202 research outputs found
Byzantine Consensus with Local Multicast Channels
No full textByzantine consensus is a classical problem in distributed computing. Each node in a synchronous system starts with a binary input. The goal is to reach agreement in the presence of Byzantine faulty nodes. We consider the setting where communication between nodes is modelled via an undirected communication graph. In the classical point-to-point communication model all messages sent on an edge are private between the two endpoints of the edge. This allows a faulty node to equivocate, i.e., lie differently to its different neighbors. Different models have been proposed in the literature that weaken equivocation. In the local broadcast model, every message transmitted by a node is received identically and correctly by all of its neighbors. In the hypergraph model, every message transmitted by a node on a hyperedge is received identically and correctly by all nodes on the hyperedge. Tight network conditions are known for each of the three cases.
We introduce a more general model that encompasses all three of these models. In the local multicast model, each node u has one or more local multicast channels. Each channel consists of multiple neighbors of u in the communication graph. When node u sends a message on a channel, it is received identically by all of its neighbors on the channel. For this model, we identify tight network conditions for consensus. We observe how the local multicast model reduces to each of the three models above under specific conditions. In each of the three cases, we relate our network condition to the corresponding known tight conditions. The local multicast model also encompasses other practical network models of interest that have not been explored previously, as elaborated in the paper
Exact Byzantine Consensus on Arbitrary Directed Graphs Under Local Broadcast Model
No full textWe consider Byzantine consensus in a synchronous system where nodes are connected by a network modeled as a directed graph, i.e., communication links between neighboring nodes are not necessarily bi-directional. The directed graph model is motivated by wireless networks wherein asymmetric communication links can occur. In the classical point-to-point communication model, a message sent on a communication link is private between the two nodes on the link. This allows a Byzantine faulty node to equivocate, i.e., send inconsistent information to its neighbors. This paper considers the local broadcast model of communication, wherein transmission by a node is received identically by all of its outgoing neighbors, effectively depriving the faulty nodes of the ability to equivocate.
Prior work has obtained sufficient and necessary conditions on undirected graphs to be able to achieve Byzantine consensus under the local broadcast model. In this paper, we obtain tight conditions on directed graphs to be able to achieve Byzantine consensus with binary inputs under the local broadcast model. The results obtained in the paper provide insights into the trade-off between directionality of communication links and the ability to achieve consensus
The political and economic role of trade, unions and associations in the Gaza strip 1967-1993
No full textThis thesis attempts to examine the political and economic role of the trade unions and associations in the Gaza Strip 1967-1993. The main theme of analysis is based upon the assumption that these indigenous organizations showed a high degree of politicization. The thesis discusses the unstable socio-economic-organizational- political-and legal setting in the Gaza Strip under the Israeli occupation which constituted a limit on the overall performance of the Palestinian organizations. Within this volatile setting, three main actors interacted: the trade unions and associations, the Israeli occupation authorities, and the Palestinian political factions. The study gives a general review of the associations and non governmental organizations working in the Gaza Strip and it examines the genesis of the Palestinian trade unionism and the trade unions in the Gaza Strip. These organizations constituted a Palestinian institutional- organizational national response and worked parallel to the occupation apparatus. The thesis goes on to analyse the political role of the trade unions and associations in the Gaza Strip through discussing : the nature of their relationship with the Israeli authorities; their relationship with the Palestinian political movements; their positions towards the uprising (intifada); and their attitudes towards the peace process. The study argues further that the economic role of the trade unions and association was very limited compared to their political role. The loan programmes and economic activities of two lending organizations working the Gaza Strip are examined. The lending capacity of the credit organizations was less than US250 million in 1993). Most of their loans went to finance services, consumptive, and non-productive projects
Remittances and Poverty Linkages in Pakistan: Evidence and Some Suggestions for Further Analysis
No full textGlobal remittances experienced a dramatic increase over the years, particularly since 1990 wherein the developing world emerged to be the major beneficiary accounting for 60 percent of the total amount. Because of the sheer volume, and magnitude of the remittances, and pre-eminence of these flows compared to the FDIs, development assistance and in some cases the trade related transactions, the development practitioners tended to focus and investigate the importance of remittances which are generally regarded as a dependable source for growth, improved welfare and poverty alleviation in the developing world. Given the fact that remittances flows entail wide ranging ramifications both for sending as well as receiving countries, difficult to be generalised, hence empirical evidence has been mounted though lack of consensus is visible.
