Digital, Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2024) – 7 articles

In the contemporary agricultural landscape, agriculture faces four pressing demands: competitiveness, ensuring food security for a growing population, environmental sustainability, and providing farmers with acceptable living conditions. To meet this global challenge, digital technologies represent a major avenue for innovation and development towards modernized digital agriculture. In this context, irrigation advisory platforms have proven to be transformational tools for both farmers and policymakers, offering insights into the appropriate crop water requirements. This article presents a benchmarking analysis of around 20 professional irrigation advisory platforms. The methodology involves selecting 20 platforms based on accessibility ensuring geographical characteristic diversity. Our findings highlight key criteria shaping the ecosystem of such platforms, including the services offered and their objectives, the types of covered crops, the target users, the form, as well as the source, the availability of the platform, and the variety of data utilized. Lastly, we discuss the main conclusions drawn from our analysis and provide insights into the challenges and future perspectives of irrigation advisory platforms in enhancing agricultural practices and sustainability. Full article

Efficient triaging and referral assessments are critical in ensuring prompt medical intervention in the community healthcare (CHC) system. However, the existing triaging systems in many community health services are an intensive, time-consuming process and often lack accuracy, particularly for various symptoms which might represent heart failure or other health-threatening conditions. There is a noticeable limit of research papers describing AI technologies for triaging patients. This paper proposes a novel quantitative data-driven approach using machine learning (ML) modelling to improve the community clinical triaging process. Furthermore, this study aims to employ the feature selection process and machine learning power to reduce the triaging process’s waiting time and increase accuracy in clinical decision making. The model was trained on medical records from a dataset of patients with “Heart Failure”, which included demographics, past medical history, vital signs, medications, and clinical symptoms. A comparative study was conducted using a variety of machine learning algorithms, where XGBoost demonstrated the best performance among the other ML models. The triage levels of 2,35,982 patients achieved an accuracy of 99.94%, a precision of 0.9986, a recall of 0.9958, and an F1-score of 0.9972. The proposed diagnostic model can be implemented for the CHC decision system and be developed further for other medical conditions. Full article

The traditional manual recording of vaccination records in Germany faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the introduction of a COVID smartphone app with QR codes. However, this solution brought new challenges, emphasizing the need for a centrally managed European digital vaccination record for efficiency and validity. This study assesses the feasibility of using the HL7 FHIR standard in the healthcare industry for implementing a digital vaccination pass management and monitoring system. The system aims to offer convenience and improved efficiency for both patients and healthcare providers while promoting interoperability with other healthcare systems. To this end, we developed a prototype using modern technologies, such as React, Quarkus, and Keycloak. Results indicate potential benefits for patients and healthcare providers, offering access to immunization records, personalized recommendations, and streamlined management. However, integrating nuanced vaccination processes into the standardized FHIR system requires custom extensions, which might hinder interoperability. Manual data entry and the integration of an identity provider present further obstacles in industry scenarios. Despite these challenges, this study suggests that implementing HL7 FHIR can enhance efficiency, data accessibility, and accuracy in the vaccination process, supporting broader digitization efforts in the German healthcare system and beyond. Full article

Although cloud computing offers many benefits, such as flexibility, scalability, and profitability, some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still unable to fully utilize cloud resources, such as memory, computing power, storage, and network bandwidth. This reduces their productivity and increases their expenses. Therefore, the central objective of this paper was to examine the key challenges related to the allocation of cloud computing resources in small and medium enterprises. The method used for this study is based upon qualitative research using 12 interviews with 12 owners, managers, and experts in cloud computing in four countries: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, India, and Pakistan. Our results, based on our empirical data, show 11 key barriers to resource allocation in cloud computing that are classified based on the technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework. Theoretically, this research contributes to the body of knowledge concerning cloud computing technology and offers valuable understanding of the cloud computing resource allocation approaches employed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In practice, this research is useful to aid SMEs in implementing successful and sustainable strategies for allocating cloud computing resources. Full article

This paper addresses the research gap in the realm of data-driven transformation by leveraging the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory and the dynamic capabilities concept to the contours of a data-driven enterprise. It confronts the limitations of conventional digital and data transformation programs, which often prioritize technological enhancements over crucial organizational and cultural shifts. Proposing a more holistic perspective, the Data-Driven Enterprise Architecture Framework (DDA) is introduced, emphasizing the domain decomposition and productization of an architecture, distributed ownership, and federated governance, while ensuring the continuous harmonization of data, application, and business architecture. A case study featuring a leading pharmaceutical company illustrates the practical implementation of the DDA framework as a pillar of their Digital Transformation Strategy. By integrating scalable and distributed data architecture into the overarching Enterprise Architecture landscape, the company has initiated their data-driven transformation journey, showcased through their initial and very early results. This research not only offers valuable insights for pharmaceutical organizations navigating the complexities of data-driven transformations, but also addresses a research gap in the field. Full article

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) image tools hold the promise of revolutionizing a designer’s creative process. The increasing supply of this type of tool leads us to consider whether they suit future design professionals. This study aims to unveil if three GenAI image tools—Midjourney 5.2, DreamStudio beta, and Adobe Firefly 2—meet future designers’ expectations. Do these tools have good Usability, show sufficient User Experience (UX), induce positive emotions, and provide satisfactory results? A literature review was performed, and a quantitative empirical study based on a multidimensional analysis was executed to answer the research questions. Sixty users used the GenAI image tools and then responded to a holistic evaluation framework. The results showed that while the GenAI image tools received favorable ratings for Usability, they fell short in achieving high scores, indicating room for improvement. None of the platforms received a positive evaluation in all UX scales, highlighting areas for enhancement. The benchmark comparison revealed that all platforms, except for Adobe Firefly’s Efficiency scale, require enhancements in pragmatic and hedonic qualities. Despite inducing neutral to above-average positive emotions and minimal negative emotions, the overall satisfaction was moderate, with Midjourney aligning more closely with user expectations. This study emphasizes the need for significant improvements in Usability, positive emotional resonance, and result satisfaction, even more so in UX, so that GenAI image tools can meet future designers’ expectations. Full article

The media has become a central aspect of everyday life, providing information and entertainment, and serving as a basis for citizen consumption. The content that appears on the internet today is the result of numerous experiences accumulated throughout the history of media, particularly in the last four decades of technological and social development. The following text analyses how the hybridisation of analogue and digital technologies affects audience consumption patterns and expectations, leading to a more flexible relationship with the media. This study employed a theoretical examination of documentary sources, including texts, articles, and digital materials. The findings indicate a shift from simple, vertical, and linear communication systems to networks that enable horizontal and personalised consumption. The conclusion drawn is that technology has redefined structures and concepts, with the smartphone serving as the focal point of media consumption. Living culture is shaped by technology, because the message, more than the specific content, is the meaning, recognition, and exchange of a world that needs to be re-thought. Full article