3,742 research outputs found

    The Country-specific Organizational and Information Architecture of ERP Systems at Globalised Enterprises

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    The competition on the market forces companies to adapt to the changing environment. Most recently, the economic and financial crisis has been accelerating the alteration of both business and IT models of enterprises. The forces of globalization and internationalization motivate the restructuring of business processes and consequently IT processes. To depict the changes in a unified framework, we need the concept of Enterprise Architecture as a theoretical approach that deals with various tiers, aspects and views of business processes and different layers of application, software and hardware systems. The paper outlines a wide-range theoretical background for analyzing the re-engineering and re-organization of ERP systems at international or transnational companies in the middle-sized EU member states. The research carried out up to now has unravelled the typical structural changes, the models for internal business networks and their modification that reflect the centralization, decentralization and hybrid approaches. Based on the results obtained recently, a future research program has been drawn up to deepen our understanding of the trends within the world of ERP systems.Information System; ERP; Enterprise Resource Planning; Enterprise Architecture; Globalization; Centralization; Decentralization; Hybrid

    The Country-specific Organizational and Information Architecture of ERP Systems at Globalised Enterprises

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    The competition on the market forces companies to adapt to the changing environment. Most recently, the economic and financial crisis has been accelerating the alteration of both business and IT models of enterprises. The forces of globalization and internationalization motivate the restructuring of business processes and consequently IT processes. To depict the changes in a unified framework, we need the concept of Enterprise Architecture as a theoretical approach that deals with various tiers, aspects and views of business processes and different layers of application, software and hardware systems. The paper outlines a wide-range theoretical background for analyzing the re-engineering and re-organization of ERP systems at international or transnational companies in the middle-sized EU member states. The research carried out up to now has unravelled the typical structural changes, the models for internal business networks and their modification that reflect the centralization, decentralization and hybrid approaches. Based on the results obtained recently, a future research program has been drawn up to deepen our understanding of the trends within the world of ERP systems

    Appraising the impact and role of platform models and Government as a Platform (GaaP) in UK Government public service reform: towards a Platform Assessment Framework (PAF)

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    The concept of “Government as a Platform” (GaaP) (O'Reilly, 2009) is coined frequently, but interpreted inconsistently: views of GaaP as being solely about technology and the building of technical components ignore GaaP's radical and disruptive embrace of a new economic and organisational model with the potential to improve the way Government operates – helping resolve the binary political debate about centralised versus localised models of public service delivery. We offer a structured approach to the application of the platforms that underpin GaaP, encompassing not only their technical architecture, but also the other essential aspects of market dynamics and organisational form. Based on a review of information systems platforms literature, we develop a Platform Appraisal Framework (PAF) incorporating the various dimensions that characterise business models based on digital platforms. We propose this PAF as a general contribution to the strategy and audit of platform initiatives and more specifically as an assessment framework to provide consistency of thinking in GaaP initiatives. We demonstrate the utility of our PAF by applying it to UK Government platform initiatives over two distinct periods, 1999–2010 and 2010 to the present day, drawing practical conclusions concerning implementation of platforms within the unique and complex environment of the public sector.Non

    Investigation and development of a tangible technology framework for highly complex and abstract concepts

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    The ubiquitous integration of computer-supported learning tools within the educational domain has led educators to continuously seek effective technological platforms for teaching and learning. Overcoming the inherent limitations of traditional educational approaches, interactive and tangible computing platforms have consequently garnered increased interest in the pursuit of embedding active learning pedagogies within curricula. However, whilst Tangible User Interface (TUI) systems have been successfully developed to edutain children in various research contexts, TUI architectures have seen limited deployment towards more advanced educational pursuits. Thus, in contrast to current domain research, this study investigates the effectiveness and suitability of adopting TUI systems for enhancing the learning experience of abstract and complex computational science and technology-based concepts within higher educational institutions (HEI)s. Based on the proposal of a contextually apt TUI architecture, the research describes the design and development of eight distinct TUI frameworks embodying innovate interactive paradigms through tabletop peripherals, graphical design factors, and active tangible manipulatives. These computationally coupled design elements are evaluated through summative and formative experimental methodologies for their ability to aid in the effective teaching and learning of diverse threshold concepts experienced in computational science. In addition, through the design and adoption of a technology acceptance model for educational technology (TAM4Edu), the suitability of TUI frameworks in HEI education is empirically evaluated across a myriad of determinants for modelling students’ behavioural intention. In light of the statistically significant results obtained in both academic knowledge gain (ÎŒ = 25.8%) and student satisfaction (ÎŒ = 12.7%), the study outlines the affordances provided through TUI design for various constituents of active learning theories and modalities. Thus, based on an empirical and pedagogical analyses, a set of design guidelines is defined within this research to direct the effective development of TUI design elements for teaching and learning abstract threshold concepts in HEI adaptations

