ALBERT

Notes: Increased worldwide competition has driven industry to find ever faster and more accurate techniques for product inspection. Although developed only recently, noncontact laser gauging systems (NCLGSs) are quickly becoming an accepted technology for manufacturing, in particular for large volume producers of wire who require online diameter measurement. This paper describes the major components of an NCLGS and how its technology enables manufacturers to incorporate extremely accurate online product measurement. The paper also describes the benefits and issues for concern associated with use of this new technology.

Notes: Despite many advances during the last decade in both infra-red sensor and solid state camera technology, until now little headway has been made in the production of cost-effective semiconductor sensor arrays capable of operating far into the infra-red. Old ideas, renewed by the capabilities offered by the latest micromachine technology, may change all this. Reviews the problems associated with building such sensor arrays before introducing some interesting new research results.

Notes: The requirement to quickly obtain 3D measurements is common to a variety of tasks in different fields of applications, i.e. robotics, space craft rendezvous and docking scenarios and industrial assemblies. In this paper, a novel type of non-scanning optical 3D laser camera is presented. This is useful for both space and industrial applications. Avoiding any moving mechanical parts, the new sensor is able to exceed the frame rate and lateral resolution limits of common scanning devices, while providing both a grey-scale image and a dense range image of the scene at the same time.

Notes: Laser interferometry-based sensing (LIS) technique has been proposed and established recently to track and perform dynamic measurements on a moving end-effector of a robot manipulator. In this paper, a technique using LIS system to perform guidance of a manipulator is proposed. The LIS system is used as a sensor to guide the end-effector of a robot manipulator. This is to be accomplished through the implementation of guidance error determination and compensation, and path generation in the control algorithm. This technique can be used to accurately guide the manipulator's end-effector to a specified location or along a specified path with a high level of accuracy. The structure and various components within the system and the control strategy are also presented.

Notes: This paper describes the development and the performance characteristics of a pneumatic proximity-to-tactile sensing device for automated recognition of manufacturing parts within flexible manufacturing environments. This tactile sensing device utilises a densely packed line array of IC piezoresistive pressure sensors, providing continuous variable back pressure output. The sensing elements incorporate a corresponding line matrix of air jets which form an air cushion between the sensing plane and the target when striking the object of interest. The back pressure output levels form the basis for the tasks of object detection and recognition. The system described is a research prototype and has been evaluated on a simple test rig: in this form it is not at a stage where it can be applied to a recognition situation on the shop floor.

Notes: The reflectance spectra of natural and man-made surfaces are highly constrained. Statistical analyses have been conducted that confirm that the surface reflectance spectra form a set of band-limited functions with a frequency limit of approximately 0.02 cycles/nm. The reflectance spectra can be represented by a linear-model framework and are adequately described by 6-12 basis functions. However, the spectral properties of surfaces are not so constrained as to allow the human visual system to recover the surface properties from cone excitations. Furthermore, trichromatic colour devices such as scanners and cameras can only capture illumination-specific colour information.

Notes: Polymeric materials have gained a wide theoretical interest and practical application in sensor technology. They can be used for very different purposes and may offer unique possibilities. The paper gives a broad summary about the sensor structures and sensing polymer films used in a wide variety of sensors. Finally, the present status and perspectives as well as the advantages of specific polymer based sensors are summarised.

Notes: Interkama, the international fair for industrial communication, automation and measurement, is undergoing major structural changes, but new developments in sensing and measurement were well represented at the October 1999 exhibition in Düsseldorf.

Notes: This paper reviews aspects of the current status of process sensing using electrical impedance process tomography. This new sensor technology offers a unique insight into a wide range of industrial processes. Applications include a range of processes that feature complex flows and multiple component interactions. The paper provides an overview of hardware and software technology in terms of an instrument currently targeted at pilot trials through a consultancy service. Finally a case study is used to illustrate a typical application in which a detailed insight into an otherwise intractable process has been obtained.

Notes: The introduction of time compression technologies into the modern mechanical design process is now well established. Most major automotive and aerospace companies have invested, as have their Tier 1 suppliers. It has been identified that a bottleneck affecting all aspects of the cycle is the measurement process. In this paper we shall discuss potential benefits of adopting non-contact techniques. In section 1 we discuss the need for rapid physical measurement within the context of the mechanical design process. The processes required for surface creation and inspection are discussed in Section 2 with regard to contact and non-contact measurement. Section 3 reviews the operating principles of commercially available non-contact systems. Finally Section 4 discusses practical issues relating to the implementation and use of non-contact systems in the manufacturing environment.

Notes: Based on the investigation of large length measurement and alignment techniques in 3D construction, a laser diode alignment system for boat assembly is presented. In the system, a horizontal laser diode beam and a vertical light plane formed by a rotating pentagonal prism are used as a measuring datum. The system is of low cost, reliable, safe and convenient to be used on-line in small boatyards with reasonable accuracy. The synthesised error of the system is analysed. The application of the system in boat assembly and some considerations of the system design are described.

Notes: A system that began with DNA tagging of oil cargoes has expanded to provide tracers for such diverse commodities as grain, silk, antiques, diamonds, high value documents and packaging. It has been used for a great variety of purposes. One is the covert tracing of marked commodities that have entered the country as "grey" imports, sold at reduced prices. Other users are interested in authenticating products, particularly in the antiques trade. Authentication of documents can be achieved through the incorporation of a DNA tracer into the ink used to print the document. It would be impossible for counterfeiters to determine the sequence of the added DNA marker, particularly in the presence of other masking DNA. The number of unique tags that can be provided by a DNA molecule is of the order of 1060. Each application is unique and requires close collaboration between the company and the customer. It needs its own customized application and recovery procedure.

Notes: Describes the basic principles of biosensors and the history of their development. Assesses their current impact and state of the biosensor market, and looks ahead to future developments.

Notes: Reviews the Transducers 2001/EUROSENSORS XV conferences that were held in Munich, 10-14 June 2001. Microengineering figured prominently in the programme, almost half the sessions covering aspects of this subject, including power generation, packaging and wafer bonding, physical effects, machining and etching (also for high aspect ratio), micro-thrusters, -jets, -pumps, -valves, -fluidics, -probes, optical 3D and RF MEMS, resonators, polymer based microsystems and commercialisation. Explicit sensor sessions included materials for gas sensing, chemical and gas sensors, biomedical systems, electrochemical sensors, inertial sensors, magnetic sensors, image, flow and thermal sensors. There were two sessions on actuators. Nano-devices (physical in character) were covered in one session, though nanotechnology as such did not figure in the proceedings.

Notes: Describes the key attributes of MEMS technology and existing and future business opportunities. Discusses the various stages in the fabrication of MEMS devices and offers guidance regarding the selection of processing methods for deposition, lithography and etching. Also describes the MEMS-Exchange program and associated network of fabrication centres.

Notes: Describes a novel dry etching technique, developed by STS Systems plc, based on a high-density, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technology, which enables the fabrication of advanced silicon microsensors and a wide range of other MEMS devices. Describes the process and illustrates various applications.

