Innovative Ecosystem Model of Vaccine Lifecycle Management

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested humanity, revealing the need to develop and improve the medical, economic, managerial, and IT components of vaccine management systems. The vaccine lifecycle includes vaccine research and development, production, distribution, and vaccination of the population. To manage this cycle effectively the proper organizational and IT support model of the interaction of vaccine lifecycle management stakeholders is needed—which are an innovation ecosystem and an appropriate virtual platform. A literature review has revealed the lack of methodological basis for the vaccine innovation ecosystem and virtual platform. This article is devoted to the development of a complex approach for the development of an innovation ecosystem based on vaccine lifecycle management and a virtual platform which provides the data exchange environment and IT support for the ecosystem stakeholders. The methodological foundation of the solution, developed in the article, is an enterprise architecture approach, CALS technologies, supply chain management and an open innovation philosophy. The results, presented in the article, are supposed to be a reference set of models for the creation of a vaccine innovation ecosystem, both during pandemics and periods of stable viral load.

Energy Internet

This chapter presents the development of the Energy Internet throughout the history as an evolutionary solution based on modern technological development and needs, with the respect of its architecture, key features, and key concepts, such as energy router, prosumer, and virtual power plant. The architecture of modern IT support for the electric power sector is considered, including its basic characteristics, the integration of contemporary information and communication technologies, such as cloud and fog computing, as well as the security and quality of service issues that arise with the application of these technologies. This chapter provides an overview of recent research related to the concept of Energy Internet and identifies gaps and directions for further research.

The Impact of Cloud Computing on the IT Support Function

The development of digital technologies has opened up new opportunities for e-learning in higher education. These technologies include cloud computing, which promises a scalable and reliable computing environment for both staff and students. This has not only changed the teaching, learning, and research environment, but also affected the way IT support services must now operate in the university sector. This chapter investigates the adoption of cloud computing in higher education through a case study of a major UK university and focuses on how this has affected the IT support function. The benefits and challenges of implementing cloud computing are explored, using questionnaires and interviews to generate data and analysis. The chapter concludes that cloud migration is a complex undertaking requiring a robust strategy that pays due attention to a wide range of issues, notably security concerns and the need for reskilling and the development of new support roles.

ASSESSING THE DIGITAL MATURITY OF AN ENTERPRISE AS THE FIRST STEP TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The questions of assessing an enterprise’s digital maturity as the first step in digital transformation are considered. Particular attention is paid to such success factors of digital transformation as awareness of the need for change, availability of quality IT-support and competencies in this area, as well as highly qualified personnel in the field of big data analytics and availability of a strategy of comprehensive digital transformation for the enterprise.

The Uptalk Downgrade: Comparing age- and gender-based perceptions of uptalk in four highly-skilled professions

