A design of benchmarking method for assessing performance of e-Government systems

This paper is an initial work towards developing an e-Government benchmarking model that is user-centric. To achieve the goal then, public service delivery is discussed first including the transition to online public service delivery and the need for providing public services using electronic media. Two major e-Government benchmarking methods are critically discussed and the need to develop a standardized benchmarking model that is user-centric is presented. To properly articulate user requirements in service provision, an organizational semiotic method is suggested.

A conceptual design of a wireless sensor actuator system for optimising energy and well-being in a building

This article presents a prototype model based on a wireless sensor actuator network (WSAN) aimed at optimizing both energy consumption of environmental systems and well-being of occupants in buildings. The model is a system consisting of the following components: a wireless sensor network, `sense diaries', environmental systems such as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and a central computer. A multi-agent system (MAS) is used to derive and act on the preferences of the occupants. Each occupant is represented by a personal agent in the MAS. The sense diary is a new device designed to elicit feedback from occupants about their satisfaction with the environment. The roles of the components are: the WSAN collects data about physical parameters such as temperature and humidity from an indoor environment; the central computer processes the collected data; the sense diaries leverage trade-offs between energy consumption and well-being, in conjunction with the agent system; and the environmental systems control the indoor environment.

Design of mucoadhesive polymeric films based on blends of poly(acrylic acid) and (hydroxypropyl)cellulose

Mixing of aqueous solutions of poly(acrylic acid) and (hydroxypropyl) cellulose results in formation of hydrogen-bonded interpolymer complexes, which precipitate and do not allow preparation of homogeneous polymeric films by casting. In the present work the effect of pH on the complexation between poly(acrylic acid) and (hydroxypropyl)cellulose in solutions and miscibility of these polymers in solid state has been studied. The pH-induced complexation-miscibility-immiscibility transitions in the polymer mixtures have been observed. The optimal conditions for preparation of homogeneous polymeric films based on blends of these polymers have been found, and the possibility of radiation cross-linking of these materials has been demonstrated. Although the gamma-radiation treatment of solid polymeric blends was found to be inefficient, successful cross-linking was achieved by addition of N, N'- methylenebis(acrylamide). The mucoadhesive potential of both soluble and cross-linked films toward porcine buccal mucosa is evaluated. Soluble films adhered to mucosal tissues undergo dissolution within 30-110 min depending on the polymer ratio in the blend. Cross-linked films are retained on the mucosal surface for 10-40 min and then detach.

A design of e-procurement infrastructure model for public service sector

Procurement is one of major business operations in public service sector. The advance of information and communication technology (ICT) pushes this business operation to increase its efficiency and foster collaborations between the organization and its suppliers. This leads to a shift from the traditional procurement transactions to an e-procurement paradigm. Such change impacts on business process, information management and decision making. E-procurement involves various stakeholders who engage in activities based on different social and cultural practices. Therefore, a design of e-procurement system may involve complex situations analysis. This paper describes an approach of using the problem articulation method to support such analysis. This approach is applied to a case study from UAE.

Design of a biomimetic skin for an octopus-inspired robot - Part II: Development of the skin artefact

In order to develop skin artefact for an octopus-inspired robot arm, which is designed to be able to elongate 60% of its original length, silicone rubber and knitted nylon sheet were selected to manufacture an artificial skin, due to their higher elastic strain and high flexibility. Tensile and scissors cutting tests were conducted to characterise the matrix and reinforcing materials and the skin artefact. Material properties of the individual and the composite materials were compared with the measured properties of real octopus skin presented in Part I. The Young’s modulus of the skin should be below 20 MPa and the elastic strain range should be over 60%. The fracture toughness should be at least 0.9 kJ·m−2. Tubes made of the skin artefact filled with liquid were tested to study volume change under deformation. Finite element analysis model was developed to simulate the material and arm structure under tensile loading. Results show that the skin artefact developed has similar mechanical properties as the real octopus skin and satisfies all the design specifications of the OCTOPUS robot.

The design of UV absorbing systems for horticultural applications

The synthesis and fluorescence behavior of a series of bis(trisilylalkyl)anthracene molecules is described. The photodegradation of these molecules under UV light has been monitored and compared to a commercially available fluorescent optical brightener. There is a relationship between the structure and the rate of photo decay. The materials with more bulky substituents exhibit the greater stability towards UV. For bis(triphenylsilyl)anthracene the photostability appears to be comparable with a commercially available optical brightener, but the molecule may be susceptible to thermal decay.

Spectral design of temperature-invariant narrow bandpass filters for the mid-infrared

The ability of narrow bandpass filters to discriminate wavelengths between closely-separated gas absorption lines is crucial in many areas of infrared spectroscopy. As improvements to the sensitivity of infrared detectors enables operation in uncontrolled high-temperature environments, this imposes demands on the explicit bandpass design to provide temperature-invariant behavior. The unique negative temperature coefficient (dn/dT<0) of Lead-based (Pb) salts, in combination with dielectric materials enable bandpass filters with exclusive immunity to shifts in wavelength with temperature. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the interdependence between multilayer bandpass design and optical materials together with a review on invariance at elevated temperatures.

Molecular design of a discrete chain-folding polyimide for controlled inkjet deposition of supramolecular polymers

A supramolecular polymer based upon two complementary polymer components is formed by sequential deposition from solution in THF, using a piezoelectric drop-on-demand inkjet printer. Highly efficient cycloaddition or ‘click’ chemistry afforded a well-defined poly(ethylene glycol) featuring chain-folding diimide end groups, which possesses greatly enhanced solubility in THF relative to earlier materials featuring random diimide sequences. Blending the new polyimide with a complementary poly(ethylene glycol) system bearing pyrene end groups (which bind to the chain-folding diimide units) overcomes the limited solubility encountered previously with chain-folding polyimides in inkjet printing applications. The solution state properties of the resulting polymer blend were assessed via viscometry to confirm the presence of a supramolecular polymer before depositing the two electronically complementary polymers by inkjet printing techniques. The novel materials so produced offer an insight into ways of controlling the properties of printed materials through tuning the structure of the polymer at the (supra)molecular level.