Distributed consensus under local broadcast and local multicast communication models
No full textSubmission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-11 without embargo termsThe student, Muhammad Khan, accepted the attached license on 2022-04-16 at 10:58.The student, Muhammad Khan, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2022-04-16 at 11:26.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2022-04-20 at 14:24.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #17724 on 2022-11-11 at 13:15:29Byzantine consensus is a classical problem in distributed computing wherein n nodes want to reach agreement in the presence of up to f Byzantine faulty nodes. The nodes communicate with each other by passing messages. In the point-to-point communication model, the communication between nodes is modeled using a simple graph where each edge represents a point-to-point link between the two endpoints. All messages sent on an edge are private between the two endpoints of the edge. This allows a faulty node to equivocate, i.e., give inconsistent information to its neighbors.
In this dissertation, we investigate Byzantine consensus under two communication models that weaken equivocation.
1) In the local broadcast model, the communication network is modeled using a simple graph. Every message transmitted by a node is received identically and correctly by all of its neighbors. In this model, a faulty node's attempt to equivocate is detected by its neighboring nodes.
2) In the local multicast model, the communication between nodes is modeled via a directed hypergraph. Each directed hyperedge captures a local multicast channel and is defined by a single sender and multiple receivers. Every message transmitted by a sender node on a local multicast channel is received identically and correctly by all the receiver nodes in the channel. The local multicast model generalizes both the point-to-point and local broadcast models, as well as the undirected hypergraph model considered in the literature.
For the binary-valued Byzantine consensus problem, we obtain tight necessary and sufficient network conditions under local broadcast in undirected and directed graphs, as well as in the local multicast model
The application of Shari’ah and international human rights law in Saudi Arabia
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel UniversityThe present dissertation provides an analytical and comparative study of the application of Islamic law (Shari’ah) and international human rights law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It provides an analysis of the sources of Islamic law as well as the sources of international law to set the background for analysis and defines the nature of both laws. It also tackles the subject of the domestic application of international human treaties in Saudi Arabia.
In addition, it examines some reservations Saudi Arabia has entered to some of the international human rights treaties it has ratified, specifically the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). It also sheds some light on the political, cultural and religious obstacles to the realisation of norms protected by international human rights treaties in the country, and in other countries for that matter, clearly stating the impossibility of implementing the provisions of the international human rights treaties in their entirety. This is due to the various political and legal developments towards the internationalization of the concept of human rights. It observes that despite the existence of the international human rights treaties, which aim at reinforcing a universal realisation of international human rights, these rights cannot be possibly realised by all countries.
To stress the importance Saudi Arabia attaches to the issue of human rights, the dissertation discusses some rights of women before Saudi courts in family matters, an issue which has been criticised by some international human rights treaties, and examines to what extent the country has managed to tackle the issue of domestic violence, particularly violence against women. It provides an overview of the major causes of domestic violence against women in Saudi Arabia, presents some cases of domestic violence before Saudi courts and sheds some light on the measures taken by the Saudi government to combat domestic violence against women. It also tackles this issue both in the international and domestic legal frameworks, clearly stating the Islamic standpoint on the issue, namely that Islamic law, and Saudi Arabia for that matter, whose laws are essentially derived from the two main sources of Shari’ah. It also discusses the common forms of violence against women in Saudi Arabia and suggests a number of recommendations towards more effective protection of women against violence in the country.
