Journal articles on the topic 'Telecommunication Traffic Evaluation'

This paper describes measurements of the impact of background traffic on speech quality in an environment of WLANs (IEEE 802.11). The simulated background traffic consists of three types of current traffics in telecommunication networks such as data transfer service, multimedia streaming service, and Web service. The background traffic was generated by means of the accomplished Distributed Internet Traffic Generator (D-ITG). The impact of these types of traffic and traffic load on speech quality using the test sequence and speech sequences is the aim of this paper. The assessment of speech quality is carried out by means of the accomplished Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) algorithm. The proposal of a new method for improved detection of the critical conditions in wireless telecommunication networks from the speech quality point of view is presented in this paper. Conclusion implies the next application of the method of improved detection of critical conditions for the purpose of algorithms for link adaptation from the speech quality point of view in an environment of WLANs. The primary goal of these algorithms is improving speech quality in the VoWLAN connections, which are established in the competent link.

The subject of the study was an application of nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms to node configuration optimization in optical networks. The main objective of the optimization was to minimize capital expenditure, which includes the costs of optical node resources, such as transponders and amplifiers used in a new generation of optical networks. For this purpose a model that takes into account the physical phenomena in the optical network is proposed. Selected nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms were implemented and compared with a reference, deterministic algorithm, based on linear integer programming. For the cases studied the obtained results show that there is a large advantage in using metaheuristic algorithms. In particular, the evolutionary algorithm, the bees algorithm and the harmony search algorithm showed superior performance for the considered data-sets corresponding to large optical networks; the integer programming-based algorithm failed to find an acceptable sub-optimal solution within the assumed maximum computational time. All optimization methods were compared for selected instances of realistic teletransmission networks of different dimensions subject to traffic demand sets extracted from real traffic data.

This paper presents a novel method of expressing the quality of service in a mobile telecommunication system when its performance depends on several factors including applied codecs? characteristics (voice quality and data flow rate) and telecommunications traffic service possibilities. The influence of these factors is unified in one variable - quality of service measure. The proposed method is especially applicable in the cases when two-dimensional systems are analyzed - for example when two codecs with different flow rate and different achievable connection quality are used in a system. As an example, we also studied system with full-rate or mixed full-rate and half-rate codec implementation depending on the offered traffic. The system performances - mean dataflow and mean connection quality as a function of offered traffic are presented graphically and also expressed quantitatively by the novel quality of service measure. The systems with different number of available traffic channels may be compared on the base of this novel evaluation value such that the system with the highest value is the most suitable one for the concrete situation. In this way mobile system design is simplified to the great extent. The developed model is applicable generally for mobile telephony systems defining, but in this paper we studied its implementation for Global System for Mobile communications.

The use of technology in education in Sub-Saharan Africa has been reported to be hindered by many factors including inadequate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, low internet speed, and lack of skills to use educational technologies. This paper aim at evaluating how the available ICT infrastructure at the College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT) can support, with acceptable Quality of Service (QoS), the delivery of multimedia applications for eLearning services. The evaluation was performed over a network testbed implemented in a computer laboratory for wired and wireless connections. The testbed consisted of five personal computers (PCs) connected via a switch and a router to the internet for the wired connection. The wireless connection consisted of three PCs and a laptop connected through a switch and a router to the internet via a wireless access point. Four different multimedia applications were run through the PCs, and traffic data was mirrored and captured at one of the PC using Wireshark network analyzer. The traffic included streamed and conversational video and audio using YouTube and Zoom applications, respectively; interactive web browsing using web browsers; bulk file transfer, and a mixture of all applications running on the computers. Traffic data captured during the running of these applications were packet loss, delay, jitter, and throughput. The QoS performance parameters obtained were within the acceptable threshold values as per International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) values. Results revealed that ICT infrastructure at CoICT can support delivery of multimedia content for eLearning purposes for both wired and wireless connections. Having the infrastructure capable of supporting multimedia applications with the acceptable QoS implies that instructors are equipped with a conducive environment that supports multimedia application. Hence, they are expected to use and continue using educational technologies to facilitate teaching and learning processes.

Markov queueing models are a powerful tool to evaluate the performance of computer networks and have been used in telecommunication studies for over 100 years. To apply them to the evaluation of the modern Internet, we should not only adapt them to the contemporary network structures but also include a description of the complex stochastic patterns (self-similarity and long-range dependance) of transmitted flows. We examine the features of two Markov models of an almost self-similar process, keeping in mind the modeling of Internet traffic. We have found that the obtained results are comparable with those achieved using a well-known generator of self-similar traffic.

Abstract Due to potential economic benefits and expected environmental impact, the power consumption issue in wired networks has become a major challenge. Furthermore, continuously increasing global Internet traffic demands high spectral efficiency values. As a result, the relationship between spectral efficiency and energy consumption of telecommunication networks has become a popular topic of academic research over the past years, where a critical parameter is power efficiency. The present research contains calculation results that can be used by optical network designers and operators as guidance for developing more power efficient communication networks if the planned system falls within the scope of this paper. The research results are presented as average aggregated traffic curves that provide more flexible data for the systems with different spectrum availability. Further investigations could be needed in order to evaluate the parameters under consideration taking into account particular spectral parameters, e.g., the entire C-band.

With the rapid growth of users and sustained network demands powered by different industries, the quality of service (QoS) of the cellular network is affected by network traffic and computing loads. The current solutions of QoS improvement in academia focus on the fundamental algorithms within the physical and medium access control (MAC) layer. However, traffic features of various scenarios extracted from field data are rarely addressed for practical network configuration refinement. In this paper, we identify significant indicators of high traffic load cells according to the field data provided by telecommunication operators. Then, we propose the analysis flow of high traffic load cells with basic principles of network configuration refinement for QoS improvement. To demonstrate the proposed analysis flow and the refinement principles, we consider three typical scenarios of high traffic load cells, including high population density, emergency, and high-speed mobility. For each scenario, we discuss traffic features with field data. The corresponding performance evaluation demonstrates that the proposed principle can significantly enhance the network performance and user experience in terms of access success rate, downlink data rate, and number of high traffic load cells.

