Search results for: supply chain technology adoption

Authors: Sylvie Michel, François Cocula

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Digital agriculture is an approach that exploits information and communication technologies. These encompass data acquisition tools like mobile applications, satellites, sensors, connected devices, and smartphones. Additionally, it involves transfer and storage technologies such as 3G/4G coverage, low-bandwidth terrestrial or satellite networks, and cloud-based systems. Furthermore, embedded or remote processing technologies, including drones and robots for process automation, along with high-speed communication networks accessible through supercomputers, are integral components of this approach. While farm-level adoption studies regarding digital agricultural technologies have emerged in recent years, they remain relatively limited in comparison to other agricultural practices. To bridge this gap, this study delves into understanding farmers' intention to adopt digital tools, employing the technology, organization, environment framework. A qualitative research design encompassed semi-structured interviews, totaling fifteen in number, conducted with key stakeholders both prior to and following the 2020-2021 COVID-19 lockdowns in France. Subsequently, the interview transcripts underwent thorough thematic content analysis, and the data and verbatim were triangulated for validation. A coding process aimed to systematically organize the data, ensuring an orderly and structured classification. Our research extends its contribution by delineating sub-dimensions within each primary dimension. A total of nine sub-dimensions were identified, categorized as follows: perceived usefulness for communication, perceived usefulness for productivity, and perceived ease of use constitute the first dimension; technological resources, financial resources, and human capabilities constitute the second dimension, while market pressure, institutional pressure, and the COVID-19 situation constitute the third dimension. Furthermore, this analysis enriches the TOE framework by incorporating entrepreneurial orientation as a moderating variable. Managerial orientation emerges as a pivotal factor influencing adoption intention, with producers acknowledging the significance of utilizing digital sales support tools to combat "greenwashing" and elevate their overall brand image. Specifically, it illustrates that producers recognize the potential of digital tools in time-saving and streamlining sales processes, leading to heightened productivity. Moreover, it highlights that the intent to adopt digital sales support tools is influenced by a market mimicry effect. Additionally, it demonstrates a negative association between the intent to adopt these tools and the pressure exerted by institutional partners. Finally, this research establishes a positive link between the intent to adopt digital sales support tools and economic fluctuations, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. The adoption of sales support tools in agriculture is a multifaceted challenge encompassing three dimensions and nine sub-dimensions. The research delves into the adoption of digital farming technologies at the farm level through the TOE framework. This analysis provides significant insights beneficial for policymakers, stakeholders, and farmers. These insights are instrumental in making informed decisions to facilitate a successful digital transition in agriculture, effectively addressing sector-specific challenges.

Keywords: adoption, digital agriculture, e-commerce, TOE framework

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Authors: Dharmit Viroja, Prerakkumar Shah, Rajanikant Gajera, Ruchit Shah

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With present scenario of aging oil and gas fields with high water cuts, volatile oil prices and increasing greenhouse gas emission, the need for alleviating such issues has necessitated for oil and gas industry to make the maximum out of available assets, infrastructure and reserves in mother Earth. Study undertaken emphasizes on utilizing Geothermal Energy under specific reservoir conditions for Enhanced oil Recovery (EOR) to boost up production. Allied benefits of this process include mitigation of electricity problem in remote fields and controlled CO-emission. Utilization of this energy for EOR and increasing economic life of field could surely be rewarding. A new way to value oil lands would be considered if geothermal co-production is integrated in the field development program. Temperature profile of co-produced fluid across its journey is a pivotal issue which has been studied. Geo pressured reservoirs resulting from trapped brine under an impermeable bed is also a frontier for exploitation. Hot geothermal fluid is a by-product of large number of oil and gas wells, historically this hot water has been seen as an inconvenience; however, it can be looked at as a useful resource. The production of hot fluids from abandoned and co-production of hot fluids from producing wells has potential to prolong life of oil and gas fields. The study encompasses various factors which are required for use of this technology and application of this process across various phases of oil and gas value chain. Interdisciplinary approach in oil and gas value chain has shown potential for economic production of estimated oil and gas reserves.

