Abukar Mukhtar Omar, Ali Abdi Jama, Abdirahman Ibrahim Abdi
Abstract This study investigates how infrastructure challenges, stakeholder engagement, and technical capacity shape the effectiveness of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) in post-conflict Somalia. Drawing on survey data from 210 school administrators, teachers, ministry officials, and IT specialists, the research applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test a framework grounded in Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory and the DeLone & McLean IS Success Model. The findings show that both infrastructure challenges and stakeholder engagement exert direct and significant effects on EMIS effectiveness. Stakeholder engagement also strongly enhances technical capacity, underscoring the importance of inclusive participation in sustaining system reforms. By contrast, technical capacity on its own does not significantly improve effectiveness and does not mediate the effects of either infrastructure or engagement. Unexpectedly, infrastructure challenges demonstrated a positive association with both EMIS effectiveness and technical capacity—an outcome that may reflect adaptive learning, targeted support, or compensatory strategies in resource-constrained contexts. This indicates that a multi-faceted approach, addressing both stakeholder participation and infrastructure deficits, is required to improve the functioning of EMIS in Somalia. In doing so, EMIS can become a cornerstone for advancing data-driven decision making, educational accountability, and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (quality education) and Goal 16 (strong institutions).
Noor Shaheed Sachit Taresh, Mahboobeh Golestanizadeh, Hadi Sarvari
et al.
Construction projects in developing countries indicate many implementation problems, such as the technical incompatibility of the implemented structure with the design, incorrect management, the prolongation of a very high percentage of projects up to several times of the planned period, and the increase in costs; it is vital for construction firms to gather, integrate, and communicate the results of project management procedures using tools and methods, including information systems, in order to reduce these problems. Evaluating the results of project management procedures, using tools and methods such as information systems, can be helpful to avoid implementation problems, technical incompatibility of the constructed structure with the design, improper management, delays, and cost overruns. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the influence of information systems on project management success through the mediator variable of project risk management in construction firms. To accomplish this, 95 Iraqi building specialists were picked as a statistical sample using snowball sampling. Three questionnaires were used as data collection tools including an information systems questionnaire with four dimensions and 27 questions, a project management success questionnaire with 27 questions, and a project risk management questionnaire with six dimensions and 25 questions based on a five-point Likert scale measurement. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were checked and confirmed. Smart PLS 4 and SPSS 28 softwares were used for analyzing the data. Finally, the findings indicated that the impact effect as well as the full effect of information system variables on project management success without the presence of a mediator is significant. Moreover, the indirect effect of information system variables on project management success with the presence of a mediator is also significant. In addition, project risk management has a partial mediator effect on the effect of information system variables on project management success. Also, there is a considerable correlation between the use of information systems and the success of project and risk management. Moreover, in the first phase of stepwise regression, capacity development predicts project management success and risk management variables. The regression analysis revealed that among the dimensions of information systems, the Capacity Development dimension has the ability to predict the success of project management and project risk management.
Abstract
BackgroundThe rapid advancement of digital health technologies (DHTs) offers substantial potential for improving health care access; however, it simultaneously risks exacerbating existing inequities for marginalized populations. Previous research on the digital divide has often treated individuals with blindness as a homogenous group, primarily focusing on barriers related to digital access and skills. However, less is known about the nuanced experiences of specific subgroups, such as educated and digitally literate young adults. This study focuses on this demographic to understand how their advanced digital capabilities interact with systemic and infrastructural barriers in health care.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the lived health care experiences of educated young adults with blindness in China, specifically identifying how DHTs simultaneously contribute to their empowerment and exclusion.
MethodsEligible participants were educated young adults with blindness in China (aged 18‐30 years, Mandarin speakers, smartphone users, and holding or pursuing higher education). A total of 12 semistructured interviews were conducted in Mandarin during September 2024. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. An inductive thematic analysis was used to interpret the data and identify key themes.
