Information Technology Techniques Research Articles

The perception of accountants/auditors on the role of corporate governance and information technology in fraud detection and prevention

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the perceptions of financial accountants and both internal and external auditors regarding the impact of corporate governance (CG) and information technology (IT) on the detection and prevention of fraud within organizations. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected from 250 financial accountants, internal auditors and external auditors through questionnaires. The non-probability snowball sampling technique was used for data collection, with the sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and paired sample t-test applied for analysis. Findings The results indicate that robust CG practices and IT techniques significantly aid in detecting and reducing fraudulent activities by minimizing opportunities, rationalizations, pressures and capabilities of potential employees to commit fraud. Internal controls also play a significant role in reducing instances of fraud. Notably, ethical officers and ethical training were not perceived as significantly effective in preventing and detecting fraud, leading to a perception that fraudulent practices are prevalent and increasing the risk of future fraudulent activities. Research limitations/implications This study recommends the adoption of strong CG practices to identify potential fraud within an organization. Moreover, IT techniques should be tailored to specific needs for effective utilization. Furthermore, the government should increase awareness regarding data provision by departments, organizations and other related personnel. Future research could use secondary data from various regions to expand the literature in this field. Originality/value This research uniquely combines three significant factors: CG, IT and forensic accounting in fraud detection and prevention. It contributes to the enhancement of literature about fraud and its preventive and detective measures. The results of this study set the seed for future research, government policymaking and enhanced organizational practices.

Supporting Evidence-Based Care Through Informatics Innovation to Address the Overdose Epidemic.

Supporting Evidence-Based Care Through Informatics Innovation to Address the Overdose Epidemic.

Development of cloud selection supporting model for green information and communication technology services

Purpose The purpose of the study is to develop a cloud supporting model for green computing. In today's contemporary world, information technology (IT) plays a significant role. Because of the rapid growth of the IT business and the high level of greenhouse gas emissions, salient data centers are increasingly considering green IT techniques to reduce their environmental impacts. Both developing and underdeveloped countries are widely adopting green infrastructure and services over the cloud because of its cost-effectiveness, scalability and guaranteed high uptime. Several studies have investigated the fact that cloud computing provides beyond green information and communication technology (ICT) services and solutions. Therefore, anything offered over clouds also needs to be green to reduce the adverse influence on the environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the rationale for the use of green ICT in higher education and finds crucial success variables for the implementation of green ICT on the basis of an analysis of chosen educational organizations and interviews with key academic experts from the Universities of Ethiopia, in general, and BuleHora University, in particular. Findings Finally, this paper described the design and development of a green cloud selection supporting model for green ICTs in higher educational institutions that helps cloud service customers choose the most green cloud-based ICT products as well as services. Originality/value This study may be a significant source of new information for green ICT design and implementation in higher education institutions to preserve the environment and its impact on human life.

Utilising Big Data Analytics in the E-Government Health Sector

The world has witnessed massive technological improvements in the Information Technology (IT) sector, giving rise to unprecedented IT penetration into every facet of life and daily living. It has affected the way we live and interact, the way businesses are conducted, and most especially how the government makes decisions that affect its citizenry. Presently, government officials deploy IT techniques in their decision-making process to reach the ever-growing needs of their populace. The traditional approach to large data processing is proving difficult. Hence, the dawn of Big Data Analytics, a phenomenon that describes the processing of large volumes of datasets, being generated at a very high velocity, coming in various forms, and are largely unstructured. This paper examines literatures on Big Data Analytics and its application in e-government. A prototype framework which is divided into two will be proposed for its application. The first section will have the Hadoop infrastructure deployed for distributed storage in clusters, while the second section used a machine learning software – Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) for data mining. Finally, the different data mining algorithms provided by WEKA was explored and used in analyzing medical records obtained from the UCI online repository to demonstrate the data analysis of the proposed prototype. From the results of the analysis, J48 algorithm was used to build prediction trees, to ascertain patterns that determine the likelihood of citizens having breast cancer, and to generate predictions rules that will help in curbing or detecting breast cancer early among the populace.