Notes: Outlines the factors causing the automotive industry to increase machine vision application, reviews new developments in vision technology that are targeted at expanding and improving it use in the automotive industry, reports on an innovative application of vision guided robotics at DaimlerChrysler

Notes: Describes the benefits that arise from the use of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for illumination in industrial machine vision systems. These include long life, stability and narrow frequency bands. Also discusses precautions that need to be taken for obtaining a uniform illumination and pulsed operation.

Notes: Despite the rapid growth in the implementation of sophisticated software-based control systems, today's process industries still rely heavily on sensors and associated conditioning electronics to provide accurate data from the processes. While most instrumentation manufacturers have focused their attention on products and system software beyond such front end signal conditioning, Status Instruments have decided to invest in the design of a highly versatile front end conditioning module which can be adapted to meet an ever increasing number of applications simply by downloading a new piece of software from their Web site.

Notes: Space satellites have for years used solar cells for their source of electricity. However, the technology has been expensive and relatively inefficient in comparison with other energy sources for terrestrial applications. There is increasing pressure for the development of renewable energy sources in view of the pollution caused by fossil fuels and their increasing scarcity, and a growing number of organizations, particularly in the USA, are finding niches for economical applications. Further developments in sensors are also extending the possibilities. In the UK, work is not so far advanced, but there is a Government support programme and many organizations are working hard to bring in the solar energy revolution.

Notes: The sensitivity of differential-pressure flow meters to the quality of the approaching flow continues to be a cause for concern to flow meter manufacturers and users. Distortions to the approaching velocity profiles generated by pipe fittings and installations located upstream of a flow meter, can lead to considerable errors in flow metering. This cannot be ignored because of the likely cost and process efficiency implications. This paper describes the effects of various entrance flow velocity profiles on the performance of an orifice flow meter with and without flow conditioning. Asymmetric swirling velocity profiles were generated by a ball valve. These caused significant shifts to the meter's calibration. The use of a vaned-plate flow conditioner, consisting of six vanes attached to a 70 per cent porosity plate, greatly improved the performance of the meter. Thus, the device can be used as part of a flow metering package that will have considerably reduced installation lengths. The less-sophisticated NEL plate proved to be a good flow straightener, i.e. a good swirl remover, but was not an efficient flow conditioner.

Notes: A robust low cost refractometer has been developed together with signal conditioning algorithms to enable sucrose content to be measured during the mechanical harvesting of the sugar cane plant. This technology will be applied to the harvester process that removes the tops of the cane to assist the harvester operator to cut the cane at the optimum cutting height.

Notes: Describes the design, fabrication and performance of a new form of humidity sensor based on CMOS technology. The sensor incorporates analogue signal processing and serial digital communications on a single silicon chip.

Notes: The purpose of developing smart (analog and digital) sensors for networked machine/process monitoring, and other tasks, is to make them as easy and trouble free to deploy, program and maintain, as plugging a keyboard, or mouse into a computer. The IEEE 1451 smart transducer interface standards describe a set of open, common, and network-independent communication interfaces for smart transducers. ("Smartness" here means on-board data storage/processing capability, interfaced/ integrated with the analog and/or digital sensor.) Several companies and individuals involved in networked control systems of machines, and the measurement and control industries are developing these new standards, in the USA sponsored by the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society's Technical Committee on Sensor Technology (TC-9), and the US Department of Commerce NIST Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory.

Notes: The ability to see in the dark is a key differentiator in many military scenarios and the development of thermal imaging (TI) systems has provided the military with a battle winning capability. One of the current key thrusts is to be able to detect and identify targets at significantly longer ranges. The research programme in QinetiQ has been providing solutions to satisfy these requirements for many years. In addition, one of the major benefits from this research, has been the opportunity to provide TI sensors into the civil market for application including fire fighting. In this review many of the new concepts currently being developed are described and illustrated.

Notes: A description about the use of the chromatic methodology for monitoring an arc plasma jet utilised for heating micro particles for forming plasma sprayed coatings is given. It is shown that the behaviour of both the plasma and heated micro particles are distinguishable from their different coordinates on an H-S polar map. Calibration with a standard ribbon lamp would appear feasible for tracking the temperature of the plasma heated micro particles.

Notes: Thermal phenomena that occur in operating integrated circuits can disturb their functioning and even cause failures. In order to prevent such dramatic issues, it is necessary to study these phenomena by developing high-resolution thermal mapping of electronic devices. This can be done by using the thermoreflectance technique. The principle of thermoreflectance measurements is reviewed and various experimental setups are described. Experimental results show that this technique allows the mapping of both low and high frequency thermal phenomena at submicron scales.

Notes: This paper focuses on the design of an inexpensive and accurate range scanner for automatic acquisition of a CAD model of a manufactured part by using two-dimensional images to determine a digitized three-dimensional shape. In the developed approach, the object is passed at a speed of 4?cm/s through a single linear laser stripe and forty continuous images are captured into the frame memory of the host computer for subsequent processing. A major problem that is encountered in the design of laser stripe scanner is the specula reflection, which can be mitigated by the developed approach. Six center-locating algorithms are described, which are central to the developed approach. These algorithms are able to achieve sub-pixel accuracy. The center of mass algorithm that uses three points, gives the best repeatability over the other algorithms. The center of mass algorithm that uses intensity threshold, provides the best linearity over the other algorithms.

Notes: This paper provides a review of commercially available lighting systems for industrial inspection applications, including the underlying technology and optical behaviour.

Notes: Reports on a one-day Institute of Physics seminar on new developments in automotive sensors for hostile environments. Provides details of the nine papers presented.

Notes: An account of some of the machine vision systems on display at the 2001 Manufacturing Week exhibition held at the NEC in Birmingham. A re-occurring theme was 2D code reading and descriptions are given of products and some applications from Toyota Tsusho, DVT Corporation and Cognex. Also described are miniature contact assemblies exhibited by Micro Contacts, including the development of an assembly for automotive airbag sensors in which vision inspection plays a part in maintaining quality and improving production.

Notes: This paper results from research carried out to survey the various large commercial aerospace engineering component measurement systems. The commercial aircraft manufacturing industry is special due to the size of the components involved. Accuracy constraints remain very close, despite the size, and therefore accurate methods of measurement are necessary to control the quality of the final product. A survey of various current methods of measurement for such components is presented. These methods are based around three main principles: theodolites, photogrammetry, and laser technology. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of accuracy, repeatability, range and cost. It is also often necessary to consider what each technique provides in terms of data storage and analysis. Most techniques use computer-based systems to store results and perform various calculations. These systems also have their own requirements in terms of the environment in which they are used. It is important to consider whether a particular system can be installed in an area suitable to measure the required component, as well as ensuring that the stability requirements are met. In this paper the principles and characteristics of conventional optical tooling, electronic triangulation, electronic trilateration, photogrammetry, laser trackers, and laser scanners are reviewed.

