A sidecar object for the optimized communication between edge and cloud in internet of things applications

The internet of things (IoT) is one of the most disrupting revolutions that is characterizing the technology ecosystem. In the near future, the IoT will have a significant impact on people's lives and on the design and developments of new paradigms and architectures coping with a completely new set of challenges and service categories. The IoT can be described as an ecosystem where a massive number of constrained devices (denoted as smart objects) will be deployed and connected to cooperate for multiple purposes, such a data collection, actuation, and interaction with people. In order to meet the specific requirements, IoT services may be deployed leveraging a hybrid architecture that will involve services deployed on the edge and the cloud. In this context, one of the challenges is to create an infrastructure of objects and microservices operating between both the edge and in the cloud that can be easily updated and extended with new features and functionalities without the need of updating or re-deploying smart objects. This work introduces a new concept for extending smart objects' support for cloud services, denoted as a sidecar object. A sidecar object serves the purpose of being deployed as additional component of a preexisting object without interfering with the mechanisms and behaviors that have already been implemented. In particular, the sidecar object implementation developed in this work focuses on the communication with existing IoT cloud services (namely, AWS IoT and Google Cloud IoT) to provide a transparent and seamless synchronization of data, states, and commands between the object on the edge and the cloud. The proposed sidecar object implementation has been extensively evaluated through a detailed set of tests, in order to analyze the performances and behaviors in real- world scenarios

Short-lived key management for secure communications in VANETs

Vehicular Ad-hoc NETworks (VANETs) are witnessing an ever increasing interest. Security is a key aspect to pave the road to commercial deployments, as malicious attacks may increase the risk of accidents. Key management in VANETs poses further problems, as connectivity is limited and communication with a central certification authority might be problematic. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to key management for securing VANET communications. In particular, a general framework for key group multicast is proposed, with specific application to a VANET communication scenario

Batch-based group key management with shared key derivation in the Internet of Things

Many applications for ad-hoc networks are based on a multicast communication paradigm, where a single source sends common data to many receivers. In these contexts, it is possible to efficiently secure the multicast communications by leveraging on a common secret key, denoted as “group key”, shared by multiple users. In this paper, we propose a novel centralized approach that efficiently addresses the problem of deriving and managing a group key in generic ad-hoc networks and Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios, reducing the computation overhead due to group membership changes caused by user’s joins and leaves. In particular, the proposed method takes advantage of the assumption of two possible leave strategies: (i) at a pre-determined time interval selected when the member joins the group or (ii) at any unpredictable time interval, as in the case of membership revocation

“Allografts reconstruction in children”

Allografts reconstruction in childre

From rules to collaborative practice: When regulatory mechanisms drive collective co-production

The paper develops an analysis of latent spaces of co-production enacted by the government. Based on a survey and interviews, the authors identified the elements of co-production logics which emerged from the interactions of members of Brazilian municipal health councils. Collective co-production emerges when members adhere to a set of norms and values which are favourable to co-operation. The paper explains how councils’ regulatory mechanisms can drive the understanding of their members in relation to co-production and its benefits. IMPACT: Policy-makers and practitioners need to understand that enacting legal regulations to engage citizens in public services can be a double-edged sword. More than relying on citizens’ individual motivations, regulatory mechanisms must constantly promote citizens’ ability to fulfil their roles in a co-productive relationship. Additionally, these mechanisms should enable citizens to mobilize their relevant skills to actively engage with the public sector. When regulatory mechanisms fail to create and maintain these elements, unexpected and undesirable outcomes can emerge. This paper explains how these outcomes can be avoided

Reflexões para um framework da informação de custos do setor público brasileiro

O presente artigo sumariza uma proposta de framework da informação de custos para o setor público no Brasil. A proposta emergiu de contribuições promovidas pelo governo central no Brasil na realização de duas equipes de trabalho, a primeira pela comissão interministerial em 2005, e a segunda coordenada pelo Ministério da Fazenda em 2008/09. Essas contribuições foram validadas em relação às críticas veiculadas no meio acadêmico quanto às estruturas conceituais da contabilidade financeira (framework) emitidas pelo International Accounting Standards Board e Financial Accounting Standards Board, e em relação à literatura internacional de implantação de sistemas de custos no setor público. A adoção de um sistema de custos é exigida para as entidades públicas no Brasil desde 1964; entretanto, somente agora é objeto de um trabalho conduzido pelo Ministério da Fazenda para o governo federal, cujos primeiros resultados serão divulgados neste ano. O acórdão emitido pelo Tribunal de Contas da União em 2004, determinando que a legislação seja observada, tende a ampliar tal adoção. Contudo, a adoção não é suficiente, é necessária a utilização, que é função da relevância percebida da informação de custos. Sugere-se que a difusão da adoção e uso de sistemas de custos no setor público brasileiro seja feita através de uma implantação gradual, flexível, mediante a adoção do regime de competência, e baseada num framework único e comum às diversas entidades