Information Technology Department Research Articles

COVID-19 related risk perception and altruistic response amongst undergraduates on reopening of educational institutes.

To determine the coronavirus disease-2019-related risk perception and altruistic response among undergraduate medical students post-lockdown. The analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from October 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, at the Baqai Medical University, Karachi, and comprised undergraduates aged 16 and above, studying in medical, dental, physiotherapy, pharmacy and Information technology departments. Data was collected using a structured and standardised online questionnaire. Positive responses led to a perceived risk score ranging 0-9, with a higher score indicating a greater perception of risk. The score was corelated with demographic variables. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Of the 743 subjects, 472(63.5%) were females. The overall mean age of the sample was 21.34±1.8 years. The mean risk perception score was 3.8±2.5, and it was significantly associated with disease exposure (p<0.001). Altruism had a strong association with the perceived risk score (p<0.001), indicating lower risk perception. The risk perception among the students was low, pointing towards a need of psychological assistance programme for the students.

Hybrid Clouds Arising from Software as a Service Adoption: Challenges, Solutions, and Future Research Directions

Information technology (IT) departments are increasingly challenged to replace legacy applications with novel public cloud software as a service (SaaS) to innovate the organization's business processes. The resulting hybrid cloud is formed by integrating the added SaaS with existing IT services. The decision to adopt SaaS in such a hybrid cloud service composition requires appropriate consideration of the respective service level agreements (SLA) to ensure the proper execution of the supported business process. Previous studies focused strongly on cloud service selection or SLA negotiation rather than functionally desired SaaS adoption from the perspective of the hybrid cloud provider as integrator. This research paper identifies economic and technical issues in hybrid cloud arising from SaaS adoption and discusses challenges and existing solutions. A structured literature survey revealed that 52 issues in 36 identified publications are transferable to our context. These issues were classified in six different challenges. We were able to explore the relations between solution artifacts of various challenges and provide guidance for future research concerning hybrid clouds. The relations between the challenges are also found to vary in their research maturity and offer promising fields for further research.

Training in the profile "Applied Informatics in the Humanities" at the Siberian Federal University: interdisciplinarity and project approach

The article considers the model of training specialists in applied informatics in the humanitarian field, developed at the Humanitarian Institute of the Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk). The history of this training has been going on for almost a quarter of a century. Over the years, the program has changed its name more than once, and the curriculum has also changed in accordance with the requirements. The experience accumulated over a long enough period of time in training specialists of this profile is the subject of consideration in this article. The bachelor's and master's programs, education and activities of the Department of Information Technology in Creative and Cultural Industries, working as part of the Humanities Institute, are considered. Digital technologies continue to develop rapidly, and the number of people willing to master the difficult path of implementing applied informatics in the humanities is growing. Only in 2023, about 50 people have made final qualifying works for bachelors and masters degree at the Department of Information Technology in Creative and Cultural Industries. Each stage of the adjustment of the bachelor's and master's degree curriculum is dictated by a rapidly changing situation. At least two components remain indisputable: interdisciplinarity, which is the basis of educational programs, and a project approach, which assumes a clear statement of the problem and the use of adequate mechanisms for its solution using digital technologies.

Exploring Speaking Anxiety of Non-English Department Students

The study's goal is to identify the barriers to speaking that EFL learners face at the tertiary level. Speaking anxiety is one of the issues. The levels and factors of speaking anxiety become the focus of this research. This study also investigates speaking anxiety factors experienced by EFL learners. Three factors contribute to speaking anxiety: communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and a lack of self-confidence. The Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) was adopted to reveal the degree of speaking anxiety. The semi-structured interview was conducted with nine students to explore the source of anxiety. This study involved 81 participants from the Informatics Engineering department students at State Polytechnic of Malang. The findings revealed that Informatics Engineering department students demonstrated a moderate level of speaking anxiety. Furthermore, the study found that low self-confidence is among the highest average of speaking anxiety, followed by fear of negative evaluation and communication apprehension

