551 research outputs found

    Essays on Innovations in Public Sector Auditing

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    The current antecedents of innovation in the public sector, that is, the adoption of SDGs and the unprecedented technological advancements exert pressures on the Supreme audit institutions’(SAIs) current socio-technical system. This has led SAIs to adopt different strategies to maintain their relevance and improve the quality of their work and operations. This thesis investigated the different types of innovations currently happening in the SAIs environment and how SAIs are reacting to the demands of these changes. This exploratory work captured public sector audit innovation through the following three essays: The first essay focused on Digital Transformation (DT), investigated how SAIs approach, and interpret DT. In this regard, DT was investigated from a SAIs perspective. Due to it being a novel topic in public sector auditing research, a qualitative research method was adopted, this method was supported with expert interviews and archival and or document data. Key findings revealed that the definition of DT varies from SAI to SAI, and this variation resulted from the differences in the level of digital development in each country. SAIs applied reactive and, in some situations proactive change strategies were applied. In the reactive strategy, SAIs reacted to change induced by a situational demand while in the proactive strategy, they experiment with technologies in advance. Most of the SAIs applying proactive change strategy operates an innovation lab or an experimentation space(see Bojovic, Sabatier, and Coblence 2020; Bucher and Langley 2016; Cartel, Boxenbaum, and Aggeri 2019; Wulf 2000). As an impact on public sector auditing profession, the research addresses the popular narrative of SAI’s equating digitization or the use of digital technologies to Digital transformation. It reiterated the holistic nature of DT, by pointing at the risk involved when DT is tied solely to technology adoption strategy ignoring other aspects such as people, organizational structure, strategy, culture, etc.La trasformazione in corso dell'ambiente esterno delle Istituzioni Superiori di Controllo (ISC, Corte dei conti) sta modificando le esigenze di controllo e le aspettative dei vari stakeholders coinvolti. Infatti, questa trasformazione, innescato dai progressi tecnologici, dall'adozione degli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (OSS) e dalla trasparenza sta modificando il modo e gli strumenti con cui viene esercitata l’attività di controllo. Ciò ha portato le ISC a adottare diverse strategie ed a introdurre diverse innovazioni per mantenere la loro rilevanza e migliorare la qualità del loro servizio. Vari autori hanno evidenziato la necessità di indagare circa le implicazioni del cambio della strategia di controllo e dell’adozione delle varie innovazioni tecnologiche nelle ISC. Il lavoro di tesi contribuisce in questa direzione e indaga sulle varie innovazioni tecnologiche adottate dalle ISC e come questi Istituzioni hanno reagito alle pressioni esterne di cambiamento. La tesi adotta un approccio esplorativo e sviluppa tre diverse ricerche per rispondere alla domanda principale di ricerca. La prima ricerca si concentra sulla trasformazione digitale (TD), e indaga su come le ISC hanno affrontato e interpretato la TD. La metodologia utilizzata è di tipo qualitativo. Sono state effettuate varie interviste a esperti del settore a livello internazionale oltre all’analisi documentale degli archivi delle varie istituzioni analizzate. I risultati hanno mostrato una diversa interpretazione e percezione, tra le istituzioni oggetto dello studio, del concetto della TD, dovuta alle differenze di sviluppo digitale nei vari paesi analizzati. Inoltre, i risultati mostrano che le ISC hanno adottato strategie reattive di cambiamento e, in alcune situazioni, hanno adottato strategie proattive. Nel primo caso, che rappresenta la maggioranza dei casi analizzati, le ISC hanno reagito al bisogno ovvero quando si presenta una necessità di cambiamento. Mentre nel secondo caso, ovvero di strategia di cambiamento proattivo, le ISC hanno sperimentato le tecnologie in anticipo. La maggior parte delle Istituzioni che ha adottato strategie proattive di cambiamento gestisce un laboratorio di innovazione o uno spazio di sperimentazione (vedi Bojovic, Sabatier e Coblence 2020; Bucher e Langley 2016; Cartel, Boxenbaum e Aggeri 2019; Wulf 2000). Inoltre, la ricerca mostra come la digitalizzazione o l'uso delle tecnologie digitali vengono equiparati alla TD nelle ISC. Questo rischio di interpretazione del concetto si concretizza soprattutto, come mostrano i risultati, quando la TD viene legata esclusivamente alla strategia di adozione della tecnologia ignorando altri aspetti come le persone, la struttura organizzativa, la strategia, la cultura, ecc

