SATNAC 2008 Conference Papers

Software

Title:                Performance and Possible Deployment of HTTP Session Mobility Service using SIP

 

Authors:            Michael Adeyeye (University of Cape Town), Neco Ventura (University of Cape Town)

 

Abstract:           This paper presents results of the implementation of HTTP Session Mobility Service using SIP. The results are based on HTTP session mobility test on some notable websites. More precisely, web session hand-off between two web browsers was carried out. A loosely-coupled approach whereby an extension was developed and integrated into a web browser was used. This implementation leverages Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Transportation and Mobility to transfer web sessions between two web browsers. Results showed that the service could not work on all websites, most notably websites based on FRAME/IFRAME HTML Tags, AJAX and other Web 2.0 technologies. The service, however, can work in a Peer-to-Peer environment. It can also be commercialized if the privacy and security of session data can be assured by the implementers. Some recommendations are made for the implementers of this service. Most important of all, it offers more Personal Mobility to web surfers, and SIP functionalities such as voice call can be achieved via a web browser.

 

 

Title:                Open-source Software and Localization in Indigenous South African Languages with Pootle

                                               

Authors:            Lorenzo Dalvit (Rhodes University), Alfredo Terzoli (Rhodes University), Friedel Wolff (Rhodes University)

 

Abstract:           The majority of the South African population is not fully proficient in English. Besides access to the necessary infrastructure, many Africans lack epistemological access to the ICT world simply because of linguistic reasons. Limited availability of resources and lack of interest for the promotion of African languages in the ICT domain among their speakers are often blamed for this. The open-source community has been particularly responsive to the needs of this portion of the population, and a variety of software is already available in African languages. Translate.org.za, an NGO committed to the development of open-source software in all 11 South African languages, has been particularly active with respect to this. On the one hand, they have developed a Web-based application to support collaborative translation on-line. On the other, they have partnered with various institutions to organize translation efforts, mainly relying on volunteers. In this paper we describe an experience showing how these two models can be used to address issues of lack of resources and support for the use of African languages in the ICT domain.

 

 

Title:                Cultural and Linguistic Localization of the Shop-Owner Interfaces to an E-commerce Platform for Rural Development

 

Authors:            Siyabulela Dyakalashe (University of Fort Hare), Hyppolite Muyingi (University of Fort Hare), Alfredo Terzoli (Rhodes University), Mamello Thinyane (Rhodes University)

 

Abstract:           The virtual shops allow the shopowners/administrators to load up their products to sell and advertise them on the front-end of the e-commerce platform. In a multicultural environment failure to adopt modes of expression and culture of the different stakeholders may reduce the level of benefits of e-commerce initiatives. This paper presents an improved design and re-implementation of the culturally and linguistically localized virtual shop-owner interfaces of an ecommerce system for the rural community of Dwesa in Transkei, South Africa. Localization of communication technologies increases the usability and adoption rate of services provided.

 

 

Title:                Linking Session Based Services and Transport Layer Resources in the IP Multimedia Subsystem

 

Authors:            Richard Good (University of Cape Town), Neco Ventura (University of Cape Town)

 

Abstract:           The Web 2.0 Internet revolution has introduced a new communications model, introducing a new age of community based websites with millions of empowered and contributing users exploiting the wisdom of the masses. The majority of these services are available free of charge and revenues are based on the potential for personalised advertising. The new model poses a threat to wide scale IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) deployment and a decision needs to be made on the business case for deploying IMS services. To justify charging for services that are typically available free of charge on the Internet, operators must differentiate their services through increased service integration and security, and reliability through efficient management of resources. This paper examines standardisation efforts regarding resource management in the IMS environment and highlights important architectural requirements and  deployment challenges. A Multilayered Policy Control Architecture is presented that addresses the open issues of policy definition, policy profiling, application-policy interaction and access network policy refinement. The proposed architecture is implemented in a practical IMS test-bed where it is subjected to rigorous validation tests. In particular the effect the architecture has on traffic overhead and session set up delay with single and multiple session requests is examined.

