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Crisis-Communication Between Farms: Disruption-Tolerant Networking with Commodity LoRaWAN Hardware
No full textIn rural areas, where restoring public network infrastructure can take time, an alternative communication channel can be particularly valuable. This study explores the potential of repurposing Long Range Wide Area Networks (LoRaWAN) gateways as multi-hop network nodes to create a digital emergency communication system. Farmers, who are increasingly adopting Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) and are geographically spread, are identified as key stakeholders for such a system. Using OpenStreetMap data on farm locations, we found that connecting farm communities through LoRa communication is theoretically possible in many areas. Simulations using delay-tolerant network routing protocols confirm the feasibility of this approach under various scenarios. A proof-of-concept implementation demonstrates that small messages can be transmitted successfully using real hardware, validating the concept of a decentralized communication infrastructure based on existing equipment. Additionally, we conducted experiments to measure energy consumption, bandwidth usage, and latency in actual hardware setups. This work contributes to various Sustainable Development Goals by supporting resilient communication infrastructure in underserved areas (SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), strengthening rural communities that are often the last to recover after emergencies (SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities), and ultimately helping safeguard food systems through improved agricultural coordination and communication (SDG 2: Zero Hunger)
Configurational Recipes for IT-AMC Competitive Dynamics
No full textAs business competition is getting faster and more complex, taking timely and sufficient competitive actions by holistically utilizing key organizational resources and capabilities is critical for a firm’s survival. By extending the awareness, motivation, and capability (AMC) framework of competitive dynamics with information technology (IT), we investigated context-specific configurational mechanisms that explicate the simultaneous interactions among a firm’s IT and AMC factors for creating competitive actions. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), a set-theoretic method, we empirically analyze field survey data from 189 manufacturing firms. Our analysis uncovered multiple equifinal configurations, revealing nuanced, interdependent relationships among IT infrastructure and applications, awareness, motivation, and operational excellence and innovation capabilities. These relationships are key to generating a high frequency of competitive actions across diverse organizational and environmental contingencies. Based on the findings, we developed theoretical propositions of configurational causal recipes—namely, automation, autonomy, innovation, and integration—that explain which IT-AMC factors matter, how they interrelate, and the ways in which IT factors complement or substitute AMC factors to drive competitive actions within specific contexts of environmental speed, uncertainty, and firm size. Through interviews with top managers of diverse manufacturing companies, we validate the suggested configurational recipes in contemporary business environments. Additionally, we discuss the potential of refining or specializing the recipes to account for the role of emerging digital technologies. Finally, we conclude with the theoretical and practical implications of our findings
Questionable research practices in engineering research
No full textMisconduct in science is often associated with data fabrication, data falsification, and plagiarism. However, other practices are far more frequent and prevalent. Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) are in the grey area between misconduct and responsible research conduct. The goal of this study was to investigate estimated and self-admission prevalence of engineering researchers\u27 engagement in QRPs. We applied a survey through a questionnaire that used 10 QRPs identified in relevant literature. The questionnaire was adapted to include several categories: individual, research group, research center, and country. Results indicate that self-admission engagement in QRPs is generally higher than in similar studies. Also, respondents are more keen to estimate that others engage in QRPs than they or their research group do. Respondents admit engagement in all QRPs presented, such as failing to report all of a study´s dependent measures relevant to a finding, selectively reporting studies related to a specific finding that \u27worked,\u27 or even falsifying data. While some consider these practices unjustifiable, others justify them with publication and time pressures. More studies on the QRP engagement of engineering researchers are needed to get a more precise picture
Quality, security, and privacy assurance in software development: proactive integration or just workflow-slowing checkpoints?
No full textIn software development, the integration of assurance methodologies such as quality, security, and privacy practices is essential to producing high-quality, reliable, and compliant products. This paper investigates the adoption and effectiveness of these assurance practices within the daily operations of software development. Through an industry survey of 88 software development professionals in Finland, this study examines the order and consistency with which developers apply assurance practices during projects, and the challenges they face in performing these tasks. The results show that while developers recognize the importance of assurance, many organizations still treat it as a separate, secondary activity rather than a core part of the development lifecycle. Key findings show that quality practices are more consistently integrated into daily operations compared to security and privacy measures, which tend to be reactive. The paper highlights the tension between agile practices, which promote flexibility and continuous improvement, and the more rigid, process-heavy nature of assurance tasks. The study underscores the need for a shift in both industry practices and educational approaches to fully embed assurance into software development
Platform Choice and Resource Configuration: From the Perspective of Resource Dependence
No full textIn the digital economy, platforms are central to value creation by connecting users and coordinating exchanges. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), deciding whether to build their own platform or join an existing one entails balancing autonomy and dependence. While Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) explains how firms manage tangible, intangible, and human resources, it overlooks the growing importance of data in platform ecosystems. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative multiple-case study of 12 Chinese SMEs across four platform ecosystems, based on 54 semi-structured interviews and archival data. We identified four mechanisms of resource dependence, including tangible, intangible, human, and data, that shape SMEs’ platform strategies. Our results reveal that concerns over dependence, rather than resource scarcity, primarily drive platform choices, and that data dependence introduces a novel socio-technical dimension to RDT. The study extends RDT by distinguishing data from traditional intangible resources, developing a configuration model of platform choice, and revealing interaction effects among different types of dependence. Practically, it guides SMEs in evaluating platform participation risks and informs platform developers on governance mechanisms that alleviate dependence concerns, thereby enriching Information Systems research on how digital resource configurations shape strategic decisions in data-driven contexts
