Information Technology Hardware Research Articles

Dijital Ekonomi ve Rekabetçilik: Seçilmiş Asya ülkeleri Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

The purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of the status and development of the digital economy and digital competitiveness in selected Asian economies. Today's economy has become more digital due to scientific and technological developments. The digital economy is an economy based on digital technologies, knowledge and innovation. It involves the primary use of information technology hardware, software, applications, and telecommunications in all sectors of the economy. The importance of the research is that it presents an approach to determine the competitive position of countries in terms of digitalization. The study assessed the digital competitiveness positions of selected Asian countries on the basis of specially selected indicators. Eight Asian countries were included in the study: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and China. The study examined and compared the Network Readiness Index, Digital Competitiveness Index and E-Government Index. In addition, the World Bank, UNCTAD and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) databases were used as digital economy indicators. When the indices and indicators included in the study to evaluate competition in the digital economy are evaluated as a whole, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea have come to the forefront among the countries studied, while Indonesia and Thailand have lagged behind these countries. As a result, the study discusses what needs to be done for countries to maintain and improve their digital competitiveness and use modern digital technologies in all sectors of the economy.

Analysis and Design of Ticketing Application System (Case Study: Bebek Kaleyo)

Bebek Kaleyo is a restaurant chain with several outlets in the food business. Information technology (IT) equipment is used extensively in Bebek Kaleyo's operating processes, and any problems with the IT hardware are escalated to the IT department for solutions. However, each restaurant branch's reporting of interruptions is still done by hand. Based on these issues and the analysis, it is necessary to speed up the complaint procedure to guarantee quick repairs of IT equipment and successful execution of tasks. The research was conducted by examining the company's daily activities, and the results were used to develop a ticketing system for monitoring process improvements and reporting interruptions. A ticketing system that facilitates effective reporting of IT issues and monitors process improvements was designed and developed as part of this research using the prototype methodology. The installed ticketing system helps users at each branch report problems, keep track of repairs, and improves the efficiency and quality of service provided by the IT department in support of the supply and use of system and technology-related facilities. By using this ticketing system, Bebek Kaleyo hopes to improve overall process efficiency while streamlining the process of reporting IT concerns. This solution gives branch users the ability to discuss IT issues with the IT department in an efficient manner, which improves the organization's operational performance.

Wurtzite and fluorite ferroelectric materials for electronic memory.

Ferroelectric materials, the charge equivalent of magnets, have been the subject of continued research interest since their discovery more than 100 years ago. The spontaneous electric polarization in these crystals, which is non-volatile and programmable, is appealing for a range of information technologies. However, while magnets have found their way into various types of modern information technology hardware, applications of ferroelectric materials that use their ferroelectric properties are still limited. Recent advances in ferroelectric materials with wurtzite and fluorite structure have renewed enthusiasm and offered new opportunities for their deployment in commercial-scale devices in microelectronics hardware. This Review focuses on the most recent and emerging wurtzite-structured ferroelectric materials and emphasizes their applications in memory and storage-based microelectronic hardware. Relevant comparisons with existing fluorite-structured ferroelectric materials are made and a detailed outlook on ferroelectric materials and devices applications is provided.

Green Cloud? An Empirical Analysis of Cloud Computing and Energy Efficiency

The rapid, widespread adoption of cloud computing over the last decade has sparked debates on its environmental impacts. Given that cloud computing alters the dynamics of energy consumption between service providers and users, a complete understanding of the environmental impacts of cloud computing requires an investigation of its impact on the user side, which can be weighed against its impact on the vendor side. Drawing on production theory and using a stochastic frontier analysis, this study examines the impact of cloud computing on users’ energy efficiency. To this end, we develop a novel industry-level measure of cloud computing based on cloud-based information technology (IT) services. Using U.S. economy-wide data from 57 industries during 1997–2017, our findings suggest that cloud-based IT services improve users’ energy efficiency. This effect is found to be significant only after 2006, when cloud computing started to be commercialized, and becomes even stronger after 2010. Moreover, we find heterogeneous impacts of cloud computing, depending on the cloud service models, energy types, and internal IT hardware intensity, which jointly assist in teasing out the underlying mechanisms. Although software-as-a-service (SaaS) is significantly associated with both electric and nonelectric energy efficiency improvement across all industries, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is positively associated only with electric energy efficiency for industries with high IT hardware intensity. To illuminate the mechanisms more clearly, we conduct a firm-level survey analysis, which demonstrates that SaaS confers operational benefits by facilitating energy-efficient production, whereas the primary role of IaaS is to mitigate the energy consumption of internal IT equipment and infrastructure. According to our industry-level analysis, the total user-side energy cost savings from cloud computing in the overall U.S. economy are estimated to be USD 2.8–12.6 billion in 2017 alone, equivalent to a reduction in electricity use by 31.8–143.8 billion kilowatt-hours. This estimate exceeds the total energy expenditure in the cloud service vendor industries and is comparable to the total electricity consumption in U.S. data centers. This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems. Supplemental Material: Data files and the online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4442 .

