Communication Services Research Articles

Analysis of MAXIM Application Service Quality on User Satisfaction using the E-Service Quality Method

Service quality is the comprehensive support provided by system developers to users to ensure safety, comfort, empathy and responsiveness in meeting user expectations. There are still complaints about the Maxim application in the Google Playstore review from January 16 to February 12, 2024, inaccurate pick-up or destination, inconsistent prices, slow service response so that users have difficulty getting solutions to problems. Supported by the INDEF (Institute for Development of Economics and Finance) survey on DataIndonesia.id that the popularity of Maxim's services is lower than Gojek and Grab. Thus, it is essential to employ the E-Servqual approach to perform research to determine whether the services have satisfied users. Because its dimensions are pertinent and completely satisfy the requirements of assessing the quality of electronic services, E-Service Quality is the most thorough and integrative online service quality model. Efficiency, fulfillment, system availability, privacy, responsiveness, compensation, and interaction are the seven factors used, while user satisfaction is the dependent variable. This kind of study collects data using nonprobability sampling approaches in conjunction with quantitative methods. wherein demographic components are chosen according to specific standards that are pertinent to the study's goals. Considering the findings of the analysis, the 7 proposed hypotheses consisted of 3 accepted hypotheses and 4 rejected hypotheses because the significance value alpha (α = 0.05) and 4 hypotheses rejected because the significance value alpha (α = 0.05. Overall, the quality of Maxim's service towards user satisfaction is not good in terms of the variables of efficiency, system availability, responsiveness, and contact. It is hoped that there will be improvements in the Maxim application such as application usage, application functions on the displayed page, application response, and contact services for communication

Tackling Hate Speech in the Digital Space: Germany’s Plans on an Act Against Digital Violence and its Impact on Ethno-Cultural Minorities

Abstract The increasing significance of online communication services is not yet matched by adequate protections for particularly vulnerable groups, such as minorities, who are disproportionately affected by various forms of digital violence. This article examines a legislative initiative introduced by the German government in 2023, which aims to supplement the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and address certain enforcement gaps in safeguarding individual rights. The analysis reveals that the initiative still faces substantial legal challenges, especially given the harmonizing nature of the DSA, which may require a more refined approach to its ambitious goals. However, a review of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law concerning the state’s obligation to protect individuals from hate speech suggests that the primary issues outlined in the draft should continue to be pursued. The article contextualizes the initiative within the socio-technical environment where ethno-cultural minorities are targeted online, particularly through hate speech. By situating the initiative within the current socio-legal framework and incorporating a comparative perspective – drawing on regulatory models from Canada, the UK, and Australia – it highlights key challenges that lie ahead.

Administrative and legal regulations and standards for the use of individual armor protection

The article examines the issues of administrative and legal norms and standards for the use of personal body armor. The study explores the history of the development and evolution of ballistic protection equipment such as bulletproof vests and helmets. Body armor protects a person’s torso, shoulders, neck and groin from bullets and shrapnel. The helmet protects the head from falls, blows, blast waves, small shrapnel, pistol bullets, and small arms bullets. In addition, personal protective equipment includes bulletproof shields, impact shields, arm and leg protection kits, ballistic (tactical) glasses with ballistic safety standards. It has been established that today there are many types of vests with different characteristics that affect their usage, such as size, type, purpose, and material. The main indicator is the protection class, which determines the threats the vest can protect against. The class is defined by protective properties against various small arms ammunition. National and international standards for personal protective equipment are analyzed. Ukrainian national standards for personal body armor are comparable to international standards (modified according to the standards of the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom). According to the current Ukrainian standard DSTU 8782:2018, body armor is classified into three types by structural design: Type A – soft (flexible); Type B – semi-rigid; and Type C – rigid body armor with protective structures based on various protective elements, and there are six protection classes. The study examines the administrative and legal norms for the use of personal body armor by the National Police of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, and the Military Law Enforcement Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It concludes that administrative and legal norms for the use of such equipment are established by regulatory documents of the agencies vested with the relevant powers, which primarily belong to Ukraine’s security and defense sector.

Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality: A Study on BRELA in Tanzania

This study focused on assessing customer satisfaction with the quality of services provided by Tanzania's Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA), particularly its Communication Unit in Dar es Salaam. The research had three main objectives: identifying frequently inquired services at the Communication Unit, evaluating customer satisfaction levels, and gathering customer perspectives. The study aimed to assess the level of customer satisfaction and service quality as the result of BRELA's efforts to enhance services and introduce online options in 2018. Using the SERVQUAL scale, the study examined seven service quality dimensions: Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Competence, Access, Communication, and Understanding. A quantitative approach was adopted, involving a survey with convenience sampling to gather data from diverse respondents, including entrepreneurs, company owners, and prospective business starters in Tanzania. To ensure a balanced representation, the study received 20 calls daily at the call center for 19 days. Data collection involved a coded Excel questionnaire installed on call center computers. Analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel. Among the findings, Company Registrations emerged as the most requested service, with 242 out of 384 respondents seeking it. Respondents generally reported satisfaction with BRELA's services across the seven quality dimensions, and 79.2% held a positive perception of BRELA. The study recommended transforming the Communication Unit into the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Customer Service, enhancing the call center system, conducting awareness campaigns, and emphasizing adherence to the Client Service Charter. These recommendations aimed to improve BRELA's service quality, customer satisfaction, and the public.

Boosting vehicular connectivity through resource allocation algorithm based on Heterogeneous Agent Proximal Policy Optimization

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication can not only provide unrestricted inter-vehicle information transmission, but also improve spectrum utilization efficiency. However, it also brings uncontrollable co-channel interference, which can not guarantee the quality of service of V2V communication. In this paper, we propose an intelligent resource allocation scheme for V2V communication to improve vehicle connectivity. To enhance cooperation among vehicles and avoid excessive co-channel interference between them, we propose an asynchronous resource allocation method where vehicles choose to send or not to send data based on observed environmental information to ensure stable overall performance. Furthermore, we present a novel resource allocation algorithm based on Heterogeneous Agent Proximal Policy Optimization (HAPPO) to solve the resource allocation problem in asynchronous vehicular networks. The HAPPO algorithm calculates the global advantage function when each agent makes an action during the training process to ensure that the action taken contributes to the overall performance improvement. Our proposed approach improves the robustness of V2V communication by reducing co-channel interference while maintaining stable overall performance. Simulation results show that the proposed approach can effectively improve the V2V communication connectivity and reduce the packet loss rate compared with the existing methods.

Implementation of Sensors in IOT Application

In the past few decades, the importance of the Internet of things (IOT) has emerged in various fields. It is a technology that connects the Internet to all devices that are incapable to connect to the Internet. Therefore, this paper aims to provide convenient realization of sensors in the IOT system. The idea based on the start of the IOT, as it is a modern idea that combines ease of work and development, in the company of itself and benefitting of limited communications such as short message service (SMS) and broad communications such as wireless fidelity (WIFI), toward ensure robust and applicable sensors that can be serve the community in several aspects, predominantly people with special needs. The system uses Arduino, event stream processing (ESP), sensors and global system for mobile (GSM) to control devices. The system is simulated by using an electronic circuit via Google assistant and messages application.

Modelling and Optimization of Wireless Signal Propagation Path-loss in the Forcados- Ogulagha Maritime Environment of Delta State, Nigeria

The deployment of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks in marine environments involves unique challenges owing to the influence of environmental conditions on signal propagation. LTE networks are meant to provide high-speed internet and communication services, which rely largely on precise pathloss modelling. This study model and optimize wireless signal propagation path-loss in the Forcados- Ogulagha maritime environment. A total of eighty base transmission stations were surveyed to measure the signal strength and four maritime locations were selected to represent a typical mixed-path environment.The traditional model was optimized using Decision Tree-Particle Swarm (DT-PSO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Random Forest-Particle Swarm (RF-PSO) methods. The results show that certain features, such as measurement distance and temperature, play a crucial role in determining path loss, providing valuable guidance for refining path loss prediction models and optimizing the performance of wireless communication systems. The research further revealed that conventional path loss models showed significant discrepancies compared to actual measurements due to the impact of terrain and topography variations on the model's ability to capture nonlinear and non-stationary path loss factors.

