IT Applications Research Articles

Designing and Evaluating IT Applications for Informal Caregivers: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

A growing number of informal caregivers in many countries are important for effective functioning of health care in our society. Hence, they must receive the required support and services to continue providing care. IT applications can be used to support informal caregivers in their caregiving activities. However, evidence-informed guidelines for developing such IT applications and their evaluation are scarce. Hence, this scoping review can aid researchers and designers by providing design recommendations for IT apps for caregivers and potentially improve the design of IT applications for caregivers to meet their needs better. This study aims to describe the proposal for a scoping review of current practices and recommendations in designing and evaluating IT applications for informal caregivers. The scoping review will also discuss the opportunities and challenges in designing these IT applications. We will use a 5-step scoping review methodology to map relevant literature published as follows: (1) identify the research question, (2) identify relevant studies, (3) select relevant studies for review, (4) chart the data from selected literature, and (5) summarize and report results. A structured search will be conducted in PubMed, Scopus, IEEE digital library, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library databases. In addition, hand searches of reference lists and keyword searches in Google Scholar will also be conducted. Inclusion criteria will be researched (journal and conference) articles focused on IT applications designed for use by informal caregivers and study type to be qualitative studies. Two reviewers will independently identify articles for review and extract data. Conflicts will be discussed, and a third reviewer will be consulted if a consensus cannot be reached. These data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. The results from this scoping review will be presented in a narrative form, and additional data on study characteristics will be presented in diagrams or tabular format. Uppsala University first initiated this scoping review protocol in December 2021 as part of the European Union-funded project ENTWINE. This work was also supported by the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Cancer Society. The results will be presented in August 2023 and will be disseminated through a report to the European Union and a peer-reviewed journal publication. In addition, the team plans to share its findings on various public platforms, including social media, blog posts, and relevant conferences and workshops. This is, to our knowledge, the first study to map the literature on the design and evaluation of IT applications for informal caregivers. The scoping review's results will detail the requirements, design suggestions, and user preferences, as well as the usability criteria and features of IT applications for informal caregivers. A mapping of studies could inform the design and implementation of future IT applications for informal caregivers. DERR1-10.2196/47650.

Banking Chatbots: How Artificial Intelligence Helps the Banks

Abstract When we speak of solutions that can be designed, developed, and implemented to solve a determined problem in a specific domain, human intelligence shows that it cannot be kept within regular bounds. In addition, it consistently manages to produce innovative elements that increase efficiency, applicability, and abstraction, with the drawback of increasing the overall underlying complexity. As technology advanced and time passed, in every system there was a visible need to automate manual, repetitive, and mundane tasks to help save time and let humans focus on more important things. A practical example of such a system is the banking system. In this paper, our aim is to present how Artificial Intelligence (AI) helps this field through the use of chatbots. In this sense, we present and analyse five examples of such applications that are already used in the international banking system, highlighting the main benefits they bring. Finally, we present some conclusions regarding the chatbot systems analysed, acknowledging that the future will increasingly belong to IT applications of this kind.

E-Government Solutions in Poland: The State of E-Services Provided by a Selected Local Government Unit

Objective: The subject of the article is an attempt to determine the state of e-government development in local government units in Poland based on the example of the selected Piekary Śląskie City Hall, operating in the Śląskie voivodeship. The aim of the paper is to explain the state of e-government, then to present the applied IT tools and solutions in local government units in Poland, and make an attempt to assess the state of application of e-government solutions at the local level in a selected local government unit through the perspective of e-service provision according to the maturity model. Research Design & Methods: In this study, the method of deduction was used as well as auxiliary methods and techniques such as logical analysis, analysis and study of literature, and classification and scientific description. In order to perform the research task, the applied empirical procedure was supported by a critical review of the literature on the subject in Polish and English, and practical cooperation with a selected local government unit. The research part of the study used non-participant observation, a case study and a face-to-face interview. In order to obtain information, the Polish electronic platform for public administration services (ePUAP) of the Piekary Śląskie City Hall was analysed and an interview with an employee of this unit was conducted in July 2023. Findings: The results of the conducted scientific analysis show that IT and technological solutions and tools have a significant impact on the effective e-government functioning. In addition, these factors reflect access to e-services provided by public administration, as well as employee and customer competence with regard to e-government. Implications/Recommendations: The results of the scientific analysis and its findings contribute to existing research by providing knowledge on the state, progress, and development of e-government through the provision of e-services provided by public administration in a selected local government unit in the Śląskie voivodeship. Contribution/Value Added: The research shows that the interest in the development of e-government among researchers is great, because the topic is still up-to-date and has utilitarian values. The assessment of public e-services in a selected local government unit (i.e. the Piekary Śląskie City Hall) makes it possible to determine the level of the maturity at which the examined unit is located. The study may also serve as a introduction to and a basis for a comprehensive diagnosis of the state of application of IT and technological tools and e-government development in all local government units in Poland.