The dissertation concludes by presenting a number of obstacles in the way of executing judicial decisions in the Kingdom as well as the obstacles which negatively affect the performance of the new code of law practice. It also presents some recommendations concerning personal status law obstacles and hindrances to progress and attempts to answer the research questions it has posed
Under the threat of Partition: A Proposed Geographical Strategy for Sudan to Remain a cohesive state
No full text<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> Sudan is characterized by a complex colonial history, distinct geographical characteristics, and a diverse tribal and ethnic composition. This has resulted in many central problems related to spatial and human development or to tribal conflicts of an ethnic nature and armed conflict, such that they threaten its survival as a cohesive state, especially in light of the growing international ambitions for its rich natural resources. There are many provisions in the documents of the various political agreements for peace with the rebel groups that address Sudan’s central issues, and such situations constitute topics for scientific research with the aim of achieving economic and political stability for Sudan and thus its geographical cohesion as a state. This research worked on that line and proposed a geographical strategy composed of a vision, a mission, five strategic objectives, thirteen strategies, and forty-one projects to keep Sudan a cohesive State. The proposed strategy strengthens/weakens the positive/negative Sudan’s central issues outlined in the text. However, it is necessary for the Sudanese, the politicians, and those in charge in particular, to become familiar with Sudan’s geography, as it will enable them to lay solid foundations for how to manage their country politically, economically, and socially</p>
<p><strong>Keywords:</strong> negative geography, positive geography, geographic cohesion, central issues, threats to survival, peaceful efforts, geographical strategy.</p>
<p><strong>Title:</strong> Under the threat of Partition: A Proposed Geographical Strategy for Sudan to Remain a cohesive state</p>
<p><strong>Author:</strong> Samir Muhammad Ali Hassan Alredaisy</p>
<p><strong>International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research </strong></p>
<p><strong>ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)</strong></p>
<p><strong>Vol. 11, Issue 4, October 2023 - December 2023</strong></p>
<p><strong>Page No: 40-55</strong></p>
<p><strong>Research Publish Journals</strong></p>
<p><strong>Website: www.researchpublish.com</strong></p>
<p><strong>Published Date: 07-</strong><strong>October-2023</strong></p>
<p><strong>DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8416631">https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8416631</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Paper Download Link (Source)</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.researchpublish.com/papers/under-the-threat-of-partition-a-proposed-geographical-strategy-for-sudan-to-remain-a-cohesive-state">https://www.researchpublish.com/papers/under-the-threat-of-partition-a-proposed-geographical-strategy-for-sudan-to-remain-a-cohesive-state</a></strong></p>International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online), Research Publish Journals, Website: www.researchpublish.co
The implementation of rural poor programmes in Bangladesh.
No full textThis study explores the initiatives of the public and private sector
in the context of the alleviation of poverty of the rural poor in
Bangladesh. The central thesis is that the public sector has made a
significant departure, at least in theory, towards the
conceptualisation of the rural poor programme in a way that the
private sector, particularly the non-governmental organisations, have
been performing for the last two decades.
This study emphasises the recognition by the NGOs, particularly the
"moderate ones, that the nature of both the problems and the
solutions change in the process. Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee (BRAC), the "moderate" NGO under study, has gone through a
"learn as it goes", responsive, inductive process. This study argues
quite the contrary with the public sector initiative. It was only
prior to the preparation of the Third Five Year Plan that debates were
initiated to seriously criticise the rather sterile two-tier
cooperative model for rural poor mobilisation around employment
generation and acquisition of assets. Presently, BRDB opened the
"flood-gate", which so long prevented the NGOs to contribute to the
formulation of the training module of BRDB rural poor programme
towards human development and institution building.
Although it has been argued that "moderate" NGOs, like BRAC, are
not institutions setting about to prove a specific model or theory of
development in a dogmatic or absolutist sense, it would be difficult
to say that they are not guided by an ideology, as this study argues,
when the NGOs themselves have accepted the "Freire-type-conscientisation", which in itself is a loaded concept. This study
presents a "mobilising" NGO, where the concept of "conscientisation"
has been shown to transcend the limits of present day thinking of
moderate NGOs
Surgical Stabilization for Post-Operative Discitis Patients Concerning Pain Relief and Functional Outcomes
No full textOBJECTIVES
This study evaluated pain relief and functional outcomes in patients who underwent surgical stabilization following post-operative discitis.