The article deals with the actual task of identifying abnormal situations arising in information and telecommunication systems (ITCS) using artificial intelligence methods. Analysis of the processes of functioning of ITCS devices and nodes in real conditions shows that over time the properties of the analyzed characteristics can be transformed. Various factors cause the ranges of the analyzed values of the target variables to shift. The appearance of external and internal events at various points in time changes the states of both individual telecommunication devices and the system as a whole. It is necessary to analyze a large number of heterogeneous qualitative and quantitative characteristics of traffic and processes of functioning of telecommunication devices. The proposed method of monitoring the state of ITCS is based on taking into account the factors influencing the change in the properties of target variables, which, in turn, allows segmentation of the data sample. The novelty of the proposed solution lies in the fact that a classification algorithm with the best quality indicators is used for individual segments of the processed data. Taking into account the current and expected situations, it is possible to form samples based on the identified impacts. On the basis of the NSL-KDD dataset, segmentation of the data set is carried out, taking into account the influence of factors on the ranges of values. The processing of factors using the search function of the time series layout, which was used to segment the data set, is shown. As a result of data segmentation, a finite number of non-overlapping measurable subsets of data were obtained, each of which was fed to the classification algorithm. The evaluation of the quality of the classification algorithms was carried out. Based on the results obtained, it is possible to build various classification models of the ITCS information security (IS) status. The proposed approach makes it possible to improve the quality indicators of classification algorithms in dynamically changing conditions.

Background. LTE mobile networks combine packet network technology and radio technology. Parameters of packet and radio subsystems significantly affects the quality of all traffic types transmission, especially telephone traffic, as the most demanding to such parameters of network transmission as delay, jitter and packet loss rate. The recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union and the documents of the partner organization of telecommunications operators (3GPP) contain hypothetical reference models, targets for end-to-end connection quality, and lists the factors that affect the quality (QoS) of VoLTE services. In addition, the network points are shown where you need to measure the quality of telephone traffic and tools for quality assessment. The quality of telephony services is assessed according to the E-model using the method of determining the mean opinion score (MOS). However, this technique is intended primarily to determine the MOS during the network planning. To calculate the MOS in a working network, you have to measure such network performance first such as voice delay and packet loss rate. This article presents the method of calculating MOS in the LTE network based on the E-model and presents the results of practical quality studies. Objective. The purpose of this article is research the impact of delay and packet loss ratio and voice codec characteristics in the real LTE network on quality of telephone services. Methods. Analysis of factors affecting on telephone services quality and analysis MOS assessment methods. Practical studies of the delay and packet loss ratio affect the MOS level in various conditions of radio coverage and network load. Results. Practical results of delay and packet loss ratio influence on the telephone services quality in the LTE network. Calculated MOS based on the practically measured delay and packet loss ratio. Conclusions. The combination of packet technologies, modern AMR-WB codecs and QoS support mechanisms in the LTE networks provides high quality perception of voice messages at the level of not less than 4 on the MOS scale. With a delay not exceeding 180 ms, a sufficiently high quality of voice transmission is ensured (MOS ≈ 4). VoLTE technology using the AMR-WB codec is quite resistant to packet loss and provides high quality perception of voice messages at a packet loss ratio of up to 1%.

The paper presents a review of papers on stochastic polling systems published in 2007–2020. Due to the applicability of stochastic polling models, the researchers face new and more complicated polling models. Stochastic polling models are effectively used for performance evaluation, design and optimization of telecommunication systems and networks, transport systems and road management systems, traffic, production systems and inventory management systems. In the review, we separately discuss the results for two-queue systems as a special case of polling systems. Then we discuss new and already known methods for polling system analysis including the mean value analysis and its application to systems with heavy load to approximate the performance characteristics. We also present the results concerning the specifics in polling models: a polling order, service disciplines, methods to queue or to group arriving customers, and a feedback in polling systems. The new direction in the polling system models is an investigation of how the customer service order within a queue affects the performance characteristics. The results on polling systems with correlated arrivals (MAP, BMAP, and the group Poisson arrivals simultaneously to all queues) are also considered. We briefly discuss the results on multi-server, non-discrete polling systems and application of polling models in various fields.

In communication networks, the volume of traffic, the number of connected devices and users continues to grow. As a result, the energy consumption generated by the communication infrastructure has become an important parameter that needs to be carefully considered and optimized both when designing the network and when operating it in real-time. In this paper, the methodology of calculation of complex parameters of energy consumption for transport telecommunication networks is proposed. Unlike the known techniques, the proposed methodology takes into account heterogeneity and multilayer networks. It also takes into account the energy consumption parameter during the downtime of the network equipment in the process of processing the service data blocks, which is quite an important task for improving the accuracy of energy consumption at the stage of implementing the energy-saving network. We also developed simulation software to estimate and manage the energy consumption of the optical transport network using the LabVIEW environment. This software tool allows telecommunication network designers to evaluate energy consumption, which allows them to choose the optimal solution for the desired projects. The use of electro-and acousto-optical devices for optical transport networks is analyzed. We recommended using electro-optical devices for optical modulators and acousto-optical devices for optical switches. The gain from using this combination of optical devices and the parameter of rij electro-optical coefficient and M2 acousto-optical quality parameter found in the paper is about 36.1% relative to the complex criterion of energy consumption.

The paper proposes a method for improving the accuracy of early detection of cyber attacks with a small impact, in which the mathematical expectation is a fraction of the total, and the pulse repetition period is quite long. Early detection of attacks against telecommunication networks is based on traffic analysis using extreme filtering. The algorithm of fuzzy logic for deciding on the results of extreme filtering is suggested. The results of an experimental evaluation of the proposed method are presented. They demonstrate that the method is sensitive even with minor effects. In order to eliminate the redundancy of the analyzed parameters, it is enough to use the standard deviation and the correlation interval for decision making.

The paper suggests a method of early detection of cyber-attacks by using DDoS attacks as an example) using the method of extreme filtering in a mode close real time. The process of decomposition of the total signal (additive superposition of attacking and legitimate effects) and its decomposition using the method of extreme filtering is simulated. A profile model of a stochastic network is proposed. This allows to specify the influence of the intruder on the network using probabilistic-time characteristics. Experimental evaluation of metrics characterizing the cyber-attack is given. It is demonstrated how obtained values of metrics confirm the process of attack preparation, for instance the large-scaled telecommunication network, which includes the proposed method for early detection of attacks, has a recovery time of no more than 9 s, and the parameters of quality of service remain in an acceptable range.

Abstract Growing expectations for a fast access to information create strong demands for a universal telecommunication network architecture, which provides various services with strictly determined quality. Currently it is assumed that these requirements will be satisfied by Next Generation Network (NGN), which consists of two stratums and includes IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) elements. To guarantee Quality of Service (QoS) all NGN stratums have to be correctly designed and dimensioned. For this reason appropriate traffic models must be developed and applied, which should be efficient and simple enough for practical applications. In the paper such a traffic model of a single domain of NGN with transport stratum based on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology is presented. The model allows evaluation of mean transport stratum response time and can be useful for calculating time of processing requests in the entire NGN architecture. Results obtained using the presented model are described and discussed. As a result of the discussion, elementary relationships between network parameters and transport stratum response time are indicated.

