Online Service Providers Research Articles

DSPPV: Dynamic service function chains placement with parallelized virtual network functions in mobile edge computing

This study configures an architecture based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) with the aim of providing online services to end users in Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) networks. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology can provide these services in MEC by turning hardware middleboxes to Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) for mobile users. Network services are chained as an ordered sequence of VNFs named Service Function Chains (SFCs), which are provided by directing traffic to the required VNFs. Meanwhile, the SFC placement problem is challenging for provisioning online service requests under limited resource availability and improving quality of service. We propose DRL-based Dynamic SFC Placement method with Parallelized VNFs (DSPPV) to solve this problem that seeks to maximize long-term expected cumulative reward. By sharing VNFs in parallel, DSPPV can achieve computational acceleration in providing online services. Any pair of VNFs that do not conflict on traffic can process the packet simultaneously, so configuring SFC with parallelized VNFs will reduce the SFC length and thus reduce the latency. In addition, DSPPV increases the ability to process future requests by extracting the distribution of initialized VNFs. The performed simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed architecture. Specifically, the obtained numerical results show that the average number of accepted requests has improved between 4% and 15%.

Location-aware deep learning-based framework for optimizing cloud consumer quality of service-based service composition

<span>The expanding propensity of organization users to utilize cloud services urges to deliver services in a service pool with a variety of functional and non-functional attributes from online service providers. brokers of cloud services must intense rivalry competing with one another to provide quality of service (QoS) enhancements. Such rivalry prompts a troublesome and muddled providing composite services on the cloud using a simple service selection and composition approach. Therefore, cloud composition is considered a non-deterministic polynomial (NP-hard) and economically motivated problem. Hence, developing a reliable economic model for composition is of tremendous interest and to have importance for the cloud consumer. This paper provides “A location-aware deep learning framework for improving the QoS-based service composition for cloud consumers”. The proposed framework is firstly reducing the dimensions of data. Secondly, it applies a combination of the deep learning long short-term memory network and particle swarm optimization algorithm additionally to considering the location parameter to correctly forecast the QoS provisioned values. Finally, it composes the ideal services need to reduce the customer cost function. The suggested framework's performance has been demonstrated using a real dataset, proving that it superior the current models in terms of prediction and composition accuracy.</span>

Factors influencing the health satisfaction of users of public health and medical institutions in South Korea.

In this study, we investigated the health satisfaction levels of users of regional health and medical institutions in South Korea and the influencing factors. We included randomly selected 300 people with experience in using health and medical institutions from panel data targeting the entire nation. We used questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and sociodemographic characteristics to analyze the health satisfaction. EQ-5D-5L was used to measure health-related quality of life in five areas: mobility, self-management, daily activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed in three steps to examine the factors influencing health satisfaction. The analysis showed that the health satisfaction was positively (+) correlated with monthly income, mobility, self-management, daily life, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, and negatively (-) correlated with the number of chronic diseases and type of health insurance. The influencing factors in Step 1 and 2 were chronic diseases (β = -0.380, -0.385), respectively. The influencing factors in Step 3 were pain/discomfort (β = 0.202), anxiety/depression (β = 0.257), and the number of chronic diseases (β = -0.222). The current data suggested that regional health and medical institutions should focus their services on residents with chronic diseases. Moreover, they should expand physical activities to relieve physical pain or discomfort and provide services related to mental health. To accomplish these, we suggested that the government will need to promote post-service health checkup results as a key project, provide user-customized services, provide online services utilizing ICT, expanding the government's financial support, and building infrastructure.

Incorporating User Item Similarity in Hybrid Neighborhood-Based Recommendation Systems

Recommendation systems have been developed in many domains to help users with information overload from the large volume of online multimedia content by providing them with appropriate options. Recently developed hybrid recommendation systems require a large amount of data to understand users’ interests and give appropriate suggestions. However, several internet privacy issues make users skeptical about sharing their personal information with online service providers, limiting the potential of these systems. The study in this paper introduces various novel methods utilizing the baseline estimate to learn user interests in specific item features from their past interactions. Subsequently, extracted user feature vectors are implemented to estimate the user-item correlations, providing an additional fine-tuning factor for neighborhood-based collaborative filtering systems. Comprehensive experiments show that utilizing the user-item similarity scores in the rating prediction task can improve the accuracy of hybrid neighborhood-based systems by at least 2.11% compared to traditional methods while minimizing the need for tracking users' digital footprints.

