Information And Communication Technology Systems Research Articles

How Do Socio-Demographic Patterns Define Digital Privacy Divide?

Digital privacy has become an essential component of information and communications technology (ICT) systems. There are many existing methods for digital privacy protection, including network security, cryptography, and access control. However, there is still a gap in the digital privacy protection levels available for users. This paper studies the digital privacy divide (DPD) problem in ICT systems. First, we introduce an online DPD study for understanding the DPD problem by collecting responses from 776 ICT users using crowdsourcing task assignments. Second, we propose a factor analysis-based statistical method for generating the DPD index from a set of observable DPD question variables. In particular, the DPD index provides one scaled measure for the DPD gap by exploring the dimensionality of the eight questions in the DPD survey. Third, we introduce a DPD proportional odds model for analyzing the relationship between the DPD status and the socio-demographic patterns of the users. Our results show that the DPD survey meets the internal consistency reliability with rigorous statistical measures, e.g., Cronbach's $\alpha=0.92$. Furthermore, the DPD index is shown to capture the underlying communality of all DPD variables. Finally, the DPD proportional odds model indicates a strong statistical correlation between the DPD status and the age groups of the ICT users. For example, we find that young users (15-32 years) are generally more concerned about their digital privacy than senior ones (33 years and over).

Defining Security Requirements With the Common Criteria: Applications, Adoptions, and Challenges

Advances of emerging Information and Communications Technology (ICT) technologies push the boundaries of what is possible and open up new markets for innovative ICT products and services. The adoption of ICT products and systems with security properties depends on consumers' confidence and markets' trust in the security functionalities and whether the assurance measures applied to these products meet the inherent security requirements. Such confidence and trust are primarily gained through the rigorous development of security requirements, validation criteria, evaluation, and certification. Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (often referred to as Common Criteria or CC) is an international standard (ISO/IEC 15408) for cyber security certification. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review of the CC standards and its adoptions. Adoption barriers of the CC are also investigated based on the analysis of current trends in security evaluation. Specifically, we share the experiences and lessons gained through the recent Development of Australian Cyber Criteria Assessment (DACCA) project that promotes the CC among stakeholders in ICT security products related to specification, development, evaluation, certification and approval, procurement, and deployment. Best practices on developing Protection Profiles, recommendations, and future directions for trusted cybersecurity advancement are presented.

Towards a smart water city: A comprehensive review of applications, data requirements, and communication technologies for integrated management

Smart cities are an innovate concept for managing urban cities to enhance sustainability and increase quality of life for citizens. Although urban water infrastructure (UWI) performs important functions in a city (e.g., supply of drinking water), information and communication technologies (ICT) and system-wide management of network-based UWI are not yet widely deployed. Therefore, this review summarises first both existing and potential applications related to network-based UWI, characterised by different spatial and temporal resolution of measurement and control data. Second, a comprehensive analysis of ICT is provided, which is extended with exemplary applications in the field. The analysis reveals that a coordination between intended application and usable communication technology is required to realise an efficient monitoring and control network in the field of UWI networks. To overcome this limitation, a detailed framework is developed, which can be used by researcher, network operators, and stakeholder to identify suitable communication technologies for different UWI applications or to determine possible applications for an existing ICT system. Following, the applicability of the framework is demonstrated by selected examples. As the framework also indicates, an integrated approach towards smart water cities requires the combination of different communication technologies to satisfy all specifications.

Informatization of Civil Proceedings in Poland. Conclusions de lege lata

The informatization of civil proceedings is regulated in Poland by the use of several instruments pertaining to various aspects of civil procedure. The author presents the most relevant instruments and their major provisions in the context of what may be called ‘normal’ circumstances and also as they were amended to suit the needs of the judiciary during the COVID-19 pandemic. Submission of pleadings via the dedicated ICT (information and communication technology) system of the courts is presented, as is the electronic delivery service meant to facilitate the service of procedure and the communication of procedural documents in Poland (especially in the future). The rules applicable to open hearings and recording of hearings, as well as their transmission, are presented. The relatively novel rules on the taking of electronic evidence and on rendering an ‘e-judgment’ are also referred to.