ResultsParticipants’ experiences highlighted an “empowered but excluded” dynamic. Seven key themes emerged, categorized into empowerment and exclusion. Empowerment themes included: (1) digital platforms empowering self-management and health care access, where DHTs enabled independent appointment booking and access to comprehensive health information; and (2) digital platforms empowering for finding medical visit companions, facilitating the discovery of companions for physical and emotional support. Exclusion themes comprised: (3) inaccessible online appointment systems, due to noninclusive designs; (4) inaccessible health care environments and information formats, stemming from nonaccessible self-service machines and written materials; (5) lack of provider competencies in respecting patient autonomy, as providers often assumed digital incompetence; (6) data privacy and security concerns, heightened by increased digitalization and reliance on assistive tools; and (7) challenges related to the quality and consistency of online companion support, highlighting the limitations of platform-based assistance.
ConclusionsOur findings reveal an “empowered but excluded” dynamic: the potential for digital empowerment and enhanced independence is often curtailed by systematic barriers. Addressing this necessitates a multifaceted approach: enhancing technological accessibility through robust standards adherence and inclusive co-design processes; improving health care provider competencies in patient-centered care via targeted training; and empowering educated young adults with blindness by building their capacity for self-determination to achieve equitable health care access.
Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics, Public aspects of medicine
Rod Sheaff, Angela Ellis Paine, Mark Exworthy
et al.
Background As a matter of policy, voluntary, community and social enterprises contribute substantially to the English health and care system. Few studies explain how the National Health Service and local authorities commission them, what outputs result, what contexts influence these outcomes and what differentiates this kind of commissioning. Objectives To explain how voluntary, community and social enterprises are commissioned, the consequences, what barriers both parties face and what absorptive capacities they need. Design Observational mixed-methods realist analysis: exploratory scoping, cross-sectional analysis of National Health Service Clinical Commissioning Group spending on voluntary, community and social enterprises, systematic comparison of case studies, action learning. Social prescribing, learning disability support and end-of-life care were tracers. Setting Maximum-variety sample of six English local health and care economies, 2019–23. Participants Commissioning staff; voluntary, community and social enterprise members. Interventions None; observational study. Main outcome measures How the consequences of commissioning compared with the original aims of the commissioners and the voluntary, community and social enterprises: predominantly qualitative (non-measurable) outcomes. Data sources Data sources were: 189 interviews, 58 policy and position papers, 37 items of rapportage, 692,659 Clinical Commissioning Group invoices, 102 Freedom of Information enquiries, 131 survey responses, 18 local project group meetings, 4 national action learning set meetings. Data collected in England during 2019–23. Results Two modes of commissioning operated in parallel. Commodified commissioning relied on creating a principal–agent relationship between commissioner and the voluntary, community and social enterprises, on formal competitive selection (‘procurement’) of providers. Collaborative commissioning relied on ‘embedded’ interorganisational relationships, mutual recognition of resource dependencies, a negotiated division of labour between organisations, and control through persuasion. Commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises often worked around the procurement regulations. Both modes were present everywhere but the balance depended inter alia on the number and size of voluntary, community and social enterprises in each locality, their past commissioning experience, the character of the tracer activity, and the level of deprivation and the geographic dispersal of the populations served. The COVID-19 pandemic produced a shift towards collaborative commissioning. Voluntary, community and social enterprises were not always funded at the full cost of their activity. Integrated Care System formation temporarily disrupted local co-commissioning networks but offered a longer-term prospect of greater voluntary, community and social enterprise influence on co-commissioning. To develop absorptive capacity, commissioners needed stronger managerial and communication capabilities, and voluntary, community and social enterprises needed greater capability to evidence what outcomes their proposals would deliver. Limitations Published data quality limited the spending profile accuracy, which did not include local authority commissioning. Case studies did not cover London, and focused on three tracer activities. Absorptive capacity survey was not a random sample. Conclusions The two modes of commissioning sometimes conflicted. Workarounds arose from organisations’ embeddedness and collaboration, which the procurement regulations often disrupted. Commissioning activity at below its full cost appears unsustainable. Future work Spending profiles of local authority commissioning; analysis of commissioning in London and of activities besides the present tracers. Analysis of absorptive capacity and its consequences, adjusting the concept for application to voluntary, community and social enterprises. Comparison with other health systems’ commissioning of voluntary, community and social enterprises. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR128107) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 39. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.
