E-Government and the digital divide

Many governments world wide are attempting to increase accountability, transparency, and the quality of services by adopting information and communications technologies (ICTs) to modernize and change the way their administrations work. Meanwhile e-government is becoming a significant decision-making and service tool at local, regional and national government levels. The vast majority of users of these government online services see significant benefits from being able to access services online. The rapid pace of technological development has created increasingly more powerful ICTs that are capable of radically transforming public institutions and private organizations alike. These technologies have proven to be extraordinarily useful instruments in enabling governments to enhance the quality, speed of delivery and reliability of services to citizens and to business (VanderMeer & VanWinden, 2003). However, just because the technology is available does not mean it is accessible to all. The term digital divide has been used since the 1990s to describe patterns of unequal access to ICTs—primarily computers and the Internet—based on income, ethnicity, geography, age, and other factors. Over time it has evolved to more broadly define disparities in technology usage, resulting from a lack of access, skills, or interest in using technology. This article provides an overview of recent literature on e-government and the digital divide, and includes a discussion on the potential of e-government in addressing the digital divide.

Controlling chaos? The value and the challenges of applying complexity theory to project management

The literature abounds with descriptions of failures in high-profile projects and a range of initiatives has been generated to enhance project management practice (e.g., Morris, 2006). Estimating from our own research, there are scores of other project failures that are unrecorded. Many of these failures can be explained using existing project management theory; poor risk management, inaccurate estimating, cultures of optimism dominating decision making, stakeholder mismanagement, inadequate timeframes, and so on. Nevertheless, in spite of extensive discussion and analysis of failures and attention to the presumed causes of failure, projects continue to fail in unexpected ways. In the 1990s, three U.S. state departments of motor vehicles (DMV) cancelled major projects due to time and cost overruns and inability to meet project goals (IT-Cortex, 2010). The California DMV failed to revitalize their drivers’ license and registration application process after spending $45 million. The Oregon DMV cancelled their five year, $50 million project to automate their manual, paper-based operation after three years when the estimates grew to $123 million; its duration stretched to eight years or more and the prototype was a complete failure. In 1997, the Washington state DMV cancelled their license application mitigation project because it would have been too big and obsolete by the time it was estimated to be finished. There are countless similar examples of projects that have been abandoned or that have not delivered the requirements.

Archiving nature’s heartbeat using smart phones

The impact of urban development and climate change has created the impetus to monitor changes in the environment, particularly, the behaviour, habitat and movement of fauna species. The aim of this chapter is to present the design and development of a sensor network based on smart phones to automatically collect and analyse acoustic and visual data for environmental monitoring purposes. Due to the communication and sophisticated programming facilities offered by smart phones, software tools can be developed to allow data to be collected, partially processed and sent to a remote server over the network for storage and further processing. This sensor network which employs a client-server architecture has been deployed in three applications: monitoring a rare bird species near Brisbane Airport, study of koalas behaviour at St Bees Island, and detection of fruit flies. The users of this system include scientists (e.g. ecologists, ornithologists, computer scientists) and community groups participating in data collection or reporting on the environment (e.g. students, bird watchers). The chapter focuses on the following aspects of our research: issues involved in using smart phones as sensors; the overall framework for data acquisition, data quality control, data management and analysis; current and future applications of the smart phone-based sensor network, and our future research directions.

A qualitative study of older adults’ responses to sitting-time questions : do we get the information we want?

Background: In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in the health effects of sedentary behavior, which is often assessed using self-report sitting-time questions. The aim of this qualitative study was to document older adults’ understanding of sitting-time questions from the International Physical Activity (PA) Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the PA Scale for the Elderly (PASE). Methods: Australian community-dwelling adults aged 65+ years answered the IPAQ and PASE sitting questions in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. IPAQ uses one open-ended question to assess sitting on a weekday in the last 7 days 'at work, at home, while doing coursework and during leisure time'; PASE uses a three-part closed question about daily leisure-time sitting in the last 7 days. Participants expressed their thoughts out loud while answering each question. They were then probed about their responses. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded into themes. Results: Mean age of the 28 male and 27 female participants was 73 years (range 65-89). The most frequently reported activity was watching TV. For both questionnaires, many participants had difficulties understanding what activities to report. Some had difficulty understanding what activities should be classified as ‘leisure-time sitting’. Some assumed they were being asked to only report activities provided as examples. Most reported activities they normally do, rather than those performed on a day in the previous week. Participants used a variety of strategies to select ‘a day’ for which they reported their sitting activities and to calculate sitting time on that day. Therefore, many different ways of estimating sitting time were used. Participants had particular difficulty reporting their daily sitting-time when their schedules were not consistent across days. Some participants declared the IPAQ sitting question too difficult to answer. Conclusion: The accuracy of older adults’ self-reported sitting time is questionable given the challenges they have in answering sitting-time questions. Their responses to sitting-time questions may be more accurate if our recommendations for clarifying the sitting domains, providing examples relevant to older adults and suggesting strategies for formulating responses are incorporated. Future quantitative studies should include objective criterion measures to assess validity and reliability of these questions.

