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Purpose – This paper evaluated the effectiveness of blended learning of business courses in higher learning institutions (HEIs) in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach – A survey, involving 215 learners, was used to collect data. A stratified sampling technique was used in this study. The data were analyzed using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Findings – In the blended learning approach, student attitudes, social presence, IT infrastructure and flexible learning are all favorable predictors of learner satisfaction. The impact of blended learning on learner satisfaction is further mediated by IT infrastructure, social presence and learner attitude. Practical implications – HEIs need to invest in planning and resource mobilization in order to realize several benefits derived from the use of blended learning. For optimal learning outcomes, this should be combined with training on IT infrastructure usage for both facilitators and learners. In order to assist learners in developing competencies through consistent use, institutions should also invest in tailored blended learning technologies. In addition, emphasis should be placed on training all actors in order to better manage change. Originality/value – This paper presents and ranks several dimensions for blended learning success in low-budget universities. In addition, the study contributes to the understanding of intervening variables necessary for enhancing the potential of pedagogy in maximizing learner satisfaction.

Subject indexing is one of the core activities of libraries. Due to the proliferation of digital documents it is no longer possible to annotate every single document intellectually, which is why we need to explore the potentials of automation. At ZBW the efforts to automate the subject indexing process started as early as 2000 with experiments involving external partners and commercial software. The conclusion from that first period was that supposedly shelf-ready solutions would not cover the requirements of the library. In 2014 the decision was made to start doing the necessary applied research in-house by establishing a corresponding PhD position. However, the prototypical machine learning solutions they developed were yet to be integrated into productive operations at the library. Therefore in 2020 an additional position for a software engineer was established and a 4-year pilot phase was initiated with the goal to build a software architecture that allows for real-time subject indexing with our trained models and the integration thereof into the other metadata workflows at ZBW. This paper gives an account of how we tackled the task of transferring results from applied research into a productive subject indexing service (the "AutoSE service"), including the milestones we have reached, the challenges we were facing on a strategic level, and the measures and resources (computing power, software, personnel) that were needed in order to be able to effect the transfer and get a first version going, which went live in 2021. The models used by AutoSE until now were models from classical machine learning. We therefore also touch on the question if and how the recent advent of large language models (LLMs) has changed our outlook on the task of automating subject indexing and on the role of metadata in information management and retrieval in general, and the ways in which it impacts our research and development roadmap going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology infrastructure (ITI) has gone through an exponential change due to the rapid evolution of digital technologies during the past few years. It is therefore relevant to identify the factors that push organizations towards the adoption of new technologies. This paper considers a specific case study of the higher education institutions (HEI) to present (i) the motivational factors that push HEIs toward the adoption of new technologies, and (ii) the key challenges HEIs face in the adoption of these technologies. The data was gathered after conducting 17 open-ended interviews with practitioners working at HEIs in Finland and Pakistan. Data analysis identified 10 motivational factors and 41 challenges faced by HEI in the adoption of the latest technologies. Furthermore, the data was further classified to identify broad themes and categories representing the challenges and motivation factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of Digital Twins (DTs) is becoming increasingly important in various industries. This entails the need for a comprehensive and practical IT infrastructure framework. This paper presents a modifiable medium-level architecture that serves as a link between established reference architectures such as RAMI 4.0 and the pragmatic implementation of Digital Twins. The functionalities of an IT infrastructure are considered, and functional hardware and software components for fulfilling these are described. The proposed architecture is suitable for various deployment scenarios, including local, cloud and hybrid cloud–edge configurations. In order to improve the applicability of the medium-level architecture, a step-by-step procedure is also proposed, which helps to transfer the overarching requirements for a Digital Twin into a suitable IT infrastructure. Finally, the results are demonstrated by an exemplary application to a two-stage industrial gearbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades the agricultural intensification led to a landscape simplification, where once heterogeneous landscapes turned into more monocultured cropping regions. The main driver behind it was to be able to use larger and more powerful agricultural machinery in order to increase productivity and specially to decrease labor costs. With the advent of robots in combination with new methods of AI it is obvious that this is not only a new step of automated mechanization. New robotic systems open up new opportunities of how to cultivate crop plants. Different robotic concepts with different properties are discussed and how these might contribute to achieve the indisputably needed improvements in sustainable and environmental-friendly crop production systems. In a performed case study, it is demonstrated that even if larger robotic solutions when operated in isolation still can achieve higher area outputs, smaller and often specialized robotic systems can achieve a substantially improved work quality in the use case of seeding.

Effective management of information technology infrastructure (ITI) is key to success for any enterprise offering IT services in this contemporary digital era. Considering the importance of the topic both for research and practice, a Systematic Mapping Study (SMS) was conducted (with the following research questions) to present state-of-the-art concerning the management of ITI, (i) what focus areas related to the management of IT Infrastructure have been considered in the extant literature?, (ii) what are the publication trends and characteristics of existing research on IT Infrastructure Management?, (iii) what are the main challenges in the context of managing IT Infrastructure reported in the existing literature?, and (iv) what recommendations and guidelines have been proposed to overcome the reported challenges? Following the systematic approach, n=57 articles from extant literature satisfying this study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria were considered for analysis to find answers to these research questions. The findings reveal (i) research focus areas categorized into 6 categories (i.e., resource, service, learning style, self-care, data sharing & access, and human ITI capability), (ii) a set of variables to map publication trends and characteristics of existing research with “evaluation research”, “constructive research” and “models” recognized as the most common paper type, research methods, and contribution type respectively, (iii) 28 challenges related to ITI management in enterprises were identified, and (iv) 68 guidelines and recommendations for organizations and personnel were identified to manage the ITI more efficiently. The findings such as research focus areas and publication trends are important from a research perspective offering guidance to researchers to drive further research on the topic. Meanwhile, the challenges, recommendations, and guidelines have practical implications, providing practitioners with insights into better understanding and management of their respective ITI.