Keywords: enhanced oil recovery, geo-pressured reservoirs, geothermal energy, oil and gas value chain

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Authors: Haythem A. Nakkas, Philip J. Scott, Jim S. Briggs

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This paper reports a structured literature review of the application of Health Information Technology in developing countries, defined as the World Bank categories Low-income countries, Lower-middle-income, and Upper-middle-income countries. The aim was to identify and classify the various applications of health information technology to assess its current state in developing countries and explore potential areas of research. We offer specific analysis and application of HIT in Libya as one of the developing countries. Method: A structured literature review was conducted using the following online databases: IEEE, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Publication dates were set for 2000-2013. For the PubMed search, publications in English, French, and Arabic were specified. Using a content analysis approach, 159 papers were analyzed and a total number of 26 factors were identified that affect the adoption of health information technology. Results: Of the 2681 retrieved articles, 159 met the inclusion criteria which were carefully analyzed and classified. Conclusion: The implementation of health information technology across developing countries is varied. Whilst it was initially expected financial constraints would have severely limited health information technology implementation, some developing countries like India have nevertheless dominated the literature and taken the lead in conducting scientific research. Comparing the number of studies to the number of countries in each category, we found that Low-income countries and Lower-middle-income had more studies carried out than Upper-middle-income countries. However, whilst IT has been used in various sectors of the economy, the healthcare sector in developing countries is still failing to benefit fully from the potential advantages that IT can offer.

Keywords: developing countries, developed countries, factors, failure, health information technology, implementation, libya, success

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Authors: Muleya Nqobile, Winston Garira

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We presented a compartmental deterministic multi-scale model which encompass internal plant defensive mechanism and pathogen interaction, then we consider nesting the model into the epidemiological model. The objective was to improve our understanding of the transmission dynamics of within host and between host of Guignardia citricapa Kiely. The inflow of infected class was scaled down to individual level while the outflow was scaled up to average population level. Conceptual model and mathematical model were constructed to display a theoretical framework which can be used for predicting or identify disease pattern.

Keywords: epidemiological model, mathematical modelling, multi-scale modelling, immunological model

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Authors: J. Cadby, K. Miyazawa

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been widely adopted into the agricultural landscape with advancements of mobile connectivity and data accessibility. In developed nations, mobile-technology is well integrated into marketing transactions, and also plays a crucial role in making data-driven decisions on-farm. In developing nations, mobile banking and access to agricultural extension services allow for informed decision-making and smoother transactions. In addition, the availability of updated and readily available market and climate data provides a negotiation platform, reducing economic risks for farmers worldwide. The total usage of mobile technology has risen over the past 20 years, and almost three-quarters of the world’s population subscribes to mobile technology. This study reviewed mobile technology integration into agricultural systems in developing and developed nations. Data from secondary sources were collected and investigated. The objectives of the study include a review of the success of mobile banking transactions in developing nations, and a review of application and SMS based services for direct marketing in both developed and developing nations. Rural farmers in developing countries with access to diverse m-banking options experienced increased access to farm investment resources with the use of mobile banking technology. Rural farmers involved in perishable crop production were also more likely to benefit from mobile platform sales participation. ICT programs reached through mobile application and SMS increased access to agricultural extension materials and marketing tools for demographics that faced literacy-challenges and isolated markets. As mobile technology becomes more ubiquitous in the global agricultural system, training and market opportunities to facilitate mobile usage in developing agricultural systems are necessary. Digital skills training programs are necessary in order to improve equal global adoption of ICT in agriculture.

Keywords: market participation, mobile banking, mobile technology, rural farming

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Authors: Benga Ebouele, Thomas Tengen

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Implementing either periodic or continuous inventory review model within most manufacturing-companies-supply chains as a management tool may incur higher costs. These high costs affect the system flexibility which in turn affects the level of service required to satisfy customers. However, these effects are not clearly understood because the parameters of both inventory review policies (protection demand interval, order quantity, etc.) are not designed to be fully utilized under different and uncertain conditions such as poor manufacturing, supplies and delivery performance. Coming up with a hybrid model which may combine in some sense the feature of both continuous and a periodic inventory review models should be useful. Therefore, there is a need to build and evaluate such hybrid model on the annual total cost, stock out probability and system’s flexibility in order to search for the most cost effective inventory review model. This work also seeks to find the optimal sets of parameters of inventory management under stochastic condition so as to optimise each policy independently. The results reveal that a continuous inventory system always incurs lesser cost than a periodic (R, S) inventory system, but this difference tends to decrease as time goes by. Although the hybrid inventory is the only one that can yield lesser cost over time, it is not always desirable but also natural to use it in order to help the system to meet high performance specification.

Keywords: demand and lead time randomness, hybrid Inventory model, optimization, supply chain

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Authors: A. Binnui, O. Kalinowska-Beszczynska, G. Shaw

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It is postulated that innovative deployment of entrepreneurial activities leads to firm's growth. This paper draws upon the key predictions of the core theories on entrepreneurship and innovation to formulate a conceptual framework which can be used to depict the casual chain of events from which entrepreneurs can manage more innovatively and ultimately deliver higher growth which benefits of the regional and national economies. It examines the key firm-based factors extracted from the theories, namely the characteristics of entrepreneurial hi-tech firms, characteristics of innovating firms, and firm growth dynamics that lead to enhanced economic growth. The framework postulates that the key determinants extracted such as entrepreneurial demographics, firm characteristic, skills and competencies, research and development, product/service characteristics, market development, financial of the firm and internationalization might lead to the survival and long term development of high-technology startups.