Soft but Strong: Software-Based Innovation and Product Differentiation in the IT Hardware Industry

It has been argued in recent years that software is a significant value-creating factor within the manufacturing sector, leading to an increased interest in understanding the mechanisms by which firms may benefit from software-based innovation. Empirical work in evaluating these mechanisms, however, remains underdeveloped. In this paper, we examine one such process through which software-based innovation may provide value for information technology hardware firms in the U.S. Specifically, we examine the influence of software patents on the extent to which firms are able to benefit from product differentiation in their product markets. Using data on over 380,000 patent grants for innovations filed by 730 public IT hardware firms over the time period 1996-2015, we find that greater levels of software-based innovation within the firm are associated with higher levels of product differentiation in product markets: increases in the intensity of software patents within the firm’s patent stock, which we refer to as software intensity, are associated with lower total similarity of product offerings, relative to those offered by rivals, as well as fewer effective competitors in the market. Furthermore, using a different dataset consisting of 23,000 new IT hardware product announcements, we show that firms with greater software intensity subsequently launch a higher number of new products. Moreover, these firms are more likely to launch products that are not only differentiated from those of rivals but also distinct from their own product lines. Our research contributes to the emerging literature on software-based innovation by substantiating an important mechanism through which software helps transform industry sectors, specifically through product differentiation.

General Practitioners' Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Systems: Interview Study.

BackgroundGeneral practitioners (GPs) care for a large number of patients with various diseases in very short timeframes under high uncertainty. Thus, systems enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) are promising and time-saving solutions that may increase the quality of care.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand GPs’ attitudes toward AI-enabled systems in medical diagnosis.MethodsWe interviewed 18 GPs from Germany between March 2020 and May 2020 to identify determinants of GPs’ attitudes toward AI-based systems in diagnosis. By analyzing the interview transcripts, we identified 307 open codes, which we then further structured to derive relevant attitude determinants.ResultsWe merged the open codes into 21 concepts and finally into five categories: concerns, expectations, environmental influences, individual characteristics, and minimum requirements of AI-enabled systems. Concerns included all doubts and fears of the participants regarding AI-enabled systems. Expectations reflected GPs’ thoughts and beliefs about expected benefits and limitations of AI-enabled systems in terms of GP care. Environmental influences included influences resulting from an evolving working environment, key stakeholders’ perspectives and opinions, the available information technology hardware and software resources, and the media environment. Individual characteristics were determinants that describe a physician as a person, including character traits, demographic characteristics, and knowledge. In addition, the interviews also revealed the minimum requirements of AI-enabled systems, which were preconditions that must be met for GPs to contemplate using AI-enabled systems. Moreover, we identified relationships among these categories, which we conflate in our proposed model.ConclusionsThis study provides a thorough understanding of the perspective of future users of AI-enabled systems in primary care and lays the foundation for successful market penetration. We contribute to the research stream of analyzing and designing AI-enabled systems and the literature on attitudes toward technology and practice by fostering the understanding of GPs and their attitudes toward such systems. Our findings provide relevant information to technology developers, policymakers, and stakeholder institutions of GP care.

Metode Live Memory Acquisition untuk Pencarian Artefak Digital Perangkat Memori Laptop Berdasarkan Simulasi Kasus Kejahatan Siber

Information technology's hardware and software are constantly evolving. The rise in cybercrime cases is consistent with this trend. While operating systems can be hacked, personal data can be stolen and encrypted, making it impossible for users to access the information. Cybercriminals are using social media data to target personal information currently. Users' usernames, passwords, and other personal information can be stored in a device's memory, as well as browser cookies. Pre-analysis, analysis, and post-analysis are the three stages of the research process. "Live Memory Acquisition" is the proper method for obtaining data from a device's memory. There is digital evidence in the form of an email address, a password, Facebook, and PayPal accounts as well as a link URL discovered in the analysis of the results of the acquisition of artifact one. The results of the artifact 2 acquisition did not reveal any passwords. There was no evidence of email or Facebook passwords in the analysis of artifact 3 acquisition results, but the overall data test results showed that the total number of test results on artifact 1 was 100%, 57.14% on artifact 2, and 71.42% on artifact 3.