Notes: Considers the role of a range of materials being used in advanced sensor technology, including diamond, fullerenes, silicon carbide, superconductors, rare earths and III-V compounds. Sensors based on these materials are described and their applications discussed.

Notes: This paper reviews the range of sensors used in electronic nose (e-nose) systems to date. It outlines the operating principles and fabrication methods of each sensor type as well as the applications in which the different sensors have been utilised. It also outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each sensor for application in a cost-effective low-power handheld e-nose system.

Notes: This paper details a free image analysis and software development environment for machine vision application development. The environment provides high-level access to over 300 image manipulation, processing and analysis algorithms through a well-defined and easy to use graphical interface. Users can extend the core library using the developer's interface via a plug-in which features automatic source code generation, compilation with full error feedback and dynamic algorithm updates. Also discusses key issues associated with the environment and outline the advantages in adopting such a system for machine vision application development.

Notes: Purpose - To present two non-contact methods of measuring vibrations and impact events. Design/methodology/approach - The paper concentrates on the practical capabilities and underlying technology of commercial high-speed CMOS cameras and laser Doppler vibrometers. Findings - The instruments are used to analyse modes of failure and to test quality in a very wide range of products. They are also used to develop safety and protective devices, and to study natural phenomena. Originality/value - A practical guide to the tools available, with some example applications of interest to production engineers.

Notes: Purpose - This paper describes a recent collaborative project involving the development of a multiplexed fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensor system for structural integrity monitoring. Design/methodology/approach - The system is described and field trials on both conventional and novel composite bridges are discussed. A FBG sensor-based structural monitoring system was developed, based on a fluorescent fibre as the optical source. It used a tuneable, fibre-coupled, Fabry-Perot filter, actuated by piezoelectric transducers and operated over the bandwidth of the source at up to 250 scans/second. Light from the source was filtered and reflected back from the Bragg gratings, through optical couplers, to eight photodiode detectors. These detected the resulting time-domain spectra of the sensors in each of the serially connected sensor arrays. The system was tested at City University and then subjected to trials on the Mjosund road bridge in Norway and on West Mill bridge in Oxfordshire, UK, which is the first bridge to be fabricated from a new type of composite material. Findings - During the Norwegian trials the system was arranged with four or five FBG sensors per channel giving a total of 32 measurement points with eight parallel channels. Twelve conventional foil strain gauges and a number of thermocouples were also installed. Different static and dynamic loads were applied over a period of 18 months and the results showed that the thermally compensated strain data obtained optically matched those from the resistive gauges to within 〈5?µ?. During the construction stage of the Oxfordshire bridge, sections of the decking and longitudinal composite support beams were instrumented with 40 FBG sensors with temperature compensation, placed at pre-selected sites of maximum strain. These exhibited a resolution of ±5?µ? and an operating range of over ±2,000?µ?. Originality/value - This research has shown that multiplexed, multi-point FBG sensor systems can accurately and reliably monitor both static and dynamic strains in large structures over a range of temperatures and for extended periods of time.

Notes: A MEMS process is described to control diaphragm thickness with an integrated provision for back to front alignment in the fabrication of a polysilicon piezoresistive pressure sensor. The end point detection for the diaphragm etching is suitably incorporated in the process so that it is also used for the back-to-front alignment. The proposed process is cost-effective and suitable for the batch fabrication of the pressure sensor.

Notes: Recognising people by their gait is a biometric of increasing interest. Recently, analysis has progressed from evaluation by few techniques on small databases with encouraging results to large databases and still with encouraging results. The potential of gait as a biometric was encouraged by the considerable amount of evidence available, especially in biomechanics and literature. This potential motivated the development of new databases, new technique and more rigorous evaluation procedures. We adumbrate some of the new techniques we have developed and their evaluation to gain insight into the potential for gait as a biometric. In particular, we consider implications for the future. Our work, as with others, continues to provide encouraging results for gait as a biometric, let alone as a human identifier, with a special regard for recognition at a distance.

Notes: The continued evolution of computer technology requires us now more than ever to investigate and understand man-machine interfaces. Physical interface peripherals such as touch-screens and force feedback systems demand a comprehension of the tactile forces involved. To accomplish this, flexible, easy-to-install, minimally intrusive sensors are essential. Thanks to the development of such sensors, many doors have been opened for innovative haptic applications in a variety of fields including medicine, manufacturing, and entertainment.

Notes: Purpose - To describe the function and use of the GreenSeeker™ active remote sensor used to detect crop nitrogen status. Design/methodology/approach - In this paper, the GreenSeeker active remote sensor and its use in irrigated maize production systems will be described. A brief discussion of the science of using remote sensing for studying plants is presented. Additionally, a summary of observations collected from field trials is presented. Findings - The GreenSeeker active sensor has tremendous potential for accurately characterizing crop variability for site-specific N rate determinations in the Western Great Plains region of the United States. Originality/value - This paper discusses the GreenSeeker active sensor for detecting crop variability. Data from the GreenSeeker can be used to make site-specific nitrogen fertilizer applications which may lead to improved nitrogen use efficiency.

Notes: Purpose - Examines some of the recent technical developments that are leading to a wider use of powerful methods in medical microscopy. Design/methodology/approach - Reviews some of the microscopic techniques relevant to medicine, then looks at hardware developments in microscopes, filters and cameras. Findings - Highly sophisticated techniques such as time-resolved fluorescence measurements are now incorporated in turnkey instruments, using picosecond diode lasers for accurate measurement of fluorescent lifetimes. Advances in optical fibre coating technology in the telecoms field have led to improved filters for fluorescence microscopy, and imaging allows the detection of non-visible wavelengths and very low light levels. Many microscopes are modular, so that users can upgrade to further capabilities at will. Automatic medical diagnosis software is coming onto the market. Originality/value - Highlights the hardware and software developments that are enabling powerful microscopic methodologies to enter into general use.

Notes: Purpose - To describe a new high sensitivity, nanotechnology-based technique for detecting DNA and disease-related proteins. Design/methodology/approach - Gold nanoparticles and magnetic microparticles are bound to single-stranded DNA molecules that are complementary to segments of the target DNA. The nanoparticles also link to hundreds of strands of "barcode" DNA and in the presence of the target, each molecule binds to a gold nanoparticle and a magnetic microparticle. Applying a magnetic field enables the separation of the target molecules and their attachments. The DNA is removed from the molecules and detected by a chip-based DNA procedure. As each nanoparticle links to a large number of strands of DNA, the method amplifies the signal from each target molecule. The technique can also detect proteins by replacing the complimentary DNA with antibodies. Findings - This research shows that this technique can detect very low concentrations of DNA and proteins. Ten copies of anthrax DNA were detected in 30?µl of solution, a sensitivity comparable to polymerase chain reaction, and 18-20 PSA molecules were detected in a 10?µl sample, a level of detection that is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional assays. Recent research has also shown that the assay can detect ADDLs, which are biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. The technologies are now being commercialised by Nanosphere, Inc. Originality/value - These developments offer prospects in a wide range of clinical applications such as the rapid and simple diagnosis of a variety of diseases and single nucleotide polymorphisms tests for the detection of hypercoagulation disorders. Other potential applications include homeland security and environmental monitoring.