The Potential of Digital Data Collection Tools for Long-lasting Insecticide-Treated Net Mass Campaigns in Nigeria: Formative Study.

BackgroundNigeria has the world’s largest malaria burden, accounting for 27% of the world’s malaria cases and 23% of malaria mortality globally. This formative study describes the operational process of the mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) during a campaign program in Nigeria.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess whether and how digital data collection and management tools can change current practices and help resolve major implementation issues.MethodsQualitative data on the technical features and operational processes of paper-based and information and communication technology (ICT)–based systems in the Edo and Kwara states from June 2 to 30, 2017, were collected on the basis of documented operation manuals, field observations, and informant interviews. During the LLIN campaign in Edo State, we recruited 6 local government area focal persons and monitors and documented daily review meetings during household mobilization (9 days) and net distribution (5 days) to understand the major program implementation issues associated with the following three aspects: logistic issues, technical issues, and demand creation. Each issue was categorized according to the expected degree (low, mid, and high) of change by the ICT system.ResultsThe net campaign started with microplanning and training, followed by a month-long implementation process, which included household mobilization, net movement, net distribution, and end process monitoring. The ICT system can improve management and oversight issues related to data reporting and processes through user-centered interface design, built-in data quality control logic flow or algorithms, and workflow automation. These often require more than 50% of staff time and effort in the current paper-based practice. Compared with the current paper-based system, the real-time system is expected to reduce the time to payment compensation for health workers by about 20 days and produce summary campaign statistics for at least 20 to 30 days.ConclusionsThe ICT system can facilitate the measurement of population coverage beyond program coverage during an LLIN campaign with greater data reliability and timeliness, which are often compromised due to the limited workforce capacity in a paper-based system.

The Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Doctors' and Registered Nurses' Working Conditions and Clinical Work - A Cross-Sectional Study in a Norwegian Hospital.

PurposePrevious studies indicate that the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in health care organizations impairs health care professional’s working conditions and diminishes job discretion. Most of these studies, however, were designed to explore the influence of ICT exclusively on a single group of health care professionals and thereby did not consider the influence of the same technology on other groups of health care professionals. The aim of this article is to explore the influence of a fully integrated ICT system on both doctors and registered nurses within the same working environment: a high-tech hospital.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study conducted in a high-tech Norwegian hospital. Data were collected in 2016. In total, 264 registered nurses and 172 doctors responded to a questionnaire on their working conditions and experiences with ICT in clinical work. Descriptive statistics, compare means, cross-tables, Chi-square and bivariate correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.ResultsThe findings revealed differences in doctors' and registered nurses' working conditions. Registered nurses reported a statistically significant higher workload and better job content than doctors. There was no difference in job discretion between doctors and registered nurses. Both occupational groups experienced that the ICT system impairs patient contact and the quality of health services. We found statistically significant correlations between registered nurses’ and doctors’ experiences with ICT in clinical work and working conditions, whereof the strongest correlation was related to job discretion in clinical work.ConclusionThis study concludes that the impact of ICT on doctors’ and registered nurses’ working conditions in a hospital depends on the experiences of ICT in clinical work. In consequence, it is recommended to involve doctors and registered nurses in the implementation of ICT in hospitals.