    Automatic Generation of Personalized Recommendations in eCoaching

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    Denne avhandlingen omhandler eCoaching for personlig livsstilsstøtte i sanntid ved bruk av informasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi. Utfordringen er å designe, utvikle og teknisk evaluere en prototyp av en intelligent eCoach som automatisk genererer personlige og evidensbaserte anbefalinger til en bedre livsstil. Den utviklede løsningen er fokusert på forbedring av fysisk aktivitet. Prototypen bruker bærbare medisinske aktivitetssensorer. De innsamlede data blir semantisk representert og kunstig intelligente algoritmer genererer automatisk meningsfulle, personlige og kontekstbaserte anbefalinger for mindre stillesittende tid. Oppgaven bruker den veletablerte designvitenskapelige forskningsmetodikken for å utvikle teoretiske grunnlag og praktiske implementeringer. Samlet sett fokuserer denne forskningen på teknologisk verifisering snarere enn klinisk evaluering.publishedVersio

    Metaverse. Old urban issues in new virtual cities

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    Recent years have seen the arise of some early attempts to build virtual cities, utopias or affective dystopias in an embodied Internet, which in some respects appear to be the ultimate expression of the neoliberal city paradigma (even if virtual). Although there is an extensive disciplinary literature on the relationship between planning and virtual or augmented reality linked mainly to the gaming industry, this often avoids design and value issues. The observation of some of these early experiences - Decentraland, Minecraft, Liberland Metaverse, to name a few - poses important questions and problems that are gradually becoming inescapable for designers and urban planners, and allows us to make some partial considerations on the risks and potentialities of these early virtual cities

    Evaluación de la Accesibilidad y Adaptabilidad de Objetos de Aprendizaje y cursos online a través de estándares y metadatos

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    El emprendimiento ha adquirido relevancia como tema de investigación en los últimos años. El individuo emprendedor tiene un rol influyente en la economía, por lo que entender sus motivaciones y aspiraciones es clave en esta investigación. El emprendimiento puede considerarse desde dos perspectivas, a nivel individual y desde el punto de vista de la organización, tratando así el intraemprendimiento o emprendimiento corporativo. Así pues, este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal analizar los diferentes niveles en los que se desarrolla la actividad emprendedora y entender el vínculo existente con las soft skills, permitiendo así considerar esta actividad como elemento de dinamización. Para abordar el objetivo general planteado se ha estudiado en primera instancia la literatura anterior vinculada con el concepto de emprendimiento, la cual queda vinculada al entorno individual y organizacional. Posteriormente, se analizan las habilidades o soft skills determinantes como elementos influyentes que permiten el desarrollo y crecimiento emprendedor. De esta forma, se consigue abordar la repercusión de la actividad emprendedora e intraemprendedora desde una perspectiva general. En esta línea, elementos como la creatividad y el conocimiento han quedado vinculados a lo largo de toda la investigación, puesto que los emprendedores requieren la actualización constante de conocimientos, y la búsqueda y el aprovechamiento de las oportunidades existentes. En consecuencia, esta investigación contribuye con el gap existente en la literatura y permite poner en valor las capacidades más relevantes en el entramado laboral, permitiendo con esto analizar los nuevos vínculos entre la sociedad y la iniciativa emprendedora. Las primeras aproximaciones de la investigación se han desarrollado a través del análisis de la base de datos European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO), la cual ha permitido destacar las cualidades y competencias clave en el desarrollo emprendedor. A su vez, se ha realizado, como primer artículo de la tesis un análisis bibliométrico del concepto de emprendimiento. Con esto se ha conseguido destacar a los investigadores más representativos en este ámbito, y entender las redes y conexiones existentes entre ellos. De igual forma, se han destacado las palabras innovación y formación vinculadas a este concepto siendo clave para continuar con la investigación en el tema. A nivel del individuo se ha desarrollado un análisis de las motivaciones del emprendedor, quedando reflejado en el segundo artículo de la tesis. En este caso, la investigación ha examinado cómo influyen las variables de creatividad, comunicación y liderazgo en la decisión de convertirse en emprendedor en una situación prepandémica y en la situación actual, considerada como la nueva normalidad. En este sentido, la motivación emprendedora ha destacado por quedar influenciada por factores como la incertidumbre. Además, las variables creatividad, comunicación y liderazgo no son representativas en la presencia de emprendedores potenciales en la situación post-pandémica de nueva normalidad, sin embargo, sí que lo eran antes de la Covid-19. Por consiguiente, se vuelve necesario mencionar que debido a la Covid-19 se desarrolló un análisis comparativo, enriqueciendo en gran medida los resultados obtenidos. Por último, y debido a la dificultad que supone acceder a los datos estratégicos internos de las organizaciones, se han estudiado las variables que impactan en la estrategia de la empresa a través del desarrollo de una encuesta a 241 pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES). Esto, ha permitido considerar la influencia que ha tenido cada variable destacada en el análisis anterior, creatividad, comunicación y liderazgo, en la organización. En consecuencia, a través del tercer artículo se consigue un análisis en profundidad de la repercusión de la formación y las skills determinantes en la estrategia empresarial. Se investiga en este artículo si esas variables impactan directamente en el desarrollo de iniciativas intraemprendedoras. La investigación destaca la relevancia de la formación de los empleados en las organizaciones como componente diferencial y generador de valor. Así pues, la formación en habilidades y competencias les permitirá desarrollar actividades emprendedoras, lo que ayudará a la toma de decisiones estratégicas y a la diferenciación en el actual mercado competitivo y cambiante

