AOA communities showed high spatial dependency along the landscape and resembled scaling of edaphic factors. The spatial link between archaeal community structure and soil resources found in this study has implications for predictive understanding of archaea-driven processes in polar oases

    Einstein’s cosmology review of 1933: a new perspective on the Einstein-de Sitter model of the cosmos

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    We present a first English translation and analysis of a little-known review of relativistic cosmology written by Albert Einstein in late 1932. The article, which was published in 1933 in a book of Einstein papers translated into French, contains a substantial review of static and dynamic relativistic models of the cosmos, culminating in a discussion of the Einstein-de Sitter model. The article offers a valuable contemporaneous insight into Einstein’s cosmology in the early 1930s and confirms that his interest lay in the development of the simplest model of the cosmos that could account for observation. The article also confirms that Einstein did not believe that simplified relativistic models could give an accurate description of the early universe

    The effectiveness of active travel initiatives in Irish provincial towns: an evaluation of a quasi-experimental natural experiment

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    Ireland is a car dependent country with low levels of active travel and also low levels of total physical activity. There is a paucity of studies, internationally, that have evaluated active travel initiatives in a real world setting. This thesis contributes new knowledge to the evidence base on the implementation, effectiveness and design of active travel initiatives at the community level and their impact on physical activity. This thesis is comprised of a series of quasi-experimental designed intervention studies that adopted a mixed methods approach to assess the impact of community-wide active travel initiatives (funded demonstration projects) in two Irish towns from 2011 to 2013. The review of literature critically analyses the correlates and determinants of active travel in both school-children and adults. The impact of the active travel initiatives is described across four studies. Two of these studies describe the impact of the community-wide intervention on primary and secondary school-children using a repeat cross-sectional design and self-report surveys. This research design was also utilised to evaluate the impact of an intensive multi-component active travel intervention in one all-girls school (the third impact study). Qualitative data were also collected as part of a process evaluation to help explain the intervention effect. The fourth impact study was a cohort study with adults using self-report surveys. The final study in the thesis was a qualitative study that examined the processes and mechanisms that shaped the implementation of active travel policy in both towns. There was no overall intervention effect detected for active travel behaviour in school-children or adults. Community-wide changes in active travel and physical activity are unachievable without significant investment and a high intensity mix of hard (community and infrastructural design) and soft (pricing, programming and policy) measures that target the entire population and specific stakeholder groups

    Men on the Move: Health Information Booklet

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    This booklet has been developed as a guide to support you to do the Men on the Move physical activity programme. You may also find it a useful source ofhealth information. Safety First! Check with your GP before attempting any of the exercises featured in this booklet if you: • Have a health problem, or • Are worried about any aspect of your health, or • Are not used to physical activity. All exercises featured in this booklet are done entirely at your own risk. This booklet is based upon the Mayo, Men on the Move booklet that wasdesigned in association with the Erris Men on the Move Group. We wouldlike to acknowledge the work of Michelle Healy [leader] and Padraig Brogan[Belmullet, Men on the Move Group]. This booklet also draws from literature produced by the Carlow Men’s Health Project, the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.This booklet was prepared by Dr Paula Carroll, Centre for Health Behaviour Research, Waterford IT with support from the Men on the Move partners

    Learning convolutive features for storage and transmission between networked sensors

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    Discovering an efficient representation that reflects the structure of a signal ensemble is a requirement of many Machine Learning and Signal Processing methods, and gaining increasing prevalence in sensing systems. This type of represen- tation can be constructed by Convolutive Non-negative Matrix Factorization (CNMF), which finds parts-based convolutive repre- sentations of non-negative data. However, convolutive extensions of NMF have not yet considered storage efficiency as a side con- straint during the learning procedure. To address this challenge, we describe a new algorithm that fuses ideas from the 1) parts- based learning and 2) integer sequence compression literature. The resulting algorithm, Storable NMF (SNMF), enjoys the merits of both techniques: it retains the good-approximation properties of CNMF while also taking into account the size of the symbol set which is used to express the learned convolutive factors and activations. We argue that CNMF is not as amenable to transmission and storage, in networked sensing systems, as SNMF. We demonstrate that SNMF yields a compression ratio ranging from 10:1 up to 20:1, depending on the signal, which gives rise to a similar bandwidth saving for networked sensors

