Technological Outlook Research Articles

Metadata Management in Data Lake Environments: A Survey

Data lakes are storage repositories that contain large amounts of data in its native format; either structured ssemi-structured or unstructured, to be used when needed. Data lakes are open to a wide range of use cases such as carrying out advanced analytics, extracting knowledge patterns, etc. However, simply dumping all the data into a data lake would only lead to a so-called data swamp. To prevent such a situation, enterprises can adopt best practices among which to build and maintain metadata. In recent years there has been a growing body of research about managing metadata in data lake environments. Existing research efforts deal separately with different activities such as metadata modeling, metadata capture and extraction, metadata usage, etc. Nevertheless, despite its importance, a global view about the research landscape about metadata management for data lakes is still missing. This survey congregates different facets of metadata management in data lakes and presents a global view along with the technological implications and the required features for building successful metadata management systems. Besides, this survey summarizes and discusses research gaps, open problems and main challenges facing both industrialists and academics. This survey pertains to the broader field of Big Data and especially to the data platforms that manage enterprise big data assets. Furthermore, considering the parallels between data lakes and digital libraries regarding their dependence on metadata for content management, this study could offer valuable insights to the digital library community, offering them a technological outlook on metadata management.

Performance evaluation of 2D MoS2-based solar cells and realization of transparent ultra-thin devices

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is an alternate absorber layer in 2D solar cells owing to its potential of proficient sunlight harvesting. The optimum electrical and optical properties of MoS2 validate it as a suitable photovoltaic absorber material. This work investigates the performance of 2D (and multi-layer) MoS2-based vertically stacked solar cell by numerical simulation process using one dimensional solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS). Two device configurations based on Schottky junction (ITO/n-MoS2/Au) and pn junction (ITO/n-MoS2/p-MoS2/Au) have been theoretically analyzed. The feasibility of ultra-thin transparent solar cells is also demonstrated, which is motivating from a technological outlook. Initially, the properties of the active layers are optimized to give the highest performance. The findings are explained on the basis of band alignment between the electrodes and the different layers. The potential barrier developed at the interface of different materials governs the output of the cells. The calculations forecast the material properties, which need to be tuned to fabricate solar cells with enhanced efficiency. After optimization, the highest efficiency obtained for single n-MoS2-based solar cell is 10.22%, while for the pn junction solar cell it is 16.86%. The optimized cells exhibit high open circuit voltages of ∼1.2 V, which is an essential factor for commercial realization of solar cells. Lastly, the performance of transparent solar cells based on thin 2D MoS2 films has been predicted which showcases the efficiency in the range of 0.78%–4.36%. These homo-junction device investigations of solely MoS2 layer along with employment of a strict control on the defects during deposition and fabrication of MoS2-based solar cells can ensure better performance of the device. Thus, it can open ways to develop next generation feasible solar cells with higher power density as compared to existing technology.

Analysis of the Application of Artificial Intelligence in the Smart Business Field of Sense Time

Sense Time is a company with profound academic accumulation, which makes it rank high in the market of China artificial intelligence (hereinafter referred to as AI) software and applications. Its business is divided into four modules: high-tech business, city, life, and car. People in the industry highly praise the related products launched from these. Its achievements do not achieve overnight but in the exchange of mutual learning with other companies and joint cultivation. Sense Time cultivates its own high-precision talents and cutting-edge technology by enabling innovation and improving independent research and development capabilities. That is how they have todays brilliant achievements. Although AIs technological outlook is perfect, AI technology is also in high demand in the com-mercial sector. However, Sense Time is still on its way to breaking through industry barri-ers. In addition to its high cost of AI technology research and the fierce competition among peers have almost put Sense Time in the dilemma of continuous losses and bankruptcy. It is fairly difficult for Sense Time to stand out from the crowd.

Ligand Chemistry in Antitumor Theranostic Nanoparticles.