Gender dimensions of digitalisation: a comparison of Venture Capital backed start-ups across fields

ABSTRACT The digitalisation of economic activities has given rise to much hope that it will lead to greater opportunities for women and a more ‘level playing field’ in the work place. On the other hand, there are concerns that the increasing success of the companies that are driving digitalisation might mean that the male-dominated culture of software companies is becoming more prominent and potentially reduces opportunities for women. This study investigates the gender distribution of key professionals in 8164 Venture Capital (VC) funded digital start-ups, as compared to information technology hardware and life sciences and biotechnology start-ups, as well as the impact of gender on VC funding. We find that, despite extensive advances in digitalisation over the past decade, women's participation remains low and continues to have a negative relationship with VC funding in both digital start-ups and other start-ups. Thus, our findings suggest that the recent digitalisation is not ‘levelling the playing field’ on a broad scale and that companies and policymakers need to be proactive to design inclusive strategies to capture benefits from a diverse workforce in digital start-ups.

Key performance‐cost tradeoffs in smart electric vehicle charging with distributed generation

Growing penetration of Electric Vehicles (EV) and Distributed Generation (DG) is driving sharper peaks in demand and supply, which, if poorly managed, manifest as over- or undervoltage and disrupt grid service quality. Smart charging schemes reschedule EV charging load according to factors such as grid stability, price signals, etc. It remains unclear how to do this while meeting the diverging needs and expectations of multiple concerned participants. This paper proposes two smart charging schemes for secondary voltage control in the distribution network and analyses performance-cost tradeoffs relating to key players in the Smart Grid. To support these schemes, a distributed communications architecture is designed that jointly minimises traffic burden, computation load and investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hardware. Scheme I (Smart Curtailment), curtails load and DG for peak shaving. Scheme II (Smart Correction) optimises cost-efficiency for subscribing users by maximising power transfer during off-peak hours or when renewable energy is high. Performance of both schemes is consolidated statistically under almost 6 months of practical input profiles. Dramatic improvements in EV & DG capacity are demonstrated and key performance-cost tradeoffs relating to Voltage Control, Peak Shaving, User Inconvenience, CO2 Emissions and ICT Deployment Cost are identified.

India’s Information Technology industry: prospects for growth and role in structural transformation

The idea that service-sector industries, rather than manufacturing, can drive growth and structural change has caught the imagination of several scholars and policy-makers. For India, the Information Technology (IT) industry is often cited as an example of one such industry. However, empirical evidence for such claims is still weak. This article evaluates the Indian IT industry’s potential for growth. Most studies on the subject focus on the narrower segment of IT-Services in India while we take a holistic view and consider the potential of both software product and services, IT hardware, outsourced/offshored business processes, and activities involved in creation of intellectual property. We evaluate the present position and future prospects of the industry including India’s position in the technology value chain as well as future opportunities for the industry in the context of relocation of global manufacturing value chains and growth of the domestic market. We also discuss the likely impact of technology on jobs in the overall economy, direct and indirect job creation potential of the IT-BPM (Business Process Management) sector and the spill-over effects of technology as an enabler of new business models. Finally, we draw some lessons for effective industrial policy.

Designing of integrated information system (IIS) scheme for private higher education in indonesia: a strategic plan

The private higher education (PHE) is now starting to intensify the use of IT (Information Technology). Often the activities conducted under conditions that are not ideal due to budget constraints. To develop the ICT (Information Communication Technology) systems in legalization efforts of private higher education is to encourage the use of software based on open-source software, the integration of all cross-data unit services within a more efficient organization to support the Decision Support System database and data warehouse, a service that is prioritized for all and access to all levels and access universally. Integration of both horizontally (between systems managing different areas) and vertically (following a structural hierarchical relationship). Placed within the framework of a holistic, top-down approach. Developed and implemented naturally, from the base (database infrastructure) grew (application and access). The PHE development done gradually evolved in different time frames, focus on procurement and IT facilities, both hardware and software. Focus on how to manage IT-based services. Focus on how to bring IT and internal seep into the organizational structure, and ultimately the transformation of the organization and the people in it. Stages of analysis can be defined with the Use Case diagrams, divided into several main modules.