    An exploration of flow experiences in professional jump jockeys

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    Research has explored the conditions influencing the occurrence of flow in horse racing. However, little is known about the elements characterising the state of flow in equine sports. This study sought to; (a) explore the conditions influencing the occurrence of flow; (b) explore the characteristics of flow; and (c) explore the connections between the conditions and characteristics of flow in jump jockeys. Ten professional jump jockeys (M age = 28.1; SD = 5.21) participated in semi-structured interviews exploring the occurrence of flow in National Hunt horse racing. Data was analysed through an alternating process between thematic and connecting analyses. Twelve facilitators, ten inhibitors and seven disruptors were identified as being influential to the occurrence of flow. Ten characteristics described the occurrence of flow in jump jockeys, of which the optimal interaction with the horse has not emerged previously. Synchronisation of horse and jockey during flow experiences was characterised by communicatory, physiological and locomotive features. Additionally, 35 links were exhibited between the conditions and characteristics of flow, through which confidence, concentration and the optimal interaction with the horse were most influential for the occurrence of flow. This study made two important contributions by characterising the experience of flow in horse racing and identifying the manner in which the facilitative factors influence the occurrence of flow in jump jockeys. Similar to recent studies, kinaesthetic and cognitive alterations were associated with jockey flow experiences Results are discussed in relation to previous research and recommendations for theoretical and research developments outlined

    Exploring a business to business recurring revenue framework for the delivery of software as a service through a cloud computing channel

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    Cloud Computing (CC) is creating a new paradigm for the distribution of computer software applications. Within this context CC enabled Software as a Service (SaaS) fundamentally changes the revenue expectations and business model for the application software industry. This study considers the revenue expectation of the CC industry and its dependency on renewal subscriptions, while the study focuses on SaaS in the Business-to-Business (B2B) domain, delivered through the CC channel. In this new world securing the SaaS subscription renewal is critical to the survival and prosperity of the Cloud SaaS business. Of note is that any significant attrition, i.e. cancellation or reduction of the service, can have a significant impact on the financial viability of any business based on this model. The primary research seeks to examine the drivers behind the B2B SaaS subscription renewal decision and, in doing so, to explore the recurring revenue framework for the Cloud SaaS business. The research question is: What is the B2B recurring revenue framework for the delivery of SaaS through a Cloud Computing channel? The research includes an examination of the existing software distribution and revenue models and assesses their applicability to the Cloud SaaS provider. The study focuses on the revenue attrition risks inherent in the B2B SaaS business model and proposes a revenue renewal framework where the Cloud SaaS subscription renewal risks are identified such that any patterns or trends in the data will allow the Cloud SaaS service provider to build awareness, and commercial exploitation, of these trends into their business model and planning strategy

    Context-awareness and the smart grid: Requirements and challenges

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    New intelligent power grids (smart grids) will be an essential way of improving efficiency in power supply and power consumption, facilitating the use of distributed and renewable resources on the supply side and providing consumers with a range of tailored services on the consumption side. The delivery of efficiencies and advanced services in a smart grid will require both a comprehensive overlay communications network and flexible software platforms that can process data from a variety of sources, especially electronic sensor networks. Parallel developments in autonomic systems, pervasive computing and context-awareness (relating in particular to data fusion, context modelling, and semantic data) could provide key elements in the development of scalable smart grid data management systems and applications that utilise a multi-technology communications network. This paper describes: (1) the communications and data management requirements of the emerging smart grid, (2) state-of-the-art techniques and systems for context-awareness and (3) a future direction towards devising a context-aware middleware platform for the smart grid, as well as associated requirements and challenges

    “Self-sustainable Programmatic Music”

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    The basis of this thesis is a portfolio of seven original compositions with analyses. Each composition serves as an exercise in utilising the various concepts discussed throughout this work in order to create programmatic music which can be experienced cohesively without knowledge of the narrative inspiration. The pieces are presented in chronological order, in terms of composition, with the intention of demonstrating the evolution of this idea over the course of the study. The accompanying thesis serves to explore the application of the various compositional considerations utilised in each piece in order to achieve music that is programmatically accurate and self-sustaining. Volume 1 This contains the thesis wherein each of the seven chapters focuses on one individual piece from the portfolio and examines the application of the aforementioned concepts as they appear in the respective works. Volume 2 This contains the scores to each of the seven pieces. Additionally, this volume contains the conclusion and bibliography

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