Theranostic nanoparticles' potential in tumor treatment has been widely acknowledged thanks to their capability of integrating multifaceted functionalities into a single nanosystem. Theranostic nanoparticles are typically equipped with an inorganic core with exploitable physical properties for imaging and therapeutic functions, bioinert coatings for improved biocompatibility and immunological stealth, controlled drug-loading-release modules, and the ability to recognize specific cell type for uptake. Integrating multiple functionalities in a single nanosized construct require sophisticated molecular design and precise execution of assembly procedures. Underlying the multifunctionality of theranostic nanoparticles, ligand chemistry plays a decisive role in translating theoretical designs into fully functionalized theranostic nanoparticles. The ligand hierarchy in theranostic nanoparticles is usually threefold. As they serve to passivate the nanoparticle's surface, capping ligands form the first layer directly interfacing with the crystalline lattice of the inorganic core. The size and shape of nanoparticles are largely determined by the molecular property of capping ligands so that they have profound influences on the nanoparticles' surface chemistry and physical properties. Capping ligands are mostly chemically inert, which necessitates the presence of additional ligands for drug loading and tumor targeting. The second layer is commonly utilized for drug loading. Therapeutic drugs can either be covalently conjugated onto the capping layer or noncovalently loaded onto nanoparticles via drug-loading ligands. Drug-loading ligands need to be equally versatile in properties to accommodate the diversity of drugs. Biodegradable moieties are often incorporated into drug-loading ligands to enable smart drug release. With the aid of targeting ligands which usually stand the tallest on the nanoparticle surface to seek and bind to their corresponding receptors on the target, theranostic nanoparticles can preferentially accumulate at the tumor site to attain a higher precision and quantity for drug delivery. In this Account, the properties and utilities of representative capping ligands, drug-loading ligands, and targeting ligands are reviewed. Since these types of ligands are often assembled in close vicinity to each other, it is essential for them to be chemically compatible and able to function in tandem with each other. Relevant conjugation strategies and critical factors with a significant impact on ligands' performance on nanoparticles are discussed. Representative theranostic nanoparticles are presented to showcase how different types of ligands function synergistically from a single nanosystem. Finally, the technological outlook of evolving ligand chemistry on theranostic nanoparticles is provided.

Capturing Community Participation in Rural Tourism through PRA: A Study in Meghalaya

Rural tourism as an agri-business enterprise has potential for socio-economic development of rural area and yields numerous benefits to strengthen culture, livelihood and technological outlook of communities, for which sustainability in the development venture depends on community participation. The study was taken up in two popular rural tourism centers viz., Mawlynnong (cleanest village of Asia) and Sohliya (Strawberry village) of Meghalaya state that has heavy tourist traffic; to carry out community stakeholder analysis of rural tourism. Through key informant technique, personal interview and observation, 15 categories of community stakeholders were identified. This was followed by a community level meeting of the key stakeholders and few residents in each tourism center where PRA exercises were conducted for information generation and discussion. It was found that community stakeholders organize rural tourism for various reasons through various means The village council (Dorbar Shong) performed multiple roles and had high influence in village. Efforts in mobilizing community to undertake homestays and dhabas, emphasis on creation of exclusive tourism cooperatives within village to coordinate vital activities between stakeholders may ensure effective and sustainable participation by community members.

Recent Developments in van der Waals Antiferromagnetic 2D Materials: Synthesis, Characterization, and Device Implementation.

Magnetism in two dimensions is one of the most intriguing and alluring phenomena in condensed matter physics. Atomically thin 2D materials have emerged as a promising platform for exploring magnetic properties, leading to the development of essential technologies such as supercomputing and data storage. Arising from spin and charge dynamics in elementary particles, magnetism has also unraveled promising advances in spintronic devices and spin-dependent optoelectronics and photonics. Recently, antiferromagnetism in 2D materials has received extensive attention, leading to significant advances in their understanding and emerging applications; such materials have zero net magnetic moment yet are internally magnetic. Several theoretical and experimental approaches have been proposed to probe, characterize, and modulate the magnetic states efficiently in such systems. This Review presents the latest developments and current status for tuning the magnetic properties in distinct 2D van der Waals antiferromagnets. Various state-of-the-art optical techniques deployed to investigate magnetic textures and dynamics are discussed. Furthermore, device concepts based on antiferromagnetic spintronics are scrutinized. We conclude with remarks on related challenges and technological outlook in this rapidly expanding field.

Remote Microgrids for Energy Access in Indonesia—Part I: Scaling and Sustainability Challenges and A Technology Outlook