<p>Uptalk, or the ‘innovative use of rising intonation on declarative utterances’ (Warren, 2016, p. xiii), is a common intonational contour in New Zealand English that has been assigned an uncommonly large range of meanings. Negative interpretations of uptalk include uncertainty, tentativeness, and lack of expert knowledge (Barr, 2003; Conley et al, 1978; Guy & Vonwiller, 1984; Spindler, 2003; Tomlinson Jr. & Fox Tree, 2010; Warren, 2016), and positive interpretations of uptalk include helpfulness, solidarity, and inclusivity (Borgen, 2000; Britain, 1992; Guy & Vonwiller, 1984; Meyerhoff, 1991; Warren, 2016). There is evidence that a listener’s interpretation of uptalk as positive or negative may depend on their age (Di Gioacchino & Crook Jessop, 2010), and there is also conflicting evidence over whether uptalk users are perceived as more or less suitable for highly-skilled employment (Borgen, 2000; Gorelik, 2016; Guy & Vonwiller, 1984; Steele, 1995). In an earlier study (Wollum, 2016), I found that older female listeners (aged 60-70) were significantly more likely than younger female listeners (aged 18-28) to assess a speaker as less competent and less trustworthy when the speaker was using uptalk, in an IT support context. In a further exploration of the age-based perception differences revealed in my 2016 research, this thesis reports a more extensive study, in which a new group of younger (aged 18-30) and older (aged 60-72) female listeners as well as a group of younger and older male listeners assessed recordings from four different young (aged 22-30) female speakers representing four different highly-skilled professions: IT support person, doctor, lawyer, and librarian. Listeners in this study were asked to assess not only the competence and trustworthiness of the speaker, but also the speaker’s education level. For both competence and trustworthiness, significant interactions were found between the listener’s age group, the profession of the speaker, and the speaker’s use or non-use of uptalk, with the older listeners ranking all four professions significantly lower for competence and trustworthiness in the uptalk condition, and a particularly strong effect of these lower ratings for the speaker representing a lawyer. There was also a recurring significant interaction between listener age group and gender, with younger male participants providing significantly higher ratings than all other demographics for both competence and trustworthiness, and significantly higher ratings than all but the older female group for education level. For education level, there was also a significant simple effect of speaker profession. There was no effect of uptalk on perceptions of education level. As all speakers used in the study were young (aged 22-30) females, part of the demographic that most often uses uptalk in New Zealand (Britain, 1992; Warren & Britain, 2000), the trend of lower competence and trustworthiness ratings from the older listener group is indicative of an out-group effect regarding positive versus negative perceptions of uptalk (House, 2006). In addition, the significant interactions between speaker profession and presence or absence of uptalk suggest that uptalk, considered predominantly a marker of female speech in New Zealand, is perceived more negatively by older listener groups in professions that have been historically male-typed. For competence and trustworthiness, the profession least negatively affected by the use of uptalk was the librarian, a profession that has previously been viewed as predominantly female (Morrissey & Case, 1988; Panek, Rush, & Greenawalt, 1977), and the profession most negatively affected by the use of uptalk was the lawyer, a profession that has previously been described as ‘aggressively male’ (Bolton & Muzio, 2007, p.56), and rewarding of women who adopt more masculine characteristics (Sommerlad & Sanderson, 1998). This research shows that older listeners are less likely than younger listeners to accept uptalk as indicative of competence and trustworthiness, and that these effects are particularly strong for professions in which women have previously been underrepresented. It also shows that a speaker’s perceived profession is more important than the presence or absence of uptalk for a listener assessing the speaker’s education level.</p>

The Uptalk Downgrade: Comparing age- and gender-based perceptions of uptalk in four highly-skilled professions

<p>Uptalk, or the ‘innovative use of rising intonation on declarative utterances’ (Warren, 2016, p. xiii), is a common intonational contour in New Zealand English that has been assigned an uncommonly large range of meanings. Negative interpretations of uptalk include uncertainty, tentativeness, and lack of expert knowledge (Barr, 2003; Conley et al, 1978; Guy & Vonwiller, 1984; Spindler, 2003; Tomlinson Jr. & Fox Tree, 2010; Warren, 2016), and positive interpretations of uptalk include helpfulness, solidarity, and inclusivity (Borgen, 2000; Britain, 1992; Guy & Vonwiller, 1984; Meyerhoff, 1991; Warren, 2016). There is evidence that a listener’s interpretation of uptalk as positive or negative may depend on their age (Di Gioacchino & Crook Jessop, 2010), and there is also conflicting evidence over whether uptalk users are perceived as more or less suitable for highly-skilled employment (Borgen, 2000; Gorelik, 2016; Guy & Vonwiller, 1984; Steele, 1995). In an earlier study (Wollum, 2016), I found that older female listeners (aged 60-70) were significantly more likely than younger female listeners (aged 18-28) to assess a speaker as less competent and less trustworthy when the speaker was using uptalk, in an IT support context. In a further exploration of the age-based perception differences revealed in my 2016 research, this thesis reports a more extensive study, in which a new group of younger (aged 18-30) and older (aged 60-72) female listeners as well as a group of younger and older male listeners assessed recordings from four different young (aged 22-30) female speakers representing four different highly-skilled professions: IT support person, doctor, lawyer, and librarian. Listeners in this study were asked to assess not only the competence and trustworthiness of the speaker, but also the speaker’s education level. For both competence and trustworthiness, significant interactions were found between the listener’s age group, the profession of the speaker, and the speaker’s use or non-use of uptalk, with the older listeners ranking all four professions significantly lower for competence and trustworthiness in the uptalk condition, and a particularly strong effect of these lower ratings for the speaker representing a lawyer. There was also a recurring significant interaction between listener age group and gender, with younger male participants providing significantly higher ratings than all other demographics for both competence and trustworthiness, and significantly higher ratings than all but the older female group for education level. For education level, there was also a significant simple effect of speaker profession. There was no effect of uptalk on perceptions of education level. As all speakers used in the study were young (aged 22-30) females, part of the demographic that most often uses uptalk in New Zealand (Britain, 1992; Warren & Britain, 2000), the trend of lower competence and trustworthiness ratings from the older listener group is indicative of an out-group effect regarding positive versus negative perceptions of uptalk (House, 2006). In addition, the significant interactions between speaker profession and presence or absence of uptalk suggest that uptalk, considered predominantly a marker of female speech in New Zealand, is perceived more negatively by older listener groups in professions that have been historically male-typed. For competence and trustworthiness, the profession least negatively affected by the use of uptalk was the librarian, a profession that has previously been viewed as predominantly female (Morrissey & Case, 1988; Panek, Rush, & Greenawalt, 1977), and the profession most negatively affected by the use of uptalk was the lawyer, a profession that has previously been described as ‘aggressively male’ (Bolton & Muzio, 2007, p.56), and rewarding of women who adopt more masculine characteristics (Sommerlad & Sanderson, 1998). This research shows that older listeners are less likely than younger listeners to accept uptalk as indicative of competence and trustworthiness, and that these effects are particularly strong for professions in which women have previously been underrepresented. It also shows that a speaker’s perceived profession is more important than the presence or absence of uptalk for a listener assessing the speaker’s education level.</p>

