From POTS to PANS: a commentary on the evolution to Internettelephony

A PSTN phone can generate only a small set of signaling events and tones, and cannot receive or process signaling of any sophistication. Packet phones, on the other hand, can receive and process signaling automatically and also send signaling out of band as a separate set of IP packets. Evolution from plain old telephony services (POTS) to IP telephony therefore promises some pretty amazing new services (PANS). It will nevertheless take many years to transition to a purely packet-based environment. The authors describe aspects of the evolution of telephony networks and services as they relate to the underlying changes in technology. The following technologies are mentioned: Internet telephony; intelligent networks; billing information systems; electronic commerce     

The evolution of web-based optimisation: From ASP to e-Services

In many application domains, optimisation and other analytic models are often embedded as a decision engine within the respective business processes. In this paper, we study recent trends in the provision of optimisation tools and optimisation-based decision support systems (DSS) as web-enabled distributed applications. We analyse the evolution from the Application Service Provision (ASP) model to the e-Services model, and we illustrate the importance of distributed optimisation components in the effective deployment of embedded “business analytics”. We finally provide an overview of the OSP and the WEBOPT projects, which deliver optimisation-based applications and optimisation components in a distributed environment.     

Role engineering: From design to evolution of security schemes

This paper presents a methodology to design the RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) scheme during the design phase of an Information System. Two actors, the component developer and the security administrator, will cooperate to define and set up the minimal set of roles in agreement with the application constraints and the organization constraints that guarantee the global security policy of an enterprise. In order to maintain the global coherence of the existing access control scheme, an algorithm is proposed to detect the possible inconsistencies before the integration of a new component in the Information System.     

考虑漏洞间相关作用的风险评估方法

信息安全问题随着时代的变迁日益复杂,而科学、合理的风险评估为信息安全提供了一种比较根本、有效的解决途径。运用可靠性分析的方法,提出了在计算机网络空间下,基于相关性漏洞的风险评估模型,对系统的攻击建模的研究提供了一个新的思路。     

From Babel to EDIL: the evolution of a standard for document delivery

There is a great deal of interest in electronic document delivery at the present time. This paper examines electronic document delivery and one of the many problems which it raises, that of standardisation. The paper details the development and proposals of one standard, GEDI, and gives details of a pilot demonstration of the standard in four European countries.     

利用弱点评估提高入侵检测系统性能的分析与实现

当前的入侵检测系统存在的虚警问题和报警量过大的问题严重影响了在实际中的应用效果。分析了系统弱点与入侵之间的关系,提出了弱点信息与入侵检测报警信息的关联的表示方法,给出了利用它们之间的关联提高入侵检测系统性能的实现框架。     

GIS-based method for the environmental vulnerability assessment to volcanic ashfall at Etna Volcano

The response of environment to ashfall was evaluated aiming at defining the vulnerability in the areas surrounding Mt. Etna volcano, Sicily. The two utilized scenarios assume different thickness of ashfall, over distances comparable with those covered by deposits from realistic eruptions that occurred recently on the volcano. The fall episodes are considered instantaneous or with a duration of 90 days. These models are in agreement with the actual and recent activity of the volcano. The evaluation of vulnerability was performed by a GIS-based method, accordingly with the different themes that constitute the Corine Land Cover inventory of the study area and discovering the potentially damaged elements following the two hypothesized scenarios.

An overview of the model integration process: From pre-integration assessment to testing

Integration of models requires linking models which can be developed using different tools, methodologies, and assumptions. We performed a literature review with the aim of improving our understanding of model integration process, and also presenting better strategies for building integrated modeling systems. We identified five different phases to characterize integration process: pre-integration assessment, preparation of models for integration, orchestration of models during simulation, data interoperability, and testing. Commonly, there is little reuse of existing frameworks beyond the development teams and not much sharing of science components across frameworks. We believe this must change to enable researchers and assessors to form complex workflows that leverage the current environmental science available. In this paper, we characterize the model integration process and compare integration practices of different groups. We highlight key strategies, features, standards, and practices that can be employed by developers to increase reuse and interoperability of science software components and systems.     

