Back to practice, a decade of research in E-government

E-government is a multidisciplinary field of research based initially on empirical insights from practice. Efforts to theoretically found the field have opened perspectives from multiple research domains. The goal of this chapter is to review evolution of the e-government field from an institutional and an academic point of view. Our position is that e-government is an emergent multidisciplinary field of research in which focus on practice is a prominent characteristic. Each chapter of the book is then briefly presented and is positioned according to a vision of the e-government domain of research.E-government, Case study, E-administration, Public domain

Quality assessment technique for ubiquitous software and middleware

The new paradigm of computing or information systems is ubiquitous computing systems. The technology-oriented issues of ubiquitous computing systems have made researchers pay much attention to the feasibility study of the technologies rather than building quality assurance indices or guidelines. In this context, measuring quality is the key to developing high-quality ubiquitous computing products. For this reason, various quality models have been defined, adopted and enhanced over the years, for example, the need for one recognised standard quality model (ISO/IEC 9126) is the result of a consensus for a software quality model on three levels: characteristics, sub-characteristics, and metrics. However, it is very much unlikely that this scheme will be directly applicable to ubiquitous computing environments which are considerably different to conventional software, trailing a big concern which is being given to reformulate existing methods, and especially to elaborate new assessment techniques for ubiquitous computing environments. This paper selects appropriate quality characteristics for the ubiquitous computing environment, which can be used as the quality target for both ubiquitous computing product evaluation processes ad development processes. Further, each of the quality characteristics has been expanded with evaluation questions and metrics, in some cases with measures. In addition, this quality model has been applied to the industrial setting of the ubiquitous computing environment. These have revealed that while the approach was sound, there are some parts to be more developed in the future

Evaluating the Impact of Streaming Service Subscriber Acquisition Strategies in India on Firm Value: An Event Study Analysis

For streaming service providers who are reaching a plateau in subscriber growth in the western market, India presents a rich opportunity for subscriber acquisition. However, the three major streaming service providers, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+Hotstar, have faced challenges growing and sustaining a strong subscriber base in India. This thesis offers three contributions. First, I explain and categorize the approaches of these providers from 2016 to 2022. Second, using event study methodology and the Fama-French Five factor model, I estimate the effect of India-related SVOD press releases on firm returns. Third, I estimate the impact that each firm’s announcements have on its two competitors’ abnormal returns. The results of the event study support a “learning story” – Netflix was the first to introduce streaming services to India, and consequently, it has the most volatile abnormal returns associated with India-related press releases, especially in the initial stages of product launch. The two competitor firms seem to have learned from Netflix’s experimentation with different approaches to subscriber acquisition in India, as the abnormal returns of Amazon and Disney on the day of India-related press releases are more positive. Second, I find that investors react most favorably to India-related press releases in categories that leverage the competitive advantages of each firm in India. For example, I find that the most positive abnormal returns for Netflix are associated with Changes in Subscription Offers and Content, aligning with the fact that Netflix’s primary strategies in India are experimenting with lower priced subscription tiers and heavy investments in original Indian content. This pattern plays out with competitor firms as well, as investors react positively to Amazon announcements in Usability and Content, and Disney announcements in Partnerships and Record Setting. Finally, I also find that an announcement regarding subscriber acquisition strategy by one firm in India does not seem to have an effect on the abnormal returns of competitor firms, regardless of press release category or firm issuing the press release

Blockchain and smart contracts : a solution for payment issues in construction supply chains

The construction industry has dynamic supply chains with multiple suppliers usually engaged in short-term relationships. Government legislation, novel types of payment agreements, conventional information technology solutions, and supply chain management best practices have endeavoured to solve payment-related financial issues in the construction industry, which are mainly caused by the complexities of the construction supply chain. Nevertheless, payment-related issues persist as one of the key challenges in the industry. Applications of blockchain technology–a trusted, distributed data storing mechanism–along with smart contracts are gaining focus as solutions for complex interorganisational processes. A smart contract is a self-executing script that codifies a set of rules or agreements between multiple parties and runs across the blockchain network. This paper identifies the suitability of blockchain and smart contract technologies in solving payment issues in the construction industry. An expert forum of construction industry stakeholders served as the primary data collection method through a structured questionnaire. The key finding of the paper is that blockchain and smart contract powered solutions can significantly mitigate the payment and related financial issues in the construction industry, including partial payments, nonpayments, cost of finance, long payment cycle, retention, and security of payments

