ProSA - Using the CHASE for Provenance Management

Collecting, storing, tracking, and archiving scientific data is the main task of research data management, being the basis for scientific evaluations. In addition to the evaluation (a complex query in the case of structured databases) and the result itself, the important part of the original database used has also to be archived. To ensure reproducible and replicable research, the evaluation queries can be processed again at a later point in time in order to reproduce the result. Being able to calculate the origin of an evaluation is the main problem in provenance management, particularly in why and how data provenance. We are developing a tool called ProSA which combines data provenance and schema/data evolution using the CHASE for the different database transformations needed. Besides describing the main ideas of ProSA, another focus of this paper is the concrete use of our CHASE tool ChaTEAU for invertible query evaluation

GrailQuest & HERMES: Hunting for Gravitational Wave Electromagnetic Counterparts and Probing Space-Time Quantum Foam

Within Quantum Gravity theories, different models for space-time quantisation predict an energy dependent speed for photons. Although the predicted discrepancies are minuscule, GRB, occurring at cosmological distances, could be used to detect this signature of space-time granularity with a new concept of modular observatory of huge overall collecting area consisting in a fleet of small satellites in low orbits, with sub-microsecond time resolution and wide energy band (keV-MeV). The enormous number of collected photons will allow to effectively search these energy dependent delays. Moreover, GrailQuest will allow to perform temporal triangulation of high signal-to-noise impulsive events with arc-second positional accuracies: an extraordinary sensitive X-ray/Gamma all-sky monitor crucial for hunting the elusive electromagnetic counterparts of GW. A pathfinder of GrailQuest is already under development through the HERMES project: a fleet of six 3U cube-sats to be launched by 2021/22

Exploring the complex relationship between alignment and company's performances

The enduring interest of scientific and practice oriented literature in the alignment between business and IT is based on the supposed impact that alignment exerts on company's performances. The topic has been repeatedly addressed in the literature, generating different and sometimes conflicting results. In our study we adopt a process oriented conceptualization of alignment and a complexity science view of a company to investigate the relationship between the alignment process and company's performances. The study is conducted through a multi-case study methodology that involved four companies implementing alignment processes. We found that corporate performances are influenced by the type of complexity, structural and dynamic, enabled by the alignment process and that two constructs, infrastructure sophistication and business agility, determine the type of complexity. The contribution of the paper is both theoretical, as it extends previous alignment literature exploiting a complexity science perspective, and for practice, as it contributes to unravel the relationship between alignment and performances providing suggestions on how to improve the efficacy of the alignment process

Digital transformation: Learning from Italy’s public administration*

Companies and governments have embraced digital transformation as the elixir of the 21st century. But what impedes digital transformation? This case study article is based on data gathered from field research with the Italian Parliament and the Digital Transformation High Commissioner’s Office in the Ministry of the Interior. The case surfaces the context, challenges, and solutions for large-scale public administration digital transformation. The case study highlights how public administration digital transformation in a large democracy is never a technical but a sociotechnical solution. Successful digital transformation needs to understand, address, and change sociopolitical and sociotechnical mores that often define the culture. Underscoring this research is an analysis of digital transformation within the Italian public administration. Public administration encompasses all governmental and public services, including services provided by federal, regional (e.g. states and provinces), municipalities, and local agencies. The Italian public administration, with 60 million people, 8000 municipalities, and 22,000 local administrations, highlights how a digital renaissance is a preface for innovative disruption challenges. The Digital Transformation case uses Italy as the backdrop and Team Digitale, a team of talented individuals embarked on building public administration efficiencies and rebooting Italy’s digital innovation footprint, as the protagonist. For granularity, the case focuses on two digital transformation projects: ANPR, a unified public registry for all Italian residents, and PagoPA, a universal digital payment platform for public administration. This case surfaces the best practices and challenges faced when trying to tackle a mega-project across an entire economy. The case offers digital transformation recommendations, generalizable across any global democracy. The case analysis and recommendations bring to light how, contrary to private organizations, institutionalizing a disruptive innovation in a democratic country at a time of fiscal austerity highlights interesting decision-making issues and facets

Advancing Design and Runtime Management of AI Applications with AI-SPRINT

The adoption of Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is steadily increasing. However, to become fully pervasive, AI needs resources at the edge of the network. The cloud can provide the processing power needed for big data, but edge computing is close to where data are produced and therefore crucial to their timely, flexible, and secure management. In this paper, we introduce the AI-SPRINT “Artificial intelligence in Secure PRIvacy-preserving computing coNTinuum” project, which will provide solutions to seamlessly design, partition, and run AI applications in computing continuum environments. AI-SPRINT will offer novel tools for AI applications development, secure execution, easy deployment, as well as runtime management and optimization: AI-SPRINT design tools will allow trading-off application performance (in terms of end-to-end latency or throughput), energy efficiency, and AI models accuracy while providing security and privacy guarantees. The runtime environment will support live data protection, architecture enhancement, agile delivery, runtime optimization, and continuous adaptation