Systematic Mapping Research Articles

Devaluation of Work and Its Linkage With Worker Risks in the Recent Transformation of the Work Sphere

ABSTRACTOver the last decades, sociologists of work have paid increasing attention to the critical phenomena in the labor market, among them the devaluation of work and its factors. Based on an analysis of publications in the field, this paper outlines problems of transforming work meanings and values, including their linkage with new worker risks and job security caused by the rapid work changes, precarization, social inequality, growing population gap between the advanced and developing countries, global pandemics, climate crisis and the like. These phenomena reflect social, economic, political, and legal changes and their impact on the sphere of work. Current work challenges have initiated research discussions in the work sphere that have helped spotlight the ongoing transformation of work meanings/values. The article reviews the diversity of theoretical approaches and practical implications of work values transformation from the perspective of factors determining long‐lasting shifts in work values, ranging from recognizing the intrinsic meanings of work to the predominance of pragmatic, instrumental work attitudes. The authors identified three main types of transforming work values based on a systematic mapping of publications. First, the prevalence of material, pragmatic values almost does not leave space for the social value of work. Second, it is the perception of work as a meaningless activity that cannot contribute to work satisfaction. Third, it is a vision of a society without work. When describing these types, the authors outline the transformation of work into an ordinary market product that has lost its intrinsic value and become a source of frustration, alienation, and psychological stress for workers. Diversity of work values reflects the controversial processes related to the global transformation of labor from the growth of innovative potential of some professions to the fear of technological unemployment and new risks for others.

Unveiling the microservices testing methods, challenges, solutions, and solutions gaps: A systematic mapping study

Microservices architecture (MSA) is widely used by enterprises and related practitioners. Due to the importance of MSA in the industry, failure to identify its potential faults and errors will cause serious consequences. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct testing on the MSA to guarantee its quality and reliability. As a key task in the software development lifecycle, microservices testing can effectively identify defects and errors caused by incorrect or unexpected behavior of microservices software, ensuring the quality of microservices software. Currently, related reviews lack a comprehensive summary of the challenges and solutions faced by microservices testing. To fill this gap, this study provides a comprehensive review of the microservices testing. It analyzes 93 primary studies from 19595 pieces of research, eventually identifying nine categories of microservices testing methods, four types of challenges, and 5 specific solutions to challenges. The conclusion shows that the current part of microservices testing methods is significantly different from other architectural testing methods, lacking exploration of testing methods under different communication mechanisms. Furthermore, this paper discusses the above conclusions, providing directions to further narrow the gap in solutions to challenges and future development directions for microservices testing.

Assessing basic/fundamental psychological need fulfillment: systematic mapping and review of existing scales to foster cumulative science.

Because the fulfillment of basic/fundamental psychological needs affects people's motivation and well-being, measuring the degree to which these needs are met is of interest to researchers across various domains. Although numerous self-assessment tools have been developed, no recent comprehensive reviews exist, hindering cumulative scientific progress. The present systematic review aimed to identify and analyze the main approaches to developing self-report scales for assessing basic/fundamental psychological need fulfillment. The objective is to inform readers interested in selecting instruments for their studies and those intending to develop new scales. Following PRISMA, we conducted a search of Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and ProQuest in August 2023. The following information was extracted from eligible studies: Scale name, abbreviation, theoretical basis, application domain, final scale construction, scale development and validation methodology, and citation count. Our search identified 32 primary studies, in which 31 original scales were developed and validated, and 89 secondary studies that aimed to modify these original scales. The predominant theoretical basis was Self-Determination Theory, although eight scales were based on alternative need typologies. The scales were either domain-general or specific to contexts such as work, education, or exercise/sports contexts. While most were designed to measure need satisfaction, some also addressed need support, frustration, and thwarting. Despite significant efforts in developing, adapting, and applying scales to measure need fulfillment, we found several issues resulting from diverse perspectives on conceptualizing psychological needs and need typologies, discordant approaches in developing and validating measures, and other inconsistencies that should be acknowledged and addressed in future research.

