Ubiquitous Environment Research Articles

Enhancing software quality assurance in ubiquitous learning environments through mutation testing and diverse test oracles

Ubiquitous learning enables software analysts to acquire knowledge and design test oracles from online resources including developer documentations, forums and collaborative platforms. Test oracles are primarily designed by humans and may contain quality defects. Mutation testing can facilitate the adaptability of ubiquitous learning to enhance software quality assurance. Unfortunately, mutation testing generates a large number of faulty versions known as mutants to analyze the quality of test oracles which is computationally expensive. In this paper, we proposed minimal path selection strategy to select fewer and non-trivial mutants to analyze diverse test oracles realizing ubiquitous learning environments. The proposed selection strategy explores the relationship between faulty conditions and output statements to identify feasible paths. To establish a ubiquitous learning setup, diverse test oracles are selected by incorporating user input, automated scripts and developer insights. This approach aims to enhance learner engagement and effectively design test oracles. The empirical evaluation and state-of-the-art comparison of various Java-built software programs demonstrated the potential of ubiquitous learning in software quality assurance by reducing 75% of the generated mutants. Furthermore, only 64%–85% of adequate test oracles were required to meet the desired quality assurance criteria. The study highlights the significance of personalized and adaptive approaches to assure software quality in ubiquitous learning environments.

Analyzing equitable access in a remote socio-enactive setting: A case study

Ubiquitous Computing as proposed by Mark Weiser in 1991 creates a huge diversity of interaction possibilities through, e.g., sensors, actuators, physiological data, wearables, to name but a few. Providing equitable access to everyone in these unpredictable interaction environments is already a challenge. Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic brought new challenges to these scenarios by adding remote interactions. Ubiquitous computing remote environments should provide equitable access to everyone, including people with disabilities. To better understand such issues and contribute to their solution, we studied and evaluated access in the Aquarela Virtual workshop using the UbiAccess evaluation instrument. This workshop offered a remote ubiquitous computing environment within the context of a kindergarten school. We used thematic analysis to understand the interaction needs of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) child during the workshop. This paper extends previous research with additional data and its analysis - in particular, concerning information provided by the teacher responsible for the specific classroom, and data on the ASD child contributing to: 1) Reflections about remote ubiquitous environments and equitable access; 2) Benefits of ubiquitous computing interactions as regards the ASD child; and 3) Coverage of the UbiAccess evaluation instrument.

Trust Assessment Skills Among Close Friends in a Ubiquitous Social Media Environment

For ages, individuals have relied on trust assessment skills to evaluate spoken words and accompanying body language social signals (BLSS) in friendships. This interactive process seeks to avoid harmful associations and unreliable information. However, with widespread social media use, assessment of BLSS is difficult, and users commonly report harm from defective estimations of interactions. This study evaluates how individuals adjust their trust assessment skills for close social media friendships, given the importance they place on BLSS in its role as a moderator. The research utilizes PLS-SEM, ANOVA, and cluster analysis to evaluate 247 U.S. online survey participants aged 18 to 67. The study adapts Mayer et al.’s trust model using social learning and cognitive dissonance theories. The independent variables, ability, benevolence, and integrity, strongly predict the dependent trust belief. In line with cognitive dissonance theory, BLSS has a negative and significant moderating effect on ability. BLSS reflects a small effect and widely insignificant moderating relationship with benevolence; analysis shows that a moderating relationship should not apply to benevolence. Counter to the hypothesized direction, BLSS produced a positive moderating effect on integrity, which was insignificant by a narrow margin. The analysis explains the basis for the positive relationship. Lastly, statistical analysis reveals an age-based shift in the relevancy of BLSS; younger users place less importance on BLSS, whereas older users place more importance on BLSS. This position for younger users aligns with their exposure and acclimation to social environments with widespread mobile communication and social media use since childhood.

Affordance of a learning application for supporting student’s development of academic literacy