The LTE broadband evolved from an earlier Third Generation Partnership Project system which is known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), which evolved from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The network architecture of this system has been designed with the aim to support a packet-switched traffic with seamless mobility and great quality of service. The main goal of the LTE is to provide a high data rate with low latency and a packet optimized radio access technology that supports deployment of bandwidth. Hence, this study is based on the evaluation of the LTE network in the south-west region of Nigeria. This study evaluates the LTE network strength in the South-West region of Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered among users in these areas randomly. Thereafter, data were analyzed and research questions were answered from the analyzed results. The results showed that 9Mobile and MTN has the best quality of service of LTE network in South-West, Nigeria, also that the LTE network has not really been active in Osun and Ekiti states.

The LTE broadband evolved from an earlier Third Generation Partnership Project system which is known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), which evolved from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The network architecture of this system has been designed with the aim to support a packet-switched traffic with seamless mobility and great quality of service. The main goal of the LTE is to provide a high data rate with low latency and a packet optimized radio access technology that supports deployment of bandwidth. Hence, this study is based on the evaluation of the LTE network in the south-west region of Nigeria. This study evaluates the LTE network strength in the South-West region of Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered among users in these areas randomly. Thereafter, data were analyzed and research questions were answered from the analyzed results. The results showed that 9Mobile and MTN has the best quality of service of LTE network in South-West, Nigeria, also that the LTE network has not really been active in Osun and Ekiti states.

Cyberattacks against the elements of technological data transmission networks represent a rather significant threat of disrupting the management of regional electric power complexes. Therefore, evaluating the functioning quality of data transmission networks in the context of cyberattacks is an important task that helps to make the right decisions on the telecommunication support of electric power systems. The known models and methods for solving this problem have limited application areas determined by the admissible packet distribution laws. The paper proposes a new method for evaluating the quality of the functioning of data transmission networks, based on modeling the process of functioning of data transmission networks in the form of a stochastic network. The proposed method removes restrictions on the form of the initial distributions and makes the assumptions about the exponential distribution of the expected time and packet servicing in modern technological data transmission networks unnecessary. The method gives the possibility to evaluate the quality of the network functioning in the context of cyberattacks for stationary Poisson transmission and self-similar traffic, represented by Pareto and Weibul flows models. The obtained evaluation results are in good agreement with the data represented in previously published papers.

The rapid evolution of the telecommunication domain increases the performance of different access networks continuously. New services, especially in the domain multimedia content distribution, require higher and higher bandwidth at the user’s and service provider’s side. Multimedia services like Video on Demand, IPTV, and live streaming were introduced in the past and are still improved in quality and quantity. Multimedia streams and Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing dominates the worldwide Internet traffic nowadays and will continue further (Schulze, 2009). The user acceptance of enjoying multimedia content over the Internet will grow steadily together with the increasing quality of the available multimedia content. Network operators and service providers have to face the growths by increasing their service platform with higher performance and bandwidth or introducing a scalable solution. In this paper, the authors present an algorithm for scalable P2P live streaming in Next-Generation-Networks (NGN) that addresses this challenge. An evaluation proves the performance of the implementation of this algorithm in a demo scenario.

This paper presents a review and evaluation of real data sources relative to their role and applicability in an agent-based model (ABM) simulating respiratory infection spread a large geographic area. The ABM is a spatial-temporal model inclusive of behavior and interaction patterns between individual agents. The agent behaviours in the model (movements and interactions) are fed by census/demographic data, integrated with real data from a telecommunication service provider (cellular records), traffic survey data, as well as person-person contact data obtained via a custom 3G smartphone application that logs Bluetooth connectivity between devices. Each source provides data of varying type and granularity, thereby enhancing the robustness of the model. The work demonstrates opportunities in data mining and fusion and the role of data in calibrating and validating ABMs. The data become real-world inputs into susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) disease spread models and their variants, thereby building credible and nonintrusive models to qualitatively model public health interventions at the population level.

The current paper focuses on validating an implementation of a state-of-the art audiovisual (AV) technologies setup for live broadcasting of cultural shows, via broadband Internet. The main objective of the work was to study, configure, and setup dedicated audio-video equipment for the processes of capturing, processing, and transmission of extended resolution and high fidelity AV content in order to increase realism and achieve maximum audience sensation. Internet2 and GEANT broadband telecommunication networks were selected as the most applicable technology to deliver such traffic workloads. Validation procedures were conducted in combination with metric-based quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) evaluation experiments for the quantification and the perceptual interpretation of the quality achieved during content reproduction. The implemented system was successfully applied in real-world applications, such as the transmission of cultural events from Thessaloniki Concert Hall throughout Greece as well as the reproduction of Philadelphia Orchestra performances (USA) via Internet2 and GEANT backbones.

The next generation of wireless system is expected to provide multimedia, multi class services any time anywhere with seamless mobility and Quality of Service (QoS). In such environment, vertical handoff management plays an important and challenging role. Some of the main functions of vertical handoff management are: to implement appropriate vertical handoff decision to minimize number of unnecessary handoff, to maintain minimum vertical handoff latency for seamless mobility and to provide guaranteed acceptable QoS required for user satisfaction. Thus, in this paper to avoid unnecessary handoff in integrated heterogeneous network we have proposed that the vertical handoff decision depends on coverage area of the network and the speed of the Mobile Node. Application specific cut-off speed for particular coverage range of network during which handoff is beneficial has been determined. Real time applications like HDTV, MPEG-4, and H.261 are considered in integrated heterogeneous network of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) and WLAN. Vertical handoff latency is analyzed for varied network traffic load, types of application and varied speed of Mobile Node. Effect of Mobile Node speed on packet loss is also analyzed. Finally, to satisfy user with acceptable end to end QoS, especially in the presence of heterogeneous integrated networks where every network has individual QoS, an end to end QoS mapping scheme between UMTS and WLAN integrated network has been proposed. The simulation is performed using Network Simulator NS-2 with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) add on module.

As the mobile cellular subscription is constantly increasing, the demand for good network and data traffic, remains to be high. In order to achieve that, proper network planning is important to enhance reliable mobile network and optimization. Path loss modelling is extensively used in the initial feasibility studies for the proper deployment of telecommunication. Prediction of path loss helps to indicates the field strength of the radio propagation. Path loss is the weakening of signal strength during propagation and can be determined by using different models. Largely affected by the complex terrain, buildings, trees, generally, the path loss is caused by reflection, refraction and diffraction. The evaluation is performed at 1800 MHz frequency which is the operating band of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) 4G network service in the region. A comparative study is done between different types of path loss models used in LTE networks in MATLAB. Analysis of path loss for irregular terrain in the region is also being simulated using Radio-mobile. With this study, a person can predict the mobile signal quality and a proper network can be planned.