Technical support of IT infrastructure is a crucial aspect of organizational operations, with the most challenging task being ensuring service continuity. Quality support guarantees high IT efficiency, but complex incidents reduce support quality and require effective management. Incident management includes configuration processes and control of technical solutions. To improve technical support, adhering to both quantitative and qualitative standards and considering system specifics is necessary. According to service level agreements (SLA), the resolution time of incidents is important. „Service Desk“ tools, applying machine learning methods, can help optimize these processes. Incorrectly classified user requests lead to additional work for the IT team and delay incident resolution. Machine learning methods, such as K-means clustering, Random Forest regression, and classification, can optimize incident management and speed up resolution time. The research analyzes „Service Desk“ incident data to model resolution times and improve incident management. Article in Lithuanian. Incidentų valdymo modelio tobulinimas, taikant mašininio mokymosi metodus Santrauka IT infrastruktūros techninis palaikymas yra esminis organizacijos veiklos aspektas, kurio sudėtingiausia užduotis yra užtikrinti veikimo tęstinumą. Kokybiškas palaikymas garantuoja aukštą IT efektyvumą, tačiau sudėtingi incidentai sumažina palaikymo kokybę ir reikalauja veiksmingo valdymo. Incidentų valdymas apima konfigūracijų procesus ir techninių sprendimų kontrolę. Siekiant pagerinti techninį palaikymą, būtina laikytis tiek kiekybinių, tiek kokybinių standartų ir atsižvelgti į sistemų specifiką. Pagal paslaugų lygio sutartis (SLA) svarbus incidentų sprendimo laikas. „Service Desk“ įrankiai, taikant mašininio mokymosi metodus, gali padėti optimizuoti šiuos procesus. Naudotojų neteisingai klasifikuotos užklausos lemia papildomą IT komandos darbą ir vilkina incidentų sprendimą. „K-means“ klasterizacijos, „Random Forest“ regresijos ir klasifikacijos mašininio mokymosi metodai gali optimizuoti incidentų valdymą ir pagreitinti sprendimo laiką. Tyrimo tikslas yra analizuoti „Service Desk“ incidentų duomenis, siekiant modeliuoti sprendimų laiką ir pagerinti incidentų valdymą. Reikšminiai žodžiai: IT infrastruktūra, techninis palaikymas, incidentų valdymas, incidentų sprendimo laikas, Service Desk, mašininio mokymosi metodai, užklausos klasifikavimas.

In today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, European universities are increasingly relying on digital technologies for collaboration and learning. European Universities, as transnational alliances, aim to reshape higher education by fostering academic exchange and innovation across borders. With over 40 alliances in existence, enhancing virtual mobility and exchange through interconnected learning infrastructures has become imperative. This paper provides insights into Learning Management System (LMS) adoption within European alliances, focusing on the Unite! alliance as a case study. While Unite! demonstrates successful implementation of Moodle as its central LMS, challenges persist in achieving uniformity across all partners. A desktop analysis of European alliances reveals that Moodle might be the most often used LMS in February 2023. A description of the LMS implementation within the Unite! analysis shows as well that a majority uses Moodle – at least as a second LMS. So, although the decision for a federated LMS based on Moodle might be the right one, these results as well indicate the need for tailored technical solutions for future developments for some partners and disparities in lecturers‘ and students‘ concerning a Moodle so that pre-emptive measures to ensure equitable participation are important. Despite these challenges, Unite!'s experience underscores the potential of Moodle as a widely adopted platform, prompting further exploration into solutions like LTI integration.

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of technological vigilance within commercial banks in Jordan in supporting the relationship between information technology (IT) infrastructure (hardware, software, network, security, maintenance, information quality, and interoperability) and Accounting Information Systems (AIS) efficiency. AMOS and Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) were used in order to screen and analyze the data collected from 161 financial and accounting managers within commercial banks in Jordan. The results indicated that technological vigilance mediates the relationship between IT infrastructure and AIS efficiency; it is based on the idea that the use of IT infrastructure, such as networks, hardware, and software to support business processes has a direct impact on the efficiency of AIS. Accordingly, this study recommends focusing on the role of IT infrastructure and the mediating role of technological vigilance in achieving AIS efficiency in Jordanian commercial banks. The originality of the study lies in its ability to address the role of IT infrastructure in increasing AIS efficiency, as well as its focus on the mediating role that technological vigilance. The study also has a novel contribution to the field by exploring the interconnectedness between technology, operational efficiency, and watchfulness. Through an in-depth analysis of empirical case studies, a deeper understanding of the interplay between these three variables was presented.