On the active damping of vibrations using electromagnetic spring

This article contains theoretical analysis and experimental study of the original mechatronics system with flexible characteristics which we can adapt to changing needs and external interference. The main purpose of our research is to find a solution that allows tailoring the desired characteristics of systems regardless of changing conditions without their mechanical interference. The system consists of the guide endowed with mass suspended in the air by the linear aerostatic bearing. Linear mechanical spring is attached to the one side of the guide whereas the neodymium magnet is fixed to the other side. Magnet-magnet and magnet-coil interactions have been investigated. The magnet-magnet interaction plays the role of the nonlinear magnetic spring while the magnet-coil interaction plays the role of the electromagnetic spring or electromagnetic damper in terms of the coil current signal. Static and dynamic characteristics of mechanical, magnetic and electromagnetic springs have been analyzed. A new physical model of the magnet-magnet interaction has been presented, the validity of which is confirmed experimentally. In addition, modern IT (information technology) techniques have been used to control the system behavior. The reliable results of the entire system and its springs are obtained by conducting tests on specially constructed laboratory setup. The main benefit of the fabricated setup concerns an elimination of dry friction effects though the frictions is viscous with identifiable movement resistance.

Big data for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME): a knowledge management model

PurposeBig data has raised challenges and opportunities for business, the information technology (IT) industry and research communities. Nowadays, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are dealing with big data using their limited resources. The purpose of this paper is to describe the synergistic relationship between big data and knowledge management (KM), analyze the challenges and IT solutions of big data for SME and derives a KM model of big data for SME based on the collected real-world business cases.Design/methodology/approachThe study collects eight well-documented cases of successful big data analytics in SME and conducts a qualitative data analysis of these cases in the context of KM. The qualitative data analysis of the multiple cases reveals a KM model of big data for SME.FindingsThe proposed model portrays the synergistic relationship between big data and KM. It indicates that strategic use of data, knowledge guided big data project planning, IT solutions for SME and new knowledge products are the major constructs of KM of big data for SME. These constructs form a loop through the causal relationships between them.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of cases used for the derivation of the KM model is not large. The coding of these qualitative data could involve biases and errors. Consequently, the conceptual KM model proposed in this paper is subject to further verification and validation.Practical implicationsThe proposed model can guide SME to exploit big data for business by placing emphasis on KM instead of sophisticated IT techniques or the magnitude of data.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the KM literature by developing a theoretical model of KM of big data for SME based on underlying dimensions of strategic use of data, knowledge guided big data project planning, IT solutions for SME and new knowledge products.

The impact of information technology on supply chain management in internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of using information technology (IT) on supply chain management (SCM) in the internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies. The study sample consisted of 171 employees working in the Jordanian industrial companies, including the administrative and financial director, head of the administrative and financial department, information systems staff, and the employees. The study relied on descriptive analytical method and also used regression analysis. The study results showed an important impact of IT on SCM in the internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies. It also showed a positive relationship between each techniques of IT (information sharing, infrastructures, and strategic planning) and SCM in the internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies. The study's recommendations included the need to maintain the highest levels of IT techniques by keeping pace with the latest developments in the fields, such as information sharing and infrastructures services.

The Impact of Information Technology on Supply Chain Management in Internal Environment of Jordanian Industrial Companies

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of using information technology (IT) on supply chain management (SCM) in the internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies. The study sample consisted of 171 employees working in the Jordanian industrial companies, including the administrative and financial director, head of the administrative and financial department, information systems staff, and the employees. The study relied on descriptive analytical method and also used regression analysis. The study results showed an important impact of IT on SCM in the internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies. It also showed a positive relationship between each techniques of IT (information sharing, infrastructures, and strategic planning) and SCM in the internal environment of Jordanian industrial companies. The study's recommendations included the need to maintain the highest levels of IT techniques by keeping pace with the latest developments in the fields, such as information sharing and infrastructures services.