The fifth generation (5G) of mobile networks connects people, things, data, applications, transport systems, and cities in smart networked communication environments. With the growth in the amount of generated data, the number of wirelessly connected machines, traffic types, and associated requirements, ensuring high-quality mobile connectivity becomes incredibly difficult for technology suppliers. Mobile operators and network vendors enrolling in 5G face far more rapid demands than any technology before, and at the same time need to ensure efficiency and reliability in the network operations. In fact, intelligent forecasting and decision-making strategies are several of the centerpieces of current artificial intelligence research in various domains. Due to its strong fitting ability, machine learning is seen to have great potential to be employed to solve telecommunication networks’ optimization problems that range from the design of hardware elements to network self-optimization. This paper addresses the question of how to apply artificial intelligence to 5G radio access control and feed ML techniques with radio characteristic-based automatic data collection to achieve ML-based evaluation of 5G performance. The proposed methodology endorses ML tools for the 5G portfolio scenarios requirements assessment and integrates into the mature methods for network performance optimization: self-organizing networks (SON) and minimization of drive tests (MDT). In this context, the proposed treatment guides future network deployments and implementations adopted on a 3GPP standard basis.

Fraud in telecommunications networks is a constantly growing phenomenon that causes enormous financial losses for both the individual user and the telecommunications operators. We can denote many researchers who have proposed various approaches to provide a solution to this problem, but still need to be improve to ensure the efficiency. Detecting fraud is difficult and, it's no surprise that many frauds schemes have serious limitations. Different types of fraud may require different systems, each with different procedures, parameter adjustments, database interfaces, and case management tools and capabilities. This article uses the K-Means algorithm to handle fraud detection based on Call Detail Record (CDR) and traffic analysis in a telecommunication industry. Our algorithm consists to compare traffic and CDR generated in the network and check if there is abnormal behavior and if yes, our model is used to confirm if users suspecting of fraud are really fraudster or not. To build our model we used real word CDR data collected in November 2021. Our model associates the Differential Privacy model to encrypt users' personal information, and the k-means algorithm to group users into different clusters. Those clusters represent non fraud users having similar characteristics based on criteria used to build the model. Users having abnormal behavior that can be assimilated to fraudsters are those who are far from the different clusters center. Thanks to a representation in a plan, we better visualize user’s behavior. We validated our model by evaluating our segmentation method. The interpretation of the results shows sufficiently that our approach allows to obtain better results. Our approach can be used by all telecommunications operator to reduce the impact of fraud on internet services.

Currently, cellular networks have become widespread, the operators of which simultaneously use the infrastructure of the second-generation GSM networks, DCS to build third-generation W-CDMA networks that provide broadband multiple access with code division. At the same time, the problem of providing high-speed Internet connections is exacerbated due to the growing volume of data of diverse types transmitted over the Internet. When testing the entire network coverage area, the total number of voice calls increases, so a method of long-term measurement of the bit rate of information transmission via wireless communication channels is proposed, which does not increase the service information in the network. Mathematical modeling of Internet traffic consumption using the proposed measurement method is performed and entropy estimates of information channel bandwidth are given.

The development of telecommunications technology has developed very rapidly. This is in line with the increase in internet data traffic which is growing tremendously. The use of the Internet has been used in all layers of the age segment both the older generation to the younger generation. Global competition in the future is very tight and required knowledge of technology, especially telecommunications technology. This is the basis of community service activities for young people to be given knowledge and education about telecommunications technology and its development and to prepare young people to welcome the 5G era to have competitiveness to face the competition map going forward. In this dedication activity, the method used is direct material exposure to students with the implementation of pre and post-tests as material for evaluating activities. Community service activities carried out in Palembang Muhammadiyah 6 Junior High School with a duration of community service activities for 1 day. The number of students who took part in the service was 60 people. In this service, it was found that almost all students have used the Internet with various uses both in the use of email, social media and social messenger, where Facebook is the most favorite social media for junior high school students. From the results of the pre and post-test evaluation, it was found that the level of student retention regarding telecommunications has increased.

The subject of the study is multiservice communication network using the concept NGN (Next Generation Network) based on the open network architecture IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem), supporting a wide range services. The basis of this architecture is the IMS core, consisting of a set of specialized modules responsible for various functions for customer service. The purpose of the article is to analyze the existing technical capabilities of the IMS multimedia messaging subsystem and perspective solutions for the functioning of the NGN/IMS network efficiency in providing multimedia service. As the efficiency of the system, the capacity NGN/IMS networks is selected using the signaling system and protocols NGN. The capacity NGN/IMS networks during the establishment of a multimedia session was analyzed and the functional architecture of the IMS multimedia messaging subsystem that determine the interaction NGN signaling systems an protocols was explored. Manage the presentation Triple Play services to subscribers and simultaneously modify the media stream within the session allows the protocol for the initialization of the SIP and Diameter sessions, which are the main IMS signaling protocol. One of the important requirements for the IMS subsystem is the maintenance QoS (Quality of Service). A mathematical model for estimating the quality of communication services using a system GI/G/1/N based on the theory diffusion approximation is proposed. The research presented in this paper is very important for the theory queuing systems, since the article proposes a method for investigating multiservice communication networks with non-Poisson incoming flow and effective results are obtained for NGN/IMS networks. On the basis of the model analytical expressions are obtained, which allow evaluating the performance indicators of the Triple Play service. The proposed mathematical model can be used to solve a wide range of practical problems, including the management multiservice traffic in the process its transmission in multiservice telecommunications networks, taking into account the quality of service classes. Thus, studies NGN/IMS network capacity indicators using SIP protocols are relevant.

The user traffic in the mobile communication area has rapidly increased owing to the widespread of smartphones and various cloud services. To handle the increasing traffic, in the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), the millimeter-wave multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication technology is under development. Because the MIMO transmission performance heavily depends on the radio propagation characteristics, various MIMO channel measurements are needed for the performance evaluation and system design. The accurate and efficient parameter estimation algorithm which estimates the propagation delays and angle of arrivals (AoA) of radio waves is also indispensable for the purpose. In this paper, we extended the joint delay and azimuth estimation (JADE) method based on multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm. In our proposal, the drawback of the MUSIC that the performance degrades for the estimation of coherent waves was solved by applying the smoothing technique in the frequency domain. It also makes the antenna calibration simpler. We implemented the proposed algorithm for the channel sounding system in the 66 GHz band, which is one of the candidate frequency bands for the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) system and evaluated the effectiveness through the experiment in an anechoic chamber. The result showed that our proposed method can de-correlate the signal components of coherent waves, and improved the parameter estimation accuracy significantly. The root means square error (RMSE) of the propagation delay estimation was improved from 2.7 ns to 0.9 ns, and the RMSE of the AoA estimation was improved from 20.3 deg. to 7.2 deg. The results are expected to be utilized for the millimeter wave band MIMO channel modeling.

