Service Approach Research Articles

Journalism as a Service: How Tablet News Service Influences Subscriber Retention and Long-Term Profitability

With the decline of advertising revenue, the newspaper industry faces the challenge of increasing audience-supported revenue. While news organizations must provide quality journalism to their readers, a complementary approach is to create better reading experiences using mobile news delivery. Focusing on the reading experience and building a long-term relationship are tenants of service-dominant logic theory. We study the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which provided its subscribers iPads with training and tech support while discontinuing its print edition. We analyze clickstream and subscription data to examine how participating in the iPad program influences subscriber retention, how the effect of the iPad program varies by region, and whether the customer lifetime value (CLV, discounted expected future profits) of subscribers who enrolled in the iPad program outweighs the cost of the program. The iPad program decreases subscriber churn across regions and subscriber segments. The CLV of subscribers in the iPad program is greater than the cost of iPads, training, and tech support, with newer subscribers showing higher CLV. The results demonstrate the importance of shifting to service-oriented approach in journalism and the potential of mobile devices to increase readership and long-term profitability.

Get Simple Box – a contained case

Research methodology The case study used a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative data from interviews with Ross Black and quantitative data from company financials and market reports. The analysis focused on understanding the strategic decisions, operational challenges and market positioning of Get Simple Box. Case overview/synopsis Get Simple Box, led by Ross Black, specializes in versatile portable storage solutions, offering container rentals, sales, modifications and delivery services across seven locations. With a focus on simplicity and essential modifications like windows and AC units, the company has generated over $10m in revenue, primarily from container sales. Using a service-oriented approach, Get Simple Box emphasizes direct local business communication and cost-effective solutions, differentiating itself from competitors. Applying Oliver Gassmann’s Magic Triangle framework, the company targets diverse customers, maintains streamlined operations and provides practical value, positioning itself strongly in the growing market for shipping container solutions. Complexity academic level Undergraduate Business Students in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Desiring Omelette Not Breaking the Egg: Democracy, Elections and Good Governance in Africa

The quest for good governance, development, and good life for the people which African leaders hoped will be propelled by democracy prompted them to embrace western liberal democracy However, the objective condition in many African countries reveals fundamental gap between expectations and the realities. In line with these actualities, this paper examines the differences between Africans desire for democracy and the attendant expectations and the present reality and reasons for the chasm. It examines election and electoral issues as factors in democracy and good governance. In doing this, the paper adopts content analysis of data gathered essentially from secondary sources and adopts good governance theory. The paper contends that although African leaders and people are desirous of good governance and has put in place democratic structures expected to achieve good governance, these democratic institutions, and structures; the contents and processes have not vivified good governance. It argues that the challenges of democracy and good governance in many African countries are poor election and electoral system. This is because the democratic structures and the manner of conduct of elections characterized by corruption, violence, lack of adequate ideological depth on the part of political parties and service-oriented approach to politics, personalization of, and under-performing institutions among other factors negate the principles of democracy and cannot produce good leadership and good governance. The paper concludes that though multi-party elections have been held in many countries in Africa since 1990, the quality of these elections for the advancement of democracy and by extension good governance has generated concerns and query the sense of optimism for multi-party elections. It therefore argues that for African countries to achieve the desirous goals and benefits of democracy, good governance and development, elections must be free, fair, and conducted regularly. Also, political parties and democratic institutions and structures must be adequately strengthened to function properly.

Cow-calf chute side data collection in the field and its role in cow-calf consultation

Cattle Health and Reproduction LLC is a private vet practice located in the Snake River valley of Idaho servicing east Idaho and southwest Montana. It primarily serves beef cattle produc­ers with a major focus on large cow-calf operations with herds of 250 to 3,500 mother cows. The practice also services stocker/ yearling/feedlot operators and has a growing embryo transfer division. The practice retains a strong service-oriented approach with significant involvement in the herd management of its cli­ents. Data collection and information management has been a focus of the practice over the past couple of years and has aided in the development of a consultation leg of the practice.

Assessment of Funding Approach to Adult Learning and Education in Rural Communities

The challenges of Nigeria as a nation require holistic approach and appropriate education to tackle for socio-economic development and peaceful co-existence of Nigerians. Adult learning and education (ALE) being a discipline with huge potentials for adults, is capable of tackling the problems. However, it needed to be scaled up through new initiatives and approaches. This study therefore, assessed the funding approach to ALE programmes in Ekiti State, Nigeria; with a view to understand how ALE programmes have been funded and implemented in Nigeria in recent times. Review of concepts and terms were carried out. Qualitative research method was used to obtain data. It was discovered that Ekiti state Government adopted specific need and service-oriented approach to funding and implementation of adult learning and education programmes in the State. The approach yielded positive results with 67 adult literacy centres established and 5,029 adult learners enrolled between 2019 and 2022. A total of 45 individuals and 12 faith based organisations sponsored ALE programmes. It is therefore recommended that government at all levels should adopt need and service-oriented approach to funding and implementation of ALE programmes with a view to make ALE relevant in providing solution to the Nigeria’s socio-economic, political, environmental and security challenges.