Family Resilience In Households Of Children With Disabilities: A Comprehensive Analysis

Despite the diversity of results from scientific research on family resilience in households with disabled children, systematic mapping of these findings is still limited. Therefore, this article aims to thoroughly map the existing literature on this subject, elucidating previous research dynamics and laying the groundwork for future studies. Using a scoping review approach, we sourced literature from Google Scholar, focusing on publications from the past decade (2013-2023). We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines for literature selection, culminating in the review of 22 studies. The analysis focuses on three main themes: social support for families with disabled children, strategies and mechanisms for building resilience within these families, and various aspects of resilience in these contexts. Critical stakeholders in fostering family resilience include parents, partners, and family members serving as caregivers. The implications of these findings and opportunities for future research are discussed further.

Machine Learning Applied to Edge Computing and Wearable Devices for Healthcare: Systematic Mapping of the Literature

The integration of machine learning (ML) with edge computing and wearable devices is rapidly advancing healthcare applications. This study systematically maps the literature in this emerging field, analyzing 171 studies and focusing on 28 key articles after rigorous selection. The research explores the key concepts, techniques, and architectures used in healthcare applications involving ML, edge computing, and wearable devices. The analysis reveals a significant increase in research over the past six years, particularly in the last three years, covering applications such as fall detection, cardiovascular monitoring, and disease prediction. The findings highlight a strong focus on neural network models, especially Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTMs), and diverse edge computing platforms like Raspberry Pi and smartphones. Despite the diversity in approaches, the field is still nascent, indicating considerable opportunities for future research. The study emphasizes the need for standardized architectures and the further exploration of both hardware and software to enhance the effectiveness of ML-driven healthcare solutions. The authors conclude by identifying potential research directions that could contribute to continued innovation in healthcare technologies.

Generative Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities for Systems Developers: A Systematic Mapping of Literature

Generative Artificial Intelligence tools have gained increasing prominence in recent years. However, the increasing use of these technologies and the functionalities they offer has sparked discussions about their impact and even raised concerns about the potential replacement of human work by automation carried out by machines. This study proposes a Systematic Literature Review to evaluate the opportunities and challenges that these technologies present to system developers in the current and future technological scenario. Aiming at state-of-the-art research to identify how Generative AIs are being applied in the context of software development and what are the latest trends and innovations in this field and how these innovations affect the opportunities and challenges for system developers. As a result, several studies were found that highlight how Generative AI has provided productivity and systems development optimized solutions in the industry, as well as promoting innovations. Studies also emphasize the need for a balance between the use of AI tools and development carried out by human participation, which must be mediated by common sense. Furthermore, the review will explore the ethical implications associated with the widespread adoption of AI technologies, addressing issues such as data privacy, decision-making transparency, and the responsibility of developers in ensuring that AI applications are used in a way that benefits society. The findings of this review will contribute to a better understanding of how generative AI is reshaping the software development landscape and provide insights for future research and development in this rapidly evolving field.

Constructing the graphical structure of expert-based Bayesian networks in the context of software engineering: A systematic mapping study

Context:In scenarios where data availability issues hinder the applications of statistical causal modeling in software engineering (SE), Bayesian networks (BNs) have been widely used due to their flexibility in incorporating expert knowledge. However, the general understanding of how the graphical structure, i.e., the directed acyclic graph (DAG), of these models is built from domain experts is still insufficient. Objective:This study aims to characterize the SE landscape of constructing the graphical structure of BNs, including their potential for causal modeling. Method:We conducted a systematic mapping study employing a hybrid search strategy that combines a database search with parallel backward and forward snowballing. Results:Our mapping included a total of 106 studies. Different methods are commonly combined to construct expert-based BN structures. These methods span across data gathering & analysis (e.g., interviews, focus groups, literature research, grounded theory, and statistical analysis) and reasoning mechanisms (e.g., using idioms combined with the adoption of lifecycle models, risk-centric modeling, and other frameworks to guide BN construction). We found a lack of consensus regarding validation procedures, particularly critical when modeling cause–effect relationships from knowledge. Additionally, expert-based BNs are mainly applied at the tactical level to address problems related to software engineering management and software quality. Challenges in creating expert-based structures include validation procedures, experts’ availability, expertise level, and structure complexity handling. Key recommendations involve empirical validation, participatory involvement, and balance between adaptation to organizational constraints and model construction requirements. Conclusion:The construction of expert-based BN structures in SE varies in rigor, with some methods being systematic while others appear ad hoc. To enhance BN application, reducing expert knowledge subjectivity, enhancing methodological rigor, and clearly articulating the construction rationale is essential. Addressing these challenges is crucial for improving the reliability of causal inferences drawn from these models, ultimately leading to better-informed decisions in SE practices.