Keywords: innovative entrepreneurial activities, entrepreneuship, determinants, growth, hi-technology start-upws

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Authors: Seyed Hossein Iranmanesh, Hassan Nouri, Seyed Reza Iranmanesh

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In the dynamic and complex landscape of today’s business, organizations often face challenges in impactful decision-making across multi-project settings. To efficiently allocate resources, coordinate tasks, and optimize project outcomes, establishing robust decision-making processes is essential. Furthermore, the increasing importance of information systems and their integration within organizational workflows introduces an additional layer of complexity. This research proposes the use of blockchain technology as a suitable solution to enhance decision-making in multi-project environments, particularly within the realm of information systems. The conceptual framework in this study comprises four independent variables and one dependent variable. The identified independent variables for the targeted research include: Blockchain Layer in Integrated Systems, Quality of Generated Information ,User Satisfaction with Integrated Systems and Utilization of Integrated Systems. The project’s performance, considered as the dependent variable and moderated by organizational policies and procedures, reflects the impact of blockchain technology adoption on organizational effectiveness1. The results highlight the significant influence of blockchain implementation on organizational performance.

Keywords: multi-project environments, decision support systems, information systems, blockchain technology, decentralized systems.

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Authors: Dimitrios J. Dimitriou

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Airport’s serving a tourist destination are an essential counterpart of the tourist demand supply chain, and their productivity is related to the region’s attractiveness and is enhanced by the air transport business. In this paper, the evaluation framework of the scheduled flights between two tourist airports is taken into consideration. By adopting a systemic approach, the arrivals from an airport that its connectivity heavily depended on the departures of another major airport are reviewed. The methodology framework, based on inventory control theory and the numerical example, promotes the use of the modelling formulation. The results would be essential for comparison and exercising to other similar cases.

Keywords: airport connectivity, inventory control, optimization, optimum allocation

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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah

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The manual system of voting has been the most widely used system of electing representatives around the globe, particularly in Africa. Due to the known numerous problems and challenges associated with the manual system of voting, many countries are migrating to the electronic voting system as a suitable and credible means of electing representatives over the manual paper-based system. This research paper therefore investigated the factors influencing adoption and use of an electronic voting system in Ghana. A total of 400 Questionnaire Instruments (QI) were administered to potential respondents in Ghana, of which 387 responded representing a response rate of 96.75%. The Technology Acceptance Model was used as the theoretical framework for the study. The research model was tested using a simple linear regression analysis with SPSS. A little of over 71.1% of the respondents recommended the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to adopt an electronic voting system in the conduct of public elections in Ghana. The results indicated that all the six predictors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived free and fair elections (PFFF), perceived credible elections (PCE), perceived system integrity (PSI) and citizens trust in the election management body (CTEM) were all positively significant in predicting the readiness of citizens to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. However, jointly, the hypotheses tested revealed that apart from Perceived Free and Fair Elections and Perceived Credible and Transparent Elections, all the other factors such as PU, Perceived System Integrity and Security and Citizen Trust in the Election Management Body were found to be significant predictors of the Willingness of Ghanaians to use an electronic voting system. All the six factors considered in this study jointly account for about 53.1% of the reasons determining the readiness to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. The implications of this research finding on elections in Ghana are discussed.

Keywords: credible elections, Election Management Body (EMB), electronic voting, Ghana, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

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Authors: Cecilia Perri, Vincenzo Corvello

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The aim of the present study is to investigate consumers' determinants of intention toward the adoption of Smart Grid solutions and technologies. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model is applied and tested to explain the formation of such adoption intention. An exogenous variable, taking into account the resistance to change of individuals, was added to the basic model. The elicitation study allowed obtaining salient modal beliefs, which were used, with the support of literature, to design the questionnaire. After the screening phase, data collected from the main survey were analysed for evaluating measurement model's reliability and validity. Consistent with the theory, the results of structural equation analysis revealed that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control positively, which affected the adoption intention. Specifically, the variable with the highest estimate loading factor was found to be the perceived behavioural control, and, the most important belief related to each construct was determined (e.g., energy saving was observed to be the most significant belief linked with attitude). Further investigation indicated that the added exogenous variable has a negative influence on intention; this finding confirmed partially the hypothesis, since this influence was indirect: such relationship was mediated by attitude. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: adoption of innovation, consumers behaviour, energy management, smart grid, theory of planned behaviour

