Theoretical Foundations and Algorithms for Scheduling in Parallel and Distributed Systems

A special issue of Information (ISSN 2078-2489). This special issue belongs to the section "Information and Communications Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 871

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Computing Sciences, University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, TX 77058, USA
Interests: parallel and distributing computing; scheduling algorithms; complexity and approximation; transactional memory; robotics; internet of things; blockchain; fault-tolerance

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Control and Computer Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Interests: distributed systems; deep learning; cloud computing
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Efficient scheduling is a fundamental challenge in parallel and distributed computing, directly impacting system performance, scalability, and resource utilization. As computing environments evolve from traditional multiprocessors and clusters to heterogeneous systems, cloud infrastructures, and large-scale distributed systems, scheduling problems have become increasingly complex. These challenges arise from the heterogeneity of workloads, dynamic resource availability, communication overheads, and strict requirements on performance and energy efficiency.

Theoretical foundations provide the mathematical models and complexity analyses that guide the design and evaluation of scheduling strategies in distributed systems. Building on this foundation, algorithmic advances offer practical solutions that balance optimality with scalability, often addressing NP-hard problems through approximation, heuristics, and randomized methods. Recent developments also incorporate machine learning, game theory, and stochastic modeling to adapt scheduling decisions to uncertain, real-world environments. 

This Special Issue brings together contributions that advance both the theoretical underpinnings and algorithmic techniques for solving scheduling problems in parallel and distributed systems. We invite submissions that explore innovative theories, models, algorithms, and applications in scheduling for parallel and distributed systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Complexity analysis and performance bounds of scheduling problems;
  • Approximation, heuristic, and randomized algorithms;
  • Task allocation and load balancing in parallel and distributed systems;
  • Scheduling under uncertainty, dynamic environments, or heterogeneous resources;
  • Energy-aware and performance-driven scheduling strategies;
  • Models and algorithms for fog, cloud, and edge computing;
  • Machine learning and data-driven approaches to scheduling;
  • Applications of scheduling algorithms in emerging technologies such as IoT and Blockchain.

Dr. Pavan Poudel
Prof. Dr. Long Cheng
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • parallel and distributed computing
  • distributed systems
  • scheduling algorithms
  • approximation algorithms
  • transactional memory
  • load balancing
  • task allocation
  • resource management
  • complexity analysis
  • heterogeneous systems
  • cloud computing
  • edge computing
  • blockchain
  • iot

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18 pages, 943 KB  
Article
AVI-SHIELD: An Explainable TinyML Cross-Platform Threat Detection Framework for Aviation Mobile Security
by Chaymae Majdoubi, Saida EL Mendili, Youssef Gahi and Khalil El-Khatib
Information 2026, 17(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/info17010021 - 31 Dec 2025
Viewed by 576
Abstract
The integration of mobile devices into aviation powering electronic flight bags, maintenance logs, and flight planning tools has created a critical and expanding cyber-attack surface. Security for these systems must be not only effective but also transparent, resource-efficient, and certifiable to meet stringent [...] Read more.
The integration of mobile devices into aviation powering electronic flight bags, maintenance logs, and flight planning tools has created a critical and expanding cyber-attack surface. Security for these systems must be not only effective but also transparent, resource-efficient, and certifiable to meet stringent aviation safety standards. This paper presents AVI-SHIELD, a novel framework for developing high-assurance, on-device threat detection. Our methodology, grounded in the MITRE ATT&CK® framework, models credible aviation-specific threats to generate the AviMal-TinyX dataset. We then design and optimize a set of compact, interpretable detection algorithms through quantization and pruning for deployment on resource-constrained hardware. Evaluation demonstrates that AVI-SHIELD achieves 97.2% detection accuracy on AviMal-TinyX while operating with strict resource efficiency (<1.5 MB model size, <35 ms inference time and <0.1 Joules per inference) on both Android and iOS. The framework provides crucial decision transparency through integrated, on-device analysis of detection results, adding a manageable overhead (~120 ms) only upon detection. Its successful deployment on both Android and iOS demonstrates that AVI-SHIELD can provide a uniform security posture across heterogeneous device fleets, a critical requirement for airline operations. This work provides a foundational approach for deploying certifiable, edge-based security that delivers the mandatory offline protection required for safety critical mobile aviation applications. Full article
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