Enabling smart manufacturing through a systematic planning framework for edge computing

In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, an increasing number of advances in manufacturing result from smart integration of information technology (IT) and data-driven solutions in factories. An essential limiting factor for improvements is the capability of the IT system. In addition to the IT hardware specifications, the choice of an appropriate IT architecture (Cloud, Fog, or Edge Computing driven) determines the overall investment, environmental impact, and resulting net benefit. This article presents a comprehensive systematic approach that seeks to support the choice of an appropriate IT infrastructure. It is deliberately aimed at supporting especially non-IT experts, guiding the practitioner through a multi-phase process. The approach is applied to an exemplary use case in the field of industrial technical building equipment, but can also be applied to any application case involving the planning of the IT infrastructure in a manufacturing context. The results illustrate the applicability and the potential of appropriately selecting a suitable IT infrastructure.

The Impact of Information Technology on Information System Effectiveness in Jordanian Telecommunication Companies

This study aimed to test the impact of information technology on Information systems effectiveness in Jordanian Telecom Companies. The study adopted a five-dimensional scale to measure information technology (people, hardware, software, databases, and networks), while the information systems' effectiveness was measured through four dimensions: end-user satisfaction, system usage, system security and suitability of the system for management levels. To achieve study aims, a descriptive-analytical method was used. The study was conducted on a sample of (152) managers working in these companies. This study found that there is a high-level average for information technology dimensions and Information Systems effectiveness dimensions. Also, the results showed a significant impact of information technology dimensions (people, software, databases, and networks) except hardware on effectiveness information systems. It was also evident that there a significant impact of information technology on Information systems effectiveness dimensions (end-user satisfaction, system usage, system security and suitability of the system for management levels).

Can Information Technology Promote Academic Performance of School-aged Children? An Empirical Study Based on CEPS

It is inconclusive whether the information technology can promote academic performance of school-aged children. Based on the China Education Panel Survey data provided by the NSRC, we used the method of quasi-experimental of propensity score matching to discuss the net effect of information technology on academic achievements. We found that: i) A significant difference existed in the academic performance between urban and rural school-aged children. The urban students were superior to those from the rural areas, whereas no positive correlation was found between the educational level and family economic condition; ii) Family human capital stock and family size (single child families) were positively correlated with internet usage, but the academic pressure reduced the probability of family Internet usage; iii) PSM revealed the negative impact of information technology on students’ achievements when stratified into urban versus rural, and poverty versus non-poverty. The improvement of Chinese and English was realized indirectly by changing reading habits, while mathematics was directly by taking effective learning time. Our findings implied that a three-party linkage among the government, the school, and the family is required to emphasize the instrumental rationality of the information technology, promote the formation of the Internet learning preference, and support the development of the information technology hardware.

Soft but Strong: Software-Based Innovation, Product Market Competition, and Value Creation in the IT Hardware Industry

It has been argued in recent years that software is a significant value-creating factor within the manufacturing sector, leading to an increased interest in understanding the mechanisms by which firms may benefit from software-based innovation. Empirical work in evaluating these mechanisms remains under-developed however. In this paper, we examine one such process by which software-based innovation may provide value for information technology hardware firms in the U.S. Specifically, we examine the influence of software patents on the extent to which firms are able to benefit from product differentiation in their product markets. Using data on over 380,000 patent grants for innovations filed by 730 public IT hardware firms over the time-period 19962015, we find that greater levels of software-based innovation within the firm are associated with higher levels of product differentiation in product markets: increases in the intensity of software patents within the firm’s patent stock, which we refer to as software intensity, are associated with lower total similarity of product offerings relative to those offered by rivals as well as fewer effective competitors in the market. Furthermore, using a different dataset consisting of 23,000 new IT hardware product announcements, we show that firms with greater software intensity subsequently launch a higher number of new products. Moreover, these firms are more likely to launch products that are not only differentiated from those of rivals but also distinct from their own product lines. Our research contributes to the emerging literature on software-based innovation by substantiating an important mechanism by which software helps transform industry sectors, specifically through product differentiation.