FUZZY PRE β-OPEN SET AND ITS APPLICATIONS

This paper deals with a new type of fuzzy open-like set, viz., fuzzy pre β-open set, the class of which is strictly larger than that of fuzzy preopen set [7]. Using fuzzy pre β-open set as a basic tool, here we introduce fuzzy pre β-regular space in which fuzzy open set and fuzzy pre β-open set coincide. Here we introduce two new types of functions, viz., fuzzy pre β-continuous function, fuzzy pre β-irresolute function. The applications of these two functions on fuzzy pre β-regular space are discussed here

JOINING THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM OF SOIL RESOURCES (SIGSTAR-200) WITH SOIL PROFILES INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL NETWORK FOR SOIL QUALITY MONITORING 8 KM X 8 KM

The rational and efficient management of land resources, in the frame of a sustainable agriculture and environment protection, have to be based on the operational, and at the same time, more detailed and accurate knowledge of soil resources. This knowledge is based on soil information obtained by carrying out soil surveys and field research, and by laboratory measurements of main soil physical and chemical parameters. Thus, the basic soil information, consisting primarily of data on soil profiles representative of the study areas is obtained. The objective of this paper is to develop several applications for coupling georeferenced data from Geographic Information System of Soil Resources SIGSTAR-200 with the information of soil profiles from the Soil Quality Monitoring Network 8 km x 8 km. The spatial distribution of existing soil profiles, as well as the distribution of soil types have been studied, and their representativeness is determined. IT applications have been developed to highlight the number of profiles consistent with the polygons containing them, or with the neighbouring polygons. The soil areas that are described by a profile from the soil profiles database (having a profile which is located inside the polygon) are also established.

Gap Analysis Of Modeling And Green IT Policy: A Systematic Literature Review Using PRISMA

Green IT Management, which aims to save energy in the business process ecosystem, is rarely used in the field of information technology. Because there is still little research and empirically, the application of Green IT is still in the modeling framework or local policies set stage, so not all companies are willing and able to do it. Because there is a gap between theory development and theory implementation, the right research direction is required so that the Green IT policy can be updated with the most recent conditions and accurately adopted. As a result of this situation, research questions must be addressed, such as whether the research gap from Green IT from its inception to 2022 exists, and whether the current Green IT policy modeling research direction can lead to implementation research. Using the PRISMA method as a guideline for conducting systematic literature reviews on the 200 most cited articles in the Scopus database, Google Scholar, and Semantic Scholar. In the final stage, 20 articles with conceptual discussions, 12 articles with empirical research, and 10 articles with policy implementation discussions were discovered. Based on the findings of the SLR study, it is possible to conclude that the first, the research gap, remains in the implementation section. Next, modeling and policy have not resulted in comprehensive implementation. Green IT research is still in its early stages, despite its steady progression over the last ten years. Empirically, not all companies are willing or able to implement because experimental research is still relatively limited in comparison to policy modeling research. According to this explanation, there is a gap between the implementation and development of theories or policy frameworks within the context of Green IT.