Louveira Digital City

The Louveira Digital City is a municipal information network designed to promote digital appications development, offering e-government services in areas such as health, education, social assistance, safety, and public works. The project began as an academic initiative focused on Louveira's Information Highway, which was presented to the City Council in August 2010. It outlines the key components of the information highway, including the optical backbone architecture, feasibility study, radio link specifications, logical network design, equipment specifications, and project budget. This digital infrastructure enables all residents to access various communication services and applications, such as data, video, and voice traffic. The network is comprised of radio and fiber optic links, designed to benefit various areas of public administration, including health, safety, education, and planning. Additionally, it aims to enhance public access to information, culture, education, and leisure, laying the groundwork for a smart city. This project showcases the implementation of the information highway in Louveira, highlighting how academic institutions can contribute to the economic, social, and technological development of society and serving as a model for similar initiatives.

Incorporation of software in the life cycle assessment of an ICT service: A case study of an ICT service for energy efficiency in the transport sector

AbstractInformation communication and technology (ICT) services and solutions can improve resource efficiency in a variety of sector, but also result in direct environmental impacts. This study assesses the direct environmental impacts of an ICT service that improves vehicle fuel efficiency using a cradle‐to‐grave life cycle assessment (LCA). This is one of the first studies to examine the entire life cycle of an ICT service from development to use and maintenance, with a focus on software—an aspect that is typically neglected in previous studies. The results suggest that software development and maintenance and the use of in‐vehicle communicators for data transmission have the largest environmental impacts across multiple categories. Deployed across a fleet of 150,000 vehicles over 5 years, we estimate that the ICT service is responsible for 174 tCO2e. However, this is negligible compared with the total emissions of the fleet and the potential savings from the service, given a single diesel vehicle in this fleet emits around 130 tCO2e over the same period. We explore several scenarios to reduce the footprint of the ICT service. The largest potential reduction of around one‐third is achieved by replacing in‐house servers with cloud computing in a data center located in a region with low‐carbon electricity. The study demonstrates how LCA can be used to assess the environmental impacts of ICT services and the importance of considering software in these assessments.

Fusion of Telecommunications and IT Services Boosted by Application Programming Interfaces

Our long journey on the road of telecommunications is continuously evolving. We have experienced several technological changes, modernizations, optimizations, and various mergers in the past decades. Virtualization and ‘cloudification’ of legacy telecommunication equipment has made communication networks not only more flexible, but also opened new doors. Brand new types of services have become available thanks to the ongoing fusion of the two domains of telecommunications and IT (Information Technology). This overview paper first discusses the evolution of services with an enhanced focus on mobile networks. Then, the possibilities offered by IT are shown. Finally, some examples are given of how Communication Service Providers and end users can benefit from these recent changes.

INTERCONNECTION LINK ADDITIONS TOWARDS COMMUNICATION NETWORK CONSOLIDATION

The ever-increasing demand for modern communication services and the rising cost of capital and operating expenditures have led to interest in multi-operator network collaborations. These network operators manage different network domains and infrastructures, such that their topologies may be disjointed from each other, and require the addition of intermediate interconnection links for the domains to communicate with each other. The main contribution of this paper is the proposal of an integer linear program for finding the optimum set of interconnection links to be added to the multi-domain networks such that the multi-domain networks become a connected graph, while minimizing either (1) the total length of added interconnection links, (2) the total shortest path length between all the border nodes of the multi-domain networks, or (3) the total number of shortest hop counts between all the border nodes of the multi-domain networks. The proposed integer linear program is shown to find the optimum solution under various properties for the multi-domain networks, albeit with increased computation time as the size of the problem increases. Simulation results using randomly generated multi-domain networks show a trade-off in terms of length of added links, shortest path length and shortest path hop count for each specific objective function.

Comprehensive cost analysis of voice call recording storage with and without NAS and GSM gateway integration via unified communication server

This study is an extension of existing research, which previously demonstrated the effective integration of Network Attached Storage (NAS) with a GSM Gateway into Unified Communication (UC) Platform, thereby realizing remarkable enhancements in system scalability, data security, privacy, network and overall server performance. Although the technical and operational benefits of this integration were well understood and documented, however there was an important gap that is cost analysis. This paper addresses the gap by providing a comprehensive cost analysis of voice call archiving with and without NAS and GSM Gateway integration using UC. The analysis considers essential financial factors, including initial investment, ongoing operational costs, and long-term savings due to lower maintenance and scalability. While the findings reveal that the upfront costs of NAS and GSM Gateway integration are higher, these are offset by long-term operational efficiencies and system resilience, leading to substantial financial gains. The evaluation results offer organizations a strategic model to assess the cost-effectiveness of using this NAS-GSM Gateway integrated approach for voice data archiving in UC environments. This custom-costing solution provides a much-needed holistic perspective on the combined technical and financial benefits.