Identifying How E-Service Quality Affects Perceived Usefulness of Online Reviews in Post-COVID-19 Context: A Sustainable Food Consumption Behavior Paradigm

In this study, the concept of online food purchasing is explored where consumers are not required to visit markets to purchase their foods, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between perceived e-service quality and related customer service outcomes in online shopping context. The influence of sustainable marketing practices in terms of perceived e-service quality (ESQ), perceived usefulness of online reviews (PUO), brand self-connection (BSC), personal innovativeness (PRI), and willingness to pay for online food services (WPO) has largely been neglected in the previous studies. The present study proposes a conceptual model to fill this gap and empirically examines how ESQ affects PUO, BSC, WPO, and e-word-of-mouth (e-WOM) of food delivery service brands. An online questionnaire survey was conducted with 423 customers utilizing the PLS-SEM-based approach to determine product indicators. Empirical results reveal that ESQ significantly influence BSC and PUO. In the same vein, PUO significantly influence BSC, while BSC significantly influence e-WOM and WPO. The results further indicate that PRI moderates the relationship between ESQ and BSC. In a post-pandemic context, our analysis indicates enormous implications for food service delivery brands in emerging economies. Online food service providers should consider reviewers’ opinions about the products and services they offer and encourage their customers to write positive reviews of the products and services they offer.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act – In Need of a Major Software Update

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) unfairly discriminates against copyright holders by allowing online service providers to employ inadequate and outdated takedown protocols of copyright infringement. These protocols promote piracy resulting in illegal advertisement revenue streams. Congress must reform the DMCA to ensure online service providers are held properly accountable when copyright infringement occurs on their platforms. Specifically, the DMCA’s existing takedown protocols should be reformed to ensure online service providers cannot benefit from issues associated with advertisements attached to posts containing infringing material. This Note examines the pertinent sections of the DMCA; relevant caselaw concerning the DMCA, online service providers, copyright holders, and internet users; and recommendations for changes to be made to reconstruct the DMCA so that it may fulfill its original purpose. The proposed recommendations address rising tensions between copyright holders and online service providers. These proposed solutions involve revising existing takedown protocol requirements to give copyright holders more freedoms rather than limiting their remedies to a “band-aid” fix that only provides an illusory remedy. Efficient and updated procedures should be added to the DMCA, to ensure that copyright holders are protected from the issues presented by an ever-digital climate. We cannot continue to apply a law written in Short Code to a world living in the Metaverse.

Avoiding the Diffusion of Responsibility in Social Networking Groups: A Field Experiment on Responses to Online Help-Request Referrals

Help-request referral (HRR) campaigns are being increasingly adopted by online service providers to attract online traffic and engage new users. In these campaigns, participants are required to collect a specific amount of help from their social network in exchange for attractive rewards. Participants often face challengesin obtaining positive feedback from their social networking groups due to the diffusion of responsibility. Based on the triangle model of responsibility, this study proposes and empirically tests a research model that examines two key determinants (i.e., request personalization and relational closeness) of recipients’ perceived responsibility that further shape their responses to HRR. Our field experiment empirically supports the research hypotheses. Overall, this study enriches the literature on online social referrals by focusing on HRR, where social referrals are broadcasted and senders reap referral benefits. The study also provides practical insights for HRR designers and social networking service providers.

제너러티브 아트의 보호에 관한 시론

‘Generative Art’ is a artistic work in which some or all of the work is produced using an autonomous system programmed with algorithms; it is a field of Digital Art. This art form has existed for years, but works were not properly evaluated since it is difficult to prove what is original. However, with the advent of Non-Fungible Tokens(NFTs), the original can now be verified, and thus this art form has achieved rapid growth over the last few years. This study examined whether Generative Art can be protected by the current Copyright Act. To this end, it classified Generative Art creation based on the level of contribution by human into four different types. 1)A type in which humans create works using software, 2)a type in which humans create parts and combine them with algorithms, 3)a type in which works are created with mathematical functions, and 4)a type in which works are created using Artificial Intelligence(AI). This study also sought ways to protect works created by AI, which are not protected under the current Copyright Act. In addition, it examined how to protect Generative Art by reviewing whether the exemption provisions of Online Service Providers(OSP) can be applied when a violated work is traded on an NFT platform.