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Authors: Al Omari Moahmmed Ahmed

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These papers describe the Bayesian Estimator using Markov Chain Monte Carlo and Lindley’s approximation and the maximum likelihood estimation of the Weibull distribution with Type-I censored data. The maximum likelihood method can’t estimate the shape parameter in closed forms, although it can be solved by numerical methods. Moreover, the Bayesian estimates of the parameters, the survival and hazard functions cannot be solved analytically. Hence Markov Chain Monte Carlo method and Lindley’s approximation are used, where the full conditional distribution for the parameters of Weibull distribution are obtained via Gibbs sampling and Metropolis-Hastings algorithm (HM) followed by estimate the survival and hazard functions. The methods are compared to Maximum Likelihood counterparts and the comparisons are made with respect to the Mean Square Error (MSE) and absolute bias to determine the better method in scale and shape parameters, the survival and hazard functions.

Keywords: weibull distribution, bayesian method, markov chain mote carlo, survival and hazard functions

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Authors: Khlif Hamadi

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The principal aim of our research is to analyze the impact of the adoption of e-management approach on the performance of Tunisian firms. The method of structural equation was adopted to conduct our exploratory and confirmatory analysis. The results arising from the questionnaire sent to 155 E-managers affirm that the adoption of e-management approach influences the performance of Tunisian firms. The results of the questionnaire show that e-management favors the deployment of ICT usage and contributes enormously to the performance of the modern enterprise. The theoretical and practical implications of the study, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.

Keywords: e-management, ICT Deployment, organizational performance, e-manager

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Authors: J. Becker, R. Arnold

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The design of distribution logistics has a decisive impact on a company's logistics costs and performance. Hence, such solutions make an essential contribution to corporate success. This article describes a decision support system for analyzing the potential of distribution logistics in terms of logistics costs and performance. In contrast to previous procedures of business process re-engineering (BPR), this method maps distribution logistics holistically under variable distribution structures. Combined with qualitative measures the decision support system will contribute to a more efficient design of distribution logistics.

Keywords: decision support system, distribution logistics, potential analyses, supply chain management

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Authors: Max Plotnikov, Arkadius Schier

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To counteract climate change, the European Commission adopted the European Green Deal (EDG) in 2019. Some of the main objectives of the EDG are climate neutrality by 2050, decarbonization, sustainable mobility, and the shift from a linear economy to a circular economy in the European Union. The mobility turnaround envisages, among other things, the switch from classic internal combustion vehicles to electromobility. The aforementioned goals are therefore accompanied by increased demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and the associated logistics. However, this inevitably gives rise to challenges that need to be addressed. Depending on whether the LIB is transported by road, rail, air, or sea, there are different regulatory frameworks in the European Union that relevant players in the value chain must adhere to. LIBs are classified as Dangerous Goods Class 9, and against this backdrop, there are various restrictions that need to be adhered to when transporting them for various actors. Currently, the exchange of information in the value chain between the various actors is almost entirely paper-based. Especially in the transport of dangerous goods, this often leads to a delay in the transport or to incorrect data. The exchange of information with the authorities is particularly essential in this context. A solution for the digital exchange of information is currently being developed. Electronic freight transport information (eFTI) enables fast and secure exchange of information between the players in the freight transport process. This concept is to be used within the supply chain from 2025. Another initiative that is expected to improve the monitoring of LIB in this context, among other things, is the battery pass. In July 2023, the latest battery regulation was adopted in the Official Journal of the European Union. This battery pass gives different actors static as well as dynamic information about the batteries depending on their access rights. This includes master data such as battery weight or battery category or information on the state of health or the number of negative events that the battery has experienced. The integration of the battery pass with the eFTI platform will be investigated for synergy effects in favor of the actors for battery transport.

Keywords: battery logistics, battery passport, data sharing, eFTI, sustainability

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Authors: Ali Alavi, Hong-Oanh Nguyen, ‎Jiangang Fei, Jafar Sayareh

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The recent competitive market in the port sector highly depend on logistics practices, functions ‎and activities and seaports play a key role in port logistics chains. Despite the well-articulated importance of ports and terminals in integrated logistics, the role of success factors in port logistics integration has been rarely mentioned‎. The objective of this paper is to ‎fill this gap in the literature and provide an insight into how seaports and terminals may improve their logistics integration. First, a literature review of studies on logistics integration in seaports and terminals is conducted. Second, a new conceptual framework for port logistics integration is proposed to incorporate the role of the new variables emerging from the recent developments in the global business environment. Third, the model tested in Iranian port and maritime sector using self-administered and online survey among logistics chain actors in Iranian seaports such shipping line operators, logistics service providers, port authorities, logistics companies and other related actors. The results have found the logistics process and operations, information integration, ‎value-added services, and logistics practices being influential to logistics integration. A proposed conceptual framework is developed to extend the existing ‎framework and incorporates the variables namely organizational activities, resource ‎sharing, and institutional support.‎ Further examination of the proposed model across multiple contexts is necessary for the validity of the findings. The framework could be more detailed on each factor and consider actors perspective.