Recommender systems in smart campus: a systematic mapping

Recommender systems in smart campus: a systematic mapping

Safety implications of mask use: a systematic review and evidence map

BackgroundWidespread use of respiratory protection masks has become a critical component of public health response.ObjectivesThis systematic review synthesises the evidence on the acute physiological, cognitive and psychological impacts associated with...

The verbal expression of events of change in Bulgarian

The paper explores the verbal expression of events of change in Bulgarian, a Slavic language with a uniquely complex verbal system involving triplets of imperfective, perfective and secondary imperfective verbs and aspectual tenses like Aorist and Imperfect. It starts from the observation that English predicates involving events of change generally correspond to Bulgarian triplets of lexically related but aspectually differentiated verbs. It addresses this asymmetry by investigating the properties of the events in the denotation of the triplet members in terms of Rothstein’s (2004) aspectual features [±stage] and [±change]. The paper provides evidence for a systematic mapping between the aspectual properties of the triplet members and Rothstein’s event types and proposes an analysis of the event structure of the triplet members. The findings support both the assumption of independent event types denoted by verbal predicates and the notion of telicity as a VP-level phenomenon, and provide evidence for a strategy of expressing aspectual distinctions in which aspectual properties are not directly tied to the roots of verbal predicates but are partly morphologically and partly lexically encoded.

Institutionalising degrowth regime: a review and analysis of degrowth transition proposals

AbstractThe degrowth project proposes a fundamental reorganisation of contemporary society. The existing literature focuses on explaining why degrowth is needed to tackle the multiple socioecological crises of our time and what needs to change in contemporary society. Recently, there have been explicit calls to moving on to thinking about the question of how a degrowth transition could be achieved. In this task, we identify the ‘end’ of the vision, that is, the cornerstones of a degrowth society, and focus on the suggested changes leading there. Therefore, we conceptualise a degrowth society as a regime that can be studied with the help of institutional theory and the change leading to a degrowth regime as a degrowth transition. To understand the constituents of such a regime, we conducted a systematic mapping of the degrowth literature by focusing on specific change proposals from 2000 to 2020. We analysed these change proposals in the framework of institutional theory and identified three overarching themes forming the backbone of a degrowth society: reduction, reorganisation and localisation. These themes represent the cultural–cognitive dimension of institutionalisation processes and entail varying degrees of normative and regulative dimensions. According to the degrowth change proposals in the literature, reduction is to be achieved mainly through top-down regulation, while reorganisation and localisation require a bottom-up approach to mobilising collective agency and changes in the normative orientation of society. Our analysis regarding the founding pillars of the institutional order of a degrowth society unveils essential signposts that could be considered when formulating policies and narratives compatible with a degrowth transition.

Exploring procedural justice in stakeholder identification using a systematic mapping approach

In the face of complex societal challenges, stakeholder participation/engagement and knowledge co-production have become increasingly important to the sustainability sciences. Why and how these stakeholders are identified frequently remains unclear, which raises concerns regarding rigor and procedural justice of research processes. Against this background, this paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of how and why procedural justice issues materialize in stakeholder identification and assess the extent to which they can be addressed. We build on proposals for stakeholder identification in the academic literature that integrate three common approaches: analytical, sampling, and participant-based approaches. Further zooming into these approaches and related methods through a procedural justice lens, we show how the inclusion of stakeholders, the influence of stakeholders on the identification process, and the transparency of the overall identification process matter. We draw upon our own case study experiences to share the lessons learned, including the benefits of systematic mapping approaches for stakeholder identification. We conclude that stakeholder mapping facilitates accurate documenting of identification procedures and supports iterative refinement and adjustments of the stakeholders identified, whilst also creating reflexive potential to address intuitive and past experience-based practices, ultimately opening promising avenues to advance procedural justice in stakeholder identification.