Although Indonesia’s electrification ratio reached 99.2% in 2020, it has shown stagnating electrification since 2018. This is because most of the remaining areas that need to be electrified are remote and have unique characteristics that hamper implementation of microgrids for providing energy access. Furthermore, not only the deployment but also the long-term sustainability of microgrids is crucial for ensuring continuity of energy access. This paper aims to investigate the scaling and sustainability challenges of remote microgrid development in Indonesia by analyzing microgrids in the Maluku and North Maluku provinces. This study is a two-part publication; the first part focuses on identifying challenges in Indonesia’s remote microgrid development, while the second part focuses on potential technology solutions. In the first part, an assessment of energy access within a multi-tier framework was conducted, which was then analyzed using a multi-dimensional (institutional, social, technical, economic, environmental, and policy) approach adapted from the literature. The framework was expanded by mapping the challenges onto specific phases of the microgrid development, which is intended to be helpful for the parties involved in specific phases. It is shown that the challenges related to unclear land status, lack of social engagement, preliminary survey, technical and practical knowledge, and O&M procedures—especially for remote microgrids with renewable energy sources—are the most prominent issues. Additionally, issues caused by electrical events and environmental conditions such as relatively humid and high-temperatures, and uncontrolled vegetation, rodents, insects, and lizards are often found. Furthermore, a high-level technological outlook to address some of these issues is presented.

Coal Mining Sustainable Development: Economics and Technological Outlook

The modern paradigm of sustainable development is based on concepts and theories in which the needs of individuals and society, the limits of economic growth and the balance of industrial and natural systems are close to consistency [...]

Scienciometric outlook of the biotechnology in the agricultural and agroindustrial sector

This article presents Scientometrics as a major element in quantitatively addressing the study of a field of knowledge. This study seeks to combine complementarily and integrally the bibliometry with the technological outlook to obtain an image of the current state of biotechnology in a specific area. This contributes with a trend-setting in a socially relevant sector that currently addresses global challenges such as climate change and energy and food security. Through a bibliometric study, it determines the dynamics of the scientific production, key authors, country participation and language trends in the domain of Biotechnology in the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors. In addition, a technological outlook is presented, in which, based on the analysis of trends in patents, the innovative state of the area is established. The main result is associated with the dynamics of scientific production, which according to the Lotka law; states that the percentage of authors who produce N articles is inversely proportional to a power of N. The technological outlook is consistent with the Latin American studies, concluding that, despite of the increasing dynamics, there is a poor development of technology in the sector.

Panorama cienciométrico de la biotecnología en el sector agropecuario y agroindustrial

This article presents Scientometrics as a major element in quantitatively addressing the study of a field of knowledge. This study seeks to combine complementarily and integrally the bibliometry with the technological outlook to obtain an image of the current state of biotechnology in a specific area. This contributes with a trend-setting in a socially relevant sector that currently addresses global challenges such as climate change and energy and food security. Through a bibliometric study, it determines the dynamics of the scientific production, key authors, country participation and language trends in the domain of Biotechnology in the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors. In addition, a technological outlook is presented, in which, based on the analysis of trends in patents, the innovative state of the area is established. The main result is associated with the dynamics of scientific production, which according to the Lotka law; states that the percentage of authors who produce N articles is inversely proportional to a power of N. The technological outlook is consistent with the Latin American studies, concluding that, despite of the increasing dynamics, there is a poor development of technology in the sector.

Energy storage usages: Engineering reactions,economic‐technologicalvalues for electric vehicles—A technological outlook

At present with the massive induction of distributed renewable energy sources (RES), energy storage systems (ESS) have the potential to curb the intermittent nature of micro sources and provide a steady supply of power to the load. It gives an optimum solution and considers as a major part of intelligent grids. For making a green environment, Electric Vehicle (EV) is the best option that emits zero exhaust gases, cleaner, less noisy and eco-friendly compared to engine-based vehicles. It could embark power sanctuary by allowing open access to RES. Nonetheless, EVs presently face encounters in the deployment of ESSs, inroad to their reliability, capacity, price, and online management issues. This study comprehensive review about technical advancements of ESSs, its detailed taxonomy, features, implementation, possibilities with system differences, and additional features of particularly EV applications. Hence, in this current study, technical analysis of Energy storage systems, its leading technologies, core assets, global energy stakeholders, economic merits and techniques on energy conversion is provided. Besides, the way of deploying energy storage techniques, the barriers and assessments are also presented to give a wider scope in this particular area.

Algae as green energy reserve: Technological outlook on biofuel production.