Protection of privacy related to criminal procedure

Every person has the right to privacy and protection of personal data and these rights may be restricted only in order to protect the general interest or the preservation of important values in society. If there is a certain degree of suspicion that a person committed a criminal offense, the competent authorities are authorized to limit his/her privacy rights and to collect and process personal data for the purposes of criminal proceedings, by taking certain actions and measures in accordance with the law. On the basis of legal authorization certain subjects may take regular and special evidentiary actions and measures, but possible privacy infringement and data collection should be limited to the extent necessary to suppress a specific criminal offense in accordance with the principle of proportionality. It is necessary and useful to apply the methods and techniques of information technology in order to detect and prove criminal offenses. However, uncritical regulation and voluntary application of advanced methods and techniques of surveillance and monitoring of user?s activities (whose daily activities increasingly rely on information technology) would create a real risk of expanding and deepening the scope of spheres of life to be monitored to a much greater extent than legitimate monitoring within the concept of pro?activity and creation of a complete and panoptic surveillance of personal data. This could not be justified by the needs to oppose even the most severe forms of criminal offenses. Thus, actions and measures based on the use of these techniques and methods should be laid down and applied in accordance with the principles of specificity, necessity and proportionality, and with control of the judicial authorities, so the right to privacy would not be jeopardized. It is necessary to find a proper balance between the needs of criminal proceedings and respect for human rights, with regard to regulating powers of investigative bodies in collecting data of individuals. In online environment, the protection of the right to legal personality and the right to free development of personality through the right to privacy as well as the protection of personal data are necessary to be provided by legal regulations containing even stricter and more precise rules (comparing to offline environment) that determine the scope of powers of the authorities to collect evidence for the purposes of criminal proceedings, because certain actions or measures can greatly interfere with the private sphere of individuals in the direction of a complete privacy annulment.

Performance measurement due to IT adoption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis on the relationship between information technology (IT) adoption and its usage and firm performance (banking and software firm) in India. Firm performance was measured with the help of three important variables: efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. Each one of the above has been described with a set of pretested questionnaires. Banks in India, in particular are geared for comprehensive banking solutions with extensive branch networks. Result from statistical analysis was validated with that achieved from ANN modeling. Design/methodology/approach – Survey instrument was pilot tested. The pilot survey was administered to 20 randomly selected Indian service firms, whose Standard Industrial Classification codes were 6,021 (nationalized commercial Banks) and 7,371 (software firms). A 50 percent response rate was received. Internal reliability using Cronbach’s α was carried out for the entire set of responses from the pilot study. In addition, qualitative follow up from respondents was done. Unreliable items were deleted and modifications wherever necessary were made. Findings – The research finds two important results with respect to IT adoption and firm performance. The first result is that service firms who implemented IT tools and techniques early achieved more turnover thereby greater market share from innovation/adoption (world-first and, to some extent India-first). These firms are able to better commercialize their service even if their most important innovations/adoptions supported by vendor’s to some extent. The second result is that service firms, which introduce new services, even if the service is already on the national or international front, derived more commercial sales from innovation, thus achieving more firm performance. Therefore, late followers (firm-first) would have higher sales from innovation by introducing services with high original content. Originality/value – Performance is measured due to IT adoption.

The Impact of Information Technology on the Development of Supply Chain Competitive Advantage

This paper explores the impact of Information Technology (IT) practices on building competitive advantage throughout the supply chain. A competitive advantage is based on capabilities that provide the necessary grounds of an organization to differentiate itself from its competitors. The majority of the relevant empirical literature identified price/cost, quality, delivery dependability, product innovation, and time to market as the most decisive sources of competitive advantage. As far as the standards in the economic environment are changing and global competition is fiercer, organizations realize that they have to re-evaluate their enterprise business model in order to gain supply chain efficiencies. To meet these challenges and improve their competitive advantage, companies need to both support their internal functions and exchange information with supply chain partners in an effective way. Therefore, companies must exploit IT including enterprise applications such as ERP and CRM, as well as e-procurement and e-commerce. The empirical findings from a survey of 76 manufacturing firms in Greece confirmed the crucial role of IT practices and techniques on the establishment of a sustainable competitive advantage based on Supply Chain Management. Managerial implications are discussed.