    Blockchain technology: Disruptor or enhancer to the accounting and auditing profession

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    The unique features of blockchain technology (BCT) - peer-to-peer network, distribution ledger, consensus decision-making, transparency, immutability, auditability, and cryptographic security - coupled with the success enjoyed by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have encouraged many to assume that the technology would revolutionise virtually all aspects of business. A growing body of scholarship suggests that BCT would disrupt the accounting and auditing fields by changing accounting practices, disintermediating auditors, and eliminating financial fraud. BCT disrupts audits (Lombard et al.,2021), reduces the role of audit firms (Yermack 2017), undermines accountants' roles with software developers and miners (Fortin & Pimentel 2022); eliminates many management functions, transforms businesses (Tapscott & Tapscott, 2017), facilitates a triple-entry accounting system (Cai, 2021), and prevents fraudulent transactions (Dai, et al., 2017; Rakshit et al., 2022). Despite these speculations, scholars have acknowledged that the application of BCT in the accounting and assurance industry is underexplored and many existing studies are said to lack engagement with practitioners (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017; Lombardi et al., 2021; Schmitz & Leoni, 2019). This study empirically explored whether BCT disrupts or enhances accounting and auditing fields. It also explored the relevance of audit in a BCT environment and the effectiveness of the BCT mechanism for fraud prevention and detection. The study further examined which technical skillsets accountants and auditors require in a BCT environment, and explored the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of the adoption of BCT in the accounting and auditing professions. The current COVID-19 environment was also investigated in terms of whether the pandemic has improved BCT adoption or not. A qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews to engage practitioners from blockchain start-ups, IT experts, financial analysts, accountants, auditors, academics, organisational leaders, consultants, and editors who understood the technology. With the aid of NVIVO qualitative analysis software, the views of 44 participants from 13 countries: New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa were analysed. The Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework with consequences of innovation context was adopted for this study. This expanded TOE framework was used as the theoretical lens to understand the disruption of BCT and its adoption in the accounting and auditing fields. Four clear patterns emerged. First, BCT is an emerging tool that accountants and auditors use mainly to analyse financial records because technology cannot disintermediate auditors from the financial system. Second, the technology can detect anomalies but cannot prevent financial fraud. Third, BCT has not been adopted by any organisation for financial reporting and accounting purposes, and accountants and auditors do not require new skillsets or an understanding of the BCT programming language to be able to operate in a BCT domain. Fourth, the advent of COVID-19 has not substantially enhanced the adoption of BCT. Additionally, this study highlights the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of adopting BCT as financial technology (FinTech). These findings shed light on important questions about BCT disrupting and disintermediating auditors, the extent of adoption in the accounting industry, preventing fraud and anomalies, and underscores the notion that blockchain, as an emerging technology, currently does not appear to be substantially disrupting the accounting and auditing profession. This study makes methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. At the methodological level, the study adopted the social constructivist-interpretivism paradigm with an exploratory qualitative method to engage and understand BCT as a disruptive innovation in the accounting industry. The engagement with practitioners from diverse fields, professions, and different countries provides a distinctive and innovative contribution to methodological and practical knowledge. At the theoretical level, the findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated conceptual TOE framework. The framework offers a reference for practitioners, academics and policymakers seeking to appraise comprehensive factors influencing BCT adoption and its likely unintended consequences. The findings suggest that, at present, no organisations are using BCT for financial reporting and accounting systems. This study contributes to practice by highlighting the differences between initial expectations and practical applications of what BCT can do in the accounting and auditing fields. The study could not find any empirical evidence that BCT will disrupt audits, eliminate the roles of auditors in a financial system, and prevent and detect financial fraud. Also, there was no significant evidence that accountants and auditors required higher-level skillsets and an understanding of BCT programming language to be able to use the technology. Future research should consider the implications of an external audit firm as a node in a BCT network on the internal audit functions. It is equally important to critically examine the relevance of including programming languages or codes in the curriculum of undergraduate accounting students. Future research could also empirically evaluate if a BCT enabled triple-entry system could prevent financial statements and management fraud

