Massively parallel programming is an increasingly growing field with the recent introduction of general purpose GPU computing. Modern graphics processors from NVIDIA and AMD have massively parallel architectures that can be used for such applications as 3D rendering, financial analysis, physics simulations, and biomedical analysis. These massively parallel systems are exposed to programmers through in- terfaces such as NVIDIAs CUDA, OpenCL, and Microsofts C++ AMP. These frame- works expose functionality using primarily either C or C++. In order to use these massively parallel frameworks, programs being implemented must be run on machines equipped with massively parallel hardware. These requirements limit the flexibility of new massively parallel systems. This paper explores the possibility that massively parallel systems can be exposed through web services in order to facilitate using these architectures from remote systems written in other languages. To explore this possi- bility, an architecture is put forth with requirements and high level design for building a web service that can overcome limitations of existing tools and frameworks. The CUDA Web API is built using Python, PyCUDA, NumPy, JSON, and Django to meet the requirements set forth. Additionaly, a client application, CUDA Cloud, is built and serves as an example web service client. The CUDA Web API’s performance and its functionality is validated using a common matrix multiplication algorithm implemented using different languages and tools. Performance tests show runtime improvements for larger datasets using the CUDA Web API for remote CUDA kernel execution over serial implementations. This paper concludes that existing limitations associated with GPGPU usage can be overcome with the specified architecture.

Los servicios web son considerados por la industria y la investigación de facto por proporcionar funcionalidad de forma distribuida que sea usable en entornos heterogéneos. En pocas palabras, los servicios web son funcionalidad empaquetada que se basa en un conjunto de estándares que facilitan la definición de los métodos de los servicios web, sus números y formatos de entrada, así como sus números y formatos de salida. En combinación con la replicación, los servicios web pueden proporcionar soluciones de optimización del rendimiento a un número ilimitado de aplicaciones de negocio de la vida real. Sin embargo, cuando se habla de replicación es necesario plantearse cómo asignar o elegir las réplicas para proporcionar el mejor rendimiento posible. Esta tesis está dedicada a responder a esta pregunta. La tesis se titula "Un mecanismo de asignación de servicios web basado en Broker" donde un paradigma de ejecución (Proteus) es presentado, y varios algoritmos de asignación son también presentados, examinados y analizados para mostrar el óptimo. La tesis se centra en el componente broker del paradigma de ejecución. Este componente tiene embebido el algoritmo de asignación. Por otra parte, la tesis se centra en el Algoritmo de menor tiempo de servicio (LRT), el cual funciona asignando las réplicas del servicio web que proporcionan un tiempo de respuesta más rápido. La tesis ofrece todo el trabajo de fondo necesario, así como toda la investigación relacionada. Contiene una parte simulada, así como una descripción de un sistema de la vida real (Proteus). Contiene también una sección dedicada a analizar los resultados de los registros de ejecución y analizar las diferentes variaciones de los entornos (homogéneos y heterogéneos), el número de replicas y el nivel de paralelismo. Los registros son examinados y las conclusiones expuestas. / Alwagait, EAK. (2011). A Broker based Web Service Allocation Mechanism [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/12500

Actualmente, los sistemas informáticos complejos se describen en términos de entidades que actúan como proveedores y consumidores. Estas entidades ofrecen su funcionalidad a través de servicios e interactúan entre ellas para ofrecer o pedir estos servicios. La integración de Sistemas Multi-Agente Abiertos y de Sistemas Orientados a Servicios es adecuada para implementar este tipo de sistemas. En los SMA abiertos, los agentes entran y salen del sistema, interactúan con los demás de una manera flexible, y se consideran como entidades reactivas y proactivas, capaces de razonar acerca de lo que sucede en su entorno y llevar a cabo acciones locales sobre la base de sus observaciones para alcanzar sus metas. El área de la computación orientada a servicios proporciona los bloques de construcción básicos para aplicaciones empresariales complejas que son los servicios. Los servicios son independientes de la plataforma y pueden ser descubiertos y compuestos de manera dinámica. Estas características hacen que los servicios sean adecuados para hacer frente a la elevada tasa de cambios en las demandas de las empresas. Sin embargo, la complejidad de los sistemas informáticos, los cambios en las condiciones del entorno y el conocimiento parcial de los agentes sobre el sistema requieren que los agentes cuenten con mecanismos que les faciliten tareas como el descubrimiento de servicios, la auto-organización de sus relaciones estructurales conforme se producen cambios en la demanda de servicios, y la promoción y mantenimiento de un comportamiento cooperativo entre los agentes para garantizar el buen desarrollo de la actividad de descubrimiento de servicios en el sistema. La principal aportación de esta tesis doctoral es la propuesta de un marco para Sistemas Multi-Agente Abiertos Orientados a Servicios. Este marco integra agentes que se encuentran en una red sin ningún tipo de estructura predefinida, y agentes que además de estar en esa red forman parte de grupos dinámicos más comp / Del Val Noguera, E. (2013). Semantic Service management for service-oriented MAS [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/27556

