A case study analysis on information and communication technology usage in small logistics service companies

The impact of ICT (information and communications technology) on the logistics service industry is reshaping its organisation and structure. Within this process, the nature of changes resulting from ICT dissemination in small 3PLs (third party logistics providers) is still unclear, although a large number of logistics service markets, especially in the EU context, are populated by a high number of small 3PLs. In addition, there is still a gap in the literature where the role of technological capability in small 3PLs is seriously underestimated. This gives rise to the need to develop investigation in this area. The paper presents the preliminary results of a case study analysis on ICT usage in a sample of 7 small Italian 3PLs. The results highlight some of the barriers to effective ICT implementation, as well as some of the critical success factors.

A Conceptual Foresight Model to Investigate the Adoption of Radio Frequency Identification Technology in the English National Health Service

Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) adoption in healthcare settings has the potential to reduce errors, improve patient safety, streamline operational processes and enable the sharing of information throughout supply chains. RFID adoption in the English NHS is limited to isolated pilot studies. Firstly, this study investigates the drivers and inhibitors to RFID adoption in the English NHS from the perspective of the GS1 Healthcare User Group (HUG) tasked with coordinating adoption across private and public sectors. Secondly a conceptual model has been developed and deployed, combining two of foresight’s most popular methods; scenario planning and technology roadmapping. The model addresses the weaknesses of each foresight technique as well as capitalizing on their individual, inherent strengths. Semi structured interviews, scenario planning workshops and a technology roadmapping exercise were conducted with the members of the HUG over an 18-month period. An action research mode of enquiry was utilized with a thematic analysis approach for the identification and discussion of the drivers and inhibitors of RFID adoption. The results of the conceptual model are analysed in comparison to other similar models. There are implications for managers responsible for RFID adoption in both the NHS and its commercial partners, and for foresight practitioners. Managers can leverage the insights gained from identifying the drivers and inhibitors to RFID adoption by making efforts to influence the removal of inhibitors and supporting the continuation of the drivers. The academic contribution of this aspect of the thesis is in the field of RFID adoption in healthcare settings. Drivers and inhibitors to RFID adoption in the English NHS are compared to those found in other settings. The implication for technology foresight practitioners is a proof of concept of a model combining scenario planning and technology roadmapping using a novel process. The academic contribution to the field of technology foresight is the conceptual development of foresight model that combines two popular techniques and then a deployment of the conceptual foresight model in a healthcare setting exploring the future of RFID technology.

Electronic Perception Technology Applications in Food Service

Electronic Perception Technology (EPT) enables automated equipment to gain artificial sight commonly referred to as "machine-vision” by employing specialty software and embedded sensors to create a “Visual" input field that can be used as a front-end application for transactional behavior. The authors review this new technology and present feasible future applications to the food service industry in enhancing guest services while providing a competitive advantage.

Childhood obesity treatment: integrating mobile health technology into a paediatric obesity service

Background: The management of childhood obesity is challenging. Aims: Thesis, i) reviews the evidence for lifestyle treatment of obesity, ii) explores cardiometabolic burden in childhood obesity, iii) explores whether changes in body composition predicts change in insulin sensitivity (IS), iv) develops and evaluates a lifestyle obesity intervention; v) develops a mobile health application for obesity treatment and vi) tests the application in a clinical trial. Methods: In Study 1, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the 12‐month effects of lifestyle and mHealth interventions were conducted. In Study 2, the prevalence of cardiometabolic burden was estimated in a consecutive series of 267 children. In Study 3, body composition was estimated with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and linear regression analyses were used to estimate the extent to which each methods predicted change in IS. Study 4 describes the development of the Temple Street W82GO Healthy Lifestyle intervention for clinical obesity in children and a controlled study of treatment effect in 276 children is reported. Study 5 describes the development and testing of the Reactivate Mobile Obesity Application. Study 6 outlines the development and preliminary report from a clinical effectiveness trial of Reactivate. Results: In Study 1, meta--‐analyses BMI SDS changed by -0.16 (-0.24,‐0.07, p<0.01) and -0.03 (-0.13, 0.06, p=0.48). In study 2, cardiometabolic comorbidities were common (e.g. hypertension in 49%) and prevalence increased as obesity level increased. In Study 3, BC changes significantly predicted changes in IS. In Study 4, BMI SDS was significantly reduced in W82GO compared to controls (p<0.001). In Study 5, the Reactivate application had good usability indices and preliminary 6‐month process report data from Study 6, revealed a promising effect for Reactivate. Conclusions: W82GO and Reactivate are promising forms of treatment.