IT Support for Test Flights

The paper reviews the significance of conducting test flights and the statistical analysis of air events in their course. It was demonstrated that it is necessary to support the processes of analysing and evaluating the selection of the crew for tasks conducted using a specific aerial vehicle. The authors presented an IT system supporting superiors supervising test flights, simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of managing safety and preventive actions. The system’s design was briefly described and its operation confirmed using selected examples. The results were graphically visualized, in a manner exhibiting high legibility and simplicity of the system’s operation.

The Challenges of Implementing the ITIL Problem Management Process in IT Support Organisations

<p>Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework and an integrated set of process orientated best practices for providing IT infrastructure support, managing and delivering IT services. As organisations in the digital age rely on Information Technology for their daily operations as well as future growth and success, the ITIL framework is widely adopted. The Problem Management process is one of the Service Operation processes defined by the ITIL framework. Whilst the adoption of the ITIL framework is often for the benefit of both the organisations that provide IT support and services and the organisations which consume them, the challenges of implementing this framework and its processes is often left to the IT support organisations. This paper focuses on the ITIL Problem Management process; it reviews the principles and objectives of this IT Service Management process from an IT Governance stand point, and its implementation in the context of organisational IT services and operations. This paper collects and presents the views and insights from IT professionals who routinely worked with ITIL processes. As empirical research, this paper seeks to identify and prioritize the challenges associated with implementing the ITIL Problem Management process by the IT support organisations; it also seeks to understand the ways and methods to overcome these challenges. This paper identifies 23 unique challenges in 6 categories including “the understanding”, “the buy-in”, “the investment”, “the interrelation”, the “execution” and “the organisational factors” which are associated with implementing the ITIL Problem Management process. The ranking of these challenges is also finalized. This paper further offers suggestions for IT support organisations to overcome these challenges. It suggests that IT support organisations may first address and overcome the challenges associated with the understanding and the buy-in of the ITIL Problem Management process, and use an overall top-down approach and effective organisational communication as they try to implement the ITIL Problem Management process.</p>

The Challenges of Implementing the ITIL Problem Management Process in IT Support Organisations

<p>Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework and an integrated set of process orientated best practices for providing IT infrastructure support, managing and delivering IT services. As organisations in the digital age rely on Information Technology for their daily operations as well as future growth and success, the ITIL framework is widely adopted. The Problem Management process is one of the Service Operation processes defined by the ITIL framework. Whilst the adoption of the ITIL framework is often for the benefit of both the organisations that provide IT support and services and the organisations which consume them, the challenges of implementing this framework and its processes is often left to the IT support organisations. This paper focuses on the ITIL Problem Management process; it reviews the principles and objectives of this IT Service Management process from an IT Governance stand point, and its implementation in the context of organisational IT services and operations. This paper collects and presents the views and insights from IT professionals who routinely worked with ITIL processes. As empirical research, this paper seeks to identify and prioritize the challenges associated with implementing the ITIL Problem Management process by the IT support organisations; it also seeks to understand the ways and methods to overcome these challenges. This paper identifies 23 unique challenges in 6 categories including “the understanding”, “the buy-in”, “the investment”, “the interrelation”, the “execution” and “the organisational factors” which are associated with implementing the ITIL Problem Management process. The ranking of these challenges is also finalized. This paper further offers suggestions for IT support organisations to overcome these challenges. It suggests that IT support organisations may first address and overcome the challenges associated with the understanding and the buy-in of the ITIL Problem Management process, and use an overall top-down approach and effective organisational communication as they try to implement the ITIL Problem Management process.</p>