Can IT Innovation become a Tool against Fiscal Crisis? Findings from Europe

ABSTRACT Economic recession has expanded during the last five years from U.S.A. t

Electronic Building Permission System: The Case of Greece

AbstractElectronic building permission systems have been used in several European countries from the early 70s (i.e. Italy, France and Netherlands), while in USA are being utilized several components and sub-modules of the system from the early 30s. The European Commission defined the electronic application for Building Permission as one of the 20 primary e-Government services, which each European Member State was obliged to deliver online by 2005, according to the e-Europe strategies (e-Europe2003). However, Greece, as well as several other European countries failed to address this challenge and the goal of an electronic building permission system across Europe was extended, initially until 2010 (i2010 strategy) and eventually until 2020 (Horizon 2020 strategy).The current study initially defines the primary and secondary functionalities that such a system should have. Furthermore, the study examines the factors that influence the success or failure of such a project and proceed to a case study investigation in Greece by examining the current situation and the level of absorption of the European i2010 strategy regarding the electronic building permission.The research framework encompasses a literature survey of publications and official reports in order to shape a “clear picture” regarding the different approach of e-service delivery. In addition, in this paper are analyzed the results of structured questionnaires that have been sent and of interviews that have been conducted with public organizations in Greece that are responsible for the implementation, installation and utilization of such a system (i.e. Information Society in Greece, Municipalities).In conclusion, this research investigates the framework of the building permission e-services and its current situation in Greece that leads to: (a) an effective public management administration by simplification of licensing procedures, (b) a reduction of depraved behavior and (c) environmental benefits by reducing bureaucracy

Smart cities as hubs: Connect, collect and control city flows

Regardless the Smart City (SC) broad scope, which ranges from a service-oriented ecosystem with the use of almost all the emerging technologies to a resilient urban environment, practice shows that the SC is mostly capitalized for utility upgrades, urban renovation, and real-time city monitoring. Moreover, recent city implementations register attempts to utilize technology for controlling the entire city flows. The aim of this communication paper is to discuss the SC hubness and more specifically the fact that the SC can become a “hub” that collects, processes, and transmits data; brings together people to co-design and evolve; and controls service, material and people flows in all city types. As a result, this paper defines the role, the uses and the architecture of this “SC-as-a-Hub” operation labeled “SCHub”, which can standardize and control all the city flows

Using Two Compatible Donor Polymers Boosts the Efficiency of Ternary Organic Solar Cells to 17.7%

The use of ternary organic semiconducting blends is recognized as an effective strategy to boost the performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs) by increasing the photocurrent while minimizing voltage losses. Yet, the scarcity of suitable donors with a deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level poses a challenge in extending this strategy to ternary systems based on two polymers. Here, we address this challenge by the synthesis of a new donor polymer (PM7-Si), which is akin to the well-known PM6 but has a deeper HOMO level. PM7-Si is utilized as the third component to enhance the performance of the best-in-class binary system of PM6:BTP-eC9, leading to simultaneous improvements in the efficiency (17.7%), open-circuit voltage (0.864 V), and fill factor (77.6%). These decisively enhanced features are attributed to the efficient carrier transport, improved stacking order, and morphology. Our results highlight the use of two polymer donors as a promising strategy toward high-performance ternary PSCs

Water stable molecular n-doping produces organic electrochemical transistors with high transconductance and record stability.

From established to emergent technologies, doping plays a crucial role in all semiconducting devices. Doping could, theoretically, be an excellent technique for improving repressively low transconductances in n-type organic electrochemical transistors - critical for advancing logic circuits for bioelectronic and neuromorphic technologies. However, the technical challenge is extreme: n-doped polymers are unstable in electrochemical transistor operating environments, air and water (electrolyte). Here, the first demonstration of doping in electron transporting organic electrochemical transistors is reported. The ammonium salt tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride is simply admixed with the conjugated polymer poly(N,N'-bis(7-glycol)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-co-2,2'-bithiophene-co-N,N'-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide), and found to act as a simultaneous molecular dopant and morphology-additive. The combined effects enhance the n-type transconductance with improved channel capacitance and mobility. Furthermore, operational and shelf-life stability measurements showcase the first example of water-stable n-doping in a polymer. Overall, the results set a precedent for doping/additives to impact organic electrochemical transistors as powerfully as they have in other semiconducting devices