Analysis of the Needs of Social Workers Regarding Their Utilization of ICT in the System of Provision of Social Services (Kyiv City, Ukraine)

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is an important element in the work of social workers. Recent progress in ICT creates fundamentally new opportunities for social work in the provision of social services, including high-quality and timely responses to the requests of vulnerable population groups and persons in crises. In the information sector, work in the social sphere requires knowledge and skills in effective search, accumulation, processing, storage, presentation, and transmission of data using computers and computer networks. A social worker must be able to use information and computer technologies both for self-development in the professional sphere and for organizing their daily practical activities and solving socially significant problems. Therefore, it is necessary to form and develop ICT competence in professional activities for the quality provision of social services. The purpose of the study is to determine the ICT tools used in the practical work of social workers in the provision of social services, the scope of ICT application, and the analysis of the needs of social workers in Kyiv regarding the introduction of ICT into the system of providing social services.An online survey of social workers of state and non-state organizations in Kyiv, which provide social services to vulnerable population groups and persons in crises, was conducted. The theoretical sampling method was used, which made it possible to formulate generalized recommendations regarding introducing ICT tools into the social services system. To determine the typical ICT tools and directions of ICT used in social work, an expert meeting was held with specialists of the Department of Information and Analytical Work of the Kyiv City Center of Social Services. Resource monitoring was used for the automated search of information on the Internet.The authors of the article researched the information and communication technologies used by social service providers in their work and highlighted the prospects of ICT tools in state and non-state organizations. The ICT tools that are most often used in the provision of social services have been determined as a result of a survey of social service workers of state and non-state organizations in Kyiv. These tools are grouped into three main categories: communication channels, information dissemination channels, and methods of building online service provision processes. The key needs of social workers regarding the use of ICT tools in the process of providing social services and the most typical challenges in the implementation of these technologies are presented in the article. The authors identified the advantages of using ICT in the provision of social services and proved the effectiveness of the use of electronic services as a quick and effective tool in the process of meeting the requests of vulnerable population groups. The prospects for the use of ICT in the provision of social services are highlighted as well. It has been shown that the use of information and communication technologies in the provision of social services will positively affect the quality of the provision of social assistance and social services. The use of these technologies by social institutions makes it possible not only to effectively respond to the challenges of the military situation in Ukraine but also to promptly respond to the requests and needs of social service recipients and provide them with quality services. The authors presented the main ICTs that can be used by social workers when providing social services.

FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE AND ONLINE EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN – KEY PRIORITY AT THE EUROPEAN UNION LEVEL

We are experiencing a period full of physical and virtual uncertainty and insecurity, the Covid-19 period being a milestone regarding the increase of the phenomenon of sexual abuse and online exploitation of children. The wide accessibility of technology creates the opportunity for offenders to commit such crimes on children. Protection of children against any form of violence or abuse is a key priority at the European Union level, aiming at fighting the online and offline abuse on children, including production and diffusion of materials showing abuses on children, such as online sexual exploitation of children. In this regard, the European Union efforts aim at creating a specific legal framework in order to make easier for the Member States to detect and report the cases of online sexual abuse, to prevent such situations, and to support the victims. Thus, the Commission wants to clarify the role that the online service providers should have in order to protect the children. The main problem identified is the scarce reporting of such crimes, and therefore, the impossibility of identifying the victims.