The quality of experience (QoE) of the individual user of telecommunication services is one of the most important criteria for choosing the service package of mobile providers. To evaluate the sustainability of QoE, this paper uses indicators of user satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the quality of network services (QoS), especially with conversational, streaming, interactive and background classes of traffic in networks. The importance of knowing the impact of selected combinations of paired legal–regulatory, technological–process, content-formatted and performative, contextual–relational and subjective user-influencing factors on QoE sustainability is investigated using a multiple linear regression model created in Minitab statistical software, machine learning model based on boosted decision trees created in the MATLAB software package and predictive models created by using an automatic modeling method. The classification of influence factors and their matching for the analysis of interaction fields of users and services aim to mark QoE as sustainable by determining the accuracy of the weight of subjective ratings of user satisfaction indicators as transitional variables in the predictive model of QoE. The hypothetical setting is that the individual user’s curiosity, creativity, communication, personality, courage, confidence, charisma, competence, common sense and memory are adequate transition variables in a sustainable QoE model. Using the applied methodology with an original research approach, data were collected on the evaluations of research variables from anonymous users of mobile operators in the geo-space of Republika Srpska and B&H. By treating the data with mathematical and machine learning models, the QoE assessment was performed at the level of an individual user, and after that, several models were created for the prediction and classification of QoEi. The results show that the relative error (RE) of the predictive models, created over the collected dataset, is insufficiently low, so the improvement of the prediction performance was achieved via data augmentation (DA). In this way, the relative prediction error is reduced to a value of RE = 0.247. The DA method was also applied for the creating a classification model, which at best demonstrated an accuracy of 94.048%.

This paper aims to present a framework for evaluating the functionality of emergency road networks after an earthquake from the perspective of local assistance during the process of restoring lifeline systems, such as electric power supply systems, gas supply systems and telecommunication networks. For the analysis, an earthquake of M7.3 in the Tokyo metropolitan area is anticipated, and the following types of local assistance between the related bases and the lifeline systems in the Kanto area are assumed. We employ four indices to quantify the physical and functional states of emergency road networks to be used during the post-earthquake restoration process: distance exposed by seismic intensity spatial distribution and distance exposed by PL value spatial distribution, the indices of which denote the physical state of the road networks as a result of ground motions and liquefaction, distance weighted by traffic congestion level, and distance weighted by averaged traveling time during the congestion, the indices of which denote the functional state of the road networks before being subjected to the above-mentioned seismic disturbances. By using the indices to evaluate the function of the networks from the point of view of efficiency in terms of gathering human resources and restoration materials, we can determine the most effective emergency road networks and related bases to provide local assistance to lifeline systems.

Multimedia streaming is the most demanding and bandwidth hungry application in today’s world of Internet. MPEG-DASH as a video technology standard is designed for delivering live or on-demand streams in Internet to deliver best quality content with the fewest dropouts and least possible buffering. Hybrid architecture of DASH and eMBMS has attracted a great attention from the telecommunication industry and multimedia services. It is deployed in response to the immense demand in multimedia traffic. However, handover and limited available resources of the system affected on dropping segments of the adaptive video streaming in eMBMS and it creates an adverse impact on Quality of Experience (QoE), which is creating trouble for service providers and network providers towards delivering the service. In this paper, we derive a case study in eMBMS to approach to provide test measures evaluating MPEG-DASH QoE, by defining the metrics are influenced on QoE in eMBMS such as bandwidth and packet loss then we observe the objective metrics like stalling (number, duration and place), buffer length and accumulative video time. Moreover, we build a smart algorithm to predict rate of segments are lost in multicast adaptive video streaming. The algorithm deploys an estimation decision regards how to recover the lost segments. According to the obtained results based on our proposal algorithm, rate of lost segments is highly decreased by comparing to the traditional approach of MPEG-DASH multicast and unicast for high number of users.

The question of estimation and choice of a way of management of a telecommunication network in the conditions of considerable loading for various structures of traffic is considered. The requirements to the characteristics of the software switch for the simplest and self-similar input streams are analyzed and formulated. The expediency of increasing the number of independent parallel channels of the software switch with the organization of the general queue to several input ports is caused. The concept of the network management system is proposed, which consists in the use of a two-level model of the autonomous segment with a four-level model of the network as a whole. It is shown that the transition from centralized management to management of autonomous segments allows to increase the reliability of management systems and reduce the amount of service traffic.

The main stages of the historical development of telecommunication networks are shown. It is noted that today the most common concepts are NGN (Next Generation Network), supporting the functionality of Triple-Play Services (triple services – voice, video and data transmission), as well as IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), which combines cellular technology and landline communications. They are able to provide a wide range of services: basic, additional, intelligent. In addition, IMS is able to provide mobile services. The IMS architecture layers are presented – transport layer, control layer; layer of service and application servers. Particular attention is paid to the layer of service and application servers. Based on the analysis of ITU recommendations, the main telecommunication services quality indexes are determined, namely, the time of service provision, the length of the queue that the service request falls into to wait for service on the server, and the probability of refusing to provide services. Based on the proposed mathematical models of the NGN intelligent superstructure, analytical expressions are presented for calculating the quality indexes of intelligent services in NGN for one type of service and for K types of services, taking into account the self-similarity of traffic, and without taking into account. To evaluate the quality of services in IMS, it is proposed to use the approaches of queuing theory and tensor analysis. Tensor analysis offers a mathematical apparatus for transforming coordinate systems, considering IMS as a set of geometric objects whose projections are different in different coordinate systems, but the physical properties of the objects themselves do not change. Expressions are proposed that make it possible to calculate the following QoS indexes in IMS: average queue length, average residence time of an application in the system for all types of services in IMS. It is considered that the incoming traffic is the simplest. Further development of the work is to take into account the self-similar nature of traffic, which is created by the flow of requests for services that come to IMS, as well as the limitations of the server buffer, which will allow a more accurate assessment of the quality of services in IMS.

This paper evaluates voice quality of four Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communication providers in five selected cities in Kwara State with thoughtfulness of network performance evaluation and the quality of service (QoS) improvement of GSM network system. Three assessment components/parameters which are network accessibility, service retainability and connection quality for evaluating QoS on the network were mainly adopted. The parameters were applied on four GSM networks in the studied areas using customers’ complaints method. Also, a standard method known as Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) — (International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector) ITU-T standard P.862, used for measuring call voice quality and Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is adopted. The two methods were therefore compared to assess call voice quality of the four GSM networks. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on which the GSM networks were tested include call set-up success rates (CSSR), call drop rate (CDR), call completion success rates (CCSR), handover success rates (HSR) and traffic channel congestion rate (TCHR). The result of the study shows that the Quality of Service of GSM system in the selected cities is unreliable. The study also shows that the GSM network accessibility and retainability in the country are unsatisfactory. However, the call voice quality was observed to be on the peak in these cities across the four network providers. At the end of this manuscript, suggestions are given on how to advance both the Quality of Service and the positive impact of GSM network in the selected areas and the country as a whole.

