TCP is a widely used protocol for web traffic. However, TCP€™s connection setup and congestion response can impact web page load times, leading to higher page load times for users. In order to address this issue, Google came out with QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections), a UDP-based protocol that runs in the application layer. While already deployed, QUIC is not well-studied, particularly QUIC€™s congestion response as compared to TCP€™s congestion response which is critical for stability of the Internet and flow fairness. To study QUIC€™s congestion response we conduct three sets of experiments on a wired testbed. One set of our experiments focused on QUIC and TCP throughput under added delay, another set compared QUIC and TCP throughput under added packet loss, and the third set had QUIC and TCP flows share a bottleneck link to study the fairness between TCP and QUIC flows. Our results show that with random packet loss QUIC delivers higher throughput compared to TCP. However, when sharing the same link, QUIC can be unfair to TCP. With an increase in the number of competing TCP flows, a QUIC flow takes a greater share of the available link capacity compared to TCP flows.

This thesis is a part of a research project performed by two MS students, Zhouchi Li and the author. The overall objective of the project is the design, implementation and performance evaluation of algorithms for newborns localization and tracking in hospitals using Apple iBeacon technology. Although we were working on the project together, I lead performance evaluation of the in-room localization system using Cramer Rao Lower Bound (CRLB). My partner, Zhouchi Li, leads modeling the path-loss of iBeacons and presence detection algorithms. This thesis describes the project with a focus on my individual contributions in CRLB analysis under different iBeacon deployment patterns as well as performance evaluation using practical characteristics of shadow fading. Today, Wi-Fi localization is the most popular indoor localization technique, which provides an accuracy of a few meters to distinguish the presences in different rooms of a building. With the recent introduction of iBeacon by Apple, possibility of more accurate in-room localization has emerged for specific applications such as locating newborns inside a hospital. The iBeacon uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology that broadcasts beacons with unique information to the nearby receivable devices such as iPhone and android smart phones. The RSS of these beacons can be used to estimate the location and to construct an in-room localization system. In this thesis, we investigate in-room localization system using iBeacon for the newborns in hospitals with an accuracy of about 1 meter. We firstly present an in-room localization system using RSS from iBeacon. Then, based on the traditional Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) we analyze the optimal deployment strategy for different iBeacon deployment patterns in the nursery room. Finally, we introduce a novel approach for calculation of the CRLB which includes practical conditions to analyze the influence of variable variance of shadow fading and coverage probability.

Video dissemination capabilities are crucial for the deployment of many services over VANETs. These services range from enhancing safety via the dissemination of video from the scene of an accident, to advertisement of local services or businesses. This work considers the infrastructure-less scenario of VANETs and dissemination of video content over this network environment, which is extremely challenging mainly due to its dynamic topology and stringent requirements for video streaming. This study discusses issues and challenges that need to be tackled for disseminating high-quality video over VANETs. Furthermore it surveys and analyzes the suitability of different existing solutions aimed towards effective and efficient techniques for video dissemination in vehicular networks. As a result, a set of the most promising techniques are selected, described in detail and evaluated based on standard terms in quality of service. This thesis also discusses efficiency and suitability of these techniques for video dissemination and compares their performance over the same network condition. In addition, a detailed study on the effect of network coding on video dissemination protocols has been conducted to guide how to employ this technique properly for video streaming over VANETs. From this study, a summary of the observations was obtained and used to design a new hybrid solution by deploying robust and efficient techniques in number of existing protocols in an optimal manner. The proposed hybrid video dissemination protocol outperforms other protocols in term of delivery ratio and complies with other quality-of-service requirements for video broadcasting over vehicular environments.

This thesis focuses on three fundamental issues that concern data aggregation protocols for periodic data collection in sensor networks: <i>which</i> sensor nodes should report their data, <i>when</i> should they report it, and should they use <i>unicast</i> or <i>broadcast</i> based protocols for this purpose. <p> The issue of when nodes should report their data is considered in the context of real-time monitoring applications. The first part of this thesis shows that asynchronous aggregation, in which the time of each nodes transmission is determined adaptively based on its local history of past packet receptions from its children, outperforms synchronous aggregation by providing lower delay for a given end-to-end loss rate. <p> Second, new broadcast-based aggregation protocols that minimize the number of packet transmissions, relying on multipath delivery rather than automatic repeat request for reliability, are designed and evaluated. The performance of broadcast-based aggregation is compared to that of unicast-based aggregation, in the context of both real-time and delay-tolerant data collection. <p> Finally, this thesis investigates the potential benefits of dynamically, rather than semi-statically, determining the set of nodes reporting their data, in the context of applications in which coverage of some monitored region is to be maintained. Unicast and broadcast-based coverage-preserving data aggregation protocols are designed and evaluated. The performance of the proposed protocols is compared to that of data collection protocols relying on node scheduling.

Interlocking Concrete Pavements (ICP) have been successfully used in many pavement applications all across the world. ICP design and analysis methods, construction practices and materials specifications have been developed. However, there is very limited field data to quantify structural performance with respect to traffic and environmental loadings. The interaction between traffic loadings and environmental factors needs to be explored in order to improve relationships between pavement performance and response. Pavement performance prediction in terms of fatigue cracking and surface rutting are essential for any mechanistically-based pavement design method. The estimation of the expected fatigue performance in the field is based on the quantification of the maximum tensile strain in bound base layers and the expected rutting performance is based on maximum vertical stress/strain in granular layers. This thesis presents an innovative research project involving the design, construction, instrumentation, performance modeling and distress evaluation of seven ICP crosswalks with four different design assemblies. The research projects were constructed at the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) test track and at the University of Waterloo ring road. Each of the test sections is instrumented with structural and environmental sensors of sensors to monitor the pavement performance under heavy truck traffic, typical municipal loadings and to quantify environmental effects. A database is generated and the measured stress, strain, temperature and moisture measurements are analysed to evaluate the expected long-term performance of the structural components of ICP crosswalk designs.