Collaborating environments in e-government

“e-Governance” refers to the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in all administrating activities, such as for legitimate aspects, in decision making and in public transactions. On the other hand, “e-Government” refers to the use of digital means for public transactions. The primary targets for the Public Administration are the development of more effective methods for public approach, the improvement of administrating operations and the social satisfaction. The development of e-Government is based on strategic plans, designed by central Governments. These plans aim in the global transformation of the Public Administration and in the modernization of public services. The research work of this dissertation focuses on e-Government and its social acceptance. Some major e-Government information systems were investigated in order for a common e-Government architecture to be designed: the FirstGov and UK Online government portals were analyzed and compared. Moreover, the eGOV and SmartGov e-Government architectures were investigated and compared. Both of these last two information systems were developed under Information Society Technologies (IST) framework program. Additionally, some major e-Government strategic plans were analyzed, such as the U.S., the U.K., the Canadian, the E.U.’s, the German, the Hong Kong’s and the Singapore’s were analyzed. The problem that has been found refers to the difficulties for e-Government initiatives to succeed in social acceptance. Comparing investments on ICT to the results of e-Government initiatives, according to data coming from the World Bank and other international organizations, show that despite the huge funding on e-Government, only a few public services have transformed to digital. Moreover, the diffusion of the digital public services is low. Moreover, existing digital public services do not satisfy citizens, who prefer traditional than digital transactions, according to results extracted under surveys in U.S. Furthermore, surveys which were carried out in Greece (in the Administration of Secondary Education of Trikala, in public and Municipal Agencies in Trikala) show same public attitudes. These results lead to thoughts about developing methods and tools, which can involve citizens and civil servants in the design of e-Government and of digital services. This involvement is called the “bottom-up” design of e-Government. The involvement of citizens can be established with metropolitan digital environments, called “Digital Cities”. The Digital City can involve large number of citizens in the design of e-Government, fact that can diffuse the digital services in local communities. A novel implementation model for Digital Cities is proposed under this dissertation. This model, which consists of a set of considerations, has been applied on the design of e-Trikala Digital City. The involvement of civil servants in e-Government design can be established with collaboration environments. A novel application is presented in this dissertation, which can offer all possible public services, via a one-stop e-Government portal. This application can support e-Government initiatives and public satisfaction. Moreover, a development methodology for relevant applications is proposed, which can be applied under circumstances where public organizations wish to enter e-Government era.Ο όρος «Ηλεκτρονική Διακυβέρνηση» (e-Governance) αναφέρεται στη χρήση Τεχνολογιών Πληροφορικής και Επικοινωνιών (ΤΠΕ) σε ολόκληρο το φάσμα της διακυβέρνησης μιας κοινωνίας δηλαδή, στο πολίτευμα, στη λήψη αποφάσεων αλλά και στις δημόσιες συναλλαγές. Ειδικότερα, ο όρος «Ηλεκτρονική Κυβέρνηση» (e-Government) αναφέρεται στη χρήση ηλεκτρονικών διαύλων για την εξυπηρέτηση των πολιτών. Στόχος για τη Δημόσια Διοίκηση είναι η προσέγγιση του πολίτη με πιο αποτελεσματικές μεθόδους, που συμβάλλουν στην καλύτερη λειτουργία του δημοσίου τομέα, αλλά και στην ικανοποίηση των πολιτών. Η ανάπτυξη συστημάτων Ηλεκτρονικής Διακυβέρνησης βασίζεται σε στρατηγικά σχέδια δράσεων, που χαράσσονται από τις κεντρικές κυβερνήσεις. Τα στρατηγικά σχέδια στοχεύουν στον καθολικό μετασχηματισμό της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης και στον εκσυγχρονισμό των δημοσίων υπηρεσιών. Η εργασία της παρούσας διατριβής, εστιάζει στη διερεύνηση του περιβάλλοντος της Ηλεκτρονικής Κυβέρνησης και στη διάχυση των ηλεκτρονικών υπηρεσιών στους πολίτες. Στην παρούσα διατριβή μελετήθηκαν και αναλύθηκαν ορισμένες πρακτικές Ηλεκτρονικής Κυβέρνησης όπως οι κυβερνητικές πύλες FirstGov (Η.Π.Α.) και UK Online (Μεγάλη Βρετανία), καθώς και τα πληροφοριακά συστήματα eGOV και SmartGov, που χρηματοδοτήθηκαν από το ερευνητικό πρόγραμμα Information Society Technologies (IST). Η ανάλυση των πρακτικών στόχευε στη διαμόρφωση μιας «κοινής» (common) αρχιτεκτονικής Ηλεκτρονικής Κυβέρνησης. Επιπλέον, στα πλαίσια της διατριβής, διερευνήθηκαν τα στρατηγικά σχέδια δράσεων των Κυβερνήσεων ορισμένων πρωτοπόρων χωρών στην Ηλεκτρονική Διακυβέρνηση, όπως οι Η.Π.Α., η Μεγάλη Βρετανία, ο Καναδάς, η Γερμανία, η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση -ως κοινότητα κρατών- και η Ελλάδα, καθώς και οι κυβερνητικές πύλες σε Γαλλία, Hong Kong και Σιγκαπούρη. Τα προβλήματα που εντοπίζονται αφορούν στις δυσκολίες που αντιμετωπίζουν οι πρωτοβουλίες Ηλεκτρονικές Διακυβέρνησης να επιτύχουν στην κοινωνική τους αποδοχή. Η σύγκριση μεταξύ επενδύσεων για την Ηλεκτρονική Διακυβέρνηση και αποτελεσμάτων των πρωτοβουλιών, σύμφωνα με στοιχεία που προέρχονται από την Παγκόσμια Τράπεζα και άλλους διεθνείς οργανισμούς, δείχνει ότι παρά τα μεγάλα κονδύλια που διατίθενται για ΤΠΕ από το δημόσιο τομέα, ελάχιστες δημόσιες υπηρεσίες προσφέρονται πλήρως ηλεκτρονικά, ενώ έχει διαπιστωθεί ότι είναι περιορισμένο το πλήθος των υπηρεσιών που θα μετασχηματιστούν σε ηλεκτρονικές. Επιπρόσθετα, η διάχυση των ηλεκτρονικών υπηρεσιών σε πολίτες και δημόσια στελέχη είναι ιδιαίτερα χαμηλή. Σύμφωνα με στοιχεία από έρευνες που διεξήχθησαν στις Η.Π.Α., οι υπάρχουσες ηλεκτρονικές υπηρεσίες δεν ικανοποιούν τους πολίτες, οι οποίοι δεν έχουν πεισθεί να αντικαταστήσουν τις παραδοσιακές δημόσιες συναλλαγές τους με νέες, ψηφιακές μεθόδους. Ηλεκτρονικής Διακυβέρνησης