    GPU devices for safety-critical systems: a survey

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    Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) devices and their associated software programming languages and frameworks can deliver the computing performance required to facilitate the development of next-generation high-performance safety-critical systems such as autonomous driving systems. However, the integration of complex, parallel, and computationally demanding software functions with different safety-criticality levels on GPU devices with shared hardware resources contributes to several safety certification challenges. This survey categorizes and provides an overview of research contributions that address GPU devices’ random hardware failures, systematic failures, and independence of execution.This work has been partially supported by the European Research Council with Horizon 2020 (grant agreements No. 772773 and 871465), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant PID2019-107255GB, the HiPEAC Network of Excellence and the Basque Government under grant KK-2019-00035. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness has also partially supported Leonidas Kosmidis with a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación postdoctoral fellowship (FJCI-2020- 045931-I).Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

    Analysis domain model for shared virtual environments

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    The field of shared virtual environments, which also encompasses online games and social 3D environments, has a system landscape consisting of multiple solutions that share great functional overlap. However, there is little system interoperability between the different solutions. A shared virtual environment has an associated problem domain that is highly complex raising difficult challenges to the development process, starting with the architectural design of the underlying system. This paper has two main contributions. The first contribution is a broad domain analysis of shared virtual environments, which enables developers to have a better understanding of the whole rather than the part(s). The second contribution is a reference domain model for discussing and describing solutions - the Analysis Domain Model

    Automated Injection of Curated Knowledge Into Real-Time Clinical Systems: CDS Architecture for the 21st Century

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    abstract: Clinical Decision Support (CDS) is primarily associated with alerts, reminders, order entry, rule-based invocation, diagnostic aids, and on-demand information retrieval. While valuable, these foci have been in production use for decades, and do not provide a broader, interoperable means of plugging structured clinical knowledge into live electronic health record (EHR) ecosystems for purposes of orchestrating the user experiences of patients and clinicians. To date, the gap between knowledge representation and user-facing EHR integration has been considered an “implementation concern” requiring unscalable manual human efforts and governance coordination. Drafting a questionnaire engineered to meet the specifications of the HL7 CDS Knowledge Artifact specification, for example, carries no reasonable expectation that it may be imported and deployed into a live system without significant burdens. Dramatic reduction of the time and effort gap in the research and application cycle could be revolutionary. Doing so, however, requires both a floor-to-ceiling precoordination of functional boundaries in the knowledge management lifecycle, as well as formalization of the human processes by which this occurs. This research introduces ARTAKA: Architecture for Real-Time Application of Knowledge Artifacts, as a concrete floor-to-ceiling technological blueprint for both provider heath IT (HIT) and vendor organizations to incrementally introduce value into existing systems dynamically. This is made possible by service-ization of curated knowledge artifacts, then injected into a highly scalable backend infrastructure by automated orchestration through public marketplaces. Supplementary examples of client app integration are also provided. Compilation of knowledge into platform-specific form has been left flexible, in so far as implementations comply with ARTAKA’s Context Event Service (CES) communication and Health Services Platform (HSP) Marketplace service packaging standards. Towards the goal of interoperable human processes, ARTAKA’s treatment of knowledge artifacts as a specialized form of software allows knowledge engineers to operate as a type of software engineering practice. Thus, nearly a century of software development processes, tools, policies, and lessons offer immediate benefit: in some cases, with remarkable parity. Analyses of experimentation is provided with guidelines in how choice aspects of software development life cycles (SDLCs) apply to knowledge artifact development in an ARTAKA environment. Portions of this culminating document have been further initiated with Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) intended to ultimately produce normative standards, as have active relationships with other bodies.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Biomedical Informatics 201

