The elicitation of key performance indicators of e-government providers: A bottom-up approach

Copyright @ 2013 EMCIS.Delivering an adequate e-Government service (e-service) is becoming more of a necessity in today's digital world. In order to improve e-services and increase the engagement of both users' and providers' side, studies on the performance evaluation of such provided e-services are taking places. However a clear identification of the key performance indicators from the e-Government providers’ side is not well explored. This shortcoming hampers the conduct of a holistic evaluation of an e-service provision from the perspective of its stakeholders in order to improve e-services as well as to increase e-services take-ups. In this paper, a systematic process to identify indicators is implemented based on a bottom-up approach. The process used three focus-group meetings with providers, users, and academics in Qatar, Lebanon and UK to collect, identify and validate key indicators from the perspective of e-services’ providers. The approach resulted in the identification of five factors levels (service, technology, employees, policy and management and social responsibilities) with fifteen sub-categories of SMART variables. Hence, leading to the development of a new model, STEPS, that can fully explain and predict e-government success from the providers’ point of view. It will work as a strategic management tool to align various stakeholders on common goal and values based on evidence based evaluation of e-services using smart measurable indicators for the improvement of an e-service at the engagement level in the field of e-government. In addition, other fields can benefit from the outcome of this work, such as logistics service providers, who make their services available across new and existing relationships between the Internet commerce firms, their customers, and their vendors

Micro Facies Analysis and Development of Diagenetic Processes in Khasib Formation in Selected Oil Wells, South East of Iraq

يعد تكوين الخصيب من التكوينات الميمة في تتابع التوروني الكامباني المبكر ، حيث يمثل نظام المسار التقدمي ضمن بيئة -- - ) الرف الداخمي والعميق ، اذ تم د ا رسة تكوين الخصيب في أربعة آبار نفطية، اثنان منيما من حقل نور النفطي ىما ) نور 1 ونور 2- - . ) والآخ ا رن من حقل العمارة النفطي وىما )عمارة 4 وعمارة 5( في محافظة ميسان ، جنوب شرق الع ا رق .)البدري, 1111تم تمييز خمسة سحنات دقيقة في تكوين الخصيب ىي : الحجر الجيري الحبيبي والحجر الجيري المت ا رص والحجر الجيري الواكيوالمت ا رص الواكي والحجر الجيري الطيني ، حيث تواجدت السحنات ذات النسيج الخشن في الجزء الاسفل من تكوين الخصيب في -الآبار المدروسة بينما تمثل الجزء الاعمى منو بالنسيج الناعم والذي يعني تعمقا باتجاه الأعمى .تم تميي زعددآ من العمميات التحويرية التي أثرت عمى نسيج تكوين الخصيب ، حيث كان بعضآ منيا يمثل عمميات بنائية والتي لعبتدور آايجابيآ في تحسين نسبة المسامية بينما مثمت العمميات الأخرى دو ا ر سمبيآ في تأثيرىا عمى المساميةKhasib Formation is considered an important formation in the Late Turonian-Early Campanian sequence and represented a transgressive system tract within deep and inner ramp environment, where Khasib Formation was studied in four oil wells, two from Noor oil field they are : (No-1,2), and the others form Amara oil field ,they are (Am-4,5) in Missan governorate ,southeast of Iraq. (Al-Badry,1999).Five main microfacies had been recognized for Khasib Formation in studied oil wells , they are : grainstone, packstone , Wackstone, packstone –wackstone and mudstone microfacies , and the coarse texture was defined in the lower part of Khasib Formation while the fine texture was defined in the upper part of the studied formation which meaning deepening upward.Many digenesis processes which effect on the texture also had been detected, some of them were constructive which played positive role in enhancement the porosity while the other represented negative role

Neurobiological effects of probiotic-supplemented diets in acutely stressed male Long-Evans rats: Evidence of enhanced resilience

Introduction ~Considering that the human intestine is home to almost 100 trillion microorganisms including bacteria (Cryan, 2011), recent research has focused on the role of the microbiome in neurobiological functions such as stress, anxiety and coping responses. ~Focusing on animal models, previous findings indicate that modifications of the gut microbiota via antibiotics and certain probiotics alter the anxiety response via the vagus nerve & immune system mediation (MacQueen et al., 2017). ~Recently, the concept of Psychobiotics has been introduced to refer to the use of microbiota to positively influence mental health outcomes (Foster et al., 2017)