Misconception and scientific attitude of teacher towards elementary school geometry assessed from information technology transformation

There is a misconception about elementary school geometry material that makes the teacher's scientific attitude in implementing learning in the classroom still not optimal and causes the application of IT transformation to be uneven. This research aims to describe the misconceptions about geometry among elementary school teachers, the scientific attitudes of elementary school teachers in the process of learning geometry, and how elementary school teachers overcome misconceptions and optimize scientific attitudes learned from the role of IT. The subjects of this study were 171 teachers from 18 districts and cities. The research was conducted in a descriptive qualitative form by giving questionnaires about elementary school geometry concepts and teachers' scientific attitudes toward learning, analyzing answers according to criteria, and exploring the relationship between misconceptions and scientific attitudes learned from IT transformation. The results of this study indicate that conceptual errors were found in the research subjects, which included generalization and specialization misconceptions; the teacher's scientific attitude influences the misconceptions experienced; and the role of IT can help calculate and visualize abstract things in learning. The application of IT in the learning process shows good results for overcoming teachers' misconceptions and scientific attitudes, and of course, it can be an option for teachers to be able to apply it with various IT-based learning media that attract students' learning interests.

The Role of IT Applications on New Product Performance in the Digital Age: The Role of Supply Chain Synergy Mediation

Based on resource-based theory, dynamic capability theory and transaction cost theory, this paper analyzes the influence of IT application based on big data analysis on new product performance, the mediating role of supply chain collaboration and the moderating role of relationship risk between supply chain collaboration and new product performance in the context of supply chain collaboration in the digital age. The results show that IT advancement and IT consistency have significant positive effects on new product performance; Joint problem solving and information sharing in supply chain collaboration play a partial mediating role in the relationship between IT advancements and new product performance. At the same time, IT also plays a part of mediating role in the relationship between IT consistency and new product performance. Relationship risk positively moderates the relationship between information sharing and new product performance. The research conclusions not only enrich the existing theories, but also have important reference significance for the digitization and information construction and innovation development in the context of enterprise supply chain collaboration.

Adoption and Implementation of Self-Development IT Applications : An Empirical Study of State Islamic Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia

Implementing IT innovation in organizations is a complex and challenging process that affects organizational problems. The process involves many interacting factors and actors; hence this situation is difficult to control. This problem demonstrates the need to understand researchers' perceptions of IT adoption and implementation. This study aims to explore in depth the adoption and implementation of self-development IT applications (SDIT) in Islamic-based Higher Education Institution (IHEI) in Indonesia. The IT Adoption and Implementation Framework (Irawan et al., 2018) was applied as a lens to investigate the case. We conducted in-depth interviews with key informants involved during the adoption and implementation process in the organization. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Certain Focus Group Discussion (FGD) studies and specific interviews with key informants representing three levels of management explained that mediating factors such as post-implementation interventions, subjective norms, and facilitating conditions influence success in adopting and implementing IT innovations in such cases. This study concludes that managerial interventions play an important role in reducing resistance from authoritarian approaches to mandating use and serve as a determinant of its sustainability in the future. These findings have significant implications for understanding how to achieve success in IT adoption and implementation in the post-implementation phase by providing empirical evidence. Theoretically, this study contributes to IT adoption and implementation frameworks by identifying the active role of critical actors in the adoption and implementation of IT applications in higher education institutions.

Data-Driven Distance Metrics for Kriging-Short-Term Urban Traffic State Prediction

Estimating traffic flow states at unmeasured urban locations provides a cost-efficient solution for many ITS applications. In this work, a geostatistical framework, kriging is extended in such a way that it can both estimate and predict traffic volume and speed at various unobserved locations, in real-time. In the paper, different distance metrics for kriging are evaluated. Then, a new, data-driven one is formulated, capturing the similarity of measurement sites. Then, with multidimensional scaling the distances are transformed into a hyperspace, where the kriging algorithm can be used. As a next step, temporal dependency is injected into the estimator via extending the hyperspace with an extra dimension, enabling for short horizon traffic flow prediction. Additionally, a temporal correction is proposed to compensate for minor changes in traffic flow patterns. Numerical results suggest that the spatio-temporal prediction can make more accurate predictions compared to other distance metric-based kriging algorithms. Additionally, compared to deep learning, the results are on par while the algorithm is more resilient against traffic pattern changes.