Digital Marketing Capability and MSMEs Performance: Understanding the Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamism

Objective: This study examines the influence of digital marketing capability on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) performance. Environmental dynamism was the moderator in this relationship. Design/Methods/Approach: This study design was a quantitative approach. The research was conducted in Lamongan Regency. The research populations are managers or owners of MSMEs in the area. Using non-probability and purposive sampling techniques, this study reports the responses of 138 respondents from small and medium enterprises in Lamongan. Data were primarily gathered through self-reported online questionnaires. Partial Least Square (PLS) was then used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings: The results show a positive effect of digital marketing capability on MSMEs performance and that environmental dynamism strengthens the relationship between digital marketing capability and MSMEs performance. Originality: Our study highlights the importance of focusing on digital marketing capability as a superior business strategy in responding to changes in consumer behavior. Empirical research on digital marketing capabilities in small-scale companies from the context of developing countries has not received serious attention (Chinakidzwa & Phiri, 2020b). To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to link digital marketing capabilities to the MSMEs performance in Lamongan. Almost no previous research has examined environmental dynamism as a moderating role, especially in developing countries. Practical/Policy Implication: the owners or managers must focus on establishing and implementing the ability to apply digital marketing effectively. Digital marketing capability becomes one of the Company's strategic sources in creating competitive advantages, contributing to better business performance. An important practical implication of this research is that when MSMEs can adapt and transform digitally, they should concentrate on increasing digital marketing capability through activities such as providing product information on digital platforms, providing online services for customer needs, and building relations and communication with online consumers. Careful consideration of a firm's digital marketing capability is needed to improve business performance.

Evaluasi Pemanfaatan Koleksi E-book dan E-journal Terhadap Kinerja Studi Mahasiswa UAJY Selama Masa Pandemi Covid (2020-2021)

Since March 24, 2020 Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta has started implementing distance learning so that teaching and learning activities is carried out online. UAJY supports units have adjusted the policy by providing online services. This of course will make it difficult for libraries to serve their collections. Service that was originally carried out face-to-face must be done online, such as book lending services, which can no longer be done in person. In order to continue to be able to assist users in accessing the information provided, library services are emphasized on online services such as electronic books (e-books) and electronic journals (e-journals). The presence of a collection of e-books and e-journals is expected to be able to meet the needs of users in finding reference sources. This research will be prioritized to explore answers to the following questions: How do students perceive online services to support to study performance? To what extent is the level of use of online collections (e-books and e-journals) in supporting to study performance? The method of this research is descriptive quantitative. Quantitative research with descriptive format aims to explain, summarize various conditions, situations, or variables that arise in the community that are the object of research based on what happened.

Creativity and partnership

Creativity and partnership

On Digital Reproductive Labor and the “Mother Commodity”

Reproductive domestic labor is shifting from its old norm of invisibly creating and maintaining labor power in the highly private and ostensibly non-economic zone of the household. This paper asks whether new forms of complex motherhood, and the means presented to mothers for coping with them in the digital age, should be conceived of as further unpaid labor that sits on top of old forms of exploitation. As mothers increasingly become digital reproductive laborers, the family home is becoming a public and highly economized zone: a workhouse for both standard employers and emerging parties who designate themselves as merely providing online services. In contrast to the frequently posited thesis that mothers are only indirectly drawn into the circuit of capital, this paper argues that the current situation creates the “mother commodity”: a being whose social reproductive labor time is supercommodified via the normative addition of “audience commodity” labor duties.

Pengaruh Demand, Orriented Attitude, Dan Orriented Behavior Terhadap Kepuasan Pelanggan Pengguna Shopee

The development of the internet and technology at this time makes it easier to transact online through web-based shopping sites or e-commerce. E-commerce is currently growing rapidly in Indonesia, with various business applications, one of which is the Shopee application. Shopee brings a large and profitable business opportunity that offers the sale of products or goods and the provision of online services. This study aims to analyze customer demand, shopee application customer behavior and customer satisfaction using the Shopee application. The method used in this research is a quantitative method. Data was collected using library research methods, documentation, and questionnaires. The results of the questionnaire have been tested for validity and reliability have also been tested, in the form of the assumption of normality. The findings of this study indicate that the population in this study are students who use the Shopee application within the UST Faculty of Economics, and the research sample is determined by means of a questionnaire method that has been tested for validity and reliability so that 55 respondents are obtained. The data that has been collected, then carried out data testing, model testing, and SPSS hypothesis testing. Based on the results of the analysis and discussion, the authors conclude that the marketing strategy and service quality together have a positive and significant effect on Shopee purchase satisfaction.
 Keywords: E-commerce, Shopee, Demand, Oriented Attitude, Behavior Attitude, Customers Satisfaction

