AI-Based Solution for Sustainability Tracing for Companies

Many companies look for novel ways to trace their operational sustainability. The application of AI to analyze and make sense of the big data the company holds represents one promising approach for this aim. The authors study how one can set and design an AI-based solution for improving the sustainability of complex business processes and decision-making in companies of different types. First, they provide a general analysis of current frameworks for measuring adherence to sustainability goals for companies, then they present a conceptual framework and architecture design for an AI-enabled sustainability service for companies. The implications of our research suggest that AI can provide distinct functions: (a) automation: taking big data from different departments and analyzing them with the aim of tracing the sustainability of the company; (b) support: to help decision-making and create relevant insights for stakeholders that are coherent with defined sustainability decision criteria. To the authors' knowledge, no previous research has provided analysis and design of such AI solution for companies

Knowledge Management and Data Analysis Techniques for Data-Driven Financial Companies

In today’s fast-paced financial industry, knowledge management and data-driven decision making have become essential for the success of financial technology (FinTech) companies. Big data (BD) is a prevalent phenomenon that can be found across many industries, including finance. Despite its complexity and difficulty to comprehend, big data is a critical component of financial services enterprises and technology architectures. We examine BD from various aspects, considering data science (DS) techniques and methodologies that can be applied during the operation of an enterprise. Our aim is to provide an overview of knowledge management (KM) practices and data analysis (DA) strategies and techniques in the daily operations of financial companies. We address the role of knowledge management, data analytics in a financial institution. The paper demonstrates financial institutions’ enablement for new services resulting from technological advancements

Model to Program and Blockchain Approaches for Business Processes and Workflows in Finance

Business process modeling and verification have become an essential way to control and assure organizational evolution. We overview the opportunities for the application of blockchain in Business Process Management and Modeling in Finance and we focus on in-depth analysis of claim process in insurance as a use case. We investigate the utilization of blockchain technology for model checking of Workflow, Business Processes to ensure consistency, integrity, and security in a dynamically changing business environment. We create a UML profile for the blockchain, then we combine it with a UML activity diagram followed by a verification using Petri nets to guarantee a distributed computing system and scalable with mutable data. Our paper creates a unified picture of the approaches towards business processes modeling used in the financial industry organized around the set of premises intending to develop a future research agenda for blockchain business process modeling, specifically for the financial industry domain

Identifying struggling teams in online challenge-based learning

Our research aims to determine how students perceive groupwork and identify patterns of less successful groups in online challenge-based learning. This study involved 29 university students working in nine teams in an online challenge-based course. We applied Volet’s (2001) Student Appraisal of Group Assignments (SAGA) instrument to measure students’ perceptions on six constructs: Cognitive Benefits, Motivation Influence, Affect, Interpersonal, Management, and Group Assessment. Questionnaires were administered at different time points (before, during, and after the project). Focus groups were conducted to gain insights into students’ experiences. Findings suggest that students reporting decreasing or stalling perception scores on the Motivation Influence, Interpersonal constructs would likely not be in high-performing groups. Additionally, challenge-based learning is less suitable for time-compressed courses. The study expands our understanding of students’ perceptions of online challenge-based learning, at different performance levels, and difficulties in these projects. Practical implications of this study are support for teachers in identifying struggling teams, and designing and facilitating challenge-based courses

Investigating effective dynamics of virtual student teams through analysis of Trello boards

A recent challenge in distant distributed learning courses is to establish effective collaboration in small teams. Team work in such courses often has to take place asynchronously, which puts additional requirements on communication and coordination. This article describes an ongoing project in which we analyze the dynamics of virtual student teams located in different Universities by examining their Trello activity. The students work together in a project where they need to propose a solution for a business challenge. On the basis of their Trello activity we aim to characterize different patterns of team work in geographically dispersed teams to better understand how collaboration in virtual students teams develops over time. These insights can be used to detect ineffective team dynamics and to generate interventions that promote better collaboration

Model to Program and Blockchain Approaches for Business Processes and Workflows in Finance

Business process modeling and verification have become an essential way to control and assure organizational evolution. We overview the opportunities for the application of blockchain in Business Process Management and Modeling in Finance and we focus on in-depth analysis of claim process in insurance as a use case. We investigate the utilization of blockchain technology for model checking of Workflow, Business Processes to ensure consistency, integrity, and security in a dynamically changing business environment. We create a UML profile for the blockchain, then we combine it with a UML activity diagram followed by a verification using Petri nets to guarantee a distributed computing system and scalable with mutable data. Our paper creates a unified picture of the approaches towards business processes modeling used in the financial industry organized around the set of premises intending to develop a future research agenda for blockchain business process modeling, specifically for the financial industry domain

Identifying struggling teams in online challenge-based learning

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine how to determine how students perceive groupwork and identify patterns of less successful groups in online challenge-based learning. Design/methodology/approach: This study involved 29 university students working in nine teams in an online challenge-based course. The authors applied Volet's (2001) Student Appraisal of Group Assignments (SAGA) instrument to measure students' perceptions on six constructs: Cognitive Benefits, Motivation Influence, Affect, Interpersonal, Management, and Group Assessment. Questionnaires were administered at different time points (before, during, and after the project). Focus groups were conducted to gain insights into students' experiences. Findings: Findings suggest that students reporting decreasing or stalling perception scores on the Motivation Influence, Interpersonal constructs would likely not be in high-performing groups. Additionally, challenge-based learning is less suitable for time-compressed courses. Originality/value: The study expands the understanding of students' perceptions of online challenge-based learning, at different performance levels, and difficulties in these projects. Practical implications of this study are support for teachers in identifying struggling teams, and designing and facilitating challenge-based courses