Notes: Purpose - Aims to report on a new trend of research and development in the wireless capsule endoscope. Design/methodology/approach - Presents a conceptual design of a wireless capsule endoscope having new features like navigation control, self-propulsion, higher rate image transmission, acquisition of samples, application of medications and so forth. Findings - The basic principle has been verified by experiments. Seems promising. Research limitations/implications - Yet to need a lot of effort for commercialization. Practical implications - If successful, it will provide another way of least invasive medical treatment that must reduce pain of patients drastically. Originality/value - Taking advantage of the state-of-the-art micro-technology it suggests a further step beyond the current wireless capsule endoscope.

Notes: Purpose - To establish an accurate and sensitive method to characterize the moisture content of a particular environment. Design/methodology/approach - This paper proposes a relatively simple humidity sensor design consisting of electrodes on a suitable substrate coated with a polyimide material. The changes in relative humidity are denoted by a corresponding change in the polyimide material's electrical resistance profile. The design proposed in this work can be microfabricated and integrated with electronic circuitry. This sensor can be fabricated on alumina or silicon substrates. The electrode material can be made up of nickel, gold or aluminum and the thickness of the electrodes ranges typically between 0.2 and 0.3?µm. The sensor consists of an active sensing layer on top of a set of electrodes. The design of the electrodes can be configured for both resistive and capacitive sensing. Findings - The polyimide material's ohmic resistance changes significantly with humidity variations. Changes in resistance as large as 4-6 orders of magnitude are attainable over the entire operational humidity range. Research limitations/implications - As the sensitivity varies non-linearly with the humidity, the measurement has to be carried out over a very wide range in order to calibrate the sensor. The sensitivity and output range of the sensor can be easily controlled by changing the electrode spacing or geometry. Practical implications - The control of humidity is important in many applications ranging from bio-medical to space exploration. Originality/value - A simple, easy to fabricate and measure, and low cost resistive-type humidity sensor was developed. The realized sensor is suitable for integrating with microfabrication. Hence, multiple sensors of varying sensitivities and output ranges could be integrated on the same chip. Over the last few years, newly emerging micro-electro-mechanical-systems technology and micro-fabrication techniques have gained popularity and importance in the miniaturization of a variety of sensors and actuators.

Notes: Describes how radio telemetry can interface with process control systemssuch as supervisory control and data acquisition [SCADA] and distributedcontrol systems [DCS] greatly increasing their power and efficiency. Outlinesthe basis of radio telemetry, the behaviour of electromagnetic waves,frequency and wavelengths. Uses the water industry as an example of the useof a large scale and sophisticated SCADA system to provide date collectionand control links over a large area. Concludes that the versatility of radiotelemetry coupled with its cost-effectiveness means that thistechnology can help to expand and improve communications in an increasingnumber of industries.

Notes: Examines the "Supertag" automatic identification system which is aninnovative electronic replacement for barcodes and which can also function asan anti shoplifting device. Each Supertag is a single integrated circuit chipplus a printed flat aerial. Using radio links, Supertag readers are capableof multiple identification and counting at electronic speed. Outlines thetechnical developments which brought about "electronic counting" and comparesthem with conventional RFID systems. Describes the potential used forSupertag including its ability to "read" the entire contents of a supermarkettrolley in a second, making it very attractive for use in the retailindustry.

Notes: Examines a successful method which has been developed for integratingneural nets and fuzzy logic. Outlines the background of fuzzy logic andneural net design techniques, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.Describes the importance of the error back propagation algorithm in neuralnet applications and how the difficulties of applying it to a fuzzy logicsystem were overcome in the NueuroFuzzy Module by using an extended fuzzylogic inference method that employs so-called fuzzy associative memories[FAMs]. Describes the development steps of NeuroFuzzy systems and gives anexample application of such a system to reduce water and energy consumptionof washing machines. Concludes with other applications for NeuroFuzzysystems, including the optimization of a biological fermentation process andspeaker-independent speech recognition.

Notes: Examines the development of a laser-based system for detectingthe presence or absence of threads on turned components used in theautomotive industry. Describes how a laser inspection station would be set upto take readings from the laser detector as the component cuts a "partpresent" photoswitch. Explains how all the systems' parameters areprogrammable by the user through a hand-held terminal and describestwo typical applications: one to detect the presence of an externalthread on an engine plug and the other to check an internal thread on analuminium insert for a fuel injection system. Outlines the properties oflaser light that makes it preferable for use over camera-basedinspection systems and lists some applications suitable for laser basedsystems such as checking for component features such as threads, holes,grooves and tabs.

Notes: Outlines the development of an electronic nose for general applicationand examines it's three major parts: a sensor array, a means of converting the sensor outputs into suitable signals for analysis, and a software analysis tool. Describes the sensor array, electronics and overall system design, the conducting polymer sensors and the computer hardware and software. Discusses the analysis techniques and results of tests carried out on various gases, vapours and liquids. Concludes that although much further work is required into sensors and analysis techniques it is anticipated that a growing number of companies will become interested in developing these systems.

Notes: Describes a biometric security system, the EyeDentify retinal scanner,which works by mapping the vascular pattern on the retinal portion of theeyeball, using a specially designed camera. Outlines the three modes of theretinal scanner: enrolment, verification and recognition and theuniqueness and stability of retinal identification. Concludes that owing tothe unmatched accuracy and ability to run in a time "recognition" mode, retinal scanners are utilized in the world's most secure areas.

Notes: Outlines some of the areas in machine vision system solution which haveseen the most significant advances as a result of technology enhancement andparticularly the rapid development in semiconductor technology. Looks at thebackground of machine vision development and improvements brought about bymodern technology, covering advances in vision algorithms, "warp engines"used in combination with an application specific integrated circuit [ASIC],improvements in human interface; and optical character recognition. Concludesthat the trend now is for general purpose vision processing systems toprovide greater capability, at greater throughput speed, withoutsignificantly increasing the cost of the system which means that they are nowpart of the original process design to inspect critical stages ofmanufacture.

Notes: Outlines research work based on the application of coding theory andinformation theory to barcode systems design, with the aim of developing areplacement for traditional linear barcodes. The coding device needs to becheap to print and easy to read but also have the ability to store andretrieve a complete transaction file. The result of this work was PDF417, asymbol which can contain over a kilobyte of binary data or almost 2,000alphanumeric characters. Describes the key features of PDF417 and givesexamples of applications in the automotive industry, supply chaincommunications and military ID card systems. Concludes that PDF417 PortableData File technology opens the door to a wide range of important newapplication opportunities, sometimes complimenting and other times replacingthe traditional linear barcodes.

Notes: Describes how a computer disk and storage media company [KAO Infosystemsof the USA]uses machine vision technology to maintain the quality of itsproducts by isolating problems and identifying ways of improving themanufacturing process. Emphasises the need to fully define applications andevaluate the technology before introducing a new element to an automationprocess and stresses the need to integrate the vision system hardware withthe plant's existing manufacturing equipment.