Внедрение стандартов цифровой радиосвязи в гражданской авиации происходит практически без взаимодействия с международными организациями по стандартизации в области телекоммуникаций. При этом цифровая связь используется в первую очередь для обеспечения безопасности полетов воздушных судов. По радиоканалу в вещательном режиме каждое воздушное судно передает информацию о своем местоположении, обеспечивая таким образом ситуационную осведомленность экипажей других судов и диспетчеров. Поскольку число пассажирских и грузовых судов растет, а кроме того, в последнее время многократно возросло число беспилотных судов,которые должны быть интегрированы в общее воздушное пространство, то назрела необходимость рассмотреть существующие стандарты цифровой авиационной связи и провести сравнительный анализ их параметров. В данной работе выполнен сравнительный анализ физического и канального уровней стандартов VDL mode 4 и 090ES,а также представлены критерии качества передачи данных с помощью технологии автоматического зависимого наблюдения-вещания. Сравнение проведено по результатам моделирования работы стандартов в условиях высокой загруженности воздушного пространства. Digital communication standards implementation in civil aviation is now performed practically without collaboration with international telecommunications standardization organizations. At the same time, digital communication is primarily intended to ensure the safety of aircraft flights. Each aircraft transmits its position report messages over a radio communication channel in a broadcast mode, thus providing situational awareness for other aircrafts and the air traffic control staff. Since the number of passenger and cargo aircrafts grows, and in addition, the number of unmanned aircraft that must be integrated into the common airspace has recently multiplied, it is time to consider the existing digital aviation communication standards and perform a comparative analysis of their parameters. In the article, a comparative analysis of the physical and link levels of the VDL mode 4 and 1090ES standards was carried out. The ADS-B data transfer quality evaluation criteria are proposed. The VDL mode 4 and 1090ES standards modeling results in conditions of high airspace congestion are compared.

The paper presents a mathematical model based on multicriteria decision making method of the Analytic Hierarchy Process for determining the critical network of railway lines, which prevented the flow of traffic growth, the line bandwidth, traffic volume and train speed. The presented model using real data and expert evaluation can be used for the renovation work schedules of railway lines (infrastructure, telecommunications, etc.).

The results of a study of the Internet services market in the Vinnytsia region are highlighted in the article. The main market participants providing Internet services - are identified and analyzed. These services include: organization of Internet access when using dial-up communication lines; provision of hosting space; maintenance of smooth operation of electronic mail addresses or virtual post service; provision of services for organizing the installation of equipment to the client at their own location; provision of rental services for virtual servers or data backup. The key success factors were chosen: connection cost; price / speed ratio; range of tariff plans; availability of an «external» sales service; availability of advertising support; availability of exclusive connection technologies; financial stability of the enterprise. A survey of users of Internet services in Vinnytsia allowed us to create a portrait of the target audience. The main requirement of users for Internet services is the speed of Internet traffic. Factors contributing to the active development of the Internet audience are revealed: an increase in business activity in the region; an increase in revenues and, as a result, an increase in the availability of telecommunications services; an increase in business needs for telecommunications services; the use of modern technologies that improve the quality of services. Favorable factors for the development of Internet service providers in the foreseeable future are the growing use of telecommunications technologies which leads to an increase in the popularity of services and the rapid pace of development and introduction of telecommunications technologies. Offers made for service differentiation of services: offer additional services that accompany the offered product will be competitive. Improving the quality of user service is based on the implementation of Service Management in the company: responsibility in providing service, quality control of service based on the implementation of standard procedures, improving and maintaining a high level of competence of service personnel in the company, a clear system for evaluating and motivating staff performance. It is advisable to maintain a high level of service quality using internal PR technologies.