Depletion of fossil fuel sources and their emissions have triggered a vigorous research in finding alternative and renewable energy sources. In this regard, algae are being exploited as a third generation feedstock for the production of biofuels such as bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, and biohydrogen. However, algal based biofuel does not reach successful peak due to the higher cost issues in cultivation, harvesting and extraction steps. Therefore, this review presents an extensive detail of deriving biofuels from algal biomass starting from various algae cultivation systems like raceway pond and photobioreactors and its bottlenecks. Evolution of biofuel feedstocks from edible oils to algae have been addressed in the initial section of the manuscript to provide insights on the different generation of biofuel. Different configuration of photobioreactor systems used to reduce contamination risk and improve biomass productivity were extensively discussed. Photobioreactor performance greatly relies on the conditions under which it is operated. Hence, the importance of such conditions alike temperature, light intensity, inoculum size, CO2, nutrient concentration, and mixing in bioreactor performance have been described. As the lipid is the main component in biodiesel production, several pretreatment methods such as physical, chemical and biological for disrupting cell membrane to extract lipid were comprehensively reviewed and presented. This review article had put forth the recent advancement in the pretreatment methods like hydrothermal processing of algal biomasses using acid or alkali. Eventually, challenges and future dimensions in algal cultivation and pretreatment process were discussed in detail for making an economically viable algal biofuel.

MOBILE BANKING: ANALISA PENGGUNAAN PADA NASABAH PT. BANK ACEH SYARIAH CABANG LHOKSEUMAWE: PENDEKATAN TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM)

Mobile banking offers convenience in conducting banking transactions. Customers who use mobile banking will get customer information in conducting banking transactions. PT Bank Aceh Syariah Lhokseumawe Branch Lhokseumawe Branch, as one of the banking institutions, is well aware that service to customers must be adjusted to advance technological outlook. This study limits only using three factors and needs to be considered by researchers, because the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a model of user acceptance in an information system. Based on this analysis it is known that or a constant of 92.343% means the three variables namely Perception of Ease, Comfort, and Trust has an influence on the preference variable of 21.453%, the regression coefficient of perceived convenience variable (X1) of 55.7%, the regression coefficient of comfort variable (X2) of 27.9%, and the regression coefficient of the trust variable (X3) of 93.8%. Based on the results of the F-Test and T-test, it can be seen that the most dominant factor influencing customer interest in using mobile banking is the trust factor because the value of the trust variable is greater than that of other variables.

Conceptual All-Electric Retrofit of Helicopters: Review, Technological Outlook, and a Sample Design

The diffusion of electric system on-board has started after 2000 due to the need of fulfilling new regulations regarding environmental impact of aviation and of reducing maintenance costs. This process has led to the more-electric aircraft concept design, for which several hydraulic and pneumatic systems have been replaced by electric drives. The main obstacles to the switch to electric propulsion and energy storage/production (all-electric aircraft) are the unfavorable energy-to-weight and power-to-weight ratios of battery and fuel cell that represent the two viable technological solutions for energy storage and power generation. Helicopters make no exception in the transition to electric systems, although with a significant lag with respect to fixed-wing aircraft. Nevertheless, it is expected that, in the future, the technological progress will make electric propulsion a standard solution also for rotorcraft. This paper presents a review of the steps toward electrified aircraft taken by the aviation industry in the past decades (mainly concerning fixed-wing vehicles) and the conceptual all-electric retrofit of a case study lightweight helicopter. Different batteries and fuel cell solutions are examined, and the performance (range and endurance) and economic aspects (life cost and investment plan) are critically analyzed, considering both the currently available technology and the expected future developments.

Antimony sulfide selenide prototype photovoltaic modules surpassing 4% conversion efficiency under the sun – A technological outlook

We discuss the performance under the sun, at intensity 1000 W/m2, of prototype photovoltaic modules of antimony sulfide selenide thin films, Sb2S1.06Se1.94, with optical bandgap, 1.35 eV. At 26 °C, a module of seven series-connected cells of total active area 6.97 cm2 has conversion efficiency (η) of 4.38% with open-circuit voltage (Voc), 3.13 V; short circuit current (Isc), 21.2 mA and maximum power (Pm) of 30.5 mW. Under steady state operation at 58 °C, η is 3.54%; Voc, 2.58 V; Isc, 21.73 mA and Pm 24.6 mW. Four such prototype modules connected in series of total area 26.8 cm2 give at 26 °C, η of 4.4%; Voc, 12.54 V, Isc, 21.66 mA and Pm 118 mW. At 58 °C, these values drop to η, 3.24%; Voc, 10.46 V; Isc, 20.02 mA and Pm 87 mW. We prepared these modules on commercial SnO2:F (FTO) with cell structure FTO/CdS(90 nm)/Sb2S1.06Se1.94(210 nm)/C-Ag, where the electrodes of area approximately one cm2 each are of colloidal graphite and silver paints. We deposited CdS film from chemical bath and Sb2S1.06Se1.94 film, by thermal evaporation of Sb2S3, Sb2Se3, and SbCl3. This report contains basic properties and technological outlook for this absorber.