Plain language summary National Health Service commissioners and local councils often buy health and care services from voluntary, community and social enterprises. This study aimed to explore how commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises worked together and where improvements could be made. We talked to commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises in six areas across England and focused on services for learning disabilities, social prescribing and end-of-life care. We analysed National Health Service financial accounts to see how much the National Health Service was spending on services provided by voluntary, community and social enterprises. We surveyed how commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises were using information and knowledge to make decisions. We organised events bringing together commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises to share knowledge and experience. We found there were two ways commissioners bought services from voluntary, community and social enterprises. One was commodified (a buying-and-selling model), the other collaborative (based on working together). Both were happening at the same time in all the areas of the study, but usually one of them was more present than the other. We saw a general move towards collaboration, but some areas were further along with this than others. Various things helped commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises collaborate, such as: paying voluntary, community and social enterprises enough for their services; having people and networks that encouraged others to work with voluntary, community and social enterprises; and including voluntary, community and social enterprises in making decisions about health and care. Commissioners and voluntary, community and social enterprises might therefore lean further towards working together to see how collaborative commissioning can be further developed; how to make contract prices cover voluntary, community and social enterprises’ costs; how to enable longer-term contracts; and how to enable less hurried, more considered ways of renewing contracts (e.g. by putting draft contract specifications out to pre-tender consultation). The new Integrated Care Systems in local areas could encourage all this to happen, but pressures elsewhere in the health and care sector might make it more difficult.
Scientific summary Background This study examines how the NHS and local authorities commissioned voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs); some outcomes for commissioners, VCSEs and the health system; and which contexts affected these outcomes. Existing studies describe how the public funding of independent providers occurs through a commissioning cycle of service specification, provider selection, contract-letting and monitoring of the activities actually delivered. The original policy (and theoretical) formulations of this cycle presupposed a clear separation of commissioners from providers. In practice, however, the cycle is partly implemented, and attenuated, by co-commissioning activities, collaborations in which potential providers, citizens and the public contribute at each stage. Commissioning has been explained as, inter alia, a means by which governments continued to exercise governance (not direct control) over independent providers of public-funded services through six main media of power: managerial techniques, negotiated order, discursive control, resource dependencies, provider competition, and juridical control. Each particular combination constitutes a ‘mode of commissioning’. Previous studies have examined the modes of commissioning applied elsewhere, but not to VCSEs, and then usually from the standpoint of policy-makers’ aims and intended service outcomes of commissioning. Fewer studies have explored commissioning from the VCSE standpoint. Some that did reported largely negative consequences for the commissioned VCSEs: a loss of freedom to criticise policy and a ‘degeneration’ of the VCSEs’ democratic internal regimes. Still fewer studies have closely examined the interactions between commissioners and VCSEs as they engage in the commissioning cycle and in co-commissioning. The practical import of these questions is whether the commissioning of health-related VCSEs enables them to supplement the reach of NHS activities and strengthen users’ voice in the health system, or whether it undermines the characteristics of VCSEs which first motivated the commissioning of them. Because commissioning involves two main groups of agents, their interactions involve not just one but two context–mechanism–outcome configurations (CMOCs). In one, the commissioners are the focal actor (as in most realist evaluations); in the other, VCSEs are. The two configurations intersect at the commissioning mechanisms, where the parties interact. Earlier studies suggested that the parties’ absorptive capacity (ACAP) to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit externally sourced knowledge was an important context affecting what interactions occurred, and to what effect. Objectives This study aimed to produce knowledge about which factors strengthen (or weaken) collaboration between healthcare commissioners and VSCEs, and make commissioning relationships between the commissioners and VCSEs more productive for all. Research questions were: RQ1. How do healthcare commissioners address the task of commissioning VCSEs as service providers, and what barriers do they face? RQ2. What are the consequences for VCSEs of the public bodies