Network science emerged as an interdisciplinary field over the last 20 years, and played a central role to address fundamental problems in other fields, e.g., epidemiology, public health, and transportation, and is now part of most university curriculums. Network dynamics is a major area within network science where researchers study different forms of processes in networked populations, such as the spread of emotions, influence, opinions, flu, ebola, and mass movements. These processes often referred to individually and collectively as contagions. Contagions are increasingly studied because of their economic, social, and political impacts. Yet, resources for studying network dynamics are largely dispersed and stand-alone. Furthermore, many researchers interested in the study of networks are not computer scientists. As a result, they do not have easy access to computing and data resources. Even with the presence of software or tools, it is challenging to install, build, and maintain software. These challenges create a barrier for researchers and domain scientists. The goal of this work is the design and implementation of a research framework for modeling contagions on large networked populations. The framework consists of various systems and services that provide support for researchers and domain scientists at different stages of their research workflow. / Ph. D. / Network science is a field which studies complex networks. Network science emerged over the last 20 years as an interdisciplinary academic field which integrates data, tools, and theories from multiple disciplines, and use this integration to address fundamental problems in other fields, e.g., epidemiology, public health, and transportation, and is now part of most university curriculums. Network dynamics is a major area within network science where researchers study different forms of processes in networked populations, such as the spread of emotions, influence, opinions, flu, ebola, and mass movements. These processes often referred to individually and collectively as contagions. Contagions are increasingly studied because of their economic, social, and political impacts. To study contagions, researchers and domain scientists need both software and hardware that can collect, analyze, and manage large volumes of networked data. Furthermore, for non-computer scientists, it is more challenging to install, build, and maintain the software with the required hardware. These challenges create a barrier for researchers and domain scientists to conduct their experiments and replicate others’ work. The goal of this work is the design and implementation of various systems and services that provide support for researchers and domain scientists at different stages of their research workflow.

Every corporation using IT technologies needs a good and carefully secured network design. The IT security is a key factor of a normal functional of the whole corporation and all its sections. There different methods and concepts for providing different level of IT security. Some of them are very important and should be implemented in every corporate network. There are a lot of services providing inside and outside the corporation network. Increasing the number of services like web services, mail services, file services and other, the number of eventual security issues is rising. The security methods of each of provided services are different and it is required a professional with deep knowledge about this service functionality if it is needed to be good applied. Operation system and application hardering are methods which are not so hard for applying, like configuring proxy server or firewalls, but they could increase the security drastic. In a combination with simple configured security devices, the results could be very impressive. Choosing the right methodology and framework of designing a secured network is important part of entire process. With the right methodology designing could be easier and more effective.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2011

Public library services in New Zealand are being re-examined in light of the developments in ICT and an increasingly multicultural population. The research question investigated was “Can an internet portal on a public library website be used to meet the information needs of new Chinese Mandarin immigrants to the Auckland region of New Zealand?” In an attempt to effectively answer the research question and sub-questions the researcher conducted a literature review on two aspects relevant to the study: immigration theory and information behaviour (IB). Thirty Chinese Mandarin speaking recent migrants to the Auckland region of New Zealand were interviewed in-depth to determine their information behaviour (IB) and resources used. The findings indicate that respondents were in need of everyday survival information. The findings suggest that a more coordinated approach to information provision, for example through a library web portal, will assist respondents in their search for information relating to their initial settlement. / Information Science / M. Inf.

