Le grand nombre d’appareils connectés combiné au volume croissant de trafic ont poussé les réseaux dans leurs derniers retranchements. Pour résoudre ce problème, l’approche “Software-Defined Networking” (SDN) qui découple le plan de contrôle du plan de données a été proposée. OpenFlow est un nouveau protocole qui réalise le concept SDN. Pour traiter ces flux, OpenFlow utilise des listes de règles sur les commutateurs. Ces règles sont utilisées pour déterminer les actions dans le réseau. Ceci permet de simplifier la mise en place de services réseaux complexes mais soulève la question de savoir quelles règles définir et où les placer dans le réseau afin d’en respecter ses contraintes. Dans cette thèse, nous nous concentrons sur le problème de placement de règles dans OpenFlow (ORPP) et proposons une abstraction de type boite noire afin de masquer la gestion du réseau. Tout d'abord, nous formalisons le problème de placement de règles et faisons une étude des solutions existantes. Les solutions existantes sont cependant inefficaces car elles reposent majoritairement sur le concept du plus court chemin. Nous proposons de relaxer le problème en autorisant l’utilisation de chemins arbitraires et proposons deux algorithmes complémentaires : OFFICER et aOFFICER. L'idée générale d’OFFICER et aOFFICER est d’utiliser les chemins les plus efficaces pour le trafic de haute importance et autoriser le trafic de plus basse importance à suivre des détours. Ces deux propositions sont évaluées en utilisant des traces de trafic. Finalement, nous appliquons le principe de la boite noire pour améliorer les performances d'un service de diffusion de contenus dans les réseaux cellulaires / The massive number of connected devices combined with an increasing traffic push network operators to their limit by limiting their profitability. To tackle this problem, Software-Defined Networking (SDN), which decouples network control logic from forwarding devices, has been proposed. An important part of the SDN concepts is implemented by the OpenFlow protocol that abstracts network communications as flows and processes them using a prioritized list of rules on the network forwarding elements. While the abstraction offered by OpenFlow allows to implement many applications, it raises the new problem of how to define the rules and where to place them in the network while respecting all requirements, which we refer as the OpenFlow Rules Placement Problem (ORPP). In this thesis, we focus on the ORPP and hide the complexity of network management by proposing a black box abstraction. First, we formalize that problem, classify and discuss existing solutions. We discover that most of the solutions enforce the routing policy when placing rules, which is not memory efficient in some cases. Second, by trading routing for better resource efficiency, we propose OFFICER and aOFFICER, two frameworks that select OpenFlow rules satisfying policies and network constraints, while minimizing overheads. The main idea of OFFICER an aOFFICER is to give high priority for large flows to be installed on efficient paths, and let other flows follow default paths. These proposals are evaluated and compared to existing solutions in realistic scenarios. Finally, we study a use case of the black box abstraction, in which we improve the performance of content delivery services in cellular networks

Advanced Placement is a series of courses and tests designed to determine mastery over introductory college material. It has become part of the American educational system. The changing conception of AP was examined using critical theory to determine what led to a view of continual success. The study utilized David Armstrong’s variation of Michel Foucault’s critical theory to construct an analytical framework. Black and Ubbes’ data gathering techniques and Braun and Clark’s data analysis were utilized as the analytical framework. Data included 1135 documents: 641 journal articles, 421 newspaper articles and 82 government documents. The study revealed three historical ruptures correlated to three themes containing subthemes. The first rupture was the Sputnik launch in 1958. Its correlated theme was AP leading to school reform with subthemes of AP as reform for able students and AP’s gaining of acceptance from secondary schools and higher education. The second rupture was the Nation at Risk report published in 1983. Its correlated theme was AP’s shift in emphasis from the exam to the course with the subthemes of AP as a course, a shift in AP’s target population, using AP courses to promote equity, and AP courses modifying curricula. The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was the third rupture. Its correlated theme was AP as a means to narrow the achievement gap with the subthemes of AP as a college preparatory program and the shifting of AP to an open access program. The themes revealed a perception that progressively integrated the program into American education. The AP program changed emphasis from tests to curriculum, and is seen as the nation’s premier academic program to promote reform and prepare students for college. It has become a major source of income for the College Board. In effect, AP has become an agent of privatization, spurring other private entities into competition for government funding. The change and growth of the program over the past 57 years resulted in a deep integration into American education. As such the program remains an intrinsic part of the system and continues to evolve within American education.