commissioning services from them? RQ3. How are VCSEs involved in Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), local authority and other [e.g. Integrated Care System (ICS), NHS England] commissioning decisions? RQ4. What ACAPs do healthcare commissioners and VCSEs respectively need for enabling VCSEs to be commissioned, and for co-commissioning? Methods This study was a mixed-methods realist analysis of the mechanisms by which English health-related VCSEs are commissioned. To investigate the intersecting CMOCs, we used five main methods: Preliminary scoping work with national-level NHS and VCSE organisations to identify important current developments in this domain and likely data sources, based on interviews and content analysis of policy documents. A cross-sectional profile of CCG spending on VCSEs, which provided data about patterns of VCSE commissioning and was a sampling frame for the three following work packages. We content-analysed 226,138 CCG invoices (for sums over £25k) from 2018 to 2019 to discover the distribution of CCG spending on VCSEs and how it compared with CCG spending on non-VCSE providers. Using findings from the preceding work packages, we drew a sample of six places contrasted by their proportion of spending on VCSEs. We systematically compared case studies of VCSE–commissioner collaboration in formulating local commissioning strategies (‘co-commissioning’) in them (2020–2). Commissioners’ and VCSEs’ aims when engaging in commissioning were examined separately for either side, as were the outcomes relevant to each, but not the structures and activities through which they interacted. A systematic comparison of case studies of the commissioning of VCSEs, using the same study sites, methods and unit of analysis as the preceding work package (late 2020 to summer 2022). Action learning activities (2020–3) in the same sites: Local project reference groups supported the project in each study site and combined as: national action learning workshops a preliminary, exploratory (not randomised sample) survey of ACAP in the study sites local co-researchers who conducted local research projects into the commissioning of VCSEs and whom the research team mentored As tracer studies we examined social prescribing, end-of-life care and support for learning disabilities, on the assumption that this selection gave variety in the scale and number of VCSEs involved, and type of activity (clinical vs. preventive). Framework analyses were used to synthesise the five sets of findings and map them onto the research questions. Results Two modes of commissioning VCSEs existed in parallel: A commodified mode centred on the commissioning cycle, financial dependencies, formalised procurement [a regulatory (i.e. juridically based) practice] and provider competition. Consulted VCSEs were often excluded at either service specification or provider selection stage in the cycle. The financial dependency of VCSEs was a central medium of power for commissioners. Juridical power was in the background but seldom used in practice. The paradigm form of this mechanism was a direct bilateral principal–agent relationship between one commissioner and one VCSE, with the latter wielding less power. This was a commodified mode of commissioning. To reduce their transaction work (costs), commissioners were introducing larger contracts (e.g. with one large ‘lead’ provider subcontracting many smaller VCSEs). Networks for negotiating what activities were commissioned and how they were implemented. Commissioners and VCSEs were both embedded in these networks, which constituted an interorganisational negotiated order among commissioners, among VCSEs, and between commissioners and VCSEs. Persuasion and legitimation were the main discursive media of power, supplemented by relationality (mutual trust) and mutual ‘real-side’ (as opposed to financial) resource dependency. Workarounds such as alliance and lead provider commissioning were important media of managerial power, adopted in order to diminish the expected, and in some cases observed, adverse consequences of commodified commissioning. VCSEs’ commissioning and co-commissioning activities overlapped considerably. The networking mechanisms supplemented and attenuated the quasi-market mechanisms, and indeed were partly intended to. This was a collaborative mode of commissioning. It was not that where one mode of commissioning existed, the other did not; both coexisted and interacted everywhere but the balance between them varied. Certain contexts affected how these mechanisms worked in practice: Local health and care system characteristics: Fiscal constraints upon commissioners constrained how much VCSE activity could be commissioned, compelled commissioners to prioritise VCSE activities that appeared to offer immediate cost savings elsewhere in the health system, and destabilised VCSE income. Diverse ownership mix of provider organisations (e.g. in learning disability services) motivated more cautious, commodified commissioning insofar as commissioners anticipated challenges to their decisions from unsuccessful bidders. Having a small number of stable VCSEs (e.g. in end-of-life care) enabled and necessitated collaborative commissioning. Geographical and historical characteristics: Population deprivation motivated commissioners and VCSEs to respond through collaborative commissioning. Spatial dispersion increased the practical difficulty and costs of, and the number of networks involved in, collaborative commissioning. Co-terminosity of commissioners minimised the number of interorganisational