INTRODUCTION: IT infrastructure resources in large-sized companies have evolved into large-scale intelligent enterprise systems due to the emergence of Big Data, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence technologies. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of eHRM implementation and the availability of IT infrastructure on top management/CEO support and the performance of logistics companies in Semarang city. METHODS: This study uses a quantitative method with an analytical tool using SEM-PLS. The sampling method for this study used a purposive sampling technique with a total sample of 120 samples. RESULTS: IT infrastructure has a significant effect on top management support in logistics companies, the role of eHRM has a significant effect on top management support, the role of eHRM has a significant effect on CEO support, eHRM has a significant effect on company performance, IT infrastructure has a significant effect on company performance, support CEO has a significant effect on company performance, IT infrastructure has a significant effect on company performance, and the role of eHRM has no significant effect on company performance. CONCLUSION: IT Infrastructure and CEO Support influence Supply Chain Performance in Small-Scale Logistics Companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subject indexing, i.e., the enrichment of metadata records for textual resources with descriptors from a controlled vocabulary, is one of the core activities of libraries. Due to the proliferation of digital documents, it is no longer possible to annotate every single document intellectually, which is why we need to explore the potentials of automation on every level. At ZBW the efforts to partially or completely automate the subject indexing process started as early as 2000 with experiments involving external partners and commercial software. The conclusion of that first exploratory period was that commercial, supposedly shelf-ready solutions would not suffice to cover the requirements of the library. In 2014 the decision was made to start doing the necessary applied research in-house which was successfully implemented by establishing a PhD position. However, the prototypical machine learning solutions that they developed over the following years were yet to be integrated into productive operations at the library. Therefore in 2020 an additional position for a software engineer was established and a pilot phase was initiated (planned to last until 2024) with the goal to complete the transfer of our solutions into practice by building a suitable software architecture that allows for real-time subject indexing with our trained models and the integration thereof into the other metadata workflows at ZBW. In this paper we address the question of how to transfer results from applied research into a productive service, and we report on the milestones we have reached so far and on those that are yet to be reached on an operational level. We also discuss the challenges we were facing on a strategic level, the measures and resources (computing power, software, personnel) that were needed in order to be able to affect the transfer, and those that will be necessary in order to subsequently ensure the continued availability of the architecture and to enable a continuous development during running operations. We conclude that there are still no shelf-ready open source systems for the automation of subject indexing – existing software has to be adapted and maintained continuously which requires various forms of expertise. However, the task of automation is here to stay, and librarians are witnessing the dawn of a new era where subject indexing is done at least in part by machines, and the respective roles of machines and human experts may shift even further and more rapidly in a not-so-distant future. We argue that in general, the format of “project” and the mindset that goes with it may not suffice to secure the commitment that an institution and its decision-makers and the library community as a whole will have to bring to the table in order to face the monumental task of the digital transformation and automation in the long run. We also highlight the importance of all parties – applied researchers, software engineers, stakeholders – staying involved and continuously communicating requirements and issues back and forth in order to successfully create and establish a productive service that is suitable and equipped for operation.

AbstractThis study explores the link between inventory optimization and operational efficiency in public sector organizations in Ethiopia. The study specifically examines the role of Capacity utilization, Inventory precision, IT infrastructure, administrative purchasing procedures, Workforce competence and proficiency, Record-keeping towards achieving optimal inventory management and operational efficiency in these organizations. The research is based on a quantitative approach, with primary data collected through a survey of 186 public sector organizations in Ethiopia. Utilizing a descriptive and explanatory research design, primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed through the application of SPSS version 24 and presented with descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicate a significant and positive correlation between Inventory Optimization and operational efficiency. Additionally, multiple regression analysis revealed that inventory utilization, administrative purchasing procedures, record-keeping and documentation, staff skills and knowledge, inventory accuracy, and IT infrastructure have a significant impact on operational efficiency. Consequently, the study provides data-driven insights into the importance of inventory optimization in enhancing operational efficiency in public sector organizations in Ethiopia. This study recommends that the management of Ethiopian public sector organizations should focus on developing short administrative purchasing procedures, ensuring good record-keeping and documentation, utilizing adequate information and communication technology, and investing in staff skills training to enhance Inventory Optimization and overall organizational operational efficiency.

Key stakeholders across different industries with competing visions, motivations and technology bets are investing significant financial resources in developing the building blocks of the metaverse. The purpose of this opinion piece aimed primarily at practitioners is to explore the key question: What is needed to make the metaverse real? What are the key uncertainties that must be resolved? We are motivated by shedding light on whether the metaverse is just a new marketing buzzword or a new transformative trend. We have identified six areas with key uncertainties, which require agreement and solutions from industry players – the space, the interface, the IT infrastructure, the monetary infrastructure, the digital ID and the energy. These uncertainties will be resolved in a series of cooperative and competitive games among the key stakeholders who will need to work on being aligned on a set of standards. The practical implication is that the metaverse cannot be ignored, but there are non-trivial challenges that need to be resolved first. Our paper provides a framework for practitioners to think through these issues in a more systematic fashion.