Website as a gateway for the provision of public archives and records management guidance

National archival agencies are mandated to manage public sector archives and records. They provide guidance by issuing, among others, guidelines, policies, and procedures. With advances in technology, and in the spirit of e-government, it is expected that national archival agencies should have websites through which key documents that provide guidance on the management of archives and records are made accessible online. The purpose of this study was to compare the websites of Botswana National Archives and Records Services (BNARS) and the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa (NARSSA) with specific reference to key documents providing guidance on the proper management of public archives and records. This study is qualitative and obtained data from a content analysis of the websites of the two organisations. These were supplemented by interviews from selected key officers responsible for public archives and records management programmes. It is notable that BNARS has a website that can be accessed through Botswana’s Department of Information Technology. On the website, the only downloadable guidance document is an archives search room inquiry form. Comparatively, NARSSA has a more comprehensive website with downloadable guidance documents such as file plans, templates records management policies, records retention and disposable schedules, and functional specifications for electronic records management systems, to mention just a few. It is recommended that BNARS should have a comprehensive website with guidance documents posted on it to provide guidance for proper public archives and records management practices.

Pengembangan Sistem Informasi Manajemen Aset Laboratorium Berbasis Web di Jurusan Teknik Informatika dan Komputer FT UNM

This research is a type of Research &amp; Development (R&amp;D) research which aims to develop a Web-Based Laboratory Asset Management Information System in the Department of Informatics and Computer Engineering, test the quality and feasibility of the system based on ISO/IEC 25010 quality standards. This research uses a prototype development model. ISO/IEC 25010 quality standard testing is carried out using 6 aspects of testing, namely Functionality Suitability, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Usability, Portability and Security. The results of the research resulted in a Web-Based Laboratory Asset Management Information System in the Informatics Engineering Department. The test results include a) testing the functionality suitability of the system can be used properly and functions as a whole; b) reliability testing with a success percentage of 100%; c) performance efficiency testing with grade A values, performance 94%, structure 82% and response time 2.4 seconds; d) usability test obtains very good category; e) portability testing shows the system can run properly; f) security testing results in a level of security at level B.

The extent of commercial banks’ readiness to implement blockchain technology

This study aimed to find out the readiness of Jordanian commercial banks to implement blockchain technology. The population of this study consisted of thirteen Jordanian banks. The study targeted the employees of the higher departments represented by the general managers and their deputies, and the employees of the middle departments represented by the directors and heads of the departments of each of the finance, internal auditing, and information technology departments in Jordanian banks. The study used the survey method to collect data and the SPSS Statistics 20.0 program to process and analyze the data. The most important results of the study were the presence of a statistically significant impact of the banks’ readiness with its dimensions (administrative readiness, professional readiness, organizational readiness, and legislative readiness) in the blockchain technology with its dimensions (the use of blockchain technology, hashing, information, and time imprint). As for the most important recommendations, it crystallizes the need for Jordanian banks to carry out a continuous updating process on the data within the block, and to apply periodic tests on the block operations to verify that there are no gaps in the chain.

Tendência de indicadores de morbimortalidade por doenças diarreicas agudas em menores de cinco anos no estado do Piauí (2000–2019)

Abstract Objectives: to analyze the trend of morbidity and mortality indicators due to acute diarrheal diseases in children under five years old in Piauí. Methods: ecological study with data from the Information Technology Department at the Public Health System. The indicators of hospitalization rate and coefficient of mortality from the disease between 2000 and 2019 were calculated. A descriptive analysis of the indicators was carried out in the studied period and by the macro-regions in the State. For trend analysis, the simple linear regression model with log-transformation was used. Trends were classified as increasing, decreasing and stable, with a significance level of 5%. Results: the average on hospitalization rate was higher in the semi-arid macro-region (36.6/1000 children under five years old) and lower in Teresina (14.9/1000 children under five years old). The mean mortality coefficients were higher in the coastal macro-region (0.98/1000 live births) and lower in Teresina (0.47/1000 live births). The indicators showed a downward trend in all analyzed locations (p&lt;0.05). A turning point was noted from 2009, with a significant reduction in hospitalization rates in the savanna and semi-arid macro-regions. Conclusion: indicators of morbidity and mortality due to acute diarrheal diseases in children under five years old showed a downward trend in Piauí between 2000 and 2019, with differences in trends between the evaluated macro-regions.