    Defining, Designing, and Implementing Rural Smartness

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    Government Augmented Intelligence - The Use of AI to Improve Citizen Relationship Management

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    Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceArtificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly influencing everyday life and has become a key technology for government to improve citizen relationship management (CitRM): to establish, strengthen and boost the connection and interaction between public administration and citizens, in order to improve public service delivery and achieve effectiveness and efficiency. However, constraints such as the lack of awareness and knowledge regarding the potential of AI can explain the absence of a deeper adoption of this technological breakthrough. Thus, the aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of the abilities and possible uses of AI, more specifically how it can contribute to government augmented intelligence to improve CitRM. For this purpose to be achieved, this dissertation follows a Design Science Research methodology. A theoretical framework is performed on Artificial Intelligence and Government, and a systematic literature review is carried out to disclose relevant applications of AI in government. On the basis of the knowledge acquired, it is proposed a framework with a succinct set of recommendations that provides concrete information on possible AI-based applications and solutions to be adopted and used in Portuguese local government, namely at municipal level. Interviews with local government decision makers and experts in local government relationship with citizens confirm the usefulness and relevance of the framework and its possibility to provide a clear view on how AI can be used to improve CitRM. Despite a few concerns on challenges, opportunities such as optimising processes, improving and modernising public services, promoting citizen engagement and improving the relationship between citizens and municipalities were recognised by interviewees. This way, while helping public administration deal with the complexity surrounding Artificial Intelligence, the framework is expected to promote and underpin the adoption of AI solutions in government. Moreover, by adding knowledge to the use of AI in government, it is expected an intense scientific research and progress on the subject

    Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

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    Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data

    Blockchain Technology: Disruptor or Enhnancer to the Accounting and Auditing Profession