“After god is police”: lived experiences of rural police officers in Trinidad and Tobago

PurposeIn Trinidad and Tobago, there is significant reliance on the traditional and centralized police service to engage in crime response and suppression in urban and rural areas. In this regard, policing scholarship has largely focused on the impact of policing within urban areas, producing a gap in knowledge on what policing rural spaces entails. Despite this, there is some understanding that policing rural spaces can engender diverse challenges and calls for variability in policing strategies. The current study examines the lived experiences of police officers stationed in rural communities in Trinidad and Tobago.Design/methodology/approachUsing the descriptive phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven police officers stationed in rural communities throughout the country.FindingsInterviewees narrated the importance of community dynamics and community-specific needs in shaping their roles and functions when operating in and serving these communities. Three major themes were identified: (1) network activity in policing; (2) engagement in localistic and service-oriented approaches and (3) community-specific challenges.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that while there is an emphasis on traditional law enforcement responsibilities, in the rural context, police responsibilities and duties are constantly being redefined, reframed and broadened to meet the contextual community and geographic-specific diversities and demands.

Evolutionary Architectures in Web Applications: A Comparative Study of Client-Server, Multi-Tier, and Service-Oriented Approaches

This manuscript provides an in-depth comparative analysis of three core architectural models in web application development: client-server, multi-tier, and service-oriented architectures (SOA). Through a series of simulations, case studies, and empirical data, the study evaluates the efficiency, scalability, and adaptability of these architectures within commercial environments. The research highlights the evolving needs of modern web applications and offers insights into choosing the appropriate architectural strategy to enhance performance and maintainability in dynamic business settings.

Analisis Preservasi Arsip Statis di Dinas Perpustakaan dan Kearsipan Kabupaten Labuhanbatu

The aim of this research is to find out more about the Labuhanbatu Regency Library and Archives Service's approach to static archive preservation, as well as the challenges faced and the steps taken to overcome them. To ensure the security and protection of archives, static archive preservation is carried out. This type of research uses qualitative descriptive techniques. This research uses the Miles & Huberman data analysis approach, which specifically focuses on data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Through observation, interviews, and documentation, researchers collect information for data analysis. Two people participated in this research as informants. Using a purposive sampling approach, these informants were selected from among those who met the requirements of the research subjects, namely, archivists who had knowledge of archival preservation. The research findings show that although the static archive preservation of the Labuhanbatu Regency Library and Archives Service is good, it still does not meet the expectations of the theory that guides the research. Archives activists are of the opinion that despite their best efforts, archives are still not optimally maintained due to various obstacles, including inadequate funding, inadequate facilities and infrastructure, and human resources who do not understand archives. Efforts made by archivists include providing special archival training on archival science, building inadequate facilities and infrastructure with allocated funds, and prioritizing the use of the budget for crucial tasks to achieve archive maintenance in good condition.

Exif2Vec: A Framework to Ascertain Untrustworthy Crowdsourced Images Using Metadata

In the context of social media, the integrity of images is often dubious. To tackle this challenge, we introduce Exif2Vec , a novel framework specifically designed to discover modifications in social media images. The proposed framework leverages an image’s metadata to discover changes in an image. We use a service-oriented approach that considers discovery of changes in images as a service . A novel word-embedding-based approach is proposed to discover semantic inconsistencies in an image metadata that are reflective of the changes in an image. These inconsistencies are used to measure the severity of changes. The novelty of the approach resides in that it does not require the use of images to determine the underlying changes. We use a pretrained Word2Vec model to conduct experiments. The model is validated on two different fact-checked image datasets, i.e., images related to general context and a context-specific image dataset. Notably, our findings showcase the remarkable efficacy of our approach, yielding results of up to 80% accuracy. This underscores the potential of our framework.

A service-oriented approach to clinical trial recruitment for dementia and brain health: Methods and case examples of MyAlliance for Brain Health.

