Around the Bloc: New App Will Simplify Mail Delivery in Mongolia
The app assigns a three-word combination to every point on the planet, ideal for the billions who have no mailing address.
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The app assigns a three-word combination to every point on the planet, ideal for the billions who have no mailing address.
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If all goes according to plan, residents of the Czech capital might soon be surprised to enter city buses without anyone behind the wheel.
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Information Society technologies are aimed at raising productivity while reducing time and costs of materials and energy for the economy. Specialists have also observed that ICTs, which have become significantly cheaper, are in huge demand for individual (household) use. Individual applications of ICT in Poland’s economy lead to a growth in different human activities. They impact the economies of Poland in a similar way to the well-known take-back (rebound) effect, which increases the efficiency of resource use and electrical energy consumption in households.
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One of the major prerequisites for success of software process improvement (SPI) initiatives is the commitment of software experts. The current article focuses on the attitude of practitioners towards SPI and their commitment to this initiative. The objective is to reveal the factors that have impact on expert’s readiness to engage with change initiatives, the role that they prefer, as well as the effect of culture on their preference. Data is gathered through electronic survey, distributed amongst software practitioners in Bulgaria and abroad. Descriptive statistics, cross-tables and non-parametric correlation analysis is executed in order to aggregate the observations. The study concludes that most respondents have a very positive attitude towards SPI and are ready to become involved with such initiatives. There is a slight difference between the answers of the Bulgarian and non-Bulgarian samples. There is no link between the attitude of the respondents and their current position, management status or years of experience. The participants can be split into initiators and followers, where the first are more convinced in the positive effect of SPI, while the others are more moderate in their commitment readiness. The conclusions from this study will be further examined by conducting more detailed interviews, the results of which can be used by software organizations in their SPI efforts.
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In an attempt to save costs and increase transparency, agencies can only procure customized software for which the source code is made freely available to the public.
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Supply chain innovation has become the new pre-requisite for the survival of firms in developing capabilities and strategies for sustaining their operations and performance in the market. This study investigates the influence of supply and demand competence on supply chain innovation and its influence on a firm’s operational and relational performance. While the former competence refers to production and supply management related activities, the latter refers to distribution and demand management related activities. The current investigation further explores how well supply chain management processes are internally executed by the firm’s employees i.e. process compliance is observed as an enabler (moderator) on the relationship between supply chain competences and supply chain innovation. Further the model also explores the moderating influence of environmental uncertainty on the linkage between supply chain innovation and firm performance. The model is empirically validated based on perceptual data collected from 166 supply chain professionals through web based survey. Implications for both managers as well as practitioners are also provided.
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In the era characterized by significant dynamics of the environment traditional methods of anticipating the future, assuming the immutability of the factors affecting the forecasted phenomenon, may be in the long term ineffective. The modern approach of predicting the future of technology, taking into account the multidimensionality of the environment, is, among other things, the Future-Oriented Technology Analysis (FTA). Designing the FTA research procedure is a complex process, both in organizational and methodological terms. The catalogue of methods that can be used in this process is extensive and constantly open. However, in the source literature the rules for the selection of methods appropriate for the type of research were not specified. The ways of combining methods in the research process were also missing. The main aim of this article was to present the author’s classification of methods of future-oriented technology analysis and indicate the possibilities of its application. In the text, using statistical methods and artificial neural networks, the classification of methods with the potential of exploitation in prospective technology analysis was carried out. Each of the received classes was analysed, the characteristics of particular groups of methods were selected, and authorial names characterizing the given classes were chosen. According to the author, the application of the proposed classification of methods of future-oriented technology analysis facilitates the design of the FTA research process. It will contribute to the systematization and standardization of the manner of selection of research methods. It will also allow for the selection of complementary methods.
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Along with the information age accelerating its development towards the end of the twentieth century, rapid changes and innovations are being experienced in the business world. Several factors such as competition increasing with the influence of the globalization, changes in the customer characteristics, advances in technology and increasing uncertainty have made the businesses’ ensuring their continuity difficult day by day. Therefore, businesses should give importance to development and change and be open to new approaches in their administrative activities in order to have a structure which will get an edge over their competitors in the future. Strategic Management, one of these approaches, is a management process that enables the businesses to develop correct strategies for achieving their goals and assess the results applying these strategies effectively. There are some tools, techniques and approaches, prominent in the successful implementation of the chosen strategies, at different stages of the strategic management process. One of them is Open Book Management (OBM) which is new and quite a radical concept of management. OBM refers to the opening of the entity’s financial records, expenses and profitability sources to employees. In this study, Open Book Management’s being converted to a successful strategic management tool has been addressed.