Evaluating Usability and UX in Touchable Holographic Solutions: A Validation Study of the UUXE-ToH Questionnaire

Touchable Holographic Solutions (THS) are an application type in Augmented and Mixed Reality (AR/MR) environments. Evaluating THS requires considering Usability and User eXperience (UX), particularly Immersion and Presence, often overlooked by current methods. A systematic mapping study and exploratory search revealed gaps, such as the lack of a unified instrument for THS usability and UX evaluation, methods that address THS-specific aspects, and challenges in adapting general evaluation technologies. To bridge these gaps, we present the Usability and User Experience Evaluation in Touchable Holograms (UUXE-ToH) questionnaire, with 67 Likert scale items and three open-ended questions. A validation study with 13 experts provided quantitative data and qualitative feedback. Results confirm the UUXE-ToH’s efficacy and offer insights for improvement. This research contributes to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) by introducing a validated tool for evaluating THS, integrating hedonic and pragmatic aspects, and supporting early problem identification in development, accessible to professionals with diverse UX expertise.

Patient and public involvement in healthcare: a systematic mapping review of systematic reviews – identification of current research and possible directions for future research

ObjectivesTo provide an overview of patient and public involvement (PPI) in the mesolevel and macrolevel of healthcare (different from PPI in research) and identify directions for future research by mapping...

From Many-Body Ab Initio to Effective Excitonic Models: A Versatile Mapping Approach Including Environmental Embedding Effects.

We present an original multistate projective diabatization scheme based on Green's function formalisms that allows the systematic mapping of many-body ab initio calculations onto effective excitonic models. This method inherits the ability of the Bethe-Salpeter equation to describe Frenkel molecular excitons and intermolecular charge-transfer states equally well, as well as the possibility for an effective description of environmental effects in a QM/MM framework. The latter is found to be a crucial element in order to obtain accurate model parameters for condensed phases and to ensure their transferability to excitonic models for extended systems. The method is presented through a series of examples illustrating its quality, robustness, and internal consistency.

Evidence for widespread human exposure to food contact chemicals.

Over 1800 food contact chemicals (FCCs) are known to migrate from food contact articles used to store, process, package, and serve foodstuffs. Many of these FCCs have hazard properties of concern, and still others have never been tested for toxicity. Humans are known to be exposed to FCCs via foods, but the full extent of human exposure to all FCCs is unknown. To close this important knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic overview of FCCs that have been monitored and detected in human biomonitoring studies according to a previously published protocol. We first compared the more than 14,000 known FCCs to five biomonitoring programs and three metabolome/exposome databases. In a second step, we prioritized FCCs that have been frequently detected in food contact materials and systematically mapped the available evidence for their presence in humans. For 25% of the known FCCs (3601), we found evidence for their presence in humans. This includes 194 FCCs from human biomonitoring programs, with 80 of these having hazard properties of high concern. Of the 3528 FCCs included in metabolome/exposome databases, most are from the Blood Exposome Database. We found evidence for the presence in humans for 63 of the 175 prioritized FCCs included in the systematic evidence map, and 59 of the prioritized FCCs lack hazard data. Notwithstanding that there are also other sources of exposure for many FCCs, these data will help to prioritize FCCs of concern by linking information on migration and biomonitoring. Our results on FCCs monitored in humans are available as an interactive dashboard (FCChumon) to enable policymakers, public health researchers, and food industry decision-makers to make food contact materials and articles safer, reduce human exposure to hazardous FCCs and improve public health. We present systematically compiled evidence on human exposure to 3601 food contact chemicals (FCCs) and highlight FCCs that are of concern because of their known hazard properties. Further, we identify relevant data gaps for FCCs found in food contact materials and foods. This article improves the understanding of food contact materials' contribution to chemical exposure for the human population and highlights opportunities for improving public health.

Governance of carbon dioxide removal: an AI-enhanced systematic map of the scientific literature