Analysis of The Influence of Instructional Design and Usability on Student Motivation in Online Tutoring

Learning in the online era is not a barrier for tutoring institutions in providing online services. However, from the user's perspective, there is an inhibiting factor, namely decreased learning motivation when using online learning platforms. One of the aspects is usability and instructional design. In particular, students' approaches to learning through online tutoring systems were examined. Students from various types of education participate in this course namely junior high students, high school students, vocational high school students, universities and the general public. Using a qualitative research approach that examines data from the perspective of student experience. The study found that the completeness and clarity of instructional design had a dominant factor in influencing students' learning motivation. While the usability aspect is not significant enough in influencing the learning motivation of tutoring

독일의 저작권-서비스제공자법 (Urheberrechts-Diensteanbieter-Gesetz)의 주요 내용 분석과 시사점

Recently, some online platform regulations have been the subject of debate regarding Platform Responsibilities in the EU, U.S.A., Korea, and Japan. In 2019, the European Union introduced Article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive that strengthens liabilities for online content-sharing services providers (OCSSP). First, in the EU, Germany enacted a new Copyright-Service Provider Act to introduce Article 17 whose directive is the OCSSPs’ direct responsibility for communicating copyright-infringing content to the public and to make their best efforts to obtain licenses from the copyright-holder to receive immunity from copyright infringement. OCSSPs must take blocking measures to prevent the continuous upload of copyright-infringing content in the future if the right-holder of the contents informs OCSSPs of the substantial information that copyright infringing content is servicing their platform. The German Act introduced some articles to respond to an overblocking measure of OCSSPs. For example, “Uses authorized by law”, “Uses presumably authorized by law”, “Minor uses”, and “Flagging of uses authorized by law” are introduced to ensure the fundamental rights of service users. In addition, OCSSPs should pay compensation to the copyright-holder and related-rights holder, if works are used for fair use. Compared to the Korean Copyright Act, OCSSPs may belong to a hosting service provider and a special type of online service provider. An obligation to obtain a license, to take notice and stay down, and to pay compensation, is necessary for debating the improvement of Korea’s online service provider immunity regulations.

An Examination of Academic Library Privacy Policy Compliance with Professional Guidelines

Objective – The tension between upholding privacy as a professional value and the ubiquity of collecting patrons’ data to provide online services is now common in libraries. Privacy policies that explain how the library collects and uses patron records are one way libraries can provide transparency around this issue. This study examines 78 policies collected from the public websites of U.S. Association of Research Libraries’ (ARL) members and examines these policies for compliance with American Library Association (ALA) guidelines on privacy policy content. This overview can provide library policy makers with a sense of trends in the privacy policies of research-intensive academic libraries, and a sense of the gaps where current policies (and guidelines) may not adequately address current privacy concerns. Methods – Content analysis was applied to analyze all privacy policies. A deductive codebook based on ALA privacy policy guidelines was first used to code all policies. The authors used consensus coding to arrive at agreement about where codes were present. An inductive codebook was then developed to address themes present in the text that remained uncoded after initial deductive coding. Results – Deductive coding indicated low policy compliance with ALA guidelines. None of the 78 policies contained all 20 codes derived from the guidelines, and only 6% contained more than half. No individual policy contained more than 75% of the content recommended by ALA. Inductive coding revealed themes that expanded on the ALA guidelines or addressed emerging privacy concerns such as library-initiated data collection and sharing patron data with institutional partners. No single inductive code appeared in more than 63% of policies. Conclusion – Academic library privacy policies appear to be evolving to address emerging concerns such as library-initiated data collection, invisible data collection via vendor platforms, and data sharing with institutional partners. However, this study indicates that most libraries do not provide patrons with a policy that comprehensively addresses how patrons’ data are obtained, used, and shared by the library.