Notes: Outlines the development of a 2-D matrix symbology and reader,designed to cope with the demands of a large parcel delivery business.Describes how the information for each parcel is encoded in atwo-dimensional array of hexagons surrounding central recognitionpatterns and discusses the technical challenge of developing a high speedconveyor belt reader. Concludes that this type of system could play animportant role in package delivery services in the future.

Notes: Describes developments in radio frequency identification [RFID]techniques, using examples from existing applications in the motor industry,breweries and mail order companies. Looks at the miniaturization resultingfrom integrated circuit technology, the advantages of passive transpondersand one of the latest versions of transponder, the Multipage [M/P], a tagwhich contains the equivalent of 17 individual transponders in a single unit.Concludes that the advent of low-cost integrated RFID technology hasenabled new solutions to production problems in the materials handlingenvironment. Tagging brings improvements in efficiency, security andaccuracy by uniquely labelling units with the production process.

Notes: Evaluates the applicability of ultrasonic sensors in a welding environment and reports on experimental measurements carried out with a sensory head containing ultrasonic transducers with different frequencies. Analyses the effects on the sensors of factors such as noise, temperature and shielding gas flow and concludes by suggesting appropriate protective measures for the sensors for them to operate effectively in a welding environment.

Notes: Looks at the use of non-contact displacement and vibration sensors and notes their value for difficult sensing measurements. Mentions various situations which may dictate the use of a non-contact sensor. Focuses on fibre-optic sensors and laser triangulation sensors. Concludes that practical uses for such devices are rapidly expanding.

Notes: Since the term was first coined in 1977, fractals seem to have pervaded every branch of science. Attempts to explain what fractals are and what they are being used for. Are they a fad or are they really useful? Considers factors including quantitative measurement, image compression and computer graphics. Concludes that the future will see an increase in the use of fractal graphics.

Notes: Notes the advantages of the use of LED sources in the detection of flammable gases, suggesting they contribute towards factors such as high sensitivity and low power consumption. Focuses on two detection techniques: the gas correlation optical system and the filtered gas detection technique. Looks at the operation of LED sources in relation to these techniques and the development of 3.3 and 4.3 micron LED sources. Notes the results of tests on such LED sources, asserting the feasibility of a low power consumption, LED-based detection system.

Notes: Examines the increasing use of radio frequency identification (RFID) owing to the falling prices of transponders and other equipment. Briefly describes the current situation of the RFID industry and outlines some of its applications. Concludes by asking where the industry is heading and predicting a bright future.

Notes: Observes that the provision of intelligent control is seen as the logical extension of existing seat-belt and airbag systems for passenger vehicles to optimize secondary safety performance. Demonstrates the need for discrete information about the driver/passenger in the vehicle in order to provide optimal control of seat-belt pre-tensioning; seat-belt reel-out (post-crash pulse); and air bag inflation timing and/or rate. Finds, from system modelling and statistical crash data, that such information as occupant mass and position with respect to vehicle interior and steering wheel are important parameters in the optimal control of the above integrated systems. Justifies these needs and shows that the design of a Smart Seat provides the necessary data. Explains that the design incorporates sensor systems, using a Mechatronic integrated approach.

Notes: Provides an introduction to the field of time-frequency analysis by reviewing four important and popular used time-frequency analysis methods with focus on the principles and implementation. The basic idea of time-frequency analysis is to understand and describe situations where the frequency content of a signal is changing in time. Although time-frequency analysis had its origin almost 50 years ago, significant advances have occurred in the past 15 years or so. Recently, the time-frequency representation has received considerable attention as a powerful tool for analysing a variety of signals and systems.

Notes: Discusses the requirements in environmental monitoring - primarily in aqueous environments. Detection of substances below the ppb-level may be required. Many analytes lack intrinsic properties suitable for direct detection by a sensor. Therefore, separation, concentration, and chemical conversion may be required. Sensors may require calibration and conditioning. Efforts are taken to integrate these functions with sensor components to give integrated sensor systems, which allow unattended operation in the environment.

Notes: States that power stations have utilized automation to achieve effective and acceptable environmental levels in the operation of power stations. Lists the advantages to be gained from environmental monitoring and gives an overview of established dust and smoke sensor techniques. States the four basic methods which can be used to measure the concentration of gaseous species in a combustion gas and reviews gas measuring techniques under development.

Notes: During the past 50 years the phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has evolved from a scientific curiosity to a powerful analytical tool for physical scientists and the medical community. Its primary use is for analytical chemistry and medical imaging. NMR imaging and spectroscopy can non-invasively and non-destructively examine the physical and chemical composition of materials. The technology is now at a level of sophistication and maturity where industrial applications are possible. This article describes the basis of NMR imaging and spectroscopy and examines the application of NMR to a broad range of industrial applications.

Notes: Purpose - Describes the history and development of biosensors and their commercial application. Design/methodology/approach - Provides background information on different forms of biosensors and how they can be brought to market. This review is edited from a very detailed market research report "Medical and Biological Sensor and Sensor Systems: markets, applications and competitors worldwide". Findings - Finds that the commercial potential for biosensors is very large and is expected to reach US$ 2.3 billion worldwide in 2005. Originality/value - The full market research report provides a detailed insight into biosensors and how they are made and the various application areas, together with discussion regarding a large number of vendor and research companies.

Notes: Purpose - Introduction of an automated laboratory system for a new field of laboratory operation, namely cultivation and handling of live brain tissue. Design/methodology/approach - The company's expertise in manual throughput was transferred to automatable methods. Processing data is used for scheduling purposes to yield efficient production of results. Findings - Automated process has comparable survival rates and high reproducibility. Time tolerance is lower than for manual operation. Research limitations/implications - Several bottle necks of the system have been identified and are to be improved upon in future research. These are especially "handling of membrane inserts" and slow-running procedures. Practical implications - Cataloging of activity data (timestamps, parameters, etc.) allows for much easier statistical analysis and data-mining than with manual operation data. Originality/value - Tissue-based, high-throughput screening is a seminal field in laboratory automation.

Notes: Although the public sector has become a major employer of management consultants, no research has previously been undertaken to investigate the purchase of management consultants in the public sector context. Outlines an investigation into the purchase of management consultants by government departments, focusing specifically on the selection decision. The UK and Australia were examined to ensure that the findings were not merely local phenomena. Research focused on the public sector decision makers' guiding procurement principle, value for money, and the criteria and information sources both used and desired to assist the purchase decision. It was found that there was widespread and relatively uniform understanding of the procurement principle, value for money, although there appeared to be a lack of connection between this principle and procurement practice. Public sector decision makers also believed that they had adequate although not satisfactory access to information upon which to base their decisions while, significantly, it was revealed that these decision makers did not believe the selection decision for management consultants was, overall, difficult. Concludes that the implications of this research are twofold. First, it highlights the issues of "corporate memory" and information management, and their impact upon informed decision making, and secondly it questions the applicability of private sector research to public sector practice.