How COVID-19 reshaped quality of life in cities: A synthesis and implications for urban planning

This paper synthesizes knowledge on how the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic reshaped the relationship between cities and quality of life. The possible impacts of cities on seven domains of quality of life – travel, leisure, work, social relationships, residential well-being, emotional responses, and health – during COVID-19 are reviewed. Findings indicate that the role of transport and land use, urban nature, public space, facilities and services, housing, and information and communications technology (ICT) in quality of life in cities was transformed during COVID-19. Access to healthcare facilities and services and local amenities; opportunities for walking and cycling; COVID-19-secure public transport; access to a car; urban blue or green space and access to nearby nature; easy access to open public space; living in a dwelling of sufficient size and quality; private or communal outdoor areas; and ICT infrastructure and systems possibly helped to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 on quality of life in cities. Implications for urban planning and policy arise from the COVID-19 crisis, shedding light on ways to address inequities, support vulnerable groups, and improve quality of life in cities in times of pandemics but also under normal circumstances.

Determining Information Quality in ICT Systems

The article deals with the estimation of information quality (IQ) in information and communication technologies (ICT) systems. A number of recent publications were analyzed, as well as ISO standards concerning quality and information quality. Due to the limitations of the known methods of estimating IQ, the authors present their own proprietary concept based on multidimensional and multi-layer modeling using methods of estimating uncertainty. The modeling proposed in this publication uses sixteen dimensions of quality known from the literature. The features of dimensions are taken into account as another layer and information states as successive steps in the IQ model. An example of calculations is also presented in which the mathematical evidence method used in estimating the uncertainty is extended to the modeling of dependent elements. The article also presents a simulation based on the presented example. This simulation shows the assumed dependencies between the output and input values.

Agent based coordination protocol for system of cyber-physical systems

Nowadays, society and business rely heavily on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems, which are progressing faster than ever. To stay on pace with them, focus is shifted towards integration of individual ICT systems into complex systems, which offers more functionality than simply the sum of individual systems. In this regard, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) have gained significant importance and System-of-Systems (SoS) approach has been suggested for modeling complex CPSs to achieve a higher level goal, by dynamically building a large system with existing autonomous, and heterogeneous constituent systems (CSs). An important challenge in a system of Cyber-Physical Systems (SoCPSs) is to develop seamless collaboration between autonomous constituent-CPSs (CCPSs) to coordinate their operations. In this paper, we propose an agent based coordination mechanism to coordinate resource allocation and demand in SoCPSs. The approach models each CCPS as an agent and describes how multiple autonomous CCPSs, i.e., Virtual Power Plant (VPP), Commercial Greenhouse Growers (CGGs), communicate and collaborate with each other asynchronously through negotiation and how potential conflicts between CCPSs with conflicting goals are resolved. The efficacy of the proposed mechanism is validated through simulation of different real-world acyclic SoCPSs topologies. The results show that proposed approach is able to balance the individual requirements of multiple connected CPSs while achieving SoCPSs’ mission.

The architecture of complexity in the relationships between information and communication technologies and travel: A review of empirical studies

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has become an integral part of people’s lives, having complex interactions with different facets of human activity participation and travel behaviour. Studies over decades have tried to understand the relationships between ICT and travel. However, the fast evolution of ICT systems and the complex nature of these relationships have resulted in a limited understanding of the overall architecture, the sub-components, and their interactions. This study aims to achieve two objectives. First, we update the current state of knowledge on ICT-travel relationships by conducting an extensive literature review. Second, based on the findings of the review, we propose a conceptual model that identifies sub-components and their interrelationships that need to be better understood to accurately grasp the impacts of ICT on transportation. We summarized 186 empirical studies from the perspectives of survey methods, ICT devices, services, applications, direct relationships with travel behaviour related variables and higher-order or indirect impacts on other parameters such as emissions and congestion. It was observed that the nature of empirical results would depend on assumptions, objectives and type of data used. The findings of the review were then used to classify architecture in the relationship between ICT and travel into four distinct types. The merits, demerits, and challenges associated with the analysis across types were then illustrated. We then develop a conceptual model that highlighted and discussed the possible interactions between 1) ICT systems, 2) travel-related factors and 3) higher-order variables.