This paper takes as its starting point the problem area that deals with how students at university can develop academic literacy. One of the methods is through learning technology. This paper examines what affordance a new developed learning technology - the study app - has for developing student learning technology. The RQ is: what are the affordances of a learning application and its integrated design of learning tools in order to support student’s development of academic literacy? The study app is an example of technology enhances learning, where technology supports operational improvement in teaching and learning because students with the study app can experience a ubiquitous learning environment, designed on basis of user studies that are designed to be integrated in student’s everyday life. The question is whether a learning technology also supports the student’s activity oriented toward developing study competences and becoming more academic literate? The background for this research is a project of development and designing an ICT based learning application for supporting student’s development of study skills. The project is supported by the Faculty of Humanities at University of Southern Denmark and is organized in a project group related to department of Design and Communication. The purpose of the learning application is that it: 1) shall supports students in developing and enhancing study skills, 2) that it is relevant and motivating for users to use, 3) that it a new proposal in relation to existing solutions. The study is based on Leontiev's theory of activity and its three levels - activities, actions and operations - which provide a systematic insight into the interaction of learners with a learning technology in order to develop their study skills. The paper examines here various learning contexts that are defined as central to study skills and which learning technology seeks to support: a general study competence, a concrete study competence and a link between study and future work. Furthermore, the learning theory on which learning technologies are designed is also examined. The paper concludes with a discussion of technology enhanced learning and which type of enhancement of learning that can be supported by learning technology.

Data Collector Selection Ranking-Based Method for Collaborative Multi-Tasks in Ubiquitous Environments

Data Collector Selection Ranking-Based Method for Collaborative Multi-Tasks in Ubiquitous Environments

The Impact of IoT on Smart City Infrastructure in India

Today, we live in a society where digital communication systems are so advanced that by the mid 2050’s the world will be completely filled by smart buildings on the internet highway like those portrayed in science fiction movies. This is possible because of tech savvy tiny sensors or Internet of Things (IoT) devices embedded in the smart network in order to collect meaningful information about the citizens and their interaction with the ubiquitous environment. Smart sustainable cities are modelled on the Internet of Things blending ICT for better standard of living and citizen services. IoT will modify indoor temperatures and switch off unnecessary lights in homes, detect snags in equipment and fix machines remotely, and provide commuters with information on traffic jams on the go. IoT in smart cities can be implemented by the development authorities but the stake holders of this task are citizens, the municipal government and private organizations engaged in this partnership. Using sophisticated ICT systems makes the city smarter and improves community building and connectivity by interweaving all the components of a city. Privacy and security are the two watch words when it comes to capturing citizens’ data. This data needs to be anonymised before it reaches the civic authorities. This study evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of using IoT in Indian smart cities after discussing an international case study of a smart sustainable city.

Employing two types of feedback and two styles of learning in a ubiquitous learning environment for developing technological skills and technology acceptance among educational technology students

Employing two types of feedback and two styles of learning in a ubiquitous learning environment for developing technological skills and technology acceptance among educational technology students

Research and Design of Encryption Standards Based on IoT Network Layer Information Security of Data

INTRODUCTION: With the rapid development of the economy, more and more devices and sensors are connected to the Internet, and a large amount of data is transmitted in the network. However, this large-scale data transmission involves the problem of information security, especially in the transport layer. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study and design an information security data enhancement security strategy for the transport layer of ubiquitous networks (i.e., IoT). OBJECTIVES: This thesis aims to research and create a data enhancement security strategy for the transport layer of the Ubiquitous Web to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted in the Ubiquitous Web. Specific objectives include evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of current ubiquitous network transport layer lifting security techniques, proposing a new lifting security strategy applicable to the transport layer of ubiquitous networks, and verifying the feasibility and security of the proposed standard.METHODS: First, a detailed study and evaluation of the current Ubiquitous Network Transport Layer Elevated Security Techniques is conducted, including analyzing and comparing the existing elevated security algorithms and protocols. Then, based on the obtained research results, a new lifting security strategy applicable to the transport layer of ubiquitous networks is proposed. The design process takes into account the characteristics and requirements of ubiquitous networks, such as resource constraints, dynamics of network topology, and cooperative communication of multiple devices. Subsequently, the feasibility and security of the proposed standard are verified through simulations and experiments. In the experiments, real ubiquitous network devices and network environments are used to evaluate the performance and attack resistance of the enhanced security algorithms.RESULTS: Through the research and analysis of ubiquitous network transport layer lifting security techniques, some limitations of the existing lifting security algorithms are identified, such as high resource consumption, insufficient security, and limited ability to adapt to the characteristics of ubiquitous networks. Therefore, this thesis proposes a new lifting security strategy applicable to the transport layer of ubiquitous networks. The experimental results show that the standard can guarantee data confidentiality and integrity while possessing high efficiency and attack resistance. In addition, the proposed standard meets the needs of resource-constrained devices in ubiquitous networks and can operate properly under multiple network topologies and cooperative device communications.CONCLUSION: This thesis proposes a new elevated security strategy applicable to ubiquitous networks through the study and design of transport layer elevated security techniques for ubiquitous networks. This standard can effectively protect the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted in ubiquitous networks with high efficiency and attack resistance. The proposed standard is expected to provide a feasible solution for the information security of ubiquitous networks and a more reliable guarantee for developing and applying ubiquitous networks. Future work can further improve and optimize this enhanced security strategy and validate and apply it in a wider range of ubiquitous network environments.

