Partial state estimation of time-delay systems.

This thesis broadly studies three crucial and rigorous inter-related control theoretical subjects: (i) Partial state estimation of linear systems; (ii) Stability analysis of time-delay systems with interval time-varying delays; and (iii) Functional observer design for time-delay systems.

Productivity and the knowledge worker

The industrial age of Taylor and Ford transformed the landscape of office buildings. Office spaces were very uniform and highly supervised. People were units of production. Their work activities were routine. Work study, or &quot;time and motion&quot; studies measured outputs.<br /><br />The current &quot;information age&quot; way of working, combined with major demographic shifts in the workforce (Gen-Xers, career-shifting Baby Boomers and a greater number of women and minority ethnic groups in the workforce), requires major changes in how to support service industry productivity. The motivations of knowledge workers are very different from those of the industrial age worker. Commitment to the organisation has gone as a result of business re-engineering processes that increased productivity but at the expense of job security. Workers are more likely to be &quot;goal-focussed&quot; rather than &quot;prevention focussed&quot; (Meyer et al 2004 2 ) meaning that instead of doing only what is necessary to retain their job, workers actively seek more meaningful work that matches their personal value systems. They even want to have fun at work!<br /><br />What contribution can the workplace make to support this work and increase productivity? Surveys have indicated that workers spend more than 75% of their time in their own office space with more than half of that time spent in concentrated work. Concentrated work requires quiet with few distractions, yet workers report that distractions are probably the biggest problem hampering their productivity. What are the current workplace solutions to office space usage? Probably the worst option for distractions is frequently used &ndash; open-plan offices, which are a more cost-effective use of space, but at the potential expense of productivity. Visioning architects such as Duffy (1999)3 advocate quiet spaces (&quot;dens&quot;) where workers can decamp to carry out their concentrated work. But is this workspace as efficient for the worker &ndash; who may have to transport materials back and forth?<br /><br />Workers know what they need to support their productivity best. On the rare occasions when the staff have been given the opportunity to configure their work-settings, high productivity increases result. Besides noise, environmental quality is perceived as a key factor influencing productivity. Stuffy workplaces generate lethargy. Greater worker satisfaction with their workplace is reported when they have more individual control over the environment.<br /><br />We need to seriously question the &quot;one-size-fits-all&quot; office building with cellular layouts. Workers need to be involved in the design and fit-out. They need personal control over their environment and an organisation that can support their individual aspirations and values. A number of interventions that could generate significant improvements in knowledge work productivity are proposed.<br />

The implementation of mobile technology in organizations : expanding individual use contexts

Mobile computing devices such as personal digital assistants, smart mobile phones, and other handheld computing devices hold much promise in terms of their organizational application. Many existing models of the individual acceptance and implementation of information technology in organizational contexts have been developed in the era of &ldquo;at the office&rdquo; computing such as MIS, office automation, groupware, and so forth. We conducted two in-depth case studies of the implementation of mobile technology in healthcare organizations. The studies highlight interrelated individual use contexts due to the mobility of the technology: the individual as employee, as professional, as private user, and as member of society. The cases show that influences emanating from these use contexts impacted on the individual adoption of the technology within the organization. While broad extra-organizational influences are incorporated in some existing individual technology adoption models, we show that it becomes relevant to accommodate these influences more specifically in research models of mobile computing in organizations. Based on the extant literature and the case study data we pave the way toward more comprehensive models of the adoption and implementation of mobile technologies in organizations.

Analysis of the value of home automation systems

Smart technology involves the integration of a variety of home systems including lighting, climate control, security etc. to enhance the comfort, convenience and economy of the home for its users. It is currently unknown if homebuyers believe that these systems add value to the home. This study used the market value of home sales and an attitudinal survey of homebuyers, to determine the increased value of homes containing smart technology. The results demonstrated that a significant price premium was paid for the incorporation of the technology into new homes. In addition, the research suggests that the use of this technology is not limited to high-income earners or other demographic stereotypes. Instead it has broad market appeal and the potential to save energy for the community at large.<br />

Framework for improving the constructability of raised floor systems in Australian office buildings

Despite the great benefits that it can potentially contribute to modern workplace environment, raised floor system (RFS) encountered many barriers in the process of its applications for the fitout of office buildings in the Australian construction industry. Through a set of comprehensive research activities, the significant influence factors (SIFs) and problems associated with the RFS fitout implementation are identified. Further discussion of these SIFs and problems unearths a range of project level critical factors (PLCFs) pertaining to the RFS fitout design, construction, operation and maintenance, which presents firsthand checklists for the project team to review in the project delivery process. These factors need to be accommodated appropriately in order to enhance the implementation of the RFS fitout in Australian office buildings. Following a constructability study, a framework was developed by integrating these SIFs and PLCFs into the delivery of the RFS fitout in an aim to enhance the project constructability and minimize problems in the RFS service performance.<br />

GHIRS: integration of hotel management systems by web services

Nowadays web services technology is widely used to integrate heterogeneous systems and develop new applications. In this paper, an application of integration of hotel management systems by web services technology is presented. The Group Hotel Integration Reservation System (GHIRS) integrates lots of systems of hotel industry such as Front Office system, Property Management system, Enterprise Information System (EIS), Enterprise Information Portal system (EIP), Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) and Supply Chain Management system (SCM) together. This integration solution can add or expand hotel software system in any size of hotel chains environment.<br />