A Review of Potential Threats in Supply Chain Cyber Security

The same Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that have contributed tremendously to the productivity of supply chain companies and governments alike, as well as to the global competitiveness of the European Union, ex- pose modern societies to a range of cyber threats. ICT systems are fundamental to ensure that undisrupted flows of merchandise and critical supplies, such as oil, minerals, rare earths, pharmaceuticals and food are moved in and out of the EU territory. Past events have revealed the vulnerability of global supply chains to crime and terrorism. However, previous research does not highlight how these threats may be affected with the support of cyber-attacks. Hence, by means of a literature review and experts’ validation, this study develops a set of three scenarios that outline how cybercrime could jeopardize security of supply chains and, consequently, the well- being of European citizens. Finally, implications for managers and EU agencies are discussed. Keywords: supply chain security, supply chain crime, cybercrime, cybersecurity, cyber threats. Journal Reference Format: Sarumi, J.A. &amp; Okunoye, A. (2021): An Evaluation of Potential Threats in Supply Chain Cyber Security

Intrusion Detection Based on Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix and 2D Dispersion Entropy

The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is an important tool to mitigate cybersecurity threats in an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. The function of the IDS is to detect an intrusion to an ICT system or network so that adequate countermeasures can be adopted. Desirable features of IDS are computing efficiency and high intrusion detection accuracy. This paper proposes a new anomaly detection algorithm for IDS, where a machine learning algorithm is applied to detect deviations from legitimate traffic, which may indicate an intrusion. To improve computing efficiency, a sliding window approach is applied where the analysis is applied on large sequences of network flows statistics. This paper proposes a novel approach based on the transformation of the network flows statistics to gray images on which Gray level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) are applied together with an entropy measure recently proposed in literature: the 2D Dispersion Entropy. This approach is applied to the recently public IDS data set CIC-IDS2017. The results show that the proposed approach is competitive in comparison to other approaches proposed in literature on the same data set. The approach is applied to two attacks of the CIC-IDS2017 data set: DDoS and Port Scan achieving respectively an Error Rate of 0.0016 and 0.0048.

Improving Effectiveness of Rural Information and Communication Technology Offices: The Case of Qazvin Province in Iran

The information and communication technology (ICT) offices in rural areas of Iran have been developed as government provided counters under a national project in the past decades. The rural ICT offices were expected to benefit the rural people in various socio-economic dimensions such as health, social connectivity, crop diversity, agricultural productivity, occupational capability and the lifestyle in general. However, these middle range offices in Iran did not perform as expected, and thus they require an urgent restructuring to boost up their performances and to enhance their acceptability. This study investigates the effectiveness of the ICT systems and services in place in the Qazvin province of Iran with the purpose of identifying the major requirements needed to fix up the system. The focus of this study was around 10,000 people organised through rural ICT agents and their users in the rural area of Qazvin. The survey involves 138 rural ICT offices operated by 103 cooperative agents. Of them, 16 rural ICT offices were selected randomly, and 165 rural users connected with the selected offices were interviewed by the research team. Collected data have been analysed with structural equation modeling. The study shows that education, policy and management requirements deserve the highest attention, and therefore the best ways to improve the effectiveness of rural ICT offices. This study suggests that the effectiveness of rural ICT offices can be improved significantly through providing in-service education for ICT experts, arranging regular training programme for ICT office agents and using mass media to educate villagers on various aspects of ICTs.

DNA-Based Molecular Computing, Storage, and Communications

DNAs exist in nature and could provide solutions to computing, storage, and communications as existing ones approach their physical limits. Plenty of research work has been conducted on DNA-based computing, data storage and molecular communications (MCs), but largely in isolation. There is a lack of a unified place where the triples are put together to be discussed. This article aims to filling in this gap by providing an overview of each triplet. Starting from an overall description of DNA features and their reading and writing in practical terms, this article goes on to describe each of the three from three aspects: 1) requirements and differences from current electronic-dominating technologies; 2) their working principles; and 3) practical considerations. Recent advancement in each area is summarized and discussed. Furthermore, this article intends to call for researches that go beyond the boundary of each and encourages interconnection and joint research among the three. It proposes a molecular information and communication technology (ICT) system architecture with all its three components underpinned by DNAs. This article also identifies and discusses some new future directions, such as joint coding for storage and communications, directional DNA-based MCs, interfaces between molecular DNA systems and electronic systems. It is hoped that this article can spark more joint research across computing, storage, and communications in this exciting field of DNA-based molecular ICT systems.

