• Issue 1 (2022)
• Issue 2 (2022)

Access Control Metamodels: Review, Critical Analysis, and Research Issues

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 2 (2022), PP 93 - 102

Published: 22 Apr 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.02.006

by Nadine Kashmar, Mehdi Adda, Hussein Ibrahim from Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Canada, QC G5L 3A1,Institut Technologique de Maintenance Industrielle, Sept-Îles, Canada, QC G4R 5B7

Abstract: The new generation of networking environments such as the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, etc. is emerging and releases new prospects to traditional information systems by merging new technologies and services for seamless access to information sources at anytime and anywhere. Concurrently, this emergence opens new threats to information security and new challenges to controlling access to resources. To ensure security, several techniques have been employed, and access control (AC) is one of the essential security requirements especially for recent networking environments. Various authentication and AC methods are proposed to enforce AC policy and to prevent any unauthorized access to logical/physical assets. The continuous technology upgrades and the diversity of AC models force the need to find AC metamodels with a higher level of abstraction that serves as a unifying framework for specifying any AC policy. AC metamodels are proposed to encompass AC features and are used to derive various instances of AC models and methods. In this paper we review the proposed AC metamodels and their implementation scenarios, we analyze them, their objectives, their limitations, and present current research issues and open questions that still need to be addressed read more... read less...

Keywords: Access control, metamodels, IoT, Industry 4.0, security and privacy, security policy

Use Cases of Data Reduction to Time Series Data in Sensor Monitoring

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 2 (2022), PP 87 - 92

Published: 08 Apr 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.02.005

by Selvine G. Mathias, Daniel Grossmann from Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Esplanade 10, 85049 Ingolstadt, Germany

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of data reduction techniques using distances and areas for monitoring of sensors using process mining approaches. When sensors are used in industrial cases, the real time accumulation of timestamped data tends to pose a problem of storage, processing and analyzing their values in the optimal way possible. Here, the paper tends to present an application of monitoring of sensor signals using reduced parameters from the acquired timestamped values. Each observation is dissected into packets and their attributes such as areas under the curves and successive distances are calculated. The combination of these attributes present real time monitoring scenario for which a blueprint process model can be constructed. This, in turn, helps in identifying signal variations during run-time of the sensor without advanced analysis. read more... read less...

Keywords: data reduction, sensor, use case, process model

A Novel Micro-services Cluster Based Framework for Autonomous Vehicles

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 2 (2022), PP 77 - 86

Published: 08 Apr 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.02.004

by Henry Alexander Ignatious , Hesham-El-Sayed, Manzoor Khan, Shawqi Kharbash and Sumbal Malik from College of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE

Abstract: Modern technologies like digital spaces, intelligent transportation, and digital operations are faced with technical challenges related to data capturing, data processing, data storage, data security, communication, etc. Ensuring security and reliable message propagation among autonomous vehicles is a major challenging task. Establishing appropriate environment for developing vehicular-based solutions by the vehicle manufactures increases their estimated cost and time. Hence, to minimize this problem, this proposal aims to introduce Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) principles, to access trust based solutions as simple cloud based services by the clients. We propose a framework to integrate three mandatory vehicular applications namely trust estimation, secured message dissemination, and routing as cloud-based microservices. We also propose an innovative CipherText Policy Attribute Based Encryption (CP-ABE) algorithm to ensure confidentiality of data by an access control system in highly dynamic and automated network. The services are deployed as Docker images using advanced concepts of Dockers and Containers. Dockers coordinate the orchestration of multiple tasks related to the proposed microservices and help to implement the services in cross-platform environments. These services can be implemented in both autonomous and manual vehicular systems. The service providers can charge the clients based on the usage of the services. A detailed experimental analysis is accomplished to evaluate the performance of the proposed micro services in cross platform environments; further, an extensive simulation is performed to assess the individual performance of the proposed vehicular applications. read more... read less...