METHODOLOGY
A cross-sectional was conducted at the Department of Orthopedic and Spine Surgery, Peshawar. The study duration spanned from 2020-2023. The inclusion criteria for participants involved patients who had experienced post-operative discitis and subsequently underwent surgical stabilization, with a stipulated minimum follow-up period of two weeks. Pain relief was measured using the Visual Analogue Score (VAS) for back and leg pain, while functional outcomes were evaluated using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The acquired data were subjected to analysis utilizing SPSS version 26.0.
RESULTS
Out of the 35, 51.4% were male, and 48.6% were female, with a mean age of 47.5 years (SD ± 10.9 years). The most frequently affected lumbar spine level was L4-L5 in 57.1% of patients. 31.4% were smokers, and 45.7% had comorbidities, primarily consisting of diabetes or hypertension. Significant improvements were observed for back pain (baseline: 9.29 ± 0.71, post-stabilization: 5.37 ± 1.47, p = 0.001) and leg pain (baseline: 3.32 ± 2.17, post-stabilization: 1.91 ± 1.02, p = 0.001). Functional outcomes also showed substantial recovery (baseline: 51.57 ± 6.91, post-stabilization: 34.89 ± 6.85, p = 0.001). Preoperatively, the patients exhibited a spectrum of disability levels, with 29% experiencing severe disability. After two weeks of surgical intervention, substantial improvement was noted, 6% had severe disability. At the last follow-up, only 1% remained severely disabled, underlining the significant enhancement in functional outcomes post-stabilization.
CONCLUSION
Surgical stabilization is associated with significant pain relief and improved functional outcomes in patients with post-operative discitis
Adapting authoritarianism: institutions and co-optation in Egypt and Syria
No full textThis PhD thesis compares Egypt and Syria’s authoritarian political systems. While the tendency in social science political research treats Egypt and Syria as similarly authoritarian, this research emphasizes differences between the two systems with special reference to institutions and co-optation. Rather than reducibly understanding Egypt and Syria as sharing similar histories, institutional arrangements, or ascribing to the oft-repeated convention that “Syria is Egypt but 10 years behind,” this thesis focuses on how events and individual histories shaped each states current institutional strengthens and weaknesses. Specifically, it explains the how varying institutional politicization or de-politicization affects each state’s capabilities for co-opting elite and non-elite individuals.
Beginning with a theoretical framework that considers the limited utility of democratization and transition theoretical approaches, the work underscores the persistence and durability of authoritarianism. Chapter two details the politicized institutional divergence between Egypt and Syria that began in the 1970s. Chapter three and four examines how institutional politicization or de-politicization affects elite and non-elite individual co-optation in Egypt and Syria. Chapter five discusses the study’s general conclusions and theoretical implications.
This thesis’s argument is that Egypt and Syria co-opt elites and non-elites differently because of the varying degrees of institutional politicization in each governance system. Rather than view one country as more politically developed than the other, this work argues that Syria’s political institutions are more politicized than their Egyptian counterparts. Syria’s political arena is, thus, described as politicized-patrimonialism. Syria’s politicized-patrimonial arena produces uneven co-optation of elites and non-elites as they are diffused through competing institutions. Conversely, the Egyptian political arena remains highly personalized as weak institutions and individuals are manipulated and molded according to the president’s ruling clique. This is referred to as personalized-patrimonialism. As a consequence, Egypt’s political establishment demonstrates more flexibility in ad hoc altering and adapting its arena depending on the emergence of crises.
This study’s theoretical implications suggest that, contrary to modernization and democratization theory’s adage that institutions lead to a political development, politicized institutions within a patrimonial order actually hinder regime adaptation because consensus is harder to achieve and maintain. It is within this context that Egypt’s de-politicized institutional framework advantages its top political elite. In this reading of Egyptian and Syrian politics, Egypt’s personalized political arena is more adaptable than Syria’s. These conclusions do not indicate that political reform is a process underway in either state
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