Capacity and availability management by quantitative project management in the IT service industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and implement an efficient capacity and availability management tracker for information technology (IT) service delivery management that can be applied by analyzing base‐lined data, using quantitative project management and knowledge discovery techniques, for taking decisions on a monthly basis in resource allocation, optimum resource utilization and efficient service level management.Design/methodology/approachA ticket forecasting model has been developed. Also data were collected from fixed price running IT service delivery programs with about 200 or more full‐time employees working in each program, limited to four large service lines. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the data were base lined and applied to a capacity and availability management tracker. The results were then analyzed and conclusions drawn.FindingsThe findings suggest that the service provider was able to share the resources across the organization as needed based on demand, and overall the bench strength of the organization was drastically reduced. Also they were able to achieve better service level management. This has contributed to profit margin improvement in the organization.Research limitations/implicationsThe relatively small sample size (three programs and four service lines in one IT service organization) has impact on research implications.Practical implicationsThe results have implications for practice in promoting IT tools and technique for capacity and availability management in an IT service provider. It is suggested that senior management may need to concentrate on adapting a positive approach promoting the usage of new IT tools and techniques in order to achieve IT service improvement, better performance and margin improvement.Originality/valueThis study has addressed the consequences of initiating an organization‐wide knowledge‐based process performance model for a popular strategic IT initiative. The study has answered the questions on better resource utilization and efficient service level management.

IT Methods and Techniques Applied to Educational Quality Enhancement

European Union countries aspire to create, through the implementation of the Bologna Process, an open European Higher Education Area, which increases the attractiveness of European higher education and the competitiveness of Europeans in the international labour market. This paper examines the importance of the Bologna Process in countries outside Europe and how effective implementation of a Quality Assurance action plan can enhance education quality. The authors apply Information Technology (IT) methods and techniques, such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Goal Question Metric (GQM) and Balanced ScoreCard (BSC), to Educational Management. The derivation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is discussed, as well as their application to a case study at the Cybernetics Faculty of the State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA), regarding the implementation of an education quality enhancement strategy. As a result of the effort to align to European Higher Education Standards and the Bologna Process, a degree of Business Process Re-engineering (PBR) was necessary. The results show that the main reason for university strategy development is better relocation of resources and determination of which programmes and services are efficient and consistent with the university’s mission.

Impact of IT Techniques on Human Resource Management in Technical Institutes of India

The impact of Information Technology (IT) techniques on Human Resource Management (HRM) in Technical Institutions of India has been studied by conducting case study of T1 singular-discipline and T2 multi-disciplinary organizations. The respondents comprise of 82 faculty members, 35 officers and 72 support staff of two technical institutes through well developed and standardized questionnaire. The outcomes of perceptions of human resources of two institutes were also compared with views of external sources such as society, parents and digital media. The opinion for infrastructure facilities related to administration, academics, living complexes and others were rated excellent for the two institutes. The academic related major aspects were found best places in the opinion of respondents for the two institutes. Financial matters such as pay-packages, supporting provisions are some of the aspects found satisfactory of the two institutes. The T2 has excelled in a few parameters whereas T1 has better place in most of the aspects as opined by respondents, society & media. This is a generic study and may be applied to most of the educational institutions of India in general and for technical educational institutions in particular with minor customization for individual organization.