Fitness and fatness in childhood obesity : implications of physical activity

Overweight and obesity are a significant cause of poor health worldwide, particularly in conjunction with low levels of physical activity (PA). PA is health-protective and essential for the physical growth and development of children, promoting physical and psychological health while simultaneously increasing the probability of remaining active as an adult. However, many obese children and adolescents have a unique set of physiological, biomechanical, and neuromuscular barriers to PA that they must overcome. It is essential to understand the influence of these barriers on an obese child's motivation in order to exercise and tailor exercise programs to the special needs of this population. Chapter Outline • Introduction • Defining Physical Activity, Exercise, and Physical Fitness • Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, And Motor Competence In Obese Children • Physical Activity and Obesity in Children • Physical Fitness in Obese Children • Balance and Gait in Obese Children • Motor Competence in Obese Children • Physical Activity Guidelines for Obese Children • Clinical Assessment of the Obese Child • Physical Activity Characteristics: Mode • Physical Activity Characteristics: Intensity • Physical Activity Characteristics: Frequency • Physical Activity Characteristics: Duration • Conclusion

Ezine and iRadio as knowledge creation metaphors for scaffolding learning in physical and virtual learning spaces

eZine and iRadio represent metaphors for multimedia communication on the Internet. Participating students experience a simulated Internet publishing environment in both their classroom and virtual learning environment. This chapter presents an autoethnographic account highlighting the voices of the learning designer and the teacher and provides evidence of the planning and implementation of two tertiary music elective courses over three iterations of each course. A blended learning environment was incorporated within each elective music course and a collaborative approach to development between lecturers, tutors, learning and technological designers using an iterative research design. The research suggests that learning design which provides real world examples and resources integrating authentic task design into their unit can provide meaningful and engaging experiences for students. The dialogue between learning designers and teachers and iterative review of the learning process and student outcomes, we believe, has engaged students meaningfully to achieve transferable learning outcomes.

Evaluating educational software : a historical overview and the challenges ahead

Teachers are under increasing pressure from government and school management to incorporate technology into lessons. They need to consider which technologies can most effectively enhance subject learning, encourage higher order thinking skills and support the performance of authentic tasks. This chapter reviews the practical and theoretical tools that have been developed to aid teachers in selecting software and reviews the software assessment methodologies from the 1980s to the present day. It concludes that teachers need guidance to structure the evaluation of technology, to consider its educational affordances, its usability, its suitability for the students and the classroom environment and its fit to the teachers’ preferred pedagogies.

Computational approaches for modelling intrinsic noise and delays in genetic regulatory networks

This chapter focuses on the interactions and roles between delays and intrinsic noise effects within cellular pathways and regulatory networks. We address these aspects by focusing on genetic regulatory networks that share a common network motif, namely the negative feedback loop, leading to oscillatory gene expression and protein levels. In this context, we discuss computational simulation algorithms for addressing the interplay of delays and noise within the signaling pathways based on biological data. We address implementational issues associated with efficiency and robustness. In a molecular biology setting we present two case studies of temporal models for the Hes1 gene (Monk, 2003; Hirata et al., 2002), known to act as a molecular clock, and the Her1/Her7 regulatory system controlling the periodic somite segmentation in vertebrate embryos (Giudicelli and Lewis, 2004; Horikawa et al., 2006).

High speed rail and regional competitiveness

The presence of High Speed Rail (HSR) systems influences market shares of road and air transport, and the development of cities and regions they serve. With the deployment of HSR infrastructure, changes in accessibility have occurred. These changes have lead researchers to investigate effects on the economic and spatial derived variables. Contention exists when managing the trade off between efficiency, and access points which are usually in the range of hundreds of kilometres apart. In short, it is argued that intermediate cities, bypassed by HSR services, suffer a decline in their accessibility and developmental opportunities. The present Chapter will analyse possible impacts derived from the presence of HSR infrastructure. In particular, it will consider small and medium agglomerations in the vicinity of HSR corridors, not always served by HSR stations. Thus, a methodology is developed to quantify accessibility benefits and their distribution. These benefits will be investigated in relation to different rail transit strategies integrating HSR infrastructure where a HSR station cannot be positioned. These strategies are selected principally for the type of service offered: (i) cadenced, (ii) express, (iii) frequent or (iv) non-stopping. Furthermore, to ground the theoretical approach linking accessibility and competitiveness, a case study in the North-Eastern Italian regions will be used for the application of the accessibility distributive patterns between the HSR infrastructure and the selected strategies. Results indicate that benefits derive from well informed decisions on HSR station positioning and the appropriate blend of complementary services in the whole region to interface HSR infrastructure. The results are significant for all countries in Europe and worldwide, not only for investing in HSR infrastructure, but mostly in terms of building territorial cohesion, while seeking international recognition for developing successful new technology and systems.

Which older women could benefit from interventions to decrease sitting time and increase physical activity?

