The MIT iLab architecture (consisting of Lab Servers and Service Brokers) was designed in the 1990's and while the Lab Server was designed as a software service the same architectural approach was not adopted for the Service Broker. This paper reports on a redesign of the Service Broker as a software service, which is itself a collection of software services. In the process of this redesign it was decided to examine the API on the Lab Server and to support not only the existing Lab Server API (to maintain support for all existing iLab Lab Servers) but to concurrently support an alternative lightweight API based upon a RESTful architecture and to use JSON to encode the data. As these changes required a complete rewrite of the Service Broker code base, it was decided to experiment with an implementation of the services using Node.js - a popular approach to the implementation of servers in Javascript. The intention was to open up the code base to code developers normally associated with web development and not normally associated with the development of remote laboratories. A new software service named an “agent” was developed that wraps around the service broker to allow programmable modification of requests. The agent also has the ability to serve up an interface to user clients. The use of agents has advantages over existing implementations because it allows customised authentication schemes (such as OAuth) as well as providing different user groups with unique Lab Clients to the same Lab Servers. Lab Clients no longer are served up through the Service Broker, but can reside anywhere on the Internet and access the Service Broker via access to a suitable agent. One outcome of these architectural changes has been the introduction of a simple integration of a remote laboratory in the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) using a Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) module for user authentication.

The aim of this thesis is to identify mechanisms for supporting collaboration around physical artefacts in co-located and remote settings. To explore the research question in the project, a Research through Design approach has been adopted. A technology probe - an evolutionary prototype of a remote collaboration system - will be used to fuel the research. The prototype will facilitate collaboration between small groups around physical artefacts in an augmented learning environment. The prototype will inform future collaborative augmented reality technology design.

Many remote laboratory setups include a webcam for users to observe the equipment in action. However, naïve users do not get a clear picture of what might be happening inside the equipment. This paper presents one attempt made to address this issue, using an animation to provide an exploded view of the equipment and to drive this animation with data streamed in real-time from the equipment. This is achieved with no change to the existing MIT iLabs Shared Architecture; an additional data path is utilized which does not affect existing software architectures.

Easy, available and inexpensive modules like digital radio or modems and sensors allow the practical understanding of communication technology. We present a Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) Internet platform for teaching digital and wireless communications. Our experience showed that teaching embedded systems by building a realistic system is most convincing for students as it shows theory applied and engages students better then a more theoretical approach. We created an Internet platform development environment and a Blimp UAV that introduced wireless and digital communication systems, realtime OS and embedded networking concepts.

The MIT iLab Shared Architecture is limited currently to running under Microsoft Windows. A JAVA implementation of the Batched iLab Shared Architecture has been developed that can be used on other operating systems and still interoperate with the existing Microsoft .NET web services of MIT's iLab ServiceBroker. The JAVA implementation provides a 3-tier code development model that allows code to be reused and to develop only the code that is specific to each experiment.

This paper reports a work-in-progress at the Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (CEIT) at The University of Queensland on the design and implementation of a new remote laboratory architecture utilizing contemporary and emerging web standards. The RESTlabs architecture maintains the concept of a Lab Server that manages a rig upon which to run experiments and a Service Broker to manage user access to a Lab Server. Much innovative design is taking place in the Lab Server and the UI associated with an experiment, and this requires new support architectures from the Service Broker. This paper discusses the design of a Service Broker as detailed in the MIT iLabs architecture and discusses the changes that have been incorporated in the RESTlabs architecture of the Service Broker.

This chapter examines four emerging trends in the Internet that have the potential to influence the development of remote laboratories: the real-time web, the Internet of Things (IOT), geographically distributed collaboration, and scientific workflows. Each of these trends is examined and discussed, and a suggested research and development path is offered.

MIT has been developing the iLab Shared Architecture (ISA) for remote laboratories since 1998. It has been based around concepts and implementation issues that were in vogue at the time. Recent developments in network architectures and implementation techniques offer opportunities to re-examine the original assumptions, and to contemplate expanded objectives. This paper explores one possible future being explored at The University of Queensland for a remote laboratory architecture based upon the original ideals of MIT’s ISA.

