Interoperable Framework to Enhance Citizen Services in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Citizen records are scattered between different state organizations. It wastes time, effort, and resources for both citizen and organization to collect, maintain, and update records to fulfill citizen services. Interoperability is a key element that enables seamless collaboration between different entities. It requires non-conventional methods to overcome interoperability challenges such as lack of trust, centralization, and policy and technology differences. Blockchain is a disruptive technology with the potential to overcome these challenges. The technology designed to enable peer-to-peer transactions with elimination of intermediary in a trustless environment through the control of consensus mechanisms. This research aims to explore the status of interoperability in Bahrain, design an interoperable framework, and then test the validity of the framework by implementation of a prototype using blockchain technology. The research will be divided into four phases; I: Information collection, II: Design and modeling the framework, III: Implementation of a prototype, and Phase IV: Measuring the performance of the prototype. This research is in progress and it is expected, once is it complete, to enhance the e-government's plan in the Kingdom of Bahrain to provide better services to citizens and help in the transition from e-government to seamless government, which will lead to sustainable citizen services. On the other hand, the findings of the study is expected to improve the social, economical, and environmental sustainability by the increase in process optimization, reduction of cost and complexity.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, conference paper, 978-1-7281-3012-5/19/$31.00 \c{opyright}2019 IEE

Genetic Based Experimental Investigation on Finishing Characteristics of AlSiCp-MMC by Abrasive Flow Machining

Implementing non-conventional finishing methods in the aircraft industry by the abrasive flow machining (AFM) process depends on the production quality at optimal conditions. The optimal set of the process variables in  metal-matrix-composite (MMC) for a varying reinforcement percentage removes the obstructions and errors in the AFM process. In order to achieve this objective, the resultant output functions of the overall process using every clustering level of variables in a model are configured by using genetic programming (GP). These functions forecast the data to vary the percent of silicon carbide particles (particles without experimentation obtaining the output functions for material removing rates and surface roughness changes of Al-MMCs machined with the AFM process by using GP. The obtained genetic optimal global models are simulated and, the results show a higher degree of accuracy up to 99.97% as compared to the other modeling techniques.   &nbsp

A combined Mixed Integer Programming model of seaside operations arising in container ports

This paper puts forward an integrated optimisation model that combines three distinct problems, namely the Berth Allocation Problem, the Quay Crane Assignment Problem, and the Quay Crane Scheduling problem, which have to be solved to carry out these seaside operations in container ports. Each one of these problems is complex to solve in its own right. However, solving them individually leads almost surely to sub-optimal solutions. Hence the need to solve them in a combined form. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer programming model with the objective being to minimise the tardiness of vessels. Experimental results show that relatively small instances of the proposed model can be solved exactly using CPLEX

Covert Ideologies and Sign Manipulation: a Functional Semiotic Analysis of Western vs. Arabic News Coverage of New Zealand 2019 Mosque Carnage

The primary concern of this comparative study is to explore sign manipulation in front page photographs and headlines in both Western and Arabic news reports in a humble attempt to determine how visual and verbal signs are purposefully presented to the target audience. The researchers precisely try to scrutinize and analyze covert ideological biases of such news reports not only as expressed verbally but also visually. This study exclusively hinges on the event of the New Zealand Mosque Massacre which took place during Friday Prayers on 15 March 2019 in Christchurch City, where an Australian terrorist opened fire on innocent Muslim worshippers and brutally killed fifty of them. The heinous crime has left the world in a state of mourning and utter shock. Media coverage of this attack overwhelmed the Western and the Arab newspapers as well as social media worldwide. Unfortunately, the Christchurch massacre has not been headlined as a terrorist attack by several Western news reports unlike Arabic ones. The source of the data in question mainly relies on 10 popular newspapers: five Western newspapers and five Arabic ones: Daily Mirror, The New York Times, Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Sun, Addustour, Al-Jazirah, Al-Anba, Al-Quds Al-Arabi and AL-Sharq, respectively. The data represent a random sample, so the content does not necessarily represent attitudes or perspectives of all Western and Arabic newspapers. Following the Peircean semiotic triadic model, this study tries to unveil basic ideological features and manipulative strategies that clearly depict the Australian terrorist in some Western newspapers. In addition, it bluntly and objectively shows covert racial prejudice against Muslims in western newspapers. The findings show the significance of both verbal and visual signs in news story because they enable the reporters to express their perspectives towards major events such as New Zealand mosque carnage more effectively. As a result, the use of visual images in front page headlines does not merely serve to represent the reality of that horrible event in a visual form; rather, it is an essential tool of persuasion and tampering with the public opinion by means of insinuating some seriously embedded ideologies