Proposing an International Standard Accident Number for Interconnecting Information and Communication Technology Systems of the Rescue Chain.

Background The rapid dissemination of smart devices within the internet of things (IoT) is developing toward automatic emergency alerts which are transmitted from machine to machine without human interaction. However, apart from individual projects concentrating on single types of accidents, there is no general methodology of connecting the standalone information and communication technology (ICT) systems involved in an accident: systems for alerting (e.g., smart home/car/wearable), systems in the responding stage (e.g., ambulance), and in the curing stage (e.g., hospital). Objectives We define the International Standard Accident Number (ISAN) as a unique token for interconnecting these ICT systems and to provide embedded data describing the circumstances of an accident (time, position, and identifier of the alerting system). Materials and Methods Based on the characteristics of processes and ICT systems in emergency care, we derive technological, syntactic, and semantic requirements for the ISAN, and we analyze existing standards to be incorporated in the ISAN specification. Results We choose a set of formats for describing the embedded data and give rules for their combination to generate an ISAN. It is a compact alphanumeric representation that is generated easily by the alerting system. We demonstrate generation, conversion, analysis, and visualization via representational state transfer (REST) services. Although ISAN targets machine-to-machine communication, we give examples of graphical user interfaces. Conclusion Created either locally by the alerting IoT system or remotely using our RESTful service, the ISAN is a simple and flexible token that enables technological, syntactic, and semantic interoperability between all ICT systems in emergency care.

Implementation fidelity of the Systems for Person-Centered Elder Care (SPEC): a process evaluation study

BackgroundThe Systems for Person-Centered Elder Care (SPEC), a complex intervention, was conducted to examine its effectiveness as a technology-enhanced, multidisciplinary, and integrated care model for frail older persons among ten nursing homes (NHs) in South Korea where formal long-term care has recently been introduced. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation fidelity of the SPEC intervention and to identify moderating factors that influence the implementation fidelity.MethodsThis study was a process evaluation based on an evidence-based framework for implementation fidelity using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative data from consultant logbooks, NH documentations, an information and communications technology (ICT) system, and a standardized questionnaire were collected from April 2015 to December 2016 and analyzed by calculating the descriptive statistics. Semi-structured focus group interviews were held with multidisciplinary teams from the participating NHs. Qualitative data from a semi-structured questionnaire and the focus group interviews were analyzed using content analysis.ResultsThe SPEC program demonstrated good implementation fidelity, and adherence to the SPEC program was strong in all aspects, such as content, coverage, frequency, and duration. Of the participating on-site coordinators, 60% reported that the SPEC model positively impacted needs assessment and the reporting system for resident care. The important facilitating factors were tailored facilitating strategies, assurance of the quality of delivery, and recruitment strategies.ConclusionThe effectiveness of the SPEC program was driven by good implementation fidelity. The key factors of good implementation fidelity were tailored delivery of evidence-based interventions over process evaluation work, facilitating strategies, and ICT support. Larger implementation studies with a more user-friendly ICT system are recommended.Trial registrationISRCTN registry, ISRCTN11972147. Registered on 16 March 2015

Stochastic Predictions of Ore Production in an Underground Limestone Mine Using Different Probability Density Functions: A Comparative Study Using Big Data from ICT System