IntroductionFor limiting global warming to well below 2°C rapid and stringent GHG emissions reductions are required. In addition, we also need to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere via carbon dioxide removal (CDR). This will require advances in policymaking and governance to incentivise, coordinate and regulate CDR, including strict monitoring to ensure durable, additional removals that do not compete with emission reduction efforts. While it is critical to learn from the existing evidence on CDR policy and governance, there is no overview of this dispersed body of literature right now. IPCC and other science assessments have therefore treated the subject very selectively. This work addresses this lack of overview by systematically mapping the literature assessing policy and governance dimensions of CDR.MethodsSystematic mapping provides a comprehensive view of a research field by analysing the state of evidence, i.e. how much research is available at any point in time on which topics and geographies studied by whom, when and where. We use an AI-enhanced approach to systematic mapping, trimming down an initial set of about 30,000 documents on CDR to a set of 876 that deal with governance and policy issues.ResultsOur findings show sharply growing attention to CDR policies and governance issues over time, but with limited coverage of the Global South. Long established conventional CDR methods such as afforestation dominate the literatureparticularly in ex-post studies -with little coverage of many novel CDR methods, such as biochar or direct air carbon capture and storage. We observe a shift from an initial discussion on CDR in international agreements towards the planning and implementation phase of national and sub-national policies.DiscussionOur map can help to inform upcoming science assessments with critical information around CDR policies and governance and might serve as a starting point for generating a rigorous knowledge base on the topic in the future.

Evolution of the Moral Lexicon.

Morality is central to social well-being and cognition, and moral lexicon is a key device for human communication of moral concepts and experiences. How was the moral lexicon formed? We explore this open question and hypothesize that words evolved to take on abstract moral meanings from concrete and grounded experiences. We test this hypothesis by analyzing semantic change and formation of over 800 words from the English Moral Foundations Dictionary and the Historical Thesaurus of English over the past hundreds of years. Across historical text corpora and dictionaries, we discover concrete-to-abstract shifts as words acquire moral meaning, in contrast with the broad observation that words become more concrete over time. Furthermore, we find that compound moral words tend to be derived from a concrete-to-abstract shift from their constituents, and this derivational property is more prominent in moral words compared to alternative compound words when word frequency is controlled for. We suggest that evolution of the moral lexicon depends on systematic metaphorical mappings from concrete domains to the moral domain. Our results provide large-scale evidence for the role of metaphor in shaping the historical development of the English moral lexicon.

Цифровая и логистическая инфраструктуры Арктической зоны: современное состояние исследований и пути развития

The subject of the article is the analysis of the current state of research and practice in the field of transport, logistics and digital infrastructures in the Russian Arctic. The authors consider logistic and digital infrastructures as key communication subsystems that ensure the movement of material values, people and information, and thus serve as a prerequisite for the development of the macro-region under consid-eration. The research methods used were literature review of scientific sources and analysis of the ob-tained material. A systematic literature mapping was carried out on Scopus, Google Scholar, Elibrary data-bases. Aspects of the Arctic region development, including the role of logistics and digital infrastructures in this process, are described by scientific schools of Russia, Canada, Norway, China, USA and other countries. The analysis has shown the highly variable state of the subsystems under consideration depending on the specific region, as well as the lack of a comprehensive approach to their joint development and integration. It was stated that there is no such problem statement about the development of communication subsystems of the Arctic zone. On the basis of the analysis, the key directions for the development of logistics and digital infrastructure of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation were formulated. The authors’ recommendations, apart from the obvious tasks of developing sea routes, building and modernizing roads, railways and airports, expanding access to broadband internet and other widely discussed measures, describe the need to integrate the communication subsystems under consideration and focus on the potential of digital technologies to replace and/or supplement the logistics infrastructure in certain aspects.

Blockchain and sports industry: a systematic literature review of Fan Tokens and their implications

Background: Fan tokens emerge as a significant innovation that enables a new form of interaction between clubs and their followers and introduces an alternative economic model for sports entities. Purpose: The review discusses the technical characteristics of fan tokens and their role in enhancing fan participation in minor club decisions, reinforcing the sense of belonging and community. Methods: The research encompassed a systematic literature review, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and Evidence-Based Systematic Mapping in Software Engineering (EBSE). Thus, it presented a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the applications of fan tokens in the sports industry. Results: Despite engagement and monetization opportunities, the results highlight significant challenges, such as price volatility and appropriate regulation to ensure safe and effective adoption. The discussion also includes the ethical and social implications of using fan tokens, emphasizing the need for strategies that prioritize inclusion and fairness for fan engagement. Conclusion: Finally, the study proposes future research directions that consider continuous technological development and changes in fan expectations, aiming to optimize the use of fan tokens to benefit the stakeholders involved. Keywords: Sport Management; Blockchain; Fan Engagement; Fan Tokens; Digital Assets; Tokens