    Business strategy and information systems alignment : a study of the use of enterprise architectures in Australian Government

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    This thesis investigates the use of Enterprise Architectures ("the logical structuring and classification of descriptive representations of an enterprise") as enablers of alignment between business strategy and information systems in public sector agencies. The scope of this study has been shaped by Australian government policies that have set firm directions for the delivery of community products and services in the electronic domain. Foundation management and information systems theories, empirical studies and public management literature -have been used extensively in grounding this research study. A substantial body of literature has been reviewed, and this study positioned in the context of these prior literary works. In particular, the principal alignment theories have been adopted and the research model developed from the published works of eminent management and information systems researchers. The primary research question asks whether Enterprise Architectures are enablers of business strategy and information systems alignment, and if so, what are the associated alignment enabling processes? The study's four research themes are: (i) Enterprise Architecture frameworks and methods; (ii) architectural completeness; (iii) the social aspects of alignment (management support, business planning style, business plan communications); and (iv) the formal high level alignment mechanisms used by public agencies. The study has used an exploratory qualitative case_study research method that includes semi-structured and unstructured interviews, archival research and document discovery, public announcement and presentation information, organisational observations, and system demonstrations for the collection and triangulation of data. The case studies at four government agencies are presented as metastories of how Enterprise Architectures and other alignment mechanisms are used within the contextual frame of each public organisation. The research shows that Enterprise Architectures can be enablers of alignment within a public organization environment. Architectures possess the ability to define and describe the states of the agency business and technology domains, and the intimate domain relationships and processes that inform the agency's state of alignment. Changes in the agencies or their operating environments are reflected in the architecture and its subsequent evolutionary changes (such as new business requiring new supporting information systems and technology). Enterprise Architectures were considered as important enablers of alignment with each agency dedicating specialist corporate resources for architecture development and maintenance. The case studies showed that the origin (either internally developed or commercially acquired) of the agency Enterprise Architecture was not necessarily important for the enabling of alignment. However, organizations would do well to concentrate their resources on developing and implementing architectures that accurately represent and integrate the agency business and technology domains. The research used an architectural requirements framework, adapted from an International Standard (ISO 15704), to gauge architecture completeness. The study found that substantially complete architectures integrated the business and information systems entities, included the necessary components (such as the governance frameworks) to achieve strategic alignment, and offered opportunities for agency alignment. Architectures that were deficient in their business, technology or managerial orientations could display reduced clarity of the business and technology states, placing the organisations at risk of misalignment. The case research allowed the comparison of centralised and decentralised agency business structures and information systems, allowing explanations to be developed for the longer architecture implementation periods, and reduced architecture completeness at the decentralised agencies. In particular, the research findings point to the non-uniform application of decentralised resources, and the reduced corporate visibility of decentralised systems, as reasons for long architecture implementation periods, reduced completeness, and impaired alignment. The case studies identified that architectures develop and evolve over time and possess specific characteristics that assist the alignment process. Architectures acted as focal points for business entities and processes that are enabled by the supporting information systems. Architectures provided a mechanism for information systems and technology governance that jointly support business and information systems requirements. Architectures enabled agency information structuring and sharing for the support of business operations. Architectures supported the reuse of systems and technologies for the delivery of business strategies and plans. Other characteristics, such as using architecture as a corporate philosophy, were agency-specific and reflected the agency's culture, people, business capabilities, and corporate history. The detailed examination of management support, business planning styles and business plan communications, showed that the social aspects of alignment were important. In particular the study showed that executive managers must support business and technical directions through demonstrable understanding of the important business and information systems issues, and cohesive decision-making that is built on sound relationships between business and technically oriented executives. The case studies also showed that business plans that are horizontally and vertically integrated, and are well communicated and understood by stakeholders, assisted the enabling of alignment. Finally, the study uncovered several formal alignment mechanisms (such as corporate boards, agency plans, balanced score cards) that were consistent with alignment and governance theory and government management literature. The findings of the case research placed this study of alignment in a process or system frame, while empirically demonstrating that alignment is a continuous and dynamic process that combines several enabling mechanisms. The study showed that any research or conceptual analysis of alignment should consider the alignment mechanisms to operate in combination with each other. Future directions for alignment and architecture research were also described
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