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The purpose of this paper is to develop an eight-step procedure – transaction formalism protocol (TFP) – in the area of infrastructure management. The proposed TFP is developed from two perspectives: TFP Specification (conceptual) and TFP Tool (application). This paper introduces the TFP Specification and discusses the TFP Tool in detail.

To develop the proposed TFP Tool, a five-step methodology was used: identify and select existing standards, benchmark standards, link and build on these standards, develop the proposed TFP Tool and validate the protocol.

The TFP Specification defines each step as a function for which inputs, controls, mechanisms, tools/techniques and outputs are specified. The TFP Tool comprises a set of forms and guidance that the transaction development personnel, including transaction analysts, transaction designers, software developers, process modellers and industry experts, will use to define transactions in infrastructure management domain.

The proposed TFP Tool enables transaction development personnel to define transactions effectively and efficiently for information and communication technology (ICT)-based solutions through defining information in a structured, consistent and easy way.

The TFP Tool was built on existing standards incorporating their shortcomings, including lack of a step-by-step procedure to help guide the personnel what to do next, lack of transaction monitoring and improvement steps and lack of standardised forms to collect information in a prescribed format for implementation in ICT-based collaboration systems. The proposed Tool was evaluated and found to be feasible, usable and useful.

The purpose is to develop and implement a systematic approach to define the level of service (LoS) consistently and efficiently. The framework will assist professionals to make decisions based on service performance and transform to a service-centric decision-making paradigm in the domain of asset management.

A three-step approach is used to develop the framework. A comprehensive literature review is conducted (Step 1), which is followed by a discussion with experts (Step 2). Based on the desktop review and field discovery, the framework is developed and implemented (Step 3).

The framework represents key components in four phases. The first phase identifies the potential service customers. The second phase defines the customer values and LoS measures at three levels: organisation, customer and technical. Implementation is done in the third phase, whereas monitoring and evaluation as part of continuous improvement are accomplished in the fourth phase.

The challenges of this research work are categorised as follows. Strategic challenges focus on the awareness and alignment of strategic goals. Informational and financial challenges discuss non-availability of related information and cost-effectiveness of data collection, respectively. Human challenges discuss the availability of adequate human resources with an adequate skill set. Others discuss the non-availability of defined processes and procedures.

Theoretically, the framework represents key performance management concepts to develop an integrated approach to define the acceptable LoS effectively. Practically, professionals can use the framework to define the LoS consistently and efficiently.

Existing guides and frameworks represent a set of performance management concepts; however, these do not specify an integrated approach to define, align and integrate the LoS or performance goals. The proposed framework is developed to fill this gap.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an ontology of eco or natural assets to represent eco asset knowledge at two levels: eco asset metal model and eco asset ontology (EA_Onto). The three objectives of this paper are to: define eco assets explicitly to reach a common understanding of the terms; evaluate the ontology; and discuss a potential area of application.

A seven-step methodology was used to develop the proposed ontology: define the scope; develop the eco asset meta model (EA_MM), define taxonomy, code ontology, capture ontology, evaluate ontology and document ontology.

The EA_MM was developed to represent eco asset domain knowledge, which was further extended to develop the EA_Onto, explicitly defining the eco asset knowledge in asset management. As a part of evaluation, it was found that the knowledge representation is consistent, concise, clear, complete and correct.

Theoretically, the proposed ontology is a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in asset management. Practically, the knowledge representation provides a common understanding of eco assets for asset management experts. In addition, it will be used in applications for effective eco asset management.

The current literature lacks explicit declaration of eco assets, how they are related to built environment for effective integration and how asset management functions are to be applied to accomplish effective eco asset management. Presently, eco assets are managed on an ad hoc basis, which need to be explicitly defined through developing an EA_Onto for implementation in applications for effective eco asset management.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply an ontology-supported asset information integrator system (AIIS) in the domain of infrastructure management. The two objectives are: first, to describe how different ontologies developed as part of this research support the design of message templates (MTs) that were implemented in the AIIS; and second, to explain the development and application of the prototype system for tangible capital asset (TCA) reporting.