interfaces that the networks had to span. Local policies, ethos and history strongly influenced whether collaboration and trust between commissioners and VCSEs was long-established, and thus how collaborative commissioning could be. The presence and nature of networking spaces, in particular which VCSEs participated, and how much voice they had when they did participate, affected how collaborative co-commissioning could be. Organisational characteristics: ACAP affected commissioners’ ability to know what resources VCSEs could offer, and what VCSEs were aiming for, in becoming involved in commissioning, and vice versa. Commissioners relied on formal sources of information and evidence more than VCSEs tended to. Discursive (translation) gaps between VCSEs and commissioners were widespread. Organisational systems, culture and bureaucracy: the more narrowly procurement regulations were interpreted and implemented, the more commissioning was commodified rather than collaborative. Individuals’ role, discretion and influence: individuals who lobbied for VCSEs to engage, or be engaged, in commissioning and who were boundary-spanners with knowledge of both commissioning and VCSEs facilitated the development of collaborative commissioning, as did ‘maverick’ individuals who devised workarounds when procurement regulations appeared to obstruct the commissioning of VCSEs, especially collaborative commissioning. The nature of VCSE activity: Statutory or non-statutory status: statutory requirements for service provision exposed commissioners’ resource dependence on VCSEs, which led to more collaborative, flexible commissioning. Tracer group characteristics: tracer groups’ characteristics affected commissioning partly through the above contexts; that is, whether VCSEs were few and large (e.g. hospices) or the opposite (social prescribing); undertaking statutorily mandated activity (e.g. hospices, some learning disability support). The degree of specialisation of VCSE work affected the number and mix of providers. Stability of demand for a VCSE’s activity favoured more collaborative commissioning. A temporal context: the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the commissioning of VCSEs substantially towards a more collaborative mode, and this change had not fully reverted. The outcomes of these mechanisms included some that approximated to commissioners’ and VCSEs’ respective aims in using the above commissioning mechanisms. For commissioners the main outcomes were to obtain the use of VCSE resources, sometimes at below the full cost of provision. It was often claimed that VCSE activities had relieved, or would relieve, pressure on NHS services, but firm evidence was scarce. Commissioning VCSEs also offered a way for commissioners to pilot test possible innovations (e.g. for self-help in maintaining health) and a ready-made route to access patient, carer and public opinions. For VCSEs the main outcome was income, although the income flow was often unstable, which made it hard to retain paid staff, and below the cost of their activities. Some VCSEs also increased their voice in the local health system, but we also found a large periphery of VCSEs that did not participate in the networks described above and were not commissioned. We found a more nuanced picture than previous studies’ account of the internal ‘degeneration’ of VCSEs as a result of being commissioned. Most VCSEs reported little change to their aims or ‘mission’, and some had increased the professionalism of their management. We also found emergent, unforeseen outcomes. There was a general shift towards collaborative commissioning away from commodified commissioning, but it made the discursive gap between commissioners and VCSEs more apparent. The undercosting of some VCSE activities amounted to a hidden subsidy to commissioners from VCSEs. VCSE activities added a new category of public health activities, those of preventive self-care at a personal and family level, to the longer-established models of clinical prevention (vaccination, etc.) and the ‘new’ public health (legislative and policy changes, e.g. food labelling controls). ICS formation tended to disrupt co-commissioning networks in the short term, but offered a longer-term prospect of greater VCSE input into co-commissioning. Conclusions By research question: RQ1. Commissioners used two commissioning mechanisms in parallel. Each embodied a different kind of governance structure and a different mode of commissioning. Centred on the commissioning cycle, the quasi-market mechanisms implemented a heavily commodified mode of commissioning whose paradigm was a principal–agent relationship between commissioner and VCSE. The networking mechanisms of collaborative commissioning consisted of a triple negotiated order: networking among commissioners, networking among VCSEs and networking between commissioners and VCSEs. A barrier to using this hybrid mechanism was that at certain points in the commissioning cycle, especially provider selection, the mechanisms conflicted. Unfavourable contexts were other barriers: more specialised VCSE activities, dependence on a few individuals, non-coterminous commissioners, possible competition from corporate and public providers, population dispersal and fiscal austerity. RQ2. For VCSEs, consequences of being commissioned depended on the mode of commissioning but were mainly some extension of VCSE activities, including advocacy; marginal adjustments (not drift) in mission; and additional funding, but often unstable and below the full cost of these activities. RQ3. VCSE