Notes: Competition is now widely used as the means of choosing the providers of essential public services in the USA and the UK. Many different approaches are found in the USA and there are useful lessons for the UK. With particular reference to mental health and substance abuse services, describes the effects of using competitive tendering on users, providers, purchasers and citizens and examines the problems of specification, transaction costs, the use of consultants, supply, the level playing field, trust, innovation, local accessibility and accountability. Ends with discussion of co-operation and collaboration and the emergence of monopolies and integrated delivery systems in the USA and concludes by finding politics and political decision making of overriding importance.

Notes: Reviews the past role of regional health authorities in the the British NHS and gives details of the recent changes to regions associated with the functions and responsibilities paper. Goes on to give details of the research project in which we are currently involved and reports on our interim findings (as of April 1996). In a final discussion section, reflects on those findings in terms of the evolving problems of influence and control in a national service operating in a devolved quasi-market.

Notes: While the state dependency thesis seems widely accepted among students of the German non-profit sector, there is surprisingly little research that has systematically explored its empirical base and conceptual validity. Attempts to remedy this situation and offers an initial empirical examination of this thesis. Examines the extent and pattern of state funding of the German non-profit sector and develops three propositions, each adopting a different explanatory focus, which are then analysed with the help of data taken from a sample survey of West German non-profit organizations.

Notes: The process of public policy making involves different levels of government administrative organs and other interests affected by it. One of the essential aspects of the implementation process of public policies is that of intergovernmental relations as, in many cases, the central government's policies are put into practice, not only by territorial government agencies, but also by regional and local government. Undoubtedly the particularity of the autonomous Basque Community's administrative system, in which intergovernmental relations are the key to its functioning, make it deal to observe and also to draw conclusions about the working relationships between different levels of the administration and other organizations of a private nature which can then be applied to the solution of programmes and social policies. In this way one attempts to detect possible institutional, political and administrative obstacles which hold back the development of coordination and cooperation and may finally determine the failure or inefficiency of public action.

Notes: In recent years the "protection of the public" has risen to the top of the law and order agenda, fostered by a populist Home Secretary. Not only has the effect been to raise the stakes in the sentencing process but also to shape the working and managerial agendas of criminal justice agencies. This article explores the potential of two agencies working to the same agenda of public protection, the police and probation service. It asks who will gain most from joint working and what might be lost in the process. It explores the difficulty of setting and achieving targets in an area fraught with so much uncertainty but etched into the public consciousness as needing action.

Notes: Performance measurement and programme evaluation have been promoted as a central mechanism of recent Australian public sector (APS) reform. Outlines recent reforms in the APS and identifies links between evaluation and performance information. Identifies the major issue of credibility, when performance information is produced internally and not verified externally. A lack of performance systems and standards can create difficulties for both internal and external programme evaluations. Concludes that: reforms introduced to evaluate performance in the APS were promoted with high expectations which have only partially been fulfilled; the present system is internally focused with a narrow role for evaluation and a lack of credibility because of the independence issue; the present systems associated with the performance approach and its evaluation are not providing enough information to deal with the tough questions of the effectiveness of government programmes. Proposes that a middle ground between internal and external programme evaluation strategies be adopted. This allows the strengths of internal evaluation to be retained. At the same time, it allows the possibility of improving programme evaluation by adding external independent verification and an extended effectiveness role.

Notes: States that it appears that all civil service reform programmes in developing countries are predicated on the idea of cost savings which is an acid test of project success. Notes that yet a wider notion of reform is also prevalent, concerning governance, which involves the ability of citizens to influence government's provision of infrastructure and services. As if to give credence to the importance of service provision, the concept of institutional economics has come to the fore. This requires an explicit quantification of the range of public goods and services being generated by the institutions being reformed. All three perspectives are underpinned by the institutional development model. This focuses in range from value and sustainability to exploration and functional analysis, as an organizational starting point. Suggests that the institutional development base is the normative anchor for all substantive interventions in government reform.

Notes: Explores the implications for gender equality of a decentralized organizational structure in which the key element is devolved responsibility to line managers. Asks whether this is an opportunity to integrate the importance of equality and the valuing of gender differences into organizational cultures or does it represent perfect conditions for opting out of addressing gender issues at work. A public sector organization is used as a case study and proposes a model for devolvement of gender management and suggests strategies - training communication, review of processes.

Notes: Over the past decade, there has been growing international interest in utilising private contractors to improve efficiency and reduce costs of road maintenance. In developing countries the existing private contracting sector is often too weak to take on this work. Accordingly projects to foster private sector involvement have been designed and implemented through international technical assistance, with a varying emphasis on financial, training and other support in order to achieve a workable market. This paper discusses case studies from five different countries which vary widely, in terms of social, cultural, contractual and organizational practices. While there are many different aspects to a construction development programme the paper discusses the issues of international assistance, training programmes, equipment provision, contracts and payments, programme objectives, contractor selection. Lessons are drawn from previous project experience in order to propose guidelines for future contractor development projects.

Notes: This article examines contracting-out in practice in public health and water services in Ghana. Drawing on in-depth interviews and discussions with knowledgeable officials, complemented by documentary analysis and secondary sources, the article provides insights into some of the institutional constraints and capacity issues that policy-makers and implementers need to be aware of in seeking to introduce and implement contracting-out policies in a developing country context. Though contracting-out in Ghana's health and water sectors has so far been used in the provision of support services, attempts to broaden its application to include the direct provision of core services raise a number of capacity questions related to regulatory frameworks, enforcement and monitoring mechanisms, development of management information systems and skills for contract management. The capacity and willingness of the private sector to take on direct provision of public services are also crucial.

Notes: The focus of the paper is on the relationship between General Practitioners (GPs) and central government. This relationship dates from the introduction of national health insurance in the UK. From the outset it had an impact on GPs' medical role, their professional status and income. The structure created in 1911 meant that GPs operated as franchisees and, notwithstanding Labour's policy objective of creating a salaried service, this role continued, effectively unchanged, after the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. General Practice was also the poor relation in contrast to hospital medicine, a feature intensified by the priorities of the NHS. These forces meant that GPs had a dual role: that of clinician and gatekeeper to specialist hospital services, a role in which they exercised substantial clinical freedom: and running a small business, a feature which was exaggerated by the absence of grant aid to improve premises prior to the Family Doctor Charter of 1965. This structural relationship has been progressively transformed by changes in the 1980s and 1990s. On the one hand the emphasis on cost control has seen central government attempting to combine a financial with a clinical gatekeeping role. The crucial change in this respect is the creation of GP fundholding which, in turn, could be seen to have implications for the subordinate status of GPs within the medical profession. However, this has been combined with trends to greater measures of control over GPs. Of central importance in this respect were the changes introduced by the 1990 GP contract. The contract involved an attempt to substantially reduce clinical autonomy by building in much more detailed contractual duties with respect for example, to health promotion activities. This was combined with the use of financial incentives to reach, for example, immunization targets. Control over clinical autonomy has also involved constraints over prescribing and the shift from Family Practitioner Committees to Family Health Service Authorities. The rationale for this shift is the move from an administrative to a managerial body, acting as the agent of central government in enforcing the contract and imposing financial norms. GPs are thus to be made managerially accountable. The paper analyses the place of general practitioners in central government's approach to health strategy and examines the tensions generated by the combination of conferring new powers on GPs and increasing controls over them. These tensions are related to current disputes over out-of-hours working and attempts by GPs to redefine a "core of service" approach to their job. The ambiguities of reliance on professionals combined with the desire to exert greater controls is traced in the recent policy statement by the Secretary of State Primary Care: The Future (1996). The paper thus aims to contribute to the critical discussion of the impact of central government managerialist initiative on key professional groups in the welfare state.