Observation, control and modal analysis of longitudinal coupled-bunch instabilities in the ALS via a digital feedback system

The operation of a longitudinal multi-bunch damping system using digital signal processing techniques is shown via measurements from the LBL Advanced Light Source. The feedback system (developed for use by PEP-II, ALS and DA{Phi}NE) uses a parallel array of signal processors to implement a bunch by bunch feedback system for sampling rates up to 500 MHz. The programmable DSP system allows feedback control as well as accelerator diagnostics. A diagnostic technique is illustrated which uses the DSP system to excite and then damp the beam. The resulting 12 ms time domain transient is Fourier analyzed to provide the simultaneous measurement of growth rates and damping rates of all unstable coupled-bunch beam modes

Sequencing mixed-model assembly lines in just-in-time production systems

This thesis proposes a new simulated annealing approach to solve multiple objective sequencing problems in mixed-model assembly lines. Mixed-model assembly lines are a type of production line where a variety of product models similar in product characteristics are assembled. Such an assembly line is increasingly accepted in industry to cope with the recently observed trend of diversification of customer demands. Sequencing problems are important for an efficient use of mixed-model assembly lines. There is a rich of criteria on which to judge sequences of product models in terms of line utilization. We consider three practically important objectives: the goal of minimizing the variation of the actual production from the desired production, which is minimizing usage variation, workload smoothing in order to reduce the chance of production delays and line stoppages and minimizing total set-ups cost. A considerate line manager would like to take into account all these factors. These are important for an efficient operation of mixed-model assembly lines. They work efficiently and find good solution in a very short time, even when the size of the problem is too large. The multiple objective sequencing problems is described and its mathematical formulation is provided. Simulated annealing algorithms are designed for near or optimal solutions and find an efficiency frontier of all efficient design configurations for the problem. This approach combines the SA methodology with a specific neighborhood search, which in the case of this study is a "swapping two sequence". Two annealing methods are proposed based on this approach, which differ only in cooling and freezing schedules. This research used correlation to describe the degree of relationship between results obtained by method B and other heuristics method and also for quality of our algorithm ANOVA's of output is constructed to analyse and evaluate the accuracy of the CPU time taken to determine near or optimal solution.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceMinistry of Culture and Higher Education of the Islamic Republic of IranGBUnited Kingdo

Anticancer Activity of Ag(I) N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes Derived from 4,5-Dichloro-1H-Imidazole

A class of Ag(I) N-heterocyclic carbene silver complexes, 1–3, derived from 4,5-dichloro-1H-imidazole has been evaluated for their anticancer activity against the human cancer cell lines OVCAR-3 (ovarian), MB157 (breast), and Hela (cervical). Silver complexes 1–3 are active against the ovarian and breast cancer cell lines. A preliminary in vivo study shows 1 to be active against ovarian cancer in mice. The results obtained in these studies warrant further investigation of these compounds in vivo

Multi-Bunch Longitudinal Dynamics and Diagnostics via a Digital

A bunch-by-bunch longitudinal feedback system based on a programmable DSP architecture is used to study coupled-bunch motion and its sources. Experimental results are presented from PEP-II, DA NE, ALS and SPEAR to highlight the operational experience from 4 installations, plus show novel accelerator diagnostics possible with the digital processing system. Modal growth and damping rates are measured via short ( 20 ms) transient recordings for unstable and stable coupled-bunch modes. Data from steady-state measurements are used to identify unstable modes and noise-driven beam motion. Anovel impedance measurement technique is presented which reveals the longitudinal impedance as a function of frequency. This technique uses the measured synchronous phase and charge of every bucket to calculate the impedance seen by the beam at revolution harmonics

Urinary Iodine, Perchlorate, and Thiocyanate Concentrations in U.S. Lactating Women