The Influence of Table Top Technology in Full-service Restaurants

The use of tabletop technology continues to grow in the restaurant industry, and this study identifies the strengths and weakness of the technology, how it influences customers, and how it can improve the bottom line for managers and business owners. Results from two studies involving a full-service casual dining chain show that dining time was significantly reduced among patrons who used the tabletop hardware to order or pay for their meals, as was the time required for servers to meet the needs of customers. Also, those who used the devices to order a meal tended to spend more than those who did not. Patrons across the industry have embraced guest-facing technology, such as online reservation systems, mobile apps, payment apps, and tablet-based systems, and may in fact look for such technology when deciding where to dine. Guests’ reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, with 70 to 80 percent of consumers citing the benefits of guest-facing technology and applications. The introduction of tabletop technology in the full-service segment has been slower than in quick-service restaurants (QSRs), and guests cite online reservation systems, online ordering, and tableside payment as preferred technologies. Restaurant operators have also cited benefits of guest-facing technology, for example, the use of electronic ordering, which led to increased sales as such systems can induce the purchase of more expensive menu items and side dishes while allowing managers to store order and payment information for future transactions. Researchers have also noted the cost of the technology and potential problems with integration into other systems as two main factors blocking adoption.

Toward Self-Organising Service Communities

This paper discusses a framework in which catalog service communities are built, linked for interaction, and constantly monitored and adapted over time. A catalog service community (represented as a peer node in a peer-to-peer network) in our system can be viewed as domain specific data integration mediators representing the domain knowledge and the registry information. The query routing among communities is performed to identify a set of data sources that are relevant to answering a given query. The system monitors the interactions between the communities to discover patterns that may lead to restructuring of the network (e.g., irrelevant peers removed, new relationships created, etc.).

Modelling Denial of Service Attacks on JFK with Meadow's Cost-Based Framework

We present the first detailed application of Meadows’s cost-based modelling framework to the analysis of JFK, an Internet key agreement protocol. The analysis identifies two denial of service attacks against the protocol that are possible when an attacker is willing to reveal the source IP address. The first attack was identified through direct application of a cost-based modelling framework, while the second was only identified after considering coordinated attackers. Finally, we demonstrate how the inclusion of client puzzles in the protocol can improve denial of service resistance against both identified attacks.

Let's Dance: A Language for Service Behavior Modeling

In Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs), software systems are decomposed into independent units, namely services, that interact with one another through message exchanges. To promote reuse and evolvability, these interactions are explicitly described right from the early phases of the development lifecycle. Up to now, emphasis has been placed on capturing structural aspects of service interactions. Gradually though, the description of behavioral dependencies between service interactions is gaining increasing attention as a means to push forward the SOA vision. This paper deals with the description of these behavioral dependencies during the analysis and design phases. The paper outlines a set of requirements that a language for modeling service interactions at this level should fulfill, and proposes a language whose design is driven by these requirements.

IT service desk process improvement : a narrative style case study

This paper is a detailed case narrative on how a Faculty of a leading Australian University conducted a rigorous process improvement project, applying fundamental Business Process Management (BPM) concepts. The key goal was to increase the efficiency of the faculty’s service desk. The decrease of available funds due to reducing student numbers and the ever increasing costs associated with service desk prompted this project. The outcomes of the project presented a set of recommendations which leads to organizational innovation having information technology as an enabler for change. The target audience includes general BPM practitioners or academics who are interested in BPM related case studies, and specific organisations who might be interested in conducting BPM within their service desk processes.