Information technology (IT) is a critical resource and asset for a firm's internal operations and external interactions with outside stakeholders. This paper explores IT capabilities that enable a retailer's value chain activities and interfaces with suppliers and customers. IT capabilities that enable the value chain activities of logistics and operations as well as those of marketing and sales are identified to examine how they influence a retailer's implementation of value chain interfaces. Through the lens of organizational information processing theory (OIPT), we find that both IT capabilities and IT infrastructure play a pivotal role in implementing value chain interfaces but in distinctive ways. On the supplier-facing side, a retailer's IT infrastructure and IT capabilities enabling logistics and operations are essential to its vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system. On the customer-facing side, a retailer's e-commerce website requires IT infrastructure and IT capabilities that enable marketing and sales. Moreover, synergies are found downstream for e-commerce website that benefits from the integration of IT infrastructure and IT capabilities enabling logistics and operations while such synergies are not found upstream for VMI. This partial complementary effect is explicated by the sequential asymmetric information dependency of value chain activities. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the research and practice of IT enablement and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, many enterprises are automating all processes in their production, and the metallurgical industry is no exception. There are many software products for industrial automation on the market today. Such products allow bringing certain processes to a single management process, displaying all processes and automatically monitoring performance indicators, thereby assessing the effectiveness of the models implemented in the enterprise and the operation of the entire enterprise in general. The purpose of this study is to consider which production planning models are currently used for manufacturing execution system (MES) and highlight their features, specifically when implemented at metallurgical enterprises. The study employed the following methods: analysis, synthesis, comparison, graphical presentation of data. The information basis of this paper included the studies of Russian, European, American, Asian specialists investigating the implementation of an integrated management system (MES) in the metallurgical industry. The results of this study allowed highlighting the features of existing production planning models for manufacturing execution systems (MES) in the metallurgical industry. This study is of practical importance because it allows highlighting the major features of various production planning models for manufacturing execution systems (MES) in the metallurgical industry and based on a comparative analysis, choosing the best one to implement at the enterprise. The results of a comparative analysis of production planning models for manufacturing execution systems (MES) in the metallurgical industry can also lead to the fact that an enterprise may abandon one model that is already operating in the enterprise and switch to a new, more progressive model that meets all the requirements and development trends market in the steel industry

The improvement in the reliability, availability, and maintenance of the IT infrastructure components is paramount to ensure uninterrupted services in large-scale IT Infrastructures. The massive system logs generated by infrastructures have proved to be advantageous to pursue the runtime circumstances and behavior of the system. Existing literature has log-based failure detection techniques carrying semantic analysis but on limited log features, reflecting ineffectiveness in anomaly detection for unstable and unseen log records. We have proposed in this paper a semantic log analysis model with three log features to apprehend the gist of the log message. BERT pre-trained model is employed to adapt the feature embedding. The generated numerical vectors are further furnished to train an attention-based OLSTM (Optimized Long Short-Term Memory Networks) classifier to detect failures in diverse infrastructures. The proposed model is evaluated on five different infrastructures: Apache from a server application, OpenStack from the Distributed Systems, Windows from the Operating System, BGL from a Supercomputer, and Android from the Mobile System. The findings illustrate that the proposed system delivers improved and stable results, considering the varied IT infrastructures.

This study aims to examine the relationship between Organisation culture, IT infrastructure and Knowledge Management Process, towards Knowledge Management implementation effectiveness in a Malaysian manufacturing company. This study was conducted among the permanent employees across all departments in the GLC Manufacturing Plant in Malaysia. Quantitative data were collected using self-administered questionnaires to a sample of 108 permanent employees. Based on the findings from multiple regression analysis, Organisation Culture had the most significant impact towards KM implementation effectiveness; whilst IT Infrastructure had a significant relationship but KM Process had no significant relationship with KM implementation effectiveness. The study had made significant contribution where it extended the literature on KM enablers influencing KM implementation effectiveness and contribute towards strategizing better policies on organizational culture and IT Infrastructure to improve overall KM effectiveness in manufacturing organization.

Background: New emerging technologies enable healthcare centers to enhance their information technology (IT) infrastructure, which offers an opportunity to provide adequate services to patients. In Saudi Arabia, the government has initiated artificial intelligence-based technologies to increase productivity in organizations. However, recent studies demand innovative approaches for quality management in healthcare centers. In addition, there is a scarcity of techniques for evaluating the performance of healthcare professionals. Methods: The study intended to investigate the role of IT in quality management in Saudi Arabian healthcare centers. A set of hypotheses were proposed to identify the relationship between IT and quality management. A web-based questionnaire was used and interviews were conducted in the healthcare centers of Riyadh and Eastern provinces. A total of 233 healthcare professionals and management employees participated in the survey. A mixed-method approach was applied to evaluate the responses. Furthermore, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to draw insights from the data. Results: The outcome reveals a positive relationship between IT and quality management. Moreover, the thematic findings outline the importance of IT competence in healthcare centers. Conclusions: The study's findings can support healthcare centers to deploy valuable tools and techniques to improve the quality of service.

The new generation of industry, i.e. Industry 4.0, pertains to the processing of immense amounts of data, resulting, among other things, from the large-scale use of microcontrollers to control machines, an increase in the scale of automation, the use of the Internet of Things technology — e.g. in sensors installed at different stages of the production process, the implementation of the digital twin concept, and many other technologies designed to collect data (e.g. GPS or RFID). These data are collected in the enterprise’s variety of resources and databases. These data can be a valuable source of information and knowledge if the right approach to advanced data analysis is adopted, which depends, among other things, on the enterprise’s existing IT infrastructure. This paper sets out to present conclusions formulated on the basis of research consisting in the analysis of multinational manufacturing companies’ existing IT infrastructures. Three basic model solutions of IT architecture occurring in multi-site enterprises were identified, which made it possible to identify the main problems stemming from the IT architecture in place and concerning the analysis of data for the needs of company management. Additionally, this paper discusses the challenges faced by multi-site manufacturing companies. One such activity is the modification and expansion of the company’s IT infrastructure, including the implementation of Big Data and Master Data Management (MDM) solutions. The contribution provided by this paper consists in the analysis of the IT infrastructure in large, multi-site enterprises, which enabled the identification of problems and challenges related to advanced data analysis in this type of companies.

