Thesis (M. Eng.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998. / Bibliography: leaves 107-112.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Carleton University, 1999. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Since the emergence of the Asynchronous Transfer Mode ( A TM ) concept, various switching architectures have been proposed. The multistage interconnection networks have been proposed for the switching architecture under the A TM environment. In this thesis, we propose a new model for the performance analysis of an A TM switching fabric based on single-buffered Banyan network. In this model, we use a three-state, i.e., "empty", "new" and "blocked" Markov chain model to describe the behavior of the buffer within a switching element. In addition to traditional statistical analysis including throughput and delay, we also examine the delay variation. Performance results show that the proposed model is more accurate in describing the switch behavior under uniform traffic environment in comparison with the "two-state" Markov chain model developed by Jenq, et. al.[4] [6] . Based on the "three-state" model, we study a packet priority scheme which gives the blocked packet higher priority to be routed forward during contention. It is found that the standard deviation of the network delay is reduced by about 30%.

The growth of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) was considered to be the ideal carrier of the high bandwidth applications like video on demand and multimedia e-learning. ATM emerged commercially in the beginning of the 1990's. It was designed to provide a different quality of service at a speed up 100 Gbps for both real time and non real time application. The turn of the 90's saw a variety of technologies being developed. This project analyzes these technologies, compares them to the Asynchronous Transfer Mode and assesses the future of ATM.

Public sector decision makers are confronted by pressures to make faster and better decisions as a result of the competitive environment they operate in. However, there is a trend in the public sector, including the Department of Transport (DoT) in South Africa, to invest in management information systems (MIS) that are highly fragmented and not aiding effective and timely decision-making. As a result, the country witnessed several service delivery protests since 2008 which also affected the public transport sector, such as the widespread burning of Metrorail trains several times by angry commuters. In most instances, poor service delivery emanates from the fact that public servants do not have information at their fingertips to make decisions. This quantitative study utilised Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies 5 (COBIT 5) as a theoretical framework to investigate the integration of MIS at the DoT with a view to enhancing business intelligence for effective decision-making. Data were collected through a questionnaire directed at middle managers and senior managers that were selected through stratification of business units at the DoT, as well as analysis of documents such as system specifications and strategic plans. The study established that the DoT has several systems such as Alfresco, BAS, GIS, Logis and Persal to name a few, which serve different purposes. However, in most instances, the systems are not integrated as the current infrastructure did not support integration needs and plans to accommodate changing requirements. This is compounded by the system policy implementation constraints, as well as ageing legacy systems that are obsolete. The only component where MIS was found to be integrated, was in the financial business units (Supply Chain Management, Finance and Budgeting). Core business units use off-the-shelf systems and, in some cases, custom-made applications that do not integrate with any other system and thus hinder decision-making. In conclusion, decisions are made based on thumb-sucking, as management does not have access to comprehensive information that is stored in fragmented unintegrated systems. The study recommends that governance structures should be set up to deal with a more holistic business, information and technology architecture for the DoT that enable integration of various systems for effective decision-making. Failure to transform this pattern would lead to service delivery protests persisting. A further study on a framework to integrate MIS in the public sector is recommended. / Information Science / M. Inf.