In addition to the well-known health risks associated with lack of physical activity (PA), evidence is emerging about the health risks of sedentary behaviour (sitting). Research about patterns and correlates of sitting and PA in older women is scarce. METHODS: Self-report data from 6,116 women aged 76-81 years were collected as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Woman’s Health. Linear regression models were computed to examine whether demographic, social and health factors were associated with sitting and PA. RESULTS: Women who did no PA sat more than women who did any PA (p<0.001). Seven correlates were associated with sitting and PA (p<0.05). Five of these were associated with more sitting and less PA: three health-related (BMI, chronic conditions, anxiety/depression) and two social correlates (caring duties, volunteering). One demographic (being from another English-speaking country) and one social correlate (more social interaction) were associated with more sitting and more PA. Four correlates, two demographic (living in a city; post-high school education), one social (being single), and one health-related correlate (dizziness/loss of balance) were associated with more sitting only. Two other health-related correlates (stiff/painful joints; feet problems) were associated with less PA only. CONCLUSION: Sedentary behaviour and PA are distinct behaviours in older Australian women. Information about the correlates of both behaviours can be used to identify population groups who might benefit from interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour and/or increase PA.

Comparison of Kenz Lifecorder EX and ActiGraph accelerometers in 10-yr-old children

A new accelerometer, the Kenz Lifecorder EX (LC; Suzuken Co. Ltd, Nagoya, Japan), offers promise as a feasible monitor alternative to the commonly used Actigraph (AG: Actigraph LLC, Fort Walton Beach, FL). Purpose: This study compared the LC and AG accelerometers and the Yamax SW-200 pedometer (DW) under free-living conditions with regard to children's steps taken and time in light-intensity physical activity (PA) and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). Methods: Participants (N = 31, age = 10.2 ± 0.4 yr) wore LC, AG, and DW monitors from arrival at school (7:45 a.m.) until they went to bed. Time in light and MVPA intensities were calculated using two separate intensity classifications for the LC (LC_4 and LC_5) and four classifications for the AG (AG_Treuth, AG_Puyau, AG_Trost, and AG_Freedson). Both accelerometers provided steps as outputs. DW steps were self-recorded. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to assess overlapping monitor outputs. Results: There was no difference between DW and LC steps (Δ = 200 steps), but a nonsignificant trend was observed in the pairwise comparison between DW and AG steps (Δ = 1001 steps, P = 0.058). AG detected significantly greater steps than the LC (Δ = 801 steps, P = 0.001). Estimates of light-intensity activity minutes ranged from a low of 75.6 ± 18.4 min (LC_4) to a high of 309 ± 69.2 min (AG_Treuth). Estimates of MVPA minutes ranged from a low of 25.9 ± 9.4 min (LC_5) to a high of 112.2 ± 34.5 min (AG_Freedson). No significant differences in MVPA were seen between LC_5 and AG_Treuth (Δ = 4.9 min) or AG_Puyau (Δ = 1.7 min). Conclusion: The LC detected a comparable number of steps as the DW but significantly fewer steps than the AG in children. Current results indicate that the LC_5 and either AG_Treuth or AG_Puyau intensity derivations provide similar mean estimates of time in MVPA during-free living activity in 10-yr-old children.

Data flow analysis of embedded program expressions

Data flow analysis techniques can be used to help assess threats to data confidentiality and integrity in security critical program code. However, a fundamental weakness of static analysis techniques is that they overestimate the ways in which data may propagate at run time. Discounting large numbers of these false-positive data flow paths wastes an information security evaluator's time and effort. Here we show how to automatically eliminate some false-positive data flow paths by precisely modelling how classified data is blocked by certain expressions in embedded C code. We present a library of detailed data flow models of individual expression elements and an algorithm for introducing these components into conventional data flow graphs. The resulting models can be used to accurately trace byte-level or even bit-level data flow through expressions that are normally treated as atomic. This allows us to identify expressions that safely downgrade their classified inputs and thereby eliminate false-positive data flow paths from the security evaluation process. To validate the approach we have implemented and tested it in an existing data flow analysis toolkit.

The Use of Social Technology to Support Organisational Knowledge

In the current economy, knowledge has been recognized to be a valuable organisational asset, a crucial factor that aids organisations to succeed in highly competitive environments. Many organisations have begun projects and special initiatives aimed at fostering better knowledge sharing amongst their employees. Not surprisingly, information technology (IT) has been a central element of many of these projects and initiatives, as the potential of emerging information technologies such as Web 2.0 for enabling the process of managing organisational knowledge is recognised. This technology could be used as a collaborative system for knowledge management (KM) within enterprises. Enterprise 2.0 is the application of Web 2.0 in an organisational context. Enterprise 2.0 technologies are web-based social software that facilitate collaboration, communication and information flow in a bidirectional manner: an essential aspect of organisational knowledge management. This chapter explains how Enterprise 2.0 technologies (Web 2.0 technologies within organisations) can support knowledge management. The chapter also explores how such technologies support the codifying (technology-centred) and social network (people-centred) approaches of KM, towards bridging the current gap between these two approaches.