КЛЮЧОВІ ПОКАЗНИКИ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ (КПЕ) ДЛЯ ОЦІНКИ ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ВНУТРІШНІХ БІЗНЕС-ПРОЦЕСІВ НА СУЧАСНОМУ ВИРОБНИЦТВІ

The article defines the methodology of process control based on key performance indicators (KPI) in the business environment and its importance for the management of manufacturing facilities. The important aspects of the implementation of the system for measuring the efficiency of manufacturing and related to manufacturing areas of enterprises are described. It is noted that such control will contribute to timely response to threats of reduced production efficiency and further adjustment of the development strategy. The main goal of the article is the selection and justification of those indicators that are relevant for modern production and allow to assess its effectiveness. The authors substantiated that the process control method based on KPI is one of the most common methods of managing business units. Which involves finding and implementing a system of key performance indicators for most important elements of the manufacturing process. The details of some basic KPIs and their interdependence are described in the article. The main focus of authors is on the selection of appropriate KPIs and their impact on the goals achievement. Authors stating, that for the successful implementation of KPE, key factors are simplicity, comprehensibility and transparency for employees responsible for achieving of defined metrics. Equally important are the methods of evaluating the performance of related or supporting functions of the enterprise (personnel department, building maintenance service, information technology department, etc.). The authors emphasize the important criteria of the KPE system, which will allow to objectively evaluate effective work, manage it and motivate personnel. It is also noted that KPIs should have an impact on the financial motivation of employees, that’s why transparency and reach-ability are critical for their effective implementation. Equally important is the ability to track progress in achieving goals, create a foundation for an objective assessment of effectiveness, make operational decisions, compare results and form a responsible environment.

FACTORS INFLUENCING E-LEARNING ACCEPTANCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ VIEWS

The study focused on evaluating factors influencing e-learning acceptance by students and lecturers at a teacher education institution in Zimbabwe. It is motivated by explanations from Davis’ (1989) Technology Acceptance Theory. The study was guided by the pragmatism research philosophy adopted for an intervention factor evaluation. Pragmatism facilitated the application of mixed methods to cater for qualitative and quantitative responses. A sequential research design of document analysis, surveys and interviews parallel to document analysis for benchmarks was applied to capture data. A stratified sample of 213 students from an education institution’s three intakes participated in the study. Intake 23 cohort was in their final year of the course, Intake 24 cohort on term seven and Intake 25 cohort was on Teaching Practice Attachment. The quantitative variation in the student population, called for probability stratified random sampling. A purposive sample of six lecturers from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department and ten lecturers from various departments in the college were involved in the study. The study established that the major e-learning platform used was WhatsApp. This was lecturer and students’ initiative in response to the need for learning from a distance. Factors promoting the dominance of WhatsApp include smartphones availability, its’ easy of access by both lecturers and learners. WhatsApp versatility to different uses such as text messages, videos and photographs are key to its acceptance. Factors against other e-learning platform use include: scanty awareness of the application from hearsay, financial challenges for data bundles, poor internet connectivity in Zimbabwe, limited technical supporting culture and at national level, electricity shortages. The study recommends a mixture of face-to face and e-learning. There is need also for awareness campaigns for the existence of more e-learning platforms. Institutions need to support their lectures and students with data bundles to enhance their use of WhatsApp. The nation can install more network transmitters in all areas of Zimbabwe.

