Thesis (MA (Information Science. Socio-Informatics))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / Open-source software is not something new; however, it has come into the spotlight in the last few years, mostly due to hyped initial cost savings of the Linux operating system. Consumers and businesses were made aware of shortcomings in the traditional proprietary software model and this has in turn created a surge in popularity of open-source. The migration to open-source requires efficient research of options available and thorough analysis of the migratory process through all levels of the organization. Initial independent cost analysis has not been conclusive, with unreliable, skewed results and below average performance due to poor implementation. The focus of this study is whether open-source software is a suitable alternative to current proprietary software packages utilized by the government sector.

In scientific applications, physical quantities and units of measurement are used regularly. If the inherent incompatibility between these different units is not handled properly it can lead to major, and sometimes catastrophic, problems. Although the risk of a miscalculation is high and the cost equally so, almost no programming languages has support for physical quantities. Instead developers often rely on external libraries to help them spot these mistakes or prevent them all together. There are several hundred of these types of libraries, spread across multiple sites and with no simple way to get an overview. No one has summarized what has and has not been achieved so far in the area leading to many developers trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’ instead of building on what has already been done. This shows a clear need for this type of research. Employing a systematic approach to look through and analyze all available physical quantity libraries, the search results were condensed into 82 libraries which are presented in this thesis. These are the most comprehensive and well-developed, open-source libraries, chosen from approximately 3700 search results across seven repository hosting sites. In this group, 30 different programming languages are represented. The goal is for the results of this thesis to contribute to a shared foundation on which to build future libraries as well as provide an easy way of spreading knowledge about which libraries exist in the area, thus making it easier for more people to use them.

With the emergence of connected and autonomous vehicles, sensors are increasingly deployed within car. Traffic generated by these sensors congest traditional intra-vehicular networks, such as CAN buses. Furthermore, the large amount of wires needed to connect sensors makes it hard to design cars in a modular way. These limitations have created impetus to use wireless technologies to support intra-vehicular communication. In this dissertation, we tackle the challenge of designing and evaluating data collection protocols for intra-car networks that can operate reliably and efficiently under dynamic channel conditions. First, we evaluate the feasibility of deploying an intra-car wireless network based on the Backpressure Collection Protocol (BCP), which is theoretically proven to be throughput-optimal. We uncover a surprising behavior in which, under certain dynamic channel conditions, the average packet delay of BCP decreases with the traffic load. We propose and analyze a queueing-theoretic model to shed light into the observed phenomenon. As a solution, we propose a new protocol, called replication-based LIFO-backpressure (RBL). Analytical and simulation results indicate that RBL dramatically reduces the delay of BCP at low load, while maintaining its high throughput performance. Next, we propose and implement a hybrid wired/wireless architecture, in which each node is connected to either a wired interface or a wireless interface or both. We propose a new protocol, called Hybrid-Backpressure Collection Protocol (Hybrid-BCP), for the intra-car hybrid networks. Our testbed implementation, based on CAN and ZigBee transceivers, demonstrates the load balancing and routing functionalities of Hybrid-BCP and its resilience to DoS attacks. We further provide simulation results, obtained based on real intra-car RSSI traces, showing that Hybrid-BCP can achieve the same performance as a tree-based protocol while reducing the radio transmission power by a factor of 10. Finally, we present TeaCP, a prototype Toolkit for the evaluation and analysis of Collection Protocols in both simulation and experimental environments. TeaCP evaluates a wide range of standard performance metrics, such as reliability, throughput, and latency. TeaCP further allows visualization of routes and network topology evolution. Through simulation of an intra-car WSN and real lab experiments, we demonstrate the functionality of TeaCP for comparing different collection protocols.