BACKGROUND:Commercial continuous subcutaneous glucose monitors require in vivo calibration using capillary blood glucose tests. Feasibility of factory calibration, i.e., sensor batch characterization in vitro with no further need for in vivo calibration, requires a predictable and stable in vivo sensor sensitivity and limited inter- and intra-subject variation of the ratio of interstitial to blood glucose concentration.METHODS:Twelve volunteers wore two FreeStyle Navigator (Abbott Diabetes Care, Alameda, CA) continuous glucose monitoring systems for 5 days in parallel for two consecutive sensor wears (four sensors per subject, 48 sensors total). Sensors from a prototype sensor lot with a low variability in glucose sensitivity were used for the study. Median sensor sensitivity values based on capillary blood glucose were calculated per sensor and compared for inter- and intra-subject variation. Mean absolute relative difference (MARD) calculation and error grid analysis were performed using a single calibration factor for all sensors to simulate factory calibration and compared to standard fingerstick calibration.RESULTS:Sensor sensitivity variation in vitro was 4.6%, which increased to 8.3% in vivo (P < 0.0001). Analysis of variance revealed no significant inter-subject differences in sensor sensitivity (P = 0.134). Applying a single universal calibration factor retrospectively to all sensors resulted in a MARD of 10.4% and 88.1% of values in Clarke Error Grid Zone A, compared to a MARD of 10.9% and 86% of values in Error Grid Zone A for fingerstick calibration.CONCLUSIONS:Factory calibration of sensors for continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring is feasible with similar accuracy to standard fingerstick calibration. Additional data are required to confirm this result in subjects with diabetes.

The Massachusetts institute of Technology's iLab project has developed a distributed software toolkit and middleware service infrastructure to support Internet-accessible laboratories and promote their sharing among schools and universities on,a worldwide scale. The project starts with the assumption that the faculty teaching with online labs and the faculty or academic departments that provide those labs are acting in two roles with different goals and concerns. The iLab architecture focuses on fast platform-independent lab development, scalable access for students, and efficient management for lab providers while preserving the autonomy of the faculty actually teaching the students. over the past two years, the iLab architecture has been adopted by an increasing number of partner universities in Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the United States. The iLab project has demonstrated that online laboratory use can scale to thousands of students dispersed on several continents.

This paper examines the impact of Puritan ideology on various aspects of project management. By using a memetic approach to project management research, this paper traces the development of the ethos or spirit of project management from its Puritan origins. It argues that contrary to traditional thinking, project management has developed against a background of Puritan elements (memes) that are favourable to the development of capitalism. Moreover, it is suggested that these religious origins continue to impact in a conservative way on how the project management discipline evolves; limiting its development, oversimplifying the process of managing people, and consequentially thwarting nonconformists.

This paper puts forward the argument that PM is spreading because it is a well adapted collection of memes, and that the Project Management Institute (PMI (R)) Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK (R) Guide) version of project management (the PM (-) BOK Code) has more to do with the appearance of a capability for productivity than it does with actual productivity. It suggests that project management is evolving in a toxic manner, and that corporations will reap more benefit from it than people. The paper concludes with a call for a reformation of the PMBOK (R).

BACKGROUNDEthnic minorities have been omitted from many occupational health studies, despite their substantial contributions to the labor force and documented cases of high exposures in some settings. To describe the occurrence of potentially work-related cancers among African American and Latino Workers, we conducted an epidemiologic study based on death certificate data.METHODSData were obtained from 21 states during 1985-1992. Directly adjusted proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) and standardized mortality rate ratios (SRRs) for ages 20-64 years were computed for cancers of the lung, nasal cavity, pleura, and peritoneum, malignant melanoma and leukemia using the mortality data and population counts from the 1990 census.RESULTSProportionate mortality was generally low for both groups, but African Americans had higher than expected mortality rates for leukemia and cancers of the lung, nasal cavity, and peritoneum. Industry-specific analyses indicate excess leukemia among African American men in the rubber industry (PMR 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29 - 3.35), Latino men in textile (PMR 2. 31, 95% CI 0.81 - 5.13) and wood industries (PMR 2.03, 95% CI 0.81 - 5.13), and Latino women in the chemical industry (PMR 2.18, 95% CI 0.59 - 8.10), among other findings. Excess cancer of the pleura and peritoneum was observed among workers with a variety of usual occupations, consistent with widespread exposure to asbestos.CONCLUSIONSThis study demonstrates the utility of surveillance data bases for generating basic epidemiologic information on historically neglected workers. Leads about specific workplace exposure can be followed up in more detailed studies.

Epidemiologic studies have suggested that vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) may play a preventive role in reducing the incidence of atherosclerosis. The aim of this paper was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of vitamin E supplementation in patients with coronary artery disease using data from the Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study (CHAOS). The study compared cost-effectiveness in the context of Australian and United States (US) health care utilization. The main clinical outcome used in the economic evaluation was the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) which was nonfatal. Utilization of health care resources was estimated by conducting a survey of Australian clinicians and published Australian and US cost data. Cost savings of $127 (A$181) and $578/patient randomized to vitamin E therapy compared with patients receiving placebo were found for Australian and US settings, respectively. Savings in the vitamin E group were due primarily to reduction in hospital admissions for AMI. This occurred because the vitamin E group had a 4.4% lower absolute risk of AMI than did the placebo group. Less than 10% of health care costs in the Australian evaluation was due to vitamin E ($150 [A$214/patient]). Our economic evaluation indicates that vitamin E therapy in patients with angiographically proven atherosclerosis is cost-effective in the Australian and US settings.