Recruitment of sufficient and diverse participants into clinical research for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias remains a formidable challenge. The primary goal of this manuscript is to provide an overview of an approach to diversifying research recruitment and to provide case examples of several methods for achieving greater diversity in clinical research enrollment. The University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (KU ADRC) developed MyAlliance for Brain Health (MyAlliance), a service-oriented recruitment model. MyAlliance comprises a Primary Care Provider Network, a Patient and Family Network, and a Community Organization Network, each delivering tailored value to relevant parties while facilitating research referrals. We review three methods for encouraging increased diversity in clinical research participation. Initial outcomes reveal an increase in underrepresented participants from 17% to 27% in a research registry. Enrollments into studies supported by the research registry experienced a 51% increase in proportion of participants from underrepresented communities. MyAlliance shifts power, resources, and knowledge to community advocates, promoting brain health awareness and research participation, and demands substantial financial investment and administrative commitment. MyAlliance offers valuable lessons for building sustainable, community-centered research recruitment infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of localized engagement and cultural understanding. MyAlliance led to a significant increase in the representation of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and individuals from rural areas.The service-oriented approach facilitated long-term community engagement and trust-building, extending partnerships between an academic medical center and community organizations.While effective, MyAlliance required substantial financial investment, with costs including infrastructure development, staff support, partner organization compensation, and promotional activities, underscoring the resource-intensive nature of inclusive research recruitment efforts.

Infrastructure in the field of customs services: categorical and conceptual apparatus’ structural model and analysis

The article analyzes scientific approaches to the definition of the terms “infrastructure”, “customs infrastructure”, “infrastructure in the field of customs services”, including in the context of functional aspects. The study purpose is to form theoretical approaches and analyze the categorical and conceptual apparatus of the infrastructure in the field of customs as an institution of customs service, the consumers of whose services are the state, society and business. The problem urgency is due to the ongoing changes in the external and internal environment of customs administration: the service orientation global vector of public administration. The study objective is to form the author’s definition of the concept of service customs infrastructure, reflecting the target function, economic, functional, technical and social characteristics. The study concept is based on the theory of service-oriented customs administration in the field of customs services and on methodological approaches of the scientific school of the Russian Customs Academy. Based on the types’ analysis of customs services, the interests’ system of customs sphere subjects, a systematic approach to the concept under study has been substantiated, and a structural model of infrastructure in the field of customs services, classification of its elements according to vertical and horizontal principles have been developed. The analysis of regulatory and legal documents defining the standard requirements for the objects of production and information technology infrastructure of the automobile checkpoint is carried out. The results obtained allow us to propose the author’s definition of infrastructure in the field of customs services in a narrow and broad sense. Conclusions have beendrawn about the directions of improving the infrastructure in the field of customs services based on a service-oriented approach.

School Leaders’ Leadership Practices and Their Influence on Crisis-Related Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: A Multi-Site Case Study

This study explores how the leadership practices of school leaders influence their ability to solve problems and make decisions effectively in times of crisis. It employs a qualitative research design where a series of semi-structured interviews were carried out with six secondary school leaders, ages 55 to 59, from three different education district offices (Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah or PPDs) in a northern Malaysian state. Each participant has at least 30 years of experience in education and has served in the position of school leader for at least three years. From the thematic analysis of the interview data, four leadership practices on problem-solving and decision-making during crises were identified, i.e., providing guidance and direction; inspiring and empowering; collaborative problem-solving and decision-making; and adopting a service-oriented approach, which is an eclectic approach to leadership. The findings highlight the critical importance of strategic problem-solving and decision-making in overcoming challenges faced by schools. It also highlights how effective leadership ensures the resilience and success of a school, its community, and relevant stakeholders by fostering a supportive and collaborative environment, promoting proactive problem-solving, and prioritising service to students and staff during crisis. This research provides valuable insights for school leaders and policymakers seeking to enhance leadership effectiveness in crisis management.

Empowering Engineering Education: The Evolution and Impact of the EPICS Program in India

This paper chronicles the implementation of the Engineering Project in Community Service (EPICS) course within a curriculum, highlighting its journey of evolution from a Non Mandatory Course – Mandatory Course – Credit course for engineering students. The EPICS program was introduced in 2016 by one of the affiliated colleges in India, started this initiative to overcome employability issues, and for developing leadership skills, team work, problem solving skills in students. The goal was to inspire students to actively engage in real-time, community-oriented projects, shifting their focus from theoretical concepts to practical application. This change aimed at addressing employability concerns in India by fostering a more hands-on and service-oriented approach to engineering education. Studies the implementation of EPICS in engineering education effectively to address employability issues in India while enhancing students' technology-based learning and other skills, analyses academic performance of student whether increased after introducing the EPICS program? outcomes. As of now, the program has successfully completed its eighth iteration. In the first iteration, EPICS was introduced as a non-mandatory course, offering an opportunity for interested students from various disciplines to participate by registering in the course voluntarily. The EPICS program, spanning four years of engineering education, has yielded positive outcomes for its students. An analysis of the program's impact reveals that 60% of students secured placements in reputed companies, 35% pursued higher studies, and 5% ventured into their own startups. Throughout the iterations, the program has actively collected reflections from students and alumni, as well as valuable feedback from parents and industry experts. Based on the insights gathered, the course structure and delivery have undergone significant changes from the initial iteration to the current one. These refinements aim at enhancing the effectiveness of the program, ensuring a more enriching and impactful learning experience for the participating students. Keywords— Assessment, Design thinking, EPICS