Establishment of a headspace-thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method (HS-TD-GC-MS) for simultaneous detection of 51 volatile organic compounds in human urine: Application in occupational exposure assessment

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of ubiquitous environment pollutants especially released into the workplace. Assessment of VOCs exposure in occupational populations is therefore a crucial issue for occupational health. However, simultaneous biomonitoring of a variety of VOCs is less studied. In this study, a simple and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 51 prototype VOCs in urine by headspace-thermal desorption coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-TD-GC-MS). The urinary sample was pretreated with only adding 0.50 g of sodium chloride to 2 mL of urine and 51 VOCs should be determined with limits of detection (LODs) between 13.6 ng/L and 24.5 ng/L. The method linearity ranged from 0.005 to 10 μg/L with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.991 to 0.999. The precision for intraday and inter-day, measured by the variation coefficient (CV) at three levels of concentration, was below 15 %, except for 4-isopropyl toluene, dichloromethane, and trichloromethane at low concentration. For medium and high levels, recoveries of all target VOCs were within the standard range, but 1,1-dichloropropene and styrene, which were slightly under 80 % at low levels. In addition, the proposed method has been used to determine urine samples collected in three times (before, during and after working) from 152 workers at four different factories. 41 types of prototype VOCs were detected in workers urine. Significant differences (Kruskal-Wallis chi-squared = 117.18, df = 1, P < 0.05) in the concentration levels of VOCs between the exposed and unexposed groups were observed, but not between the three sampling times (Kruskal-Wallis chi-squared = 3.39, df = 2, P = 0.183). The present study provides an alternative method for biomonitoring and assessing mixed exposures to VOCs in occupational populations.

Carbon dots as multifunctional fluorescent probe for Fe3+ sensing in ubiquitous water environments and living cells as well as lysine detection via “on-off-on” mechanism

Iron and amino acids are essential nutrients for living organisms, and their deficiency or excess can cause a range of diseases. Therefore, there is considerable interest in developing sensing assays capable of detecting these nutrients with sensitivity, selectivity, and multifunctionality even in complex environments. In this report, hydrothermally synthesized blue fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) from zinc gluconate were utilized for the detection of Fe3+ and lysine via “on-off” and “on-off-on” mechanisms, respectively. Specifically, the Fe3+ sensing assay achieved a broad linear range of 0–200 μM and a low limit of detection (LOD) of 1.9 μM. It is worth mentioning that the assay was also well adapted to natural aqueous environments (e.g., lake water), and its linear detection range could be extended to 0–1000 μM with a LOD of 3.3 μM. Furthermore, the assay was also effective for intracellular Fe3+ tracking. Most importantly, the assay could also be applied for the quantitative detection of lysine with a linear range of 0–1200 μM and LOD of 8.6 μM. Systematic mechanistic studies revealed that Fe3+ sensing was based on a static quenching process between C-dots and Fe3+, whereas a stronger complexation might have formed between Fe3+ and Lys, leading to the release of C-dots and thus the recovery of fluorescence.

Tunable tip singularity of a water droplet freezing on surfaces under forced convection

Typically, a water droplet on surfaces freezes with a tip singularity on the top in an experimental environment, and the magnitude of the singular tip is thought to be a constant of ∼ 131°. Interestingly, we observed that the tip magnitude can be variable from 131° to 180° (i.e., disappearing) under a ubiquitous convection environment. Especially, dependent on the competition between heat conduction (influenced by contact angle and substrate temperature) and convection, the traditional concave freezing front and a newly found convex freezing front were both observed during the freezing process, respectively corresponding to the emergence and disappearance of the singular tip. Additionally, an analytical model was proposed to clarify the variable mechanisms of tip singularity and the quantitative relationship between the magnitude of tip and the curvature of the ice-water interfaces during freezing. This study advances our understanding of freezing dynamics and ice crystal geometry. Simultaneously, the inhibition effect of convection on the singular ice crystals may provide a promising method for mitigating mechanical damage caused by sharp ice crystals during cryopreservation.