Thesis (MBA) -- Stellenbosch University, 2011. / The use of the web-based technology to conduct business has been growing in many industries globally, this has been the case in the tourism industry. The growing popularity of the web-based technology can be attributed to the benefits it brings to the tourism industry. The study has look into the overall benefits brought by the web-based technology in the tourism industry and how it can be further exploited to benefit the organizations. The application of the web-based technology has included the introduction of the website. The website has given companies exposure to the global market and has been a platform for conducting marketing activities. The website has been used extensively in the tourism industry as a source of information. The website has enabled travel consumers purchase tourism products and services. Having a website may not be sufficient in meeting an organisation’s intended objectives. Many companies in the tourism industry are making use of the website, hence the use of website in search engines has become competitive. Companies need to implement website optimisation techniques to benefit both the travel suppliers and travel consumers. To conduct the organisations marketing activities successfully, the websites needs maximum exposure to the target audience. This can be achieved through the website design aimed at ensuring that the website is highly ranked by search engines. Added features like video, up to date information and photos add value to travel consumers. Through these features travel consumers are able to understand tourism products and services, and hence make informed decisions. The study has looked at the application of the web-based technology in four sectors of the tourism industry in South Africa. These are attraction, accommodation, tour operators and transport. Suppliers in each sector were selected for analysis and they are: - in attraction, Kruger National Park and Hluhluwe Game Reserve; - in accommodation, Hilton hotel and Southern Sun hotel; - in tour operator, Thompson Holiday and Tourvest; and - in transport, Kulula, South African Airways, Avis and Europcar. Suppliers in the tourism industry in South Africa were found to use the website for the following reasons: - Provides information about the organisation and its products and services. - Used as a marketing tool: The website is used to facilitate communication between the travel supplier and the travel consumer. It is also a platform to sell tourism products and services. - Used to enhance collaboration in the industry. Collaboration through websites has resulted in a better supply chain. Customers have been able to buy one package including the airline ticket, accommodation and car hire using one website. - Used to conduct business transactions: Customers have been able to make bookings and reservations and payments through the website. - Used to attract customers to the organisation’s products and services. Attractive features such as photos and videos have been included in the website. The Safari Company is a tour operator in South Africa. Using web-based technology; the company has changed its business model to be able to serve its customers better. The company has developed a new website that adds value to both travel suppliers and travel consumers. Travel suppliers are able to market their services and products through the website. The website provides travel consumers with the latest information and expert advice in tourism products in the Southern and Eastern Africa. The Safari Company website has been a platform for the company to communicate its social responsibility with the global community. The Safari Company donates 10% of its revenue to an organization called Touch the Land. Touch the Land is a foundation that implements projects in Southern and Eastern Africa aimed at poverty alleviation.

Current global business competition has resulted in significant challenges for manufacturing and production sectors focused on shorter product lifecyc1es, more diverse and customized products as well as cost pressures from competitors and customers. To remain competitive, manufacturers, particularly in automotive industry, require the next generation of manufacturing paradigms supporting flexible and reconfigurable production systems that allow quick system changeovers for various types of products. In addition, closer integration of shop floor and business systems is required as indicated by the research efforts in investigating "Agile and Collaborative Manufacturing Systems" in supporting the production unit throughout the manufacturing lifecycles. The integration of a business enterprise with its shop-floor and lifecycle supply partners is currently only achieved through complex proprietary solutions due to differences in technology, particularly between automation and business systems. The situation is further complicated by the diverse types of automation control devices employed. Recently, the emerging technology of Service Oriented Architecture's (SOA's) and Web Services (WS) has been demonstrated and proved successful in linking business applications. The adoption of this Web Services approach at the automation level, that would enable a seamless integration of business enterprise and a shop-floor system, is an active research topic within the automotive domain. If successful, reconfigurable automation systems formed by a network of collaborative autonomous and open control platform in distributed, loosely coupled manufacturing environment can be realized through a unifying platform of WS interfaces for devices communication. The adoption of SOA- Web Services on embedded automation devices can be achieved employing Device Profile for Web Services (DPWS) protocols which encapsulate device control functionality as provided services (e.g. device I/O operation, device state notification, device discovery) and business application interfaces into physical control components of machining automation. This novel approach supports the possibility of integrating pervasive enterprise applications through unifying Web Services interfaces and neutral Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message communication between control systems and business applications over standard Ethernet-Local Area Networks (LAN's). In addition, the re-configurability of the automation system is enhanced via the utilisation of Web Services throughout an automated control, build, installation, test, maintenance and reuse system lifecycle via device self-discovery provided by the DPWS protocol.

在知識經濟時代中，新的科技與新的市場，帶來許多機會與無可限量的發展潛力，隨著網際網路的興起，電腦與網路科技之發展，人們的學習方式也愈益多元，透過網際網路的傳遞，資訊科技的輔助有效克服了學習時間、空間上的限制，提升學習教材與學習者間的互動性，我們已進入一個數位學習的新環境。大學圖書館於數位學習環境中，將面臨數位資源整合與流通的新挑戰，也因此圖書館必需扮演數位資源的仲介者，以資源共享的理念，促進校園內部數位學習資源的共享與流通，以提升大學圖書館支援大學教學服務的角色。 本研究以服務導向架構，建構一個數位學習物件交換Web Services整合服務雛型系統。本研究於大學圖書館中，建置校園UDDI，並透過中介平台整合下列四點服務：(1)提供教師數位學習物件發佈與標準轉換與轉化的介面，以達到數位物件標準化、分享的目的；(2)使用者藉由雛型系統所提供的查詢介面，查得所需的數位學習物件；(3)透過授權申請，取得使用授權，並進行後續付費的動作；(4)可取得數位學習物件。 透過本系統的初步雛型規劃，呈現出未來大學的圖書館於數位學習物件交換須達成以下三種角色：(1)相關標準的推廣者；(2)提供適當的著作權保護；(3)服務流程之整合。