Features of design and construction works in the context of digital transformation of industrial pro duction

The analysis results of the scientific and technological progress influence on technologies for performing design and construction works are presented. A model of the design and construction works performing, based on a service-oriented approach to the creation of complex technical systems, which takes into account the features of the digital transformation of business models for modern design organizations is proposed. The question about the relevance of developing new methods for assessing the effectiveness of design and construction activities is raised. Keywords design and construction works, digital transformation, Industry 4.0, process model, efficiency assessment

System Architecture for IT Talent Ecosystem Using Service Oriented Approach

The purpose of this research is to propose a System Architecture to facilitate the IT Talent ecosystem using a service-oriented approach. The need for this is important to support digital transformation in the IT Talent ecosystem. Human resources in the IT field are one of the key factors in implementing IT in organizations. However, the availability of IT human resources has not been able to meet the needs and challenges of the organization in synergizing IT and business. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the qualifications of IT human resources do not meet the existing competency standards. In this research, we use a service-oriented system development method. It consists of three stages, such as (1). Analysis and Observation, (2). Analysis from an in-depth interview, and (3) System Architecture Design, which includes Analysis Features of the Systems, Service Analysis and Identification, Specification of Architecture, and Layering. The novelty and findings of this research are a system architecture, which is called a middleware architecture, that can bridge entities in the IT Talent ecosystem to provide and use services to each other for support collaboration. In this study, we proposed a system architecture that acts as middleware to support collaboration and integration in the IT Talent ecosystem. We proposed TALENT-IT, which acts as a service bus mechanism. We used a service-oriented approach to develop this platform. The results of this study are: list of features, list of services, SOA layer, SOA architecture, and monetization feasibility and challenges. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2023-04-04-03 Full Text: PDF

A Conceptual Framework for Developing Intelligent Services (a Platform) for Transport Enterprises: The Designation of Key Drivers for Action

In the digital era, effective business management relies on dynamic risk analysis and real-time data integration, particularly amid the evolving landscape shaped by technological advancements and external factors such as climate change and global health crises. This study delves into the specific demands for digital services within the transportation sector, focusing on the crucial task of identifying an optimal data-driven management system (platform) to bolster transportation decision-making processes. The paper revolves around the formulation of a comprehensive conceptual framework for the development of intelligent services and platforms tailored explicitly to transport enterprises. Methodologically, a thorough analysis of critical infrastructure-related challenges was conducted, emphasizing the integration of a service-oriented approach to enhance overall functionality. Central to the paper’s approach is the careful navigation of conflicting user requirements, resource constraints, and the imperative of maintaining adaptability in service implementation. Additionally, a robust data flow analysis framework is presented, encompassing data collection, model building, and model extrapolation, which enables the generation of reliable outputs essential for informed decision-making. Notably, the study underscores the pivotal role played by the EN.I.R.I.S.S.T. research infrastructure in delivering essential services to the transportation domain, offering accessible data, user-friendly interfaces, and data analysis tools. The findings highlight the enthusiastic reception of the diverse services among potential users, indicating a strong willingness to engage and benefit from the proposed solutions. By emphasizing the integration of intelligent services, the paper seeks to present a systematic approach aimed at enhancing the efficiency, productivity, and competitive edge of transport enterprises through the strategic deployment of advanced technological solutions and proactive planning. This paper ultimately contributes cutting-edge research insights, empowering transportation managers, planners, and decision-makers with valuable resources for informed business intelligence and corporate strategy.