Introduction Documentary film has grown significantly in the past decade, with high profile films such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Supersize Me, and An Inconvenient Truth garnering increased attention both at the box office and in the news media. In addition, the rising prominence of web-based media has provided new opportunities for documentary to create social impact. Films are now typically released with websites, Facebook pages, twitter feeds, and web videos to increase both reach and impact. This combination of technology and broader audience appeal has given rise to a current landscape in which documentary films are imbedded within coordinated multi-media campaigns. New media have not only opened up new avenues for communicating with audiences, they have also created new opportunities for data collection and analysis of film impacts. A recent report by McKinsey and Company highlighted this potential, introducing and discussing the implications of increasing consumer information being recorded on the Internet as well as through networked sensors in the physical world. As they found: "Big data—large pools of data that can be captured, communicated, aggregated, stored, and analyzed—is now part of every sector and function of the global economy" (Manyika et al. iv). This data can be mined to learn a great deal about both individual and cultural response to documentary films and the issues they represent. Although film has a rich history in humanities research, this new set of tools enables an empirical approach grounded in the social sciences. However, several researchers across disciplines have noted that limited investigation has been conducted in this area. Although there has always been an emphasis on social impact in film and many filmmakers and scholars have made legitimate (and possibly illegitimate) claims of impact, few have attempted to empirically justify these claims. Over fifteen years ago, noted film scholar Brian Winston commented that "the underlying assumption of most social documentaries—that they shall act as agents of reform and change—is almost never demonstrated" (236). A decade later, Political Scientist David Whiteman repeated this sentiment, arguing that, "despite widespread speculation about the impact of documentaries, the topic has received relatively little systematic attention" ("Evolving"). And earlier this year, the introduction to a special issue of Mass Communication and Society on documentary film stated, "documentary film, despite its growing influence and many impacts, has mostly been overlooked by social scientists studying the media and communication" (Nisbet and Aufderheide 451). Film has been studied extensively as entertainment, as narrative, and as cultural event, but the study of film as an agent of social change is still in its infancy. This paper introduces a systematic approach to measuring the social impact of documentary film aiming to: (1) discuss the context of documentary film and its potential impact; and (2) argue for a social science approach, discussing key issues about conducting such research. Changes in Documentary Practice Documentary film has been used as a tool for promoting social change throughout its history. John Grierson, who coined the term "documentary" in 1926, believed it could be used to influence the ideas and actions of people in ways once reserved for church and school. He presented his thoughts on this emerging genre in his 1932 essay, First Principles of Documentary, saying, "We believe that the cinema's capacity for getting around, for observing and selecting from life itself, can be exploited in a new and vital art form" (97). Richard Barsam further specified the definition of documentary, distinguishing it from non-fiction film, such that all documentaries are non-fiction films but not all non-fiction films are documentaries. He distinguishes documentary from other forms of non-fiction film (i.e. travel films, educational films, newsreels) by its purpose; it is a film with an opinion and a specific message that aims to persuade or influence the audience. And Bill Nichols writes that the definition of documentary may even expand beyond the film itself, defining it as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" (12). Documentary film has undergone many significant changes since its inception, from the heavily staged romanticism movement of the 1920s to the propagandist tradition of governments using film to persuade individuals to support national agendas to the introduction of cinéma vérité in the 1960s and historical documentary in the 1980s (cf. Barnouw). However, the recent upsurge in popularity of documentary media, combined with technological advances of internet and computers have opened up a whole new set of opportunities for film to serve as both art and agent for social change. One such opportunity is in the creation of film-based social action campaigns. Over the past decade, filmmakers have taken a more active role in promoting social change by coordinating film releases with action campaigns. Companies such as Participant Media (An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc., etc.) now create "specific social action campaigns for each film and documentary designed to give a voice to issues that resonate in the films" (Participant Media). In addition, a new sector of "social media" consultants are now offering services, including "consultation, strategic planning for alternative distribution, website and social media development, and complete campaign management services to filmmakers to ensure the content of nonfiction media truly meets the intention for change" (Working Films). The emergence of new forms of media and technology are changing our conceptions of both documentary film and social action. Technologies such as podcasts, video blogs, internet radio, social media and network applications, and collaborative web editing "both unsettle and extend concepts and assumptions at the heart of 'documentary' as a practice and as an idea" (Ellsworth). In the past decade, we have seen new forms of documentary creation, distribution, marketing, and engagement. Likewise, film campaigns are utilizing a broad array of strategies to engage audience members, including "action kits, screening programs, educational curriculums and classes, house parties, seminars, panels" that often turn into "ongoing 'legacy' programs that are updated and revised to continue beyond the film's domestic and international theatrical, DVD and television windows" (Participant Media). This move towards multi-media documentary film is becoming not only commonplace, but expected as a part of filmmaking. NYU film professor and documentary film pioneer George Stoney recently noted, "50 percent of the documentary filmmaker's job is making the movie, and 50 percent is figuring out what its impact can be and how it can move audiences to action" (qtd. in Nisbet, "Gasland"). In his book Convergence Culture, Henry Jenkins, coined the term "transmedia storytelling", which he later defined as "a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience" ("Transmedia"). When applied to documentary film, it is the elements of the "issue" raised by the film that get dispersed across these channels, coordinating, not just an entertainment experience, but a social action campaign. Dimensions of Evaluation It is not unreasonable to assume that such film campaigns, just like any policy or program, have the possibility to influence viewers' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Measuring this impact has become increasingly important, as funders of documentary and issue-based films want look to understand the "return on investment" of films in terms of social impact so that they can compare them with other projects, including non-media, direct service projects. Although we "feel" like films make a difference to the individuals who also see them in the broader cultures in which they are embedded, measurement and empirical analysis of this impact are vitally important for both providing feedback to filmmakers and funders as well as informing future efforts attempting to leverage film for social change. This type of systematic assessment, or program evaluation, is often discussed in terms of two primary goals—formative (or process) and summative (or impact) evaluation (cf. Muraskin; Trochim and Donnelly). Formative evaluation studies program materials and activities to strengthen a program, and summative evaluation examines program outcomes. In terms of documentary film, these two goals can be described as follows: Formative Evaluation: Informing the Process As programs (broadly defined as an intentional set of activities with the aim of having some specific impact), the people who interact with them, and the cultures they are situated in are constantly changing, program development and evaluation is an ongoing learning cycle. Film campaigns, which are an intentional set of activities with the aim of impacting individual viewers and broader cultures, fit squarely within this purview. Without formulating hypotheses about the relationships between program activities and goals and then collecting and analyzing data during implementation to test them, it is difficult to learn ways to improve programs (or continue doing what works best in the most efficient manner). Attention to this process enables those involved to learn more about, not only what works, but how and why it works and even gain insights about how program outcomes may be affected by changes to resource availability, potential audiences, or infrastructure. Filmmakers are constantly learning and honing their craft and realizing the impact of their practice can help the artistic process. Often faced with tight budgets and timelines, they are forced to confront tradeoffs all the time, in the writing, production and post-production process. Understanding where they are having impact can improve their decision-making, which can help both the individual project and the overall field. Summative Evaluation: Quantifying Impacts Evaluation is used in many different fields to determine whether programs are achieving their intended goals and objectives. It became popular in the 1960s as a way of understanding the impact of the Great Society programs and has continued to grow since that time (Madaus and Stufflebeam). A recent White House memo stated that "rigorous, independent program evaluations can be a key resource in determining whether government programs are achieving their intended outcomes as well as possible and at the lowest possible cost" and the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched an initiative to increase the practice of "impact evaluations, or evaluations aimed at determining the causal effects of programs" (Orszag 1). Documentary films, like government programs, generally target a national audience, aim to serve a social purpose, and often do not provide a return on their investment. Participant Media, the most visible and arguably most successful documentary production company in the film industry, made recent headlines for its difficulty in making a profit during its seven-year history (Cieply). Owner and founder Jeff Skoll reported investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the company and CEO James Berk added that the company sometimes measures success, not by profit, but by "whether Mr. Skoll could have exerted more impact simply by spending his money philanthropically" (Cieply). Because of this, documentary projects