Cross-FCL: Toward a Cross-Edge Federated Continual Learning Framework in Mobile Edge Computing Systems

Federated Learning (FL) in mobile edge computing (MEC) systems has recently been studied extensively. In ubiquitous environments, there are usually cross-edge devices that learn a series of tasks across multiple <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">independent</b> edge FL systems. Due to the differences in the scenarios and tasks of different FL systems, cross-edge devices will forget past tasks after learning new tasks, which is unacceptable for devices that pay system costs to participate in FL. Continual learning (CL) is a viable solution to this problem, which aims to train a model to learn a series of tasks without forgetting old knowledge. Currently, there is no work to investigate the problem of CL in a cross-edge FL scenario. In this paper, we propose <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Cross-FCL</b> , a <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Cross</b> -edge <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">F</b> ederated <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</b> ontinual <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">L</b> earning framework. Specifically, it enables devices to retain the knowledge learned in the past when participating in new task training through a parameter decomposition based FCL model. Then various cross-edge strategies are introduced, including biased global aggregation and local optimization, to trade off memory and adaptation. We conducted experiments on a real-world dataset and other public datasets. Extensive experiments demonstrate that Cross-FCL achieves best accuracy on IID and highly non-IID tasks with a low storage cost compared to other baselines.

Fuzzy Logic Decision Model for Robust Risk Management in ubiquitous environment- A Review

Soft computing models are invaluable resources for solving addressing real-world issues. Soft computing is the process of solving difficult computer problems with imprecise yet practical results through the application of approximate computations. The method enables the resolution of issues that might be too difficult or time-consuming to handle with the technology available today. The term ‘computational intelligence’ is often used interchangeably with soft computing. This article will discuss various soft computing strategies, with a particular focus on the fuzzy logic approach. The study delves into risk management in the real world using fuzzy logic techniques across multiple fields, providing a comprehensive review and comparing performance analyses.

Towards the design of personal data protection-aware artificial intelligence applications in ubiquitous smart environments

Protecting personal data in ubiquitous smart environments is crucial to ensure user privacy and trust in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This paper explores approaches and techniques for designing privacy-aware and respectful AI applications where the balance between technological innovation and data protection is essential to ensure these technologies' ethical and sustainable adoption.

Identification Method of Vehicle Key Performance Parameters based on PSO Algorithm

In order to improve the identification effect of vehicle key performance parameters, this paper applies the PSO algorithm to the identification of vehicle key performance parameters and focuses on analyzing the parameters of the vehicle key performance parameter monitoring equipment and the propagation environment. The improvement of sensitivity of the monitoring receiver can effectively extend the coverage distance. NLOS is a ubiquitous transmission environment and changing NLOS to LOS propagation further extends the coverage distance. In order to ensure the communication quality of radio communication users, ensure that the service area covered by radio waves and the reliability of radio wave propagation, this paper calculates the propagation loss from the receiving antenna to the transmitting antenna in detail. The experimental results show that the identification method of vehicle key performance parameters based on PSO algorithm proposed in this paper can play an important role in the identification of vehicle key performance parameters.

Optimization of Brand Engagement and Loyalty Through Informative Interactivity and Starbucks Indonesia Instagram Social Media Marketing Trends

Social media has become an almost ubiquitous environment for human interaction. As a result, as the use of Social Media becomes more and more common, companies today are trying to reach and interact with customers and prospects through social media platforms. This research examines and develops the influence of Promotion and Social Media on consumer engagement variables through brand performance and their structural relationships, and will provide specific strategic directions to build a strong owned brand in the restaurant sector. Therefore, research on this topic is necessary. We used 100 Starbucks Indonesia consumers as a source of information in this study. The result is that Promotion and Brand Performance have a positive and significant effect on Consumer Engagement. Meanwhile, Social Media has a positive and insignificant effect on consumer engagement with Starbucks Indonesia consumers. The brand promotion has a positive and insignificant effect on the performance of Starbucks Indonesia consumers. Brand Social Media has a positive and significant effect on the performance of Starbucks Indonesia consumers. Other test results using Specific Indirect Effect analysis to prove the influence of the intervening variable Brand Performance proved to be incapable of being an intervening variable between Promotion and Brand Performance. The test results of the Specific Indirect Effect analysis prove that the influence of the intervening variable Brand Performance is proven to be an intervening variable between Social Media and Consumer Engagement.