Keywords: maritime logistics‎, port integration‎, logistics integration‎, supply chain integration

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Authors: M. Moso-Diez, J. L. Moragues-Oregi, K. Simon-Elorz

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Innovation procurement is designed to steer the development of solutions towards concrete public sector needs as a driver for innovation from the demand side (in public services as well as in market opportunities for companies), is horizontally emerging as a new policy instrument. In 2014 the new EU public procurement directives 2014/24/EC and 2014/25/EC reinforced the support for Public Procurement for Innovation, dedicating funding instruments that can be used across all areas supported by Horizon 2020, and targeting potential buyers of innovative solutions: groups of public procurers with similar needs. Under this programme, new policy adapters and networks emerge, aiming to embed innovation criteria into new procurement processes. As these initiatives are in process, research related to is scarce. We argue that Innovation Public Procurement can arise as an innovative policy instrument to public procurement in different policy domains, in spite of existing institutional and cultural barriers (legal guarantee versus innovation). The presentation combines insights from public procurement to supply management chain management in a sustainability and innovation policy arena, as a means of providing understanding of: (1) the circumstances that emerge; (2) the relationship between public and private actors; and (3) the emerging capacities in the definition of the agenda. The policy adopters are the contracting authorities that mainly are at municipal level where they interact with the supply management chain, interconnecting sustainability and climate measures with other policy priorities such as innovation and urban planning; and through the Competitive Dialogue procedure. We found that geography and territory affect both the level of municipal budget (due to municipal income per capita) and its institutional competencies (due to demographic reasons). In spite of the relevance of institutional determinants for public procurement, other factors play an important role such as human factors as well as both public policy and private intervention. The experience is a ‘city project’ (Bilbao) in the field of brownfield decontamination. Brownfield sites typically refer to abandoned or underused industrial and commercial properties—such as old process plants, mining sites, and landfills—that are available but contain low levels of environmental contaminants that may complicate reuse or redevelopment of the land. This article concludes that Innovation Public Procurement in sustainability and climate issues should be further developed both as a policy instrument and as a policy research line that could enable further relevant changes in public procurement as well as in climate innovation.

Keywords: innovation, city projects, public policy, public procurement

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Authors: Sharanya C. H., Pragathi M., Vathsala R. S., Theja K. V., Yashaswini S.

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Identifying counterfeit products have become increasingly important in the product manufacturing industries in recent decades. This current ongoing product issue of counterfeiting has an impact on company sales and profits. To address the aforementioned issue, a functional blockchain technology was implemented, which effectively prevents the product from being counterfeited. By utilizing the blockchain technology, consumers are no longer required to rely on third parties to determine the authenticity of the product being purchased. Blockchain is a distributed database that stores data records known as blocks and several databases known as chains across various networks. Counterfeit products are identified using a QR code reader, and the product's QR code is linked to the blockchain management system. It compares the unique code obtained from the customer to the stored unique code to determine whether or not the product is original.

Keywords: blockchain, ethereum, QR code

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Authors: George Onomah

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Background: The integration of information communication technology (ICT) in Mathematics education faces notable challenges, which this study aimed to dissect and understand. Objectives: The primary goal was to assess the internal and external factors affecting the adoption of ICT by in-service Mathematics teachers. Internal factors examined included teachers' pedagogical beliefs, prior teaching experience, attitudes towards computers, and proficiency with technology. External factors included the availability of technological resources, the level of ICT training received, the sufficiency of allocated time for technology use, and the institutional culture within educational environments. Methods: A descriptive survey design was employed to methodically investigate these factors. Data collection was carried out using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire, administered to a carefully selected sample of 100 in-service Mathematics teachers through a combination of purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Findings: Results from multiple regression analysis revealed a significant underutilization of ICT in Mathematics teaching, highlighting a pronounced deficiency in current classroom practices. Recommendations: The findings suggest an urgent need for educational department heads to implement regular and comprehensive ICT training programs aimed at enhancing teachers' technological capabilities and promoting the integration of ICT in Mathematics teaching methodologies.