Práce je o problematice product placementu ve filmové tvorbě v rámci České republiky a Evropské unie. Definuje product placement a také podmínky efektivního použití, vymezuje legislativní rámec, jeho výhody a nevýhody při užití ve filmové tvorbě. Zmiňuje se i o kinoreklamě a užití komerčních komunikací v komunikaci filmové tvorby. V závěru práce jsou doporučeny legislativní změny v České republice a také nastíněn širší rámec využití product placementu ve filmové tvorbě jeho zadavateli.

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and nitrogen (N) management practices have been an increasing concern among corn (Zea mays L.) producers. The objective of this study was to assess the placement distance of UAN and measure total N uptake on corn grain yield as affected by irrigation. Field trials were conducted in 2011 and 2012 at the Plant Science Research Center, Mississippi State, MS. Placement distance and irrigation influenced both total N uptake and grain yield results during both years of this study. Total N uptake and corn grain yield results were derived from plant samples and harvest data. Overall results from this study indicate increasing placement distance from the center of the planted row resulted in a decrease in total N uptake and grain yield. Results also show the subsurface banded treatment resulted in a greater N uptake and grain yield.

The economic welfare of a community vastly depends on the business and industry it can attract and retain. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), occupations in which workers often are required to have an associate degree are growing faster than occupations that require other types of training. As the demand for more technical and vocational graduates increases, it is important for the community and junior college to retain the students to graduation and place them in jobs in their community. The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to determine the graduation totals and placement rates for Associate of Applied Science students from each community and junior college in Mississippi during the 2006-07 academic year. In addition, student demographic and education variables of graduates including age, gender, ethnicity, GPA, and ACT were obtained to determine their influences on graduation totals. The practices for retaining the Associate of Applied Science students to graduation and placing them in jobs were also determined. The findings of this study indicate the total placement rate relative to graduation totals for the 11 colleges that reported placement rate. The most prevalent demographic and education variables of retention included 63% of graduates in the 21-30 age range; 70% of the graduates were females, 66% were white, 36% were in the 3.0-3.49 GPA range, and 46% had a 16-20 ACT score. The methods for retaining these students to graduation were identified as extracurricular activities, new student orientation, tutorial programs, career center access, work study programs, counseling services, and developmental classes. The methods for placing these students in jobs after graduation involved the instructors spending a lot of time working with their local businesses and industry along with operating craft committees that met regularly with local business leaders. The results of this study indicate a high success rate for Mississippi community and junior colleges at retaining and placing students.

No description available.

This quantitative study examined the impact that Advanced Placement (AP) coursework had on students attending college with specific emphasis on those who failed the exam. The study comprised four years of entering freshmen students between the academic years 2006-2009. The study was comprehensive in that it revealed all AP attempts regardless of score and student's desire to submit results to Temple University and the universities' acceptance of the same for college credit. For consistency, college success was determined based on data in the first two academic years of study. Students' grade point average (GPA) and retention were analyzed as the two primary assessments defining college access. The sample consisted of 16,731 students over four years of entering first-time freshmen to Temple University. The results indicated that AP score had a significant effect on both GPA and retention, although the effects for GPA were much stronger than for retention. Essentially, the results showed that the GPA of students decreases linearly from those who obtained an average AP score of "5", through "4", "3" and "2". Students whose average AP score was "1", however, performed at a lower level than students who had taken no AP course at all. Moreover, when various pre-college factors (specifically, SAT scores, high school GPA, mothers' and fathers' educational level and family income) were used as covariates, the effect for AP performance was markedly reduced. As such, it became evident that the real issue in evaluating the impact of AP performance is not whether students who take and pass AP courses do better in college. The real issue is whether AP performance provides an advantage over and above the advantages that students already possess. This study also revealed a threshold at which AP exposure correlated to college success when studying the AP failures with a score of `1'. The study findings contribute to emerging literature examining the relationship that AP failures have on students and colleges. / Educational Administration

This thesis reports a study of the impact of work placements on the transferable skills of engineering students. The thesis provides a review of the theoretical and empirical literature in the field of student work placements and transferable skills and provides a discussion of the measurement of impact in this field. It also describes the design of the study, methods of data collection and the data analyses used. The research project was carried out at Loughborough University from 2005 – 2008. The data was collected from 247 students and 5 DIS (Diploma in Industrial Studies) tutors from three engineering departments (Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering and the Institute of Polymer Technology and Materials Engineering (IPTME)) and 26 line managers from 19 different companies which take students on placements. The results shows that the overwhelming majority of the students valued work placements as a way of developing transferable skills and identified the transferable skills which work placements were most likely and least likely to develop. There was close agreement on these matters between students who had experienced placements and those that had not. All DIS tutors and 87% of the line managers interviewed considered that a work placement had a very strong or strong impact upon the transferable skills of the students. Triangulation of the responses by students, tutors and line managers revealed close agreement on these matters. Students, tutors and line managers had mixed opinions whether work placements would improve degree results. In fact, work placement students performed significantly better in degree examinations than non work placement students. The tutors and line managers stressed particularly that work placements increased the confidence and maturity of the students. They suggested holiday work, summer work, team based projects as a part of the University degree courses as alternative ways of helping the students who are not doing work placements to acquire and improve their transferable skills, although they did not think that these suggested alternatives will be as effective as the one year placement. They considered that the duration of the work experience period is a key factor in improving transferable skills.