Interlocking Concrete Pavements (ICP) have been successfully used in many pavement applications all across the world. ICP design and analysis methods, construction practices and materials specifications have been developed. However, there is very limited field data to quantify structural performance with respect to traffic and environmental loadings. The interaction between traffic loadings and environmental factors needs to be explored in order to improve relationships between pavement performance and response. Pavement performance prediction in terms of fatigue cracking and surface rutting are essential for any mechanistically-based pavement design method. The estimation of the expected fatigue performance in the field is based on the quantification of the maximum tensile strain in bound base layers and the expected rutting performance is based on maximum vertical stress/strain in granular layers. This thesis presents an innovative research project involving the design, construction, instrumentation, performance modeling and distress evaluation of seven ICP crosswalks with four different design assemblies. The research projects were constructed at the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) test track and at the University of Waterloo ring road. Each of the test sections is instrumented with structural and environmental sensors of sensors to monitor the pavement performance under heavy truck traffic, typical municipal loadings and to quantify environmental effects. A database is generated and the measured stress, strain, temperature and moisture measurements are analysed to evaluate the expected long-term performance of the structural components of ICP crosswalk designs.

This thesis focuses on three fundamental issues that concern data aggregation protocols for periodic data collection in sensor networks: <i>which</i> sensor nodes should report their data, <i>when</i> should they report it, and should they use <i>unicast</i> or <i>broadcast</i> based protocols for this purpose. <p> The issue of when nodes should report their data is considered in the context of real-time monitoring applications. The first part of this thesis shows that asynchronous aggregation, in which the time of each nodes transmission is determined adaptively based on its local history of past packet receptions from its children, outperforms synchronous aggregation by providing lower delay for a given end-to-end loss rate. <p> Second, new broadcast-based aggregation protocols that minimize the number of packet transmissions, relying on multipath delivery rather than automatic repeat request for reliability, are designed and evaluated. The performance of broadcast-based aggregation is compared to that of unicast-based aggregation, in the context of both real-time and delay-tolerant data collection. <p> Finally, this thesis investigates the potential benefits of dynamically, rather than semi-statically, determining the set of nodes reporting their data, in the context of applications in which coverage of some monitored region is to be maintained. Unicast and broadcast-based coverage-preserving data aggregation protocols are designed and evaluated. The performance of the proposed protocols is compared to that of data collection protocols relying on node scheduling.

Traditionally, the microprocessor design has focused on the computational aspects of the problem at hand. However, as the number of components on a single chip continues to increase, the design of communication architecture has become a crucial and dominating factor in defining performance models of the overall system. On-chip networks, also known as Networks-on-Chip (NoC), emerged recently as a promising architecture to coordinate chip-wide communication. Although there are numerous interconnection network studies in an inter-chip environment, an intra-chip network design poses a number of substantial challenges to this well-established interconnection network field. This research investigates designs and applications of on-chip interconnection network in next-generation microprocessors for optimizing performance, power consumption, and area cost. First, we present domain-specific NoC designs targeted to large-scale and wire-delay dominated L2 cache systems. The domain-specifically designed interconnect shows 38% performance improvement and uses only 12% of the mesh-based interconnect. Then, we present a methodology of communication characterization in parallel programs and application of characterization results to long-channel reconfiguration. Reconfigured long channels suited to communication patterns enhance the latency of the mesh network by 16% and 14% in 16-core and 64-core systems, respectively. Finally, we discuss an adaptive data compression technique that builds a network-wide frequent value pattern map and reduces the packet size. In two examined multi-core systems, cache traffic has 69% compressibility and shows high value sharing among flows. Compression-enabled NoC improves the latency by up to 63% and saves energy consumption by up to 12%.

In recent years, since the external environment changes rapidly, the medical institutes of Taiwan face the unprecedented challenges. Striving for the survival, hospitals seek various kinds of development strategy to improve the competitive advantages. The role of the information department of hospitals has changed from the work-support level to the strategy-decision level to help hospitals reach their strategic goals. National Health Insurance System is now closely linked with all the national welfare. The financial pressure of National Health Insurance System can be reduced if hospitals can share medical resources to reduce the unnecessary waste. The information department, in this respect, plays an important role. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a framework that provides the measure for a strategic management system. It is noticed by practical circles and academia fields recently and has been widely applied in enterprise now, however, in the Information Department of the medical institutes, it is still new. The purpose of this research is to build the balanced scorecard of the information department of the hospital , to take a balance between multi-domain as the demand , and to develop a strategic measurement framework which gives consideration to the financial affairs, customer, inside procedure, learning and growing. It is expected that by improving the whole performance of the information department can help hospitals reach its strategic goals. The research method adopts a case study which sets up an information department's balanced scorecard framework. The framework and performance measurement were revised by the interview results of administration team, users and information department members in this case . The conclusions of this research are as follows: 1.Information department can develop its own mission, key value, vision and development strategy to support the organization to reach the strategic goals. 2.Information department can develop the Strategy Map and indicators of measurement to guide striving directions of staff. 3.The measurement method related to measuring achievement indicators should reasonably and objectively show the effect of execution. 4.The performance management system of the information department should possess strategy management and communication functions, and must set up a mechanism for feedback and revision. The main contribution of this research is to investigate the balanced scorecard of the information department and set up a BSC framework suitable for the information department in this case. The measurement indicators of CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) are used as the measurement indicators of BSC. By introducing CMMI, the information department can make the performance evaluation more objective and meaningful.

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