Metered Boot: Trusted Framework for Application Usage Rights Management in Virtualized Ecosystems

The adoption of virtualization and cloud computing technologies have revolutionized how services and applications can be developed, deployed, and operated to achieve better elasticity, flexibility, and scalability. Multiple stakeholders can be involved for providing online services; each of them plays one or more roles (i.e., service operator, application vendor, and infrastructure provider) to create a customized operating model based on the business requirements. The operating model changes from one business to another, and it may even change at different stages of the same business. A trusted relationship among stakeholders for secure information exchange is the key to enable such flexibility. However, traditional usage compliance methods (e.g., in-person audit, dynamic licensing, and subscription) lack explicit trust among involved parties and the flexibility and scalability to support dynamic sizing of services and applications with low overhead. In this work, we argue the need for a new trust framework to manage application usage rights and propose Metered Boot to provide trusted, capacity/usage-based usage rights management for services and applications deployed in virtualized environments. Metered Boot decouples application workload instantiation for service operators, usage rights governance for application vendors, and resource provisioning for infrastructure providers. We leverage cryptoprocessors (e.g., Trusted Platform Module (TPM)) on commodity servers to generate trusted proofs which are managed by efficient cryptographic construction, Merkle hash tree, for usage rights compliance. We integrated our framework with OpenStack and demonstrate that Metered Boot is able to achieve high scalability and low overhead for instantiating virtual network functions (VNFs).

Art Therapy Service Provision during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Objective: To report novel developments in standard art therapy practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic circa 2020-22. Background: Art therapy services are a new phenomenon in the Middle East, with current practitioners having received their training primarily in the UK, US, and Australia. Religious therapies, such as prayers, rituals, talismans (against the evil eye) and Quranic recitation continue to be common approaches to mental illness in the Arabian Gulf. The visual arts have experienced a renaissance in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, with billions of U.S. dollars of government funds invested in art education, galleries, exhibitions, and museums (Louvre Abu Dhabi, Museum of Islamic Art, etc.). Qatar has a national strategy to become an art and cultural hub in the Middle East. Methodology: Self-reflective exercises, process art, and specialist discussions among 5 experts in the field currently practicing in the Gulf were conducted in 2020 to document and analyze new methodologies and perspectives implemented during COVID-19 lockdowns, primarily in the area of telehealth and telemedicine. A related study by the authors in 2020, “Best Practices in Art Therapy Telehealth Communication: Perspectives from the Middle East,” provided additional analytical data. Qualitative data was organized into themes using standard Grounded Theory techniques. The practitioners framed their therapeutic work within the model of Relational Cultural Theory (RCT). Results and Discussion: The thematic findings were grouped under the headings: “Stigma,” “Empowerment,” “Confidentiality,” “Therapeutic Relations,” and “Art/Nonverbal Communication.” The pandemic allowed practitioners to expand services geographically outside of the Gulf beyond traditional face-face meetings through the Zoom.com videoconferencing platform. Online sessions provided unexpected benefits in the areas of increased privacy and reduction of social stigma. Since telehealth laws in the Gulf are almost non-existent, practitioners collaborated with international partners to develop best practices and ethical guidelines adapted to the local cultural context. Results of the analysis revealed shifts in previously established boundaries and power dynamics (clients and therapists can turn video and microphone off, see each other’s house, pets and other family members). The presence of family members at home sometimes impacted the privacy of the client, but in some situations allowed opportunities to meet extended family members, providing additional diagnostic clues into family dynamics. A reduced ability to communicate and understand nonverbal cues and body language (eye contact was different, lack of seeing the body) was cited as a drawback to virtual clinical encounters. The expert / novice skill level disparity of the therapist / client was diminished when co-creating digital artwork (ex. use of the Zoom whiteboard). The limitations on art materials that could be obtained during shop closures for some clients increased creativity and innovation in artmaking, but for others it decreased artmaking opportunities. Conclusion: All aspects of art therapy in the Arabian Gulf, and especially online services provision, are under-researched. Areas for further inquiry include: cultural adaptation of western models of care, local perceptions of the origins and treatment of mental health disorders, and awareness and acceptance of expressive arts psychotherapeutic interventions.