On the Effects of Transaction Data Access Patterns on Performance in Lock-Based Concurrency Control

Transaction Processing (TP) plays a primary role in the design and implementation of IT applications and services. Many TP systems exploit lock-based concurrency control to guarantee atomicity and isolation of transactions that access shared data. In this article, we show that transaction data access patterns, in particular the order of data accesses along the transaction execution, have a noticeable impact on how lock-based concurrency control affects performance. We show that the performance can remarkably change depending on whether transactions, or a percentage of them, access data items following some common ordering rule or not. We investigate on this aspect and its root causes through an analytical modeling approach, and with the evidence of data gathered through both simulation and the execution of real transactional workloads. Finally, we show how the findings of our study can be easily exploited for improving the performance of common transactional workloads.

Computerized Assessment of Integrated Site Risk Specific to Industrial Infrastructures of Explosives, Taking Acts of Maliciousness Into Consideration

Abstract The general safety rules applicable to high-risk industrial sites are based on both the 4 principles of working safely with explosive substances (knowing the risks, separating the risks, limiting the risks and overlapping safety devices), as well as the specific characteristics of the general and particular reports of explosion safety, together with the technical aspects related to the possible causes of explosion, the effects of explosion and safety distances, the protection against accidental triggering of the explosion, as well as the security in the field of explosive powders and pyrotechnic systems highlighting the limits related to the principle of pyrotechnic safety (knowledge, prevention and limitation of pyrotechnic risk). The scientific article offers an original perspective of solving the problem in the field of explosion risk generated when explosive materials are involved, taking into account acts of ill-will, using the working facilities of some dedicated software for its analysis and evaluation, and the results obtained are expressed in a technical manner integrated within the specialized IT application TERRORISK.EXE 01.

Improving the database on land use planning in Vung Tau city, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province

Vung Tau city is an area where management of land use planning (LUP) and urban planning is quite complicated and has been successful in building LUP database. However, this database still has limitations that must be addressed, including (1) lack of data layer on current land use for building LUP database, (2) incompleted LUP attribute database, (3) lack of metadata, (4) no connection between LUP database and digital legal materials and (5) no overlay cadastral database to data layer of current land use and LUP database. To solve these problems, this research used many methods such as: documents and data collection, inheritance, expert interview, data processing and analysis, mapping, GIS application, and IT applications. The results of this study showed that the structure of cadastral database of 8 wards was succesfully converted from existing structure (according to Circular 17/2010/TT-BTNMT) to the standard structure (according to Circular 75/2015/TT-BTNMT). The 2019 land inventory data was standardized and data layer of current land use for whole city was built. In addition, the LUP database (period 2010 - 2020) for Vung Tau was improved, including: supplementing attribute information, completing metadata, connecting LUP database with relevant digital legal records, overlaying cadastral database with LUP database and data layer of current land use. Briefly, our results could be a foundation to help Vung Tau manage land sustainably, contribute to successfully building national land database and meet the exploitation requirements of LUP information in accordance with the orientation of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for study area.

A USER-FRIENDLY TOOL TO COMPUTE INFECTION PROBABILITY OF SARS-COV-2 INDOOR: THE USER GUIDE AND ITS APPLICATION IN MEDICAL PRACTICE

After some initial hesitancy at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the academic community agreed that the infection process is mostly airborne and generally associated with closed environments. Therefore, assessing the indoor infection probability is mandatory to contain the spread of the disease, especially in those environments, like school classrooms, hospital wards or public transportation, with higher risk of overcrowding. For this reason, we developed a software tool in Python to compute infection probability and determine those mechanisms that contribute to reduce its diffusion in closed settings. In this paper, we will briefly illustrate the model we used and focus our attention on the description of the main features of the software and give some examples of how it can be used in clinical practice to predict the spread of the disease in the rooms of a generic ward, optimize room occupancy or drive healthcare workers activity schedule. Finally, some limitations and further implementations of our work will be reported.