CH2 energy harvesting systems : economic use and efficiency

This paper looks at the City of Melbourne's new office development CH₂ as a case study of world class energy performance. In particular, the integrated design of conventionally independent systems has led to the potential to deliver significant savings to the Council and to deliver better environmental conditions to building occupants that in turn may contribute to satisfaction, well-being and Productivity. It is concluded that this project has the potential<br />to be an iconic example of effective implementation of ESD (environmental sustainable design) principles and therefore act as a demonstration project to others. Energy efficiency of more than 50% of current benchmarks for Melbourne is effected. Energy harvesting is defined as arising from squander, waste and nature, which is a new concept introduced in this paper to better describe the design decision process.<br />

Performance of ventilated hollow core concrete panel systems in Australia

Performance of advanced fabric energy storage systems has not been reported for Australian conditions. The influence pf slab thickness and air flow rate on the annual thermal load, and maximum heating and cooling demands for a typical office module using a ventilated hollow core concrete slab system has been investigated by simulation. Performance results for Melbourne are presented and comments made on other locations.<br />

Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation strategies in 'green' office buildings

Energy efficient office buildings are intended to provide a comfortable and healthy environment for their occupants as well as reducing the energy consumption of the building. They are often designed as &quot;showcase&quot; buildings illustrating the potential for savings through some innovative design technology. But do such buildings actually deliver the desired energy savings and satisfactory comfort conditions for occupants? Measurements of a &quot;green&quot; University campus building in Victoria, Australia, designed with an innovative fabric energy storage system, demonstrate that the ventilation system is not providing acceptable indoor air quality conditions. The design strategies used to reduce energy consumption have had negative consequences on the air quality of the building. Insufficient fresh air is being drawn into the building leading to an excessive build up of carbon dioxide. It is recommended that monitoring systems need to use a wider range of measurements than temperature alone to guarantee good quality indoor air and working conditions and that commissioning of buildings should include adequate monitoring of the operational performance of the building. Designers need to be made aware of the potential consequences of their decisions when attempting innovative energy-efficient designs.<br />

Haptic control of multi-axis robotic systems

Control of tele-operated remote robot&rsquo;s is nothing new; the public was introduced to this 'new' field in 1986 when the Chernobyl cleanup began. Pictures of weird and wonderful robotic workers pouring concrete or moving rubble flooded the world. Integration of force feedback or 'haptics' to remote robot's is a new development and one that is likely to make a big difference in man-machine interaction. Development of haptic capable tele-operation schema is a challenge. Often platform specific software is developed for one off tasks. This research focussed on the development of an open software platform for haptic control of multiple remote robotic platforms. The software utilises efficient server/client architecture for low data latency, while efficiently performing required kinematic transforms and data manipulation in real time. A description of the algorithm, software interface and hardware is presented in this paper. Preliminary results are encouraging as haptic control has been shown to greatly enhances remote positioning tasks.<br />

Advanced fabric energy storage systems in Australia

There is a growing interest in the use of advanced fabric energy storage (FES) systems in Australia. The influence of slab thickness and ventilation rate on the annual thermal load, and maximum heating and cooling demands for an office module using a ventilated hollow core concrete slab system has been investigated by simulation. Airflow through the panels was set at 1, 2 or 4 air changes per hour (ACH) for slab thicknesses of 205, 220 and 300 mm. These configurations were simulated using two different FES operational strategies for six capital cities in mainland Australia. The simulations show that FES systems can offer either energy and/or peak load savings in almost all locations investigated. Overall, compared to a conventional AC system, the tempering of incoming fresh air combined with night flushing of the FES system appears to be the most successful operational strategy.<br />

Modeling and simulation for large scale production systems

Computer modeling and simulation provide a foundation upon which industrial processes and systems can be transformed and innovation dramatically accelerated. Computer modeling and simulation is also an indispensable tool of the information age, used extensively in design, analysis, operations, decision-making, optimization, and education and training. Manufacturing, production and design relies upon simulation to develop efficient production systems and factories that produce quality products. Simulation in industry has yet to meet its full potential. The development of models is very time consuming, particularly for geometries of complex engineering systems such as manufacturing plants, automobiles, aircraft and ships. Computer simulation allows scientists and engineers to understand and predict three-dimensional and time-dependent phenomena in science and engineering discipline. This talk will focus on challenges associated with modeling and simulation in the manufacturing sector and through a number of case studies highlight the benefits gained through the use of such technologies.<br />

What is a presentational media regime? The contemporary breakdown in systems of representation

Foundational to both the operation and legitimation of our traditional media is the idea of representation: in some sense the images of television, the sounds of radio, the narratives of film, and the various public personalities stand in or in place of ourselves. Likewise our contemporary political system function as an elaborate representational system, where regions, &quot;seats&quot;, electorates, the nation, and the nationstate are represented by individuals, parties and symbols. Although, there are differences between and among modern nation-states as clearly different political and cultural agendas are at play, the interplay of contemporary media, culture and politics has produced what can be called a 'representational regime' that more or less operates globally, albeit fragmented into national and regional groupings.<br /><br />This paper explores the initial stages in the breakdown of this system of representation that has allowed a certain organization of culture and politics to expand and develop over the last two centuries. It acknowledges that central to this regime is something Nick Couldry has identified as &quot;the myth of the mediated centre&quot; (Couldry, 2003). What the paper argues, and therefore differs from Couldry's conclusion, is that there are cracks in the glue that holds the system together and they are emerging in the uses of new media. Through an exploration of presentational media - that is, media that is more involved with the presentation of the self for public/private and networked consumption than traditional media's effort to embody their audience in its narratives - the paper reaches for conclusions that identify a more elaborate legitimation crisis looming in our political and cultural worlds.<br />