Submitted by DANIEL SEDA PEREIRA DE MORAES (danielseda@gmail.com) on 2018-08-10T23:13:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniel-Seda_Origami-e-Robotica_DISSERTACAO-2018.pdf: 22202619 bytes, checksum: e9ba068be30e0b62f8b50a71bba3ea98 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Laura Mariane de Andrade null (laura.andrade@ia.unesp.br) on 2018-08-11T14:42:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 moraes_dsp_me_ia.pdf: 22154827 bytes, checksum: b7f22d7feaf55298d990176bd6c87dba (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T14:42:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 moraes_dsp_me_ia.pdf: 22154827 bytes, checksum: b7f22d7feaf55298d990176bd6c87dba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-18 / Nesta dissertação, eu discuto algumas das relações entre arte, ciência e tecnologia a partir da conexão entre o papel e a eletrônica. O foco da dissertação é como o papel, tecnologia ancestral, pode ganhar outras aplicações, especialmente na arte, ao se conectar a sistemas de código aberto para robótica. O conhecimento teórico e experimental sobre o tema converte-se na produção de uma série de objetos cinéticos apresentados em uma exposição junto com o texto final desta dissertação, que contém também um tutorial abrindo o código das obras realizadas, permitindo a sua replicação por outras pessoas. / In this text, I discuss relations between art, science and technology starting from the connection between paper and electronics. The focus is how paper, ancestral technology, can gain other applications, especially in art, when connecting to open source systems for robotics. Theoretical and experimental knowledge on the subject compose a series of kinetic objects presented in an exposition along with the final text of this dissertation, which also contains a tutorial opening the code of the works carried out, allowing their replication by other people.

Foi desenvolvido um protótipo de hardware de sistema de monitoramento meteorológico como tecnologia aberta e livre e voltado para a ciência cidadã, chamado de Estações Meteorológicas Modulares (EMM). Foram considerados critérios de acessibilidade dos materiais e facilidade de modificação no desenvolvimento do projeto. Todos os programas utilizados no desenvolvimento são softwares livres. Um dos elementos desenvolvidos, a placa de controle das EMM, possibilita medir diferentes parâmetros meteorológicos, além de realizar o registro dados e envio para um servidor. Também possibilita a inclusão de novos sensores. Por todos esses fatores, é considerada satisfatória quanto a sua funcionalidade. A estrutura mecânica das EMM atingiu um patamar de preço acessível a indivíduos e organizações como escolas e associações de moradores de bairro, e apresenta fácil adaptabilidade a diferentes condições de instalação. O custo total do sistema ficou abaixo de alternativas proprietárias amadoras e significativamente abaixo de alternativas proprietárias profissionais. Soluções acessíveis para alguns elementos da EMM ainda requerem testes mais aprofundados. Parte das ferramentas utilizadas na fabricação da placa de controle ainda carece de maior disseminação junto à sociedade para acessibilizar o sistema das EMM. Os registros de desenvolvimento do trabalho foram feitos em forma de documentação aberta por meio de cadernos de laboratório abertos. As atividades de fabricação, montagem e instalação das EMM foram feitas seguindo métodos colaborativos chamados de Encontros de Fabricação Colaborativa e Mutirões das EMM. O resultado deste trabalho, unindo as documentações, os registros dos métodos colaborativos de fabricação, montagem e instalação e as consolidadas oficinas do projeto, é sintetizado no Guia da Comunidade EMM. Este é um roteiro para quem quiser fazer parte e ampliar uma rede de monitoramento ambiental colaborativo com as EMM, e é baseado em atividades educacionais para compreensão dos diferentes elementos da ferramenta e para a emancipação tecnológica. Uma das EMM foi comparada com uma estação automática oficial do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET). Nessas comparações, as medidas de temperatura e pressão atmosférica apresentaram diferenças menores do que a acurácia dos sensores, enquanto a umidade relativa do ar apresentou uma diferença acima da acurácia do sensor. Este foi um primeiro passo de validação das EMM. / It was developed the hardware prototype of a meteorological monitoring system as free and open source hardware with focus on citizen science. The system is called Estações Meteorológicas Modulares (EMM, from Portuguese Modular Meteorological Stations). Affordability and reachability of materials and ease of remix were criteria considered in the development of this project. All the programs used in the development are free software. One of the elements developed, the control board of the EMM, is considered satisfactory in terms of: the parameters it enables to measure, the functionalities of communication and register of data, and the possibility of inclusion of new sensors.. The resulting solution to the mechanical structure of the EMM is low cost, affordable to schools and neighborhood associations, and is easy to adapt to different conditions of installation. The whole cost of the system is lower than proprietary amateur alternatives and significantly lower than proprietary professional solutions. Reachable and affordable solutions to some elements of the EMM still need some deeper testing. Some of the tools used to produce the control board still need a broader dissemination among the society in order to ensure the reachability and affordability of the EMM system. The work development registers were made as open documentation by means of open laboratory notebooks. The EMM fabrication, mounting and installations activities were made as collaborative methods called Encontros de Fabricação Colaborativa (from Portuguese, Collaborative Fabrication Gatherings) and Mutirões of the EMM. The result of this work, merging the documentation, the register of collaborative methods of fabrication, mounting and installations, and the consolidated workshops of the EMM project, are synthesized in the EMM Community Guide. This is a script to the ones who want to make part and expand the collaborative environmental monitoring network with the EMM, and it is based in educational activities to comprehend the different elements of the tool and to promote the technological emancipations. One of the EMM was compared to an official automatic meteorological station from Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET, from Portuguese Meteorology National Institute). In this comparison, the temperature and atmospheric pressure measurements showed differences lower than the accuracy of the sensors used, and the relative air humidity presented a difference higher than the accuracy of the sensor. This was the first step to validate the EMM.