Development of a mathematical model for planning team readiness for IT solution implementation projects

Due to the emergence of new business lines and areas requiring automation, there is a need for planning and managing project work. Information technology (IT) projects contribute to organizational transformation and business growth. Despite the contribution of project management methodologies and structures, the share of unsuccessful IT projects remains high; thus, the study of critical success factors of IT projects remains an important problem for researchers and practitioners [1]. An analysis of the success of IT projects shows that 17% of projects are completed so unsuccessfully that they can threaten the state of the entire company as a whole. 45% of projects go beyond the budget. 56% of projects bring less profit than expected. 109 million dollars - average losses for every 1 billion dollars spent on projects [2]. The working conditions of the Information Technology department presuppose the existence of an effectively organized project work process. The success of the tasks depends largely on the distribution of the load between the members of the project team. The correct allocation of labor resources determines the timing and quality of project implementation.

Türkiye’de Kamu Kurumlarında Bilgi Yönetimi Unsurları ve Teknoloji İlişkisi Üzerine Nitel Bir Araştırma: Bilgi İşlem Yöneticileri Gözünden

Organizasyonun en önemli kaynağı olması sebebiyle bilginin en iyi şekilde yönetilmesi ve bunun için teknolojik araçlardan yararlanılması günümüzde önemli bir meseledir. Bu çalışma, kamu kurumlarında bilgi yönetiminin mevcut durumunu ve yapılması gerekenleri tespit edebilmek için Türkiye’deki sekiz Bakanlığın Bilgi İşlem Daire Başkanları (BİDB) ile görüşmeler yapılarak hazırlanmıştır. Olgu bilim desenine uygun olarak düzenlenen ve verilerin betimsel içerik analizine tabi tutulduğu çalışma, bakanlıklardaki bilgi yönetimi unsurları ve teknoloji ilişkisi üzerine odaklanmıştır. Bilgi yönetimi unsurları; insan, organizasyon, bilgi varlığı/içerik, süreç ve teknoloji olmak üzere beş ana başlık altında gruplandırılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamındaki nitel araştırma sonuçlarına göre, Türkiye’deki kamu kurumlarında genel olarak; bilgi yönetiminin muğlak bir konu olduğu, bilgi yönetimine ilişkin stratejik plan olmadığı, kurumlarda bir bilgi yönetimi (BY) organizasyonunun bulunmadığı, bilgi yönetimi rehberine ihtiyaç olduğu, üst yönetimin enformasyon teknolojilerine yönelik desteğinin tam olduğu, teknolojik araçların belli oranda mevcut olduğu ancak bilginin yönetilmesi odağında yapılandırılmadığı ve bütünleşik bir sistem yapısında olmadığı ortaya çıkmış, bu bağlamda öneriler sunulmuştur.

Strategic Management of IT Practices in Tourism for Operation and Service Enhancement

The information technology infrastructure library (ITIL) standard describes processes that should be implemented in Information Technology (IT) departments for proper operations management, which includes human resources management, economic management, and strategic management, among others. This should be especially considered in the business management of industries with no relation to information technologies (IT), such as tourism and hospitality companies. This work aims to present a method to establish the order of adoption of the IT management processes in companies that belong to the tourism industry. We conducted a survey to obtain the necessary data and developed a methodology that is based on an optimization procedure. This procedure generates the optimal sequence of IT tasks to adopt in a generic small company in the tourism industry. The methodology was then applied to a representative tourism company. Through the sequence obtained, it is shown that it is necessary to implement operative processes, and subsequently, strategic processes. A comparative study was developed to find the differences with other authors’ proposals. The most important result we found was the possibility of efficient use of organizations’ information to build an optimized list of IT procedures to improve their administration. The obtained list of processes is specific for each organization, and not dependent on the solutions offered by other authors who proposed a general or underoptimal list of processes.