Keywords: Vehicular Networks, Trust Management, Cloud Computing, Dockers &Containers

Design and Study of a Digital Energy Building: Case of Morocco

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 2 (2022), PP 71 - 76

Published: 08 Apr 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.02.003

by Abdelali Agouzoul , Mohamed Tabaa, Badr Chegari, Meryem Mhenni, Emmanuel Simeu, Abbas Dandache, Karim Alami from LPRI Lab, EMSI Casablanca, Morocco, LGIPM, Lorraine University, France, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, TIMA, 38000 Grenoble, France

Abstract: In the industrial revolution that followed, the aim of the industry is not only to improve and meet its urgent needs, but also to improve the standard of living of society and make life easier for consumers. Therefore, economic growth must always be closely linked to the industrial revolution. The medical industry, energy conservation and, in particular, production technologies will be transformed through new value chain models. Globalization, urbanization, vital changes and the energy transformation are all shifting forces that assess the dynamics of technology to better identify solutions in the moving world. In recent years, successive revolutions have made remarkable contributions to a person's quality of life, safety, industrial economy, comfort and health. This work aims to improve the energy consumption of the building. To achieve this goal, digital twins were created to faithfully reflect the behavior and characteristics of future or current buildings. To replicate copies of future or existing buildings, we chose to use Autodesk REVIT solution to meet some limitations. These have a great influence on the energy behavior of the building. read more... read less...

Keywords: Digital twin, Building, Energy Management, Smart Cities, industry of the future, IoT

A Filtering Method for Fast Convex Hull Construction

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 2 (2022), PP 63 - 70

Published: 08 Apr 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.02.002

by Fatimah A. Alshehri, Reham Alshamrani from Computer Science Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: Computing the convex hull of a set of points is a fundamental issue in many fields, including geometric computing, computer graphics, and computer vision. This problem is computationally challenging, especially when the number of points is past the millions. In this paper, we propose a fast filtering technique that reduces the computational cost for computing a convex hull for a large set of points. The proposed method preprocesses the input set and filters all points inside a four-vertex polygon. The experimental results showed the proposed filtering approach achieved a speedup of up to 77 and 12 times faster than the standard Graham scan and Jarvis march algorithms, respectively. read more... read less...

Keywords: Convex hull, filtering, priority queue

A smart spontaneous crowd evacuation system for large multi-exit exhibition centers based on IoT

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 2 (2022), PP 55 - 62

Published: 02 Apr 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.02.001

by Faouzi Kamoun, May El Barachi, Fatna Belqasmi, Abderrazak Hachani from ESPRIT School of Engineering, Tunis, Tunisia, P.O. Box 160-2083, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai, UAE, P.O Box 20183, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE, P.O. Box 19282

Abstract: Plans to mass evacuate visitors in an exhibition center in the case of emergency situations are critical for public safety and disaster management. Efficient crowd evacuation during mass gatherings has been an active research area during the past years. In this paper, we consider the challenging problem of finding in near real-time the most efficient and safest evacuation pathways in a multi-exit exhibition center while the fire hazard spreads. We first propose a system composed of sensor nodes to collect pertinent safety data associated with the changing environmental conditions. We then present a spontaneous dynamic evacuation system that considers the changing conditions in the risks associated with each hallway segment in terms of walking distance, heat, two major asphyxiant fire gases and crowd congestion. Our IoT-based system activates smart panels placed at major junctions of the hallways to visually guide evacuees towards the safest escape direction under the existing circumstances. The proposed algorithms aim to minimize the total evacuation time of all evacuees, while circumventing congested and perilous aisles, balancing traffic loads, and guaranteeing high scalability and reasonable computational efficiency. This work can pave the way towards the development of nextgeneration smart exhibition centers, where crowd safety is among the top priorities read more... read less...

Keywords: Evacuation system, crowd management, indoor navigation, smart exhibition center, fire evacuation, IoT

An Enhanced Fuzzy Clustering to Pattern Recognition for Cloud Computing, by using Model Aggregation and Model Selection

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 1 (2022), PP 49 - 53

Published: 26 Jan 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.01.006

by Choukri Djellali, Mehdi adda , Mohamed Tarik Moutacalli from Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of Quebec At Rimouski Rimouski, Canada, G5L 3A1

Abstract: Numerical schemes research on clustering models has been quite intensive in the past decade. Many models have been proposed to address the clustering tasks. Most clustering models are influenced by presentation order, complex shapes, architecture configuration, and learning instability. Hence, in the present study, a novel clustering-based method for cloud computing that provides an improvement in recognition rate, is described. The evaluation, based on 10-fold Cross-validation, showed that the proposed model, which is named BaggingCluster, yielded good results and performed better than Self Organizing Map and fuzzy Adaptive Resonance Theory. Experimental studies demonstrate that our model provides an efficient model for cloud computing. read more... read less...