The IT infrastructure is the basis for the efficient and effective flow of logistic information between the individual elements of the logistical system. Therefore, the aim of this research was to assess the diversification of equipment in IT infrastructure in enterprises in Central Pomerania in Poland. The research was conducted in 2021 using the CAWI method. The research covers five categories of IT infrastructure: IT equipment, software/applications, means of communication, devices cooperating in the smart internet network and other devices. The study was conducted on a sample of 353 enterprises located in the area of Central Pomerania. The results of the conducted research indicate that the degree of use of the IT infrastructure in the analyzed enterprises varies. Taking into account the size of the enterprise, IT infrastructure is much more often used by large and medium enterprises than by small and micro enterprises. In addition, the results also show the diversification of the use of IT infrastructure depending on the business profile of the enterprise. Among the various sections of activity, IT infrastructure is most often used by enterprises from Section C (industrial processing) and from Section H (transport and warehouse management). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions went through a radical transition from face to face to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition and success of online learning depends on various factors. This research aims to measure the impact of critical factors on the effectiveness of online learning. The theoretical framework of the study considers eight factors namely, IT infrastructure, learning platform, students' characteristics, faculty support, active learning, course design, development and delivery, evaluation and assessment, and institutional support. The study is quantitative; a well-structured survey questionnaire was deployed to collect data from participants selected based on a purposive sampling technique. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents perceived online learning as effective, which is reflected by the average score of 4 on a Likert scale. A model summary of the multiple regression analysis illustrates that 39.2% influence on dependent variable 'effectiveness of online learning' is due to the above-mentioned eight independent variables. The coefficients of the model show that active learning and institutional support have significant positive impact on the effectiveness of online learning. The findings provide direction to educators in strengthening the pedagogy of active learning across courses and institutional support in terms of IT infrastructure, IT support and services, faculty development program, and management vision towards digitalization. The theoretical framework of the study has been confirmed by the results as reflected by the perception of the staff and students who participated in the survey. This guides university management in designing strategies to ensure effectiveness of online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterprise information security specialists need separate functions and services (monitoring, management, copying) that interact with any class of server and client applications and have a common interface. There is a general trend towards its appearance. It is the consideration of this problem and its programmatic implementation that is considered in the framework of the presented study.

The rapid development of information systems creates new challenges for developers. The problem of minimizing the use of IT infrastructure resources while ensuring the agreed level of service is one of the critical ones in the existing conditions. The article is devoted to the research of existing automation methods of resource management and QoS indicators. Capabilities of managing computing resources in Kubernetes and in general are analyzed. The work provides a detailed analysis of reactive and proactive approaches, their advantages and disadvantages. Considerable attention is paid to vertical scaling, in particular to the open-source Vertical Pod Autoscaler solution. A series of experiments was performed to analyze the effectiveness of this approach in various conditions. Based on the results, the appropriate use cases for using VPA were determined. In addition, the work proposes a hybrid approach, which includes a reactive and proactive component, which allows you to use the advantages of both methods. Ref. 7, pic. 9.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is considered a massive investment that can change the economic scenario of Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to examine the contribution to the economic growth of the sectors where CPEC is investing. This research uses time-series data for 31 years to investigate the impact of macroeconomic variables like foreign direct investment (FDI), human capital investment (HCI), transport investment, and information communication technology (ICT) on the economic growth of Pakistan. The results of Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square Regression Specification (FMOLS) show a positive nexus between FDI, HCI, and economic growth while economic growth and ICT show a negative relationship. The results for the impact of transportation infrastructure on economic growth are statistically insignificant. This research suggests that an increased focus on building knowledge, expertise, and skillset of human resources will help in reaping the benefits of CPEC's investment. Future researchers can increase the period of the study to ascertain the implicit or explicit impact of CPEC on economic growth. The results also suggest that policymakers and researchers should focus on developing human capital to reap the investment benefits of CPEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to measure the mediating relationship of wellbeing at work between digitalization (IT infrastructure, IT business spanning, and IT proactive stance) and their effect on mental health. The study uses primary data collection techniques to gather data and used purposive sampling to analyze the data. The sample size of the study is 349 respondents. The research uses Smart PLS software to measure the relationship through bootstrapping and algorithms. The study finds a significant positive mediating role of wellbeing between digitalization (IT infrastructure, IT business spanning, and IT proactive stance) and their effect on mental health. The study outcomes are helpful for managers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is considered a massive investment that can change the economic scenario of Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to examine the contribution to the economic growth of the sectors where CPEC is investing. This research uses time-series data for 31 years to investigate the impact of macro-economic variables like foreign direct investment (FDI), human capital investment (HCI), transport investment, and information communication technology (ICT) on the economic growth of Pakistan. The results of Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square Regression Specification (FMOLS) show a positive nexus between FDI, HCI, and economic growth while economic growth and ICT show a negative relationship. The results for the impact of transportation infrastructure on economic growth are statistically insignificant. This research suggests that an increased focus on building knowledge, expertise, and skillset of human resources will help in reaping the benefits of CPEC’s investment. Future researchers can increase the period of the study to ascertain the implicit or explicit impact of CPEC on economic growth. The results also suggest that policymakers and researchers should focus on developing human capital to reap the investment benefits of CPEC.