Соотношение самоорганизации учебной деятельности и рефлексивности студенческой молодежи в зависимости от пола

The relevance of the study is due to the necessity to develop st udents’ self-organization skills in the process of their education since this competence needs mastering by specialists while their implementing professional activities in modern work conditions. The objective of the study is to establish the correlation between self-organization of educational activities and reflexivity of students, depending on gender. Presumably, the gender characteristics of the correlation between self-organization of educational activity and reflexivity are determined by the extent to which this correlation is manifested. The sample of the research comprises full-time 1st and 2nd year students of Computer Science and Information Technology Department and Economics Department of Saratov State University (Saratov) (N = 106) (70 boys – 66%, 36 girls – 34%) aged 17–19 years. The following methods were used: “Questionnaire of self-organization of activity (QSA)” (E. Yu. Mandrikova), “Questionnaire of reflexivity” (V. N. Karandashev). There have not been found any significant differences between the studied parameters depending on gender. There have been recorded the greatest number of relations between the components of self-organization and the level of reflexivity in the group of young men. Apparently, both in the group of boys and in the group of girls, a high level of reflexivity correlates with a high level of fixation on structuring activities and a low level of perseverance. Correlations between reflexivity and self-organization of activity and its components «Regularity» and «Self-organization» have been found in the sample of young men. The fact that there have been identified certain characteristics of the correlation between self-organization and reflexivity in students at the beginning of their academic university career constitutes the novelty of the research. The applied aspect of the research results is determined by the possibility to use them while creating programs to enhance students’ self-organization of activities in educational practice.

The Organization of Information Technology Activities in North American Research Libraries

This study presents the results of an online survey that benchmarked the organization of information technology (IT) functions in academic library members of the Association of Research Libraries. The survey investigated whether responsibility for 14 key areas resided in the libraries or in an institution-level information technology department, whether responsibilities have shifted over the past 20 years, satisfaction with services provided, assessment methods used to evaluate information technology services, and top challenges facing library IT. This paper considers the survey results addressing where the responsibility lies, satisfaction with the support, and whether and when the responsibility changed.

A Benefit Dependency Network for Shadow Information Technology Adoption, Based on Practitioners’ Viewpoints

Shadow information technology (SIT) revolves around systems that are hidden but are still managed by the same business entities. It consists of the use of devices, software, systems and applications without the information technology (IT) department’s approval. Employees use IT without the knowledge of the IT department, and it creates a gap in communications, as the IT department loses the knowledge of the reality within the company. However, there are benefits involved. In order to take advantage of these benefits, changes have to be implemented in the way that business activities are handled. The benefits should be a direct result of the changes, of the difference between the ongoing and the suggested way that activities should be undertaken, and the levels of efficiency and effectiveness to which people deliver their daily tasks. The objective of this study was to propose a benefit dependency network (BDN) for SIT, and, through its concepts, to synthetize our findings and specify the connections between SIT practices and their benefits. This research was conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) and used a design science research methodology, adopting semi-structured interviews with fourteen interactions to propose a BDN for SIT. We proposed a model with five dimensions related to a BDN for SIT. By understanding the BDN and the benefits of SIT, it is easier to have a better notion of the implications and the factors involved in order to assist the decision-making process. Whether an organization wants to reach innovation, increase revenue or retain clients, the BDN helps with analysis and selection, and is something that organizations should take seriously, as it is essential to have knowledge about what the benefits are and how they can be reached. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research included and replaced several processes in the BDN for SIT, in a topic that is still underexplored.