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    The unique features of blockchain technology (BCT) - peer-to-peer network, distribution ledger, consensus decision-making, transparency, immutability, auditability, and cryptographic security - coupled with the success enjoyed by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have encouraged many to assume that the technology would revolutionise virtually all aspects of business. A growing body of scholarship suggests that BCT would disrupt the accounting and auditing fields by changing accounting practices, disintermediating auditors, and eliminating financial fraud. BCT disrupts audits (Lombard et al.,2021), reduces the role of audit firms (Yermack 2017), undermines accountants' roles with software developers and miners (Fortin & Pimentel 2022); eliminates many management functions, transforms businesses (Tapscott & Tapscott, 2017), facilitates a triple-entry accounting system (Cai, 2021), and prevents fraudulent transactions (Dai, et al., 2017; Rakshit et al., 2022). Despite these speculations, scholars have acknowledged that the application of BCT in the accounting and assurance industry is underexplored and many existing studies are said to lack engagement with practitioners (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017; Lombardi et al., 2021; Schmitz & Leoni, 2019). This study empirically explored whether BCT disrupts or enhances accounting and auditing fields. It also explored the relevance of audit in a BCT environment and the effectiveness of the BCT mechanism for fraud prevention and detection. The study further examined which technical skillsets accountants and auditors require in a BCT environment, and explored the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of the adoption of BCT in the accounting and auditing professions. The current COVID-19 environment was also investigated in terms of whether the pandemic has improved BCT adoption or not. A qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews to engage practitioners from blockchain start-ups, IT experts, financial analysts, accountants, auditors, academics, organisational leaders, consultants, and editors who understood the technology. With the aid of NVIVO qualitative analysis software, the views of 44 participants from 13 countries: New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa were analysed. The Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework with consequences of innovation context was adopted for this study. This expanded TOE framework was used as the theoretical lens to understand the disruption of BCT and its adoption in the accounting and auditing fields. Four clear patterns emerged. First, BCT is an emerging tool that accountants and auditors use mainly to analyse financial records because technology cannot disintermediate auditors from the financial system. Second, the technology can detect anomalies but cannot prevent financial fraud. Third, BCT has not been adopted by any organisation for financial reporting and accounting purposes, and accountants and auditors do not require new skillsets or an understanding of the BCT programming language to be able to operate in a BCT domain. Fourth, the advent of COVID-19 has not substantially enhanced the adoption of BCT. Additionally, this study highlights the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of adopting BCT as financial technology (FinTech). These findings shed light on important questions about BCT disrupting and disintermediating auditors, the extent of adoption in the accounting industry, preventing fraud and anomalies, and underscores the notion that blockchain, as an emerging technology, currently does not appear to be substantially disrupting the accounting and auditing profession. This study makes methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. At the methodological level, the study adopted the social constructivist-interpretivism paradigm with an exploratory qualitative method to engage and understand BCT as a disruptive innovation in the accounting industry. The engagement with practitioners from diverse fields, professions, and different countries provides a distinctive and innovative contribution to methodological and practical knowledge. At the theoretical level, the findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated conceptual TOE framework. The framework offers a reference for practitioners, academics and policymakers seeking to appraise comprehensive factors influencing BCT adoption and its likely unintended consequences. The findings suggest that, at present, no organisations are using BCT for financial reporting and accounting systems. This study contributes to practice by highlighting the differences between initial expectations and practical applications of what BCT can do in the accounting and auditing fields. The study could not find any empirical evidence that BCT will disrupt audits, eliminate the roles of auditors in a financial system, and prevent and detect financial fraud. Also, there was no significant evidence that accountants and auditors required higher-level skillsets and an understanding of BCT programming language to be able to use the technology. Future research should consider the implications of an external audit firm as a node in a BCT network on the internal audit functions. It is equally important to critically examine the relevance of including programming languages or codes in the curriculum of undergraduate accounting students. Future research could also empirically evaluate if a BCT-enabled triple-entry system could prevent financial statements and management fraud

    Understanding the development of digital governance : a study of the relations between institutions, organisations, and actors in the member states of the OECD and EU

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    Defence date: 11 October 2019Examining Board: Prof. Alexander Trechsel, University of Lucerne (Supervisor); Prof. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute; Prof. Jane Fountain, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Prof. Robert Krimmer, Tallinn University of TechnologyThis thesis is concerned with the development of digital governance. The main goal of the thesis is to analyse and explain patterns and levels of digital governance through the lens of actorcentred institutionalism and institutional change. More concretely, the research question of this thesis is: “To what extent do changes in institutional arrangements, organisational processes, and actors’ preferences influence changing patterns and levels of digital governance over time and across space?” To answer this question, this study employs a multi-method approach, combining statistical analysis and case study research. The quantitative part of the thesis consists of time-series cross-sectional analysis of forty-one countries over the period of 2003- 2016. The qualitative part includes two in-depth case-studies, Estonia and the USA, and traces the development of digital governance from the early 1990s onward. One of the main findings of this study is that the level of digital governance is largely determined by institutional factors. This finding is supported both by the statistical and the qualitative analyses of the thesis. However, the findings of the in-depth case studies also suggest that the effect of institutional arrangements may vary across countries over time as it has been consistently stronger in the USA than in Estonia, and it has been increasing over time in Estonia. I find modest support to the hypothesis that organisational processes affect the level of digital governance. Regarding the role of actors, the results are not clear-cut, and they are rather surprising. The statistical analysis reveals that digital governance is negatively affected by politicians’ preferences but positively influenced by the private sector whereas the public has no effect. The qualitative study partly confirms these findings, indicating that politicians play a minor direct role in the development of digital governance. Instead, progress in this area has been mainly in the hands of government officials, which have been supported both by the IT sector and favourable legislative frameworks. Overall, this study suggests that digital governance has not been, until 2016, a politicised issue, and this has created good conditions for government officials to take the lead in the development of digital governance
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