An evolutionary approach to solving a new integrated quay crane assignment and quay crane scheduling mathematical model

This paper puts forward an integrated optimisation model that combines two distinct problems arising in container terminals, namely the Quay Crane Assignment Problem, and the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem. The model is of the mixed-integer programming type with the objective being to minimise the tardiness of vessels. Although exact solutions can be found to the problem using Branch-and-Cut, for instance, they are costly in time when instances are of realistic sizes. To overcome the computational burden of large scale instances, an adapted Genetic Algorithm, is used. Small to medium size instances of the combined model have been solved with both the Genetic Algorithm and the CPLEX implementation of Branch-and-Cut. Larger size instances, however, could only be solved approximately in acceptable times with the Genetic Algorithm. Computational results are included and discussed

Mathematical Models of Seaside Operations in Container Ports and their Solution

Operational Research and Optimization are fundamental disciplines which, for decades, provided the real-world with tools for solving practical problems. Many such problems arise in container ports. Container terminals are important assets in modern economies. They constitute an important means of distributing goods made overseas to domestic markets in most countries. They are expensive to build and difficult to operate. We describe here some of the main operations which are faced daily by decision makers at those facilities. Decision makers often use Operational Research and Optimization tools to run these operations effectively. In this thesis, we focus on seaside operations which can be divided into three main problems: 1- the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP), 2- the Quay Crane Assignment Problem (QCAP), 3- the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (QCSP). Each one of the above is a complex optimization problem in its own right. However, solving them individually without the consideration of the others may lead to overall suboptimal solutions. For this reason we will investigate the pairwise combinations of these problems and their total integration In addition, several important factors that affected on the final solution. The main contributions of this study are modelling and solving of the: 1- Robust berth allocation problem (RBAP): a new efficient mathematical model is formulated and a hybrid algorithm based on Branch-and-Cut and the Genetic Algorithm is used to find optimal or near optimal solutions for large scale instances in reasonable time. 2- Quay crane assignment and quay crane scheduling problem (QCASP): a new mathematical model is built to simultaneously solve QCASP and a heuristic based on the Genetic Algorithm is developed to find solutions to realistic instances in reasonable time. 3- Berth allocation, quay crane assignment and quay crane scheduling problem (BACASP): an aggregate model for all three seaside operations is proposed and to solve realistic instances of the problem, an adapted variant of the Genetic Algorithm is implemented. Keywords: berth allocation; quay crane assignment; quay crane scheduling; terminal operations; genetic algorith

Security in Wireless Sensor Networks - Improving the LEAP Protocol

Wireless sensor networks are becoming significantly vital to many applications, and they were initially used by the military for surveillance purposes. One of the biggest concerns of WSNs is that they are very defenceless to security threats. Due to the fact that these networks are susceptible to hackers; it is possible for one to enter and render a network. For example, such networks may be hacked into in the military, using the system to attack friendly forces. Leap protocol offers many security benefits to WSNs. However, with much research it became apparent that LEAP only employs one base station and always assumes that it is trustworthy. It does not consist of defence against hacked or compromised base stations. In this paper, intensive research was undertaken on LEAP protocols, finding out its security drawbacks and limitations. A solution has been proposed in order to overcome the security issues faced in implementing this protocol whilst employing more than one base station. The performance of the proposed solution has been evaluated and simulated to provide a better network performance