Technological Profile of Retailers in India

Background/Objectives: Technology will play a significant role in improving the efficiencies of supply chains’ of retailers and therefore the success of the organized retail stores. This study tries to identify the level of utilization of various retail technologies by retailers and the upcoming technologies which will drive business in the future in the Indian context. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Questionnaire based study was conducted to ascertain the level of current technological adoption and future technological outlook for 35 retail firms. A follow up telephonic call was made to the technological heads of retailers to collect qualitative data in terms of the technologies that retailers would need to equip themselves to survive in the coming 3 years along with the upcoming technologies in the retail arena. Findings: The study highlights that most of the retailers are using technologies in operational areas like direct broadcast satellite technologies, communication and data sharing technologies, security and safety related technologies, on-line shopping services and enterprise resource planning related technologies. But technologies in the area of customer tracking and customer relationship management and supply chain management have not seen widespread adoption as compared to the adoption by multinational retailers. The upcoming technologies which technology heads mentioned that they would adopt in the coming years is Mobility related technologies, Queue busting technologies and Omni channel. Applications/Improvements: This research indicates the areas where the current usage of technologies is high and the areas where the technological investments are planned in the coming 3 years time horizon and therefore has provided a future outlook to the technological investments in Indian context. This type of study is unique in the Indian context.

Formation of the Individual's Technological Culture in General Education and Professional School

In this survey we made an attempt to justify the technological culture of the person as a result of the development of basic educational programs in modern education and vocational school. Technological culture of the person is represented in the form of a two-tier structure: horizontal and vertical, where the horizontal one - is a substructure consisting of the technological vision, technological prowess and technological behavior, and the vertical structure shows the relationship of technological outlook, technological thinking and creative abilities of students. The article gives a review of the problems of the individual's technological culture's formation in the educational institutions and also promising areas for further researches are highlighted. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s1p71

Development prospects for distance higher education in Brazil - new technologies for the construction and dissemination of education

This article discusses the development prospects for distance higher education in Brazil. To this end, it recognizes the rapid growth during the last ten years. Consideration has been given to the legal aspects that require changes and improvements to guidelines to achieve high quality education for the masses. The databases that have been used are; The Higher Education Census 2013, Challenges and Prospects of the Brazilian Higher Education for the Next Decade - 2011/2020 (book), and The Technological Outlook for the Brazilian Universities (document). The analysis of information from these resources cover the different approaches, assessment of key trends and emerging technologies that should be adopted by the distance education university over the next five years. It concludes with the importance of the new information and communication technological tools that are available for the construction and dissemination of education.

An Integrated Device View on Photo-Electrochemical Solar-Hydrogen Generation.

Devices that directly capture and store solar energy have the potential to significantly increase the share of energy from intermittent renewable sources. Photo-electrochemical solar-hydrogen generators could become an important contributor, as these devices can convert solar energy into fuels that can be used throughout all sectors of energy. Rather than focusing on scientific achievement on the component level, this article reviews aspects of overall component integration in photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices that ultimately can lead to deployable devices. Throughout the article, three generalized categories of devices are considered with different levels of integration and spanning the range of complete integration by one-material photo-electrochemical approaches to complete decoupling by photovoltaics and electrolyzer devices. By using this generalized framework, we describe the physical aspects, device requirements, and practical implications involved with developing practical photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices. Aspects reviewed include macroscopic coupled multiphysics device models, physical device demonstrations, and economic and life cycle assessments, providing the grounds to draw conclusions on the overall technological outlook.

Radio-Frequency Rectifier for Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting: Development Path and Future Outlook

The roadmap evolution and historical milestones of electromagnetic energy conversion techniques and related breakthroughs over the years are reviewed and presented with particular emphasis on low-density energy-harvest technologies. Electromagnetic sources responsible for the presence of ambient radio-frequency (RF) energy are examined and discussed. The effective use and recycling of such an ambient electromagnetic energy are the most relevant and critical issue for the current and future practicability of wireless energyharvesting devices and systems. In this paper, a set of performance criteria and development considerations, required to meet the need of applications of ambient electromagnetic energy harvesting, are also derived from the radiating source analysis. The criteria can be calculated from a simple measurement of the I-V nonlinear behavior of RF rectification devices such as diodes and transistors, as well as linear frequency behavior (S-parameters). The existing rectifying devices are then reviewed in light of the defined performance criteria. Finally, a technological outlook of the performances that can be expected from different device technologies is assessed and discussed. Since the proposed spindiode technology would present the most promising device platform in the development of the most useful ambient energy harvesters, a special highlight of this disruptive scheme is provided in the presentation of this work.