PT-SSIM: A Proactive, Trustworthy Self-Sovereign Identity Management System

Digital Identity Management (DIM) systems have become challenging, especially given the current progression in ubiquitous environments enclosing cooperative Internet of Things (IoT) devices, individuals, and organizations. Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) has recently surfaced to manifest the notion of decentralized DIMs enlivened by users autonomy. This paper presents a proactive, trustworthy solution for managing digital users data and identity information without risking its integrity, security, privacy, and confidentiality. Accordingly, we propose a decentralized SSI-enabled cloud storage model that enables secure access control and frequent data integrity checking mechanism. The presented model ensures the resiliency of SSI-enabled operations, including users registration, data identification, external information distribution, integrity checking operations, identity information authentication and verification, and decentralized external and shareable operations.

Enhancing User Experiences in Ubiquitous Soft Computing Environments with Fuzzy Agent Middleware

In the Ubiquitous Computing Environment (UCE) context, the successful provision of user-required services necessitates the collaboration of various system components, encompassing hardware parts, software components, and network connections. The utilization of UCE has presented some difficulties to customers seeking services in a diverse environment, including excessive Memory Usage (MU) and prolonged Component Construction Time (CCT). To optimize the user's experience, fuzzy agent employs a non-intrusive approach in online deep-rooted learning to get insights into user behavior. Integrating the advancements mentioned above aims to enhance the connectivity between users and information technology devices by utilizing an invisible network of UCE devices, creating dynamic computational environments that can effectively meet the users' needs. This work presents a unique methodology called Fuzzy Agent Middleware to Enhance User Experiences (FAM-EUI), which aims to improve user experiences in contexts where computer technology is seamlessly incorporated into everyday activities. This research endeavors to tackle the issues associated with imprecise data and enhance user-friendly interactions by integrating fuzzy logic with intelligent agents. The results highlight the potential of FAM in enhancing user interaction within ubiquitous soft computing, leading to improved efficiency and user-centered computing systems. This study provides valuable insights into integrating soft computing and agent-based technologies to enhance ubiquitous computing paradigms.

Do we need Moodle in medical education? A review of its impact and utility

Various learning management systems (LMSs) are available to facilitate the development, management, and distribution of digital resources for both face-to-face and online instruction. In recent decades, these methods have shown potential for greater efficiency compared to traditional "chalk and talk" approaches. Additionally, they have paved the way for the establishment of ubiquitous learning environments, marking a new era in education. In a trend accelerated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, LMSs have been increasingly adopted to overcome the restrictions inherent to in-person education. In medical education, LMSs such as Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard Learn, and others have been introduced and used to support teaching, learning, and assessment activities. Of these, Moodle stands out as the most popular choice for many medical schools and institutions, primarily due to its flexibility, functionality, and user-friendliness. The learning environment is gradually transforming from traditional in-person teaching to a hybrid educational approach, driven by the need to fulfill diverse educational demands. Numerous research studies have examined the usability of Moodle in medical education, demonstrating its effectiveness in addressing challenges related to adaptive personalized learning, collaborative learning, blended learning, and more. Consequently, Moodle has emerged as a valuable solution for medical educators seeking a versatile and robust platform to enhance their teaching methodologies. The present review focuses on the practical utilization of Moodle in medical education and the advantages it offers to this field.

Secure blockchain assisted Internet of Medical Things architecture for data fusion enabled cancer workflow

In today’s digital healthcare landscape, numerous clinical institutions collaborate to enhance healthcare quality in a ubiquitous fog and cloud environment. Data fusion plays a vital role in healthcare collaboration, enabling the integration of diverse healthcare sources. The primary advantage is the improvement of healthcare treatments and the availability of services throughout the network. However, despite these benefits, there is room for improvement in addressing various security issues regarding collaboration among clinical healthcare institutions to meet data fusion requirements. The primary challenge lies in processing lung cancer workflow data fusion on heterogeneous nodes while ensuring security in fog cloud networks. As a result, security emerges as a critical issue in the digital healthcare system operating within this ubiquitous environment. We present the secure Blockchain Internet of Medical Things (BIoMT) architecture for lung cancer workflow data fusion processing in fog cloud networks. The BIoMT architecture introduces the Blockchain Data Fusion Secure (BDFS) algorithm framework, which consists of task scheduling and blockchain validation schemes. The study aims to minimize the makespan of the lung workflow tasks based on security and deadline constraints in fog and cloud networks. We consider security at an advanced level, where runtime ransomware attacks are also identified in fog and cloud networks. Simulation results demonstrate that BDFS outperforms all existing BIoMT architectures regarding workflow processing while adhering to the specified constraints. Overall, the BDFS algorithm presented in the BIoMT architecture provides an efficient and secure solution for lung cancer workflow data fusion in fog cloud networks, contributing to the advancement of digital healthcare systems in a ubiquitous environment.