involvement in co-commissioning occurred through networking rather than quasi-market mechanisms. VCSEs with long-established working relationships with commissioners were often the ones involved, and were often larger VCSEs. Small local VCSEs were involved vicariously through their participation in VCSE infrastructure bodies or networks which were more directly involved, but a large periphery of small VCSEs remained outside these networks. RQ4. The ACAPs that commissioners needed were a combination of managerial and communication skills: to routinise ‘acquiring’ and ‘assimilating’ information from VCSEs; to specify calls for practical proposals or bids from VCSEs so as to elicit responses from suitable VCSEs; and then to apply (‘exploit’) information and ideas from VCSEs in ways that did not then penalise the VCSEs which provided them (e.g. by excluding them from tendering). VCSEs needed to develop the capacities to supply evidence, both hard and soft intelligence, about why they wished to supplement or amend commissioners’ assumptions and proposals, and to express what outcomes their proposals would offer, what metrics could be used to verify that, and more generally how the VCSE’s proposals would add social value. In ACAP terms, the commissioners appeared to need to develop their knowledge acquisition and exploitation capacities especially, while VCSEs needed to develop their knowledge acquisition and transformation capacities. Implications for health and care Below-cost funding for VCSE activity is not sustainable in the long term because VCSE activities require paid-for inputs, even when volunteer labour is used. The instability of VCSE income from commissioners contributed to VCSE staff turnover. If it continues, commissioners’ move towards longer contracts implies that a stratification and concentration of the VCSE side of the quasi-market may occur. Research recommendations are, in descending priority order, for research to: Quantify the impacts of VCSE activity on demand on NHS services. Extend our analysis of NHS commissioner spending on health-related VCSE activity to include local authority spending, and longitudinally. Test whether our findings apply to the commissioning of large (cross-England) VCSEs engaged in health-related activity. Assess the nature, effects and development of ACAP in commissioners and VCSEs by means that combine representative sample surveys (e.g. using the survey instrument developed for this study) and deeper analysis of the specific mechanisms by which ACAP affects commissioning practice. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR128107) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 39. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.
The development of cloud computing and distributed technologies has shifted log management operations to an aggregated form. Diverse information devices as well as information systems perform data collection and status analysis through a unified log aggregation management system. However, with the increasingly diverse business forms, the threats confronted by log aggregation systems are also mounting, among which data leakage, data tampering, data loss, and security vulnerabilities dominate the main positions. Data leakage imposes a severe challenge to the data privacy of enterprises and users, data tampering misleads the information system of enterprises and even adversely affects the decision-making of enterprises, data loss devastates the past data of enterprises and impinges on the operation of enterprises, and security vulnerabilities inflict potential safety hazards to the information systems accessed to log aggregation.
Patricio Sandaña, Carolina X. Lizana, Dante Pinochet
et al.
The cultivar selection and nitrogen (N) fertilization are key management factors to improve potato yield. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ecophysiological determinants of biomass and tuber yield in potato genotypes in response to N availability under field conditions. Experiments 1 and 2 were carried out in a volcanic soil of southern Chile during the 2021–2022 season. Treatments were applied in the factorial combination of (i) fifteen genotypes of potatoes and (ii) three N fertilization rates (0, 200 and 400 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>, 0 N, 200 N and 400 N, respectively). A wide range in total dry matter biomass (5.9–22.1 Mg DM ha<sup>−1</sup>) and tuber yield (5.1–18.3 Mg DM ha<sup>−1</sup>) was observed across the experiments. In both experiments, the total biomass and tuber yield were affected by the N rate (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and genotype (<i>p</i> < 0.01), but not by their interaction (<i>p</i> > 0.05). Tuber dry matter yield was strongly related (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.94, <i>p</i> < 0.01) to total biomass and weakly related to the harvest index (HI). In both experiments, the total biomass was explained by the radiation use efficiency (RUE) (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.69–0.75, <i>p</i> < 0.01). The principal components analysis showed that tuber yield, biomass and RUE were related. The Finlay and Wilkinson analysis revealed that different cultivars varied significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in their sensitivity to N availability. Across environments (3 N rates × 2 experiments), the most responsive cultivars to N availability were Pukara, Rodeo, Asterix and Patagonia. This information will be useful for potato production systems aimed at improving tuber yield and N use efficiency.