Course of Electrical and Electronic Electronic Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokai University, Department of Information Media and Technology, School of Information Science and Technology, Tokai University

Course of Electrical and Electronic Electronic Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokai University, Department of Information Media and Technology, School of Information Science and Technology, Tokai University

Transit GIS Applications in Fairfax County, Virginia

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (DOT) manages a fixed-route bus system (the Fairfax Connector) that encompasses 58 routes. To better support the planning, operation, and marketing of this bus system, the Fairfax County DOT and the Fairfax County Department of Information Technology formed a team to develop a pilot project of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) transit applications. These applications would serve as a demonstration to facilitate automation, analysis, accessing, and plotting of transit data. To be successful, the applications had to be cost effective and match users’ technical needs with their abilities.Paramount to the success of this project was having a transit database capable of supporting all the applications identified by the development team. The database had to handle problems such as bus stops serving more than one route and routing varying by time of day. To effectively model the bus routes in GIS, each path had to be uniquely identified even though the same route could travel on different paths. Dynamic segmentation of ARC/INFO v.7.1 was used to develop the route database. A bus stop database, in the format of ARC/INFO coverage, was then related to the route coverage.More than 15 applications were identified for three areas of transit management: planning, operation, and marketing. Planning applications focused on transit service improvement and route restructuring. They included routing adjustment, route demographic and land-use analysis, and reporting of statistics required by the National Transit Database. Operation applications were designed for daily service monitoring and consisted of route running times, loading at bus stops, and emergency service. Marketing applications emphasized functions for public outreach, which included creating specialized route and stop maps and publishing route information on the Internet. Most end-user applications were built in ArcVìew 3.0 using Avenue and Dialog Designer. Some applications were built with ESRIs Map Objects (MO) and Map Objects Internet Map Server.

Employing AI Chatbot-Based Tutoring Systems and STEAM 6e Scaffold to Implement Cooperative Learning of Maker Education

Students’ progression relies on teachers' commitment to understanding and acknowledging different ways of learning. Learning technologies have the potential to enhance learning and affective computing, which is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses emotion to enhance interactions between humans and robots, is one way to do so. Dr Hao-Chiang Koong Lin, Head of the Department of Information and Learning Technology, National University of Tainan, Taiwan, is seeking to improve the effectiveness of learning technology and he and his team are exploring interrelated topics such as AI chatbot-based affective tutoring system and incorporating alternative reality into learning, collaborating with artists and engineers and Professor Yu-Chuang Tseng. In one project, the team sought to integrate somatosensory interactive visual music creation with maker teaching strategy, which involved the creation of interactive artworks and explored visitors’ interactions with the artworks. They discovered that the artworks created with kinect were most popular and witnessed enhanced playfulness and positive emotions while learning. In another project, Lin and the team are designing an interdisciplinary creative course combining technology and art. This involves creating an emotional learning system based on an AI chatbot and applying affective computing techniques to better understand the emotional responses of learners.

Effects of the electronic health record on job satisfaction of academic pediatric faculty

Objective(s)To evaluate the association of Electronic Health Record (EHR) skills and available support with job satisfaction for pediatric faculty at an academic institution. To identify key opportunities for improvement. Study DesignCross-sectional study of pediatric academic faculty physicians using a REDCap survey to inquire about faculty EHR skills, support services, and associations between EHR workflow and job satisfaction. Results were analyzed using bivariate testing. ResultsThe majority of respondents (n = 127, response rate 37%), rated the effect of EHR workflow on job satisfaction as neutral (36%) or negative (44%). Users with more EHR skills were more likely to indicate a positive effect of the EHR on overall job satisfaction (p = 0.019). 7% of respondents had none of the EHR skills queried and few felt that initial training (35%) or the Information Technology department (26%) were useful in acquiring skills. Two similar divisions, one with three and one without Physician Builders (providers with specialized training in EHR personalization), had statistically significant different EHR satisfaction ratings (p = 0.0012). ConclusionsMost faculty indicated a negative/neutral effect of the EHR on their overall job satisfaction. Users who indicated more EHR skills had a higher satisfaction rating. Existing training and support were not helpful to users. The division with the most Physician Builders ranked highest in satisfaction. We speculate that 1) adding EHR skills could increase overall job satisfaction and 2) adding Physician Builder resources could increase skills and satisfaction.