Some empirical evidence on business-IT alignment processes in the public sector: A case study report

An empirical study that explores business-IT alignment processes in a networked organization among the province Overijssel, the municipalities Zwolle and Enschede, the water board district Regge & Dinkel and Royal Grolsch N.V. in The Netherlands, is summarized in this report. The aim of the study was to identify processes that contribute to improve such alignment. This study represents a continuation of previous validation efforts that help us to confirm the business-IT alignment process areas that should ultimately be included in the ICoNOs MM. Evidence was sought for the alignment of business and IT through the use of information systems to support the requirements of the organization in a specific project. The results of this study in the public sector also are relevant to the private sector where (i) business-IT alignment plays an increasingly valuable role, and (ii) the characteristics of collaborative networked organizations are present

Multi Agent Systems in Logistics: A Literature and State-of-the-art Review

Based on a literature survey, we aim to answer our main question: “How should we plan and execute logistics in supply chains that aim to meet today’s requirements, and how can we support such planning and execution using IT?†Today’s requirements in supply chains include inter-organizational collaboration and more responsive and tailored supply to meet specific demand. Enterprise systems fall short in meeting these requirements The focus of planning and execution systems should move towards an inter-enterprise and event-driven mode. Inter-organizational systems may support planning going from supporting information exchange and henceforth enable synchronized planning within the organizations towards the capability to do network planning based on available information throughout the network. We provide a framework for planning systems, constituting a rich landscape of possible configurations, where the centralized and fully decentralized approaches are two extremes. We define and discuss agent based systems and in particular multi agent systems (MAS). We emphasize the issue of the role of MAS coordination architectures, and then explain that transportation is, next to production, an important domain in which MAS can and actually are applied. However, implementation is not widespread and some implementation issues are explored. In this manner, we conclude that planning problems in transportation have characteristics that comply with the specific capabilities of agent systems. In particular, these systems are capable to deal with inter-organizational and event-driven planning settings, hence meeting today’s requirements in supply chain planning and execution.supply chain;MAS;multi agent systems

KALwEN: a new practical and interoperable key management scheme for body sensor networks

Key management is the pillar of a security architecture. Body sensor networks (BSNs) pose several challenges–some inherited from wireless sensor networks (WSNs), some unique to themselves–that require a new key management scheme to be tailor-made. The challenge is taken on, and the result is KALwEN, a new parameterized key management scheme that combines the best-suited cryptographic techniques in a seamless framework. KALwEN is user-friendly in the sense that it requires no expert knowledge of a user, and instead only requires a user to follow a simple set of instructions when bootstrapping or extending a network. One of KALwEN's key features is that it allows sensor devices from different manufacturers, which expectedly do not have any pre-shared secret, to establish secure communications with each other. KALwEN is decentralized, such that it does not rely on the availability of a local processing unit (LPU). KALwEN supports secure global broadcast, local broadcast, and local (neighbor-to-neighbor) unicast, while preserving past key secrecy and future key secrecy (FKS). The fact that the cryptographic protocols of KALwEN have been formally verified also makes a convincing case. With both formal verification and experimental evaluation, our results should appeal to theorists and practitioners alike

Critical Management Issues for Implementing RFID in Supply Chain Management

The benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the supply chain are fairly compelling. It has the potential to revolutionise the efficiency, accuracy and security of the supply chain with significant impact on overall profitability. A number of companies are actively involved in testing and adopting this technology. It is estimated that the market for RFID products and services will increase significantly in the next few years. Despite this trend, there are major impediments to RFID adoption in supply chain. While RFID systems have been around for several decades, the technology for supply chain management is still emerging. We describe many of the challenges, setbacks and barriers facing RFID implementations in supply chains, discuss the critical issues for management and offer some suggestions. In the process, we take an in-depth look at cost, technology, standards, privacy and security and business process reengineering related issues surrounding RFID technology in supply chains

Meeting the challenge of zero carbon homes : a multi-disciplinary review of the literature and assessment of key barriers and enablers

Within the built environment sector, there is an increasing pressure on professionals to consider the impact of development upon the environment. These pressures are rooted in sustainability, and particularly climate change. But what is meant by sustainability? It is a term whose meaning is often discussed, the most common definition taken from the Bruntland report as “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In the built environment, the sustainability issues within the environment, social and economic spheres are often expressed through design considerations of energy, water and waste. Given the Stern Report’s economic and political case for action with respect to climate change (Stern, 2006) and the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report’s confirmation of the urgency of the climate change issue and it’s root causes (IPCC, 2007), the need for action to mitigate the effects of climate change is currently high on the political agenda. Excess in carbon dioxide concentrations over the natural level have been attributed to anthropogenic sources, most particularly the burning of carbon-based fossil fuels. Over 40% of Europe’s energy and 40% of Europe’s carbon dioxide emissions arise from use of energy in buildings. Energy use in buildings is primarily for space heating, water heating, lighting and appliance use. Professionals in the built environment can therefore play a significant role in meeting targets for mitigating the effects of climate change. The UK Government recently published the Code for Sustainable Homes (DCLG, 2006). Within this is the objective of development of zero carbon domestic new build dwellings by 2016. It is the domestic zero carbon homes agenda which is the focus of this report. The report is the culmination of a research project, funded by Northumbria University, and conducted from February 2008 to July 2008, involving researchers from the Sustainable Cities Research Institute (within the School of the Built Environment) and academics, also from within the School. The aim of the project was to examine, in a systematic and holistic way, the critical issues, drivers and barriers to building and adapting houses to meet zero carbon targets. The project involved a wide range of subject specialisms within the built environment and took a multi-disciplinary approach. Practitioner contribution was enabled through a workshop. The focus of this work was to review the academic literature on the built environment sector and its capabilities to meet zero carbon housing targets. It was not possible to undertake a detailed review of energy efficiency or micro-generation technologies, the focus of the research was instead in four focussed areas: policy, behaviour, supply chain and technology.What follows is the key findings of the review work undertaken. Chapter One presents the findings of the policy and regulation review. In Chapter Two the review of behavioural aspects of energy use in buildings is presented. Chapter Three presents the findings of the review of supply chain issues. Chapter Four presents the findings of the technology review, which focuses on phase change materials. A summary of the key barriers and enablers, and areas for future research work, concludes this report in Chapter Five. Research is always a work in progress, and therefore comments on this document are most welcome, as are offers of collaboration towards solutions. The School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University strives to embed its research in practical applications and solutions to the need for a low carbon economy