For the optimization of computer networks with high bandwidth requirements, it is necessary to predict the traffic of the wireless network. Its goal is to reduce maintenance costs and improve internet services. Feature selection is a major issue in multivariate time series (MTS) spatio-temporal modeling. Another problem is the dependency between input features, time lags, and spatial factors, so an appropriate model is needed. This study aims to provide solutions to two problems. The first is to improve a feature extraction and selection process in spatio-temporal MTS data for relevant features using Detrended Partial Cross-Correlation Analysis (DPPCA) and nonredundant features associated with linear using Pearson's correlation (PC) filters and non-linear associations using Symmetrical Uncertainty (SU) and a combination of both PCSUF. The second is to develop a spatiotemporal framework model using recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to get better performance than the traditional model. These methods are combined and tested using a data set of cellular networks with one hour intervals during November in three locations. Testing the effectiveness of the feature selection technique showed that 27.6% of the total extracted features were. The forecasting model with the DPCCA-SU-RNN combination method is the best performance by having RMSE = 380.7, R2 = 97% and MAPE = 10%.
Kharida Aulia Bahri, Yeni Herdiyeni, Suprehatin Suprehatin
One of the problems faced by farmers in Indonesia is capital. Based on Indonesian Central Statistics Agency survey results, the number of farmers who borrow capital from formal institutions such as banks is still small. This is because the process of applying for loans at banks is lengthy, farmers are considered high-risk and unbankable, and the rating of the agricultural sector is unattractive to banks. This study aims to determine the attributes and design a model of agricultural credit assessment. This study uses secondary data related to bank credit ratings and land productivity from banks in the Telagasari sub-district in 2018–2020 and Cipayung sub-district in 2020. Data were analyzed using random forests. The research process includes four stages: data collection, data pre-processing, model building, and model analysis and evaluation. This study produced five important variables that are relevant to farmers: planting costs, sales, land productivity, total production, and land area. The model built produces the most optimal accuracy of 83% with an AUC score of 81%. Based on the AUC performance classification, it can be concluded that the model that has been made is good at predicting the credit status of farmers because the AUC value is included in the good classification predicate.
Online shopping has become increasingly popular in recent years. Online shopping transactions, which are frequently carried out by consumers all over the world, are also very common in the tourism sector. Users avail themselves of a variety of alternative platforms such as websites, social media or recommendation systems in order to realize their travel plans. Travel transactions can be performed through many applications and platforms. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to make the right choice of platform in order to perform faster transactions and make the right decisions. Accordingly, it can sometimes be a difficult process for the user who intends to plan a journey choosing the most suitable online platform from among many alternatives. This study investigated which criteria are important in order to make online travel transactions. In addition, the study included research into which platforms the users can choose in accordance with the determined criteria. Thus, the correct order of the alternatives that people can choose is revealed. In the study, AHP and TOPSIS methods, which are multi-criteria decision-making methods, were preferred. Content quality, usefulness, satisfaction, interaction opportunity, accessibility and web design criteria were used as the main criteria. In addition, sub-criteria of the main criteria were also evaluated. Alternative options were determined such as websites, blogs, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google Comments. The study concludes that the content quality feature is the most important criterion in online travel transactions. Of all the online platforms, websites took the first place among the determined alternatives.
Information technology, Management information systems
Yu Kuei Lin, James E Aikens, Nicole de Zoysa
et al.
BackgroundHypoglycemia remains a challenge for roughly 25% of people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) despite using advanced technologies such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) or automated insulin delivery systems. Factors impacting hypoglycemia self-management behaviors (including reduced ability to detect hypoglycemia symptoms and unhelpful hypoglycemia beliefs) can lead to hypoglycemia development in people with T1D who use advanced diabetes technology.
ObjectiveThis study aims to develop a scalable, personalized mobile health (mHealth) behavioral intervention program to improve hypoglycemia self-management and ultimately reduce hypoglycemia in people with T1D who use advanced diabetes technology.