Background: Iodine is an essential micronutrient for thyroid hormone production. Adequate iodine intake and normal thyroid function are important during early development, and breastfed infants rely on maternal iodine excreted in breast milk for their iodine nutrition. The proportion of women in the United States of childbearing age with urinary iodine concentration (UIC) <50 μg/L has been increasing, and a subset of lactating women may have inadequate iodine intake. UIC may also be influenced by environmental exposure to perchlorate and thiocyanate, competitive inhibitors of iodine transport into thyroid, and lactating mammary glands. Data regarding UIC in U.S. lactating women are limited. To adequately assess the iodine sufficiency of lactating women and potential associations with environmental perchlorate and thiocyanate exposure, we conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study of urinary iodine, perchlorate, and thiocyanate concentrations in healthy U.S. lactating women. Methods: Lactating women ≥18 years of age were recruited from three U.S. geographic regions: California, Massachusetts, and Ohio/Illinois from November 2008 to June 2016. Demographic information and multivitamin supplements use were obtained. Iodine, perchlorate, and thiocyanate levels were measured from spot urine samples. Correlations between urinary iodine, perchlorate, and thiocyanate levels were determined using Spearman's rank correlation. Multivariable regression models were used to assess predictors of urinary iodine, perchlorate, and thiocyanate levels, and UIC <100 μg/L. Results: A total of 376 subjects (≥125 from each geographic region) were included in the final analyses [mean (SD) age 31.1 (5.6) years, 37% white, 31% black, and 11% Hispanic]. Seventy-seven percent used multivitamin supplements, 5% reported active cigarette smoking, and 45% were exclusively breastfeeding. Median urinary iodine, perchlorate, and thiocyanate concentrations were 143 μg/L, 3.1 μg/L, and 514 μg/L, respectively. One-third of women had UIC <100 μg/L. Spot urinary iodine, perchlorate, and thiocyanate levels all significantly positively correlated to each other. No significant predictors of UIC, UIC <100 μg/L, or urinary perchlorate levels were identified. Smoking, race/ethnicity, and marital status were significant predictors of urinary thiocyanate levels. Conclusion: Lactating women in three U.S. geographic regions are iodine sufficient with an overall median UIC of 143 μg/L. Given ubiquitous exposure to perchlorate and thiocyanate, adequate iodine nutrition should be emphasized, along with consideration to decrease these exposures in lactating women to protect developing infants

Compact elliptical UWB antenna for underwater wireless communications

The increasing needs of free licensed frequency bands like Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and 5G for underwater communications required more bandwidth (BW) with higher data transferring rate. Microwaves produce a higher transferring rate of data, and their associated devices are smaller in comparison with sonar and ultrasonic. Thus, transceivers should have broad BW to cover more of a frequency band, especially from ultra-wideband (UWB) systems, which show potential outcomes. However, previous designs of similar work for underwater communications were very complicated, uneasy to fabricate, and large. Therefore, to overcome these shortcomings, a novel compact elliptical UWB antenna is designed to resonate from 1.3 to 7.2 GHz. It is invented from a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layer with a dielectric constant of 2.55 mm and a thickness of 0.8 mm. The proposed antenna shows higher gain and radiation efficiency and stability throughout the working band when compared to recent similarly reported designs, even at a smaller size. The characteristics of the functioning antenna are investigated through fluid mediums of fresh-water, seawater, distilled water, and Debye model water. Later, its channel capacity, bit rate error, and data rate are evaluated. The results demonstrated that the antenna offers compact, easier fabrication with better UWB characteristics for underwater 5G communications

Feedback Control of coupled-Bunch Instabilities

Abstract The next generation of synchrotron light sources and particle accelerators will require active feedback systems to control multi-bunch instabilities [1, Feedback systems to stabilize coupled-bunch instabilities may be understood in the frequency domain (modebased feedback) or in the time domain (bunch-by-bunch feedback). In both approaches an external amplifier system is used to create damping fields that prevent coupledbunch oscillations from growing without bound. The system requirements for transverse (betatron) and longitudinal (synchrotron) feedback are presented, and possible implementation options developed. Feedback system designs based on digital signal-processing techniques are described. Experimental results are shown from a synchrotron oscillation damper in the SSRLjSLAC storage ring SPEAR that uses digital signal-processing techniques