This study stochastically predicted ore production through discrete event simulation using four different probability density functions for truck travel times. An underground limestone mine was selected as the study area. The truck travel time was measured by analyzing the big data acquired from information and communications technology (ICT) systems in October 2018, and probability density functions (uniform, triangular, normal, and observed probability distribution of real data) were determined using statistical values. A discrete event simulation model for a truck haulage system was designed, and truck travel times were randomly generated using a Monte Carlo simulation. The ore production that stochastically predicted fifty times for each probability density function was analyzed and represented as a value of lower 10% (P10), 50% (P50), and 90% (P90). Ore production was underestimated when a uniform and triangular distribution was used, as the actual ore production was similar to that of P90. Conversely, the predicted ore production of P50 was relatively consistent with the actual ore production when using the normal and observed probability distribution of real data. The root mean squared error (RMSE) for predicting ore production for ten days in October 2018 was the lowest (24.9 ton/day) when using the observed probability distribution.

Improvement in palliative care quality in rural nursing homes through information and communication technology-driven interprofessional collaboration.

Information and communication technology (ICT) can facilitate long-term care. In long-term care, effective communication among healthcare professionals is vital to reduce inappropriate emergency transfer and eventual death in hospitals. As nursing homes in rural areas lack adequate healthcare resources, ICT can reduce the burden on professionals, leading to adequate long-term care. This study investigated whether the application of ICT-based communication can reduce the number of emergency transportations to, and death in, hospitals in rural facilities. This was an interventional study. Participants were patients living in a rural nursing home in the westernmost part of Unnan City in Shimane prefecture, Japan. The intervention group was defined as patients living therein after application of the ICT system and the control group as patients living therein before application of the ICT system. The primary outcome was the rate of emergency transportation to hospitals and the secondary outcome was the rate of death in the nursing home. The total number of participants was 96 (48 in the ICT usage group and 48 in the control group), and the average age of this sample was 89.5 years. The rate of emergency transportation was 54.2% (26/48) in the control group and 29.2% (14/48) in the intervention group (p=0.022). The rate of end-of-life care in the nursing home was 33.3% (3/9) in the control group and 84.6% (11/13) in the intervention group (p<0.001). ICT-driven nursing home care can reduce emergency transportation from nursing homes and enable patients in nursing homes to remain there longer, leading to an increase in end-of-life care in nursing homes, which provides hope to patients and their families. Therefore, these findings highlight that the continuous provision of ICT can facilitate end-of-life care in nursing homes.

Going green: strategic evaluation of green ICT adoption in the textile industry by using bipolar fuzzy MULTIMOORA method

The widespread use of information and communication technologies in all fields has a direct impact on the way the world is viewed. In today’s competitive international business environment, companies are increasingly investing in the search for new ideas and approaches in production. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is increasingly gaining in importance, especially in the situation of a dynamic market and increasingly demanding consumers. Today’s business of contemporary organizations is not conceivable without the support of modern ICT systems. Therefore ICT has a great influence on modern society because the ways in which information and data are exchanged are higher than ever. Green information and communication technologies as one area that is new and in development tend to establish a balance between these technologies and the environment. Adoption of green information and communication technologies is not an easy task and is often related to certain limitations. Therefore, the aim of the paper is a strategic evaluation of green ICT and their implementation in the textile industry by using newly-developed bipolar fuzzy MULTIMOORA method. Effectiveness and efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated in the conducted illustrative case study.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) system research - Edutab box

Collaborative/active learning has proven to be an effective educational method. It involves groups of two or more learners working together to solve a problem or complete a task and the benefits are numerous. For example, it enhances problem-solving skills, inspires critical thinking, improves social interactions and helps in the development of self-management skills and oral communication skills, to name but a few. There is potential to further enhance these benefits using information and communications technology (ICT). Professor Hirotaka Takahashi has spent his career looking at a wide range of topics, including adaptive data analysis methods, information theory, gravitational wave physics and astronomy. His current work centres around computer-supported collaborative/active learning (CSCL) systems, which he is seeking to further develop by collaborating with experts in data science, ICT system development and education. Specifically, Takahashi is working with experts to develop a CSCL system/software called the 'Edutab Box'.