Univ., Diss.--Gießen, 2003.

Le Cloud est devenu une plate-forme très répandue pour le déploiement d'applications distribuées. Beaucoup d'entreprises peuvent sous-traiter leurs infrastructures d'hébergement et, ainsi, éviter des dépenses provenant d'investissements initiaux en infrastructure et de maintenance.Des petites et moyennes entreprises, en particulier, attirés par le modèle de coûts sur demande du Cloud, ont désormais accès à des fonctionnalités comme le passage à l'échelle, la disponibilité et la fiabilité, qui avant le Cloud étaient presque réservées à de grandes entreprises.Les services du Cloud peuvent être offerts aux utilisateurs de plusieurs façons. Dans cette thèse, nous nous concentrons sur le modèle d'Infrastructure sous Forme de Service. Ce modèle permet aux utilisateurs d’accéder à des ressources de calcul virtualisés sous forme de machine virtuelles (MVs).Pour installer une application distribuée, un client du Cloud doit d'abord définir l'association entre son application et l'infrastructure. Il est nécessaire de prendre en considération des contraintesde coût, de ressource et de communication pour pouvoir choisir un ensemble de MVs provenant d'opérateurs de Cloud publiques et privés le plus adaptés. Cependant, étant donné la quantité exponentiel de configurations, la définition manuelle de l'association entre application et infrastructure peut être un challenge dans des scénarios à large échelle ou ayant des contraintes importantes de temps. En effet, ce problème est une généralisation du problème de calcul de homomorphisme de graphes, qui est NP-complet.Dans cette thèse, nous adressons le problème de calculer des placements initiaux et de reconfiguration pour des applications distribuées sur potentiellement de multiples Clouds. L'objectif est de minimiser les coûts de location et de migration en satisfaisant des contraintes de ressources et communications. Pour cela, nous proposons des heuristiques performantes capables de calculer des placements de bonne qualité très rapidement pour des scénarios à petite et large échelles. Ces heuristiques, qui sont basées sur des algorithmes de partition de graphes et de vector packing, ont été évaluées en les comparant avec des approches de l'état de l'art comme des solveurs exactes et des méta-heuristiques. Nous montrons en utilisant des simulations que les heuristiques proposées arrivent à calculer des solutions de bonne qualité en quelques secondes tandis que des autres approches prennent des heures ou jours pour les calculer. / The Cloud has become a very popular platform for deploying distributed applications. Today, virtually any credit card holder can have access to Cloud services. There are many different ways of offering Cloud services to customers. In this thesis we especially focus on theInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS), a model that, usually, proposes virtualized computing resources to costumers in the form of virtual machines (VMs). Thanks to its attractive pay-as-you-use cost model, it is easier for customers, specially small and medium companies, to outsource hosting infrastructures and benefit of savings related to upfront investments and maintenance costs. Also, customers can have access to features such as scalability, availability, and reliability, which previously were almost exclusive for large companies. To deploy a distributed application, a Cloud customer must first consider the mapping between her application (or its parts) to the target infrastructure. She needs to take into consideration cost, resource, and communication constraints to select the most suitable set of VMs, from private and public Cloud providers. However, defining a mapping manually may be a challenge in large-scale or time constrained scenarios since the number of possible configuration explodes. Furthermore, when automating this process, scalability issues must be taken into account given that this mapping problem is a generalization of the graph homomorphism problem, which is NP-complete.In this thesis we address the problem of calculating initial and reconfiguration placements for distributed applications over possibly multiple Clouds. Our objective is to minimize renting and migration costs while satisfying applications' resource and communication constraints. We concentrate on the mapping between applications and Cloud infrastructure. Using an incremental approach, we split the problem into three different parts and propose efficient heuristics that can compute good quality placements very quickly for small and large scenarios. These heuristics are based on graph partition and vector packing heuristics and have been extensively evaluated against state of the art approaches such as MIP solvers and meta-heuristics. We show through simulations that the proposed heuristics manage to compute solutions in a few seconds that would take many hours or days for other approaches to compute.