often rely on grant funding, and are starting to approach funders beyond traditional arts and media sources. "Filmmakers are finding new fiscal and non-fiscal partners, in constituencies that would not traditionally be considered—or consider themselves—media funders or partners" (BRITDOC 6). And funders increasingly expect tangible data about their return on investment. Says Luis Ubiñas, president of Ford Foundation, which recently launched the Just Films Initiative: In these times of global economic uncertainty, with increasing demand for limited philanthropic dollars, assessing our effectiveness is more important than ever. Today, staying on the frontlines of social change means gauging, with thoughtfulness and rigor, the immediate and distant outcomes of our funding. Establishing the need for evaluation is not enough—attention to methodology is also critical. Valid research methodology is a critical component of understanding around the role entertainment can play in impacting social and environmental issues. The following issues are vital to measuring impact. Defining the Project Though this may seem like an obvious step, it is essential to determine the nature of the project so one can create research questions and hypotheses based on a complete understanding of the "treatment". One organization that provides a great example of the integration of documentary film imbedded into a larger campaign or movement is Invisible Children. Founded in 2005, Invisible Children is both a media-based organization as well as an economic development NGO with the goal of raising awareness and meeting the needs of child soldiers and other youth suffering as a result of the ongoing war in northern Uganda. Although Invisible Children began as a documentary film, it has grown into a large non-profit organization with an operating budget of over $8 million and a staff of over a hundred employees and interns throughout the year as well as volunteers in all 50 states and several countries. Invisible Children programming includes films, events, fundraising campaigns, contests, social media platforms, blogs, videos, two national "tours" per year, merchandise, and even a 650-person three-day youth summit in August 2011 called The Fourth Estate. Individually, each of these components might lead to specific outcomes; collectively, they might lead to others. In order to properly assess impacts of the film "project", it is important to take all of these components into consideration and think about who they may impact and how. This informs the research questions, hypotheses, and methods used in evaluation. Film campaigns may even include partnerships with existing social movements and non-profit organizations targeting social change. The American University Center for Social Media concluded in a case study of three issue-based documentary film campaigns: Digital technologies do not replace, but are closely entwined with, longstanding on-the-ground activities of stakeholders and citizens working for social change. Projects like these forge new tools, pipelines, and circuits of circulation in a multiplatform media environment. They help to create sustainable network infrastructures for participatory public media that extend from local communities to transnational circuits and from grassroots communities to policy makers. (Abrash) Expanding the Focus of Impact beyond the Individual A recent focus has shifted the dialogue on film impact. Whiteman ("Theaters") argues that traditional metrics of film "success" tend to focus on studio economic indicators that are far more relevant to large budget films. Current efforts focused on box office receipts and audience size, the author claims, are really measures of successful film marketing or promotion, missing the mark when it comes to understanding social impact. He instead stresses the importance of developing a more comprehensive model. His "coalition model" broadens the range and types of impact of film beyond traditional metrics to include the entire filmmaking process, from production to distribution. Whiteman (“Theaters”) argues that a narrow focus on the size of the audience for a film, its box office receipts, and viewers' attitudes does not incorporate the potential reach of a documentary film. Impacts within the coalition model include both individual and policy levels. Individual impacts (with an emphasis on activist groups) include educating members, mobilizing for action, and raising group status; policy includes altering both agenda for and the substance of policy deliberations. The Fledgling Fund (Barrett and Leddy) expanded on this concept and identified five distinct impacts of documentary film campaigns. These potential impacts expand from individual viewers to groups, movements, and eventually to what they call the "ultimate goal" of social change. Each is introduced briefly below. Quality Film. The film itself can be presented as a quality film or media project, creating enjoyment or evoking emotion in the part of audiences. "By this we mean a film that has a compelling narrative that draws viewers in and can engage them in the issue and illustrate complex problems in ways that statistics cannot" (Barrett and Leddy, 6). Public Awareness. Film can increase public awareness by bringing light to issues and stories that may have otherwise been unknown or not often thought about. This is the level of impact that has received the most attention, as films are often discussed in terms of their "educational" value. "A project's ability to raise awareness around a particular issue, since awareness is a critical building block for both individual change and broader social change" (Barrett and Leddy, 6). Public Engagement. Impact, however, need not stop at simply raising public awareness. Engagement "indicates a shift from simply being aware of an issue to acting on this awareness. Were a film and its outreach campaign able to provide an answer to the question 'What can I do?' and more importantly mobilize that individual to act?" (Barrett and Leddy, 7). This is where an associated film campaign becomes increasingly important, as transmedia outlets such as Facebook, websites, blogs, etc. can build off the interest and awareness developed through watching a film and provide outlets for viewers channel their constructive efforts. Social Movement. In addition to impacts on individuals, films can also serve to mobilize groups focused on a particular problem. The filmmaker can create a campaign around the film to promote its goals and/or work with existing groups focused on a particular issue, so that the film can be used as a tool for mobilization and collaboration. "Moving beyond measures of impact as they relate to individual awareness and engagement, we look at the project's impact as it relates to the broader social movement … if a project can strengthen the work of key advocacy organizations that have strong commitment to the issues raised in the film" (Barrett and Leddy, 7). Social Change. The final level of impact and "ultimate goal" of an issue-based film is long-term and systemic social change. "While we understand that realizing social change is often a long and complex process, we do believe it is possible and that for some projects and issues there are key indicators of success" (Barrett and Leddy, 7). This can take the form of policy or legislative change, passed through film-based lobbying efforts, or shifts in public dialogue and behavior. Legislative change typically takes place beyond the social movement stage, when there is enough support to pressure legislators to change or create policy. Film-inspired activism has been seen in issues ranging from environmental causes such as agriculture (Food Inc.) and toxic products (Blue Vinyl) to social causes such as foreign conflict (Invisible Children) and education (Waiting for Superman). Documentary films can also have a strong influence as media agenda-setters, as films provide dramatic "news pegs" for journalists seeking to either sustain or generation new coverage of an issue (Nisbet "Introduction" 5), such as the media coverage of climate change in conjunction with An Inconvenient Truth. Barrett and Leddy, however, note that not all films target all five impacts and that different films may lead to different impacts. "In some cases we could look to key legislative or policy changes that were driven by, or at least supported by the project... In other cases, we can point to shifts in public dialogue and how issues are framed and discussed" (7). It is possible that specific film and/or campaign characteristics may lead to different impacts; this is a nascent area for research and one with great promise for both practical and theoretical utility. Innovations in Tools and Methods Finally, the selection of tools is a vital component for assessing impact and the new media landscape is enabling innovations in the methods and strategies for program evaluation. Whereas the traditional domain of film impact measurement included box office statistics, focus groups, and exit surveys, innovations in data collection and analysis have expanded the reach of what questions we can ask and how we are able to answer them. For example, press coverage can assist in understanding and measuring the increase in awareness about an issue post-release. Looking directly at web-traffic changes "enables the creation of an information-seeking curve that can define the parameters of a teachable moment" (Hart and Leiserowitz 360). Audience reception can be measured, not only via interviews and focus groups, but also through content and sentiment analysis of web content and online analytics. "Sophisticated analytics can substantially improve decision making, minimize risks, and unearth valuable insights that would otherwise remain hidden" (Manyika et al. 5). These new tools are significantly changing evaluation, expanding what we can learn about the social impacts of film through triangulation of self-report data with measurement of actual behavior in virtual environments. Conclusion The changing media landscape both allows and impels evaluation of film impacts on individual viewers and the broader culture in which they are imbedded. Although such analysis may have previously been limited to box office numbers, critics' reviews, and theater exit surveys, the rise of new media provides both the ability to connect filmmakers, activists, and viewers in new ways and the data in which to study the process. This capability, combined with significant growth in the documentary landscape, suggests a great potential for documentary film to contribute to some of our most pressing social and environmental needs. A social scientific approach, that combines empirical analysis with theory applied from basic science, ensures that impact can be measured and leveraged in a way that is useful for both filmmakers as well as funders. In the end, this attention to impact ensures a continued thriving marketplace for issue-based documentary films in our social landscape. References Abrash, Barbara. "Social Issue Documentary: The Evolution of Public Engagement." American University Center for Social Media 21 Apr. 2010. 26 Sep. 2011 ‹http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/›. Aufderheide, Patricia. "The Changing Documentary Marketplace." Cineaste 30.3 (2005): 24-28. Barnouw, Eric. Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film. New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Barrett, Diana and Sheila Leddy. 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