Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: TCP; RED; satellite; PEP; STP; performance enhancing proxy; segment caching; IP-ABR; Internet; bandwidth reservation; IP-VBR; congestion avoidance; bandwidth sharing. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-99).

M. Tech. Electrical Engineering. / Discusses the question of how to prolong the life of an entire sensor network by reducing the power consumption is the most important issue in wireless sensor networks. Traditional routing schemes have not fulfilled the expectations of an optimised WSN, and as a result, new algorithms are being designed globally. One of these protocols which serve as a basis for this study is the RCRR. In this project, we present a new approach of the Relative Coordinates Rumor Routing algorithm based on a link quality awareness scheme and a modified version of the protocol with better scaling.The benefits of this study are: Proposal of a tuneable algorithm that will not only consume less power compared to the classic RR but also addresses the scalability problem encountered with the original RCRR. Proposal a better trade-off between throughput and average end-to-end delay with the use of the SMAC (compared with Rumor protocol). Avoidance of long delays in queues and saving power on retransmission of packets. Reduction of the wandering of agents during communication. Prolonging the lifetime of the network and thus offering economic, operational, and environmental benefits. Balancing link quality awareness with a topological localisation scheme to achieve better throughput.

M. Tech. Electrical Engineering. / This research presented an integrated formal model of the JXTA protocol suite. The integrated model is constructed from the individual models describing the behaviours of protocols entities. Written in the PROMELA specification language, the finite state automata of these models are shown instead. The SPIN-based formal verification revealed that this studys integrated model was too large to perform for the computational resources available. This was in spite of the application of multiple complexity reduction techniques. Subsequently, as final recourse, the research resorted to the formal verification of individual protocols by making further abstraction of the interaction and dependencies between protocols. A number of errors were found including an invalid end state in the routing protocols and multiple non-progress cycles.

Ad hoc networks are commonly known to implement IEEE 802.11 standard as their medium access control (MAC) protocol. It is well known that token passing MAC schemes outperform carrier-sense-multiple-access (CSMA) schemes, therefore, token passing MAC protocols have gained popularity in recent years. In recent years, the research extends the concept of token passing ' scheme to wireless settings since they have the potential of achieving higher channel utilization than CSMA type schemes. In this thesis, a hybrid Token-CDMA MAC protocol that is based on a token passing scheme with the incorporation of code division multiple access (CDMA) is introduced. Using a dynamic code distribution algorithm and a modified leaky-bucket policing system, the hybrid protocol is able to provide both Quality of Service (QoS) and high network resource utilization, while ensuring the stability of a network. This thesis begins with the introduction of a new MAC protocol based on a token-passing strategy. The input traffic model used in the simulation is a two-state Markov Modulated Poisson Process (MMPP). The data rate QoS is enforced by implementing a modified leaky bucket mechanism in the proposed MAC scheme. The simulation also takes into account channel link errors caused by the wireless link by implementing a multi-layered Gilbert-Elliot model. The performance of the proposed MAC scheme is examined by simulation, and compared to the performance of other MAC protocols published in the literature. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid MAC scheme is effective in decreasing packet delay and significantly shortens the length of the queue. The thesis continues with the discussion of the analytical model for the hybrid Token CDMA protocol. The proposed MAC scheme is analytically modelled as a multiserver multiqueue (MSMQ) system with a gated service discipline. The analytical model is categorized into three sections viz. the vacation model, the input model and the buffer model. The throughput and delay performance are then computed and shown to closely match the simulation results. Lastly, cross-layer optimization between the physical (PHY) and MAC layers for the hybrid token-CDMA scheme is discussed. The proposed joint PHY -MAC approach is based on the interaction between the two layers in order to enable the stations to dynamically adjust the transmission parameters resulting in reduced mutual interference and optimum system performance. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The Web has become an essential part in the lives of individuals on a global scale. The Web provides information, data, and unprecedented international communicative powers. Because there is so much information available and the information may appear to be fairly anonymous, it is necessary to evaluate what one finds on the Web. How can Web users believe all the information that is available on it? Is the information authoritative, reliable, and trustworthy? And, from the reverse perspective, how can Web developers or providers make Web users confident about the information on the Web?There currently is no research-based Web site evaluation instrument aimed at evaluating school district Web sites. In addition, the problem of this study is to respond to the expressed need of the East Central Indiana School Study Council (ECISSC) school corporations' superintendents for a set of guidelines for developing their Web sites and to develop an evaluation tool for assessing the Web site's effectiveness.The researcher specifically examines the degree of quality of the Web sites using the researcher-developed checklist containing 137 items divided among 10 categories: authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage and intended audience, interaction and transaction features, navigational aids, non-text features, professional development, and recruitment features. Of the 10 Web evaluation categories, navigational aids (50.42%), accuracy (42.06%), and authority (41.8%) are the highest rated components. ECISSC Web contents receiving the lowest ratings include recruitment and retention features (6.74%), interaction and transaction features (8.70%), currency (8.95%), and professional development (9.33%).The findings of this study provide specific guidance to individual school corporations to retain quality Web site components and to further the development and refinement of specific elements in each of the 10 identified Web assessment categories. Individual school corporations and ECISSC school corporations' profiles are presented to assist school officials in their efforts to improve school Web site designs and contents. The 10 Web evaluation categories and 137-checklist items can be used to assess and improve school Web site and can increase their effectiveness and efficiency to promote enhanced school-community relations and understanding among stakeholders. / Department of Educational Leadership