abstract: The following is a case study composed of three workflow investigations at the open source software development (OSSD) based Apache Software Foundation (Apache). I start with an examination of the workload inequality within the Apache, particularly with regard to requirements writing. I established that the stronger a participant's experience indicators are, the more likely they are to propose a requirement that is not a defect and the more likely the requirement is eventually implemented. Requirements at Apache are divided into work tickets (tickets). In our second investigation, I reported many insights into the distribution patterns of these tickets. The participants that create the tickets often had the best track records for determining who should participate in that ticket. Tickets that were at one point volunteered for (self-assigned) had a lower incident of neglect but in some cases were also associated with severe delay. When a participant claims a ticket but postpones the work involved, these tickets exist without a solution for five to ten times as long, depending on the circumstances. I make recommendations that may reduce the incidence of tickets that are claimed but not implemented in a timely manner. After giving an in-depth explanation of how I obtained this data set through web crawlers, I describe the pattern mining platform I developed to make my data mining efforts highly scalable and repeatable. Lastly, I used process mining techniques to show that workflow patterns vary greatly within teams at Apache. I investigated a variety of process choices and how they might be influencing the outcomes of OSSD projects. I report a moderately negative association between how often a team updates the specifics of a requirement and how often requirements are completed. I also verified that the prevalence of volunteerism indicators is positively associated with work completion but what was surprising is that this correlation is stronger if I exclude the very large projects. I suggest the largest projects at Apache may benefit from some level of traditional delegation in addition to the phenomenon of volunteerism that OSSD is normally associated with. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Industrial Engineering 2017

Denna studie har behandlat fri mjukvara ur ideologanalytiskt perspektiv. Studien bygger på en analys av Free Software Foundation, mjukvaruplattformen GNU samt ett forum som främst diskuterar fri mjukvara. Studien har först och främst behandlat ämnet som en social rörelse, och sökt att förstå de ideologiska resonemangen som görs inom rörelsen, för att kunna se vad rörelsen ställer för krav och hur de önskar att världen ”borde vara”. Genom att använda en så kallad ”diskursiv ideologianalys”, så har materialet sållat fram värden, tankar och idéer. Genom materialet har det funnits en idé att undersöka hur de olika delarna tolkar varandra, och hur ideologin har samspelat mellan dem. Dessa har sedan försökts att förstås och problematiserats genom olika ideologiska texter och teorier, i hoppet om att förstå vad för världsbild som faktiskt konstrueras. Men det har också varit av vikt att undersöka om det faktiskt råder en konsensus i det som har funnits, eller om det istället har handlat om ideologiska krockar inom rörelsen.