Keywords: ICT, Mathematics, integration, barriers

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Authors: Intissar Abbes, Yousra Hallem, Jean-michel Sahut

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The purpose of this research is to explore the legitimacy of a proximity mobile payment (PMP) system by taking into account the social aspects related to its use (social acceptability). We have chosen to focus on the acceptability process of a PMP application (‘Flashplay’) from the first testing to the adoption in a service context. This PMP solution is a pilot program developed as part of a global strategy of disintermediation in various sectors (retail, catering, and entertainment). This case is particularly interesting for two reasons: the context and environment are suitable to the adoption of innovation in payment like other African countries and the possibility to study different stages of the social acceptability process of that PMP system. The neo-institutional theory is mobilized to identify the three pillars of legitimacy: cognitive, normative and regulatory. A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted with 27 customers using the PMP service. Results highlighted the importance of the consumption system and the service provider as institutions. Recommendations are thus proposed to PMP service providers in order to rethink the design and implementation strategies of their PMP system to ensure their adoption and promote the institutionalization of this type of consumption practice.

Keywords: legitimacy, payment, acceptability, mobility

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Authors: Masita Mokeira, Kimani Rita, Obonyo Brian, Kwenda Kennedy, Mugambi Purity, Kirui Joan, Chomba Eric, Orwa Daniel, Waiganjo Peter

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Rugby is a highly intense and physical game requiring speed and strength. The need for physical fitness therefore cannot be over-emphasized. Sports are no longer about lifting weights so as to build muscle. Most professional teams are investing much more in the sport in terms of time, equipment and other resources. To play competitively, Kenyan players may therefore need to complement their ‘home-grown’ and sometimes ad-hoc training and nutrition regimes with carefully measured strength and conditioning, diet, nutrition, and supplementation. Nokia Research Center and University of Nairobi conducted an exploratory study on needs and behaviours surrounding sports in Africa. Rugby being one sport that is gaining ground in Kenya was selected as the main focus. The end goal of the research was to identify areas where mobile technology could be used to address gaps, challenges and/or unmet needs. Themes such as information gap, social culture, growth, and development, revenue flow, and technology adoption among others emerged about the sport. From the growth and development theme, it was clear that as rugby continues to grow in the country, teams, coaches, and players are employing interesting techniques both in training and playing. Though some of these techniques are indeed scientific, those employing them are sometimes not fully aware of their scientific basis. A further case study on sports science in rugby in Kenya focusing on physical fitness and nutrition revealed interesting findings. This paper discusses findings on emerging adoption of techniques in managing physiological and nutritional needs of rugby players across different levels of rugby in Kenya namely high school, club and national levels.

Keywords: rugby, nutrition, physiological needs, sports science

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Authors: May M. Youssef

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This article introduces a design, for additive manufacturing technology, face shield as Personal Protective Equipment from the respiratory viruses such as coronavirus 2. The face shields help to reduce ocular exposure and play a vital role in diverting away from the respiratory COVID-19 air droplets around the users' face. The proposed face shield comprises three assembled polymer parts. The frame with a transparency overhead projector sheet visor is suitable for frontline health care workers and ordinary citizens. The frame design allows tightening the shield around the user’s head and permits rubber elastic straps to be used if required. That ergonomically designed with a unique face mask support used in case of wearing extra protective mask was created using computer aided design (CAD) software package. The finite element analysis (FEA) structural verification of the proposed design is performed by an advanced simulation technique. Subsequently, the prototype model was fabricated by a 3D printing using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) as a globally developed face shield product. This study provides a different face shield designs for global production, which showed to be suitable and effective toward supply chain shortages and frequent needs of personal protective goods during coronavirus disease and similar viruses.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, Coronavirus-19, face shield, personal protective equipment, 3D printing

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Authors: Irfan Ahmad, Raza Ghafoor, Hammad Raza Ahmad, Muhammad Asif, Farrakh Nawaz, M. Tahir Siddiqui

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Due to the exploding population of Pakistan the pressure on natural forests is increasing to meet the demands of wood and wood based products. Agroforestry is being practiced throughout the world on scientific basis but unfortunately the farmers of Pakistan are reluctant in its adoption. The presents study was designed to assess the adoption of agroforestry practices in Faisalabad with respect to land holdings of farmers and future suitability by using Geographic information system (GIS). Faisalabad is the third largest city of the country and is famous due to the textile industry. A comprehensive survey from target villages of the Lyallpur town of Faisalabad district was carried out. Out of total 65 villages, 40 were selected for study. From each selected village, one farmer who was actively engaged in farming activities was selected. It was observed that medium sized farmers having 10-20 acre were more in number as compared to small and large farmers. Number of trees was found maximum in large farm lands, ratio of diseased trees was almost similar in all categories with maximum in small farmlands (24.1%). Regarding the future prospects 35% farmer were interested in agroforestry practices 65% were not interested in the promotion of trees due to the non-availability of technical guidance and proper markets. Geographic images of the study site can further help the researchers and policy makers in the promotion of agroforestry.