Notes: Describes the reorganization of social services in Munich, Germany, from 1992 to 1996. A model of co-operation between different providers of public services was introduced. Its use was confirmed in 1997.

Notes: The UK public sector has had a long-standing policy commitment to equal opportunities, alongside limited access to managerial positions for women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. In place of equal opportunities, a new paradigm, managing diversity, originating in the USA, has been proposed. This paper examines five areas of difference between equal opportunities and managing diversity: an internal or external driving force; an operational or strategic focus; the perception of difference; the focus of action; and finally, the epistemological basis. The paper discusses the application of this model to the public sector, discussing power and equity, the relevance of the "business case" argument, the focus on customer responsiveness, and a possible explanation for the 1980s backlash. There are case studies of an NHS Trust and a local authority. The paper discusses necessary attitudinal changes and skills to implement the managing diversity paradigm in the public sector.

Notes: This paper deals with the management of complex environmental turbulence and organizational change in English local government. Research has been conducted to assess the perceptions of the strategic élites, chief executives and chief officers, to these change processes. However, no work had been undertaken to assess the extent of support and ownership amongst non-élite actors, the middle managers and street-level operatives, in English local authorities towards these élite change strategies. This paper identifies that different management styles do impact upon the roles of these non-élites in a number of distinct ways. It provides evidence that one of the management styles is more appropriate than the others identified in the paper in terms of effecting successful change management.

Notes: Are quality initiatives in the public sector part of a political project or can they be a legitimate goal? These contrasting, but not necessarily incompatible, interpretations will be examined in this paper, first, by reviewing approaches to quality and their application in the public sector in general, and second, with reference to a case study based on assessment of the Government Purchasing Agency (Northern Ireland) against the European Quality Model (EQM) criteria. Through this, the paper concludes that quality improvement can be a legitimate goal and political project at the same time; that private sector quality models need to be adapted and integrated with other methods to fit public sector organisations; and finally, that their application to a commercially oriented departmental agency (whose customers are largely internal rather than the public at large) is easier than to other public sector organisations in more contentious, politically charged areas.

Notes: The impact of strategic procurement is driven by the contribution of the function to overall corporate performance and its interface relationships. The actual impact on corporate performance in the UK government sector has been neither empirically substantiated nor rigorously examined. This paper provides empirical evidence that much progress has been achieved in strategic procurement in government and suggests areas for continuous improvement.

Notes: A key concern in debates about local government structure has centred around the competing claims for democracy, usually seen to require small units based on recognised communities of interest, and those of administrative efficiency or the instrumental requirements of the centre, usually seen to require larger units which can encompass socio-geographical change and the functional requirements of large-scale welfare provision. Britain provides perhaps the best example of this issue being settled in favour of the latter claim with structure being designed to reflect changing patterns of economic interaction between people and the technical requirements of service delivery. Although the various recommended changes in structure have recognised the importance of a sense of community to local government the dominant considerations have been those of economic rationality and the scale required for the delivery of services. Thus local government structure has been determined by functional requirement, with the economic welfare of communities being equated to total welfare. The adoption of a postmodernist stance however, provides the opportunity to reintroduce the concept of spiritual community and for claiming that the maximisation of economic welfare is not necessarily the same as the maximisation of total welfare. Postmodernist arguments are used in this paper to suggest local government structures which contain units of varying sizes. To define community in terms of welfare maximisation in this way would allow the combination of economic, social, physiological and psychological welfare. It is argued that such a definition would help the development of a local government structure which is not purely instrumental but which also promotes ownership and involvement. This approach is equally applicable not only where an instrumental attitude has prevailed, but also allows for the potential to re-define "traditional" community bases for Local Government.

Notes: This paper examines the operating environment of non-metropolitan urban water authorities in Victoria, Australia. It analyses the policy framework within which the industry operates and demonstrates that this framework generates inconsistencies between central agency driven economic outcomes and local politician driven social efficacy outcomes. The paper poses a solution based in a new leadership mindset of entrepreneurially driven core business centres providing co-ordination rather than direct services and the adoption of an approach recognising discontinuous change rather than the parameters founding "new managerialism" driven by Australian public sector reform agencies. The author asserts that these businesses will be required to paradigm shift - to move from service providers to service managers, to develop networks and strategic alliances with service providers and to embrace mindsets beyond the structured "new managerialism" of the 1980s. The paper draws on studies concerning network organisations, loosely coupled clusters and quality, customer focused solutions. It analyses the need for the implementation of the mindset underpinning these organisations into the sector.

Notes: This article sets out the main conclusions of a research project into how UK local authorities are managing within limited resources (MLR). Frameworks are developed to aid authorities to plan their approaches to MLR and to situate what they have already done and what they plan to do within a wider portfolio of tactics and strategies. An evaluation is made of how well local government is learning its way through to getting "more from less" and of what local authority support agencies need to do to help authorities to accelerate their learning. Finally, the authors argue that existing learning systems like benchmarking and quality management, while developing rapidly in local government, need further, significant refinement if the costs and benefits of resource management strategies are to be systematically evaluated.

Notes: This paper establishes the link between institutional development (ID) and process consulting. It does so by recognising ID's concern for client exploration and learning and process consulting's focus on client ownership and increased capacity. In that context, the paper outlines the modalities for generating organisation and efficiency reforms in the Tanzanian civil service. It highlights the central role of middle-ranking civil servants in the twin process of learning and the building of capacity. It looks at the resulting impact of the organisation and efficiency reforms. Finally, it reviews the process consulting experience in terms of the often elusive states of growing ownership and commitment to the reform process. Both are prerequisites for sustainability; an enduring challenge in the developing world.

Notes: In many countries state ownership of public utilities is being abandoned in favour of private ownership with state regulation. To prevent monopoly abuse, regulatory structures are being created for the telecommunications, gas, electricity and water and sewerage sectors. From 1984 the UK privatised its major utilities and introduced a form of regulation that is proving to be a model for other countries. This paper looks at the performance of UK privatised utilities and the role of regulation in improving performance. It also considers the important subject of regulatory governance. The paper concludes that regulatory governance depends on the institutional context of regulation and that one country's regulatory system cannot be successfully transferred to another country with a very different set of institutional constraints without appropriate adaptation.