Submitted by LEANDRO LUIS PAURO null (leapauro@hotmail.com) on 2017-01-04T17:24:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertaçãoLeandroLuisPauro.pdf: 2663695 bytes, checksum: 2f960384d56a02d82cba4527cfb3d32c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-01-06T13:52:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pauro_ll_me_sjrp.pdf: 2663695 bytes, checksum: 2f960384d56a02d82cba4527cfb3d32c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-06T13:52:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pauro_ll_me_sjrp.pdf: 2663695 bytes, checksum: 2f960384d56a02d82cba4527cfb3d32c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-06 / Cada vez mais a Computação em Nuvem é incorporada pelas empresas como forma econômica e viável de se disponibilizar recursos e serviços. No entanto, a confiabilidade operacional e a disponibilidade de recurso ainda causam preocupação em virtude de ocorrer a inatividade de algum serviço fornecido pela nuvem, o que pode gerar a perda de receitas e desconfiança do cliente. Assim, é crucial que se disponibilize ferramentas a este ambiente para realizar auditoria e monitoramento, a fim de prover a prevenção e a eliminação de inconsistências que possam provocar a indisponibilidade do serviço oferecido. Este trabalho apresenta a ferramenta de Auditoria e Monitoramento em Nuvem Orquestrador Apache CloudStack AMFC, que através do sincronismo das informações do estado atual com dados persistentes do orquestrador, realiza a eliminação de dados sem utilização e inconsistências, diminui o alertas de falso positivo e falso negativo e também proporciona menor custo para armazenamento de dados persistentes da nuvem. Sua eficácia foi evidenciada através da realização de validação manual comparada com o resultado obtido da execução da ferramenta a partir de casos de uso gerados no ambiente de teste controlado. Os resultados obtidos após a realização de 1.320 rotinas administrativas para instância de máquina virtual mostraram a identificação e eliminação das inconsistências na base de dados persistente, a redução do custo de armazenamento e consequentemente, uma base de dados íntegra, que oferece ao administrador da nuvem uma tomada de decisão com maior precisão para averiguar um problema que esteja ocorrendo no ambiente. / Cloud Computing has been increasingly incorporated by companies as an economic and feasible mean to provide resources and services. However, operational reliability and resource availability are still cause for concern since there's the possibility of a cloud service going down, which can lead to loss of revenue and customer distrust. Thus, it is crucial to provide tools for performing auditing and monitoring in order to prevent and eliminate inconsistencies that may cause the unavailability of the service offered. This paper presents the Cloud Orchestrator Auditing and Monitoring Tool Apache CloudStack AMFC, which by synching information current status with the orchestrator persistent data deletes any unused data and inconsistencies, decreases the false positive and negative alerts and also provides lower cost for cloud persistent data storage. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated through manual validation compared to results obtained from running the tool in a controlled test environment. The results obtained after performing 1.320 administrative tasks for a virtual machine were the identification and elimination of inconsistencies in the persistent database, reducing storage costs and, consequently, resulting in an intact database. This enables the cloud administrator to make more accurate decisions when investigating a possible malfunction in the environment.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon, 2004 / This dissertation was written in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology in the Faculty of Information Technology at the Peninsula Technikon in South Africa. The dissertation covers the introduction of the study; the reviews of the case, Free and Open Source Software; the discussion of methodology of software project management in terms of software engineering; the analysis of assessment methods; the techniques of using PHP, MySQL, Apache and CVS; and the implementation of a test module. The research represents the consideration of the problem, namely that there are few free assessment manager programmes that can be used for the quick and efficient deployment of academic assessments. An experimental research method was used to with the aim of solving the above problem. In other words, a test management system module had to be designed and implemented to function within the architectural constraints of a developing Open Source Software (OSS) Learning Management System (LMS), which is called Knowledge Environment for Web-based Learning Next Generation (KEWL.NextGen). The test management system is a module developed on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in PHP and MySQL application. The scripts of this test module are written under the KEWL.NextGen' application framework, which is based on a close approximation of model, view and controller (MVC) design III pattem. Now the entire source coding of the test module has been uploaded to Web site http://kngforge.uwc.ac.za. This test module can be used for the creation and management of an online test. It provides facilities to create a new test, and to preview, edit, delete and mark an existing test. Three question types have been achieved, namely multiple-choice, true/false and short answer.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon,Cape Town, 2004 / Higher education and online discussions are an integral part of collaboratively based e-Learning systems. However, there problems can be associated with current online discussion models. For example, it can be easy to set open-ended discussions which attract little participation and to assess contributions can be difficult or time-consuming. Students may not achieve the expected learning outcomes without proper structure and management in online discussions. This paper proposes to design and implement a discussion forum object to function within the architectural constraints of an existing Oss learning management system (to meet target user requirements) that is a web-based environment for online discussions where the facilitator can structure each discussion according to its nature and where learning requirements are using already designed templates.