The Mobility \u2784 Project—The Knowledge Equivalent of the Tractor or the Plough\u27 The Promise of Computing and Communications and the Reality of Market Research
No full textSitting in a Land-Rover, north of the capital of Swaziland, remote from people, housing and transport, we were on line to the world. At the same moment we were: Reading a screen of information on a rare disease after calling from our workstation to the BRS Colleague database in Seattle, Washington Printing data from a Prestel database located in Hong Kong Receiving an electronic mail message from Reading, England Answering the telephone from London
It was a magic moment. What were we doing? Why were we there? Well, it goes back a long way—to 1980 when CAP first produced an idea for maritime transport. In those days only crude microcomputers were available. We proved then that mobility was no block to the uses of information technology
Creating a Persistent Competition to Prepare Undergraduate Cybersecurity Students for National Cyber League Competitions
No full textThe demand for cybersecurity professionals continues to be a pressing need for the global workforce. Institutions of higher learning have been launching new cybersecurity programs to help meet this demand. This research describes how an undergraduate cybersecurity program that launched in the Fall of 2020 used free and open-source software, cloud computing, and a domain name registrar to create a persistent cybersecurity competition for the students with high impact in National Cyber League rankings at a low financial cost. This competition has been available both on-campus and off-campus for students to access, compete, and ultimately prepare themselves for national cybersecurity competitions, such as the National Cyber League. This solution has served 182 students with 456 challenges across several categories such as: Network Analysis, Web, Open Source Intelligence, Log Analysis, Digital Forensics and Incident Response, Cryptography, Password Cracking, Current & Past, and Miscellaneous. Over the past five years, this solution has allowed for challenges to be solved 11,633 times in 32,141 attempts by the students and has been identified as an important resource in preparing students to place as high as fifth in the United States of America (out of 500+ colleges and universities) in the National Cyber League. This research will highlight platform details and will also share student feedback about how this persistent cybersecurity competition prepared students to perform against students from other institutions
Risk, Artificial Intelligence, and the Governance of Migration: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the EU AI Act
No full textThe EU Artificial Intelligence Act represents one of the most ambitious regulatory frameworks to date, entailing policy regarding innovation, competitiveness, and the protection of fundamental rights. However, regulatory discourse surrounding AI is neither politically nor ideologically neutral. Through the employment of Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper explicates the discursive construction of ‘risk objects’ within the EU AI Act, focusing on the dilemmatic rhetorical constructions regarding AI governance, human rights, and migration management. The analysis highlights that while the Act positions AI misuse as a primary threat to fundamental rights, it simultaneously frames migrants and refugees as high-risk subjects; legitimising AI applications within border control and migration governance, and reproducing a discursive ideological dilemma. As a result, the Act employs securitisation rhetoric within rights-based governance frameworks, authorising algorithmic interventions that disproportionately target marginalised populations. The findings contribute to critical debates on AI governance by highlighting how risk-based regulatory frameworks function as instruments of power, reproducing existing socio-political asymmetries under the guise of harm prevention and ethical oversight within digital governance
Designing a Reference Architecture for Developing Smart Rural Communities: From Literature to Practice
No full textThis paper develops a reference architecture for smart rural communities, covering multiple domains and abstraction layers. The reference architecture uses an enterprise architecture approach and is developed by following a design research cycle, where a systematic literature review and a focus group discussion are embedded as part of its design and validation phases. The systematic literature review extracts key architectural components, while the focus group discussion validates the architecture\u27s relevance to a real-world setting and identifies gaps. Subsequently, the applicability of the reference architecture is demonstrated in a real-world context, specifically in the development of smart rural communities in West Java, Indonesia. This paper fills in the gap in the current literature, which lacks a reference that systematically links strategic and technical contexts across multiple domains of smart rural development. The reference architecture serves as a guideline for establishing smart rural communities efficiently and effectively, thereby enhancing the overall quality of life for rural citizens
Mobile Financial Services Adoption Among Microfinance Clients in Urban and Rural Areas of Bangladesh
No full textMobile financial services (MFS) offer significant potential to expand access to microfinance and promote financial inclusion in low-and middle-income countries. Yet, little is known about the factors driving MFS adoption among microfinance clients, especially in contexts where significant urban-rural differences exist in these countries. To address this issue, we conduct questionnaire surveys with microfinance clients in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh following an extended technology acceptance model. Structural equation modelling shows that while urban-rural differences do not directly affect intention to use MFS, they have the strongest indirect impact by influencing perceived ease of use, reciprocity, trust, and facilitating conditions linked to adoption intention. Besides, perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, and facilitating conditions significantly predict adoption intention, wherein the facilitating condition is the strongest predictor. Results suggest that policies for mobile financial service adoption in microfinance should be tailored to the urban-rural context, focusing on its indirect effects on perceived ease of use, reciprocity, trust, and facilitating conditions rather than direct geographic effects