Notes: The White Paper on Local Government in South Africa signals the intention to establish a performance management system for the sector. This paper suggests that current approaches to performance management, as used, for instance, in the UK public sector, would need substantial revision to be supportive of effective municipal development in South Africa. There is a need for low cost systems that fit the capabilities of the administrations that exist in many municipalities. A focus upon how municipalities manage their governance role would in the end be the best way of ensuring that liveable communities as well as improved services are created in the towns and rural areas of South Africa. The paper provides some ideas on the design of such a performance management or enhancement system. Its principal features would be that it is: based on mutual organisational learning and problem solving; using simple, indirect, low cost information gathering and dissemination techniques that are within the capabilities of existing leaders and officials; focused on processes in priority to outcomes.

Notes: This paper begins by describing the trends and drivers of privatisation, as well as the benefits derived from privatisation programmes. It then considers the ownership debate, i.e. whether superior performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) can be achieved under state ownership. While empirical work shows that private ownership is associated with superior performance, the experience of Singapore is a clear example to the contrary. Singapore Telecom is described as a case where state ownership combined with several contextual factors has led to sustained world-class performance, in spite of global trends such as deregulation and technological advancement which create turmoil and reduce profitability in the telecommunications industry. These contextual factors include a clear corporate strategy combined with an efficiency focus by Singapore Telecom, a long-term national policy of infrastructure improvement as a strategic resource for national economic development, and a robust economic and regulatory environment. The implications of the Singapore experience are then discussed.

Notes: This paper analyzes how public administration may improve the service it offers to citizens through a suitable organizational culture; for this purpose, it starts by studying the specific features of the culture of public administration. In this respect, it analyzes the existing taxonomies in public administration, the role of culture in these agencies and how a diagnosis of such culture is made. Then, it describes the problems of bureaucratic culture, typical of many public agencies, and briefly describes the features of a public service, citizen-oriented culture. Finally, it proposes a specific methodology for the modification of a bureaucratic culture into a culture based on the notion of serving the citizen, together with an analysis of when modification is necessary.

Notes: Explores how globalisation has affected Australian public policy in general and higher education policy in particular. Considers the impacts of globalisation on Australian universities, and examines the ways in which university leaders invoke the rhetoric of globalisation to set the foundations for institutional change, pursue the repositioning of their institutions, and to develop a new discourse for the sector. The effects of globalisation on Australia and its universities are seen to be significant, and to impact in both direct and indirect ways.

Notes: There is a a great deal of literature on performance measurement and accountability in government. Governments around the world have invested large amounts to develop performance measurement systems, the results of which are mediocre at best. There is also a growing recognition that financial performance measures alone measure only limited aspects of an organisation's performance. To improve performance measurement systems and accountability to different stakeholders, non-financial indicators have been developed for the for-profit sector. Prior research in the local government sector in the state of Victoria, Australia, showed low levels of accountability and very little performance measurement taking place. However, significant changes have been imposed on the sector, enhancing local and central accountability, making it more business-like, and focussing on the need to measure performance. This research studied the extent to which performance measurement systems are currently being used in practice in Victorian local government, the factors which lead to the use of performance measurement and the extent of non-financial indicators. The results revealed a substantial increase in the level of use of performance measurement in the sector, related to increased emphasis on accountability and organisational changes imposed on the sector by the state government. The performance of both people and programs is now being measured. Although there is an emphasis on financial and budgetary measures for financial accountability, the use of non-financial measures in determining outcome accountability is increasing. Customer service and quality are two of the areas in which non-financial performance measures are being developed.

Notes: The 1990s have seen wide-ranging culture changes throughout the public sector, introducing a business focus and a customer-led approach, resulting in the recognition that organisations must invest training and development in their greatest asset - their staff. In this context, there is a growing trend to use universities as external providers of training and development, reflecting the need for continuous professional development, for flexibility and for continuous adaptability to change. Explores a spectrum of partnership arrangements between universities and public sector organisations, and discusses the mutually beneficial outcomes which can result, including the development of continuous learning, culture change, organisational development initiatives and appropriate restructuring. Presents three case studies to illustrate these developmental partnerships and concludes by offering significant learning points to those public sector organisations planning similar partnerships to facilitate management development.

Notes: Contemporary debates over the future direction of retirement pensions policy have been dominated by a polemic over the scope of, and the future balance between, the respective roles of public and private sectors in the management and delivery of benefit "entitlements". This debate has negatively judged the institutional capacity of the state sustainably to supply adequate national retirement provision. This development is viewed as problematic as it is contentious in that it seeks to abandon lessons learned from the long, albeit currently underestimated, historical pedigree of public-private partnership in institutional pensions provision. Against the ascendancy of World Bank-driven attitudes regarding the limitations of "public"' pensions provision, it is argued that due recognition be given to the ongoing capacity of state sectors to contribute positively to the management and delivery of old-age pensions. Argues further that the social welfare-driven imperatives which led states initially to become increasingly more involved in national pensions provision remain no less salient today and for the future, and are particularly salient for developing economies with poorly developed private financial sectors.

Notes: The impact of strategic procurement is driven by the contribution of the function to overall corporate performance and its interface relationships. The actual impact on corporate performance in the UK further and higher education sectors has been neither empirically substantiated nor rigorously examined. This research was carried out in UK fiscal year 1998/1999 with 60 UK further education (FE) and 40 UK higher education (HE) institutions participating. This paper provides empirical evidence that progress has been achieved in strategic procurement in FE and HE and suggests areas for continuous improvement.

Notes: The paper is centred through an examination of a short piece of recorded talk between managers and shop stewards within a UK National Health Service (NHS) Trust, relating to the manner in which one of the shop stewards attempted to get the managers to accede to a request he made for changes to the wording of a section of the Trust's disciplinary procedure. In examining this piece of talk, the paper first contextualises the Trust through the decentralisation process of the early 1990s. The decentralisation process clearly did not introduce formal negotiation into NHS units, but instead increased the scope of formal negotiation encounters. The paper argues that there was an increased importance for persuasion as the need to gain others' assent on industrial relations matters at the local level was significantly increased. The paper analyses the dynamics of one particular negotiating encounter between two managers and two shop stewards. In analysing this, the paper focuses through rhetoric. In coming through a rhetorical framework, the paper highlights the need for managers, when negotiating, to be alert to the implied elements of the arguments of those across the negotiating table. Concludes by also understanding the rhetoric of the encounter in the light of the marketisation of the NHS during the 1990s.

Notes: The literature on managerial competences has not sufficiently addressed the value contents of competences and the generic features of public managers. This article presents a model of five competence areas: task competence, professional competence in substantive policy field, professional competence in administration, political competence and ethical competence. Each competence area includes both value and instrumental competences. Relatively permanent value competences are understood as commitments. The assumptions of new public management question not only the instrumental competences but also the commitments of traditional public service. The efficacy of human resource development is limited in learning new commitments. Apart from structural reforms that speed up the process, the friction in the change of commitments is seen as slow cultural change in many public organisations. This is expressed by transitional tensions in task commitment, professional commitment, political commitment, and ethical commitment of public managers.