 

 

Title:                Automatic Generation of User Centric Interfaces for J2ME Enabled Handheld Devices

 

Authors:            Abayomi Ipadeola (University of Zululand), Oludayo Olugbara (University of Zululand), Matthew Adigun (University of Zululand), Sibusiso Xulu (University of Zululand)

 

Abstract:           Mobile computing is enabling an unrestricted accessibility to applications and services. The technology allows information accessibility through the use of mobile or personal communication devices (PCD). However, a typical mobile computing environment is still plagued with some challenges. Handheld devices are heterogeneous in nature, limited in computing power and characterized with small display screen sizes and small memory. The diversity in user needs and preferences coupled with variability of execution environment are additional challenges that must be resolved in order to achieve effective information communication. This work describes a Custom Made (CoMADE) toolkit for dynamically generating user centric interfaces for service consumers and providers in a mobile computing environment. CoMADE generates on-demand user interfaces for individual users based on user preferences and service request information. With CoMADE, direct user participation in user interface generation with a high degree of dynamism and flexibility were achieved. Additionally, CoMADE supports ease of application extensibility.

 

 

Title:                Implementation of a web-based E-government proxy for a marginalized rural population

 

Authors:            Bobby Jakachira (University of Fort Hare), Hyppolite Muyingi (University of Fort Hare), Ronald Wertlen (University of Fort Hare)

 

Abstract:           Electronic transactions over the Internet to remote rural areas may be costly and inefficient owing to poor connectivity. The system described in this paper aims to bring a collection of government services electronically to the rural public, making these services more available and efficient. Four software modules, based on open source standards, have been developed and integrated to form a single, dynamic web component. The e-government functionality formulates a communication channel for the government to reach out to the most remote parts of South Africa.

 

 

Title:                An Adaptive User Interface Model for Contact Centres

 

Authors:            Bronwin Jason  (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University), Andre Calitz (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University)

 

Abstract:           Customer contact and interaction is important for companies to build lasting and contented customer relationships. Contact centres are the primary interaction point between a company and its customers. The contact centre agent’s (CCA’s) response time to solve problems is critical in terms of both the customer experiences and from the company’s revenue perspective. One approach to improve the CCA’s productivity is to provide them with a computer user interface (UI) that will facilitate and reduce the time used to assist customers. CCAs have different capabilities, expertise and interests and studies have provided empirical support that user performance can be increased when the computer UI characteristics match the user skill level. The focus of this research is to develop an AUI model for a contact centre that adapts the UI to the CCA’s expertise level in order to improve the CCA’s productivity.

 

 

Title:                Vision Based Interaction Techniques for Mobile Phones

 

Authors:            Simon Kerr (Rhodes University), Greg Foster (Rhodes University), Hannah Slay (Rhodes University)

 

Abstract:           In recent years mobile devices have been deployed with various new technologies, such as high quality cameras and the ability to support rich multimedia. Vision based technology such as motion detection has, until recently been limited to more powerful desktop devices. This paper lays out a brief review of these technologies with the aim of introducing the concept of vision based interaction on mobile devices and substantiate an implementation thereof. We conclude that mobile phones are currently being deployed with hardware and software which can support vision based interactions and which in the future could be widely deployed. We predict that in the near future vision based interactions such as gesture control will become prevalent and greatly enhance mobile devices.

 

 

Title:                Towards a Conversational Agent for Contact Centres

 

Authors:            Gopal Ravi Sankar (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University), Jean Greyling (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University), Dieter Vogts (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University)

 

Abstract:           The usability of touch-tone interactive voice response (IVR) systems is dismal. Clients would rather speak to a contact centre agent than navigate through the menu structure found in these systems. Contact centres, however, due to various reasons, such as high personnel costs, tend to use IVR as their solution for automation. This paper compares a rule based system, which is designed to resemble an IVR system, against a natural language interface which uses text as input. The evaluation is conducted to determine whether natural language interfaces provide a more effective automation technique in comparison to current techniques employed by contact centres. A  conclusion is made that a hybrid system using both techniques could produce the better solution.

 

 

Title:                An Online System for Plagiarism Detection

 

Authors:            Vaughn Segers (University of the Western Cape), James Connan (University of the Western Cape)

 

Abstract:           This paper discusses the creation of an online system for plagiarism detection. This is a plagiarism detection system which searches the Internet for evidance of plagiarism within a docment. This is achieved using the PHP scripting language in conjunction with the Google Internet search engine and various Linux applications. Two methods contained within the system are explained and their varied methodologies outlined

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Title:                Implementation of a Java based Software Platform for the Evaluation and Performance Analysis of Open Source Relational Databases

 

Authors:            Phillip Sibanda (University of Fort Hare), Jim Chadwick (University of Fort Hare)

 

Abstract:           The number of open source database management systems (DBMS) currently available leave a potential user with the difficult decision of choosing the appropriate system that suits his particular requirements. This paper describes a software platform that allows a potential open source database management system user to carry out a performance evaluation on various open source relational database management systems, with a view of determining the system that best suits his needs. The platform enables the user to specify his own benchmarks, based on his own requirements, or to use established benchmarks for the performance evaluation.