Business intelligence, ERP assimilation, and IT infrastructure flexibility are components that can enhance organizational agility. At the same time, business intelligence (BI) usage improves management decisions. However, there are a few empirical studies on ERP assimilation and business intelligence. To fill this gap, we have proposed a new model with five direct and two mediating relationships. We have distributed 265 questionnaires and received 253 complete questionnaires. We collected the data through self-administered questionnaires adapted from earlier studies. The study has used the Smart PLS software to analyze the data using the partial least square structural equation modeling technique. Since the study measures second-order constructs, therefore, we believe that PLS-SEM is an appropriate software. The results indicate that IT infrastructure flexibility affects organizational agility, business intelligence use, and ERP assimilation. The results also support the association between business intelligence use and organizational agility and ERP assimilation and organization agility. Further, we find that business intelligence use and ERP assimilation have a mediating effect on organizational agility .

The lifetime and complexity of some IT scenarios significantly exceed the typical lifetime and complexity of a technological system. This is a source of significant economic efficiency improvement. In this paper, we propose an approach that enables us to leverage costs, reduce the space floor requirements, and lower CO2 emissions incurred by the infrastructure. By re-investing a significantly smaller financial amount compared to the initial investment an IT infrastructure with the same or better performance and with significantly higher energy efficiency can be purchased. By using a mathematical model, we can quantify the benefits of the approach based on technological advancement, electrical energy prices, and prices of data centre construction. We compare two strategies: the frozen strategy relying on a fixed IT infrastructure during the entire IT system lifecycle and the migration strategy leveraging technological advancement.

Data centers' deployment rate has raised concerns about high natural resource consumption. The scholarship has examined the scale of negative environmental impacts but focused to a lesser degree on policy responses enacted to improve data center sustainability. We analyze these policy responses in terms of (i) the degree of policy change undertaken, (ii) the duration of policy changes, and (iii) the effects on data center deployment rates. This work investigates six data center hubs - Singapore, Netherlands(Amsterdam), Ireland, Germany(Frankfurt), USA(Virginia), and the UK(London) – identifying three policy responses: moratorium, adjustment, and continuation. All six locations changed their data center deployment strategies. In three cases, data center policy adjustments were preceded by significant short-term disruptions of digital infrastructure growth (e.g., halts to new permits), demonstrating the challenges in managing high-growth sectors under environmental and infrastructural constraints. Among the three cases, only two have introduced long-term measures, i.e., adjustments through stricter environmental standards, showing that moratoriums better work as a temporary measure to stabilize natural resource consumption while buying time for long-term adjustments. Conversely, in the two cases opting for a continuation of data center deployment (e.g., redirecting new permits to less resource-constrained areas), the strategy lowered implementation costs but has been subject to a lingering opposition process. Beyond response specificities, the six cases also present general policymaking patterns. First, stricter energy accuracy standards may facilitate planning sustainable data center growth. Second, policy responses may yield better results when paired with multi-regional infrastructural strategies matching IT infrastructure needs with available energy capacity. • Expanding IT infrastructure (data center) may create negative environmental impacts. • Governments deployed different policy responses to mitigate data center impacts. • The data center policy responses vary in their type, duration, and consequences. • Different responses indicate distinct paths to pursue sustainable data center growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneous and decentralized nature of renewable energy sources is too much to handle for traditional and centralized IT grid infrastructure. Blockchain technology can address many of the associated challenges. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art technology layers of grid system infrastructure, a proposed future state using blockchain technology, and gap analysis. The paper also contributes a set of architectural requirements for a blockchain-enabled future state and a proposed hybrid architecture using blockchain technology, verifiable credentials, and smart contracts. This architecture can uniquely support the technology layers critical to renewable energies, including system architecture, registries, grid management, billing, privacy, and interoperability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To deal with environmental uncertainty, organizations need resilience to respond to disruptions, such as changing market conditions or variations in demand or supply, while avoiding large scale adjustments. The concept of resilience is ambiguous, often explained as the capability of an organization or a supply chain to recover its original state, within an appropriate time frame, after being disrupted. Resilient supply chains have event handling capabilities, can provide efficient responses, and can return to their normal operating performance, after the disruptive event. To increase their resilience, companies often make changes or adjustments to their internal IT infrastructure, which may temporarily disrupt their smooth operation. As a result, contemporary IT infrastructures are mixed and include varied systems or technologies. Although new technologies, including blockchain, IoT and cloud-based solutions, may facilitate the handling of changes by providing secure, low cost and scalable solutions, more traditional systems may hinder such changes. Therefore, the relationship between IT and supply chain resilience is still unclear. The paper intends to examine the above issues by adopting a socio-technical approach to explain the concept of supply chain resilience and investigate the role of IT. More specifically, based on previous literature and on the appreciative systems thinking theoretical perspective, the paper develops a theoretical framework to analyse the organisational and/or supply chain resilience. It then uses this framework to examine and explain the impact of IT, by identifying important characteristics of an IT infrastructure and examining whether they may support or hinder business resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking digitalization is an effort to continue to innovate to provide various facilities and conveniences for customers when conducting financial transactions through their smartphones. The online deposit service is one of the financial product innovations that provide online account opening services, without requiring customers to be physically present. This research uses descriptive methods and literature studies to find various problems when the implementation of online deposit products is carried out. The findings of this research are (1) the number of supporting infrastructure facilities for banking digitalization is still relatively limited, (2) many banking terms are difficult for the public to understand, (3) the number of cybercrimes occurring as a result of the increasing number of users in this industry. In this research, the author provides solutions to overcome the problems that arise, (1) improving IT infrastructure, increasing security, (2) online operator facilities that explain directly, (3) updating security and operator knowledge on various new modes that are developing about crime on the internet. This activity will make people believe, comfortable, and willing to place their money in the bank, especially the placement of deposit funds online. This research contributes to the development of knowledge about banking digitalization efforts in Indonesia.