Keywords: agroforestry trends, adoption, Faisalabad, geographic information system (GIS)

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Authors: Fatma Khadra

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The objective of this research is to identify the acceptance of new technology in a sample of 150 Participants from Qatar University. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we used the Davis’s scale (1989) which contains two item scales for Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. The TAM represents an important theoretical contribution toward understanding how users come to accept and use technology. This model suggests that when people are presented with a new technology, a number of variables influence their decision about how and when they will use it. The results showed that participants accept more technology because flexibility, clarity, enhancing the experience, enjoying, facility, and useful. Also, results showed that younger participants accept more technology than others.

Keywords: new technology, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, technology acceptance model

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Authors: Rahim Shahrokhi, Junboum Park

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Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) are environmentally persistent halogenated hydrocarbons that have been widely used in many industrial and commercial applications. Recently, contaminating the soil and groundwater due to the ubiquity of PFAS in environments has raised great concern. Adsorption technology is one of the most promising methods for PFAS removal. Chitosan is a biopolymer substance with abundant amine and hydroxyl functional groups, which render it a good adsorbent. This study has tried to enhance the adsorption capacity of chitosan by grafting more amine functional groups on its surface for the removal of two long (PFOA and PFOS) and two short-chain (PFBA, PFBS) PFAS substances from the aqueous phase. A series of batch adsorption tests have been performed to evaluate the adsorption capacity of the used sorbent. Also, the sorbent was analyzed by SEM, FT-IR, zeta potential, and XRD tests. The results demonstrated that both chitosan beads have good potential for adsorbing short and long-chain PFAS from the aqueous phase.

Keywords: PFAS, chitosan beads, adsorption, grafted chitosan

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Authors: Chandragiri Nagadeep, M. V. V. S. Durga, Sadu Mahikshith

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Future generation is depended on new ideas and innovations that develops the country economical growth and technology standards so, Startups plays an important role in satisfying above goals. Startups includes support which is given by investing into it by investors but, single digit investors can’t keep supporting one startup and lot of security problems occurs while transferring large funds to startup’s bank account. Targeting security and most supportive funding, TogEther solves these issues by providing a platform where “Crowd Funding” is available in a decentralized way such that funding is done with digital currency called cryptocurrency where transactions are done in a secured way using “Block Chain Technology”. Not only Funding but also Ideas along with their documents can be presented and hosted with help of IPFS (Inter Planetary File System).

Keywords: blockchain, ethereum, web3, reactjs, interplanetary file system, funding

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Authors: D. T. Tran, H. P. Tran, L. G. Hoang, V. N. H. Bui, Q. T. Nguyen, A. K. Das

Abstract:

This paper provides some insight information about a current situation of e-procurement implementation in Vietnam, including opportunities and challenges. A case study of Phuc Thien Company which is classified as a medium enterprise in the country, specialising on animal feed production. Since the technological development rapidly changes, companies have implemented advanced technologies in supply chain management to increase efficiency and gain collaboration amidst partners in their manufacturing and development activities. The findings of this research reveal strengths and ongoing weaknesses when Phuc Thien company internally implemented eProcurement system. Although cost savings, visibility of payment and speedy procurement process are one of the largest benefits of eProcurement implementation, the company faces greater hurdles, such as employee capability to use technology and their resistance to change, that overshadow everything else. In terms of governmental policy, the adaptation of e-invoicing has commenced since June 2015 in Vietnam, legal regulations and administrative framework related to e-Procurement carries various ambiguous in its content and extremely fragment. Hence, this adds a great burden to enterprises in general and Phuc Thien in particular in view of creating higher competitive advantage for animal feed industry in Vietnam as well as South East Asia region.