Smart Cities as Hubs: A Use Case in Public School Buildings

Contextual data are receiving increasing attention in Smart Cities as they enable the development and delivery of smart services for their citizens. The homogenization of contextual data flows has become an important topic for standardization bodies as they attempt to enable data flow control and vendor-independent solutions. Buildings are a critical component of cities, due to their role in several dimensions of Smart Cities (including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals); these may include the monitoring of their operation, maintenance, energy consumption, ability to respond in emergencies, and people flows, all of which affect the sustainability of a Smart City’s ecosystem. In this respect, Building Information Management Systems and Building Infrastructure Management Systems can benefit from this standardization. This paper presents how a novel solution named Smart-City-as-Hub can homogenize building contextual data and enable smart services’ development and delivery based on these data. The analysis of the data from several IoT deployments in public school buildings is the method used to highlight the segmentation and fragmentation of the IoT landscape and to present the benefits that the Smart-City-as-Hub provides in this context. The ways in which the Smart-City-as-Hub concept can mitigate these challenges and enable Smart City stakeholders to concentrate their efforts on developing value-added services is presented in the discussion section. By providing real-life data of the IoT devices deployed in Smart City projects, this study aims to further advance research pursuing the homogenization and standardization of Smart City flows

A Multi-Criteria Decision Process for EV Charging Stations’ Deployment: Findings from Greece

Electro-mobility (EV) is an emerging transportation method, whose charging infrastructure development concerns a key-factor for its growth. EV charging infrastructure has not grown yet in Greece, regardless of the ambitious national targets that have been grounded for 2030 towards a climate-neutral mobility. This study introduces a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for EV charging infrastructure deployment and operation, which respects both the economic and the technical aspects for public charging stations. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was followed for the MCDM framework’s definition, which used criteria that were in the corresponding literature and performed with interviews by experts from the EV growing market in Greece. The results show that the installation and operation of public EV charging stations, located in private spaces to ensure their protection against vandalism, within the urban areas is the preferred deployment approach. Moreover, this article tests a market model for the EV charging infrastructure ownership and operation. Findings show that the incentive for investment in EV charging infrastructure market in Greece, is driven by the direct investments of limited vendors, while it is not economically oriented, but it focuses on sustainability and environmental protection

Business Model Canvas for Big and Open Linked Data in Smart and Circular Cities: Findings From Europe

This article introduces a business model for big and open linked data in smart and circular cities, laying the foundation of a new approach that generates societal, business, and public value.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Engineering, Systems and Service