This study describes the arrangement of four English department web sites. Arrangement is developed as an originally rhetorical, but now interdisciplinary, concept that is particularly relevant to web sites. For the purposes of the descriptions, this concept is broken into three aspects: how the home page of a site labels and lists links to other pages within the site, how the pages of the site are linked in respect to one another, and how visual elements indicate the structure of a site. Screen captures facilitate the descriptions. The sites are critiqued, and the findings are used to make suggestions for Ball State's English department web site and for English department sites generally. / Department of English

The Digital Family Oral History Pilot (DFOHP) data were collected and catalogued on a private website blog for family members to learn about their grandfather (ALP) who died without telling his own story. This study examined the outcomes and perceptions of the family members who were engaged with the pilot. A self-selected sample of 17 family members were interviewed and their reflections recorded. The reflections held their perceptions of adult learning as they responded to three research questions. “How did the family change when constructing an oral history about themselves?” “How did the family members perceive themselves as part of a family community through this oral history process?” and “What is the impact on the family relationships?” The reflections were coded and clustered in color assigned categories that revealed the themes. Findings indicated the family changed in positive ways through knowledge they gained, the new connection via the Internet, through affirmation of each other and the desire that future generations will use this resource. The family perceived themselves in varied positions within their social structure. The daughter placed herself in the epicenter due to her knowledge of her father (ALP). Family members, who perceived themselves as outliers, identified new knowledge of ALP that will help them move closer to the center in the future. The final research question on the impact on family relations elicited responses such as mended brother/sister stresses and enthusiasm that many of the family participated in the storytelling. The few negative reflections expressed sadness that ALP was not here to see what the family constructed and concern that individual stories did not encroach on the available space. The combined stories and reflections shared enough oral history that ALP was revealed as a person worth knowing to those who did not know his oral history previously. Finally, with responses such as “learned”, “learning” and “I now know” received from the sample, an environment of non-threatening informal education established new ways of knowing through an activity as simple as sharing story. Implicit informal education though storytelling was the catalyst for bonding between the branches of this family’s tree. / Department of Educational Studies

<p>In this information age, the Internet has found a role in various industries such as transportation, advertising, etc. The travel industry, in which communication between travellers and travel service providers is a very important component, has as much potential as any other industry to make full use of this new medium. Already, most travel agencies and travel service providers promote their products and services using web sites. Searching for information online is now seen by many people as a way to save time and cost, especially in their travel activities. In order to fully deploy the Internet within the travel industry, understanding the use of the Internet in tourism is critical. This research sets out initially to examine the role and the impact of the Internet in the whole of the travel industry. But in order to define an achievable scope of work and because of its importance in South Africa at this time, tourism within the travel industry was chosen as the focus of the work.</p>

Thesis (PhDTelecommunications)--University of South Australia, 2002.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri--Rolla, 2007. / Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed March 27, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56).