In today’s information world, the competitiveness of universities is closely related to the effectiveness of the IT services provided. However, the development of IT infrastructure requires maintaining a balance between cost and efficiency of services. An IT service includes information technologies, processes and people. In accordance with ITIL standards, the university’s IT department should move from supporting software, applications, servers and networks to timely providing IT services to end users. The first step to this is to create a catalog of IT services. The purpose of the catalog implementation is to provide a single source of consistent information about all operational services and ensure quick access to them. Unlike foreign universities, domestic higher education institutions do not practice a systematic description of IT services and their presentation through the IT catalog. Direct transfer of management models of foreign universities to the Ukrainian educational environment appears impractical. The publication proposes a three-level catalog model, describes the categories of services that can be provided by Ukrainian universities, and defines the attributes of the IT service description template. The attributes of the description include: name, type of services, brief description, business owner, priority, service owner, consumers, request order, SLA, support system, status/phase. From the moment the IT service catalog is fully formed, its periodic monitoring begins according to the following criteria: SLA validity, correctness of provision of IT services, etc. The publication considers the formation of a catalog by stakeholders of the University on the example of the National University of Water Management and Environmental Management. In general, the use of the suggested recommendations will provide a description of the IT infrastructure of universities in the form of a set of services, the value of which is understandable to stakeholders and university management, as well as will allow to achieve competitive advantages in the educational services market.

Capacity planning of the infrastructure is a difficult task performed during the virtualization of the IT infrastructure. It is the planning of the necessary hardware to which the existing systems will be transferred, and later the future systems that will work in a virtualized environment. Infrastructure capacity planning in digitalization of educational services is a process in which the IT infrastructure is needed to meet not only the current workload but also the future workload and to follow further requirements. In case the process of planning is well performed, it could more fully support the development of emerging technologies in learning. The traditional IT infrastructure, bound by the physical limitations of the devices, does not meet the requirements for flexible changes, for quick recovery after a problem. This leads to difficult management, to weaknesses in the implementation of educational processes. Virtualization could solve most of these problems for modern IT infrastructures. It provides highly efficient and reliable operation of operating systems and applications that do not depend on the computer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new generation of industry, i.e. Industry 4.0, pertains to the processing of immense amounts of data, resulting, among other things, from the large-scale use of microcontrollers to control machines, an increase in the scale of automation, the use of the Internet of Things technology — e.g. in sensors installed at different stages of the production process, the implementation of the digital twin concept, and many other technologies designed to collect data (e.g. GPS or RFID). These data are collected in the enterprise's variety of resources and databases. These data can be a valuable source of information and knowledge if the right approach to advanced data analysis is adopted, which depends, among other things, on the enterprise's existing IT infrastructure. This paper sets out to present conclusions formulated on the basis of research consisting in the analysis of multinational manufacturing companies' existing IT infrastructures. Three basic model solutions of IT architecture occurring in multi-site enterprises were identified, which made it possible to identify the main problems stemming from the IT architecture in place and concerning the analysis of data for the needs of company management. Additionally, this paper discusses the challenges faced by multi-site manufacturing companies. One such activity is the modification and expansion of the company's IT infrastructure, including the implementation of Big Data and Master Data Management (MDM) solutions. The contribution provided by this paper consists in the analysis of the IT infrastructure in large, multi-site enterprises, which enabled the identification of problems and challenges related to advanced data analysis in this type of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of designing and creating an integrated distributed information system for storing digitized works of scientists of research institutes of the Almaty academic city is analyzed. The requirements for the storage of digital objects are defined; a comparative analysis of the open source software used for these purposes is carried out. The system fully provides the necessary computing resources for ongoing research and educational processes, simplifying the prospect of its further development, and allows to build an advanced IT infrastructure for managing intellectual capital, an electronic library that is intended to store all books and scientific works of the Kazakhstan Engineering Technological University and research institutes of the Almaty academic city.

This paper investigates the effect of the adoption of IT Infrastructure on environmental sustainability. The purpose is to strike a balance between the adoption of IT as Supply Chain enabling tool and environmental sustainability. Many large organizations are directly responsible for creating an imbalance in nature through industrial contamination. However, with the development of Supply Chain, has brought about awareness of pollution hazards that have endangered environment. IT Infrastructure and its proper adoption can offer a viable solution ensuring environmental sustainability. This study focuses on how businesses can improve supply chain with the adoption of IT Infrastructure that will reduce carbon emission other sources of pollution. Qualitative research is conducted to study the impact and results are represented at the end of the research. In the research findings, it is concluded that Horizontal Collaborative network for Supply Chain is the key to sustainability and the role of IT infrastructure is the dominant factor for improving Supply Chain.