From Eliza to Internet: a brief history of computerized assessment

Three decades of research into the equivalency of traditional and automated assessments have culminated in the growing popularity of Internet-based surveys. This article briefly reviews the history of computerized assessment and compares and contrasts it to the current research on Internet-based surveying.     

Invited Paper: The evolution of projection displays: From mechanical scanners to microdisplays

Abstract— The development of electronic projection systems from its earliest days in the 1930s to the present will be reviewed. Early projection systems were dominated by cathode‐ray tubes (CRTs) and mechanical scanners (Scophony). Until the invention of the Eidophor oil‐film light‐valve (LV) projector in the 1940s, there was no all‐electronic alternative to CRTs. Oil‐film LVs and CRTs dominated projection until the introduction of the first liquid‐crystal‐device (LCD) light‐amplifier system by Hughes. Today, the oil‐film LV has vanished and the CRT is vanishing. The light amplifier has morphed into several variations of liquid crystal‐on‐silicon (LCoS). Mechanical scanners are starting to be re‐introduced for laser display systems. However, transmissive LCDs, the digital micromirror device (DMD), and LCoS microdisplays dominate the projection‐display market today. In addition to discussing the projection systems themselves, certain key component technologies that have made modern projection systems possible will be discussed.     

The e-HUB evolution: From a Custom Software Architecture to a Software-as-a-Service implementation

New technological advances have enabled the creation of distributed collaborative industrial networks giving origin to new collaborative e-business models such as the Virtual Organisation (VO). These industrial networks require new Information and Communication Technologies Infrastructures (ICT-I) playing the intermediary role as the enablers of interoperation among their participant organisations. Furthermore, these networks require coordination and cooperation mechanism among its members which in turn can be supported through specific vertical applications deployed over a common platform. PyME CREATIVA was a project defined with the aim of playing the role of a service provider of an open technological platform named the e-HUB, providing a set of collaborative electronic solutions named the e-services, to support collaborative business processes among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Till today, the e-HUB platform has proved to be a complete IT architecture able to satisfy SMEs technological requirements to get involved in collaborative business opportunities, nevertheless with the technology progress new opportunities appear to improve the way these e-services are delivered to the SMEs. This paper provides an insight into the benefits and implications of evolving the e-HUB architecture into new one based-on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) premises.     

AHP-DRASTIC: software for specific aquifer vulnerability assessment using DRASTIC model and GIS

A software package AHP-DRASTIC has been developed to derive ratings and weights of modified DRASTIC model parameters for use in specific aquifer vulnerability assessment studies. The software is integrated with ArcView Geographical Information System (GIS) software for modelling aquifer vulnerability, to predict areas which are more likely than others to become contaminated as a result of activities at or near the land surface. The ranges of a few of the DRASTIC model parameters have been modified to adapt to local hydrogeologic settings. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to compute the ratings and weights of the criteria and sub-criteria of all parameters used in the DRASTIC model. The output from AHP generates a MS Access database for these parameters, which is then interfaced with ArcView using Avenue Scripts. AHP-DRASTIC is aimed at providing user-friendly GUI interfaced with GIS for the estimation of weights and ranks of the thematic layers used for aquifer vulnerability assessment. Contingency table analysis indicates that all wells in low and high vulnerability category have concentrations less than 10 ppm and more than 10 ppm, respectively. The model is validated with groundwater quality data and the results have shown strong relationship between DRASTIC Specific Vulnerability Index and nitrate-as-nitrogen concentrations with a correlation co-efficient of 0.84 at 0.01 level.     

QuesTInSitu: From tests to routes for assessment in situ activities

Test-based assessment tools are mostly focused on the use of computers. However, advanced Information and Communication Technologies, such as handheld devices, opens up the possibilities of creating new assessment scenarios, increasing the teachers’ choices to design more appropriate tests for their subject areas. In this paper we use the term Computing-Based Testing (CBT) instead of Computer-Based Testing, as it captures better the emerging trends. Within the CBT context, the paper is centered on proposing an approach for “Assessment in situ” activities, where questions have to be answered in front of a real space/location (situ). In particular, we present the QuesTInSitu software implementation that includes both an editor and a player based on the IMS Question and Test Interoperability specification and GoogleMaps. With QuesTInSitu teachers can create geolocated questions and tests (routes), and students can answer the tests using mobile devices with GPS when following a route. Three illustrating scenarios and the results from the implementation of one of them in a real educational situation show that QuesTInSitu enables the creation of innovative, enriched and context-aware assessment activities. The results also indicate that the use of mobile devices and location-based systems in assessment activities facilitates students to put explorative and spatial skills into practice and fosters their motivation, reflection and personal observation.     