Keywords: procurement, e-procurement, animal feed industry, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Moh'd Anwer Al-Shboul

Abstract:

Jordan Customs (JC) has been established to achieve objectives that must be consistent with the guidance of the wise leadership and its aspirations toward tomorrow. Therefore, it has developed several needed tools to provide a distinguished service to simplify work procedures and used modern technologies. A supply chain (SC) consists of all parties that are involved directly or indirectly in order to fulfill a customer request, which includes manufacturers, suppliers, shippers, retailers and even customer brokers. Within each firm, the SC includes all functions involved in receiving a filling a customers’ requests; one of the main functions include customer service. JC and global SCs are evolving into dynamic environment, which requires flexibility, effective communication, and team management. Thus, human resources (HRs) insight in these areas are critical for the effective development of global process network. The importance of HRs has increased significantly due to the role of employees depends on their knowledge, competencies, abilities, skills, and motivations. Strategic planning in JC began at the end of the 1990’s including operational strategy for Human Resource Management and Development (HRM&D). However, a huge transformation in human resources happened at the end of 2006; new employees’ regulation for customs were prepared, approved and applied at the end of 2007. Therefore, many employees lost their positions, while others were selected based on professorial recruitment and selection process (enter new blood). One of several policies that were applied by human resources in JC department is job rotation. From the researcher’s point of view, it was not based on scientific basis to achieve its goals and objectives, which at the end leads to having a significant negative impact on the Organizational Performance (OP) and weak job rotation approach. The purpose of this study is to call attention to re-review the applying process and procedure of job rotation that HRM directorate is currently applied at JC. Furthermore, it presents an overview of managing the HRs in the SC network that affects their success. The research methodology employed in this study was described as qualitative by conducting few interviews with managers, internal employee, external clients and reviewing the related literature to collect some qualitative data from secondary sources. Thus, conducting frequently and unstructured job rotation policy (i.e. monthly) will have a significant negative impact on JC performance as a whole. The results of this study show that the main impacts will affect on three main elements in JC: (1) internal employees' performance; (2) external clients, who are dealing with customs services; and finally, JC performance as a whole. In order to implement a successful and perfect job rotation technique at JC in a scientific way and to achieve its goals and objectives; JCs should be taken into consideration the proposed solutions and recommendations that will be presented in this study.

Keywords: efficiency, supply chain, human resources, job rotation, organizational performance, Jordan customs

Procedia PDF Downloads 201

Authors: Velly Anatasia

Abstract:

In the last few decades extensive research has been conducted into information technology (IT) adoption, testing a series of factors considered to be essential for improved diffusion. Some studies analyze IT characteristics such as usefulness, ease of use and/or security, others focus on the emotions and experiences of users and a third group attempts to determine the importance of socioeconomic user characteristics such as gender, educational level and income. The situation is similar regarding e-commerce, where the majority of studies have taken for granted the importance of including these variables when studying e-commerce adoption, as these were believed to explain or forecast who buys or who will buy on the internet. Nowadays, the internet has become a marketplace suitable for all ages and incomes and both genders and thus the prejudices linked to the advisability of selling certain products should be revised. The objective of this study is to test whether the socioeconomic characteristics of experienced e-shoppers such as gender rally moderate the effect of their perceptions of online shopping behavior. Current development of the online environment and the experience acquired by individuals from previous e-purchases can attenuate or even nullify the effect of these characteristics. The individuals analyzed are experienced e-shoppers i.e. individuals who often make purchases on the internet. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was broadened to include previous use of the internet and perceived self-efficacy. The perceptions and behavior of e-shoppers are based on their own experiences. The information obtained will be tested using questionnaires which were distributed and self-administered to respondent accustomed using internet. The causal model is estimated using structural equation modeling techniques (SEM), followed by tests of the moderating effect of socioeconomic variables on perceptions and online shopping behavior. The expected findings of this study indicated that gender moderate neither the influence of previous use of the internet nor the perceptions of e-commerce. In short, they do not condition the behavior of the experienced e-shopper.

Keywords: Internet shopping, age groups, gender, income, electronic commerce

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: Barkha Ramteke, Sonali Ridhorkar

Abstract:

An election is an important event in all countries. Traditional voting has several drawbacks, including the expense of time and effort required for tallying and counting results, the cost of papers, arrangements, and everything else required to complete a voting process. Many countries are now considering online e-voting systems, but the traditional e-voting systems suffer a lack of trust. It is not known if a vote is counted correctly, tampered or not. A lack of transparency means that the voter has no assurance that his or her vote will be counted as they voted in elections. Electronic voting systems are increasingly using blockchain technology as an underlying storage mechanism to make the voting process more transparent and assure data immutability as blockchain technology grows in popularity. The transparent feature, on the other hand, may reveal critical information about applicants because all system users have the same entitlement to their data. Furthermore, because of blockchain's pseudo-anonymity, voters' privacy will be revealed, and third parties involved in the voting process, such as registration institutions, will be able to tamper with data. To overcome these difficulties, we apply Ethereum smart contracts into blockchain-based voting systems.

Keywords: blockchain, AMV chain, electronic voting, decentralized

Procedia PDF Downloads 122