George Ghinea

QoS impact on user perception and understanding of multimedia video clips

L ABSTIL4CT The widespread and increasing advent of multimedia technologies means that there must be a departure from the viewpoint that users expect a Quality of Service (QoS) which will only satisfy them perceptually. What should be expected of multimedia clips is that the QoS with which they are shown is such that it will enable the users to assimilate and understand the informational content of such clips. In this paper we present experimental resuks Iiiking users’ understanding and perception of multimedia ctips with the presentation QoS. Results show that the quality of video clips can be severely degraded without the user having to perceive any significant 10ss of informational content 1.1

Modeling of Web services flow

Services such as automatic purchasing, automatic updating of prices, or getting latest information etc, can be provided on the Internet using Web services technology. A client can access these services using the Internet. Web services infrastructure includes some standards, such as simple object access protocol (SOAP), Web services description language (WSDL) and universal description, discovery and integration (UDDI). In this paper we represent distributed Web services by modeling the flow of messages and methods in a Web service transaction. Such a model assists the Web services designer to ensure the correctness of Web flows in terms of deadlock and correct termination of the Web services transaction. WSDL and methods are modeled using Petri Nets. A software tool is implemented for extracting the model from the WSDL description of the Web services flow.

Pervasive and standalone computing: The perceptual effects of variable multimedia quality.

Abstract The introduction of multimedia on pervasive and mobile communication devices raises a number of perceptual quality issues; however, limited work has been done examining the three-way interaction between use of equipment, quality of perception and quality of service. Our work measures levels of informational transfer (objective) and user satisfaction (subjective) when users are presented with multimedia video clips at three different frame rates, using four different display devices, simulating variation in participant mobility. Our results will show that variation in frame rate does not impact a users level of information assimilation, however, does impact a users’ perception of multimedia video ‘quality’. Additionally, increased visual immersion can be used to increase transfer of video information, but can negatively affect the users’ perception of ‘quality’. Finally, we illustrate the significant affect of clip-content on the transfer of video, audio and textual information, placing into doubt the use of purely objective quality definitions when considering multimedia presentations.

Multimedia, network protocols and users—bridging the gap

In this paper we present the case for using specifically configured protocol stacks geared towards human requirements in the delivery of distributed multimedia. We define Quality of Perception (QoP) as representing the user side of the more technical and traditional Quality of Service (QoS). QoP is a term which encompasses not only a users satisfaction with the quality of multimedia presentations, but also his/her ability to analyse, synthesise and assimilate the informational content of multimedia displays. The Dynamically Reconfigurable Protocol Stacks (DRoPS) architecture supports low cost reconfiguration of individual protocol mechanisms in an attempt to best maintain QoP in connections where the provided QoS fluctuates unpredictably. Results show that DRoPS can be used to improve on the QoP provided by legacy protocol stacks (TCP/IP, UDP/IP), especially in the case of dynamic and complex sequences.

Quality of service for perceptual considerations: an integrated perspective

The vision of a new generation of network communication architectures, which deliver a Quality of Service based on intelligent decisions about the interactions that typically take place in a multimedia scenario, encourages researchers to look at novel ways of matching user-level requirements with parameters characterising underlying network performance. In this paper, we suggest an integrated architecture that makes use of the objectivetechnical information provided by the designer and the subjectiveperceptual information supplied by the user for intelligent decision making in the construction of communication protocols. Thus, this approach, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process, incorporates not only classical Quality of Service considerations, but, indeed, user preferences as well. Furthermore, in keeping with the task-dependent nature consistently identified in multimedia scenarios, the suggested communication protocols also take into account the type of multimedia application, which they are transporting. Lastly, our approach also opens the possibility for such protocols to dynamically adapt based on a changing operating environment.