Keywords: Data Mining, Deep Learning, Clustering, Artificial Neural Network, Fuzzy Logic, Cross-Validation.

Fire Risk Prediction Using Cloud-based Weather Data Services

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 1 (2022), PP 37 - 47

Published: 24 Jan 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.01.005

by Ruben Dobler Strand, Sindre Stokkenes, Lars Michael Kristensen, Torgrim Log from Department of Safety, Chemistry, and Biomedical laboratory sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Haugesund, Norway, Department of Computer science, Electrical engineering and Mathematical sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway

Abstract: Dry and cold winter seasons result in very dry indoor conditions and have historically contributed to severe fires in the high and dense representation of wooden homes in Norway. The fire in Lærdalsøyri, January 2014, is a devastating reminder of town fires still posing a threat to a modern society. In order to reduce conflagration probability and consequences, it is necessary to have an accurate estimate of the current and near future fire risk to take proper planning precautions. Cloud computing services providing access to weather data in the form of measurements and forecasts, combined with recent developments in fire risk modelling, may enable smart and fine-grained fire risk prediction services. The main contribution of this study is implementation and experimental validation of a wooden home predictive fire risk indication model, as well as outlining a wooden home fire risk concept. The wooden home fire risk model focuses on the first house catching fire (indoors) in a potential conflagration event. Such a fire would be critical to intervene prior to the fire developing exterior flames and embers post flashover, and thus high likelihood of fire spread. The implemented model exploits cloud-provided weather measurements and forecasts, to predict the current- and near future fire risk at given geographical locations. It computes the indoor wooden fuel moisture content of houses that may catch fire, using measured and forecasted outdoor temperature and relative humidity, and estimates the time to flashover. The latter is found through an empirical relation with the fuel moisture content, and can be used as an indication of the fire risk, beyond the modelled single house. The model implementation was integrated into a micro-service based software system and experimentally validated at selected geographical locations, relying on weather data provided by the RESTful API’s of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The validation took place by applying the model to predefined cases, with an outcome known from observations or theory. The first part is a general evaluation of the outputs, considering three historical fires. Then, seasonal changes and natural climate variations were considered. Our evaluation demonstrates the ability to provide trustworthy and accurate fire risk indications using a combination of recorded weather data and forecasts. Further, our cloud- and micro-service based software system implementation is efficient with respect to data storage and computation time. Finally, the novel fire risk concept is demonstrated for a selected city, based on model output. It successfully depicts the implications following reduced indoor humidity by utilizing location specific fire risk contours. read more... read less...

Keywords: Smart city and cloud data services, Climate related fire risk, Mitigating urban fire risk

The Flipped Classroom Opportunities within The Hybrid Learning Approach in the UAE

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 1 (2022), PP 29 - 35

Published: 20 Jan 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.01.004

by Tariq Abu Hilal, Salam Hoshang, Hasan Abu Hilal from Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 4101

Abstract: Many higher education institutions are focusing on flipped classroom to gain the benefits that can be reaped for the institution, the students and teachers. The attractiveness of the flipped classroom is increasing, due to the Covid-19 situation and the promptly switch to the online teaching approach by many institutions. Based on the researchers' preliminary investigation, the utilization of flipped classrooms approach among educators is still not fully exploited. This initial and seed research aims to investigate students' and educators' point of view concerning the application of the flipped classroom concept. This qualitative research is based on interviews of focus groups, observations and mini structured surveys that aim to answer the main research question how the students and educator view flipped classroom. The researchers collected data from some 300 students and about ten educator form information systems and engineering disciplines. The research results reveal that students, as well as educators, are aware of flipped classrooms but more training in the tools and concepts of the flipped classroom is required. Flipped classrooms can bring enormous benefits to students, institutions and educators. The outcomes of this research work showed that students and educators prefer the flipped classroom approach in some aspects. In this paper, we provide and discuss the employment of the flipped classroom idea in a hybrid learning setting. We trust that this is an innovative learning strategy when the proper modern technology is utilized. Such as the utilization of smart gadgets to perform different tasks, like teaching, designing question bank, assessment of students, feedback…etc. We further focus on the use of information technology as well as the development of the course content. This paper provides a case study of hybrid learning flipped classroom at HCT. As the HCT is running completely hybrid in the last couple of years. As a result of this study in the United Arab Emirates, 62% of the teachers were comfortable with flipped classrooms read more... read less...