Research on path planning in UAV-assisted emergency communication

The rapid development of UAV communication technology makes it have application potential in wireless systems. However, for the optimization problem of UAV base station providing communication for ground personnel in the disaster area under special natural disasters, traditional deep reinforcement learning is used. Algorithms cannot solve such problems well. This article proposes the AD3QN algorithm combined with the attention mechanism, which can communicate with disaster victims on the ground better and more quickly, providing better information collection for rescue missions and completing the task of communication optimization. In the mission simulation environment, in order to make the environment more realistic, we innovatively designed the ground user distribution model, air-to-ground communication model, and electromagnetic interference model. Finally, the effect of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by comparing different deep reinforcement learning algorithms. The results show that the algorithm we proposed can provide communication services faster and has higher practicability in terms of algorithm.

Comunicação pública nos municípios brasileiros: canais, serviços e atendimento ao cidadão

How does the municipal public administration communicate to citizens in Brazil? Based on this research question, this study overviews remote communicational services from the city halls in the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities following data from the Municipal Basic Information Survey in 2019 and other investigations about the use of internet in the country. Its establishes a dialogue between public communication and the municipality. This study localizes gaps the public administration must address in its interface with the population.

Overview of Space-Based Laser Communication Missions and Payloads: Insights from the Autonomous Laser Inter-Satellite Gigabit Network (ALIGN)

This paper examines the growing adoption of laser communication (lasercom) in space missions and payloads for identifying emerging trends and key technology drivers of future optical communications satellite systems. It also presents a comprehensive overview of commercially available and custom-designed lasercom terminals, outlining their characteristics and specifications to meet the evolving demands of global satellite networks. The analysis explores the technical considerations and challenges associated with integrating lasercom terminals into LEO constellations and the Inter-satellite communications service provision in LEO due to their power, size, and weight constraints. By analyzing advancements in CubeSat lasercom technology designed to cater for the emergence of future mega constellations of interacting small satellites, the paper underscores its promising role in establishing high-performance satellite communication networks for future space exploration and data transmission. In addition, a brief overview of our ALIGN planned mission is provided, which highlights the main key operational features in terms of PAT and link budget analysis.

Development of Traffic Scheduling Based on TSN in Smart Substation Devices

Smart substations are an important trend in substation construction. With increasing data traffic, it is difficult for the traditional Ethernet network to meet the real-time requirements of control information in smart substations. Hence, in this paper, a deterministic network architecture for substations based on time-sensitive networks (TSN) has been developed in order to realize the domain-wide time synchronization and efficient real-time communication of the “three-layer and two-network” model in smart substations. Furthermore, a design scheme for substation automation equipment based on TSN is proposed. The proposed device realizes the timely transmission of real-time control information packets by utilizing the Earliest TxTime First (ETF) Qdisc technology of Linux and the timing sending capability of Intel 210 NIC. Furthermore, it collaborates with the time-aware shaper (TAS) traffic scheduling mechanism of TSN switches to ensure the end-to-end deterministic delay of time-sensitive traffic. As a result, it provides efficient real-time communication services with low latency and jitter for smart substation automation systems.

Avaliação institucional da política de transparência da Assembleia Legislativa do Ceará: percepções dos deputados e servidores

This study evaluates on the perceptions of parliamentarians and civil servants about the transparency policy of the Legislative Assembly of the state of Ceará. Its methodology consisted of applying an electronic questionnaire with 89.13% of the deputies and 80.21% of the employees. The perception of state deputies shows a predominance a positive view in practically all aspects. The view of the servants also describes a positive evaluation, especially among men and veterans who have worker longer in the communication services of the institution.

Communication, Socialization, and Literacy for Adults With Developmental Disabilities: An Interview Study of Parents' Perspectives and Experiences.