Introduction. The study is of relevance due to the need for rational management of the IT infrastructure by large industry enterprises in order to increase the efficiency of their economic activities. The objective of this paper, based on the results of the study of the activities of enterprises in the energy sales industry, is to consider the ways of increasing the efficiency of management of the IT infrastructure of a company through the introduction of domestic software. Materials and Methods. The study used materials of scientific publications and the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) methodology to describe the IT infrastructure of an enterprise. The principles of systemic and integrated approaches, general scientific methods and techniques were applied. The analytic hierarchy process was used in order to perform a comparative analysis of domestic automated information systems. Results. Based on the analysis of the activities of the Watt company, a regional monopolist in the energy sales industry of the Republic of Mordovia, shortcomings in the automation of supporting business processes of large companies have been revealed. The reasons for the low efficiency of the management processes of the IT infrastructure of an enterprise have been considered. The solution to the problems identified through the domestic software has been substantiated. A comparative analysis of a number of Russian automated information Service Desk systems has been carried out. Discussion and Conclusion. The necessity of improving such a supporting process as that of managing the IT infrastructure of an enterprise has been substantiated. The results obtained can be used in the practice of large companies in the reengineering and modernization of the main and supporting business processes. The results of the comparative analysis of Russian automated information Service Desk systems can be taken into account when deciding on the use of domestic software.

The IT infrastructure is the basis for the efficient and effective flow of logistic information between the individual elements of the logistical system. Therefore, the aim of this research was to assess the diversification of equipment in IT infrastructure in enterprises in Central Pomerania in Poland. The research was conducted in 2021 using the CAWI method. The research covers five categories of IT infrastructure: IT equipment, software/applications, means of communication, devices cooperating in the smart internet network and other devices. The study was conducted on a sample of 353 enterprises located in the area of Central Pomerania. The results of the conducted research indicate that the degree of use of the IT infrastructure in the analyzed enterprises varies. Taking into account the size of the enterprise, IT infrastructure is much more often used by large and medium enterprises than by small and micro enterprises. In addition, the results also show the diversification of the use of IT infrastructure depending on the business profile of the enterprise. Among the various sections of activity, IT infrastructure is most often used by enterprises from Section C (industrial processing) and from Section H (transport and warehouse management).

Background: The current level of industrialization has generated many challenges worldwide, including ecological hazards, climate change, and the overuse of non-renewable natural resources, thereby creating an increasing demand for achieving the goal of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). In this regard, Industry 4.0 can be used as a crunch point to contribute to the production process that can help achieve sustainable development. Purpose: While the Malaysian government proposed the “Industry4ward” approach to enhance technological adoption, there is scarce empirical evidence in the literature that validates SMEs for Industry 4.0. Using Dynamic Capability View (DCV), this study proposes a framework that includes core determinants like top management commitment, supply chain integration, and IT infrastructure, that can significantly influence Industry 4.0 implementation toward achieving TBL sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: Employing simple random sampling, the study adopted a quantitative approach based on 199 useable respondent's feedback collected through a survey questionnaire of 900 employees from Malaysian SMEs. The statistical analysis was performed using Structural Equation Modeling (Partial Least Square, SmartPLS 3.3.2). Findings: The results show that top management and IT infrastructure significantly impact Industry 4.0 implementation and sustainability. In contrast, the analysis also demonstrates that supply chain integration is insignificant to Industry 4.0 implementation in SMEs. The findings also indicate that the relationship between the determinants of Industry 4.0 and TBL sustainability can be mediated by the “effective implementation” of Industry 4.0. Recommendations: The study highlights the practical consequences of the role and use of the determinants in Industry 4.0 implementation. Its findings help managers and policy-makers to optimize value creation to achieve sustainable development goals. Limitations and future research: Focusing only on Malaysian manufacturing SMEs may restrict the generalization of the study; thus, a benchmarking analysis from other industrial settings is encouraged. The questionnaire-based survey is a further limitation of the study.

Point-of-care systems are generally used in healthcare to respond rapidly and prevent critical health conditions. Hence, POC systems often handle personal health information; and consequently, their cybersecurity and privacy requirements are of crucial importance. While, assessing these requirements is a significant task. In this work, we propose a use case approach to assess specifications of cybersecurity and privacy requirements of POC systems in a structured and self-contained form. Such an approach is appropriate since use cases are one of the most common means adopted by developers to derive requirements. As a result, we detail a use case approach in the framework of a real-based healthcare IT infrastructure that includes a health information system, integration engines, application servers, web services, medical devices, smartphone apps and medical modalities (all data simulated) together with the interaction with participants. Since our use case also sustains the analysis of cybersecurity and privacy risks in different threat scenarios, it also supports decision making and the analysis of compliance considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common service-based approach to distinguishing hierarchical layers for service level management in IT infrastructure covers only discrete scopes of IT infrastructure and is very general. As a result, it can be applied to any kind of IT infrastructure. However, coordination between scopes can miss some parameters which may be crossed among the layers. Moreover, such approach does not consider peculiarities of specific domains. In order to fix this problem, it is suggested to introduce the ontology of domain area and to extend service-based stratification with domain-specific definitions. Also, in accordance to domain each general-based service such as infrastructure or platform as a service can be extended to cover interlinked dependencies between layers. For the purpose of quality of service management an approach of statistical process control is used. Ref. 15, pic. 3