Generic and Parameterizable Service for Remote Configuration of Mobile Phones Using Near Field Communication

Os serviços nos nossos dispositivos móveis têm aumentado em número e complexidade nos últimos anos. Utilizadores menos experientes sentem dificuldade em tirar total partido destes serviços. De forma a atenuar este problema, é necessário encontrar novas e inovadoras formas que permitam assistir o utilizador no processo de configuração. Para além disso, vivemos numa sociedade do imediato. As pessoas querem que o acesso aos recursos seja rápido, simples e seguro. É também sabido que grande parte dos utilizadores são leigos no que diz respeito à utilização de funcionalidades avançadas dos dispositivos móveis, o que resulta em alguma inércia no uso de certas aplicações e funcionalidades.O Near Field Communication oferece uma oportunidade única para introduzir novos paradigmas de negócio no que diz respeito à interação e facilidade de utilização. Esta dissertação especifica um serviço genérico e parametrizável para a configuração remota de dispositivos.Mobile services have increased both in number and complexity in the past few years. This means that in order to get the most out of these services, less experienced users will have a hard time configuring them by hand. To address this issue, we must find new and innovative solutions to assist the user in this process. Furthermore, we live in a society of the immediate. Everyone wants access to resources to be fast, simple and secure. It is also known that most of the users are laymen when referring to advanced configuration of mobile phone, resulting in some inertia in the use of applications and functionalities.Near Field Communication (NFC) provides an unique opportunity to introduce new business paradigms in terms of interaction and ease of use. This dissertation specifies a generic and parameterizable service for remote configuration of mobile devices using Near Field Communication, which requires minimal user intervention

Egyptian Higher Education Tutors' Perceptions of Student-Centred Learning in the Online Environment

It is widely acknowledged that student-centred learning (SCL) gives learners feelings of being appreciated and respected, and thus helps students to be engaged and motivated to learn. SCL is an approach implemented in online learning (OL). This study investigates the role of the tutor, in implementing and facilitating SCL as a positive learning environment in the specific context of OL in Egyptian Higher Education (HE). The study examines tutors’ perceptions of SCL in OL as a concept and the factors that influence these perceptions, the pedagogical approaches they need to successfully implement SCL, and the affordances and challenges of this implementation in the specific context of Egyptian HE. Data for this study was collected from 20 online tutors at two major Egyptian universities in Northern Egypt both in focus groups and in individual semi-structured interviews. This study contributes to the area of research into SCL on matters such as definition of SCL, tutors’ approaches to understanding the concept, and its practical application in OL. The study investigates the pedagogical repertoire tutors need to implement SCL, describes approaches and strategies applied in SCL, and highlights results which can be used to offer support and guidance to tutors in order to facilitate their students' ongoing learning processes, leading to individually tailored and flexible education paths. The study findings indicate that online tutors approach the issue of SCL in OL with reference to four main aspects: prerequisites, challenges, concerns and solutions. The main research findings are that student control and independence are not widely practised in online Egyptian HE. There are many concerns for online tutors when empowering students such as: losing control, losing tutors’ respect and the invisibility of online students for monitoring them. Moreover, the research found that student trust is an issue that needs to be resolved. For tutors, tutor-student trust is a process that requires students’ early preparation to learn how to be responsible. The study found that social collaboration in OL offers promising opportunities for educational reform in Egyptian HE, particularly with respect to problems such as overcrowded classes. Furthermore, tutors acknowledged the importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in gaining the professional and experiential skills that they need to develop their teaching practices. Another finding of this study, referring to the low wages for tutors in Egypt, is that financial incentives have a significant impact on tutors’ feelings that they are invested in and acknowledged by their academic institutions. Consequently, tutors are getting engaged with the learning community and using the utmost abilities to pursue their work