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Income inequality is one of the most common issues considered in the context of economic growth. As theoretical literature indicates, income inequality interacts with the level of development through various channels, e.g. education, investment level or delinquency. We used data from 120 developed and developing countries to verify empirically the existence and strength of these channels. The estimates cannot confirm the statistical or economic relevance of the channels proposed by the theory in linking inequalities and growth.
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Local resellers may have conspired with the Silicon Valley tech giant to overcharge consumers, the anti-monopoly service says.
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Apple could also face sanctions as Moscow continues to narrow the playing field for foreign tech companies.
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The study investigates current tendencies in marketing and consumer behavior, concerning the era of fast developing digital environment and importance of new media. There are new ways of ways of influencing consumers, which have strategic importance.
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The aim of this essay is a critical insight into the most important long-term phenomena i.e. civilisations at critical stages. The plural form used indicates that at least two such instances will be analysed. Globalization and IT revolution have led to a transformation into a civilization of knowledge, but also, in the majority of the world, to a transformation of an agrarian or agrarian-industrial civilization into an industrial one with a skin-deep layer of the civilization of knowledge. Civilization is seen here not as most philosophers, sociologists of culture or anthropologists would see it, i.e. as effects or symptoms of culture and/or religion, but in a much wider sense, as a system incorporating both the material-institutional and the spiritual relations based on the foundation of the main resource defining the economic-productive system. The deliberations concern mainly conditions of the transition from the old into the new civilization, taking into account the materialistic (economic-technical) and the spiritual-enlightenment conditions but also the mechanisms of violence accompanying such transitions. Other aspects that have been taken into account are the time and the territorial scope of the transition, and the nature of the critical stage characteristic for such change, as well as the question of time needed for the emergence of a new civilization. That is how different segments deriving from different civilizations co-exist and pile up. The phenomenon leads to different contradictions as to the model of the state, economic consequences and differentiated culture systems. The understanding of the specifics of these processes is particularly difficult also because the attempts of interpretation have so far been based on the theories and paradigms derived from the industrial civilization and often do not provide answers to the questions on the emerging civilization of knowledge.
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Because of its huge potential influence on consumers, society, and businesses, digitalization has been named "the fourth industrial revolution." In terms of businesses, digitalization provides the possibility to employ digital technology to transform company models and generate new income and value. However, digitization brings with it opportunities and challenges. For example, the digitization of services and the large collection of customer information might provoke skepticism and distrust among stakeholders, threatening the company's income. One way for companies to overcome this problem is to build a strong reputation through sustainability reporting. Sustainability refers to the inclusion of social and environmental concerns in business operations and stakeholder interactions. As a result, sustainability reporting may be a powerful tool for increasing stakeholder trust and capitalizing on digital prospects. The paper examines the effects of digitalization and non-financial reporting on stakeholder engagement. To address the research query, we conducted a thorough content analysis of company reports. It was crucial to employ empirical research to comprehend how stakeholder engagement evolves within nonfinancial reporting and digitalization. The first part of the study describes and evaluates the linkages between corporate digitalization, nonfinancial reporting, and stakeholder engagement based on qualitative data analysis of sustainability reports. The sample comprised sustainability reports from companies listed in the BSE BET-Index. The second part of the study is based on the same sample of companies. The company's financial reports published on their website and the BSE website were analyzed to see if the companies have published their financial reports in XBRL format and if they can be found on the iXBRL site. Most companies currently give high priority to self-reported non-financial data and provide annual non-financial reports. After conducting the study, we can say that the companies not only acknowledge the importance of innovation but also demonstrate the capability to identify opportunities for global collaboration to improve their offerings and set themselves apart from competitors. The merging of sustainability and digitalization is pivotal for sustaining competitiveness and creating value for stakeholders.
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This study explored the integration of neural networks and artificial intelligence in image recognition for object identification. The aim was to enhance students’ learning experiences through a "Learning by Teaching" approach, in which students act as instructors to train AI robots in recognizing objects. This research specifically focused on the cell division unit in the first grade of lower-secondary school. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design involving four seventh-grade classes in a rural lower-secondary school. The experimental group (41 students) were taught via an AI robot image recognition technology, whereas the control group (40 students) were taught via a more conventional textbook-centered approach. The research followed a pre-test design, with three classes lasting 45 min each, totaling 135 min of teaching time over two weeks. Evaluation tools include the "Cell Division Two Stage Diagnostic Test" and the "Science Learning Motivation Scale." The results indicate that learning through teaching AI robot image recognition technology is more effective than textbook learning in enhancing students’ comprehension of the "cell division" concept and boosting motivation to learn science.