Modeling Business Goal for Business/it Alignment Using Requirements Engineering

It is widely accepted that sustaining Business and Information Technology (IT) alignment is a complex task, due to the lack of appropriate alignment methodologies, rapid changes in running business processes and insufficient IT techniques to cope with such changes. One way of achieving successful alignment is the development of an IT system which meets business expectations. This is only possible if IT analysts take the organizational environment into account prior to implementing the system. This paper presents an organizational goal-oriented requirements elicitation approach which will allow the IT department to better understand the business goals of the organization to enable them to develop an IT system which will meet business expectations. It also describes what kind of goal modelling and human input is required in order to implement the “automatic modelling IT infrastructure” methodology. A process of order management in an automobile company has been used as a case study to validate the approach.

A multi-functional platform for implementing intelligent and ubiquitous functions of smart substations under SCADA

For more efficient and economical management of substations under SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, the concept of a smart substation has been introduced using intelligent and ubiquitous IT (Information Technology) techniques. A multi-functional platform needs to perform more intelligent and ubiquitous functions of smart substation effectively. In this paper, we propose a multi-functional platform to implement smart substations effectively. A prototype hardware, functions and communication interfaces on an embedded platform are introduced. Also, we suggest operating system architecture for smart substations.

The enigma of evaluation: benefits, costs and risks of IT in Australian small–medium-sized enterprises

The evaluation of information technology (IT) is fraught with misconception and there is a lack of understanding of appropriate IT evaluation methods and techniques. The benefits, costs and risks of IT need to be identified, managed, and controlled if businesses are to derive value from their investments. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study that used a questionnaire survey to determine the benefits, costs and risks of IT investments from 130 small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia. The analysis revealed that organizations from different industry sectors significantly differ in the amount they invest in IT but that firm size (in terms of turnover and number of employees) does not influence IT investment levels. Second, strategic benefits vary across different industry sectors. Third, the way employees adapt to change as a result of IT implementation depends on the size of the organization. Based upon the findings, a series of benchmark metrics for benefits, costs, and risks of IT are presented. It is posited that these can serve as a reference point for initiating a quality evaluation cycle in which benchmarking forms an integral component of the strategic process.

Local Adaptations to Global Trends: A Study of an IT-Based Organizational Change Program in a Nigerian Bank

The working assumption of this research is that the utilization of information technology (IT) and IT-based practices in any part of the world currently is taking place within the globalization trends. In recent times, studies in information systems (IS) are beginning to examine whether the globalization process portends homogeneity for developing countries' organizations or whether these organizations can utilize IT and IT-based management techniques according to the sociocultural requirements of their contexts. These studies show the importance of the local context and, more specifically, the importance of adapting global IT-based practices when implementing them in developing countries. However, the precise nature of these adaptations and the factors that shape them are still poorly understood--leaving this a fruitful area for research. In line with this view, this article explores how a Nigerian bank implemented and adapted a global IT-based technique, the factors that influence such adaptations, and what results are achieved.

Application of computers in diabetes carea review. I. Computers for data collection and interpretation

The paper reviews the contribution of information technology (IT) to diabetes care. An appraisal of this topic with respect to insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetic patients is carried out in view of the landmark findings of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) which has demonstrated that maintaining tight blood glucose control can delay the onset and slow the progression of the later life complications of diabetes. The review starts with the clinical background and the main features of the control schema in which diabetic patients receive insulin therapy. An overview is then provided of recent IT initiatives in diabetes care, and the application of IT techniques to assist in the diagnosis and characterization of patients with diabetes mellitus is considered. The role of IT approaches for short-term glycaemic control is discussed and the utilization of computers for collecting, viewing and interpreting home monitoring blood glucose data is reviewed; both quantitative and qualitative techniques being considered. In the second paper the role of decision support tools for planning insulin therapy using clinical algorithms, hand-held devices, knowledge-based approaches, telemedicine techniques and interactive simulations is reviewed, and the validation and clinical evaluation of these tools is discussed. The likely impact of the routine clinical application of implantable/non-invasive blood glucose monitoring devices is also considered. Finally, the application of computers as teaching tools is reviewed and the ways in which such educational approaches might be applied for disseminating the benefits of the DCCT trial more widely are discussed.