An exploratory study of the determinants of information technology hardware production: a country-level analysis

ABSTRACTThis research examines empirically factors influencing IT hardware production by employing a country-level data set for 1985–2009. Our results show that IT hardware production is driven by various country-level factors, but the impacts of these factors differ for two types of IT hardware. Electronic data processing (EDP) production has shifted to low GDP countries where wage levels are low, and a large portion of EDP produced in these countries tend to be exported to high GDP countries where demand is high. While the gap has decreased, however, medical and industrial equipment (MIE) production is still largely done in advanced economies. These findings imply that losing the manufacturing base in the U.S. might not be an issue for certain types of products, such as EDP, but it could be a serious issue for MIE. Thus, policies must be industry specific; a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy would not work for the global IT industry.

Big data collision: the internet of things, wearable devices and genomics in the study of neurological traits and disease.

Advances in information technology (IT) hardware in the last decade have led to the advent of small connected devices broadly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT and its subcategory of wearable devices (wearables) both have the potential to greatly impact biomedical research. This focused review covers recent biomedical research using the IoT and wearables in the area of neurological traits and disease. In addition, a look into the future of biomedical research using IoT devices and wearables as well as some areas requiring further consideration by the field will be discussed.

Thermal Performance and Efficiency of a Mineral Oil Immersed Server Over Varied Environmental Operating Conditions

Complete immersion of servers in dielectric mineral oil has recently become a promising technique for minimizing cooling energy consumption in data centers. However, a lack of sufficient published data and long-term documentation of oil immersion cooling performance make most data center operators hesitant to apply these approaches to their mission critical facilities. In this study, a single server was fully submerged horizontally in mineral oil. Experiments were conducted to observe the effects of varying the volumetric flow rate and oil inlet temperature on thermal performance and power consumption of the server. Specifically, temperature measurements of the central processing units (CPUs), motherboard (MB) components, and bulk fluid were recorded at steady-state conditions. These results provide an initial bounding envelope of environmental conditions suitable for an oil immersion data center. Comparing with results from baseline tests performed with traditional air cooling, the technology shows a 34.4% reduction in the thermal resistance of the system. Overall, the cooling loop was able to achieve partial power usage effectiveness (pPUECooling) values as low as 1.03. This server level study provides a preview of possible facility energy savings by utilizing high temperature, low flow rate oil for cooling. A discussion on additional opportunities for optimization of information technology (IT) hardware and implementation of oil cooling is also included.

Measuring the environmental impact of ICT hardware

Society needs information and communication technology (ICT) hardware to produce, process and store highly valuable information. This hardware, of course, affects the environment throughout its whole life cycle, starting with manufacturing, where the necessary scarce and precious resources (e.g. rare earth metals) are often mined under miserable environmental conditions. This leads to pollution of soil, water and air in the present as well as for the future. During the use phase of ICT hardware, energy consumption impacts the environment. At the end of life of ICT hardware, recycling, disposing as e-waste in landfills or disassembling are additional impacts that affect the environment. More and more producers and users, especially companies, want to measure these impacts, which is a complex task. However, approaches to measure the impacts are at hand, either as single indicators, measuring one specific impact, or as composed indicators, combining different single indicators into one summarizing indicator. However, collection of data, measurement, assessment and interpretation are challenging. Unfortunately, guidelines for those who want to measure the impact of ICT hardware are rare. With our research, we aim to shed light on the various approaches to measure impacts of ICT hardware as well as their application in practice. Based on a literature review, we identified different indicators and them to the attention of experts from companies to assess these approaches in terms of practicability, significance and value for practice. The results show that research investigates and proposes a variety of different more or less complex indicators. However, business prefers single indicators, which are easy to measure and understand.

Thermally Conductive-Silicone Composites with Thermally Reversible Cross-links

Thermally conductive-silicone composites that contain thermally reversible cross-links were prepared by blending diene- and dienophile-functionalized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with an aluminum oxide conductive filler. This class of thermally conductive-silicones are useful as thermal interface materials (TIMs) within Information Technology (IT) hardware applications to allow rework of valuable components. The composites were rendered reworkable via retro Diels-Alder cross-links when temperatures were elevated above 130 °C and required little mechanical force to remove, making them advantageous over other TIM materials. Results show high thermal conductivity (0.4 W/m·K) at low filler loadings (45 wt %) compared to other TIM solutions (>45 wt %). Additionally, the adhesion of the material was found to be ∼7 times greater at lower temperatures (25 °C) and ∼2 times greater at higher temperatures (120 °C) than commercially available TIMs.