Mobile terminals with built-in GPS receivers are becoming more and more available, thus the public deployment of location-based services (LBS) becomes feasible. Upcoming LBS are no longer only reactive but getting more and more proactive, enabling the users to subscribe for certain events and get notified when e.g. a friend approaches or a point of interest comes within proximity. However, power consumption for continuous tracking is still a mayor issue with mobile terminals. In this paper we define this problem and propose solutions for an energyefficient combination of GPS and GSM Cell-ID positioning for mobile terminals. We introduce several strategies for extending the lifetime of the battery and show how these strategies can be integrated into existing middleware solutions. Simulations based on a realistic proactive multi-user context confirm the approach.
The Bologna process has triggered an important change in the course outline towards a sustainable, transparent and quality-driven European education system. In Belgium, engineering education had to be completely revised. The transformation of the former system, leading to the degree of academic engineer after five years of study, into the typical Bologna 3 + 2 structure leading to the academic degrees of Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering, respectively, has created opportunities to completely reconsider and restructure the engineering education at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. One of the main objectives of the new programme was to explicitly meet all the requirements with respect to the education output contained in the 'Dublin descriptors' and that of present-day society at large. In this paper, we report on our experience in this transformation. To this end, we use the outcomes of the consultation with alumni, our self-assessments and assessments by an international panel appointed by the VLIR-VLOA (Flemish-Dutch inspection commissions) that took place in 2004 and 2007.
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