1,721,040 research outputs found

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    The rhythm of the crowd: Properties of evolutionary community detection algorithms for mobile edge selection

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    The Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) paradigm increases the computational capabilities of distributed sensing architectures, such as Mobile CrowdSensing platforms, which are designed to collect heterogeneous data from the crowd by exploiting mobile devices. In this context, our work focusses on the impact of three community detection algorithms to our edge selection strategy. In particular, we study TILES, Infomap, and iLCD which are specifically designed to identify evolving communities of users in dynamic networks. Our analysis is based on the ParticipAct data set that offers real human mobility data. We first measure the quality of the data set during an observation period of 1 year, during which the data set provides the 75% of the expected traces collected by approximately 170 users. We then compare some structural properties of the communities detected, namely Similarity, Forward Stability, Cohesion and Coverage. We conclude our study with a performance analysis of the selected Mobile MECs by varying the community detection algorithms adopted. In particular, we measure the latency and the number of satisfied requests and we show that the average latency obtained with Infomap is slightly lower than that of the other algorithms, while the average number of satisfied requests is higher when we adopt the TILES algorithm

    A social-driven edge computing architecture for mobile crowd sensing management

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    The multi-access edge computing (MEC) architectural model has fostered the development of new human-driven edge computing (HEC) frameworks that extend the coverage of traditional MEC solutions leveraging people roaming around with their devices. HEC is a well-suited architecture for human-centered technologies such as mobile crowdsensing (MCS) as it allows conveying and distributing sensing tasks at the edges of the network, also enabling (local) sensing data collection from devices. This article, through the joint use of HEC and MCS paradigms, introduces a new social-driven edge computing architecture based on incentives and centrality measures. The core idea is to add social MEC (SMEC) nodes to complement the traditional edge nodes (i.e., the main actors of the middle layer of the standard MEC architecture), acting as bridges between other devices and the cloud. The principle that underlies the SMEC selection is based on the attitude of the users in performing tasks and on their measures of centrality. In addition, we report extensive experimental results based on co-location traces and cooperativeness scores extracted from the ParticipAct living lab, a well-known MCS dataset based on data collected between 2013 and 2015 from 170 students of the University of Bologna, that show how the selection based on centrality measurements returns greater benefits than simple selection based on cooperativeness scores

    Toward Fog-Based Mobile Crowdsensing Systems: State of the Art and Opportunities

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    MCS is an emerging paradigm that leverages the pervasiveness of mobile, wearable, and vehicle-mounted devices to collect data from urban environments for ubiquitous service provisioning. In order to manage MCS application data streams efficiently, a scalable computing infrastructure hosting heterogeneous and distributed resources is critical. FC, as a geo-distributed computing paradigm, is a key enabler for this requirement as it bridges cloud servers and smart mobile devices. Research on the integration of MCS with FC has recently started to be explored, recognizing the requirements of MCS and their coexistence with cyber-physical systems. In this article, we analyze the state of the art of FC solutions in MCS systems. After a brief overview of MCS, we emphasize the link between MCS and FC. We then investigate the existing fog-based MCS architectures in detail by focusing on their building blocks, as well as the challenges that remain unaddressed. Our detailed review on the subject results in a taxonomy of FC solutions in MCS systems. In particular, we highlight the node structures, the information exchanged, the resource and service management, and the type of solutions adopted concerning privacy and security. Moreover, we provide a thorough discussion on the open issues and challenges by reporting useful insights for researchers in MCS and FC

    A Capacity-Aware User Recruitment Framework for Fog-Based Mobile Crowd-Sensing Platforms

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    Mobile Crowd-Sensing and Fog Computing are fundamental Internet of Things technologies tailored for smart cities. The former enables user's devices to collect and share data in urban environments. The latter shifts the computation close to end users, lightening the work that their devices have to perform to communicate sensed data in the Cloud. In a fog-based MCS campaign a large number of devices with heterogeneous resources executes sensing tasks generally distributed by remote servers. A careful selection of some of these users' devices for sensing operations can bring benefits to the whole platform in terms of computational costs and energy saving. In this paper, we propose a novel users' recruitment model based on distance, computational capacity, and residual battery of devices. The selection process is carried out in a scenario where devices of the MCS campaign periodically share their battery and Central Processing Unit status to fog nodes through their short-range communication interfaces. Based on this information, fog nodes select devices suitable for performing specific tasks. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model, we compare our solution with a selection model based only on distances, using an MCS simulator suitably modified for fog-based scenarios as testbed. Results show that our model is able to achieve a more accurate task resolution and a more effective recruitment selection, detecting those devices that can perform sensing operations better than others, thus, guaranteeing an overall average saving of computational and energy resources

    A Probabilistic Model for the Deployment of Human-Enabled Edge Computing in Massive Sensing Scenarios

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    Human-enabled edge computing (HEC) is a recent smart city technology designed to combine the advantages of massive mobile crowdsensing (MCS) techniques with the potential of multiaccess edge computing (MEC). In this context, the architectural hierarchy of the network shifts the management of sensing information close to terminal nodes through the use of intermediate entities (edges) bridging the direct Cloud-Device communication channel. Recent proposals suggest the implementation of those edges, not only employing fixed MEC nodes, but also opportunistically using as edge nodes mobile devices selected among the terminal ones. However, inappropriate selection techniques may lead to an overestimation or an underestimation of the number of nodes to be used in such a layer. In this article, we propose a probabilistic model for the estimation of the number of mobile nodes to be selected as substitutes of fixed ones. The effectiveness of our model is verified with tests performed on real-world mobility traces

    How mobility and sociality reshape the context: A decade of experience in mobile crowdsensing

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    The possibility of understanding the dynamics of human mobility and sociality creates the opportunity to re-design the way data are collected by exploiting the crowd. We survey the last decade of experimentation and research in the field of mobile CrowdSensing, a paradigm centred on users’ devices as the primary source for collecting data from urban areas. To this purpose, we report the methodologies aimed at building information about users’ mobility and sociality in the form of ties among users and communities of users. We present two methodologies to identify communities: spatial and co-location-based. We also discuss some perspectives about the future of mobile CrowdSensing and its impact on four investigation areas: contact tracing, edge-based MCS architectures, digitalization in Industry 5.0 and community detection algorithms

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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