The proposed system was developed in the MS SharePoint platform using a four-step methodology: create a web site and library; review and modify MTs; design and configure workflows; and add functionalities.

First, the architecture, methodology, and evaluation of the two ontologies: Transaction Domain Ontology and Tangible Capital Asset Ontology, developed as part of this research work were briefly introduced to describe how both the ontologies supported the design of MTs that were implemented in the AIIS. Second, the AIIS was successfully developed and applied in the domain of infrastructure management for the Asset Inventory and Condition Assessment Reporting.

The development of the AIIS would enable industry experts to exchange the tangible capital information. The built-in search engine and history services would help the experts to search a transaction and track the transaction history. The real-time visualisation of the data would help in decision making.

Infrastructure agencies use diversified information systems to manage infrastructure systems. Due to propriety nature of the information systems, the TCA data generated is heterogeneous and inconsistent, which make it difficult to exchange with other organisations. Also, the existing applications focus on processing and managing the TCA data for a variety of tasks; however, lack to support data exchange with other organisations. This emphasises the gap that requires the development of an ontology-supported collaboration system in the domain of infrastructure asset management.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a step-by-step procedure, referred to as transaction formalism protocol (TFP) that the transaction development personnel will use to formalise transactions (communications) in the domain of infrastructure management. The protocol is developed at two levels of abstraction: TFP specification and TFP tool. This paper presents the TFP specification in detail and introduces the TFP tool briefly. The specific focus of this paper is on the development process of the protocol specification.

A four-step approach is used to develop the TFP; including, identify and select existing standards, benchmark standards, link and build on these standards, and develop TFP. To develop the protocol, the function modelling standard, integration definition function modelling (IDEF0) is used. The IDEF0 treats each step of the protocol as a function.

The TFP specification and TFP tool are developed using the proposed methodology. The TFP specification specifies inputs, controls, mechanisms, tools/techniques, and outputs required in each step, whereas the TFP tool defines forms for each step of the protocol that the transaction development personnel will use to define transactions in the domain of infrastructure management.

The development of the TFP would enable the transaction development personnel (including transaction analysts, transaction designers, software developers, process modellers, and industry experts) to formalise transactions effectively and efficiently for the development of ICT-based collaboration systems.

The proposed protocol incorporates shortcomings of existing standards. In contrast to other design standards that focus on either design or design cum implementation of the work processes and communications, the proposed TFP includes transaction monitoring and improvements in addition to the design and implementation of communications. Unlike other standards, the TFP is a detailed step-by-step procedure to ease its usability and understandability.

Neonatal healthcare is a critical issue in public health management. The purpose of this paper is to analyze neonatal health in South Asia. This paper specifically examines the neonatal period of an infant's development, the time from birth to the first 28 days, and the importance of providing each newborn with the necessary vaccines, treatments, and care they may require. In addition to examining neonatal health and those diseases/problems that afflict children without proper care, a closer look will be taken at Southern Asia, where research shows nearly 75 percent of the neonatal deaths that take place in the world, occur.

An extensive literature review using recently published works, government documents, and organizational reports is employed. The research is based on case studies of six South Asian countries and several international participating agencies and non‐governmental organizations working on the improvement of neonatal health.

The research shows that the majority of the countries in this region lack the funds necessary to provide aide, health services, and other preventative care to their populations. Without the global attention, intervention, and resources provided by these organizations, any progress made in the area of neonatal health in these regions will continue to be hampered. A social marketing framework designed to address this critical public health challenge is presented.

In the modern world, much advancement has been made in terms of neonatal and maternal health and well‐being. As the years have passed, the world has seen many improvements on clinical procedures, health policies and regulations, the quality of training for doctors, nurses, and related specialists, and the various pieces of medical equipment used throughout those hospitals and clinics located within the developing world. Unfortunately, data provided by various research efforts have shown that neonatal mortality continues to occur at high rates throughout countries in South Asia. Individuals in these countries lack access to health care, health education, and other essential components that influence a mother's ability to produce a healthy child and keep that child safe and illness/issue free throughout this fragile period.