The study highlights the significance of continuous support and services in communication, socialization, and literacy skills for adults with developmental disabilities (DDs). The aim of the study was to gather in-depth information on the individualized needs, lived experiences, and expectations of adults with DD by interviewing their parents. A total of 14 parents of adults with DD participated in one-on-one semistructured interviews. During the interviews, parents were asked to describe (a) their children's current communication, socialization, reading and writing skills; (b) the types of communication, socialization, and literacy support their children were receiving; and (c) the types of support that their children needed. Interviews were video- and audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes and eight subthemes: (1) insufficient support and services for adults with DD (i.e., lack of competent professionals and lack of literacy support), (2) approaches that the parents attempted for their children with DD (i.e., parents' responsibilities, technologies, and pseudoscience), and (3) recommendations for ongoing support and services (i.e., novel technologies, social media, and motivation). The study highlights crucial gaps between the participating parents' desire for individualized, consistent, and innovative support and services for their adult children with DD and scarcity of resources in communication, socialization, and literacy. The dearth of evidence-based support and resources leads to easy access to pseudoscience. Future research is warranted to develop innovative, customized, and highly motivating programs in communication, socialization, and literacy for adults with DD. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27214407.

DOCTOR-PATIENT COMMUNICATION IN KOSOVO HEALTHCARE SERVICES: A LINGUISTIC CASE STUDY OF DOCTORS’ PERCEPTIONS

This case study examines the perceptions of doctors in Kosovo institutions regarding doctor-patient communication from a linguistic perspective. A sample of doctors participated in the study by completing a questionnaire with 16 items, 14 of which had yes-or-no answers, and 2 of which were open-ended. The study found that doctors generally have a positive perception of doctor-patient communication in Kosovo, but they also face some challenges, including patients' health literacy, administrative issues, and patients' prejudices toward doctors. However, most doctors reported effective communication with their patients by using their names, explaining things in detail, listening to the patient's concerns, and checking for understanding. Patient consultations typically take between 15 to 20 minutes, during which doctors strive to establish a rapport with patients to ensure better treatment outcomes. Although the majority of doctors did not have any complaints about patient communication, some reported issues such as patient impatience, a lack of basic knowledge regarding the patient's health condition, a lack of health education, and resistance from some patients to be honest. These challenges underscore the need for targeted interventions to improve health education in the region. The study highlights the importance of effective communication in the healthcare environment and provides insights into the linguistic aspects of doctor-patient communication in Kosovo healthcare services. It also identifies areas for future research and practice in improving doctor-patient communication, including the development of training programs for healthcare professionals and the implementation of strategies to overcome communication barriers.

Innovative Regional Services and Heterogeneous Communication Channels: Results from the Nationwide German egePan Project for Pandemic Management.

Background: In the COVID-19 pandemic, novel regional services and communication channels emerged across all sectors of the German healthcare system. To contribute to pandemic preparedness, this study aims to describe newly established services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from a stakeholder perspective and to examine the interprofessional communication channels, applying a nationwide cross-sectional approach. Methods: A nationwide sample of German healthcare stakeholders comprising general practitioners, associations of statutory health insurance physicians, hospital medical directors, local health departments, rescue coordination centres, medical directors of emergency services, outpatient nursing services, nursing homes, community care access centres, and hospital nursing managers was surveyed. A web-based questionnaire asked for their level of participation in newly implemented regional COVID-19 services and communication channels. Stakeholders' level of recommendation was measured using the Net Promotor Score (NPS), a metric that assesses their satisfaction towards the services surveyed. Results: In total, 1312 healthcare stakeholders participated in the survey. Diagnostic centres (23.0-90.9%), COVID-19 wards in hospitals (40.5-92.1%), emergency medical vehicles designated solely for COVID-19 patients (16.5-68.4%), and crisis intervention teams (11.6-30.6%) exhibited the highest rates of engagement. The services receiving the highest recommendation for future use were COVID-19 focus practices (NPS: 33.4-43.7), COVID-19 wards in hospitals (NPS: 47.6-84.4), transportation of COVID-19 patients exclusively by predefined professional groups (NPS: 12.5-36.4), and newly implemented digitally supported nursing services (NPS: 58.3-100.0). Telephones emerged as the most frequently used communication channel (58.0-96.7%), while email was the primary digital channel (23.7-81.5%). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany experienced significant variation in the implementation of pandemic-related services across healthcare sectors, with stakeholders prioritising services built on existing healthcare structures. Developing a proactive digital infrastructure to connect healthcare professionals from different sectors is crucial for better future pandemic management.