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Research background: The article explores the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in predictive maintenance (PM) within Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) context. It addresses the increasing importance of leveraging advanced technologies to enhance maintenance prac- tices in industrial settings.Purpose of the article: The primary objective of the article is to investigate and demonstrate the application of AI-driven PM in the IIoT. The authors aim to shed light on the potential benefits and implications of incorporating AI into maintenance strategies within industrial environments.Methods: The article employs a research methodology focused on the practical implementa- tion of AI algorithms for PM. It involves the analysis of data from sensors and other sources within the IIoT ecosystem to present predictive models. The methods used in the study con- tribute to understanding the feasibility and effectiveness of AI-driven PM solutions.Findings & value added: The article presents significant findings regarding the impact of AI- driven PM on industrial operations. It discusses how the implementation of AI technologies contributes to increased efficiency. The added value of the research lies in providing insights into the transformative potential of AI within the IIoT for optimizing maintenance practices and improving overall industrial performance.
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Research background: SMEs’ concern for the digital literacy of their workforce, their interest in increasing digital literacy among employees, and securing their digital platforms, have been major issues in their digital transformation process. To reduce those obstacles, the dynamic capabilities of SMEs included in the Resource-based View (RBV) might be an effective solution since they help companies be more competitive and proactive against the threats they face in the digitalization process.Purpose of the article: This research aims to investigate whether SMEs' dynamic capabilities positively contribute to their digital transformation process.Methods: In line with the proposed relationships, this paper analyzes SMEs from Czechia by running Ordinal Logistic Regression analyses. The research sample is created by stratified random sampling and purposive sampling methods. The research data is collected via tele- phone surveys.Findings & value added: This research does not find a positive relationship between the dynamic capabilities of SMEs and the digital transformation process. While the results related to digital literacy are negatively associated with digital transformation, no significant relation- ship exists between security actions and the digital transformation of SMEs. This paper ex- tends the scope of RBV on the digital transformation of SMEs by analyzing various dynamic capabilities of SMEs that have not been included in a sole study. Moreover, the perceptions of SME executives are considered by this research to provide effective solutions for the problems they face in digital transformation. Having a joint venture agreement with well-experienced IT companies, having a network with partner firms, looking for funding opportunities in the EU, participating in some practical training, and providing internships for bachelor students might enable SMEs to hit their targets in digital transformation.
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Research background: Digital ecosystems in Europe are heterogenous organizations involving different economies, industries, and contexts. Among them, Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) are considered a policy-driven organization fostered by the European Commission to push companies’ digital transition through a wide portfolio of supporting services. Purpose of the article: There are DIHs existing in all European economies, but literature needs more precise indications about their status and nature. The purpose is to study a distribution of DIHs and differences in portfolios of DIHs’ services across European economies. Therefore, the paper wants to deliver more precise data on effects on national and European policies. This is required to define their final role and scope in the complex dynamics of the digital transition, depending on regional context and heterogeneity of industries. Methods: Data on 38 economies was collected from the S3 platform (on both existing and in preparation DIHs) and further verified by native speaking researchers using manual web scrapping of websites of DIHs identified from S3. To find potential similarities of digital ecosystems in different economies as emanated by the existence of DIHs, clusterization (Ward’s method and Euclidean distances) was applied according to the services offered. Economies were clustered according to the number of DIHs and the spread of DIHs intensity in different cities. The results were further analyzed according to the scope of the provided services. Findings & value added: The applied clustering classified European economies in four different sets, according to the types of services offered by the DIHs. These sets are expression of the different digitalization statuses and strategies of the selected economies and, as such, the services a company can benefit from in a specific economy. Potential development-related reasons behind the data-driven clustering are then conjectured and reported, to guide companies and policy makers in their digitalization strategies.
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In recent decades, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) has generated revolutionary changes in various areas of life. This development process also has a significant impact on education, and AI opens up countless opportunities in the field of learning and teaching. This study provides an overview of the dynamic development of the use of artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on the education sector, as many AI applications, from adaptive learning environments to tutoring assistance, can make life easier for students and teachers. The article also serves as an introduction to the studies of the thematic issue, which explore the educational dimensions of artificial intelligence in more depth, presenting the challenges and opportunities that teachers and educational institutions face during the introduction of intelligent technologies.
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How should we interpret such expressions as knowledge environment and knowledge prosthesis, concerning to the education system and the growing common knowledge of mankind? What is the nature of the contemporary artificial intelligence solutions as final chapters of earlier knowledge technology developments, and what is the relation between the existing knowledge practices and the dreams of early visionaries (Otlet, Bush, Licklider, Nelson, Engelbart and others)? I went in quest of arguments and considerations about the place of smart artificial intelligence solutions in the education goals, reflecting to the personal/cognitive development of students.
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