The Role of Information Technology in Raising the Efficiency of Amman Stock Exchange Mediated by the Behavior of the Stock Prices

The study aimed to explore the role of information technology in raising the efficiency of the Amman Stock Exchange, mediated by the behavior of the stock prices. The study chose a sample consisting of 24 companies that are listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. The study used the average of the abnormal return of the stocks gained by companies through information technology applications. The study carried out a multiple regression analysis to explore the degree to which the independent variable affected the dependent one. The study results found that the abnormal return of the stocks gained by companies through information technology applications is low. The study also found that there is a significant relationship between using IT applications and the efficiency of the Amman Stock Exchange, mediated by the behavior of the stock prices. Therefore, the study recommends expanding the scope of using IT in emerging stock markets, including the Amman Stock Exchange, with the aim of raising the operational efficiency of such markets.

USEFUL EXPERIENCE OF ONLINE LEARNING

It is hardly imagine our world without Internet: modern technologies have penetrated into different spheres from common life to industrial enterprises. The other place, where applications of IT are widely used, seems to be education. The online learning combined with the involvement of a wide variety of methods in training different subjects (including English) has become a leading dominant in modern education during the pandemic COVID-19. This useful experience will allow to implement it now in different situations, that can immerge unexpectedly or sometimes just for convenience. Being skillful and equipped with corresponding platforms (such as ZOOM, Moodle, Teams, Kahoots and many others) and methods suitable in such situations, teacher can make up an atmosphere of communication based on diverse activities online. The natural environment of speaking the language being studied will be the most effective type of interaction of students within the framework of online lesson. Basic knowledge is the basis for obtaining new competences through discussion of certain topical issues using the tasks set by teacher as well as through illustrative, audio and video materials which are more available in this case. Besides the teacher plays an important role as a mentor of students' communicative activity and creating a favorable atmosphere for the active involvement of all participants into the process of language acquisition in specific conditions online. The integrative approach will allow to highlight the most significant details in both advantages and disadvantages of online training and to analyze them respectively. Taking into consideration the obtained experience there is a certain possibility to summarize it in the frames of this article.

Framework for implanting EITA in SMEs: Leadership, communication, project management, and change management.

One of the main problems in implanting enterprise applications in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is the lack of methodological support to guide SMEs and IT consultants in this process. Besides, there is little information about leading the implantation project, change management, leadership, and communication in an integrated way. This article's objective is to provide methodological guides that allow the implantation teams to carry out this management appropriately. This work is based on a field study and interviews with key informants who know about implanting Enterprise IT Applications (EITA) in SMEs. This research results in a descriptive framework that allows the joint management of these four transversal areas (leadership, communication, project management, and change management) and the two focus areas (processes and people).

Modelling Digital Transformation Within the Financial Sector

Digital transformation is a socioeconomic change across organizations, individuals, societies, and ecosystems formed by the utilization and adoption of digital technologies. This study modeled the factors that drive the degree of digital transformation in the financial services sector in South Africa. Data from 350 participants was modeled in terms of seven factors: organizational IT application portfolios; organizational culture; organizational structure; organizational dynamic capabilities; leadership; employee roles and skills; and ethics. The analysis showed that organizational culture predicted 81.7% of the digital transformation.

ON NOVEL INTEGRAL TRANSFORM: ROHIT TRANSFORM AND ITS APPLICATION TO BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

ON NOVEL INTEGRAL TRANSFORM: ROHIT TRANSFORM AND ITS APPLICATION TO BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

Enhancing IoT Project Success through Agile Best Practices

Worldwide spending on Internet of Things (IoT) applications is forecasted to surpass $1 trillion by 2022. To stay competitive in this growing technological industry segment, lowering costs while increasing productivity and shortening time-to-market will become increasingly important. Adopting Agile Software Development practices for IoT projects may provide this competitive advantage, as it enables organizations to respond to change, while being dynamic and innovative. Applying a mixed-methods approach, agile IoT practitioners around the world and from diverse industries were surveyed and interviewed. Our study recommends that Agile Software Development team makeup, practices, and methods should be tailored to the specific industry, culture, people, and IT application of an organization. People play an important role in the success of agile projects; therefore, our research focuses on identifying the critical attributes of agile teams to maximize success. Our study identified the five critical agile practices: Collective Code Ownership, Continuous Integration, Single Team, Dedicated Customer, and Sprint Planning and found that both technical and soft skills are essential for successful IoT development.