QoS-Aware Wireless Back-Haul Network for Rural Areas with Support for Broadcast Services in Practice

Rural areas in emerging or developed countries often lack affordable broadband Internet connectivity. Especially in emerging countries this limits the access to knowledge, government services, etc. The major limiting factors are the CAPEX and especially the OPEX related to traditional wireless carrier equipment, the vast and sparsely populated areas as well as the relatively large energy footprint of such equipment. Since in many rural regions access to a power grid is not available or highly instable, ensuring a 24/7 operation of a cell site is a very costly task. To address these issues we have developed a carrier-grade heterogeneous multi-radio back-haul architecture which may be deployed to extend, complement or even replace traditional operator equipment. Our Wireless Back-Haul (WiBACK) network technology extends the wireless back-haul coverage while building on cost-effective and low-power equipment. In this paper we first present a pilot scenario in Maseru, Lesotho, where an entrepreneur starts out with three eKiosk/VoIP sites with the goal of covering large parts of the city of Maseru. Using a testbed resembling the initial setup and identical hardware as planned for Maseru, we evaluate the QoS-related performance of this WiBACK-based network and show that we can meet the QoS demands of the eKiosk/VoIP systems even under heavy load and that the system is capable to support the planned future network growth.

Multiple Sensorial Media Advances and Applications: New Developments in MulSeMedia

George Ghinea received the B.Sc. and B.Sc. (Hons) degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics, in 1993 and 1994, respectively, and the M.Sc. degree in Computer Science, in 1996, from the Universityof the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; he then received the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, in 2000. He is a Reader in the School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics at Brunel University, United Kingdom. Dr Ghinea has over 100 refereed publications and currently leads a team of 8 research students in his fields of interest, which span perceptual multimedia, semantic media management, human computer interaction, and network security. He has co-edited three books including Digital Multimedia Perception and Design for IGI. George Ghinea (Brunel University, UK), Frederic Andres (National Institute of Informatics, Japan) and Stephen Gulliver (University of Reading, UK)

E-learning in Higher Educational Institutions in Kuwait: Experiences and Challenges

E-learning as an organizational activity started in the developed countries, and as such, the adoption models and experiences in the developed countries are taken as a benchmark in the literature. This paper investigated the barriers that affect or prevent the adoption of e-learning in higher educational institutions in Kuwait as an example of a developing country, and compared them with those found in developed countries. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the empirical data from academics and managers in higher educational institutions in Kuwait. The research findings showed that the main barriers in Kuwait were lack of management awareness and support, technological barriers, and language barriers. From those, two barriers were specific to Kuwait (lack of management awareness and language barriers) when compared with developed countries. Recommendations for decision makers and suggestions for further research are also considered in this study.

Impact of protocol stacks on quality of perception

We present the case for using adaptable protocols geared towards human requirements in the delivery of distributed multimedia. We have implemented a proof-of-concept application-a distributed MPEG player-through which multimedia clips can be transmitted over computer networks using a protocol expressly configured for improved user perceptual delivery. We have thus a user-oriented communication protocol, radically different in concept to legacy protocols which do not take user perceptual considerations into account.

Topology forming and optimization framework for heterogeneous wireless back-haul networks supporting unidirectional technologies

Wireless operators, in developed or emerging regions, must support triple-play service offerings as demanded by the market or mandated by regulatory bodies through so-called Universal Service Obligations (USOs). Since individual operators might face different constraints such as available spectrum licenses, technologies, cost structures or a low energy footprint, the EU FP7 CARrier grade wireless MEsh Network (CARMEN) project has developed a carrier-grade heterogeneous multi-radio back-haul architecture which may be deployed to extend, complement or even replace traditional operator equipment. To support offloading of live triple-play content to broadcast-optimized, e.g., DVB-T, overlay cells, this heterogeneous wireless back-haul architecture integrates unidirectional broadcast technologies. In order to manage the physical and logical resources of such a network, a centralized coordinator approach has been chosen, where no routing state is kept at plain WiBACK Nodes (WNs) which merely store QoS-aware MPLS forwarding state. In this paper we present our Unidirectional Technology (UDT)-aware design of the centralized Topology Management Function (TMF), which provides a framework for different topology and spectrum allocation optimization strategies and algorithms to be implemented. Following the validation of the design, we present evaluation results using a hybrid local/centralized topology optimizer showing that our TMF design supports the reliable forming of optimized topologies as well as the timely recovery from node failures.