Keywords: Flipped classroom, Online Education, Undergraduate Studies, Hybrid Learning.

DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR SMART GYM USING IOT

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 1 (2022), PP 23 - 27

Published: 19 Jan 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.01.003

by Krish Bhanushali, Viren Sureja , Vidhan Patel , Tanmay Thaker , Nishant Doshi from Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar, India, Gujarat-382426

Abstract: Currently, in a modern world where people are getting busier, it is hard for them to take time to work-out or exercise regularly by themselves. People have been using the gym as a place to make their body fit and it is right as Health and Immunity are an important part of a person’s life and everyone would always like to be fit and healthy. To achieve that level requires motivation and discipline. And lack of motivation results in quitting the gym in a very short span. Now Generally in Gym, there are only a few that keep track of everything, others we have a huge marketplace for the people who joined but quit soon since doing exercise doesn’t give you short-term results. The changes in your body start appearing after months. The slightest changes and every other important aspect can be hard to keep track of them altogether, now using smart gym approach, the slightest change can be measured, using IoT and later one can curate all the training regiments, diets and exercises properly according to it. We propose an overall IoT-based-system to monitor the user's Health and Fitness Records in an effective way of using a database management system. It plans to collect data from the machines when the user uses it, keep track of its workouts and diet intake, with a gym social media that would help to maintain a competitive environment, also including management of membership, payment, trainers, and employees. This would result in a whole new way of looking towards the gym. read more... read less...

Keywords: Smart Gym; database; IoT; Health and Fitness monitoring

Dynamic Segmentation, Configuration, and Governance of SDN

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 1 (2022), PP 07 - 22

Published: 10 Jan 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.01.002

by Mohammed Alabbad , Ridha Khedri from Communications and IT Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, 11442, Saudi Arabia, Dept. of Computing and Software, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: Software Defined Networks (SDN) is a networking paradigm that helps transform networks by breaking away from the restrictive constraints put by networking hardware used in traditional non-SDN networks. They bring improved agility, scalability, and programmability of the control and the switching of the traffic. The challenges of structuring the SDN data plane for security still necessitate further investigation especially to deal with dynamic SDN networks. The use of the Robust Network and Segmentation (RNS) algorithm, which is based on Product Family Algebra, is essential for implementing layered defence and segmentation strategies to compartmentalize the networks and attain an access-control secure network. In this paper, we present an additional plane in charge of the configuration and governance of SDN data planes that we call Dynamic Configuration and Governance (DCG) plane. It is intended to give agility to dynamic networks. It implements the RNS algorithm in the SDN environment. Moreover, we propose and assess three architectures that use the DCG plane. The assessment results identify an architecture that is suitable for dynamic networks and another for networks that are more stable regarding changes to policies and network topology. read more... read less...

Keywords: Dynamic SDN, SDN Architecture, Secure SDN, SDN Segmentation, Formal Methods for Network Segmentation

Understanding the Operation of Motorcycle Taxi Drivers in Nigeria Using Causal Loop Diagram

JUSPN, volume-16 , Issue 1 (2022), PP 01 - 06

Published: 04 Jan 2022

DOI: 10.5383/JUSPN.16.01.001

by Oluwasegun O. Aluko, Astrid Gühnemann, Paul Timms from Civil Engineering Department, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure Sciences, Institute for Transport Studies, Austria, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, UK

Abstract: Road safety is a subject of concern the world over and many studies have looked into how to improve safe travel. Motorcycles, including motorcycle taxis, are particularly vulnerable. This paper reports the outcome of a study conducted on motorcycle taxi safety problems using a system dynamics method. Qualitative data was obtained from the field and analysed using qualitative analysis methods. The outcome of the qualitative analysis led to the formulation of a dynamic hypothesis for a system dynamics approach, whose first step was to develop and analyse a causal loop diagram [CLD]. This CLD demonstrates how deterrence, a behavioural pattern that can be produced by the appropriate application of sanctions, is both strengthened and weakened within the system. The paper uses this analysis to provide insights about the behavioural patterns of motorcycle taxi operation in Nigeria. These insights include the possibility of maintaining the system at equilibrium for a desired level of deterrence as well as the possibility of breaking undesirable cycles of bribery and jumping arrest loops. These insights can also be useful in other countries of the world where motorcycle taxis operate. read more... read less...

Keywords: System Dynamics, Causal Loop Diagram, Safety Culture, Motorcycle Taxi.