MethodsWe (a multidisciplinary team, including clinical and health psychologists, diabetes care and education specialists, endocrinologists, mHealth interventionists and computer engineers, qualitative researchers, and patient partners) jointly developed an mHealth text messaging hypoglycemia behavioral intervention program based on user-centered design principles. The following five iterative steps were taken: (1) conceptualization of hypoglycemia self-management processes and relevant interventions; (2) identification of text message themes and message content development; (3) message revision; (4) patient partner assessments for message readability, language acceptability, and trustworthiness; and (5) message finalization and integration with a CGM data–connected mHealth SMS text message delivery platform. An mHealth web-based SMS text message delivery platform that communicates with a CGM glucose information-sharing platform was also developed.
ResultsThe mHealth SMS text messaging hypoglycemia behavioral intervention program HypoPals, directed by patients’ own CGM data, delivers personalized intervention messages to (1) improve hypoglycemia symptom detection and (2) elicit self-reflection, provide fact-based education, and suggest practical health behaviors to address unhelpful hypoglycemia beliefs and promote hypoglycemia self-management. The program is designed to message patients up to 4 times per day over a 10-week period.
ConclusionsA rigorous conceptual framework, a multidisciplinary team (including patient partners), and behavior change techniques were incorporated to create a scalable, personalized mHealth SMS text messaging behavioral intervention. This program was systematically developed to improve hypoglycemia self-management in advanced diabetes technology users with T1D. A clinical trial is needed to evaluate the program’s efficacy for future clinical implementation.
BSTRACT Irregularities in spatial use that are not in accordance with regional planning resulting in reduced protected and buffer zone space in PariamanCity. The research objective was to analyze the causes of the deviation in spatial use from the point of view of the sustainability of the coastal area in PariamanCity. The research method is a combination of qualitative research methods with quantitative research methods using a spatial approach using geographic information systems (GIS). The results show that the harmonization analysis between Law 26 of 2007 article 5 and Law 1 of 2014 article 9 and RTRW are appropriate: Coastal areas are used as protected and buffer areas, but the use of existing land is not in accordance with the harmonization analysis ofthe two laws and regulations. By the existence of a built-up area in an area that should be a buffer zone. The participation of the community and city government in the management of the coastal area causes this deviation: Lack of knowledge of residents about the zoning of customary rights over are two contributing factors. The city government which prioritizes the economic development of coastal areas with tourism development threatens the ecology and coastal resources
Raúl R. Poppiel, Marilusa P.C. Lacerda, José A.M. Demattê
et al.
Geospatial soil information is critical for agricultural policy formulation and decision making, land-use suitability analysis, sustainable soil management, environmental assessment, and other research topics that are of vital importance to agriculture and economy. Proximal and Remote sensing technologies enables us to collect, process, and analyze spectral data and to retrieve, synthesize, visualize valuable geospatial information for multidisciplinary uses. We obtained the soil class map provided in this article by processing and analyzing proximal and remote sensed data from soil samples collected in toposequences based on pedomorphogeological relashionships. The soils were classified up to the second categorical level (suborder) of the Brazilian Soil Classification System (SiBCS), as well as in the World Reference Base (WRB) and United States Soil Taxonomy (ST) systems. The raster map has 30 m resolution and its accuracy is 73% (Kappa coefficient of 0.73). The soil legend represents a soil class followed by its topsoil color. Keywords: Digital soil mapping, Soil management, Agricultural planning, Soil classification system, Landsat
Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics, Science (General)
The existence of software should have more value to improve the performance of the organization in addition to having the primary function to automate. Before being implemented in an operational environment, software must pass the test gradually to ensure that the software is functioning properly, meeting user needs and providing convenience for users to use it. This test is performed on a web-based application, by taking a test case in an e-SAP application. E-SAP is an application used to monitor teaching and learning activities used by a university in Jakarta. To measure software quality, testing can be done on users randomly. The user samples selected in this test are users with an age range of 18 years old up to 25 years, background information technology. This test was conducted on 30 respondents. This test is done by using Mc Call model. Model of testing Mc Call consists of 11 dimensions are grouped into 3 categories. This paper describes the testing with reference to the category of product operation, which includes 5 dimensions. The dimensions of testing performed include the dimensions of correctness, usability, efficiency, reliability, and integrity. This paper discusses testing on each dimension to measure software quality as an effort to improve performance. The result of research is e-SAP application has good quality with product operation value equal to 85.09%. This indicates that the e-SAP application has a great quality, so this application deserves to be examined in the next stage on the operational environment.