 

 

Title:                A Web Service based e-Commerce Business Model for Resource Constrained SMMEs

 

Authors:            Mhlupheki Sibiya (University of Zululand), Edgar Jembere (University of Zululand), Sibusiso Xulu (University of Zululand), Matthew Adigun (University of Zululand)

 

Abstract:           The web/grid services technology provides a lot of opportunities for resource constrained Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) to have access to affordable and reliable Information and Communication Technology (ICT)  infrastructures. Further to this, it also provides them with access to the global market for their products. Due to the overload of information and business players on the web, for these enterprises to remain in business, business  models that give them the capacity to trade on the global e-markets are needed. One of the key features for such a business model is ability to handle personalisation issues in the process of marketing and offering the products. This paper presents a business model that takes away some costly business activities in the value chain, which include advertising, negotiation, ordering, payment and delivery, and assign them to cybermediaries (e-brokers). The architecture for the developed business model, business actors and their roles, and business processes thereof are also presented.

 

 

Title:                An Evaluation of Architectures for IMS Based Video Conferencing

 

Authors:            Richard Spiers (University of Cape Town), Neco Ventura (University of Cape Town)

 

Abstract:           The IP Multimedia Subsystem is an architectural framework for delivering multimedia services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Originally, it was specified for wireless networks, but has since evolved to incorporate fixed line access as well. It forms part of a Next Generation Network (NGN) which is defined as a packet-based network where the service functionality is independent of the underlying transport technologies. This allows new converged services to be implemented on top of an existing packet switched network. The IMS is not intended to act as a standard for services, but rather to aid the creation of new multimedia applications. As such, it has a horizontal control layer which separates the access network from the service layer. Each new service developed does not need its own control functions but can rather reuse the common infrastructure provided by the IMS. Examples of these features are: Quality of Service (QoS), user authentication, charging and security. Thus the IMS provides a good platform to develop multimedia rich services. This paper evaluates two different architectures for providing a video conferencing service over the IMS. It discusses the different methods of handling the control signalling, as well as different ways of controlling the multimedia traffic. The first architecture analysed is modelled upon a standard server-client archetype. The second architecture discussed is based upon a distributed P2P model. It concludes that each architecture has its own set of advantages and disadvantages and both systems are viable for different environments.

 

 

Title:                Adaptive Interfaces for Mobile Map-based Visualisation

 

Authors:            Bradley van Tonder  (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University), Janet Wesson (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University)

 

Abstract:           Mobile visualisation systems present many challenges for designers, due to limited screen space, processing power, memory and network bandwidth. These problems are particularly noticeable in mobile map-based visualisation systems, where a large information space must be visualised using a very small display area. Existing mobile visualisation systems use a variety of techniques to overcome these problems. Existing techniques, however, leave a lot to be desired. In this paper, adaptive user interfaces, which adapt to the individual characteristics of the user, are proposed as an alternative approach. A model is presented, which incorporates an adaptive user interface into a mobile map-based visualisation system. A prototype is then described, showing the successful implementation of the proposed model.

 

 

Title:                High Quality Flexible H-Anim Hands for Sign Language Visualisation

 

Authors:            Desmond van Wyk (University of the Western Cape), James Connan (University of the Western Cape)

 

Abstract:           The human hands are complex articulated structures with multiple degrees of freedom. This makes the modelling and animation of high quality flexible virtual hands extremely difficult especially for real-time interactive applications. We wish to employ  virtual hands for real-time Sign Language visualisation for which they are of the utmost  importance. In this paper we present our investigation into developing high quality flexible virtual human hands. Moreover, we make use of the H-Anim skeleton specification to enable the sharing of animation data between different hand models.

 

 

Title:                Practical Evaluation of a Spam Prevention Architecture for IMS Networks

 

Authors:            David Waiting (University of Cape Town), Neco Ventura (University of Cape Town)

 

Abstract:           Telecommunications technologies are advancing rapidly particularly in the field of mobile telephony. Improved network architectures will provide cheaper, more accessible mobile communication, but unfortunately this exposes mobile users to the type of mobile phone spam and fraud that is currently prevalent in the Internet. This work proposes a spam prevention architecture that seamlessly integrates with existing IMS networks. The architecture is implemented in a practical network testbed and is subjected to various evaluations. These evaluations demonstrate that the architecture is a viable and effective solution for mitigating spam in IMS networks.

 

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