Process situation assessment: From a fuzzy partition to a finite state machine

Process situation assessment plays a major role in supervision of complex systems. The knowledge of the system behavior is relevant to support operators in their decision tasks. For complex industrial processes such as chemical or petrochemical ones, most of supervision approaches are based on data acquisition techniques and specifically on clustering methods to cope with the difficulty of modeling the process. Consequently, the system behavior can be characterized by a state space partition. This way, situation assessment is performed online through the tracking of the system evolution from one class to another. Furthermore, a finite state machine that is a support tool for process operators is elaborated to model the system behavior. This article presents theoretical aspects according to which the intuition that the trajectory observation of a dynamical system by a sequence of classes, to which the actual state belongs, gives valuable information about the real behavior of the system is substantiated. Thus, practical aspects are developed on the state machine construction and illustrated by two simple applications in the domain of chemical processes.     

从OVAL漏洞信息转换到Nessus扫描插件的研究与实现在

网络安全漏洞扫描应充分考虑执行的效率和信息的共享.本文通过对OVAL和Nessus的介绍,分析OVAL Definition与Nessus plugin之间的异同,提出并实现了一种将OVAL公布的漏洞信息转换成Nessus扫描插件的方法,共享了漏洞信息,并提升了漏洞检测的品质.最后经过实验说明该方法的可行性.     

安防系统弱点评估算法的可视化实现

对安全防范系统（SPS）而言,弱点评估是系统效能评估的重要组成部分。现有的弱点评估算法普遍使用的入侵序列图（ASD）模型,在准确性、可靠性和直观性上存在一定的缺陷。对现有的弱点评估算法进行改进。提出用二维地图替代入侵序列图进行系统建模;引入广义的启发式搜索算法,以满足动态效能评估的实时性要求;添加防护元件的灵敏度分析模块,使系统在进行定期维护与升级时能获得最高的成本-效益。提出的算法已经通过编程实现,并用得到的VVA-SPS（Visualized Effectiveness Assessment of Security and Protection Systems）程序针对不同防护对象进行了算法的有效性验证。     

Analyzing evolution of variability in a software product line: From contexts and requirements to features

Context

In the long run, features of a software product line (SPL) evolve with respect to changes in stakeholder requirements and system contexts. Neither domain engineering nor requirements engineering handles such co-evolution of requirements and contexts explicitly, making it especially hard to reason about the impact of co-changes in complex scenarios.

Objective

In this paper, we propose a problem-oriented and value-based analysis method for variability evolution analysis. The method takes into account both kinds of changes (requirements and contexts) during the life of an evolving software product line.

Method

The proposed method extends the core requirements engineering ontology with the notions to represent variability-intensive problem decomposition and evolution. On the basis of problemorientation, the analysis method identifies candidate changes, detects influenced features, and evaluates their contributions to the value of the SPL.

Results and Conclusion

The process of applying the analysis method is illustrated using a concrete case study of an evolving enterprise software system, which has confirmed that tracing back to requirements and contextual changes is an effective way to understand the evolution of variability in the software product line.     

A computational intelligence-based suite for vulnerability assessment of electrical power systems

This paper discusses the feasibility of implementing computational intelligence algorithms for power system analysis in an open source environment. The scope is specially oriented to education, training and research. In particular, the paper describes a software package, namely Computational Intelligence Applications to Power System (CIAPS), that implements a variety of heuristic techniques for vulnerability assessment of electrical power systems. CIAPS is based on Matlab and suited for analysis and simulation of small to large size electric power systems. CIAPS is used for solving power flow, optimal power flow, contingency analysis based on artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic techniques. A variety of illustrative examples are given to show the features of the developed software tool.