A structural model for building a system for the development of methodological competence and methods for evaluating its effectiveness

The paper develops a structural model for building a system for developing methodological competence. The structural model is built based on a service-oriented approach to developing large software complexes and includes six subsystems. Each subsystem is implemented as a separate microservice, which allows system scaling. The paper describes a technique that allows you to build a teacher’s competency map and evaluate its eight components: cognitive, didactic, project, informational, communication, reflective, monitoring, and personal-motivational. A four-level scale is proposed for assessing the level of competencies. A methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the methodical competence development system based on the hierarchical expert method has been developed. The system was verified and implemented. According to the results of the system implementation, the intensification of the educational process and the improvement of the training quality of students were recorded. Students’ success in studying subjects has increased significantly. Namely, the number of bad students has decreased by 15 %, the number of «excellent» students has increased by 10 %, and the number of «good» students has increased by 18 %. The paper touches upon creating information technologies adequate for improving the higher education system. The goal is the targeted development and implementation of information technologies in educational institutions and the creation and operation of integrated, flexible software to support a mixed system for organizing the educational process, as well as increasing the efficiency of implementing a mixed system for organizing the educational process.

THE USE OF DIGITAL TWINS MODELS WHILE A RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMATION IN A VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT

In modern conditions, the use of digital industrial technologies for maximum automation of various production processes and the creation of unmanned technologies is the main direction of technological development of production in the key of the Industry 4.0 and NDE 4.0 paradigms with the widespread use of information and communication technologies, including virtual reality and digital twins. To implement digital non-destructive testing, service-oriented approach is proposed as an effective solution for obtaining, processing and storing data of the results of various types of testing, the basic architecture of this solution is given. The simulator’s model of the industrial radiography laboratory is considered, discrete models of objects’ digital twins are constructed while obtaining an image, for which the basic provisions and tools of set theory are used. Examples are given illustrating the correspondence of mathematical models of digital twins to their graphical counterparts, as well as the image formed on the detector as a result of modeling and performing a radiation type of non-destructive testing. It is noted that the virtualization of such a complex technical facility as an industrial radiography laboratory allows for a short period of time and at minimal cost to verify the feasibility of technical solutions and engineering hypotheses taking into account real production conditions and needs, while providing, on the one hand, variability in the implementation of technological operations, and on the other – the number increase of trained qualified specialists according to the radiation type of non-destructive testing.

An interactive and integrated framework for collaborative product development in cloud manufacturing using STEP standard-based ontology model.

Due to the growing competition of firms in manufacturing industries, the enhancement of the design of new products for quick and collaborative interaction of stakeholders is inevitable. A customer-oriented approach during the enhancing of product design requires the support of various stakeholders' collaboration from their functionality perspectives. Accordingly, manufacturing firms try to increase the product quality through the continuous collaboration and speeding up of the design process. Moreover, new manufacturing paradigms like cloud manufacturing require global and distributed collaboration of stakeholders. One competitive key necessity for firms is the integration of stakeholders in the design and production stages. This article has proposed an interactive and integrated framework for a cloud collaborative manufacturing system. The proposed framework uses the international STEP standard which ensures data integrity in the whole product development processes. The framework enables stakeholders to work collaboratively and interactively in their disciplines, while it also ensures coherency of modifications to avoid conflicts. The proposed model is introduced using an improvisational design method based on the STEP standard to create an interactive platform with a service-oriented approach and supports stakeholders for their own semantics. In addition to examining the needs of an interactive system, the article provides an architecture for implementation of this perspective. A comprehensive case study is designed to show the capabilities of the proposed framework.

Generalized information with examples on the possibility of using a service-oriented approach and artificial intelligence technologies in the industry of e-Health

The object of the research is the review of ways of implementing service-oriented approaches (SOA) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in modern healthcare systems. The generalization of these ways will allow to cope with complex modern challenges, such as increasing demand for medical services, growing volumes of data, and the need for high-quality and effective treatment. This work is aimed at this. The field of e-Health is rapidly gaining popularity and combines many different systems. But due to the large number of tools and system providers with different architectures, there is a problem that different systems are difficult or impossible to integrate and connect with each other. It is shown that the use of SOA makes it possible to break down complex systems into separate services that can interact with each other to ensure fast and accurate data processing, effective management of medical resources, and improvement of the quality of medical services. AI can be used to analyze large volumes of medical data, predict risks, diagnose diseases, and develop individualized treatment plans. The use of AI in healthcare systems helps improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce treatment times, and improve patient outcomes. The synergy of SOA and AI in health care systems is important when SOA provides the means to integrate various AI solutions, which allows for the interaction of different services and the exchange of data to ensure effective treatment and collaboration between medical professionals and artificial intelligence systems. Such distribution of systems makes it possible to scale them without affecting other services that are already running. Therefore, it becomes possible to use unified data transfer protocols and combine different services into one system without radically changing the codebase and building additional layers of abstraction for interaction between services that cannot be combined in one system. Examples of the use of SOA and AI in modern health care systems to improve the quality of medical services, optimize resources and ensure an individual and effective approach to patient treatment, which can be used at the next stages of medical reform in Ukraine, are considered.